5 Stock Picks Under $10

Here are five stocks under $10 that I've been researching, and you should consider looking into yourself.

First off is Cosi(COSI). Cosi is a restaurant on the order of Panera Bread. Although they only have 99 franchies right now, they are expected to add 400 by 2009. However, there are signs that earnings could be hurt by the expansion.

Seachange(SEAC) makes video on demand possible. The upside is the great potential in this field, where Amazon is expected to launch a download site next month. The negative is that earnings aren't really great right now, so there could be some waiting for tech to get hot again.

Design Within Reach(DWRI) is like a high end Pier One. Mostly catering to the wealthy, they have done well in recent years due to real estate market. I believe they will continue to do well, even though an earnings miss destroyed share price recently, and their CFO just resigned, however there has been some inside buying, always a positive sign.

Interstate Hotels and Resorts(IHR) manages hotels. They have seen incredible growth lately, and their shares have great relative strength. These shares keep peaking above $10 lately, so try to catch it under $10.

Last but not least Vaalco Energy(EGY). Vaalco drills for oil off of the coast of Africa. They are a small but growing company with a huge amount of cash. A good bet for those seeking a growth pick in the oil sector. Some analysts think the company will eventually be bought up by a larger company.

Remember to do your DD on any stock before buying.

Inflation and your Investments

What is inflation and how should it affect my investing? is a good question these days. I did a little research for investing in times of rising inflation. Here are few good articles I found:
inflation and Investments
TIPS
Where to Invest

50 Small-Cap Stocks Picks

FORTUNE/CNN online has 50 Small-Cap Stocks to Watch. It's a nice list from some of the best money managers around. Some of the stocks on the list don't seem to be panning out, however Coinstar, one of my favorite stocks, is on the list as are many other great companies. The list is worth a look.

OPWV Still not a Buy

A few weeks ago I wrote that OPWV - Openwave Systems Inc. was looking attractive at $11 but I felt that shares would go down to at least $9. Well due to a major earnings miss, shares are below $8 today. Hopefully readers took my advice and didn't buy at $11.

So are shares attractive now? I say no. I've seen this sort of thing before. Earnings were way off, and there is still an options semi-scandal hanging over the company. I am waiting until I see some inside buying, especially from the CFO. That would be my buy signal. The only reason the stock is still on my radar is because of the strong growth I see coming in the mobile market, and the part this company could end up playing.

Top 25 money Tips

The actual article from Canadian Business says The top 25 money tips of all time, which of course can be argued, however there are some great money tips in the article. It's worth printing out and hanging by your desk.

'Vonage the Dog' bites back

From CNET News.com, it seems Jim Cramer has now started calling Vonage, Vonage the Dog. For good reasons of course. Now Vonage's CEO is saying that the ipo was successful because it raised funds. Yeah sure, but soon cable companies will begin offering voip with cable internet access. Skype and Yahoo are free, and the company is being sued. Doesn't look good for Vonage. I would stay away from the stock.

Cosi, Inc.

I've been keeping any eye on Cosi,Inc.(COSI) lately. Cosi is a restaurant in the order of Panera Bread. They are growing at an amazing pace, but their shares have been dow because of a missed quarter. However, they have improved restaurant effectiveness of late, and plan to open serveral hundred new restaurants in the next few years. Cosi is worth a look.

Cramer: Catch the Openwave

As Jim Cramer says, Catch the Openwave(OPWV). However I would wait a while before jumping in. I think this high potential stock has some bottoming out to go with the options semi-scandal hanging over it's head. Down to almost $11 today, I could see in going down another $2 at least. That, in my opinion, makes it a bargain.

Finance Sites: Yahoo Leads, Google Lags

Not a big surprise that when it comes to finance information, Yahoo Leads, Google Lags. Link from PC World.

How to Profit From a Cooling Real Estate Market: Why the Rich Get Richer - Yahoo! Finance

Robert Kiyosaki has a great article on investing in today's cooling real estate market, in his Why the Rich Get Richer series.

Personally, I've been putting off buying a new house in my area because of the, to me, outrageous prices on homes. I'm hopeful that some of my dream homes will come down in price to something I can afford to pay on every month. But on the flip side, my house will probably have an even harder time selling in a buyer's market, so it may not even matter. A cooling real estate market will bad for just about everyone.

High inflation and Stocks

Recent news of rising inflation has been flaming stocks today, however I ran across a good article from Marketwatch regarding how higher inflation doesn't have to be bad for stocks - MarketWatch.

From the article - "Investors who sell stocks when inflation rears its head are implicitly assuming that companies have no pricing power, and hence that their earnings growth rates don't change with inflation. But history shows that this is not the case, according to a study by Harvard economists John Campbell and Tuomo Vuolteenaho. They found that real (or inflation-adjusted) earnings growth, when measured over several-year periods, was relatively constant, and that nominal earnings growth fluctuated with inflation."

Finisar Gets Slammed

Finisar fell around 30% after releasing earnings this week. Estimates were in line with expectations, but investors were expecting a blowout quarter and shares were pummeled. I still believe the company is a good investment for the long term as mobile operators build out their network with 10-Gbit and Metro products. I see a good buying op if the shares dip below $3 in the coming weeks.

Vonage Holds Customers to IPO Pledge

Vonage shares have taken a major smackdown since going public at $17. Now the internet phone company, whose stock has dropped more than 29 percent since its stock market debut, said late Wednesday that customers who agreed to buy into its initial public offering last week must follow through on their commitment to buy their shares.

I can see their point, but it kind of seems desperate to start threatening customers at this point. I really like Vonage but I wonder if this is going to go down as one of the worst ipo's ever. Time will tell.

Simple sounds make for sound investments -

Nature.com has an interesting article that claims that easily pronounced stocks do better on the market. At least in the short term.

Microsoft in Talks To Acquire Ebay???

Article from Slashdot on rumors that Microsoft is about to acquire Ebay. I have serious doubts that this will happen. Ebay is a huge company, very successful all on it's own, but MSFT has billions to spend and it would make all of the sense in the world for it to get the big auction site. From the sounds of it though, regulators might have a hard time approving the sale. Any thoughts?

Alternative energy stocks, ETFs & mutual funds

Here's a nice list of Alternative energy stocks, ETFs & mutual funds
from cutoilimports.com. Although there are a lot of stocks on the list, most are unprofitable and specualtive at best. However there are some good ones like ADM, Ormat Tech, Evergreen Solar, and MPGI. A great way to play these alternative energy companies is of course mutual funds and PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW).

Panacos Pharma Inc. - Buyout Target?

Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(PANC), is a development stage biotechnology company. Recently their CEO and CFO have bought larget amounts of shares amid rumors of the company's buyout. The officers bought shares in the mid $5 range. Right now shares are trading above $6. I'd like to see a pullback to below $5.90 before buying.

I'll add them to my buy list, since I always see CFO purchases as extremely positive for a company.

Sell ABTL maybe FNSR

Autobytel.com and Finisar keep permforming badly. I think it's time to let go of Autobytel.com in favor of Pain Therapeutics (PTIE). Autobytel.com, even with a load of money coming in from all of it's car sites, continues to lag. Finisar will remain on my long list, but lately the shares have really gone downhill quickly. I'll be keeping a close eye on this stock, and maybe sell on the next rally in the stock, maybe anything over $5.

Pain Therapeutics, small cap biopharma pick

Pain Therapeutics(PTIE) engages in the research and development of drugs for use in pain management. The interesting thing about this company is that they have two products in Phase III trials, including Remoxy, which is an anti-abuse version of oxycodone. The stock is also interesting because of inside buying lately, including it's CFO. I'll be adding it to my buy list today.

Alternative Energy Stocks - Year To Date Price Breakouts

The Energy Stock Blog has a nice chart of Alternative Energy companies, such as those producing Ethanol, Solar, etc. which have broken out over the past year. Although not the highest in gains, AMD remains my favorite in this field, although Ballard is worth a look as well.