Bin Hong is one of Covestor’s new managers. He is a California based long term equity investor who focuses on both fundamental and technical indicators. He has held positions as research head of a commercial bank and as risk manager of trading desks. For his Long-Short Macro Trends portfolio, Hong combines fundamental and technical analysis with market timing into
A long/short equity investment approach that follows the macro trend of the overall equity market.
Current top portfolio holdings include short positions in Star Scientific (Nasdaq: CIGX), Evergreen Energy (NYSE: EEE) and Oculus Innovative Sciences (Nasdaq: OCLS) (as of 3/28) On March 16, Hong took a short position in Biolase Technology (Nasdaq: BLTI), which designs, manufactures and markets dental, cosmetic and surgical lasers and related products. According to Yahoo Finance, BLTI has a Short Interest Ratio of 1.7 which represents 3.3% of float as of 3/28. On March 10, the company released its fourth quarter and year end results, which showed significant growth:
Net revenue for the 2010 fourth quarter was $9.7 million, up 56 percent sequentially from $6.2 million in the 2010 third quarter and down approximately seven percent from $10.4 million in the same quarter for 2009. Revenue, excluding license fees and royalties for the fourth quarter of 2010, was $9.5 million, up 58 percent sequentially from $6.0 million in the 2010 third quarter, driven by BIOLASE’s new direct sales business model implemented during the fourth quarter.
This appears to vindicate the company’s upmarket product strategy, as discussed by Douglas Cress on Seeking Alpha:
Based on market research, Jake St. Philip, Biolase CEO, believes a broader product offering to complements the company’s flagship Waterlase MD will increase adoption rates across segments of the dental market – specifically dentists who are just beginning to build their practices. Because of its high cost ($85,000 – $100,000), the feature-rich Waterlase MD is better suited to dentists with well-established practices.
Sources:
Short Data from Yahoo Finance, 3/28. https://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=BLTI
“BIOLASE Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results” Biolase Technology, Inc., 3/10. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/BIOLASE-Reports-Fourth-iw-1076291039.html
“Is Biolase On the Mend?” Douglass Cress. Seeking Alpha, 7/13/08. https://seekingalpha.com/article/84723-is-biolase-on-the-mend
