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Research – Pyxis Tankers (PXS) – Solid Improvement Likely Extends Into Next Year

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Friday, November 15, 2019

Pyxis Tankers Inc. (PXS)

Solid Improvement Likely Extends Into Next Year

Pyxis Tankers Inc is a United States-based international maritime transportation company which focuses on the product tanker sector. It owns a fleet which comprises of double hull product tankers employed under a mix of short- and medium-term time charters and spot charters. The fleet owned by the company includes Pyxis Epsilon, Pyxis Theta, Pyxis Malou, Pyxis Delta, Northsea Alpha, and Northsea Beta. Each of the vessels in the fleet is capable of transporting refined petroleum products, such as naphtha, gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil, and other liquid bulk items, such as vegetable oils and organic chemicals.

Poe Fratt, Senior Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for price target, fundamental analysis and rating.

  • Positive direction with 3Q2019 EBITDA of $2.1 million ahead of expectations due to stronger MR and small tankers performance. 3Q2019 TCE rates of $12,360/day and operating days of 500 were up sequentially.
  • Increasing 2019 Estimate to $6.2 million to reflect quarterly results and forward cover. TCE rate estimate is $11,899/day and forward cover is 57% of available…


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This research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Research – Sierra Metals (SMTS) – Higher EBITDA and Operating Cash Flows Driven by Strong Q3 Production

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Friday November 15, 2019

Sierra Metals (SMTS)

Higher EBITDA and Operating Cash Flows Driven by Strong Q3 Production

Sierra Metals Inc is a precious and base metals producer in Latin America. The company acquires, explores, extracts, and produces mineral concentrates consisting of silver, copper, lead, zinc and gold in Mexico and Peru. Its activity includes the operation of the Yauricocha Mine in Peru, and the Bolivar and Cusi mines in Mexico. Yauricocha is an underground polymetallic mine using the sublevel block caving and cut-and-fill mining methods. Bolivar is a copper-silver-zinc-gold underground mine using room-and-pillar mining method. The majority of the revenue is earned by selling of the mineral concentrates to its customers in Peru.

Mark Reichman, Senior Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for price target, fundamental analysis and rating.

  • Third quarter financial results. Sierra Metals generated net income attributable to shareholders of $1.8 million, or $0.01 per share, compared to $1.9 million, or $0.01 per share, during the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to $21.6 million versus $18.2 million during the prior year period and our estimate of $23.4 million. The increase relative to the prior year period was attributed to higher revenue driven by production growth.

  • Updating estimates. We are revising our full year 2019 EPS and EBITDA estimates to $0.03 and $69.2 million from $0.08 and $74.2 million, respectively. Additionally, we have trimmed our 2020 EPS and EBITDA estimates to $0.26 and $134.5 million from $0.30 and…


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This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Research – electroCore (ECOR) – Q3 2019: Revising Outlook After Slow Quarter

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Friday, November 15, 2019

electroCore (ECOR)

Q3 2019: Revising Outlook After Slow Quarter

electrocore Inc is a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company with a platform for non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation therapy initially focused on neurology and rheumatology. Its product gammaCore is FDA-cleared for the acute treatment of pain associated with migraine and episodic cluster headache in adults.

Ahu Demir, Ph.D., Biotechnology Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for price target, fundamental analysis and rating.

  • Third quarter 2019 financial results. The company reported net sales of $683,000 compared to $623,000 and $410,000, respectively, in the two previous quarters of 2019. Forty and 25 percent of the total sales in the quarter were attributed to the federal supply schedule (FSS)and the United Kingdom (UK) channels,respectively. No additional payers or lives were added/disclosed to the current reimbursement coverage.
  • Did the results meet expectations?  We believe the recent numbers do not demonstrate the expected revenue ramp-up. In the quarter, we did not see the near-term positive trajectory in…



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This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Research – QuoteMedia (QMCI) – Not Likely To Move The Needle

Posted on by Admin

Thursday, November 14, 2019

QuoteMedia (QMCI)

Not Likely To Move The Needle

QuoteMedia, based in Fountain Hills, Arizona, provides cloud-based financial data, market news feeds, and financial software solutions.  Its customers include financial service companies, online brokerages, clearing firms, banks, media portals, public corporations, and individual investors.  The company provides a single-source solution providing products such as streaming quotes, charting, historical data, technical analysis, news, and research.  Information can customized and provided to multiple platforms including terminals and mobile devices.

Michael Kupinski, DOR, Senior Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

  • Uninspiring Q3.  Total company revenue increased a moderate 5.3% to $2.963 million with softer than expected adjusted EBITDA of $158,000 versus our $250,000 estimate. The quarter was adversely impacted by a large customer that pared-back services in the second quarter of 2019.

  • Investing in growth.  We believe that the company is investing in sales staff and infrastructure to potentially accelerate revenue and cash flow growth in 2020. This appears possible in the second half of 2020, or…


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This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in the full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Research – The McClatchy Company (MNI) – Lots Of Balls In The Air

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Thursday, November 14, 2019

The McClatchy Company (MNI)

Lots Of Balls In The Air

The McClatchy Company publishes news and information in the United States. Its publications include the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star, The Sacramento Bee, The Charlotte Observer, The (Raleigh) News and Observer, the (Fort Worth) Star-Telegram, and The (Durham, NC) Herald-Sun. The companyÂ’s businesses comprise daily newspapers, Websites, mobile apps, mobile news and advertising, video products, niche publications, direct marketing, direct mail services, and nearby community newspapers. The McClatchy Company was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Sacramento, California.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

  • Q3 results were soft.  Total company revenues of $76.7 million were lighter than our $83.4 million estimates. Adjusted EBITDA from cont. ops. was $19.9 million, which was lower than our $23.1 million estimates. The largest variance from our revenue estimate was in Advertising, which accounted for $6.7 million of the revenue miss.
  • Difficult comp Q4 expected. Management provided a downcast view of Q4 given the year earlier strong cost reduction and the absence of year earlier $1.6 million in Political advertising. We are lowering our Q4 and…


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This Company Sponored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

In an Increasingly Mobile Society, Will Cryptocurrencies Gain More Acceptance?

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Cryptocurrencies May Drive Innovation in Global Payments Systems

(Note: companies that
could be impacted by the content of this article are listed at the base of the
story [desktop version]. This article uses third-party references to provide a
bullish, bearish, and balanced point of view; sources are listed after the
Balanced section.)

While Bitcoin was released in 2009 and is considered by many to be the first decentralized cryptocurrency, others have followed including Tether, Ethereum, Litecoin and others.  Mass-market adoption has been hindered, in part, by their volatility which has made them poor stores of value and mediums of exchange.  Further, cryptocurrencies have been met with skepticism by various governmental bodies that see risk to existing monetary and central banking institutions.  Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, recently testified in front of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services to discuss Libra, a blockchain digital currency proposed by Facebook and the Libra Association, an independent, not-for-profit membership organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, of which Facebook is a founding member.  Reaction to his testimony has been mixed.  Do the risks of global cryptocurrencies outweigh the benefits?  While concepts are evolving, we look at the bull and bear arguments related to cryptocurrency.

Research – Dyadic (DYAI) – Q3 2019: Continuing Expansion of C1 Technology Applications

Posted on by Admin

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Dyadic International Inc. (DYAI)

Q3 2019: Continuing Expansion of C1 Technology Applications

Dyadic International, Inc. is a global biotechnology company which is developing what it believes will be a potentially significant biopharmaceutical gene expression platform based on the industrially proven hyper productive engineered fungus Thermothelomyces heterothallica (formerly Myceliophthora thermophila), named C1.
The C1 microorganism, which enables the development and large scale manufacture of low cost proteins, has the potential to be further developed into a safe and efficient expression system that may help speed up the development, lower production costs and improve the performance of biologic vaccines and drugs at flexible commercial scales. Dyadic is using the C1 technology and other technologies to conduct research, development and commercial activities for the development and manufacturing of human and animal vaccines and drugs, such as virus like particles (VLPs) and antigens, monoclonal antibodies, Fab antibody fragments, Fc-Fusion proteins, biosimilars and/or biobetters, and other therapeutic proteins. Dyadic pursues research and development collaborations, licensing arrangements and other commercial opportunities with its partners and collaborators to leverage the value and benefits of these technologies in development and manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. In particular, as the aging population grows in developed and undeveloped countries, Dyadic believes the C1 technology may help bring biologic vaccines, drugs and other biologic products to market faster, in greater volumes, at lower cost, and with new properties to drug developers and manufacturers, and improve access and cost to patients and the healthcare system, but most importantly save lives.

Ahu Demir, Ph.D., Biotechnology Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

  • Multiple collaborations progressing towards validation of C1 technology.  Dyadic continues to follow its business model by establishing research collaboration with large pharmaceuticals, institutions and biotechnology firms to validate C1 technology in biologics for human and animal health, in addition to the company’s own in-house efforts. Management continues to maintain costs in check with low cash-burn while increasing the probability of success of C1 technology’s potential in the biologics market. The company recently added animal health segment via partnerships to its current portfolio of human biotherapeutics including vaccines, biosimilars, metabolites, and viral vectors.
  • Third Quarter Earnings Update. On November 13,  the company reported $0.46 million in revenues, $0.9 million in R&D expenses and $1.1 million in G&A expenses. Net loss was $1.7 million, or ($0.06) per share. The reported numbers are in-line with our estimates. Therefore, we are maintaining our…


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This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in the full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Research – Endeavour Silver (EXK) – Will El Curso Play a Role in Guanacevi’s Turnaround?

Posted on by Admin

Wednesday November 13, 2019

Endeavor Silver (EXK)

Will El Curso Play a Role in Guanacevi’s Turnaround?

Endeavour Silver Corp is a precious metal mining company. The company is primarily engaged in silver mining and owns three high-grade, underground, silver-gold mines in Mexico. Its other business activities include acquisition, exploration, development, extraction, processing, refining and reclamation. It is also involved in exploration activities in Chile. The company is organized into three operating mining segments, Guanacevi, Bolanitos and El Cubo, which are located in Mexico as well as Exploration and Corporate segments. The Exploration segment consists of projects in the exploration and evaluation phases in Mexico and Chile.

Mark Reichman, Senior Research Analyst of Natural Resources, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for price target, fundamental analysis and rating.

  • Initial drilling results are encouraging.  Endeavour reported positive initial drilling results for the El Curso property adjacent to Endeavour’s Guanacevi mine in Durango, Mexico. By our calculation, weighting the grams per tonne by the interval lengths, the weighted average grades for silver, gold and silver equivalents are 671.8 grams per tonne, 1.63 grams per tonne and 802.4 grams per tonne, respectively. For a point of reference, the weighted average grade of Guanacevi’s reserves and resources, excluding silver-gold-lead-zinc mineral resources, are 312.5 grams per tonne of silver and 0.78 grams per tonne of gold.

  • El Curso may play a role in getting Guanacevi to full production. Management plans to drill another 10 holes before year end 2019 and then complete an initial resource estimate. The new mineralization is expected to be included in the …


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This research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Research – Genie Energy (GNE) – Boring quarter welcomed after rough 2Q

Posted on by Admin

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Genie Energy Ltd. (GNE)

Boring quarter welcomed after rough 2Q

Genie Energy Ltd, through its subsidiaries, operates as a retail energy provider; and an oil and gas exploration company. Its segments are Genie Retail Energy (GRE) which is the key revenue generator, Genie Energy Services (GES), and Genie Oil and Gas (GOGAS). GRE owns and operates retail energy providers (REPs), including IDT Energy, Residents Energy, Town Square Energy, and Mirabito. Its REP businesses resell electricity and natural gas to residential and small business customers in the Eastern and Midwestern United States. GES designs, manufactures and distributes solar panels and also offers energy brokerage and advisory services. GOGAS is an oil and gas exploration company that owns an interest in a contracted drilling services operation and interest in Afek Oil and Gas (Afek).

Michael Heim, CFA, Senior Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for price target, fundamental analysis and rating.

  • GNE reported 2019-3Q EPS of $0.18 and adjusted EBITDA of $8.0 million, in line with our $0.17 and $8.6 million estimates. A solid quarter for the company supports claims that disappointing 2Q results were largely weather related.
  • Investing for the future.  GNE’s expansion into the Texas market this summer and Japan in January should pay dividends in 2020 and beyond. Global meters rose to 492,000 from 448,000. International adjusted EBITDA was ($1.6) million versus…


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This Company Sponored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Research – Harte-Hanks (HHS) – Ahead Of Its Turnaround Plan

Posted on by Admin

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Harte-Hanks Inc. (HHS)

Ahead Of Its Turnaround Plan

Harte-Hanks is a marketing services company that provides multichannel marketing solutions as well as consulting, data analytics, and strategic assessment. The company’s offerings focus on business-to-business, retail, finance, and automotive segments through digital, social, mobile, and print media offerings. Harte-Hanks strives to develop better customer relationships through its marketing and analytical services for clients. The majority of its revenue is derived from its marketing services in the retail, technology, and consumer brand segments.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for price target, fundamental analysis and rating.

  • A quarter early.  The company overachieves estimates with a positive cash flow of $203,000, a quarter earlier than expected. Revenues were roughly in line with expectations at $51.4 million. Revenues moderated from the pace of decline in the first half and the company indicated that it is building a pipeline of business.
  • Renegotiated third party agreements. The company right sized its third party agreements, which was adversely affecting profitability. Annualized vendor cost savings are a significant $13.4 million in total and…


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This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in the full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Research – Salem Media (SALM) – Addressing The Elephant In The Room

Posted on by Admin

Wednesday November 13, 2019

Salem Media (SALM)

Addressing The Elephant In The Room

Salem Media Group is America’s leading radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher targeting audiences interested in Christian and family-themed content and conservative values. In addition to its radio properties, Salem owns Salem Radio Network, which syndicates talk, news and music programming to approximately 2700 affiliates; Salem Radio Representatives, a national radio advertising sales force; Salem Web Network, a leading Internet provider of Christian content and online streaming; and Salem Publishing, a leading publisher of Christian themed magazines. Salem owns and operates 115 radio stations, with 73 stations in the nation’s top 25 top markets – and 25 in the top 10. Each of our radio properties has a full portfolio of broadcast and digital marketing opportunities.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to full report for price target, fundamental analysis and rating.

  • Q3 results better than estimated. Total company revenues of $64.1 million were better than our $62.3 million estimate and cash flow $9.0 million was better than our $8.4 million estimate. The results benefited from strong publishing revenue, up 15.3%.

  • Q4 outlook in line. Management indicated that revenues were pacing down 4% to 6%
    which includes the absence of year earlier Political advertising of $1.7 million, in line with our estimate. We are maintaining…


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This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst
certification and important disclosures included in full report. 
NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of
this research summary.  Proper due diligence is required before
making any investment decision. 

Does the recent RAS inhibitor data show that we can effectively treat RAS-related cancers?

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Does the recent RAS inhibitor data show that we can effectively treat RAS-related cancers?

(Note: companies that
could be impacted by the content of this article are listed at the base of the
story [desktop version]. This article uses third-party references to provide a
bullish, bearish, and balanced point of view; sources are listed after the
Balanced section.)

The RAS pathway is one of the most frequently dysregulated pathways in cancer. Approximately 30% of tumors harbor activating RAS gene mutations. There are three main isoforms of oncogenic RAS: KRAS, HRAS and NRAS.  Among these genes, KRAS is the most frequently mutated (90% of pancreatic cancers, 35% of colon cancers). In comparison, NRAS and HRAS are mutated in a lesser number of cancer patients (for example, 15% of melanomas and 4% of head and neck cancer patients carry mutations in NRAS and HRAS, respectively).

The RAS protein family consists of low molecular weight guanosine 5-triphosphate (GTP, the building block of protein synthesis)-binding proteins that orchestrate a variety of cellular signaling networks. These pathways or networks are essential to regulate a variety of cellular functions including cell proliferation, differentiation, and cell survival. The three RAS proteins (N-RAS, H-RAS and K-RAS) oscillate between an active (GTP-bound) and an inactive (GDP-bound) state. When RAS genes are mutated (typically at codon 12, 13 or 61), RAS proteins are constitutively activated (continuously binding to GTP), which induces a pro-tumorigenic state characterized by unregulated cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis (evading death signals). Constitutively activated RAS proteins trigger downstream signaling responsible for phenotypic traits known as hallmarks of cancer including: i) aberrant cell proliferation, ii) resistance to apoptosis (evasion of death signals), iii) increase in migration, cell invasion and metastasis to different tissues and iv) escaping the anti-tumoral immune response. The phenotype of many cancer cells is determined by RAS-dependent aberrant signal transduction pathways involving various oncogenic proteins acting downstream of RAS (Exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1. RAS signaling pathways involved in
human cancer

Source: Seminars in Cancer Biology 54 (2019) 138–148

RAS is an important therapeutic target, but is it a druggable
target?

The high mutational rate of RAS genes in cancer patients, combined with the fundamental role of RAS proteins in cancer biology, makes the RAS family of oncoproteins a primary therapeutic target. Since its discovery in 1982, both academia and industry have made significant efforts to develop an anti-cancer medicine targeting RAS. Despite these intensive efforts, there are no FDA approved anti-RAS drugs at present. Multiple clinical failures have led to the general perception that the oncogene RAS is “undruggable”.