When making an investment decision, it’s easy to start doubting your ability to make choices. You could be using inaccurate information, a poorly constructed valuation model, or a number of different error-filled factors. How can you be a little more sure of your investment then?
It might be helpful to have the backup of a large investment bank’s analysts. Their full-time job is to analyze companies, so their word is as professional as it gets. They often have personal relationships with the companies they are assigned to, and visit the company to get more accurate figures out their value.
Business Section: Investing Ideas
Below we have compiled a list of companies whom Barclays is taking overweight positions on. This means that the investment bank believes these stocks are good buys at the moment.
Another encouraging characteristic accompanying these stocks is that they all show high levels of cash relative to average quarterly operating expenses. This cash coverage means the firms can continue to fund their operations even without profitability for an extended period of time.
To illustrate these ideas, we ran a screen on stocks with high cash and short-term investments relative to their average quarterly operating expenses over the last year.
So what do you think? Did Barclay’s make a good call on rating these cash-rich stocks “Overweight?”
Interactive Chart: Use the Compar-O-Matic to compare market caps for the stocks mentioned below:
1. Agenus Inc. (AGEN, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Develops and commercializes immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. Market cap at $102.15M, most recent closing price at $4.49. Average quarterly operating expense over the last five quarters at $5.48M, vs. most recent cash and short term investments at $24.59M, implies a Cash / Avg. Operating Expense ratio at 4.49. On 12/09/2011, Barclays Capital had a Overweight rating on the stock.
2. Altera Corp. (ALTR, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and markets programmable logic devices (plds); structured application-specific integrated circuit devices; predefined design building blocks or intellectual-property cores; and associated development tools. Market cap at $11.75B, most recent closing price at $36.72. Average quarterly operating expense over the last five quarters at $300.35M, vs. most recent cash and short term investments at $2988.21M, implies a Cash / Avg. Operating Expense ratio at 9.95. On 12/09/2011, Barclays Capital had a Overweight rating on the stock.
3. Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in the discovery and development of antisense drugs using antisense drug discovery platform. Market cap at $1.32B, most recent closing price at $13.09. Average quarterly operating expense over the last five quarters at $42.38M, vs. most recent cash and short term investments at $333.94M, implies a Cash / Avg. Operating Expense ratio at 7.88. On 12/06/2011, Barclays Capital had a Overweight rating on the stock.
4. Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Engages in developing a pipeline of drug candidates that utilize its PEGylation and polymer conjugate technology platforms. Market cap at $939.96M, most recent closing price at $8.18. Average quarterly operating expense over the last five quarters at $50.26M, vs. most recent cash and short term investments at $382.11M, implies a Cash / Avg. Operating Expense ratio at 7.6. On 12/06/2011, Barclays Capital had a Overweight rating on the stock.
5. Trius Therapeutics, Inc. (TSRX, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of antibiotics for serious, life-threatening infections in the United States. Market cap at $208.82M, most recent closing price at $5.40. Average quarterly operating expense over the last five quarters at $16.14M, vs. most recent cash and short term investments at $96.55M, implies a Cash / Avg. Operating Expense ratio at 5.98. On 12/06/2011, Barclays Capital had a Overweight rating on the stock.
Written by Rebecca Lipman. Analyst ratings sourced from Reuters, accounting data from Google Finance, all other data from Finviz.
Use Kapitall’s Tools: Looking for ways to analyze this list?
Use this article snapshot as a launch pad (click here for help): Simply click on the links, and use Kapitall’s tab navigation to browse through the data…
Analyze These Ideas: Getting Started
- Read descriptions for all companies mentioned
- Access a performance overview for all stocks in the list
- Compare analyst ratings for the companies mentioned
- Compare analyst ratings to annual returns for stocks mentioned
- Real-Time Opinion: Scan the latest tweets about these companies (feed will open in a new window)
Dig Deeper: Access Company Snapshots, Charts, Filings
- Agenus Inc. (AGEN, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Altera Corp. (ALTR, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Trius Therapeutics, Inc. (TSRX, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
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