TPS Position Update – May 7, 2013

May 7, 2013

. . . . First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD) – Hold

FMD continues to be a nice winner for us.  The shares are up over 40% as of this writing, and recently hit a high of 48% gains.

There’s plenty of good news driving the recent surge.

First off, FMD’s third quarter results were solid.  Operating income improved 23% year over year, while net cash usage showed a 36% reduction.  Those are both very encouraging numbers no matter how you slice it.

What’s more, FMD just regained full compliance with NYSE listing standards.  In other words, the company’s no longer in any danger of getting delisted.

As long as the good news keeps rolling in, there’s no reason to take profits on FMD at this time. Keep holding for bigger gains.

. . . . Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ: ACLS) – Buy up to $1.35

Axcelis shares are up 14% for our portfolio and have just about climbed above our buy up to price of $1.35.

The company’s recent earnings release contained mixed news.  At first, the sellers took charge after the company barely missed earnings and revenues projections.

However, bulls took over after the company’s comments about seeing improving market conditions.  ACLS recently released a new product in their promising Purion line.  And, management believes Purion products will allow the company to quickly capitalize on the improving conditions.

As we just mentioned, ACLS shares are about to move above our buying range, so grab shares now if you haven’t yet done so.

. . . . USEC (NYSE: USU) – Sell

USU has never been able to gain the traction we expected.  We believe it’s still a good company.  However, there are just too many obstacles at this time to overcome.

For instance, the stock got a nice pop this week after first quarter earnings were announced… to the tune of a 25% gain.  But, as of this writing, the stock had already given up almost all of the gain.

With that kind of selling action, we don’t see USU breaking higher anytime soon.  Let’s go ahead and sell our shares here and conserve the remaining capital.

Please Note:

We don’t necessarily review every open position in each Position Update.  We focus on the positions experiencing significant news, notable price movement, or a change in recommendation.  Please refer to the Performance page on our website for our current buy, sell, or hold recommendation for any positions not mentioned in the Update.

Action To Take

• Sell USEC (NYSE: USU)

Category: TPS Update