Eyeing public companies you never heard of. Maybe's there's a gem ...

There are thousands of public companies you never heard of. There are reasons. Most haven?t done well in the past two years. Or they?re new and taking a very long time to get ramped up. Or they screwed up. (hired too many people, expanded too quick) and then? they ?restructured? (fired people, sold divisions). Or they have marketing-challenged managements. Or all combined.

Fact is it?s not easy to be a small public company today. Especially if your stock has been around 17 cents all year.

The worst ones are biotech. Most are so far from an approved drug they can sell that you wonder why they even bother. I met one that was selling for $700 three years ago, then dropped to 28 cents and is now 56 cents. Heh, we doubled the price this year. As one biotech director quipped, ?If mice had money, we?d all be millionaires.? He was referring to all the mice whose lives were saved by new drugs. Of course, most of them were made sick deliberately by old drugs. But, that?s another story. Maybe.

The LD Micro Conference I?m attending in L.A. features public companies selling at 11 cents on up. Many are under $1. Virtually all are under $10. There is one selling at $26.88 ? BOFI Holdings. BOFI is the holding company for Bank of Internet USA. It works over the Internet from one location in San Diego. Its sales have exploded. One is selling at $24 ? the DDD Group, which develops and sells software to let you watch 3D images without glasses. Their sales are growing nicely. BOFI and DDD present today.

But they?re not this morning?s story.

Nor is this morning?s story a diatribe on CEOs who can?t speak publicly or Powerpoint slides the audience can?t read because there?s too many words, numbers, pie charts, and zillions of circles and arrows all crammed into unbelievable clutter. Nor is this about using cliches, like ?game changer,? or ?restructuring?, or our ?exit strategy.? But it could be about all these presentation practices which can give irritation a whole new meaning. I wonder if any of these CEOs have ever heard of communications coaches. They sure could use a few.

I spied four trends ? first, making online purchases better, faster, bigger with software and other services. Second, making commerce work on smartphones. Dumb phones that only make phone calls and do SMS are dead. Now everyone has apps that do everything from price shopping to calling limousines. And everyone is buying a smartphone. Third, everyone is eying social media ? especially Facebook and now also Google Plus ? as a way of finding out what consumers want to buy and then selling it to them online. Fourth, everyone and everything is moving to the cloud. The cloud is hot. Since I write this column ?in the cloud,? I am aware of its perils.

I?m here to find nuggets. Here goes with nuggets, albeit preliminary ones and based on my listening to their 25 minute presentations and getting in an occasional question ? but no additional research.

I liked Acacia Research (ACTG). They get patents from the holders, license them and split the revenues. Their sales are exploding. They have 250 patent portfolios and seem to be getting more every day. They mine money from their patents.? Companies will license patents as a peace of mind thing ? not being sued down the road when they?re successful with their shiney new products. The lawyers are winning, again.

I liked Local Corp. (LOCM). They help local businesses (many of whom don?t have web sites) be contacted by people looking for local services, like hairdressing or dog grooming, etc.

I liked Newtek Business Service (NEWT). They?re the only non-bank SBA-approved lender, which means that of every $100 they lend to a small business, they can immediately sell off $75 ? the part that?s SBA-insured. They hold the remaining 25% on their balance sheet, hoping it won?t default. They talked about a 9% default, which seemed high to me. They also do ?managed technology solutions? for small businesses ? like web hosting, data storage, cloud computing, etc. Little businesses are being pushed into the 21st century.

I also liked Cinedigm Digital Cinema (CIDM). They process movies for showing in theaters. Their digital files are much larger and far more complex than the movies you and I watch on DVDs. There are worldwide standards for showing in theaters, great theater projection equipment (from Sony and others). Digital movies don?t degrade ? get scratched, etc. These guys seem to be in the right place at the right time.

The good news about the conference was nobody ? and I mean nobody ? talked about the Fiscal Cliff. They all talked about their shiny new thing and their shiny new company. It?s truly exciting to float around watching everyone selling everyone else a deal.? Heh, I?m buying.

That?s it for now. I got to get ready for the early sessions, which begin at ? yuch ? 7.30 AM.

?PYONGYANG (The Borowitz Report)-North Korean leader Kim Jong-un surprised Korea-watchers today by abruptly cancelling his nation?s controversial rocket test and launching a fragrance instead.

The dictator?s signature fragrance, called ?Number Un,? could be on store shelves in time for Christmas, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

The decision to launch a fragrance rather than a rocket ?shows a kind of realism that has been rare in the Kim family,? said North Korea expert Dr. Hiroshi Kyosuke, of the University of Tokyo.

?I think Kim Jong-un most likely said to himself, `Given how badly my last rocket did, maybe I?ll just launch a fragrance,? ? he said.

The official North Korean announcement offered this description of the new fragrance: ?Number Un deliriously combines the sweet smells of North Korea?s native unicorns with the irresistible aroma of our Dear Leader himself. This holiday season, every kiss begins with Kim Jong-un.?

Harry Newton, who is aware that his emailed column is truncated. But isn?t quite sure why. If you?re looking for a good reason to hate software, this is it.

Apple got pounded yesterday. Down over 6%. One of the firms raised its margin need on Apple. But the firm was tiny. And not powerful enough to erase over $30 billion of Apple market cap in one day. I suspect people are dumping Apple to lock in gains, figuring their cap gain tax rates will be hugely higher next year. What with the Fiscal Cliff. I?m glad I?ve been warning against Apple, because of no-Steve and no-new products. But I didn?t push short-selling it. Drat. Apple will bounce back, but maybe not until next year. Meantime, I love the iPhone 5. I?m getting one the moment I get back to New York ? tomorrow morning. Stay well. Turn off the TV. Stop with this Fiscal Cliff, for now. There are businesses to start, businesses to buy and products to launch. It?s a good time to be alive ? despite Washington?s efforts to rain upon our parade. Whoever elected the morons?

Which way do you spell eyeing or eying? I like eyeing. But the dictionary tells me I?m wrong. Wait there, I wrote a dictionary. I?ll do it my way.

Source: http://www.technologyinvestor.com/?p=16477

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