Putting $$$ To Work

Well, I put some of the cash received from the Genentech buyout to work today. It's a great time to nibble when the market is correcting. I picked up some Diamond Offshore Drilling (Ticker: DO), Myriad Genetics (Ticker: MYGN) and VISA (Ticker: V). Myriad Genetics is showing very good strength in this weak market. This is a very good sign and will likely explode to the upside once the correction is over.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Yeah, I do have a real job and it's been very busy lately. I did manage to do a few trades, but nothing exciting. After the Genentech (Ticker: DNA) close, I have no more arb plays. Sooo disappointed! I'm just sitting back and waiting for the next arb play so I can pounce all over it. I took some profits in Goldman Sachs (Ticker: GS) yesterday, generating a net gain of ~ 27% including the gains on the covered call positions (the gain was ~ 19% when I exclude the covered call gains). The Goldman Sachs position was purchased on 10/30/08 @ $92.66 and sold on 3/26/09 @ $110.10. My only mistake this year was Forsys Metals (Ticker: FOSYF.PK)... So no complains, it's been a good year so far.

More Genentech

I just loaded up on some more Genentech (Ticker: DNA) at $93.66 and tendered the shares. The tender closes next Wednesday, March 25th, and should receive the cash in ~ 2 weeks. A 1.40% over a 2-3 week period is ok, this still represents an annualized return of ~ + 30%. You know, you can’t be too greedy. This is practically free money as long as you tender your shares.

Reading: Trading for a Living By Dr. Alexander Elder

I'm onto my next book: Trading for a Living by Dr. Alexander Elder. It's time to sit back and tune up my investing / trading skills just a bit.

Forsys Metals = NO Deal

Oops, There She Goes! Yeah, my arb play in Forsys Metals didn’t work out. Today the company announced that they have delayed the merger up to July 31st. The acquirer had trouble finding the $$$ to complete this deal. What else is new, huh? I took a small hit, but fortunately it was just a small position. In any event, it was a 38% loss in this arb play. There was no point in hanging around and hoping the deal comes through. I had a clear exit strategy and now I’m out. You learn and move on…

Genentech = Done Deal

Well, it's official now... Genentech (Ticker: DNA) goes to Roche (Ticker: RHHBY.PK) for $95. It was a nice arb play, but also as an investor in Genentech, it's hard to see it go this way. It's business and it's time to move on...

Genentech = $95?

Rumors are swirling that Roche (Ticker: RHHBY.PK) has increased its bid for Genentech (Ticker: DNA) to $95 per share. I was fortunate to load up on more shares of Genentech this morning in the $89 to $90 range. This has turned into a decent arb play and at this point I have to admit that I'll take the $95 per share. I truly believe that Genentech is worth $100+, but you can't win all the time. Roche just stole a great company!

Roche Trying To Get Friendly With Genentech?

Ok, so Roche (Ticker: RHHBY.PK) is coming to its senses just a bit by increasing the bid for Genentech (Ticker: DNA) to $93 per share. I’ve been nibbling at Genentech for the past few weeks and have built a decent position. In any case, $93 is still TOO LOW for me and will not tender for $93. You can just see the desparation from Roche in trying to close this deal asap. Roche needs to go $100+ to make this deal happen.

Reading... The Complete Turtle Trader

So I finished reading Risk Arbitrage by Guy P. Wyser-Pratte and it was ok. The information is a bit dated, but it's still a good reference. It has very good examples of various types of risk arbitrage plays. I'm onto my new book now, The Complete Turtle Trader by Michael W. Covel. I'll let you guys know how it is, but it's looking good so far... Of course, you can tell I'm a bit biased!