Category Archives: amgn

Amgen Momentum Review

Below is a chart of Amgen (AMGN) from 1993 to 2021, reflecting Price Momentum data.

Continue reading

Nasdaq 100 Watch List

Below are the Nasdaq 100 companies that are within 20% of the 52-week low. This list is strictly for the purpose of researching whether or not the companies have viable business models. Although theses companies are very risky, they provide significant opportunity to outperform the market in the coming year.
Symbol Name Price P/E EPS Yield P/B % from Low
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc. $18.85 14.26 $1.32 0 2.26 1.56%
AMGN Amgen Inc. $52.24 10.91 $4.79 0 2.04 3.94%
CEPH Cephalon, Inc. $58.63 11.13 $5.27 0 1.68 6.60%
TEVA Teva Pharma. $51.89 14.16 $3.66 1.70% 2.13 10.43%
ATVI Activision Blizzard, Inc $11.07 33.55 $0.33 1.50% 1.3 10.81%
CELG Celgene Corp. $53.47 28.44 $1.88 0 4.79 11.35%
EXPE Expedia, Inc. $20.96 14.36 $1.46 1.30% 2.15 14.54%
MSFT Microsoft Corp. $27.06 11.55 $2.34 2.40% 4.72 19.05%
MICC Millicom Intl. Cellular $90.27 5.92 $15.24 2.60% 3.06 19.86%

Watch List Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the Nasdaq 100 Watch List, we have taken the stocks from our list of February 21, 2010 (article here) and have checked their performance one year later. The companies on that list are provided below with the closing price for February 19, 2010 and February 18, 2011. 
Four of the companies on our list managed to exceed the Nasdaq 100 while the other four on the list underperformed the index.  Stericycle (SRCL) was the biggest winner with a 60.92% gain.  Gilead Sciences (GILD) was the biggest loser over the last year with a decline of -19.53%.
Symbol Name 2010 2011 Change
APOL Apollo Group $56.92 $45.82 -19.50%
ERTS Electronic Arts $16.75 $19.28 15.10%
FSLR First Solar $116.00 $168.22 45.02%
ATVI Activision $10.79 $11.07 2.59%
PPDI Pharma Prod. $21.20 $27.97 31.93%
SRCL Stericycle $54.30 $87.38 60.92%
GENZ Genzyme $55.97 $75.38 34.68%
GILD Gilead $48.84 $39.30 -19.53%
Average 18.90%
NDX Nasdaq 100 1823.32 2392.47 31.22%
Please revisit New Low Observer for edits and revisions to this post. Email us.

Nasdaq 100 Watch List

Below are the top Nasdaq 100 companies that are within 20% of the 52-week low. This list is strictly for the purpose of researching whether or not the companies have viable business models. These companies are deemed highly speculative unless otherwise noted.
Symbol Name Price P/E EPS Yield P/B % from Low
ISRG Intuitive Surgical $267.40 31.8 $8.40 - 5.26 8.68%
CEPH Cephalon, Inc. $60.32 11.3 $5.35 - 1.81 9.67%
CSCO Cisco Systems $20.97 15.4 $1.36 - 2.62 10.37%
APOL Apollo Group, Inc. $37.98 10.5 $3.62 - 4.30 12.54%
AMGN Amgen Inc. $56.98 12.3 $4.63 - 2.24 13.37%
ERTS Electronic Arts $16.05 - -$0.48 - 2.04 14.17%
QGEN Qiagen N.V. $19.32 30.4 $0.64 - 1.89 14.59%
TEVA Teva Pharma. $54.01 16.6 $3.25 1.30% 2.22 14.94%
VRTX Vertex Pharma. $36.16 - -$3.73 - 11.31 15.71%
GRMN Garmin Ltd. $30.53 8.3 $3.66 4.80% 2.10 16.93%
INTC Intel Corporation $20.66 11.2 $1.85 3.00% 2.43 17.39%
GILD Gilead Sciences $37.50 11.0 $3.42 - 5.36 18.18%
SHLD Sears Holdings $70.18 41.9 $1.68 - 0.94 18.53%
^NDX Nasdaq 100 2,276.70
***Read our Chapter 2 review of Seth Klarman's book Margin of Safety here***

Watch List Summary
From the current watchlist we are considering the prospects for Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Intel (INTC) and Garmin (GRMN).  Garmin is interesting simply for the fact that the moving feast known as their dividend should be announced in the coming months.  We're curious if Garmin will eliminate, raise, lower or keep the dividend the same.  As has been the case in the last four years, Garmin has paid their dividend all at once.  This will be very interesting considering the 4.80% payment. 
In the Nasdaq 100 Watch List of 15 companies from December 12, 2010 to the closing price January 7, 2011, the average return from all of the companies was +3.65%.  This is compared to the NDX (Nasdaq 100 Index) which had a gain of +2.77%.
Dish Network (DISH) registered the largest gain of +12.45%. Adobe Systems (ADBE) rose 11.60% since December 12th.  Cisco (CSCO) came in third on the list with a gain of 6.45%.
Watch List Performance Review
In our ongoing review of the Nasdaq 100 Watch List, we have taken the top four stocks on our list from the closing price of January 7, 2010 and have checked their performance one year later. The top four companies on that list are provided below with the closing price for January 7, 2010 and January 7, 2011.

Symbol Name 2010 2011 % change
GILD Gilead Sciences 44.54 37.50 -15.81%
CEPH Cephalon, Inc. 63.01 60.32 -4.27%
GENZ Genzyme Corp 53.81 71.39 32.67%
APOL Apollo Group 60.50 37.98 -37.22%
Average -6.16%
^NDX Nasdaq 100 1892.59 2276.70 20.30%
Only one stock, Genzyme (GENZ), was able to to show a positive return.  This was of little consolation as the three other stocks on our watchlist fell, on average, -19%.  The Nasdaq 100 outperformed the watchlist with a gain of 20% in the last year. 
Disclaimer
Stocks that appear on our watch lists are not recommendations to buy. Instead, they are the starting point for doing your research and determining the best company to buy. Ideally, a stock that is purchased from this list is done after a considerable decline in the price and extensive due diligence. We suggest that readers use the March 2009 low (or the companies' most distressed level in the last 2 years) as the downside projection for investing. Our view is to embrace the worse case scenario prior to investing. A minimum of 50% decline or the November 2008 to March 2009 low, whichever is lower, would fit that description. It is important to place these companies on your own watch list so that when the opportunity arises, you can purchase them with a greater margin of safety. It is our expectation that, at the most, only 1/3 of the companies that are part of our list will outperform the market over a one-year period.

Please revisit New Low Observer for edits and revisions to this post. Email us.

Genzyme Corp: Value is Finally Being Recognized

There has been a lot of news about Genzyme (GENZ) being considered as a takeover candidate by Sanofi-Aventis (SNY). Typically, rumors are simply that, nothing more than prattle about a washed up company that has little or no life remaining. However, we have demonstrated that discussions of Genzyme (GENZ) being taken over are not so far fetched.
On October 17, 2009 (article link), we had only four companies that were on our Nasdaq 100 Watch List that was within 20% of their respective 52-week lows. This was in contravention to the overall market; which was racing higher every day. So compelling were the companies on the list that we felt it was necessary to give mini-profiles on their value propositions.
Genzyme (GENZ) was one such company that was on that list. We included Genzyme (GENZ) as the last company we profiled since we felt that it was “…a far superior value proposition.” This was despite the fact that Genzyme (GENZ) was the farthest from the new low among the companies on the list.
On October 30, 2009 (article link), we weren’t surprised that drug and medical device makers dominated our list of companies near a new low. In that posting to our site we said, “The continued undervaluation of these companies makes them prime targets for acquisition…” Genzyme (GENZ) was on the list and trading at $50.60. The performance of the stocks that were on the on the October 30 watch list is as follows:

The average gain for the group was 15.32% in 9 months. The worst performing stock has been Gilead Sciences (GILD) with a decline of 22.21%. The best performing stock has been Biogen (BIIB). Our sanguine view on Gilead Sciences (GILD) may be worth reviewing since it has fallen so much since October 30, 2009.
Genzyme has already indicated that they’re not going to accept the Sanofi-Aventis (SNY). This opens the door for competing bids, which should push the price up. Our view at this time is that Genzyme is strictly a speculation, at best, given the rise of nearly 33% since our mention of being a takeover candidate in October 2009.

A View on the "Buy Low, Sell High" Concept

As the old investment adage goes, "buy low and sell high." However, the act of buying low has a few complications which hasn't been easily resolved. One problem is knowing when a stock's price is actually at a low price or not. Most people confuse the absolute level of a stock price with being low. For example, if a stock is selling for $2 then a person might think that this is a great price to acquire the shares. However, if $2 is the new high for the price and one year ago the old low was $0.25 then $2 is actually very high.

One way that the New Low Observer (NLO) has managed to isolate whether a stock is at a low price is by waiting until the stock is within 20% of the new low. This approach isn't a cure for what ails the average investor. However, it does allow average market participants the opportunity to investigate quality companies for potential price increases. The new low of a stock automatically implies that value has been created especially if the company in question can survive as a going concern. This is counter to most information coming out of the Wall Street media machine. Typically, analysts on Wall Street recommend stocks that have risen far above the low before initiating coverage on a stock.

While there are 4336 individual stocks that can be bought on American stock exchanges, NLO has determined that there are basically only 383 companies that warrant your attention. The first group of companies are known as the Dividend Achievers (excel list of companies). These 283 companies are tracked by Mergent's based on their ability to increase their dividends every year for over 10 years in a row as a minimum requirement. It goes without saying that these companies pay some kind of dividend with yields that range from over 5% to less than 1%.

The second major group of companies tracked by NLO are the constituents of the Nasdaq 100. In our earlier forms as Dividend Inc. and Arti Invest, we believed that only Dividend Achievers were worth tracking since the dividend payment was verifiable regardless of "accounting" inconsistencies that are commonly found with "other" companies. The performance of this approach has been well documented and proven quite profitable.

However, the reality of the stock market dictates that we widen our perspective on companies that might afford significant opportunity with reduced risk. We, at NLO, decided that the Nasdaq 100 was the next obvious choice. After all, most mutual funds are bound to invest in these companies regardless of their unwillingness to pay dividend income. Additionally, companies in the Nasdaq 100 have solid reputations with higher prospects for growth over the long term.

One recent example of the benefit of tracking and research companies posted on NLO, as opposed to those from the Wall Street media machine, is Stericycle (SRCL). SRCL last appeared on our Nasdaq 100 watch list on October 30th. After being on our watchlist since the July 24th initiation of our website, SRCL has managed to climb from the low of $47.76 to the most recent high of $58. This is an increase of 18% from the July low and 21% from the October low and 11.54% from the breakout above our watch list range of being within 20% of the 52-week low.

NLO can be easily contrasted with the recent short-term buy recommendation placed on SRCL by Zack's Investment Research. In a tiny blurb issued today, Zack's Investment Research indicated that SRCL's stock had been in an oversold state based on the stochastics which indicated or implied that the stock was likely to go higher in the near term.

Unfortunately, offering up information about SRCL long after the stock has risen by at least 18% doesn't serve the small investor. After all, isn't the mantra "buy low, sell high?" It is strange to note that no analysts covering SRCL (in the following link) issued a buy recommendation on the stock after February 2004, even though there has been tremendous opportunities to buy in October 2008, February 2009, May 2009 and October 2009.

SRCL is only one of the companies that has been on the NLO Nasdaq 100 Watchlist that performed exceptionally well after getting off the list. Below are other Nasdaq 100 companies and their performance since getting within 20% of the new low:

It should be noted that the above companies are almost the entire list of companies that have appeared on the Nasdaq 100 Watch List. So far, this implies that quality Nasdaq companies could be investigated for speculative opportunities near the new low. Hopefully this approach can provide a reasonable approach to buying low with the prospect of selling higher. Follow along with us as we continue to investigate the speculative opportunities of the Nasdaq 100. -Touc

Nasdaq 100 Watch List

The following are the Nasdaq 100 members that are within 20% of the 52-week low:

  • Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL) at $55.99 within 1.16%
  • Cephalon, Inc. (CEPH) at $58.26 within 10.87%
  • Genzyme Corporation (GENZ) at $52.28 within 11.02%
  • Pharma. Products Dev. (PPDI) at $20.93 within 16.47%
  • Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) at $46.26 within 17.50%

It is interesting to note the percentage change that has occurred in last week's Nasdaq 100 watch list. Last week's list had the following one week percentage change:

  • APOL down 1.94%
  • CEPH up 6.74%
  • GENZ up 3.32%
  • PPDI down 2.88%
  • GILD up 8.72%
  • BIIB up 8.62%
  • SRCL up 3.69%
  • AMGN up 2%

The biotech/pharma sector is moving higher. As we've stated before, these companies are very undervalued at the present time. Do your research and carefully consider the opportunities. Touc.

Nasdaq 100 Watch List

The following are the Nasdaq 100 members that are within 20% of the 52-week low:

  • Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL) at $57.10 within 3.16%
  • Cephalon, Inc. (CEPH) at $54.58 within 3.86%
  • Genzyme Corporation (GENZ) at $50.60 within 7.45%
  • Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) at $42.55 within 8.08%
  • Biogen Idec Inc (BIIB) at $42.13 within 13.22%
  • Stericycle, Inc. (SRCL) at $52.37 within 18.06%
  • Amgen Inc. (AMGN) at $53.62 within 19.26%
  • Pharmaceutical Product Developm (PPDI) at $21.55 within 19.92%

The fact that all of these companies (except for APOL) are within the drug industry does not surprise me. The continued undervaluation of these companies makes them prime targets for acquisition by investors and larger drug companies. Touc.