Up 32% This Year, This Health Stock Is Set To Really Take Off

[John Thomas]

The Chart of the Day is Hibbett Sports (HIBB). I found the stock by sorting today's New High List for frequency then used the flipchart function to find a stocks with momentum I like. The stock gained 24.97% in the last quarter and since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 10/1 the stock gained 10.84%

It is a rapidly-growing operator of full-line sporting goods stores in small to mid-sized markets predominantly in the southeastern United States. Hibbett's stores offer a broad assortment of quality athletic equipment, footwear and apparel at competitive prices with superior customer service.

[John Thomas]

GMO is out with its latest monthly asset class real returns forecast for this month. The system is largely predicated on mean reversion and so you?ll typically see the most loved sectors projected to have the worst returns (US small caps this go-round) for the future period. Barry and I are huge fans of Jeremy Grantham, James Montier and the rest of the thought leadership cabal at GMO, we always take their insights as important food for thought.

What?s notable in this month?s edition is how no asset class is projected to be able to even meet their long-term equity return measurement of 6.5% real (inflation-adjusted). The asset class they?d appear to be most constructive on for the seven year period, emerging market stocks, doesn?t even get you halfway there. But they see high potential returns for timber, which would fly in the face of the idea that paper is already dying in our tablet-based economy. My kids will be headed to school with iPads in a year or two, we?re told, not textbooks. And it?s pretty hard to find a waiter or waitress taking orders on a pad in cutting-edge Brooklyn.

Sometimes a secular downtrend will appear to be a cyclical one at first. Timber may be exactly that ? unless you tell me we?re going to see another massive homebuilding wave this decade.

Anyway, here?s the forecast chart:

[John Thomas]

While prices are rising, investors need to maximize their gains. When prices turn down, investors need to minimize their losses.

The problem many investors face is worrying about a bear market during the bull market. Worries can be stopped by switching to cash, but then investors miss gains, and failing to take advantage of market gains destroys potential wealth.

We do believe that it is OK to worry about the state of the market. However, we don't believe it is OK to act on those worries without a plan. Investment actions should be based on plans that react to the market, and the 10-month moving average (MA) is the simplest way we know to do this.

Before we explain why, this chart of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) can help highlight the importance of this indicator.

[John Thomas]

Stuff I?m Reading this Morning?

?Actually, economists CAN predict financial crises.? ? so what, they just don?t feel like it? I don?t understand? (Bloomberg)

Meanwhile, scientists brawled with Fama over the legitimacy of economics the other night. Six dead, four wounded. (Economix)

JPMorgan?s $13 billion selfie. (HighNetWorld)

Heidi Moore?s take on the record settlement and what it means. (Guardian)

Why JPMorgan might have gotten a good deal in the end. (DealBook)

For investors, Coal is the new Tobacco. (Bloomberg)

?and Frontier Markets are the new Emerging Markets. (Morningstar)

There?s Type A Personalities and then there?s this guy: (VanityFair)

The modern mariachi band in Mexico comes strapped with bazookas and sht. (Wired)

$1.2 million in gold bars found stashed in Boeing 737′s bathroom (NBCNews)

REMINDER: Backstage Wall Street is now on Kindle!


The Reformed Broker

[John Thomas]

Ringing the Register with the Aussie

This is our 13th consecutive closing profitable position, and 19th consecutive profitable Trade Alert when you include our remaining open positions. I have only seven more winners to go before I break my old record of 25.

Since I strapped on this trade last week, the (FXA) has popped a full 1 ? points to the upside. It?s tough to say where these options are really trading, they are so illiquid and the spreads so wide. If you didn?t do the trade at all, just consider this part of your educational effort.

However, the Currency Shares Australian Dollar Trust December, 2013 $89-$91 bull call spread was marked at their maximum possible value of $2.00 by the market makers at last night?s close. So I am going to take the hint and close the position. At this price we have harvested 75% of the potential profit, and we still have a full month to run before the December 20 expiration.

Yes, I should have been more aggressive, moving the strikes closer to the money, farther out in expiration, and bigger in size. But it?s always easy to say that about your winners.

To close the position just put in a limit order for the entire spread at $1.95 and wait for the market to come to you, even if it is for a few days. It is impressive how much they are crushing volatility in the options markets in the run up to the Thanksgiving holidays, so you should eventually get done.

Then you can plow the money back into other trades, such as buying global stocks and commodities, and shorting bonds and the yen. You can also buy back the Aussie on the next two-point dip.

I still believe that we are in bull mode for the Aussie longer term, and that we should make it above par, or $1.00, next year. The recent reforms announced by China (FXI) last week certainly remove any doubt about the northward direction.

It all provides fresh rocket fuel for the global synchronized recovery in 2014, which I have been predicting since the summer. A parallel pop in Australian stocks (EWA) confirms this view. So if you aren?t in the options and own the (FXA) outright, I?d hang in there.

[John Thomas]

This is our 13th consecutive closing profitable position, and 19th consecutive profitable Trade Alert when you include our remaining open positions. I have only seven more winners to go before I break my old record of 25.

Since I strapped on this trade last week, the (FXA) has popped a full 1 ? points to the upside. It?s tough to say where these options are really trading, they are so illiquid and the spreads so wide. If you didn?t do the trade at all, just consider this part of your educational effort.

However, the Currency Shares Australian Dollar Trust December, 2013 $89-$91 bull call spread was marked at their maximum possible value of $2.00 by the market makers at last night?s close. So I am going to take the hint and close the position. At this price we have harvested 75% of the potential profit, and we still have a full month to run before the December 20 expiration.

Yes, I should have been more aggressive, moving the strikes closer to the money, farther out in expiration, and bigger in size. But it?s always easy to say that about your winners.

To close the position just put in a limit order for the entire spread at $1.95 and wait for the market to come to you, even if it is for a few days. It is impressive how much they are crushing volatility in the options markets in the run up to the Thanksgiving holidays, so you should eventually get done.

Then you can plow the money back into other trades, such as buying global stocks and commodities, and shorting bonds and the yen. You can also buy back the Aussie on the next two-point dip.

I still believe that we are in bull mode for the Aussie longer term, and that we should make it above par, or $1.00, next year. The recent reforms announced by China (FXI) last week certainly remove any doubt about the northward direction.

It all provides fresh rocket fuel for the global synchronized recovery in 2014, which I have been predicting since the summer. A parallel pop in Australian stocks (EWA) confirms this view. So if you aren?t in the options and own the (FXA) outright, I?d hang in there.

[John Thomas]

As a potentially profitable opportunity presents itself, John will send you an alert with specific trade information as to what should be bought, when to buy it, and at what price.


Further Update to: Trade Alert -(IWM)

Buy the Russell 2000 iShares (IWM) December $113-$116 bear put spread at $2.54 or best

Opening Trade
11-19-2013
expiration date: 12-20-2013
Portfolio weighting: 10%
Number of Contracts = 39 contracts.

[John Thomas]

The Old Gray Lady is looking a lot younger these days.

Less than five years after desperately needing a costly $250 million capital infusion from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) has staged a remarkable rebound. Shares have nearly doubled in the past two years, handily surpassing the S&P 500 Index. Rival Gannett (NYSE: GCI), publisher of the USA Today, has fared even better.

[John Thomas]

Earlier this month I brought your attention to a young company called Life Stem Genetics, plying its trade in the burgeoning realm of stem cell therapies. Trading over-the counter under the symbol (LIFS), the company had recently received a $500,000 round of financing to help execute its business plan of rolling out an international chain of ?all-purpose? stem cell treatment clinics.

Once a highly controversial avenue of medical research, stem cell therapy is just beginning to reach critical mass, providing new ways to treat previously untreatable diseases and ailments, including diabetes, Parkinson?s disease, eye disorders, spinal cord injuries and cancer. Current estimates say that the existing market for stem-cell therapies is easily in the multi-billion dollar range, and that may be conservative.

The first stage in the therapeutic use of stem cells is ?harvesting? a patient?s own stem cells ? one of the services that Life Stem Genetics provides. In a spa-like setting, patients undergo a four-hour stem cell extraction procedure. The company has also developed and tested a proprietary regenerative procedure to promote spinal, joint, organ health and longevity by using the patient?s own platelet rich blood cells and ASCs, and plans to offer stem cell storage, and other regenerative medical treatment options.

When I first wrote about Life Stem in early November the company had announced its intention to build a base of affiliate clinics in the U.S. and internationally, designed to both extract stem cells and help treat the wide spectrum of diseases that stem cells can benefit. Since that time, Life Stem has been aggressively pursuing its business plan by announcing a series of deals that have served to generate steady buying interest in LIFS shares.

On Tuesday, Life Stem announced that it has secured an additional $500,000 in financing, closing its previously announced private placement. The financing deal involved the issuance of 1,000,000 units of LIFS stock and warrants at a price of $1 per unit. Each unit of the private placement consists of one common share of company stock and one warrant to purchase an additional common share of the company at $1 per Warrant Share for a period of one year. If and when all of the warrants are exercised, the company will realize up to an additional $1.0 million in proceeds.

The financing announcement was preceded by two pending new deals that mark the beginning of Life Stem?s roll-out of its services in established clinics worldwide. On November 13 the company announced the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a clinic in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to add the company?s stem cell therapies to its existing line-up of wellness procedures.

One week earlier Life Stem announced a more significant deal?the signing of an LOI with an undisclosed health and wellness chain in Canada. According to Life Stem management, the announcement of the organization?s identity is set to take place in approximately 10 days upon signing of the definitive agreement. The LOI between both parties will enable the company to provide stem cell therapy to individuals who would derive benefit from such treatments using LSG?s procedures and practices. Life Stem confirmed that the company operates in excess of 25 health/medical clinics in various locations throughout Canada.

In addition to these deals, the company has been actively expanding its board and management team. At the end of last week Life Stem announced that it had named its Regenerative Specialist, James Vanden Bosch, Chief Medical Stem Cell Specialist. Vanden Bosch has performed thousands of stem cell treatments, has published prolifically on the subject, and is often called upon to provide expert commentary. Earlier in the month, Life Stem had announced the addition of Dr. Shirin Rostamkalaee, an expert on wound healing, bone grafting, and reconstructive surgery, to its newly expanded Executive Advisory Board.

LIFS shares began trading in late October, making their debut in the $1.06 ? $1.07 range on thin trading volume. Volume gradually picked up in subsequent sessions, and has been surging to new heights in recent dealings?along with LIFS share price.

[John Thomas]

Earlier this month I brought your attention to a young company called Life Stem Genetics, plying its trade in the burgeoning realm of stem cell therapies. Trading over-the counter under the symbol (LIFS), the company had recently received a $500,000 round of financing to help execute its business plan of rolling out an international chain of ?all-purpose? stem cell treatment clinics.

Once a highly controversial avenue of medical research, stem cell therapy is just beginning to reach critical mass, providing new ways to treat previously untreatable diseases and ailments, including diabetes, Parkinson?s disease, eye disorders, spinal cord injuries and cancer. Current estimates say that the existing market for stem-cell therapies is easily in the multi-billion dollar range, and that may be conservative.

The first stage in the therapeutic use of stem cells is ?harvesting? a patient?s own stem cells ? one of the services that Life Stem Genetics provides. In a spa-like setting, patients undergo a four-hour stem cell extraction procedure. The company has also developed and tested a proprietary regenerative procedure to promote spinal, joint, organ health and longevity by using the patient?s own platelet rich blood cells and ASCs, and plans to offer stem cell storage, and other regenerative medical treatment options.

When I first wrote about Life Stem in early November the company had announced its intention to build a base of affiliate clinics in the U.S. and internationally, designed to both extract stem cells and help treat the wide spectrum of diseases that stem cells can benefit. Since that time, Life Stem has been aggressively pursuing its business plan by announcing a series of deals that have served to generate steady buying interest in LIFS shares.