Quickie Earnings

My portfolio is doing a little bit better ("can't get any worse"). Two companies announced earnings today.

KSW : They did great (KSW, Inc.'s Third Quarter Revenue up 21.4% to $25.5 Million), but I did notice that there was no specific discussion of their backlog, and they usually brag about that. They made 21 cents in the quarter and now have $19m in cash. As they are only worth $31m in total, that is a lot of cash.

TRID: They announced earnings, or lack thereof (Trident Microsystems Reports Results for First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2009), after the bell. They are clearly no longer an MFI stock. However they are trading for $1.85 a share (and perhaps lower tomorrow), yet they have $3.80 in cash per share and are trading at 50% of book value. If you have any belief that they will make a profit again, they seem like a steal.

We'll see how they fare tomorrow. I will say that outside of MFI that there seem to be tremendous opportunities for some fast money out there right now. I bought STP (quite a bit) last week when they crashed 25% to $14. Today in the after hours they are trading at $18.50. The other fast money stock I have out there is Validus (VR), they announce their earnings on Friday, I'll be waiting with baited breath. After IPC (a competitor) announced earnings last week, they jumped 30% when the market realized they hadn't had a meltdown in their investment portfolio. A lot of insurance companies have been painted with the same brush as banks, which has not always been fair (check out PFG this evening).