Emerson's share price has been absolutely punished over the last month and a half. Its been punished so much in fact that it got knocked below its net current asset value of $2.45 per share. It is now trading for $1.42. The stock price has been "a Walmart" over the past few years,pretty flat. There is this concept that if you surround yourself with the right people and put yourself in the best position for success something positive is bound to happen. I think it is more likely for things to get better for Emerson given their presence and strong balance sheet. New leadership might help to. The deal with Mattel is a positive and they are gaining share in microwaves. Will this company be around in 50 years? I doubt it but they have managed to stick around since 1912.

full disclosure: no position in Emerson Radio (MSN)
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Greatest Investment Quotes of All Time


What a great day on Wallstreet.
LJ International (JADE) was up 44%. The potential for real big returns is what is so great about small-caps. How many months and years is it going to take for most S&P 500 stocks to double?

It is starting to look like a quick recovery and miss of a recession based on the accumulation of financials. I would tread very carefully though with financials and homebuilders.
I'm almost surprised to see the poll turning out the way it is. I guess everyone read This Article.



full disclosure: long LJ International (JADE)
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I am excited to see this company so inexpensive. Not only is Tandy Brands at a steep discount to book, it is a NCAV stock. In other words, it is selling for less than its net current assets less all liabilities. The stock last traded for $9.37 and has a net current asset value of $10.50. Only $3.5 million of this is in cash and some inventory will get marked down. However, there is no value being reflected in the stock for the value of goodwill like trademarks, buildings etc. ceteris paribus.

To sweeten things up, they even pay a dividend! They have paid dividends for 18 consecutive quarters. The dividend was increased to $.04 a quarter just this February. They are working on focusing on products with higher margins. I wouldn't be surprised to see the stock suffer some more. If it continues there may be a buyout and definitely a good price to pick up a good company in a hated industry right now.


It has been a busy December so far. Don't Miss These.

Looking for a Multibagger?: Directed Electronics, Inc. (DEIX)

Deep Value Stocks To Keep an Eye On

Long Best Buy, Short Circuit City: As of Now I'm Up 33% in the Contest

And Don't Forget to Cruise

November's Best: The Ones You Can't Miss


full disclosure: no position in Tandy Brands Accessories (TBAC)
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I first covered DEIX when it was selling for a $1 and change. Since then it is up 100% as it is making new highs above $2 on very, very heavy volume. I think on the 27th volume was over 2 million and average volume was 200,000. All the uncertain news was priced in at $1 and there was no where left for it to go but up after they got a favorable extension with Sirius Radio. Their debt is a little questionable though. I think the main reason the stock had been selling off from $15 to $.99 was uncertainty with the XM and Sirius merger. Directed has market share and they should be making product for Sirius for months and years to come. As a contrarian it doesn't get much better. Huge uncertainty that is overblown and huge upside. Of course, it would have been nice if Directed had zero long-term debt or was a $1 for $.60 asset wise but I'll take the possibility of a 3 bagger.



full disclosure: long Directed Electronics (DEIX)

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Ashworth Inc. (ASHW)

They make golf sports clothing. ASHW has grown shareholder equity over the last 3 years while paying down debt. Its a good thing to see rising shareholder equity without the use of excessive debt. It came to my attention because it recently was a NCAV stock, just barely and not for long though. A company like this doesn't deserve to be that discounted to its assets. Net Current Asset Value is $37 million and a recent quote puts the market cap at $56 million. This October they got a new CEO.

"Allan H. Fletcher joined the Company on October 24, 2007 as the Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Fletcher is the founder of Fletcher Leisure Group, Inc. ("FLG"), which has been one of Canada's leading suppliers of branded golf apparel, sportswear and golf equipment for over 40 years and is a long-standing business partner of the Company." http://www.ashworthinc.com/main.php?c=investor


Synthetech Inc. (NZYM.OB)

They make amino acids for pharmaceutical companies. Its products are used in drugs for aids, cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases. They don't have any long-term debt and a market cap of $8 mil. I haven't figured out what caused the panic to set in to make it fall from a high of $1.10 on July 31st to fall to $.65 on August 16th yet. Maybe history will repeat itself with NZYM like it did with DEIX. After I put up DEIX at about 1am the same morning it rose 60% when trading began. I really doubt it though. There were already some buyers picking up NZYM at its low.



full disclosure: no position in Ashworth Inc. (ASHW) and Synthetech Inc. (NZYM.OB). Long Directed Electronics, Inc. (DEIX)
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Best Buy vs Circuit City
I had some nervousness about my long Best Buy and short Circuit City trade at collegeanalysts.com because my expertise hasn't been in shorting and investing in a short time window. Rather, as long as it takes for the value to be recognized or something to go so sour or change my thesis. All the trades and The old contest update. As of now I am in the lead but who knows what will happen. This is a close contest to watch between three talented investors.

I felt confident that by sticking to the fundamentals eventually my thesis would play out and it has. Best Buy (BBY) isn't the most volatile stock. I would expect this new upward price trend that has knocked it up around $51 to hold. Circuit City's (CC) cost cuts in a desperate attempt will help their short-term profitability and may affect investors opinion short-term. We will see if firing their best, highest paid floor staff helps.

What could go wrong for these trades is Best Buy misses earnings or gives a weak outlook and Circuit City turns into a value-trap. CC has been a good short opening at $7.89 on October first and closing at $6.47 today.

The Circuit City vs Best Buy trade thesis


full disclosure: no position in Best Buy (BBY) and Circuit City (CC)
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