The Deen's ListTM
A service of Deen Capital Management, Inc. (www.deencapital.com)
Vol.2 #249 Monday, November 1, 2004 3:42PM ET

Please read carefully our disclaimers at the end of this newsletter.

Market Stance: BULLISH (since August 18, 2004)

  Contents

Year-To-Date Performance
Bought Ctrip.com International (CTRP)
Sold Hurco Companies Inc. (HURC)
Open Positions
Subscription Information
Privacy Policy
Disclaimers

  Year-To-Date Performance

Year-To-Date as of October 29, 2004

Deen Capital-3.5%*
S&P 500+1.6%

* An average of managed accounts, net after commissions and fees. Individual account results may vary. See also www.deencapital.com/perform.htm. For information on managed accounts, see www.deencapital.com/mgdaccts.htm.

  Bought Ctrip.com International (CTRP)

Net buy price in managed accounts* $41.21
Most recent close (Oct 29) $39.97
Net change (based on net buy price) +$1.24
Today's volume as of 3:25pm ET 105,778 ($4.4 million)
Average daily volume 186,500 ($7.7 million)
This year's earnings-per-share $0.89 (est)
Next year's earnings-per-share $1.20 (est)
P/E using next year's earnings 34.3
Earnings growth rate, next 5 years 39.0% per year (est)
Web site n/a

* The "Net buy price" is the total net purchase cost after commissions for all managed accounts divided by the total number of shares.

Today, Monday, November 1, 2004, I bought CTRP, first for client accounts, then for my personal accounts. Ctrip.com International, Ltd. is a Shanghai-based consolidator of hotel accommodations and airline tickets in China. The Company aggregates information on hotels and flights and enables its customers to make informed and cost-effective hotel and flight bookings.

Here's why I bought this stock:

+ Back on October 6, the stock broke out of a nine-month trading range on extremely heavy volume. On that day, the stock also met my stringent technical buy criteria, as outlined in my Research Update of June 26, 2004: http://www.deencapital.com/newslett/2004/040626.129.html#3 .

I have been watching this stock ever since then, waiting for a good entry point. This may be it. After a mild selloff between Oct 19 and Oct 28, the stock is tentatively resuming its uptrend today.

+ Explosion in trading volume, mostly on the buy side. Prior to October 6, average daily volume was about 50,000 shares. The average over the 18 market days between October 6 and now is 475,933. That's a dramatic, almost 10-fold, jump in volume, and it corresponds to a jump in the stock price. Before October 6, the stock price was in the 20's and 30's; since October 6, it's mostly in the 40's.

+ The stock's 200-day moving average is rising, indicating a long-term uptrend.

+ Excellent and accelerating recent sales growth: Here are the quarterly year-to-year sales growth rates from the last four quarters, in chronological order: +88%, +105%, +101%, and, for the most recently reported quarter ended Jun 30, +332% to $9.7 million.

+ Excellent recent earnings-per-share growth: Here are the quarterly EPS figures for the last eight quarters:

Sep 03 vs Sep 02: (54c) vs  (3c)
Dec 03 vs Dec 02:  21c  vs (39c)
Mar 04 vs Mar 03:  16c  vs  11c
Jun 04 vs Jun 03:  23c  vs  (7c)

+ Rising estimates: According to recent data from First Call, the consensus earnings estimate for 2004 is 89c, up from 81c 90 days ago; and the consensus estimate for 2005 is $1.20, up from $1.15 90 days ago.

+ Valuation: At 34 times next year's estimated earnings and a projected 5-year annualized earnings growth rate of 39%, the stock is moderately priced.

(Earnings surprise history data was not available.)

+ The company's industry group ("Leisure Services") has risen just slightly in relative strength over the past three months, according to Investor's Business Daily.

-KD, November 1, 2004

  Sold Hurco Companies Inc. (HURC)

Net sell price in managed accounts* $13.05
Date(s) bought Oct 12 2004
Net buy price in managed accounts* $15.30
Holding period 2.9 weeks
Gain/loss in managed accounts -14.7% (after commissions)

* The net buy (sell) price is the total net cost (proceeds) after commissions for all managed accounts divided by the total number of shares.

This stock is selling off sharply today, reason unknown. A close of $13.52 or below will trigger a "stop-loss" sell signal from my StockSell Program (Ver.13r). This appears likely, so I am selling now, about an hour before the close.

Also: For the first time since the breakout of October 1, the stock price has fallen back into its old trading range. This is a failed breakout.

-KD, November 1, 2004

  Open Positions

Company Name Stock
Symbol
Buy
Date
NetBuy
Price*
Current
Price**
Weeks
Held
Gain
(Loss)
Ctrip.com InternationalCTRP11/01/04$41.21$41.210.0-0.0%
MarketWatch Inc.MKTW10/29/04$13.33$13.900.4+4.3%
MarketWatch Inc.MKTW10/28/04$14.01$13.900.6-0.8%
MicroStrategy Inc.MSTR10/27/04$63.30$60.050.7-5.1%
Monarch Casino & ResortMCRI10/27/04$27.11$28.500.7+5.1%
F5 Networks Inc.FFIV10/27/04$40.08$39.710.7-0.9%
LCA Vision Inc.LCAV10/26/04$27.58$29.230.9+6.0%
InfoSpace Inc.INSP10/26/04$53.99$53.120.9-1.6%
Carpenter Technology Corp.CRS10/26/04$48.51$47.010.9-3.1%
Navarre Corp.NAVR10/22/04$14.99$14.821.4-1.1%
Sigmatel Inc.SGTL10/21/04$28.28$29.541.6+4.4%
Mannatech Inc.MTEX10/21/04$16.40$16.961.6+3.4%
Amedisys Inc.AMED10/21/04$31.28$31.071.6-0.7%
Diodes Inc.DIOD10/19/04$25.65$27.801.9+8.4%
VSE Corp.VSEC10/18/04$28.51$26.382.0-7.5%
M.D.C Holdings Inc.MDC10/12/04$72.28$77.332.9+7.0%
Charles River Assoc Inc.CRAI09/30/04$38.19$41.054.6+7.5%
Quiksilver Inc.ZQK09/13/04$25.73$27.337.0+6.2%
Digital River Inc.DRIV09/13/04$27.42$33.507.0+22.2%
Average2.0+2.8%

* Net buy prices shown are the total net purchase cost after commissions for all managed accounts divided by the total number of shares.

** Current prices are at least 20 minutes old.

  Subscription Information

Welcome to The Deen's ListTM, an e-mail stock newsletter from Deen Capital Management, Inc.

My intention is to inform you as quickly as is practical regarding my stock market moves. When I buy or sell a stock, first I take care of client accounts, then I buy/sell for my personal account(s), and then, third, I send out this newsletter.

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  Disclaimers

All stocks discussed in The Deen's ListTM involve a high degree of risk. It should not be assumed that any stock discussed in The Deen's ListTM or purchased by Deen Capital Management, Inc. will be profitable.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

The information contained herein has been compiled from sources deemed to be reliable; however, we are not responsible for its accuracy or completeness.

 

Ken Deen
Deen Capital Management, Inc.
PO Box 30925
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
(805) 682-1870
deenslist@deencapital.com

Copyright © 2004 Deen Capital Management, Inc.