Sunday, July 22, 2012

Anger Management Week 4 Numbers Rebound

An appearance from Denise Richards on Week 4's episode of Anger Management seemed to help ratings. Anger Management ratings were up amongst men and women in the Charlie Sheen comedy in its fourth week. Denise Richards, Charlie's ex in real life, played a woman who didn't believe in Sheen's character's profession, therapy. Sheen stars as a former baseball player (a stretch from the former Major League
character "Wild Thing") who had an anger problem while he played.


The Week 4 episode of Anger Management saw 2.65 million viewers. The show continues to be strong in the much coveted 18-49 age range. The key advertiser demographic saw 1.42 million viewers. With two episodes premiering in its first week, the show is now 5 episodes into its debut season.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Week 2's ratings of Anger Management dropping. Week 3 saw similar declines in viewers. This set up poorly for Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF), the company behind the Anger Management television show. Lions Gate has commitments for 10 episodes already and has signed multiple international broadcasting deals for the new Charlie Sheen comedy. As I wrote before, Lions Gate also has a pending deal for 90 episodes of Anger Management if it can sustain certain viewer milestones throughout the first ten episodes.



Earlier I also wrote that Lions Gate and News Corporation, the owner of FX Channel, were Winning With Charlie Sheen. Both companies have large television and movie presences. A 90 episode television show could benefit both companies. The way the deal is set up is to save money for the studio as well by shooting a more rapid schedule to get all episodes done as fast as possible. With international rights already being signed at a rapid pace, Lions Gate could really cash in with a 90 episode deal.

*Disclosure - I Own Shares of LGF

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Will Dreamworks Animation Win in its Bid for Classic Media?

On Wednesday, I reported that Dreamworks Animation (DWA) was set to acquire Classic Media. Classic Media is the owner of a large library of cartoon characters. Some of these characters have been turned into television shows or movies. No official decision has been made by either Dreamworks Animation or Classic Media.

The key brands owned by Classic Media include:

Stem Cells Has Huge Week

I wrote an article on Stem Cells (STEM) for Seeking Alpha last week. The article (found here) talked about how the stock ran up from results of an Alzheimers study. When that article was published, shares were up 70%, before they ultimately were up over 100% in one day. The stock is a "penny stock", with a price under $5 a share, and saw huge volume that led to the large percentage increase.

From StemCells website, here is the current pipeline:


Spinal Cord Injury - Clinical Development

PMD - Clinical Development

AMD - Pre-Clinical

Alzheimer's - Pre-Clinical

Stroke - Pre-Clinical

Liver Metabolic Disorders - Pre-Clinical

Hepatitis C - Research

As you can see, StemCells is working on different areas of the body focusing on the eyes, spinal cord, and brain. These all represent areas critical to survival for humans. The areas are all also underserved by the medical community with treatments.

Are you looking for small biotech companies that could jump on positive news? Follow along with my monthly newsletter coming in Auguust or September. The newsletter will be free or under $5 a month. You can email me at stockworldpicks@gmail.com or follow this site for more information. The newsletter will have an area dedicated to drug stocks. Sample trackable portfolios will also be included, where StemCells will most likely have a position for the long term.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Buy Stock in Manchester United Football/Soccer Team

"Glory, glory Man United
Glory, glory Man United
Glory, glory Man United
As the reds go maching on"

Manchester United fans in North America will soon have a chance to stand behind their favorite team and buy shares.

The English Premier League team owned by Malcolm Glazer,

Video Game Industry in 2013



Anyone who follows my posts on Seeking Alpha or on this blog may know by now that I write about the video game sector a lot. I do not own a video game console or play video games, so where does this knowledge and love for video games come from? Well, it might be that at present time I own shares of three video game companies (ATVI, COOL, THQI). Despite a move away from hardware titles to social, mobile, and digital games, consumers are still buying big blockbusters every year. I wrote an article on Seeking Alpha recently ("Investing in the Video Game Sector in 2013") that provided an early look at blockbuster titles that will be coming out next year.

CNBC provided a list of The Ten Most Anticipated Video Games for 2013:

  • Grand Theft Auto V

Lions Gate Splits Mockingjay Into Two Films, The Hunger Games Trilogy Becomes Four Blockbuster Movies

Hunger Games - Katniss Aiming
Hunger Games -...

Buy This at Allposters.com


Lions Gate Entertainment made the smart decision to split up the third Hunger Games book into two movies. Mockingjay will be released as two movies in 2014 and 2015. The release dates for all of The Hunger Games movies have now been made official. Official release dates are:

  • Catching Fire: November 22, 2013
  • Mockingjay Part 1: November 21, 2014
  • Mockingjay Part 2: November 20, 2015
This decision...

Fender Guitar IPO Preview

Guitar maker Fender is set to test the public markets with a 10.71 million share IPO. The company is set to sell shares in a price range of $13 to $15.

Brands owned by Fender include:
  • Fender
  • Squier
  • Jackson
  • Guild
  • Ovation
  • Latin Percussion
Fender also is the North American distributor for Sabian cymbals, one of the largest percussion companies. Fender guitars have been played

Monday, July 9, 2012

The Walking Dead Video Game Coming From Activision


Activision added one of the most popular television shows to its lineup of 2013 video games. The Walking Dead, which airs on AMC, hit record numbers for its Season 2 Finale. The show has increased in popularity over its 19 episodes. The third season premieres in October on AMC. There already is a episodic game put out allowing players to play a two hour scenario each month involving the characters of The Walking Dead. You can buy that game for $24.99 below for PC or Mac. I also wrote an article on how to trade AMC and ATVI (Did Activision Score a Blockbuster With The Walking Dead Video Game Rights?).



*Disclosure-I Own Shares of ATVI*

Top Ten Stocks for 2012 Mid Year Update

Hard to believe that 2012 is officially half way over. That means its time to check in on my annual top ten stock picks for the year. Follow the link to see results.

Are Anger Management's Week Two Ratings a Worry for Lions Gate

When Anger Management debuted on FX two Thursday ago, it broke records for a cable comedy premiere. The show recieved a lot of press and hype thanks to it being Charlie Sheen's first show since his well publicized departure from Two and a Half Men on CBS. I also wrote about the show on Seeking Alpha in an article entitled, "Lions Gate and News Corporation Winning With Charlie Sheen".

In its first week on the FX channel, Anger Management premiered two episodes with 5.47 million (9PM) and 5.74 million (9:30PM) viewers. Last week, the show suffered declining numbers in its second week. Thursday's episode had "only" 3.37 million viewers, suffering a drop of over 35%. The show did however...

Thursday, July 5, 2012

UFC Heading to China

Today, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced it will be heading to China. The most populous nation will see UFC fighters in person on November 10th. The fighters will hold their competition at the Cotei Arena in front of 15,000 people. Macau is the popular gaming area near mainland China. Gambling is legal and has been popularized in the region. I wrote recently about one of the biggest players in the Macau market. See the article here:

-Melco Crown (MPEL)

The UFC continues to expand its global dominance. Recently the league returned to Brazil, where some of its most prominent fighters reside and/or train. The UFC also signed a deal with News Corpoartion to showcase some fights on FX Channel and FOX. The company's hit reality show "The Ultimate Fighter" also made the switch from SPIKE to FX.

-UFC Deal with Fox (NWS)

The UFC continues to be the fastest growing sport in the World and should continue its global expansion and dominance with a deal in China. Unfortunately there is no way to capitalize on the UFC exposure. Unlike rival Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), UFC is not traded on a stock exchange.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Subway: Eat Fresh, Drink Vitamin Water Zero


Coca-Cola continues to expand its line of non carbonated beverages. The company, most famous for its original Coca-Cola brand, has shifted its focus to healthier options like Powerade and Vitamin Water. Today Coca-Cola announced a deal to bring its popular Vitamin Water brand into Subway stores.




The new deal will see customers in Subway able to purchase Vitamin Water Zero beverages. Vitamin Water had a market share of 1% in the noncarbonated beverage market (Beverage Digest). Sales of Vitamin Water Zero saw sales growth of 28% last year. The deal is for Vitamin Water Zero brand only, keeping the full calorie Vitamin Water bottles out of Subway stores. Two flavors, Lemonade and Acai Blueberry Pomegranate, will be offered in stores. Subway began testing sales of the bottles over the last several years. Along with Coca-Cola on fountain, Subway also offers Minute Maid, Powerade, and Dasani beverages in bottles. With 25,000 locations, Subway is the largest restaurant chain in the United States.

Vitamin Water was purchased in 2007 for $4.1 billion by Coca-Cola. The acquisition was part of beverage companies shifting to alternative drinks as consumers move away from carbonated beverages. Rival Pepsi acquired Sobe and Gatorade brands. Considered rich at the time, the acquisition has allowed Coca-Cola to expand from carbonated beverages into alternative options like bottled water, flavored water, and juice drinks.



The push into Subway with Vitamin Water also strengthens Coke’s restaurant business. The company competes with Pepsi in the restaurant fountain beverage industry. Pepsi has YUM Brands, which includes Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC. YUM Brands is the largest restaurant chain by number of stores in the World. Coca-Cola has its fountain machines in McDonald’s, Burger King, and Subway. Subway and McDonald’s are the two largest restaurant chains in the United States. Coke is also experimenting with its Coca Cola Freestyle machine, which allows customers to choose from individual flavor combinations. A recent article points out the benefits of the new machine and how it could transform the restaurant fountain industry.