PAR Analyst Announces Investment Opinion
PAR Analyst Upgrades Recommendation to SPECULATIVE BUY for
AlphaTrade (OTCBB:EBNK - news), in Quarterly Follow Up Report
distributed by Investrend Research.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 1999--Public Analysis & Review (PAR), is the unique professional independent analyst program administered by the non-profit Investors Research Institute, Inc., and distributed by Investrend Research. John M. Dutton, Investrend Research president, announced that Randall D. Lewis, professional analyst qualified in the PAR program, published his PAR Quarterly coverage of AlphaTrade (OTCBB: EBNK - news) on July 19, 1999,
and has increased his recommendation from NEUTRAL to a SPECULATIVE BUY. Mr. Dutton noted that Investrend Research will be releasing shortly the previously announced initial reports on Vasogen, Inc.,(OTCBB:VSOGF - news), M & A West. (OTCBB:MAWI - news), and the
quarterly review of Starnet Communications (OTCBB:SNMM - news).
The ALPHATRADE report follows. PAR has posted a downloadable report, including disclaimers which should be read before investing, on the Investrend Web site at investrend.com.
Date of Update: July 19, 1999 Recommendation: SPECULATIVE BUY Shares Outstanding: 11,200,000 Estimated Float: 3,400,000 Recent Stock Price: $ 7.00 Latest 12 mos. Price Range: $.50 to $35 Industry Sector: Internet
RECOMMENDATION:
We are upgrading AlphaTrade.com to a speculative buy rating. We are basing the recommendation upgrade on recent company events, namely the release of its financial portal, E-Gate. There is no financial information to report at this time. AlphaTrade.com does appear, however, to be following through with its business plan and is meeting its stated schedule for company milestones.
REPORT:
In our initial report, issued in April, 1999, AlphaTrade.com was assigned a neutral rating. At that time, there were simply too many unknown variables to put an accurate valuation on the stock at that
time. Being a development stage company, AlphaTrade needed to achieve product rollout to forecast a 12-month price target with any legitimacy. Unfortunately, we still feel that putting a stock
price target on the company is moot at this juncture. We are, however, upgrading the stock based on the factors discussed in this quarterly review.
First, we are impressed with the fact that the company rolled out its flagship product, the financial portal, E-Gate, on schedule. Typically, high-tech firms are months behind schedule in product
releases, but AlphaTrade publicly targeted a June 30 release, and rolled out on July 9. Showcasing the company's oWeb-to -Desktopo convergent technology, E-Gate will be an interactive and fully
customizable financial portal., containing real-time quotes, tickers and news, as well as analytical tools generally found in the higher-end market. AlphaTrade has had thousands of early sign ups for
the E-Gate portal.
Also since our last report, the company signed its first licensing agreement. Though not financially-related, AlphaTrade signed a non-exclusive agreement with Baccarat Management Ltd. to develop the world's first online sports betting and gaming site using AlphaTrade's browser-based technology. Under the terms of this agreement, AlphaTrade will receive a total of $250,000 in cash, $100,000 (already booked) upon signing and a further $150,000 which will be used to complete an equity investment of Baccarat for 30,000 common shares issued under Rule 144. In addition,AlphaTrade will receive 4% of Baccarat's gross revenues on a quarterly basis.
This milestone lent credence to market acceptance of the company's technology and served as a basis for future pricing models. The company still plans to target the retail investor market, channeled
through brokerage firms, who can private label AlphaTrade's system and provide it to their clients, thereby enhancing their product offerings and Web presence.
In addition, PhantomFilm just signed a licensing agreement with AlphaTrade and will pay $25,000 per month to the company beginning in July. Management has also pointed to a number of pending contracts and/or licensing agreements.
The next few months will be critical for AlphaTrade.com to capitalize on its product and services. The company has assembled an impressive array of products and technologies, which are gaining notice by investors and technical savvy professionals alike. In fact, a recent article by Richard Comerford of The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, one of the leading authorities in technical innovations, pointed to AlphaTrade's fuzzy-logic, artificial intelligence techniques as truly cutting edge. The company now needs to focus on marketing its technology to generate revenues for its shareholders. AlphaTrade is still in negotiations for financing to take the products to the next level. Research and development is nearly complete and now it is a question of marketing, which takes
capital. The company's working capital needs are being met, but obviously significant funds will need to be raised to actively market the products.
Chris
|
