Small Cap Stock Market Investing Tips

There may be a silent period in effect for Implant Sciences (IMSC) in relation to a potential approval by the the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for the Quantum Sniffer (QS) B220 benchtop explosive trace detection (ETD) device, but that doesn't mean 'business as usual' also has to remain silent.

As discussed last week, the B220 has already "successfully completed the certification readiness testing" with the Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL) - the testing body of the TSA - and has moved on to the "final independent validation testing for TSA qualification for air cargo screening" - hence the quiet period. While the approval and validation process is moving on behind the scenes, however, the B220 is still making a name for itself with entities not associated with the US government...

With a relatively low market cap - when considering eventual potential - and with a technology that could drastically increase the effectiveness of modern day cancer treatments, OncoSec Medical Incorporated (ONCS) may be worth watching as a growth and catalyst play that may still be trading under the speculative radar.

For developmental companies bringing new technologies, procedures and products to market in today's health care climate, a key element to success revolves around cost. Governments, companies and average people are going broke trying to keep up with their healthcare bills and the concerns behind the costs of the sector are literally crippling economies, or threatening to do so...

On August 13th, shares of Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP) hit an intra-day low of $3.66 before closing the day at $3.74. Now, just two weeks later, shares routinely trade for a buck higher while volume has modestly increased, too. The quick price spike in itself could certainly attract the attention of investors looking for a nice momentum play or trading opportunity, but the company has enough pending catalysts and developing stories in play to justify the recent price increases, and potentially more...

Through molecular imaging, therapy, and nuclear medicine, medical isotopes - a form of chemical element with the same atomic number as another element but with a different atomic mass (for the chemistry buffs out there) - are used to diagnose, manage and treat a wide variety of diseases, most notably of which may be cancer. While the precise definition of the science behind a technology is noteworthy, the average investor ideally needs to know what a technology does and how much potential it could have on the market at certain points in the future. It also helps to know the demand for a particular product or technology...

The dust has settled for shares of Sunshine Heart (SSH), and what may be left is a prime buying opportunity for investors searching the sector for another 'ground floor' technology that could potentially dominate the market for which it is intended to treat.

Earlier this summer, Sunshine shares exploded on heavy volume from three to seventeen dollars, but a pullback in price quickly ensued and a stock offering announced for seven dollars brought shares even further back to earth. Having settled below the offering price, however, and with the hype surrounding some key catalysts also having died down, this company may be worth another look...

Shares of Lpath Inc (LPTN) were moving on Monday as a key catalyst that had been expected to unfold for months finally did. The LPTN share price dropped to below the dollar mark earlier this year after the company announced that iSONEP trials would be halted due to a non-compliance issue with the FDA by the company's fill/finish contractor. There were no safety or other concerns regarding iSONEP itself, but the potential months-long trial halt created enough uncertainty in the minds of traders to spark enough of an exodus for shares to dip to below seventy cents from January's highs of well over a buck. It also didn't help, however, that a stock offering was announced right around the time of the trail halt...

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 markets finished last week on a strong note, even if a six week streak of gains was broken thanks to some mid-week downside volatility. Friday's spike was born thanks to encouraging comments from Europe indicating possibilities of additional stimulus to sure-up banks in the weaker economies, such as Spain and Portugal and further commentary from European officials that were aimed at ensuring investors that Greece will certainly remain in the euro zone (EZ). Such statements boosted the confidence of investors who have yet to become whole-heartedly convinced that a solution to the woes of the EZ will exclude the possibility of a Greek exit...

For months investors had speculated upon a key catalyst for Implant Sciences (IMSC) that could potentially launch the company into the mainstream of homeland defense and global security, but a notable update from the company on Tuesday helped turn that speculation into a swift dose of reality. It had been previously known that the Implant Sciences Quantum Sniffer (QS) B220 benchtop explosive trace detection (ETD) device was being tested by the Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL), the testing body of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), as part of an ongoing process to gain "approval" by the TSA for use in the arena of homeland defense in the United States...

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 one of the climatic scenes of 1989's baseball hit 'Field of Dreams,' Shoeless Joe Jackson offered the kid rookie - Archie "Moonlight" Graham - some advice as he took the plate at a pivotal point in his first ballgame. "He's not gonna wanna load the bases, so look low and away," noted Joe before then warning, "but watch out for in your ear," as Moonlight had just winked at the pitcher.

The markets this week are at a similar point in the summer trading season as investors have been winking at the market for months, in a mocking manner, while watching prices rise and rise on questionable fundamentals. The bullish trends that culminated in the S&P achieving highs not witnessed in years were duly noted, but it was also noted, in a deeper look, that the DOW reported two of its lowest-volumed days of the year last week. How many times can we wink at the market before potentially seeing that late-summer swoon materialize?

Investors are likely preparing for two different scenarios, just like Moonlight Graham did...

NeoStem, Inc. (NBS) reported last Wednesday that the company had received approval from a data monitoring committee to continue moving forward with its Phase II PreSERVE trial. Such an approval is a nice sign of validation for any developmental company as it looks to bring a new treatment or product to market. Regenerative medicine is predicted by many to be THE big next-generation medical breakthrough and any signs of progress in the field are heavily watched by investors...

Although the broad markets were trending lower to start the new trading week as European economic data continued to look weak, there were - as always - some exciting and encouraging stories making headlines in the markets that are worth investor interest.

While the current market dip has been modest thus far and has not caused any widespread panic that would lead to a mass exodus of investors, any decline usually offers investors the opportunity to 'average down' on their investments and pick up a few shares of companies that they are following for sometimes 'discounted' prices.

The healthcare sector in particular - given its speculative nature - is prone to more dramatic moves than most others and that volatility creates an environment that traders love. With that said, the 'buy and hold' crowd could also do quite well, if they've got the stomach to ride out the volatility and wait for the potential to play out.

With those thoughts in mind, here's a few still-developing companies that are attracting their share of interest in the healthcare sector worth keeping an eye on.....

MRI Interventions (MRIC) has been gaining traction with investors and medical professionals through the first part of 2012 with the advancement of the ClearPoint and ClearTrace MRI-enhancing technology that has thus far enabled surgeons - by providing real-time imagery during complicated procedures - to conduct less-invasive and more precise operations on the brain and heart, respectively. The technology has proven successful enough in development that Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) has already invested an up-front payment of $13 million in a partnership with MRIC while Siemens AG (SI) and Brainlab AG have also joined on to advance the technology...

Shares of Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP) were already sliding to below the four dollar mark when a recently-announced merger with Callisto Pharmaceuticals (CLSP) looked to have paved the way for a larger and more committed investor base to take up positions in the company. While that slide continued at the open of the current trading week, a Tuesday morning trial update by the company reinforces the potential of the company's flagship product, Plecanatide, in preparing to enter a multi billion dollar market...

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 US markets ended the week on a high note with the DOW having closed the week above the 13,200 mark after trading lower for most of the day on Friday. The international markets also received a nice boost this week as signs that the European economy would respond well to stimulus packages were noted while US productivity numbers were up more than expected for the most recently-completed quarter. Some sub-par Chinese export numbers threatened to kill the feel-good mood late in the trading week, but the bulls again took charge and US stocks posted their sixth day in a row of gains on Friday...

The international markets received a nice boost this week as signs that the European economy would respond well to stimulus packages were noted while US productivity numbers were up more than expected for the most recently-completed quarter. While the outlooks again look swell, however, some stocks were not faring so well as the week progressed.

Here's a look at some stocks and stories making news thus far in the week...

It has all been coming together for Sunshine Heart (SSH) over the past couple of months as some serious milestones have been met and essentially put the company on the map as a potential big player in the medical device arena, specifically in the treatment of heart failure. Already, Sunshine has received CE Mark approval in Europe for its C-Pulse Heart Assist system that treats patients of Class III and ambulatory Class IV heart failure. Additionally, the US FDA just this week authorized for use the next-generation C-Pulse device that was designed based on patient feedback from the original device and will be used in an upcoming pivotal trial in the United States that is due to commence later this year with an FDA approval in mind...

Shares of Cytosorbents Corporation (CTSO) were on the move to open the new trading week after an announcement that the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded the small company nearly four millions dollars from the Dialysis-Like Therapeutics (DLT) program to treat sepsis. The award is pending satisfactory achievement of key milestones, according to information contained within the press release...

After offering investors a solid second chance to take a look at the company during a recent share price pullback, news of a European CE Mark approval sent shares of Sunshine Heart (SSH) flying once again to close out the month of July as the company was newly positioned to capitalize on commercial sales while a North American trial geared towards an eventual FDA approval could initiate later this year in the United States. While that trial milestone is still in place and the CE Mark approval allows the company to commence registering commercial sales of its product, Sunshine received another round of milestone news to open the new trading week...

Last week's volume spike makes shares of Celsius Holdings (CELH) again a stock watch. Earlier this year the stock was bouncing between twenty and thirty cents, but recently the range has mainly been betweent thirty and forty. Although still limping along in terms of investor interest and stock exposure, the company has made some recent strides at stabilizing the cash flow and solidifying the next PR push. The logical next step would be to capitalize on that renewed PR push while looking to expand sales beyond the $2.5 million number registered last quarter...

Shares of Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP) have slipped over the past couple of weeks and are again trading at levels under the four dollar mark, prices not seen in many months beforehand. With key catalysts pending for this company later in the year and with a product in the late stages of development that could be worth billions over the long run on the open market, SGYP could be trading for quite the relative bargain at the current time. As the year progresses and the significant trial catalyst draws nearer, Synergy could be gearing up for a reversal from the current downtrend...

It's crunch time for Implant Sciences (IMSC). After months of gaining momentum on the open market with the company's Quantum Sniffer (QS) explosive trace detection (ETD) technology, the time may now be upon us to see what the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has to say in regards to an approval of the QS technology that would allow the technology to become a part of government purchases and contracts in order to boost America's ETD capabilities at home and abroad...

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.

Sometimes all it takes is a spark. In the global economic climate, there are still concerns about the viability of the Euro Zone, the price of oil still hinges on the outcome of numerous geopolitical situations in the Middle East and the signs are few that the US economy is healthy enough to move forward without facing the threat of recession again...

Although the DOW remains trading strong at over 13,000 this week - pending the outcome of some key economic data releases that could change everything - extreme volatility still exists in some areas of the market, namely the healthcare and biotech sectors where FDA approvals for some companies and substandard earnings reports by others have largely effected the trading patterns rolling into the new month of August.

Here's a look at some of the more active movers with catalysts pending that could be worth keeping an eye on moving forward...