Spain Helps For The Purchase Of Efficient Cars

"Plan of aid for the purchase of efficient cars" is a new law that the Spanish government, headed by its president Mariano Rajoy, passed last Thursday. The plan provides incentives of 2,000 euros for the purchase of a car in exchange of leaving a car of more than twelve years. But that amount could ascend up to 8,000 euros in the case of the hybrid and electric vehicles during the months of October and November. These new aid in the current situation that is happening Spain lack logic. The biggest problem of the Spanish economy is the unemployment rate in September was about 25% of the population.
Meanwhile, remains in effect until the next November 30, "the program to aid in the purchase of these vehicles" that regulates the RD 648/2011 of May 9, and it was extended on 18 November of last year, according to the following ratio:

- 2,000 euros for vehicles with electrical autonomy of 15 and 40 kilometers.
- 4,000 euros for vehicles with electrical autonomy of between 40 and 90 kilometers
- 6,000 euros for vehicles with electrical autonomy of 90 km or more.

Remember that RD 648/2011 is an ancient law dated 9 May, 2011 which is still in effect until November 18, 2012. These are two different laws. These two laws can be applied simultaneously.
In this way, with the entry into force of the PIVE (Plan of aid for the purchase of efficient cars) this Monday, until the next November 30 the two aforementioned incentive programs to the purchase of hybrid and electric cars will coexist.

However, the registrations of new passenger cars in September have confirmed that this was the worst month of the Spanish automobile market, with a record of 35,146 units. This data, according to the manufacturers of automobile associations (Anfac) and sellers (Gamvan), a decrease of 38.6 % on the 55,572 registrations of the same month in 2011. These data demonstrate that the aid that predicts the Spanish state are directed to reactive the purchase of new vehicles.
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The data of the registrations for September are known coinciding with the entry into force of the Plan PIVE of aid for the purchase of cars, which, according to Anfac and scouting locations, will allow the Spanish State to collect three euros for every euro invested. The program is EUR 75 million of budget.


Historical Chart "Car Sales in Spain"

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In this graph can be checked as during the months of October and November sales of vehicles started a new impetus. This new law will support moderately the recovery of the sector.

Ford Motor Co. (F), General Motors Company (GM), PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUGY.PK), Suzuki Motor Corp (SZKMF.PK), Kia Motors Corp. (KIMTF.PK), Volkswagen AG (VLKAY.PK) SAAB AB, Toyota Motor Corporation (TM), Tata Motors Limited (TTM), BMW, Renault are the most favored companies because of its strong position in Spain.

Conclusion

This new law could allow companies in the sector to recover the lost sales of the year during the months of October and November but the situation in Spain is on the edge of the economic abyss. The country will likely begin the steps to request a rescue to the European Union.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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2 Stocks Upgraded On October 5 To Consider

Speculating on companies whose ratings have been recently changed by analysts can be a good short-term strategy. Normally, companies will see increases in their prices after these changes. The ratings are updated daily and can therefore change daily. They can change because of a change in the analyst's estimate of the stock's fair value, a change in the analyst's assessment of a company's business risk, or a combination of any of these factors. 

I assessed companies which were upgraded on October 5, and I chose the two companies with a change in ratings to consider.
The companies with significant changes are:

• Informatica Corporation (INFA) changed rating from neutral to buy.
• The Pep Boys—Manny, Moe & Jack (PBY) changed rating from hold to buy.

An upgrade generally tends to increase the price while a downgrade does the opposite. However, it is not only the change but the reason for the change that is important to understand. I have chosen these two companies because the analysts have commented on the reasons why they have changed the ratings which let me do a better analysis.

These two stocks are valued for the change from sell, hold, market perform or neutral to buy or strong buy. It is considered a very significant change because ratings had remained static for a long time. This change has to strongly favor the valuation of the companies mentioned above as well as the vision of future investors. Normally, these changes for the better are due to lower debt and improvement of the companies' cash. These are two keys to perform a follow-up or think in any purchase of these stocks.
Here is a look at the two stocks:

Informatica Corporation

Informatica Corporation provides enterprise data integration and data quality software and services worldwide. The company offers PowerCenter, which integrates data virtually from business systems in various formats and delivers that data throughout the enterprise; PowerExchange that enables information technology organizations to access the sources of enterprise data without having to develop custom data access programs and Data Services for finding, integrating and managing data in the enterprise.
Informatica Corporation has a market cap of $2.94 Billion and an enterprise value of $2.26 Billion. Its trailing P/E is 26.53, and its forward P/E is just 16.43. Informatica's estimated growth rate for this year is 27.17%. It has a total cash position on its balance sheet of just $565.28 Million, and its total debt is at 0. So, its total debt/equity is just 0.

New Rating

Nomura Securities upgraded Informatica from Neutral to Buy but cut its price target from $38 to $33
Analyst at Nomura Securities, Rick Sherlund, said:

"This will likely take several quarters to get through, although we like the current risk / reward in the stock. New sales management is in transition and the recovery in license revenues will likely take several quarters."

My Rating and Technical Analysis

Informatica Corporation's revenue / EPS estimates for 2012 and 2013 are now $798 / $1.28 and $865 / $1.40 versus estimates prior to the pre-announcement of $827 / $1.45 and $930 / $1.63, respectively. Nomura analysts expect improved earnings in the medium term. They base their opinion on the sales growth on the consolidation of new licenses. Although Nomura has cut its target price of Informatica Corporation, I do not find logical foundations to support its position because Informatica has cut its estimates of annual sales at 3% for 2012 and 2013. The most important risk on this stock is that the company's quarter revenues do not have the market's expected increase.

 













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From a technical standpoint, this stock is currently trading below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock plunged from its April high of $54.49 to a recent low in October of $23.83. If you are bullish on this stock, I would look to be a buyer on the next high-volume move above some near-term overhead resistance at $27.74 a share. Look for volume that's tracking in close to or above its three-month average action of 3,013,479 shares.

The Pep Boys—Manny, Moe & Jack

The Pep Boys—Manny, Moe & Jack together with its subsidiaries, provides automotive repair and maintenance services, tires, parts, and accessories. Its product lines consist of tires; batteries; new and remanufactured parts for vehicles; chemicals and maintenance items; fashion, electronic, and performance accessories; and non-automotive merchandise, such as generators, power tools, and personal transportation products.

The company has a market cap of $544.21 Million and an enterprise value of $697.67M Million. This stock trades at a cheap valuation. Its trailing P/E is 14.88, and its forward P/E is just 16.30. The Pep BoysManny's estimated growth rate for this year is 36.96%. It has a total cash position on its balance sheet of just $150.83 Million, and its total debt is at $304.25 Million. So, its total debt/equity is just 55.99.

New Rating
Benchmark upgraded Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack from Hold to Buy with a price target of $12.00 (from $10.00).

Analyst at Benchmark, Ronald Bookbinder, said:

"We believe an improving tire profit environment and a possible debt refinance could provide catalysts for earnings improvement, despite weakness on discretionary items. We believe the tire profit margin environment has started to show improvement with further improvement coming in Q4. The balance sheet is strong, as the Company builds cash to pay down and refinance debt."

My Rating and Technical Analysis
Benchmark expects a growth in sales of tires in the Q4. The financial position of the company is going through hard times due to the high debt. If the company achieves a refinancing of debt, stock's prices could be higher, but the most important risk is that the company's quarter revenues do not have the market's expected increase. In my opinion, the risk/return is not attractive. I would expect a growth on sales in the next financial report.

 













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From a technical standpoint, this stock is currently trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock plunged from its February high of $15.46 to a recent low in June of $8.31. After hitting that low, the stock bounced to its current price of $10.27. If you are bullish on this stock, I would look to be a buyer on the next high-volume move above some near-term overhead resistance at $10.45 a share. Look for volume that's tracking in close to or above its three-month average action of 595,255shares.

*Chart data sourced from finviz.com, all other data sourced from yahoo.com.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Neomedia Technologies: Apple and Microsoft be interested?

A consortium formed by Microsoft and Apple might be interested in several patents for the company Neomedia (OTC:NEOM) suggest different people within the sector. It must be remembered that the company Neomedia technologies has more than 500 patents that could be valued according to some experts in more than $500MM. This reason could give an explanation to the strong increase in volume that leads the company in the last four days. This reason could assess the company Neomedia in more than $800MM.

About Neomedia Technologies
NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. (NeoMedia) utilizes the mobile phone by leveraging barcodes (printed symbols) as a mechanism to link brands, advertisers, carriers, retailers and consumers using the mobile Internet. With the barcode ecosystem technology, NeoMedia transforms mobile phones with cameras into barcode scanners, which provide instant access to mobile Web content whenever a barcode is scanned. NeoMedia provides the infrastructure to facilitate mobile barcode scanning and its associated commerce globally. The mobile barcode ecosystem software reads and transmits data from one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) barcodes to its intended destination. The code management and clearinghouse platforms create, connect, record, and transmit the transactions embedded in the barcodes. In order to provide mobile marketing solutions, NeoMedia also offers barcode scanning hardware that reads barcodes displayed on mobile phone screens.

Disclosure: I am long NEOM..


Additional disclosure: This article is intended for informational and entertainment use only and should not be construed as professional investment advice. Always do you own complete due diligence before buying and selling any stock.

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3 Biotech Stocks Undervalued

Approaching the ASCO conference is a good opportunity to take positions in 3 biotechnology companies undervalued. Every year the percentage of return and growth as they approach this time is usually high.

Telik, Inc. (TELK), The price to book ratio is 0.50. The company has a drug in Phase 2 TELINTRA ® Trial in Myelodysplastic Syndrome, in Phase 2 Trial in Severe Chronic Neutropenia and Phase 1 Combination Trial with Revlimid in Myelodysplastic Syndrome. He also continues his research in Telcyta ® while in Phase 2 trial using Telcyta ® in MCL, DLBCL & MM.


Columbia Laboratories Inc. (CBRX) The price to sales ratio is 1.76. The company has Prochieve ® 8% (Reduction of Risk of preterm birth in women with short uterine cervical length in the mid-trimester of pregnancy and NDA filed April 2011), COL-1777 Indication: Gynecological Procedures Associated with pain in Phase II and COL -2401 for bacterial vaginosis (Pre-clinical)


BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BPAX) The price to book ratio is 4.14. The company has in Phase III LibiGel ® Efficacy Results, Cancer Vaccines: Chronic Myeloid Leukemia CML in Phase II clinical trial, Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in Phase II and Phase II Pancreatic Cancer in, The Pill-Plus ™ is an oral Currently in Development contraceptive in Phase II.


Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

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