The Deen's ListTM
Our Goal: To outperform the S&P through up markets and down.
A service of Deen Capital Management, Inc. (www.deencapital.com)
Vol.6 #275 Thursday, August 28, 2008 12:33PM EDT

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

Market Stance: BULLISH (since July 17, 2008)

Contents

Performance
Bought Solera Holdings Inc. (SLH)
Open Positions
Subscription Information
Privacy Policy
Disclaimers
Contact Us

Performance

Deen Capital S&P 500
Year-to-date as of August 27, 2008 -11.2% * -11.5%
12 months (Aug 27, 2007 to Aug 27, 2008) +0.8% * -10.8%

* An average of managed accounts, net after all commissions and fees.

Click here for more performance data.

Click here for information on managed accounts.

Bought Solera Holdings Inc. (SLH)

Initial percent of portfolio (approx.)5.0%
Net buy price in managed accounts*$30.01
Most recent close (Aug 27)$27.60
Net change (based on net buy price)+2.41
Today's volume as of 12:35pm ET1.2 million ($36.6 million)
Average daily volume567,900 ($17.0 million)
This year's earnings-per-share$1.37 (est)
Next year's earnings-per-share$1.59 (est)
P/E using next year's earnings18.9 (est)
Earnings growth rate, next 5 years15% per year (est)
Corporate HeadquartersSan Ramon, CA
Web sitewww.solerainc.com

* Buy prices shown are net after commissions and fees.

Today, Thursday, August 28, 2008, I bought SLH, first for client accounts, then for my personal accounts.

Solera Holdings Inc provides software and services to the automobile insurance claims processing industry, collision repair facilities, independent assessors, and automotive recyclers.

Here's why I bought this stock:

+ Earnings surprise: Yesterday, Aug 27, after the close, the company announced results for the quarter ended Jun 30. Earnings came in at 34c per diluted share (vs 22c last year and analysts' consensus 29c). Revenue was up 19% to $145.5 million (analysts' consensus $137.0 million).

+ A "true surprise"*: For nine days prior to the news, the stock price has been heading mostly lower. It closed yesterday at a three-and-a-half week low. Then, this morning, the stock is soaring on very heavy volume.

* "True surprise" is my term to describe a company news item that ignites heavy buying and that was not preceded by a short-term run-up in the stock price (i.e. not preceded by rumor).

+ Near breakout: If we could ignore one light-volume day in August (Aug 14) when the stock closed at $30.52, then we could say a close above $29.97 will be a breakout from a six-week trading range to a new all-time high.

+ Volume spike: As I write this, almost exactly half-way through the regular trading session, volume is more than twice the daily average.

+ Excellent and accelerating recent sales growth. Here are the quarterly year-to-year sales growth rates from the last four quarters, in chronological order: +11%, +14%, +13%, and, most recently, as cited above, +19%.

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

Sep 07 vs Sep 06: 26c vs  9c
Dec 07 vs Dec 06: 29c vs 10c
Mar 08 vs Mar 07: 32c vs 14c
Jun 08 vs Jun 07: 34c vs 22c

+ Strong and rising earnings-per-share estimates: According to recent data from First Call, the consensus earnings estimate for 2009 is $1.37, revised upward from $1.36 90 days ago (and up from 2008 actual earnings of $1.22); and the consensus estimate for 2010 is $1.59, revised upward from $1.11 90 days ago.

+ Valuation: At 19 times next year's estimated earnings and a projected 5-year annualized earnings growth rate of 15%, the stock is moderately priced.

+ History of earnings surprises: This company has reported earnings-per-share at least 5c above estimates in each of the past four quarters, including the just-reported quarter cited above, which "beat the Street" by 5c.

+ The company's industry group ("Computer Software - Enterprise") is ranked #35 for relative strength out of 197 industry groups tracked by Investor's Business Daily. This ranking changes daily, but it has been holding relatively steady over recent weeks and months.

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

-KD, Thursday, August 28, 2008

Open Positions

Model Portfolio

Company Name Stock
Symbol
Buy
Date
NetBuy
Price*
Current
Price**
Weeks
Held
% of
Portfolio
Gain
(Loss)
Solera Holdings Inc. SLH 08/28/08 $30.01 $29.98 0.0 5.0% -0.1%
Sapient Corp. SAPE 08/27/08 $9.25 $9.40 0.1 5.0% +1.6%
LDK Solar Co. Ltd. LDK 08/26/08 $48.65 $50.84 0.3 5.1% +4.5%
SkillSoft PLC SKIL 08/22/08 $10.67 $10.90 0.9 5.0% +2.1%
VisionChina Media Inc. VISN 08/21/08 $19.22 $18.68 1.0 3.8% -2.8%
SunPower Corp. SPWR 08/18/08 $89.00 $96.08 1.4 5.3% +8.0%
Estee Lauder Cos Inc. EL 08/18/08 $51.31 $50.03 1.4 4.8% -2.5%
Ebix Inc. EBIX 08/14/08 $105.10 $106.77 2.0 5.1% +1.6%
PAREXEL International Corp. PRXL 08/07/08 $32.62 $32.42 3.0 5.0% -0.6%
Thoratec Corp. THOR 08/05/08 $23.18 $26.53 3.3 6.8% +14.5%
II-VI, Inc. IIVI 08/05/08 $39.98 $43.91 3.3 5.4% +9.8%
Covidien, Ltd. COV 08/05/08 $52.60 $55.36 3.3 6.2% +5.2%
Varian Medical Systems VAR 07/24/08 $59.79 $63.78 5.0 6.5% +6.7%
Woodward Governor WGOV 07/22/08 $44.19 $45.26 5.3 5.3% +2.4%
Cash 25.8%  
Total 100%  

* Buy prices shown are net after commissions and fees.

** Current prices are at least 20 minutes old.

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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.

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