– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

Nr.	Co.	Ticker	Action	Entry Date	Current Gain (Loss)
1	Gentiva Health	GTIV	Holding	11/15/2011	+4%

 

– Markets “At a Glance” –

 

(Please scroll down to the end of the report to see your favorite benchmarks – Dollar, Oil, Gold … closing prices and daily direction.)

(AS of 15:00 EST on Wednesday, December 7, 2011)

Market	Price (Today’s Close)	Unit of Measure	Today’s Direction
SP-500	1,252.34	Index	Down = -6.13 points
DOW-30	12,131.85	Index	Down = -18.28 points
NASDAQ	2,631.61	Index	Down = -17.95 points

 

– Market Trends –

 

Trend	SP-500	DJ-30	NASDAQ
Short Term	Flat/UP	Flat/UP	Flat/UP
Intermediate	Flat	Flat	Flat
Long Term	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral

 

*Summary of terms from Trader Vic II-Principles of Professional Speculation (pg. 140-141)
*_________* Represents a change in trend rating.

 

– Market Perspectives –

 

For your added perspective, we’ve included this chart of the broader market (Successful stock investors develop and start with a minds-eye view of the broader market and keep it clear) –

 

SMC SP-500 ETF Daily Chart

 

 

Please click on the chart to view it in a larger size.

 

 

 

– Today’s Highlights –

Today’s action in the equities markets is considerably different than on previous days and there are encouraging signs emerging.  Here’s what we are seeing –

1. The markets have held the extremely strong gap-up move from last Wednesday.  Please see this move marked on our SMC Daily SPY Chart.
2. Today, the markets opened lower than yesterday’s close and continued to sell-off – BUT then regained their composure at last Wednesday’s highs.
3. Today, the markets have put in a nice rebound off weakness this morning.  Bull / Bullish market behavior is characteristically weakness in the morning that attracts buyers in the afternoon.  Today’s “mid-morning” rally is favorable.

That’s about all that we can safely read into this market at this time.

From a larger perspective, the S&P 500 has held the 1,240 area firmly over the last 4 days and the DOW (DJ-30) has held the 12,000 area repeatedly.  A move above 1,292.77 on the S&P 500 and 12,283 in the DOW will give the rally off the October 4th lows a strong validation.

Here is a good article that describes the condition of the global equities markets related to the European debt crisis.  If you feel frustrated with the markets, you will find here in this article others who manage significant funds who feel the same.  (Bloomberg Article.)

 

– Story-Stock Investing –

Yesterday, I was taking my father to a local Chase bank ATM machine.  Immediately to the right of the machine was large Chase poster, advertising the check deposit application for smart phones.  The application allows you to snap a picture of a check with your smart phone, which deposits the amount on the check into your bank account.  This all happens without leaving the comfort of your home.

This is a classic “Story-Stock Investing” company that we would like to bring to your attention.  The technology behind this application and the provider of this application to banks like Chase is called Mitek Systems (MITK $8.32).

For a quick – “snapshot” of Mitek’s activities – Here’s a useful link to Mitek’s “Profile”. (Courtesy of Yahoo-Finance).

For a more in-depth understanding of what Mitek is all about, we recommend that you take a few minutes to go through their website.  Here’s the link to Mitek’s website.

Click here for a link to Mitek’s Press Release from November 14th, documenting their 4th quarter performance. Here are the highlights from the Press Release –

MITEK SYSTEMS REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FISCAL YEAR 2011 RESULTS

81 New Customers for Mobile Deposit^®, Signed Agreements with All Top 5 U.S. Banks; Extends Reach into Insurance

SAN DIEGO – November 14, 2011 – Mitek Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MITK; www.miteksystems.com), the leader in mobile-imaging applications using smartphone and tablet cameras for check deposits, bill payments and mobile ecommerce, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2011, which ended September 30, 2011.

Total revenues for the fourth quarter were $3,040,000, an increase of 88% from revenues of $1,620,000 for the fourth quarter of 2010. Gross margin for the fourth quarter was 91%, compared to 87% for the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter net loss was $219,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to net income of $180,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Total revenues for the full fiscal year 2011 were $10,266,000, an increase of 101% from revenues of $5,119,000 for the 2010 fiscal year. Gross margin for the full fiscal year 2011 was 89%, compared to 81% for the 2010 fiscal year. Fiscal 2011 net loss was $125,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $682,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the 2010 fiscal year. ¹

The Company ended fiscal 2011 with cash, cash equivalents and investments of $16,261,000, compared to $1,305,000 at the end of the 2010 fiscal year, including approximately $300,000 provided by operating activities during fiscal 2011, compared to $800,000 used in operating activities in 2010. The Company had no debt at the end of fiscal 2011, compared to $680,000 of debt at the end of the 2010 fiscal year. ²

“Fiscal 2011 was an exceptional year for Mitek. We doubled our revenue and signed more than 10 new agreements with Fortune 500 customers. We are seeing the market opportunity for Mitek’s mobile imaging solutions continue to accelerate,” said President and CEO James B. DeBello. “Companies like Progressive, who signed a definitive agreement, and other global Fortune 500 corporations who want to capture the next generation of consumers are investing in our mobile imaging solutions and extending our opportunities beyond financial services.”

“Mitek’s fourth quarter was its most productive quarter to date,” added DeBello. Mitek reported that the total number of Mobile Deposit^® signed customers more than doubled to 161 financial institutions over the past quarter, including the signing of an additional Tier 1 bank. Among these financial institutions, 35 have now formally launched Mobile Deposit to their customers. Mitek has signed agreements with seven of the top 10 U.S. banks.

“In addition, we continue to broaden revenue opportunities using Mobile Deposit for check cashing, prepaid card top-up and commercial payments,” DeBello said. “For example, we announced a mobile check cashing capability to Mobile Deposit for the more than 50 million unbanked consumers in the U.S. and presently we are in discussions with several large distribution companies to provide commercial check deposit at the point of delivery.”

 

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Mitek’s mobile imaging algorithms enable smartphones and tablets to extract data from a photo of any document, thereby enabling consumer friendly applications and an enhanced mobile shopping experience. “During the fourth quarter Mitek introduced Mobile Balance transfer, a solution which allows a consumer to shop for a better credit card rate. Mitek’s mobile imaging solutions are now being used for mobile ecommerce highlighting the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for the company,” added DeBello.

Highlights during Mitek’s Fiscal 2011 included:

• A total of 161 signed Mobile Deposit customers up from four at the end of Fiscal 2010. This total includes each of the top 5 U.S. banks.

• The addition of more than 10 Fortune 500 customers to Mitek’s mobile imaging solutions.

• The launch of the Mobile Imaging Cloud Service and entry into the insurance market.

•The launch of the Mitek Mobile Balance Transfer application which enables consumers to switch bank credit card accounts as simply as “Point, Shoot and Transfer.”

• Listing of Mitek shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “MITK.”

• $15 million in gross proceeds through a private placement offering in May 2011.

 

Here’s what we like about Mitek Systems –

• The company operates in significant growth areas of smart phones, mobile applications, and cloud applications
• The company is winning significant customers to their platform
• The company’s operating margins are very strong
• The company is growing significantly
• The company is in its infancy.

 

We are placing Mitek on our SMC Watchlist and considering an investment here as the shares have pulled back sharply from their September high’s and the shares now are bouncing near the 50 day moving average.  The 50 day moving average is often a characteristic entry point for institutional investors.

 

– Benchmarks “At a Glance” –

(As of 15:00 EST)

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