Small-Cap MRCY Sets 52-Week High, CETV and CATY Upgrades, and GERN and UAUA Post Gains

Bucking today's broad-market sell-off trend is S&P SmallCap 600 member Mercury Computer Systems (MRCY) http://www.mc.com/ gaining 14.60% and picking up $1.32 a share this morning; which sets a new 52-week high. Trading in the $10.40 range on the Nasdaq, MRCY now has a market cap $234 million and only an hour into trading had recorded half of its 3-Month average daily trading volume of 106,267 shares.

Last Thursday, MRCY the Editor's Choice Award by VME and Critical Systems, a leading computer industry publication. MRCY was singled out for its high-speed data-transfer interfaces that make its primary product one of the highest performing digital receivers available on the market today.

MRCY provides embedded computing systems and software that combine image, signal, and sensor processing with information management for data-intensive applications. MRCY operates three business units: Advanced Computer Systems (ACS), Visage Imaging (Visage), and an Emerging Businesses Unit (EBU) which focuses on services and support work with federal intelligence agencies and homeland security programs.

At $10.40, MRCY is far, far above its 52-week low of $2.21 set on 12-02-08 and is well ahead of both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. MRCY has trailing twelve month revenues of $209 million and its shares out versus float ratio near-parity.

A FIVE DAY CHART FOR MRCY

A 3-MONTH CHART FOR MRCY

Also posting gains this morning, the following two stocks are beneficiaries of analyst upgrades.

Central European Media Enterprises Ltd., (CETV) http://www.cetv-net.com/ trading on the Nasdaq in the $21 range has picked up over 6% today, close to a $1.25 a share on an upgrade from Joseph Morgan. This is a reverse of JM's February 09 downgrade from buy to hold. CETV volume picked up a third of its 3-Month average daily trading volume of 500,075 shares in the first hour of trading.  

CETV operates commercial television channels in Central and Eastern Europe. The company operates various television channels, including TV2 and RING TV in Bulgaria; NOVA TV in Croatia; TV NOVA, NOVA SPORT, and NOVA CINEMA, a cable and satellite channel in the Czech Republic; PRO TV, ACASA, PRO CINEMA, SPORT.RO, and MTV ROMANIA in Romania; TV MARKIZA in the Slovak Republic; POP TV and KANAL A in Slovenia; and STUDIO 1+1 in Ukraine.

At $21, CETV is far off its 52-week high of $90.23 set on 07-07-08 and well above its 52-week low of $4.67 set on 09-09-09. At $21, it is above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. CETV has trailing twelve month revenues of $938 million. I would like to see more shares in the float for stability, but it isn't a red flag for investing.

A 3-MONTH CHART FOR CETV

Also getting a boost from an upgrade today is a regional bank with Asian tendrils. Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) picked up 5% in value in early trading on news that B. Riley & Company moved the stock from neutral to buy. CATY trades in the $9.71 range on the Nasdaq with a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 730,653 shares and a current approximate market cap of $480 million.

CATY could use some good news (and maybe this is it) to cause a swing back to its $16 level of early May. In May, CATY reported quarterly numbers ending on March 31 2009 that were encouraging: solid net income, gross profits and total revenues all in plus-territory. Considering the banking sector, perhaps the sell-off to the $9 range was profit-taking and protectionism.

CATY has 21 branches in southern California, 10 branches in northern California, 9 branches in New York, 1 branch in Massachusetts, 2 branches in Texas, 3 branches in Washington, 3 branches in Illinois, 1 branch in New Jersey, and 1 branch in Hong Kong, as well as 2 representative offices in Shanghai and Taipei. Pretty diverse.

At $9.71, CATY is far below its 52-week high of $31.99 set on 09-18-08 and a couple of dollars ahead of its 52-week low. It is below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages on tailing twelve month revenues of $184 million. CATY's shares out versus float is near-party.

A 3-MONTH CHART FOR CATY

Impressive Geron Corp.

Continuing its three month swing upwards, one of the most active issues today on the Nasdaq is Geron Corp., (GERN) http://www.geron.com/ trading on the Nasdaq in the $7.85 range. Early morning trading propelled GERN right past its 3-Month average daily trading volume of 2,430,360 shares. GERN's market cap is $698 million.

GERN announced today the publication of data demonstrating that dendritic cells (DCs) scalably manufactured from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) exhibit the normal functions of naturally occurring human DCs found in the bloodstream. The study, authored by GERN scientists and collaborators Prof. Waldmann and Dr. Fairchild at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, appears online in advance of print in the journal Regenerative Medicine. What this means is that: since DCs are immune cells that detect pathogens (e.g. viruses or bacteria) and activate other immune cells (called T-cells) to launch an immune attack against a pathogen, they can be successfully manufactured to fight a disease which is what GERN is in business for. Good news.

In the $7.85 range, GERN is a few cents below its 52-week high of $8.50 set on 01-30-09 and far above its 52-week low of $1.95 set on 10-10-08. Anywhere in the $7 range, GERN is above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Typical of bio-pharma stocks, GERN's revenues are miniscule ($1.55 million) until it brings product-to-market. Its shares out versus float is near-parity.

A 3-MONTH CHART FOR GERN

And finally a note of hope this morning from the Airline sector; with oil dropping to $64 a barrel today, Airline stocks across the board rose higher.

UAL Corp., (UAUA) http://www.ual.com/ trading on the Nasdaq in the $3.38 range followed suit and will hopefully have bounced off the bottom of its three month swing downward. UAUA has a 3-Month average daily trading volume of 8,579,170 shares and a current market cap of $486 million on $19 billion in trailing twelve month revenues. Just an amazing juxtaposition to me: a three dollar stock and $19 billion in revenues. 

"Fly United" use to be the motto back in the day and the brand name alone; United Airlines, is one of the sector's primary icons.

As of December 31, 2008, UAL Corporation operated 3,000 flights to approximately 200 destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. It also served approximately 900 destinations in 160 countries worldwide through its alliance with Star Alliance carriers. In the $3 range, UAUA is well below its 52-week high of $16.73 set on 11-02-09 and pennies above its 52-week low. It is currently below both its 50-day and 200-day moving average and its shares out versus float is near-parity.

A 3-MONTH CHART FOR UAUA