Written by: Aaron Katsman | September 25, 2008
Belated Happy B-day wishes out to Zack “Juiceman” Miller. We were a bit late with this one but with all the volatility in the markets it sort of slipped my mind. For thsoe of us who take a birthday seriously, it’s a time not only to reflect on the past, but more importantly, to look ahead to the future. What do you want to accomplish in the upcoming 12 months?
For investors the previous 12 months have been a disaster with major market averages off about 25% in the US, and some Israeli averages down more than 50%.
Obviously no one can predict the future, but let’s hope that this coming year for Zack will also be a blessing for investors.
Back when I was in high school, I worked for a company in sales and we used to go around to businesses and sell books. We used to have a sales/motivational meeting each morning before heading out to our territory. At the end of each meeting we started doing a chant. The theme of the chant centered on the word juice. The word juice was an acronym for ‘join us in creating excitement.’
Let’s hope that we can get a bit of upside excitement this year. Happy b-day.
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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.
Written by: Aaron Katsman | May 30, 2008
Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com
Shares in networking chip vendor Marvell Technology (MRVL) are surging on the back of a very strong earnings report. As reported by Tiernan Ray: “sales rose 27% year-over-year to $804 million in its fiscal first quarter ending May 3, beating an average estimate of $784 million. The company’s net income per diluted share of 24 cents, excluding some costs, was almost five times as high as the year-earlier period, and well ahead of estimates of 13 cents per share. Including costs for stock-based-compensation, among other things, profit was 11 cents a share. The company cited stronger than expected sales of “802.11N” wireless router chips, chips for networked disk drives, and printer chips among the sources of higher-than-expected revenue in the quarter. Cost-cutting initiatives helped Marvell boost its gross profit as a percentage of sales to 52%, above the company’s 50% target.”
As colleague Zack Miller posted in December, ” It’s definitely a stock with hair on it. But after taking a recent haircut, it may be an interesting, albeit drawn-out, play.”
How right he was. Giddy Up. It seems that the company’s ambitous turnaround plan has taken hold and we are starting to see the results. Improving margins, the aforementioned launch of the 3G Blackberry, new products and cost cutting all could possibly help the stock get back on track.
As IOI wrote a few months ago, the fact that the former hi-flyer came crahsing down to earth, potentially made for an attractive entry point for the stock. I don’t want to toot our own horn, but with Miller’s Decemeber call and our February post, it’s nice to be right once in a while!
If you are a long-term investor, looking to find a battered tech name that has the potential to make a turnaround, do some research on Marvell.
Disclosure: Author’s fund holds a position in MRVL. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 5/30/08.
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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.
Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com
If “Initiative 97″ makes it on the ballot in the fall, citizens of Seattle will be asked to approve a measure that would prohibit the city from investing its pension funds in corporations that benefit from the Iraq war, or companies that provide material support to the Israeli government within the so-called “occupied territories.” The opposition to the initiative is being led by StandWithUs.org. It strikes me as a bit odd that a measure that seems to be intended to protest the U.S. Iraq policy also includes divestment from Israel.
Why the connection?
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