Penny Stock Pick - ACLS

Ever since hitting this year's low on August 31, shares of Axcelis Technologies Inc. (ACLS), the Massachusetts based semiconductor equipment maker,  have been on the rise and so far has gained 60% in just two months.  Recently Axcelis Technologies has received two major orders from other chip maker - one for Axcelis photoresist dry strip cleaning system and another for the company's plasma dry strip systems showing great signs that the Axcelis's business is picking up.  


Technical chart shows bullish sign as MACD is above 0 and 20 day moving average has crossed on top over both 50 day and 200 day moving average.  The KD lines though show weakness as both K line and D line are moving downward which is why ACLS stock has pull back recently.  At the moment ACLS actually rose 6.97% which shows there is support as shares have dropped to 20 day moving average.


The insider transaction chart also show bullish sign as Axcelis Technologies's directors have been buying tons of shares since August.  Financial statement shows improvement with consecutive rise in revenue and reducing net loss.  With continuously improving business we should expect another great quarter from Axcelis Technologies.

Penny Stock Pick - ACPW

Active Power Inc. (ACPW) saw its shares surged almost 13% to $1.36 per share today with no news announcement.  


The technical chart looks really bullish as the stock is trading above 50 day moving average and the 50 day MA crossed above 200 day MA recently.  In addition both KD and MACD show bullish signal as MACD is above 0 and KD is going up.  Any pullback to the moving average would be a buying opportunity.


The insider transaction also show bullish sign on recent buy from director at $1.2 per share and so far all insider transactions this year have been buys. 


From the fundamental the company is in a great business of supplying UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply system) for data center.  Its customers are mostly business clients who have been spending money this year.  The growth is evident as company reported sales channel growth in Italy.  In addition with its diversified market in United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asian Pacific it should benefit from hyper-growth in the emerging market and not be impacted by the struggling economy in US and Europe.

Penny Stock Pick - ARWR

Shares of Arrowhead Research Corp. (ARWR) were up 5 cents or 5.62% to 94 cents per share after the company announced it increased its ownership of subsidiary Calando Pharmaceuticals.  The stock has been on a down trend since it reached 52 weeks high of $1.85 in early June.  However it seems the stock maybe reversing to a uptrend as the most recent support at 89 cents per share is higher than the previous support level of 85 cents per share which show an uptrend.  Other technical indicator such as MACD and KD still show weakness as MACD is below 0 and KD is pointing downwards.  The financial also show weakness as the company is still losing money and has been selling stocks to maintain a strong cash position.  One positive sign comes from insider transaction as company officers bought total of 35,000 shares in late August.  Generally when insiders buy shares, especially in large amount it is a sign that positive things are coming.  If the stock can keep going up and break the resistance at $1.03 this could further confirm the uptrend.  However do be cautious as the stock has touched the 20 day moving average and may encounter some selling pressure.  If the stock can overcome 95  cents 20 day MA, the next would be the 200 day MA which is only couple of cents above.

Penny Stock Pick - VLNC

Shares of Valence Technology (VLNC) have been rising significant this month, going from 79 cents end of Augusts to $1.09 today gaining almost 40%.  Take a deeper look at what's happening and could give us a better idea if this is just a short pump or beginning of upside.


From the fundamental side the company is in the right industry.  As a producer of lithium battery for cars, Valence should benefits from the Obama Administration's focus on clean energy especially on electric cars.  In addition the $19 million dollar contract with Wrightbus in UK last Thursday also indicates the company is benefiting even from outside US as cleaning energy is also the focus of the other part of the world.


The technical chart also indicates bullish sign as the 20 day moving average has crossed above 50 day moving average with KD going up and MACD in positive territory.  The recent insider buying of 7 million shares at 76 cents per share is also another positive indication that the insider are now bullish about the company.


The only weakness is the financial where the company is still losing lots of money.  However if the company can continue to earn record revenue as it did in the latest quarter, the financial situation could improve eventually.

Penny Stock Pick - NENG

Shares of Network Engine (NENG) rose for four straight days and was up for another 6% today to $1.59 per share.  Its technical chart show some bullish signals as KD is now going up and the stock breaks above the 20 day moving average.  The financial statement also show positive sign as the revenue has increased for four straight quarters and net income has also increased for during the same period.  The insider transaction, another important number, shows bullish signal as well as the stock has ended the selling trend with purchase of 2500 shares at $1.41 per share in August, the first buy since March.  A reverse trend may mean the bottoming and the stock so far is above the latest insider purchase price.  Although the overall economy is still weak as unemployment rate remains high, with business spending begins to pickup company such as NENG which focus on business client would definitely be the company benefit from the recovery from the business side.

Penny Stock Pick - RPRX

After staying in the 30 cents range for two months, shares of Repros Therapeutics(RPRX) finally break out in late August and rose to 60 cents per share following research firm upgrade on August 20. From the technical chart it shows the stock hit the resistance at the 200 day moving average and pulled back which could mean some downward pressure till the stock hit the 50 day MA of 40 cents per share. KD still indicate a bullish trend. The insider transaction also shows bullish trend as director and officer have been buying the stock in June and July between 30 to 45 cents per share. The income statement show some bullish sign as the company has reduced loss and make some revenue. However the loss is still huge so the company was still selling the stock according to the cash flow which show continuous weakness. At the point the stock is on the watch list but not a strong buy yet.

Penny Stock Pick - CPST

Shares of Capstone Turbine(CPST) rose as much as 7% today on order of 18 micro turbines from a oil and natural gas company. The stock however fall back to only a 1.43% on weak market. May this 7% surge be any indication that the stock may finally ends the down trend? The stock in the previous session just dropped to its 52 week low of 69 cents per share. The one cent gain today may seem insignificant. However from the chart the stock has form a bullish "W" shape and could begin a recovery rally.

The recent financial report actually looks fine as the company reported 18% increase in revenue and 43% in backlog. The additional sale today should further improve the bottom line. The net loss also improved from $15.3 million to $8.8 million. Although the final number was net income of $0.4 million, it was primarily the result of the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification so the number to compare should be the one with the old accounting standard which resulted to loss of $8.8 million.

The insider transactions show positive sign as there were four insider buys in August between 72 cents and 75 cents per share. The latest transaction was a sell of 75 cents per share but if there is no further sells, the trend remain bullish.