Discount to Value Investing Congress West

Our friends at the Value Investing Congress are once again extending Cheap Stocks readers a discount to attend May's conference (May 3rd and 4th) in Pasadena. The current offer will expire on February 17th. To learn more, please click on the ad to the left of this post. Hope to see you in Pasadena!

Where are All the Net/Nets Part II

We've received several subscriber inquiries regarding the othernet/nets, those with market caps above $50 million, that we referenced last week. The pickings are slim, but here the are:

Myrexix Inc
Ticker: MYRX
Price: $4.21
Market Cap:$106
NCAV: $121.5
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .87
Cash & ST Invest: $124.8
P/E:NA

HQ Sustainable Maritime Ind
Ticker: HQS
Price: $4.75
Market Cap:$85
NCAV: $111
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .77
Cash & ST Invest: $64.5
P/E:7

Insmed Inc
Ticker: INSM
Price: $.65
Market Cap:$84.5
NCAV: $123
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .69
Cash & ST Invest: $124.3
P/E:50

Parlux Fragrances
Ticker: PARL
Price: $3.44
Market Cap:$70.5
NCAV: $91
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .78
Cash & ST Invest: $14.2
P/E:NA

Gencor Industries
Ticker: GENC
Price: $7.36
Market Cap:$70
NCAV: $76.3
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .78
Cash & ST Invest: $256.8
P/E:24

Trans World Entertainment
Ticker: TWMC
Price: $1.74
Market Cap:$55
NCAV: $114
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .48
Cash & ST Invest: $6.1
P/E:NA

Integrated Electrical Services
Ticker: IESC
Price: $3.64
Market Cap:$54
NCAV: $66
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .82
Cash & ST Invest: $32.9
P/E:NA

Duckwall Alco
Ticker: DUCK
Price: $13.87
Market Cap:$53
NCAV: $63
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .85
Cash & ST Invest: $5.4
P/E:NA

Not to sound like a broken record, but this is among the shortest list of net/nets with market caps above $50 million that we've seen in the dozen or so years we've been researching net/nets.

The author has no position in the companies mentioned. This is neither a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. All information provided believed to be reliable and presented for information purposes only.

Last Call For JG Boswel Fundamentals Spreadsheet

We've decided to offer this spreadsheet, which includes the past 8 years of as-reported fundamental data taken directly from the annual reports, until February 1st only. Data includes the most recent fiscal year end.

If you are interested in obtaining this, please contact us at:cheapstocks@verizon.net for pricing.

*The author has a position in JG Boswell(BWEL). This is neither a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. All information provided believed to be reliable and presented for information purposes only.

Where Are All The Net/Nets? Ben Graham asked the Same Question in 1968

At this writing, we've never seen so few net/nets at any point in the decade plus that we've been studying and researching them. In fact, we currently count a total of 12 with market caps in excess of $50 million. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) a rising market tide tends to lift all boats, including net/nets. We've also seen a growing population of websites covering net/nets since we started this site in 2002, which may also partially explain the lack of opportunity; there are simply more investors that have caught on to this fascinating sub-culture.

Periods of low net/net opportunity are not uncommon; even Ben Graham wriote about one such period that occurred in 1968 in the 1973 edition of Intelligent Investor. Ben wrote:

But the picture changed in the 1970 decline, and at the low prices of that year a goodly number of common stocks could have been bought at below their working capital value.

In our experience, it's more than likely that the univerese of net/nets will only grow if there is a significant market pullback. I'm not wishing that on anyone, but will continue to look for opportunity in the current crop of net/nets. Having some dry powder available is not a bad idea.

Top 5 Net/Nets by Market Cap

Imation Corp
Ticker: IMN
Price: $10.59
Market Cap:$408
NCAV: $412
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .99
Cash & ST Invest: $256.8
P/E:NA

ADPT Corp
Ticker: ADPT
Price: $2.88
Market Cap: $317
NCAV: $368.6
Mkt Cap/NCAV:.86
Cash & ST Invest: $365.8
P/E: NA

Volt Information Sciences
Ticker: VOL
Price: $8.92
Market Cap: $186
NCAV: $199
Mkt Cap/NCAV: .93
Cash & ST Invest: $145.6
P/E: 4

Audiovox
Ticker: VOXX
Price: $7.91
Market Cap: $184
NCAV: $212
Mkt Cap/NCAV:.87
Cash & ST Invest: $73.1
P/E: 9

Maxygen
Ticker: MAXY
Price: $4.04
Market Cap: $121
NCAV: $142.5
NCAV/Mkt Cap: .85
Cash & ST Invest: $152.4
P/E: NA

The author has no position in the companies mentioned. This is neither a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. All information provided believed to be reliable and presented for information purposes only.