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How I'm going to make smallcap stocks less scary

Judging from previous articles like this, can you guess what I'm going to write about? By now I think you should know my core beliefs-while everyone and their mother is covering the wheeling and dealings of hugely important corporations hence efficient stocks like Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), my blog's readers and I are having much more fun profiting from trading mostly short selling...well actually all short selling-smaller infinitely more inefficiently priced companies like GRO, PTEK and STXX, all of which were "pumped up" by various temporary catalysts.

For Agria Corp (NYSE: GRO), it was message board hype, PokerTek Inc (NASDAQ: PTEK) had a combination of message board hype, rumors and press coverage and South Texas Oil Co (NASDAQ: STXX) got a stock promoter mention, and now that those temporary catalysts have come and gone, all three have reversed hard off their highs. And mind you, while many pumps are accomplished on the infinitely ore sketchy OTCBB and Pink Sheet exchanges, all three of these companies are trades on more reputable markets like the NYSE and NASDAQ. And yes, I profited solidly on all three, increasing my yearly gain to around 40%.

Now I'm looking at stocks like Source Interlink (NASDAQ: SORC) as a potential short, which is up on insider buying, a catalyst I don't respect, but since there's not enough space for me to cover all the details of exactly what I look for here--it's about chart patterns, price action and volume. Today, I am doing a special Friday the 13th marathon episode of my LiveStock show. To the untrained eye, I know these small stocks seem scary, but maybe after this journey, I can help you better understand them.

Timothy Sykes writes the blog timothysykes.com, is a former hedge fund manager, star of the TV show Wall Street Warriors and author of the book, An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund

Source Interlink buys print magazines -- wrong product, wrong time

Source Interlink Cos (NASDAQ:SORC) has a big piece of several dying markets already-- CD and DVD distribution, magazine fulfillment, processing of rebate claims. Apparently, they like the direction so much they've coughed up $1.2 billion to purchase the Enthusiast Media division of Primedia (NYSE:PRM).

Included in the package are seventy magazines including big names Motor Trend, Motorcyclist, Bike and Soap Opera Digest, and a multitude of micro-niche pubs such as Dressage Today, ATV Rider and Honda Tuning. The deal also includes ninety web sites, sixty-five plus events and a couple of television shows.

The magazines didn't fit with Primedia's new emphasis on internet-based content. Last year, the company sold its hook-and-bullet mags for $170 million. It had also toyed with spinning off Enthusiast Media, but in February the board changed its mind and launched a search for a buyer.

Net revenues from Enthusiast Media have remained consistent at half a million and change for the past three years. Looking ahead at the shift of advertising dollars away from paper, the company obviously didn't see this business as an essential part of its overall strategy.

Given the struggles across the industry in making money from paper content, and the poor performance in the sector for Primedia, I'm skeptical that this is a step in the right direction for Source Interlink. There are strong brands within the titles it bought, but the value will need to be realized by transitioning to other media. And quickly. Others are already staking out their turf.

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+30.6910,464.40
NASDAQ+6.872,176.05
S&P 500+4.981,110.63

Last updated: November 26, 2009: 04:18 PM

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