We Called It

“It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true!”

Gotham Research, one of StreetBrains’ key brands, has had a very profitable ’08. Some highlights include:

On 5/14, Gotham closed its position from 12/13/07 on Hercules Offshore (HERO), up 26.61%.

On 5/15, they closed a position on EMCORE Corp (EMKR), up 23.075% from 4/3/08. Additionally on this day, Gotham closed their position on FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. (FCH) from 2/27/08 which was up 18.93%. Gotham also closed a spread on Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) vs. Ultra Petroleum Corp. (UPL) up 6.97% from 1/25/08.

On 5/20/08, Gotham closed on Royal Gold Inc. (RGLD), up 13.32% from 5/2008; Seabridge Gold (SA), up 14.56% from 5/9/08; DryShips Inc. (DRYS) from 1/25/08 up 92.08%.

On 5/21/08, Gotham closed spreads on Altera Corp. (ALTR) vs. SPDR trust (SPY) up 24.60% from 10/25/07; and Platinum Underwriters Holdings (PTP) vs. PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE) up 11.33% from 10/19/07.

We Called It

(Per our usual disclaimer…”It Ain’t Braggin’ If It’s True!")

On November 29th, 2007, StreetBrains held a client event where each of our analysts made their ‘Big Calls’ for 2008. Some of those calls have already come to fruition, and we’re not even out of the first quarter.

Steve Digilio, senior analyst at The Bank Notes made his call that a top bank would fail or be acquired in 2008, and today, he’s right twice over. Today JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and the New York Fed have had to step in and provide financing to a failing Bear Stearns (BSC). Also, the Wall Street Journal noted this morning that National City Corporation (NCC), the 13th largest bank holding company by assets as of December 31, 2007, has reportedly put itself up for sale.

Larry Rothman, senior analyst at DebtVisions, made the call back then that Sharper Image (SHRP) would file bankruptcy in 2008, which it did in late February.

Additionally, Rothman said that increased volatility would lead to increased convertible issuance from certain sectors, particularly biotech. Since then, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) and OSI Pharmaceuticals (OSIP) have utilized the convertible market.

Last but not least, this Wednesday, March 12th, Gotham Research closed a pair trade - long Aetna (AET) and short Humana (HUM) - with an advance of 20.13%.

We Called It

As previously mentioned, every couple of weeks we will be highlighting some of the big calls made by StreetBrains’ portfolio of independent analysts.

Remember: StreetBrains provides conflict-free research – the analysts do not hold positions in the stocks they cover, and are not affiliated to any investment banking outfits. Period.

Below are some of our calls:

• Boo-hoo, Mickey - PatternWatch put the squeeze on Walt Disney (DIS) this past Friday, when they pointed to technicals and fundamentals that supported shorting this stock. Click here to read ‘Mouse Trapped’ by Carrie Coolidge from the 12.24.07 issue of Forbes, now on newsstands.

• Known best for great pairing ideas, Gotham Research recently was up 15% on a Bob Evans (BOBE) (long) / Brinker (EAT) (short) pairing. They worked their magic again when they closed out up 11% on a Commerce Bancorp (CBH)/Bancolumbia (CIB) play last week.

• Photizo Group continues to cultivate their contrarian calls by putting a BUY rating on Xerox (XRX) this past week.

• Coming from very different sector perspectives, both Sterling Account and inMotion issued BUY ratings on Schlumberger (SLB) recently. Perhaps they’re on to something….