Don’t Sit on the Sidelines: ABCB, OMER, WBCO

Trends, Observations, and Exclusive Opinion

Three SmallCaps with Strong Promise  

ABCB: Southern Banking Concern Sells a Big Property

OMER: PharmacoSurgery Platform is Loaded with Candidates

WBCO: Earnings and Profits Recognized by The Seattle Times

First up this morning we have Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) http://www.abcbancorp.com/ currently trading in the $11.55 range on a 3-month average daily trading volume of 189,592 shares. ABCB has a 52-week high of $11.70 set on 05-28-10. ABCB has retail commercial operations in Georgia, Alabama, northern Florida, and South Carolina. As of December 31, 2009, ABCB operated 53 domestic banking offices. From foreclosure, ABCB recently sold an 18-unit boutique hotel and two vacant lots on Vilano Beach to a Boston investment group for a total of $2.275 million, according to an announcement from the realty brokerage firm involved. ABCB is on a roll. If the stock ever drops below its current price (15 cents from its high); ABCB would be a ‘Buy on the Dips’ consideration for me. Getting those non-performing assets off the books isn’t easy, but ABCB management seems to be doing just that. Good work.

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Next up this morning we have Omeros Corporation (OMER) http://www.omeros.com/ currently trading in the $7.72 range on a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 74k+ shares. OMER has a 52-week high of $9.49 set on 10-08-09. OMER has a proprietary PharmacoSurgery platform that is designed to improve clinical outcomes of patients undergoing arthroscopic, ophthalmological, urological, and other surgical and medical procedures. One of the drugs on the Co’s platform is OMS103HP, in Phase III clinical programs. Its PharmacoSurgery product candidates also include OMS302, which completed its Phase I/II clinical trial for use during ophthalmological procedures; and OMS201, which is in Phase I/II clinical trial for use during urological surgery. The company also engages in developing proprietary compositions that include peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists for the treatment and prevention of addiction to substances of abuse. Its pipeline of preclinical product development programs include MASP-2 program for developing proprietary mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2 antibody therapies to treat disorders caused by complement-activated inflammation; PDE10 program for developing proprietary compounds to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; and PDE7 program for developing proprietary compounds to treat movement disorders. At its current price, OMER is a long-term (1 Yr) ‘Buy’ consideration for me.

Finally this morning is Washington Bank Company (WBCO) http://www.wibank.com/ currently trading in the $13.90 range. WBCO has a 52-week high of $14.84 set on 05-03-10. WBCO has a trailing twelve month diluted EPS of +$0.43. We like those earnings. WBCO was picked last week by The Seattle Times which ranked WBCO sixth in its "Top 20 Companies of the Decade." The 19^th annual public company review, "Best of the Northwest," ranks public companies based on shareholder returns between 2000 and 2009. WBCO also placed ninth in the "Northwest Region Top 10" for its profit margin. WBCO subsidiary Whidbey Island Bank operates 26 full-service branches located in six counties in Northwestern Washington. In June 2009, Washington Banking was added to the Russell 2000 Index, a subset of the Russell 3000 Index. WBCO is a long-term (1 Yr) ‘Buy’ consideration for me.

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