"...firing on all cylinders" from Steve Jobs

Ok, I think you guys had enough of me talking about Big Lots (Ticker: BIG)... I'll move onto something else...

“With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders,” Enough said, this was a quote from Steve Jobs on the Apple (Ticker: AAPL) earnings release. Another outstanding quarter… Oh and the company has built its cash position to $65 billion. The number speaks for itself. Wow!

Same Old, Same Old...

Well, like I mentioned earlier I didn’t get any shares of Zipcar (Ticker: ZIP) and I certainly would not buy any shares at the current price. It has a billion dollar valuation. I would have flipped it if I got any shares. It takes some luck to get IPO shares. It certainly helps if it’s a big offering and of course you have to be a “good” customer (i.e. generate lots of commissions and / or margin interest). I haven’t played the IPO game for a long long time. The last IPO I played was Visa (Ticker: V), which I managed to get some shares.

Ok, back to business… I added to Big Lots (Ticker: BIG) today at prices ranging from $43.15 to $43.22. The stock seems to open up a bit, sell off and buyers step in towards the end of the day. I like this action…

Trying To Get Zipcar

In the past few days, there has been a bit of M&A chatter on various companies ranging from Exelixis (Ticker: EXEL) to Tyco International (Ticker: TYC). I don’t have positions in either of these companies, but I am keeping a close eye on them. My primary focus is on Big Lots (Ticker: BIG) and we should be hearing soon on the results from the second round bids.

In the mean time, I’m trying to play some IPOs. I placed a conditional offer for a few shares of Zipcar (Ticker: ZIP), but this one will be difficult to get because of the thin float and strong demand. I’ll know tomorrow morning if I’m allocated any shares.

Edit:

I was not able to get my hands on any Zipcar shares. It’s not surprising…

Here We Go Again... More Big Lots

I finally received the cash and CVR shares from the Genzyme (Ticker: GENZ) / sanofi-aventis (Ticker: SNY) deal. I’m using some of the cash to build my Big Lots (Ticker: BIG) position. I picked up some more Big Lots today at $43.81 and $43.62. I have plenty of ammo now to add to Big Lots on any pull back. We should be hearing some news within the next two weeks in terms of where the potential deal stands. I like the price here based on valuation and the potential take out play.