AVI Biopharma

Company:	AVI Biopharma
Web Site:	http://www.antivirals.com
Purchase Price:	$1.16
Current Price:	Click Here

AVI Biopharma has been on my watch list for several months, since their acquisition of Ercole Biotech earlier this year. The company has been increasing its revenues, but like so many other small fish that try to absorb another small fish, the expenses it took on in the acquisition have weighed down its balance sheet with debt.

In recent months, the company has been refocusing its portfolio of projects with an eye toward routing resources to the most promising research and have brought aboard industry heavyweight J. David Boyle as their CFO. I have the sense that this transfusion could bring life back to the company, whose stock has been on a slow and steady decline thus far.

Ivanhoe Energy (IVAN)

Company:	Ivanhoe Energy, Inc.
Web Site:	http://www.ivanhoe-energy.com
Purchase Price:	$2.31
Current Price:	Click Here

I've had my eye on Ivanhoe Energy for a couple of months now - ever since the company acquired three leases in the Athabasca oil sands region in Alberta. While I've been watching several companies through the spring, I've been reluctant to get back into the oil business since taking a loss on Pilgrim ... but there's just too much potential in this player, and the major players are beginning to take notice - so I figure now is the time to strike.

Weekly Summary

After taking a tumble last week, my portfolio has recovered nicely, and the value the highest it's been all year:



There are a couple of sick dogs in the pound, which is to be expected, and some of them just won't get up and run - but those that have taken off have largely carried the rest.

Run Away!

A week after buying into eTrade on news that they were liquidating an underperforming unit to address their solvency issues, I've dumped my shares on news that the company reported a significant loss, and issued a press release stating that "the current economic environment may impede our expectations to return to profitability from continuing operations this year."

I got out early, and preserved some of the gains I had made before the feeding frenzy began:


A 46.2% gain is probably nothing to be too upset about - but it is a 9% drop from yesterday's closing price, and I expect it will slide deeper as the day wears on.

This is the second time I've played eTrade this year. I bought in at $2.99 in January, then sold out at $4.21 in March when the company seemed resolved to let its subprime portfolio drag it down the tubes.

I tend to doubt I'll go back for a third helping ... but then, you never know.

Weekly Summary

This week, I'm back in the black by an appreciable margin, largely due to my recent investment in eTrade and the continued progress of Krispy Kreme:



While the beleaguered big-board stocks have been making sufficient gains, my "true" penny stocks are continuing to flounder, with Miva dancing at the edge of my tolerance for bad performance - but in the end, my losses and gains have largely balanced one another out, and I've yet to stumble across a multi-bagger this year.

Revlon Swings to Profit

Revlon has announced a small profit for second quarter 2008, defying analysts predictions for a loss, and reports that sales are continuing to grow:

According to preliminary estimates, profit in the three months ended June 30 totaled $20 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with a loss of $11.3 million, or a loss of 2 cents per share in the same period last year. Net sales in second quarter rose by 8 percent to $375 million compared with $349.2 million last year.

The stock has gained some ground as a result - or more aptly, it has regained some ground that it has lost so far this year. I'm still in the red on this one, but if they can continue to grow, slow and steady, my sense is that buying into REV is a move I won't regret.

Insider Investment at Rite Aid

A week after trimming back its outlook for the current fiscal year, Rite Aid insiders are loading up on cheap shares:

[CEO] Mary Sammons and fellow board members Robert Miller and George Golleher purchased 1.48 million shares in open-market transactions this week. The price: $1 a share. Sammons bought 486,750 shares, while Miller and Golleher bought 500,000 shares a piece.

This is a significant vote of confidence by people who are "in the know" about this company's long-term potential. While I think it's going to take longer than I had hoped to turn a profit on this investment, I still expect I'll end up well in the black.