Enviado:
13/12/2004 15:46por Visitante
First, Merriman Curhan initiated coverage on Quantum Fuel
Systems (QTWW:Nasdaq) this morning with a buy rating. The
firm says it believes the stock is headed for $11 to $12 a
share over the next 12 months. As we noted Thursday night,
Quantum announced dismal fiscal second-quarter results
last week and the stock slumped to an intraday low of $5 a
share on Friday. The stock is up about 6% in early trading
at $5.75 a share.
As we said Friday, we have a 5% position in Quantum and
are poised to participate in any upside, but we don't want
to be overweight in this position due to the overhang from
the pending Starcraft (STCR:Nasdaq) acquisition. We
continue to believe Quantum will be a key player in the
rollout of fuel cell vehicles and are content with our
position here.
Quantum (QTWW:Nasdaq),
Enviado:
10/12/2004 13:32por Visitante
Thursday, December 09, 2004 5:21 p.m. EST
Dear Subscriber to TheStreet.com Stocks Under $10,
Quantum (QTWW:Nasdaq), which designs and builds hydrogen
storage systems for cars that run on alternative power,
announced very weak fiscal 2005 second-quarter results
after the close tonight. We are on the conference call but
want to give you a quick update on our initial thoughts.
Revenue of $5 million fell far short of the consensus
estimate of $8.5 million, and the stock is trading 12%
lower in after-hours action to $5.07 a share. The top-line
decline came from lower product sales because of
interruptions in its storage system production.
Misses happen, especially in smaller companies with
volatile revenue streams like Quantum. That doesn't mean we
are happy to be holding a stock that is dropping after
hours, or that we're making excuses for Quantum's second
bad quarter in a row. But we aren't going to tuck tail and
fold this position just yet.
We believe Quantum, despite two consecutive quarters of
revenue hiccups, isn't a revenue story yet. Quantum trades
on catalysts and is positioned to be one of the biggest
components of a large-scale domestic roll-out of
alternative-powered vehicles in the next 10 years thanks to
its relationship with General Motors (GM:NYSE).
In addition, contract revenue for the application of fuel
delivery systems for fuel cell vehicles increased 240% in
the quarter. The recently announced Starcraft
(STCR:Nasdaq) acquisition that is scheduled to close by
February will accent this segment of the company's business
and increase its capacity, and that's the real growth
driver for Quantum in the long run.
We rate Quantum a Game Breaker. This means the company is
going to change the way an industry currently operates. In
Quantum's case this refers to the automotive industry,
which is going to have to adjust to lower reserves of oil
and more volatile relationships with the countries that
control the supply of oil. Quantum has great relationships
with almost every major auto manufacturer as well as the
U.S. government and military, and will be a name involved
in much of the process.
We own the stock with a cost basis of $5.95 a share and
have made numerous sales at higher levels, already locking
in double digit gains. We will now evaluate what action to
take tomorrow.
Regards,
The TSC Investment Team