Author Archives: PAA Research

WPO 10-K Highlights – Program Review at Kaplan University, Kaplan Resolves 25% CDR Issue at a Few Schools

March 4, 2010 – 1:30 pm

We recently discussed WPO’s 4Q09 results, which have prompted a 5.8% rally in shares.  In our review, we highlighted how we were eagerly anticipating the release of WPO’s 10-K, which we hoped would include more extensive disclosure on regulatory compliance and operating metrics at Kaplan Higher Education, the company’s largest division.  WPO recently issued its [...]

Posted in For-profit Education | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

PAA Research SMid Cap Portfolio Update – Closing out ZIPR Investment Idea with 77% Gain

March 2, 2010 – 12:32 am

We wanted to provide you with an update on the performance of our SMid Cap portfolio, which we introduced on 9/3/09. As a reminder this is a “mock” portfolio with an initial value of $100 million. We plan to manage the portfolio like a long/short equity hedge fund.
Performance Update
Thus far in 2010, the PAA Research SMid [...]

Posted in SMID Cap Portfolio | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

WPO 4Q09: Margin Improvement at Newspaper and Broadcasting Divisions Overshadow Sequential Decline in Margins at Kaplan Higher Education

February 24, 2010 – 1:20 pm

WPO reported 4Q09 results this morning. You can read all of the details here.  The company’s revenue and EPS of $1.238 billion and $8.71 beat the lone set of analysts estimates out there of $1.16 billion and $3.21.  In the table below we outline how each of the company’s operating divisions performed relative to our [...]

Posted in For-profit Education | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

GCA 4Q09: Block, Tackle and Generate Cash

February 22, 2010 – 9:04 am

We introduced GCA as a long idea approximately 4-months ago, since that time shares have appreciated more than 20%.  GCA will report its 4Q09 earnings after the market closes on Tuesday, February 23rd.  Overall, we think the company should meet if not exceed current consensus estimates. As the leading provider of cash management solutions to [...]

Posted in Transaction processing | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Chart of the Week: Do Your Remember When APOL Was Known For Enrolling High Quality Working Adults?

February 21, 2010 – 2:49 pm

Our entry for chart of the week is sure to send a painful reminder to shareholders of APOL about Friday’s sell-off.  APOL provided initial guidance for its 2Q10 earnings which were well below consensus expectations.  The primary culprit – bad debt expense.  APOL management expects bad-debt expense as a percentage of revenue to be 6.8-7.1% [...]

Posted in For-profit Education | Tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

ESI 10-K Highlights, the “More You Learn, the More You Earn” Student Covenant Continues to Slip Away While Cohort Default Rates Remain Surprisingly Low

February 21, 2010 – 12:08 pm

ESI released its annual 10-K filing on Friday. We wanted to provide you with a few key observations and revisit some of the original tenets of our short thesis on the stock.  Overall, there was nothing in the 10K that we would characterize as “earth shattering”, although we anticipate many investors will be interested to [...]

Posted in For-profit Education | Tagged , , | Comments (4)

Upcoming Changes at PAA Research and pleaseactaccordingly.com

February 18, 2010 – 3:13 pm

We wanted to alert you about some upcoming changes at PAA Research and our website pleaseactaccordingly.com.  As many of our loyal subscribers know, we have been publishing rigorous and highly differentiated research on action-oriented investment ideas for almost a year now.  Thus far the results have been fruitful – approximately 70% of our investment ideas [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

The Five Primary Questions We Asked IPSU Management

February 17, 2010 – 2:47 pm

We recently had the opportunity to speak with IPSU’s CFO, Hal Mechler and other members of  company management to get answers to a few lingering questions we had following the company’s 1Q10 earnings release and subsequent conference call.  Overall, we had five major questions which we wanted answered.  Here are the questions:

Why did senior management “talk [...]

Posted in Sugar | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

PAA Research SMid Cap Portfolio Update

February 15, 2010 – 6:03 pm

We wanted to provide you with an update on the performance of our SMid Cap portfolio, which we introduced on 9/3/09. As a reminder this is a “mock” portfolio with an initial value of $100 million. We plan to manage the portfolio like a long/short equity hedge fund.
Performance Update
Thus far in 2010, the PAA Research [...]

Posted in SMID Cap Portfolio, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

When the Castle Is Under Siege It Helps To Have a Wide Moat: Long CSGP/Short LOOP

February 11, 2010 – 10:09 am

A few years ago, Warren Buffet stated to Fortune magazine:
“The key to investing is not assessing how much an industry is going to affect society, or how much it will grow, but rather determining the competitive advantage of any given company, and above all, the durability of that advantage. The products or services that have [...]

Posted in Commercial real estate | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)