Friday, July 29, 2011

Got Some C&J Energy Services

I was not allocated in any shares of Teavana (Ticker: TEA), but to my surprise I managed to get a few shares in C&J Energy Services (Ticker: CJES). C&J Energy Services did not exhibit a huge opening day pop as it was priced at $29 (above the initial pricing range of $25-28). The last I checked, the stock was trading around $31. So no complaints… I plan on holding this one as it presents a nice growth story on the fracking boom in the discovery of hard to find natural gas.

I want to aggressively add to Dunkin’ Brands (Ticker: DNKN), but at the right price. I still have a relatively small position as I added a little bit more yesterday at $28.91. I’m going to just watch and wait for a pullback before adding any more.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Bought Some: Google, Priceline and Dunkin' Brands

I did a little bit of buying today. I was waiting for a pull back to start initiating some positions. I picked up some Google (Ticker: GOOG) at $606.87, Priceline (Ticker: PCLN) at $517.41 and Dunkin' Brands (Ticker: DNKN) at $27.13. These are small positions and I’ll just see how they play out. I do plan on adding to Dunkin' Brands on any pullback.

I’m also trying to get a few shares of Teavana Holdings (Ticker: TEA) and C&J Energy Services (Ticker: CJES). I should know soon if I’m allocated any shares in these IPOs.

On a side note, talk about being left at the altar… Fundtech (Ticker: FNDT) was in the process of merging with S1 Corporation (Ticker: SONE), when ACI Worldwide (Ticker: ACIW) swooped in and made a hostile bid for S1. This will leave Fundtech without a partner. I was lucky to get out of Fundtech when they announced the merger with S1. You never know with these M&A plays…

Ok, enough of my rambling...

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

L-1 Identity Solutions = Done Deal

L-1 Identity Solutions (Ticker: ID) finally received the CFIUS approval to close the transaction with Safran SA, the French defense company. I started buying from 6/8 to 6/30 with purchase prices ranging from $11.36 to $11.80. My average price is $11.48 generating a net gain of 4.52% (~39% annualized return). You had to be patient with this one as the CFIUS process can drag out forever as in this case. This was also heavily shorted as many bet that CFIUS was not going to approve this deal. I had a strong conviction on this one, but it definitely wasn’t easy to hold to the very end.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. = Done Deal

Last week I took a small position in Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (Ticker: KCI) at $65.80. At that time, there were reports that the company was in exclusive talks with two private equity firms. One of the names floated around at that time was Blackstone. Today, the company announced that it agreed to a deal with Apax Partners and two Canadian pension funds to take the company private for $68.50. This is a potential return of 4.1% over an 8 day period (184.5% annualized). I wasn’t as aggressive in this one as the high yield debt market was starting to close, which could have nixed the deal. I’m getting a bit more cautious on any private equity plays.

Edit:

I sold my position in Kinetic Concepts this morning at $68.02 generating a 3.37% gain (151.6% annualized).

Friday, July 01, 2011

Blackboard, Inc. = Done Deal

I sold my Blackboard, Inc. (Ticker: BBBB) position today at $44.14 generating a net gain of ~0.80% over a 7 day period (annualized return of 36%). This wasn’t a great special situations play as the buyout from Providence Equity Partners came in on the low side. I was looking for something in the high 40s. It’s time to move on to look for better uses for my $$$...

I'm also back in Apple, Inc. (Ticker: AAPL) at $335.50. I got shaken out last time and I was wrong to sell.