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Brandy Betz

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  • 3 Drug Companies That Want to Lose

    By Brandy Betz - August 19, 2012 | Tickers: ARNA, OREX, VVUS

    There are three pharmaceutical companies that have achieved over 200% increases this year but are hoping to encourage losses. No, it’s not a riddle: Arena (NASDAQ: ARNA), Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS), and Orexigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OREX) are all competing in the reemerging obesity drug market.

    Investors are optimistic about this new batch of drugs. ARNA’s Belviq, which received FDA approval in June, was the first long-term weight loss treatment more »

  • Is This Mobile Ad Company Going Places?

    By Brandy Betz - August 13, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, MM

    Global mobile ad spending will reach $6.43 billion this year, according to a recent study from research firm eMarketer. The firm predicts a 96.6% spending increase in the U.S. alone, which would account for $2.29 billion of the global total and push the nation to the forefront of shelling out mobile moolah. The surge forward is impressive, but worldwide mobile ads will still account for only more »

  • Facebook's Ad Problems Add Up (Part 2)

    By Brandy Betz - August 8, 2012 | Tickers: FB, ZNGA

    (Read Part 1)

    “Mobile” has been a buzzword among Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) insiders and supporters. The suggestion is that the mobile sphere has potential for large future profits since Facebook has only just started monetizing that sector. While it’s certainly possible that FB will eventually come up with a winning mobile strategy, it hasn’t hit upon it quite yet.

    A solution needs to come and it needs to more »

  • Facebook's Ad Problems Add Up (Part 1)

    By Brandy Betz - August 8, 2012 | Tickers: FB, GM, GOOG, ZNGA

    Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) shares hit record lows last week, dipping below $20 for the first time since its IPO launch, following its second quarter report and a handful of negative news stories. Investors didn’t like what was displayed and continued the pessimism throughout the week. There was good reason for that – the ad problems are adding up.

    Second quarter revenues were $1.18 billion. Advertising accounted for 84% of more »

  • Zynga's Monetization: Less Money, Mo' Problems

    By Brandy Betz - August 2, 2012 | Tickers: FB, ZNGA

    I’ve written before about Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA)’s struggles and how investors no longer trust the company. Last week’s second quarter report sent shares to historic lows, hovering in the $3 range. That’s 70% lower than the IPO price of $10 and 33x earnings, using FY11’s revenues and the more generous end of Zynga’s lowered EPS estimates for FY12.

    Arguments can be made about Zynga more »

  • IPO Profile: Five Below

    By Brandy Betz - July 31, 2012 | Tickers: DLTR, FDO, FIVE

    Tech industry investors have learned recently that strong looking IPOs can flop spectacularly in the long-run (see: Zynga). But it isn’t just the digital debuts that should be examined with a cautious eye. Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE), an entrant to the Specialty Retailer industry, debuted its IPO on July 19, raising $163 million on 9.6 million shares priced at $17. Five Below had raised its price from an more »

  • The Dismantling of Digg

    By Brandy Betz - July 19, 2012 | Tickers: LNKD, WPO, YELP

    Tech news sites lit up last week when it was reported that social content site Digg, once a digital wunderkind with a valuation around $160 million, had sold to NYC tech firm Betaworks for the bargain basement price of $500,000. While that price is reportedly accurate, it isn’t the full story. The dismantling and demise of Digg should serve as a lesson to other startups that lack a more »

  • Why Does Samsung Make Apple Nervous? (Part 1)

    By Brandy Betz - July 12, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, MSFT

    Tech companies pursue patent disputes so often it can almost seem like habit. But there’s been a large step forward in a patent dispute that has gone on for months, in countries around the world. The battle involves Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)’s claims that Samsung is infringing on the iPhone with its Android-powered Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Apple will likely lose in the long run but its increased efforts to more »

  • Investors Don't Trust Zynga

    By Brandy Betz - July 2, 2012 | Tickers: FB, ZNGA

    I’m about to say something negative about Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA).  I’ve done that once or twice before. In the interest of brushing off a dead horse before it’s kicked, let me say upfront that I don’t have any grudge against the company. I’ve played some of its games and enjoyed them. The company habit of ripping off smaller titles is a bit smarmy but not more »

  • What Does Windows Phone 8 Mean for Nokia? (Part 2)

    By Brandy Betz - July 2, 2012 | Tickers: MSFT, NOK

    We return to the tale of woe that is Nokia (NYSE: NOK). First, a brief recap of Part 1: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced that the Windows 7 phones, such as the newly released Nokia Lumia 900, will not receive a Windows 8 upgrade. There were also rumors, since shot down by Microsoft, that MSFT was planning to make its own Windows Phone devices. The simple truth is that this flub more »

  • What Does Windows Phone 8 Mean for Nokia? (Part 1)

    By Brandy Betz - June 26, 2012 | Tickers: MSFT, NOK

    Osborne Effect: (n) Negative sales consequences for current products following the announcement of a future product.

    Nokia Lumia 900: (n) Fresh victim of the Osborne Effect.

    Struggling mobile device manufacturer Nokia (NYSE: NOK) took a gamble last year and opted to ditch its antiquated-but-proprietary operating system, Symbian, in favor of the Windows Phone OS from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). That seemed like a good plan. Finland-based Nokia needed to do something more »

  • Earnings Lowdown: Sonic

    By Brandy Betz - June 25, 2012 | Tickers: MCD, SONC

    Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC), the drive-in restaurant chain boasting over 3,500 locations in 43 states,  reported its third quarter last Wednesday. Shares were up $0.16 to $9.50 in after-hours trading that day and closed out Thursday up 2.89% to $9.61. What did the company report to get that raise?

    Earnings: Nuts & Bolts

    Total revenue was down nearly 2%, year-over-year, from $152.1 million to $149 more »

  • Earnings Lowdown: Bed Bath & Beyond

    By Brandy Betz - June 22, 2012 | Tickers: BBBY, PIR, WSM

    Home furnishing mega chain Bed & Bath and Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) reported its first quarter FY2012 after market close on Wednesday. The report comes after twelve quarters of positive, double-digit EPS growth. It also follows the announced acquisitions of Cost Plus ($550 million) and Linen Holdings LLC ($105 million), the company’s first acquisitions since 2007 and moves that were generally well received by investors.

    And yet the stock was down more »

  • Kraft's Move May Increase Nasdaq Confidence

    By Brandy Betz - June 18, 2012 | Tickers: KRFT, NDAQ, NYX

    After weeks of questions surrounding its handling of the Facebook IPO, Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) finally got a bit of good press. Kraft (NASDAQ: KRFT) announced that it will move from the NYSE (NYSE: NYX) to Nasdaq, effective June 26. Kraft’s symbol will remain the same until a planned company separation, expected by the end of the year, when Kraft will switch to KFRT and the newly created snack food more »

  • Cricket Offers First Contract-Free iPhones

    By Brandy Betz - June 4, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, T, LEAP, S, VZ

    Cricket, the discount prepaid mobile subsidiary of Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP), is set to become the first carrier to offer a prepaid Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, with the devices becoming available this month. The phones will be a game changer as the low price, no contract plans change how the device subsidies are handled, compared to the big three iPhone retailers of AT&T (NYSE: T), Sprint (NYSE: S), and more »

  • PayPal Expands Mobile Payment Program

    By Brandy Betz - May 29, 2012 | Tickers: EBAY, GOOG, PAY

    PayPal, a subsidiary of eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), has announced two new partnerships that will bring the company’s mobile payment system to the register systems currently in many brick and mortar stores. VeriFone Systems (NYSE: PAY) and Equinox Payments are the point-of-sale system manufacturers that will help PayPal spread its mobile mission.

    VeriFone machines include 80% of the top 200 largest retailers in the US. Equinox is used by three more »

  • Bed Bath & Beyond's $500 Million Acquisition

    By Brandy Betz - May 29, 2012 | Tickers: BBBY, CPWM, PIR, WSM

    Bed, Bath and Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) announced earlier this month that it will pay around $550 million to acquire its smaller competitor Cost Plus (NASDAQ: CPWM). The acquisition is meant to broaden BBBY’s product base, pushing it further from competitors including Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) and Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM).

    The two companies have a history together, with four Cost Plus stands opening inside BBBY stores since 2010.  While more »

  • Zynga's Costly Mistake - Part Two

    By Brandy Betz - May 11, 2012 | Tickers: EA, ZNGA

    (Read Part One.)

    Draw Something isn't the only card in Zynga's (NASDAQ: ZNGA) deck. The company has several titles that are still attracting large numbers of players. The previously mentioned Words With Friends is holding on to a respectable audience for a game that’s essentially Scrabble. The five-year-old Zynga Poker is maintaining DAUs of 7 million. The recently launched Zynga Slingo, a licensed version of a bingo-slots more »

  • Zynga's Costly Mistake - Part One

    By Brandy Betz - May 11, 2012 | Tickers: ZNGA

    Social gaming company Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) made headlines in April when it paid $180 million for OMGPOP, maker of the hit Pictionary-esque game Draw Something. At the time of the announcement, the then six-week old game had attracted 37 million installs and 20.5 million daily active users (DAUs). The price tag, which included an additional $30 million employee retention payment, seemed exorbitant especially compared to the $53.3 million more »

  • Google Needs Motorola Mobility - Even with the Red

    By Brandy Betz - May 2, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, GOOG, MMI

    Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) reported Tuesday a shaky earnings report, the last expected before the company’s pending $12.5 billion acquisition by Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). The mobile device division took a hard hit and while smartphone shipments were up, Motorola remains at the back of the device pack.

    The 1Q12 report featured net losses of $86 million (28 cents per share) and operating losses of $98 million. Revenues were more »