BINC is popping up hard. This is a lousy company with a hype factor:
they supposedly have a sugar substitute, which nobody seems to want
to buy. Mainly the co. does something entirely different (a low-margin
phone service). The CEO is famously nutty. Institutional ownership
is just about zip, so this thing is driven by little investors. This
makes me question what is driving up the stock. Maybe real news
developing, maybe pump n dump.
Another factor is warrants: There are 750 k warrants, which expire in
two years unless they are exercised first. The exercise price of 4.50
has just now been exceeded for the first time since the warrants were
issued a year ago. If I owned the warrants, I would want to flip them
now, and that could put a little pressure on the stock price. (They are
owned by the institutional investor that did a private placement a
year ago.)
Chart:
tscn.com
News from last summer:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A federal appeals court, ruling that a
columnist's opinion on a company's stock is protected under the
First Amendment, upheld the dismissal of a $15 million libel suit
against Forbes magazine.
Biospherics Inc. of Beltsville, Md., filed the suit in July
1997, claiming the magazine and reporter Caroline Waxler libeled
the company by saying in a Jan. 13, 1997, column that the company's
sugar substitute under development ''isn't up to the company's
claims,'' and that ''the few independent analysts who follow the
company think the stock is worth $2 on current business.''
The day the issue reached newsstands, Biospherics stock was
trading at $6.62, but by June 23 shares had declined 26 percent to
$4.87.
The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
issued a ruling saying that ''any reasonable person ... would
recognize, based on the tenor, language and context of the article,
that the challenged statements constitute a subjective view, not a
statement of fact.''
Marketguide report:
Biospherics Incorporated SYMBOL: BINC EXCHANGE: NASD
PRICING DATA (AS OF) 12/04/98 RATIOS & STATISTICS
Price 5.81 Price/Revenue (TTM) 3.59
52 Week High 8.50 P/E (TTM) NM
52 Week Low 3.25 Price/Book (MRQ) 8.06
Beta 1.81 Price/Cash Flow (TTM) 116.26
Avg Daily Vol (10 Day) 0.02 Mil ROA (TTM) -3.64%
Avg Daily Vol (3 Month) 0.05 Mil ROE (TTM) -7.45%
Current Ratio (MRQ) 1.53
DIVIDEND INFORMATION Total Debt/Equity (MRQ) 0.54
Indicated Annual ($) 0.00
Yield 0.00% NOTE: TTM = trailing twelve months
MRQ = most recent quarter
SHARE RELATED INFORMATION SHORT INTEREST INFORMATION
Market Cap. ($) 51.090 Mil Current Month 0.222 Mil
Shares Out. 8.789 Mil Previous Month 0.207 Mil
Float 5.300 Mil Short Interest Ratio 2.8 Day
INSTITUTIONAL & INSIDER OWNERSHIP
PURCHASES SALES NET PURCH %OWNED
Institutions (3 Months) 0.018 Mil 0.004 Mil 0.013 Mil 5.6%
Insiders (6 Months) 0.000 Mil 0.000 Mil 0.000 Mil 39.7%
BUSINESS SUMMARY BINC consists of an Information Services Division,
which provides information to the public on health and other
socially beneficial subjects, and a BioTech Programs Unit,
which develops proprietary products and services. For the
six months ended 6/30/98, revenues increased 14% to $9M.
Net income decreased 52% to $227K. Results reflect the
National Park Service Contract, offset by start-up costs
associated with establishing and expanding CQHealth.
REVENUES (Thousands of U.S. Dollars)
QUARTERS 1995 1996 1997 1998
MAR 3,507 2,942 4,270 3,528
JUN 4,136 3,789 3,632 5,502
SEP 3,525 4,050 3,247
DEC 2,572 3,019 2,490
TOTAL 13,740 13,800 13,639
EARNINGS PER SHARE
MAR 0.010 -0.009 0.040 -0.010
JUN 0.020 0.010 0.010 0.020
SEP 0.010 0.050 -0.020
DEC 0.000 -0.040 -0.050
TOTAL 0.040 0.011 -0.020 |
