Small Cap Stock Market Investing Tips

At the conclusion of each week,VFC's Stock House examines some news items, stocks and stories that made headlines during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well.

During the trading week beginning on July 9, the markets were suffering from reinvigorated talk about how Europe's economic storm could again hamper any recovery of the global markets. That wasn't the case last week, however, as repeated days of rallying markets launched the DOW back over the 13,000 mark again as headlines from Europe reinforced the worlds of top officials that have declared that the European Union is committed to solving the problems of Spain, Greece and others without threatening the viability of the Euro Zone...

Increased media coverage and a rising share price are two factors that may indicate the perfect storm is brewing around Implant Sciences (IMSC) heading into an expected critical catalyst that could prove to be the most significant event in the company's history, while also launching it into the mainstream of homeland defense and airport security...

Cytosorbents Corp (CTSO) warrants an analyst rating of 'Buy', according to Brean Murray who initiated coverage this week on CTSO as the company undertakes the commercial launch of its potentially breakthrough blood purification product, CytoSorb. Cytosorb shars were up by over twelve percent on Tuesday following the announcement of the new coverage...

Shares of Sunshine Heart (SSH) were flying during the morning hours on Wednesday after the company announced pre-market news that it had received CE Mark approval in Europe for the C-Pulse Heart Assist system in the treatment of Class III and ambulatory Class IV heart failure. Earlier this week the company had reached another milestone, announcing that it had conducted a two-year review of the first patient treated with C-Pulse in the North American feasibility trial.

The broad markets have taken an early-week swan dive, chiefly due to concern about the health and future of the European economy, but there are still some hot companies to keep an eye on as they make headlines this week.

Here's just a few of them...

The DOW dropped by over a hundred points on Monday as the broad markets failed to ward off jitters of a weakening global economy and additional economic chaos in Europe sparked by the threat of Spain and Greece each needing additional bailouts. These fears were already lingering in the minds of investors for weeks, but a weak quarterly report by McDonald's (MCD) on Monday brought these concerns to the forefront and sparked a widespread sell-off...

After recognizing a rough triple in share price in just months, shares of Implant Sciences (IMSC) had recently given up some of those gains as the traders and profit takers exited the stock, but shares rebounded by five percent on Monday morning after the company's a news reportby WCVB in Boston highlighted the company's ongoing developments and the potential for the company to launch to the forefront of the explosive trace detection (ETD) arena, notably in terms of airport security...

Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP), a company with major catalysts pending and a potential billion dollar product in the pipeline, and Callisto Pharmaceuticals (CLSP) announced on Friday that the two companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Callisto had previously held over twenty two million shares of SGYP stock and under the terms of the agreement those shares will be cancelled and Callisto shareholders, in turn, will be granted 0.17 shares of Synergy common stock for each outstanding share of Callisto common stock...

Here we go again. After laying off Europe's debt troubles and weak overall economic situation for a week or two, the headlines this weekend are again warning investors in the United States that the woes across the pond are likely to weigh down the US markets and have a negative impact on earnings. There's no debating the validity of such headlines, but it's the somewhat erratic nature of the news media that ignores such news one week only to have it become a factor the next....

Shares of Amarin Corp (AMRN) were setting new 52-week highs during early trading on Thursday as investors jumped in to take positions before next week's key date when the FDA is set to render a decision on the approval of AMR-101 for the treatment of high triglycerides. As noted earlier in the week, approval is all but assured - at least according to most investors and analysts who believe in the very strong Phase III data registered by AMR-101 - especially after a curious "gaffe" on Thursday morning, seemingly by Amarin itself, that sparked a rally and led to the setting of the new 52-week high...

Agenus Inc. (AGEN) was launched back into the spotlight late last year when news circulated the wires that the company's QS-21-Stimulon vaccine adjuvant was being used by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in a high-profile malaria vaccine that, at the time, was receiving a huge amount of media coverage thanks to some positive late stage trial results...

It had been thirteen years since the FDA approved a new weight-loss drug before Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) received the nod of approval a few weeks ago for Belviq, but it was barely thirteen minutes before the next such approval came. Vivus, Inc. (VVUS) just announced that it, too, had received approval for Qsymia, its own version of a once-daily weight-loss pill, making the weight-loss sector a very hot one right now...

With some historic news and impressive price runs recognized over the past week or so, it's apparent that the healthcare sector is the place to be right now for the more speculative, adrenaline-fueled investor. The excitement of the sector is centered around the fact that on any given day a radiant rally or dramatic drop can materialize with an expected (or sometimes not) market-moving event providing the catalyst. Generally, FDA approvals, clinical trial updates and buyouts or large partnerships are the most likely suspects behind the event-based catalysts of the sector...

Far East Energy Corp (FEEC) may be a company to keep an eye on right now. Its shares have moved higher by more than 50% over the past few weeks, propelled by volume well over the norm and backed by news that indicates additional growth and maybe bigger news may be pending.

The management team for Far East Energy is based in the United States, but the company holds very significant interests and has product sharing agreements relating to three of China’s largest coalbed methane (CBM) fields. Coalbed methane is a type of natural gas that is extracted from - you guessed it - coalbeds and burns significantly cleaner than coal, an important factor to consider as Far East looks to take advantage of the huge - and still growing - energy demands of the Chinese population...

Always one of the more exciting sectors to play for the speculative potential or raking in huge gains based on catalyst and event-driven spikes, it's already been a big week for the healthcare sector.

Here's some of the highlights and a few stocks to keep an eye on...

The drama surrounding the long-expected and much-anticipated GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) buyout of Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) is finally coming to a close. After months of posturing by both companies, Glaxo finally upped its bid to three billion dollars for HGSI, up from the original $2.6 bid of earlier this year. As a result of the revised offer, Human Genome shares were up by nearly five percent at the open of the new trading week to come in line with the valuation of the new offer...

Over the past 52 weeks shares of Capstone Turbine (CPST) have traded in a range of between eighty five cents and a buck sixty nine. Shortly before that high was set, CPST traded as high as over two bucks but retreated quickly as short interest mounted just as fast as the share price drove to two. Aside from a brief trip back towards $1.50 earlier this year, Capstone shares have been stuck at or near the one dollar mark...

Still - and again - trading for under ten cents, it's worth keeping shares of Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC) on the radar. The trading history of this stock has demonstrated to us that buys below the dime level eventually turn into decent trades, while still holding the potential to materialize into long term gains, too, as the clinical trials develop...

Much has been of late about the potential of Implant Sciences (IMSC) to quickly infiltrate the US homeland defense market with its next-generation Quantum Sniffer explosive trace detection (ETD) technology, assuming a TSA approval this summer, but not much has been discussed about the overseas possibilities for expansion, especially in regions of the world where terrorist attacks on commercial and private infrastructure loom as a daily threat - notably Africa...

Shares of Titan Pharmaceuticals (TTNP) had been trading with increased volume all month long thus far, and late last week that volume boost solidified into share price gains, too. Titan's stock opened the month of July trading at sixty five cents, but barely two weeks later shares closed last week at seventy nine cents, a significant percentage increase for those that took advantage of the dip...

Investors will be anxious during to the coming week to see if Friday's money gains will follow through into a nice early-week boost for the upcoming trading week, starting on 16 July. This week will also be a huge week for earnings, with a lot of big players potentially setting the tone for not just the week, but possibly for the rest of the summer, as well...

A new addition to the Teletouch Communications (TLLE) team announced on Tuesday is another sign that the company may be ready to 'pick up its' game and make another splash in the distribution of wireless and telecom hardware products and accessories.

Recently-settled litigation with AT&T (T) filled the company's war chest with a settlement sum of $18 million and also led to a new multi-year agreement between the two companies that should keep the partnership in tact for years to come. Following the settlement, Teletouch quickly redirected its primary business model to the sale and distribution of telecom-related hardware...

Trial results, trial initiations, FDA approval filings, peer-reviewed validation and FDA approvals are all factors that play heavily into the trading patterns of biotech and healthcare companies looking to make a mark in the sector. This is especially true for the relatively small cap, developmental companies that are dependant upon catalyst event that could propel to the 'next level,' so to say, which would launch them into the mainstream of the investing community and also potentially throw them on the radar as a possible buyout or partnership target of a larger pharmaceutical company...

By posting a share price triple since the opening months of the year on volume that has been significantly increasing along the way, Implant Sciences (IMSC) has already been labeled as a hot stock to watch, but with the most relevant potential catalysts still yet to materialize, there may be more run left in the tank...

Trading volume has been picking up quite noticeably over the past week or so for Titan Pharmaceuticals (TTNP), often a sign that news is pending or another catalyst is starting to materialize behind the scenes. In the case of Titan, the volume boost may have been attributed to an appearance in the Wall Street Journal last week, although it's debatable whether such an appearance would spark the continued run of buying we have seen...

Shares of Sunshine Heart (SSH) were on fire to open the new trading week, more than doubling in price at points during the day on monumental volume. Sunshine had been quite the lightly-traded stock before the recent outburst in trading volume, but investor attention started increasing noticeably as the company's potentially breakthrough medical device to treat heart failure, the C-Pulse Heart Assist System, advanced in development...

At the conclusion of each week,VFC's Stock House examines some news items, stocks and stories that made headlines during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well.

The news flow eased somewhat from Europe last week, forcing investors to key mainly on indications pertaining solely to the state of the US economy and its respective recovery. Jobs and unemployment numbers disappointed on that front, however, and Friday's 100-plus point drop on the DOW could be an indicator that investors also expect lackluster numbers to start pouring in from the new earnings season. Those same investors may also be taking a 'wait and see' approach regarding additional economic indicators, which should be forthcoming on Wednesday when the Fed releases its minutes...

Sunshine Heart (SSH) had been a stock to watch anyway over the past trading week thanks to growing trading volume and increased awareness about the company's novel medical device that could make a huge impact in the future treatment of Class III heart failure. Sunshine's C-Pulse Heart Assist System, as described earlier this week, is a small device that is implanted in a patient's heart, but because it is implanted outside of the bloodstream it allows quality-of-life conveniences - such as the ability to be disconnected (for showering, for example) - that could quickly make it the market leader in meeting the unmet medical need of Class III and ambulatory Class IV heart failure...

Investors impatient with the lack of information flowing from Titan Pharmaceuticals (TTNP) likely bailed out as the stock slipped below the dollar mark on large volume a couple of months ago, but there are reasons to believe that the company may again be coming back to life and may make an attempt to push the share price back above the buck barometer...

Still a potential growth story based on a few recently realized developments, Teletouch Communications (TLLE) continues to trade under the radar while solidifying its redirected business plan that heavily emphasizes distribution and hardware sales, mainly through the company's primary subsidiary.

The refocused plan was met with early success...

Shares of MRI Interventions (MRIC) have provided the fireworks for the Fourth of July holiday. Propelled by a late week jump last week, volume and price are both on fire and shares have nearly tripled in just seven trading days. The quick influx of volume could be a loud indicator that investors have become clued in to the real potential of MRIC's technology to move into the mainstream of less-invasive surgeries of the brain and heart...

Earnings and revenue have been significantly on the rise over the past few quarters for Capstone Turbine (CPST), the maker of green and clean, low-emission microturbine units, and margins have also improved as the company eats its way through a large backlog of orders, but the share price has hardly budged from the dollar mark as investors still wait for more sure signs that profitability is in the bag...

Speculation had it that Celsius Holdings (CELH) - maker of the Celsius calorie-burning, pre-workout beverage - would look to reignite its image and marketing campaign when the company landed 5WPR to conduct its public relations moving forward. Little was heard from either entity since the 5WPR announcement, but Celsius did provide evidence that its revenue flow had stabilized - although not grown much - over the past few quarters, giving investors more of an indication that the volatile and unpredictable sales reports of old might be in the rear view mirror...

Sunshine Heart Inc (SSH) is another little company that has positioned itself to make a monumental difference in the world of medicine. Having developed the C-Pulse Heart Assist System, a device small enough to be implanted in the heart with minimally-invasive surgery, Sunshine may have made a breakthrough is controlling - if not outright reversing - the effects of Class III and Ambulatory Class IV heart failure...

MRI Interventions, Inc (MRIC) has become a hot stock to watch lately as investors have clued in on the company's potential to become a major player in the trend towards more non-invasive surgical procedures. The company already has a foothold in the sector with an FDA-cleared medical device, ClearPoint, which is already "used to perform minimally invasive surgical procedures in the brain guided by intraoperative MR imaging," according to the company website and other publicly-available information...

Having soared to heights that made shares of Implant Sciences (IMSC) a triple in quick time, the stock experienced a pullback on Friday as the day, momentum and swing traders likely pulled some profits from the table and went looking for the next quick runner. The retracement continued on Monday with shares dropping another eight percent to close the day at $1.32, still up significantly from just a few weeks ago...

At the conclusion of each week,VFC's Stock House examines some news items, stocks and stories that made headlines during the previous trading week, but may also make headlines or influence trends during the upcoming week as well.

Another quarter is in the books, and boy did this one end with flair. After weeks of fluctuation and volatility thanks to the ups-and-downs of the European debt crisis, the US markets soared by over two percent on Friday as some definitive plans look to have been formulated at last week's European Summit that should all but erase any remaining uncertainty that the Euro Zone (EZ) can - and will - be saved...