Investors in the Israeli company Nice Systems (NICE) can breathe a sigh of relief, as their earnings came in as expected. Some traders that we had spoken to were worried about Nice’s exposure to the financial sector and how the slowdown in spending would impact the numbers. Well it turns out that their security business is doing nicely.

The company came in with revenues of $155.3 million (a record) an increase of over 20% YOY. The company also showed an increase in margins and raised revenue numbers for the rest of ‘08.

According to PR Newswire, CEO Haim Shani said, “The demand for NICE’s solutions remains strong in our two market sectors, enterprise and security, across all regions. “We continue to execute well on our strategy of leading the market with our advanced applications solutions in the enterprise sector and of winning large-scale deals in the security sector.”

All in all, a pretty NICE report.

Disclosure: Author’s fund has a position in NICE. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 8/06/08.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

NEW! Introducing Israel Opportunity Investor, our monthly subscription-only newsletter. Stay ahead of the game and make smart decisions in Israel stocks. Go here to learn more.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

Share with others:

Aaron Katsman
IsraelNewsletter.com

Amazing how your financial situation can improve if you save $5,000 an hour by being faithful to your wife. Apparently, shamed former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is flush with cash as he contemplates opening up a real estate fund focused on distressed property.

According to a report in the NY Sun: ” Late last month, the former governor of New York gathered a group of high-level Washington, D.C.-based labor union officials in a conference room at the headquarters of his father’s real estate business in Manhattan and pitched them his idea for starting such a fund.”

The report continues, “Distressed real estate funds — also known as “vulture” or, more euphemistically, “opportunity” funds — typically promise returns of more than 20% and are active in Florida, Nevada, and Southern California. They rely heavily on pension and university endowment investments. Mr. Spitzer is said to be envisioning projects valued between $100 million and $500 million.”

Instead of distressed property, Spitzer should focus on some distressed or beaten down Israeli stocks that trade in the US. After all, $5,000 can’t buy you an office building, but it can buy you 500 shares of a $10 stock. Just think, he could have a million dollar stock portfolio if he just remains faithful.

Here are 2 stocks that should draw the attention of Spitzer:

Tefron (TFR), a textile company that manufactures boutique-quality everyday seamless intimate apparel, active wear and swimwear sold throughout the world by such name-brand marketers as Victoria’s Secret, Nike (NKE), Target (TGT), and The Gap (GPS), has been crushed over the last year. The stock is down more than 70% over that time, on successive lackluster earnings reports, as well as a very weak US dollar. The company does see nice growth in their active-wear lines, so at $2.83 a share it maybe worth taking a look at. Eliot, 2 words: Lingerie and Victoria’s Secret.

Nice Systems (NICE), develops, markets, and supports integrated, scalable multimedia digital recording platforms, enhanced software applications, operational risk management software solutions, and related professional services is one of our favorites at IOI. With the stock down about 17% over the last year, investors looking for a strong growth Israeli tech play may want to potentially take a look. For Spitzer the stock must have special meaning. You see, Nice also works tracking money flows. Though not confirmed, many believe that’s a Nice product was used to track the unusual money flows that ultimately were used to break the Spitzer case. Eliot, why not try and profit from those who did you in?

Not that I have a bias towards either stock but I have a hunch that if Spitzer had to choose just one stock, I know which stock he would invest in.

According to the aforementioned article: “Mr. Spitzer works out of the Crown Building at 730 Fifth Ave., a 26-story structure his father and two other real estate investors bought in 1991 (in what turned out to be a highly lucrative investment). Playboy Enterprises leases commercial space in the building.”

Looks like Tefron it is!

Disclosure: Author’s fund has a position in Nice. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 6/12/08.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

NEW! Introducing Israel Opportunity Investor, our monthly subscription-only newsletter. Stay ahead of the game and make smart decisions in Israel stocks. Go here to learn more.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

Share with others:

Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com

Remember the 80’s Hall and Oates classic ‘Private Eyes’? Who can forget such powerful lyrics:  ”Private eyes They’re watching you They see your every move Private eyes They’re watching you Private eyes They’re watching you watching you watching you watching you.”

Well flash forward 27 years. How right they were. If you happen to be a proprietary trader or stockbroker, and you are thinking about becoming a famous rogue trader, think again. While you may get famous and bring down a huge bank like Societe Generale, your chances of landing in prison just increased. Why? Because of Israeli ingenuity.  Actimize, a NICE Systems (NICE) company has launched a surveillance product for rogue trading detection.

The company worked with financial institutions to develop a product that meets the needs of the firms.

“In response to regulatory pressure and rogue trading events in early 2008, large firms around the world are reviewing their systems and risk management processes,” said Axel Pierron, senior vice president at Celent. “Solutions, such as Actimize’s, that provide a centralized view of trading activities supervision as well as employee surveillance are clearly matching the current needs for ‘rogue trading’ prevention solutions in the financial industry.”

Long-term investors may want to  take a long look at NICE. With a continued focus on tracking money flows, even if we see a slowdown in IT spending in the financial services industry, NICE may not see that slowdown. In many cases this is becoming required spending, and slowdown or not, NICE’s product suite will be in demand. Coupled with continued strong EPS growth, NICE, potentially, maybe an interesting long-term play.

Forget about any monkey-business,  They’re watching you watching you watching you watching you ……..
 

Disclosure: Author’s fund has a position in NICE. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 5/12/08.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

NEW! Introducing Israel Opportunity Investor, our monthly subscription-only newsletter. Stay ahead of the game and make smart decisions in Israel stocks. Go here to learn more.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

Share with others:

Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com  

I would like to start by taking this opportunity to wish my wife, Yael “Nefesh B’Nefesh” Katsman, a belated happy anniversary. Our anniversary was actually yesterday, and NO I didn’t forget, we had a tasty dinner, I just didn’t mention it in the blog. Give me a little credit.

The big news of the last 24 hours is the intervention in the currency market by the Bank of Israel (BOI). Yesterday afternoon in after-market trading the Shekel/USD rate fell to approximately 3.34. Then came the news that the BOI was intervening for the first time in more than a decade, and that send the greenback back up more than 1.5%. Today, the BOI announced more intervention, and that is helping the dollar even more. Local media reports have said that the BOI wants to get the exchange rate back to at least 3.60, which is about 4% high than today.

Why the sudden move by the BOI? The shekel has been the second strongest currency in the world YTD, and the impact on exporters has been huge. Losses continue to mount for them, and the BOI needed to do something.

This move could have profound impact on some Israeli stocks that trade in the US. Companies like Alvarion (ALVR), Nice Systems(NICE), Amdocs(DOX), all do R&D in Israel and their expense lines have increased due to the strength of the shekel. The recent BOI intervention could potentially have positive ramifications on earnings for these companies.

Disclosure: Author’s fund holds a position in ALVR, NICE and DOX. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 3/14/08.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

NEW! Introducing Israel Opportunity Investor, our monthly subscription-only newsletter. Stay ahead of the game and make smart decisions in Israel stocks. Go here to learn more.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

Share with others: