Posts for Ticker ‘MOVE’

Rock Star Bono Gets Pole-Axed By Elevations Partners (MOVE)(PALM)

R218533_855025_3Rock star Bono must be a lot less well off financially than he was two years ago. He must also wish he never met Roger McNamee, who runs private equity firm Elevation Partners where Bono is one of the five professionals who run the firm. Hard to say whether he really spends any time on the job.

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Posted on: December 4, 2008 – 9:57 am in Private Equity, ,

Bankrate Earnings Will Be Closely Watched By Traders (RATE, MOVE, TSCM)

On Tuesday, we’ll get to see earnings out of Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ:RATE). The estimates from First Call for the internet-based consumer banking company are $0.39 EPS on $26.84 million in revenues.  Estimates for fiscal 2008 are $1.96 EPS on $142.76 million in revenues.

Analysts have an average price target north of $56.00, which is right in line with current share prices.   If Friday’s closing prices are any indicator and if the earnings were coming out immediately, it appears that options traders would be pricing in a move of up to $4.00 in either direction.

It will be interesting to see if the company even mentions the new competition coming soon from TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) as it pursues its new MainStreet.com push in 2008.  We still think it was wiser for the company to partner with Move.com (NASDAQ: MOVE) like it did rather than to acquire it, and this will be the first quarter to reflect any of those efforts.

Bankrate’s 52-week trading range is $32.70 to $56.04 and this one has been doing incredibly well considering its market.  In fact, Friday was yet another 52-week high.

Jon C. Ogg
February 3, 2008

Posted on: February 3, 2008 – 7:51 am in Earnings, Financial Stocks, Internet, , ,

The Week of Share Buybacks (9/18/07) (MVSN, BRC, MOVE, LCRY, ZVUE, CHINA, AHO, BCO)

Macrovision Corp. (NASDAQ:MVSN) completed its $100 Million Share Repurchase; Board Authorizes Additional $60 Million Share Repurchase.

Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC) announced that its Board of Directors authorized a share buyback program for up to 1 million shares of the Company’s common stock.

MONDAY 9/17/2007

Move, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE) announced that its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $50 million of its common stock.

LeCroy Corporation (NASDAQ: LCRY) announced that as part of its currently authorized share repurchase program, that this week it intends to commence open-market share repurchases under its share repurchase plan. In May 2006, LeCroy’s Board of Directors approved the adoption of a share repurchase plan authorizing the Company to purchase up to two million shares of its common stock. To date, LeCroy has purchased approximately one million shares under the plan. LeCroy has not purchased any shares since October 2006 when it acquired 850,000 Company shares in connection with the issuance of $72 million 4% convertible notes.

HandHeld Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVUE) announced that its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 1 million shares of HandHeld’s common stock, or approximately 6% of shares currently outstanding, over the following six months.

Rocket City Enterprises, Inc. (Pink Sheets:RCTY) announced that will be initiating a stock purchase program beginning immediately. The purchases will occur from time to time at the Company’s discretion.  No shares were noted as the amount, so congratulations.

CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA) said that since September 7, 2007, the date the company re-opened its trading window, the company and its subsidiaries have repurchased approximately 916,000 common shares at an average price of U.S.$7.42 per share. Since the beginning of the share repurchase program on May 2, 2006, the company has spent an aggregate of U.S.$46.8 million in connection with repurchases of the total U.S.$60 million authorized. In addition, company insiders have purchased approximately 200,000 shares, at a total value of more than U.S. $1.4 million, since September 7.

Ahold (NYSE:AHO) has repurchased 11,702,830 of its own common shares in the period from September 10, 2007 up to and including September 14, 2007. Shares were repurchased at an average price of EUR 10.1821 per share for a total amount of EUR 119.2 million. These repurchases were made as part of the EUR 1 billion share buyback program announced on August 30, 2007.  The total number of shares repurchased under this program to date is 22,258,162 common shares for a total consideration of EUR 225.7 million.

Last Friday, September 14, 2007, Brinks Co. (NYSE:BCO) capitulated.  It announced a new $100 million share buyback program, which represents just under 2 million shares at the current prices.  We feel this is the first of many possibilities that will reinvigorate shareholder values.  As such, this progressed from a watch list to an active stock in our "SPECIAL SITUATION INVESTING NEWSLETTER" which can be applied for in a trial on the link.  We offered what we feel is a more than satisfactory price target with upside, gave the reason and logic behind the call, and even went as far as offering a hedging solution with appropriate stock options for added downside protection.

If you enjoy reading about share buybacks, tune in daily around 6:00 to 7:00 PM EST as we update share buybacks every second or third day.

Jon C. Ogg produces the 24/7 Wall St., LLC Special Situation Investing Newsletter; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: September 18, 2007 – 9:55 pm in Stock Buybacks, , , , , , , , , ,

Bankrate & Move: Cheaper To Partner Than Merge (RATE, MOVE)

Bankrate, Inc. (NASDAQ:RATE) And Move, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE) have announced a distribution agreement for Bankrate to be the provider of mortgage and home equity rate data on the Move network of Web sites. Move will also make select content in the form of Bankrate articles and features available to the millions of monthly users on its network.

Just a year ago these companies would have (or maybe could have) likelyjust considered an outright merger.  But with Move being so much moretied specifically to real estate you can’t blame Bankrate for justwanting to partner with them.  In uncertain times for key aspects ofeach company’s operations, for now at least, it is cheaper to partnerthan it is to actually acquire.  This effort costs basically nothing,while merging two companies like this could be more than complicated inan environment where online financial companies have to watch theirbottom line closer than ever.

Bankrates’s market cap is $724 million and Move’s market cap is $441 million. Bankrate shares closed Wednesday at $39.37, and its 52-week trading range is $25.16 to $53.14.  Move shares closed Wednesday at $2.84, and its 52-week trading range is $2.36 to $6.69.

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he produces the 24/7 Wall St. SPECIAL SITUATION INVESTING NEWSLETTER and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: September 6, 2007 – 8:30 am in Financial Stocks, Internet, Mergers and Buy Outs, ,