Short-trader slaps a downer on Glenfed and Live Entertainment.Short-trader slaps a downer down·er n. A depressant or sedative drug, such as a barbiturate or tranquilizer. on Glenfed and Live Entertainment A short-trader's July newsletter has tagged two Southland stocks as headed for doom and gloom doom and gloom n. Gloom and doom. doom  -and-gloom adj. : Glenfed, the Glendale-based thrift,
and Live Entertainment, the Van Nuys-based entertainment company.
The newsletter, the Overpriced o·ver·price tr.v. o·ver·priced, o·ver·pric·ing, o·ver·pric·es To put too high a price or value on. overpriced Adjective costing more than it is thought to be worth Adj. Stock Service, is published out of Half Moon Bay in Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern by Michael Murphy Michael Murphy may refer to:
Short traders are speculators who bet that the price of target stocks will go down. Murphy's take on Glenfed: "Glenfed is a California S&L with too much money lent MONEY LENT. In actions of assumpsit a count is frequently introduced in the declaration charging that the defendant promised to pay the plaintiff for money lent. To recover, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant received his money, but it is not indispensable that it should be on commercial real estate, too much money lent on residential second mortgages, in a lousy real estate environment. Housing has been weakening since March, with a flood of new listings and a sharp slowdown in escrow escrow Instrument, such as a deed, money, or property, that constitutes evidence of obligations between two or more parties and is held by a third party. It is delivered by the third party only upon fulfillment of some condition. closings. Starts are in the pits, in what (summer) is supposed to be the strongest part of the year." Glenfed shares were trading last week in the $5-a-share range. Murphy points out that for the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, Glenfed has already announced it expects to report a loss of more than $4 a share and about $6.88-a-share for the whole fiscal year. Short-trader Murphy opines Opines are low molecular weight compounds found in plant crown gall tumors produced by the parasitic bacterium Agrobacterium. Opine biosynthesis is catalyzed by specific enzymes encoded by genes contained in a small segment of DNA (known as the T-DNA, for 'transfer DNA') that in the future, brought down by bad loans, the thrift could be stripped away from the Glenfed holding company and then merged into a more solvent thrift. The parent company would then declare Chapter 11, leaving shareholders with nothing. Advises Murphy, "Short Glenfed over $5 for a target price of $0." Another Murphy short is Live Entertainment, best known among local readers, perhaps, for the shotgun slaying of the previous chief executive, Jose Menendez, allegedly by his sons. The company is a distributor of movie videos. Live's stock is up due to a proposed merger between it and Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an independent production company, that within a decade went from producing such blockbuster successes as and the Rambo series to being made bankrupt by bombs such as Cutthroat Island and Showgirls. , the Los Angeles-based movie-maker. Carolco owns 47 percent of Live already. But gloomster Murphy warns Carolco has huge debt payments pending in the next couple years, which will need to be refinanced. And while the Carolco hit movie "Terminator 2" will generate some profits, the film cost $90 million just to make. "It has to gross Carolco $250 million to make Carolco any money," says Murphy. "Now, maybe it will gross $250 million. Or maybe it will simply be a smash hit and gross $160 million -- thus putting Carolco on the ropes." If "Terminator 2" generates only $160 million, it could terminate Carolco's proposed merger with Live, postulates Murphy. He warns a merger may involve a swap of Carolco stock for Live stock and since Carolco is in for a bad time, that will be bad for Live shareholders. Live Entertainment stock is worth less than $5 a share, says Murphy, who advises investors to short it over $15 for a $5 target. Live traded last week in the high, $13-a-share range. PHOTO : Glenfed headquarters: Gloom and doom? |
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