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WWE: As We Move Beyond “Proof of Concept” for the Network the Second Phase of Growth Comes Into Focus, Raising...

March 31st, 2014

Was it really only 6-months ago that WWE shares were languishing at multi-year lows and trading 100-200,000 shares a day?  My how things have changed.  In a mere 180 days, WWE shares have now...

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MCRS/ING.PA: Highlights from Southeastern Acquirers Association Conference

March 27th, 2014

Earlier this week we had the opportunity to attend the Southeastern Acquirers Association annual conference.  The event was largely attended by merchant acquirers, ISO’s, and hardware providers in the payment processing industry.  While we...

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ESI: PEAKS Losses Inform Investors as Much about the Present as the Past; Lowering Estimates Due to Reduced Starts...

March 25th, 2014

It what has become standard practice for ESI, the company filed an 8-K last Friday after the market close which delivered more unfavorable news.   If bulls are to be believed the latest development...

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MCRS: The Investor Day Was a “Schnoozer” and That’s a Good Thing for Shorts

February 21st, 2014

Stasis is MCRS’s best asset.  That’s our grand takeaway from the company’s investor day. Otherwise, we can’t help but wonder how bulls on the stock feel about the company’s growth prospects and management team.  Those who were...

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WWE: The “Mark to Market” Could Be Higher Than Previously Thought, Raising Target to $35

February 21st, 2014

We’re going to spare you any comments on WWE’s 4Q13 earnings results. If today’s stock price action is any guide, it appears investors have deemed them irrelevant.  All eyes at this point are on two things: 1) the...

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TRLA: They Had No Choice, Now Come the Tough Questions

February 14th, 2014

Well, now we know why…. In early December, TRLA announced a convertible notes offering which was eventually upsized to $200 million.  The notes convert at $35.93/share, or roughly 2% below where TRLA shares closed yesterday.  The timing of the notes offering...

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TRLA: Share Losses Have Accelerated, How Will the Company Respond?

February 12th, 2014

It all sounds so intoxicating doesn’t it? To company management (and presumably bulls on the stock) Trulia is a leading rapidly growing mobile based residential real estate search platform integrated with a cloud based CRM system.  How many investor...

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OPEN: As Customer Acquisition Costs Sky-Rocket and Competition Gains Momentum Investors Are Left To Ask: If Not Now,...

February 7th, 2014

Approximately three months ago we postulated that OPEN’s EPS in FY14 could actually be flat on a YOY basis. At that time, and at every point up until the company’s earnings release yesterday...

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COCO: The Reasons Why We Think COCO Could Have a Significant Liquidity Crisis over the Next 6-12 Months

February 5th, 2014

In many respects, we are stunned that COCO shares did not trade down more today.  Let’s consider what “new” information we learned as a result of the company’s earnings release: 1) starts trends are...

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ESI: In a Web of Partial Truths, Mis-statements, and False Promises, Focus on These Realities

January 30th, 2014

Really, who would trust this management team?  The current management team of ESI has been wrong on almost every front over the past 3-4 years whether it be: student start prospects, market clearing tuition levels, or actual...

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For-Profit EDU: The Hope for Hope Trade Could Be Coming To an End as Winter Term Enrollment Results Bring a Cold Dose...

January 29th, 2014

The for-profit postsecondary education sector has been a “contrarian’s delight” for the better part of 12-months.  Initially what started as a long trade predicated on overly bearish sentiment...

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A Notice About a Change in Pricing for Basic Subscribers

January 18th, 2014

If you are a gold or institutional subscriber please IGNORE this message.  If you have a basic subscription(s) bundled with a gold or institutional subscription please IGNORE this message.  Your pricing will not change.Effective February 1st, 2014 the price of...

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WWE: Massive Content Monetization Is Here, Raising Target to $23

January 14th, 2014

“You‘ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology - not the other way around.”-Steve JobsIn the end, it appears the WWE Network will be nothing short of fantastic for WWE fans and the company’s stakeholders. ...

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GCA: Closing out GCA Long Idea with a 51.3% Gain (vs. 75.2% Gain for S&P 500)

January 3rd, 2014

We are closing our our long idea in Global Cash Access Holdings Inc. (GCA) with a gain of 51.3% vs. a 75.2% advance for the S&P 500 over the same time frame.  We initially introduced GCA as a long idea in November 2009 based on our view...

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2013 Investment Idea Performance Update: .657 Absolute Return “Batting Average”, AVERAGE Alpha Generation of 5.4%,...

December 31st, 2013

First and foremost we wanted to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year and thank you for your continued interest in our research.  While there was plenty to be pleased about from a...

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OPEN: As Opentable Loses Market Share in North America the Potential for a Minneapolis 2.0 Scenario Should Concern...

December 20th, 2013

As we approach year end it seems like a natural process for most investors to evaluate what they got right and what they were wrong about over the past 12-months.  We are no different.  While...

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WWE: The Network is Coming (Finally) – Assessing the Potential Risks and Rewards

December 5th, 2013

This time we really mean it…  After a number of false starts, misdirected rumors, and management mis-steps (we’re of the belief that at some point in the past 3-years there was the potential for a traditional network launch), it...

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ING.PA: Terminalization? Reterminalization? How About Obsolescence, Time to Get Short Ingenico

November 25th, 2013

The point of sale (POS) terminal/credit card acceptance device.  In the United States the hardware has become somewhat of an afterthought in the broader point of sale experience at best and at worst a PCI/EMV compliance...

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ESI: The PEAKS Problem – It’s Bigger than You Think

November 14th, 2013

“On the cost reduction efforts….As far as opportunities going forward there aren't a ton of opportunities right now, so we're not throwing another target out there, we're not throwing another bogey out there right now.” 10/24/13 Kevin Modany,...

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OPEN: A One Legged Growth Stool Increasingly Vulnerable to Competitive Threats

November 6th, 2013

North American diners seated per restaurant is for OPEN shareholders “the one metric to rule them all” as far as stock price action is concerned.  In 2012 when diners seated per restaurant in North America slowed, OPEN shares struggled...

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COCO: What Will Happen First? Evaluating Key Catalysts as the Company’s Options Appear More and More Limited

November 5th, 2013

Tick, tick, tick…..  From where we sit, it certainly feels like the walls are closing in on COCO as the company’s weak enrollment results, shrinking EBITDA generation, tenuous liquidity position, and...

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TRLA: Nowhere to Go But Down from Here As Traffic Growth Appears Poised to Slow and “True TAM” Penetration Becomes...

October 30th, 2013

It all sounds so intoxicating doesn’t it? To company management (and presumably bulls on the stock) Trulia is a leading rapidly growing mobile based residential real estate search platform...

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ESI: Despite the Stock Action, All Evidence Suggests the Downward Spiral in Earnings Power Could Continue

October 24th, 2013

Only in this environment might some people view an 10% move in a stock as a “relief”, but that is certainly how we feel today with ESI. That’s not to say our conviction in our short thesis has wavered in any...

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For-Profit EDU: The Stocks Have Been Telling Us For the Past 6-Months That the Fall Term Enrollment Intake Would...

October 22nd, 2013

“It’s real the pain you feel, you trust, you must confess Is someone getting the best, the best, the best of you?”-          Foo FightersOften wrong, never in doubt…. If we could use...

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TRLA: A Storm Is Brewing Between Brokers and MLS’s, Assessing the Potential Collateral Damage for TRLA and Z

October 10th, 2013

“There’s something brewing here that really makes me think that the people in this room need to rethink their role.  Some of you[MLS representatives]  may be in denial. You don’t know that there’s a...

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MCRS: As MCRS Continues to Lose Share, a Sequence of Short Term Gains Could Create Longer Term Pain

September 27th, 2013

The purpose of this report is to address several critical questions surrounding MCRS and the company’s future growth prospects. In general, we would argue that most of these queries aren’t part of the general...

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WWE: Navigating the Pathway to $200MM in EBITDA, Taking Our Price Target to $19

September 18th, 2013

It’s not every day that the CEO of a publicly traded company offers us the opportunity to put him in a “hammerlock” if the company does not achieve its stated financial objectives.    WWE management has expressed an incredible...

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COCO: Hanging on By a Thread While the Challenges Continue to Mount

August 29th, 2013

We watched the stock price action in COCO over the past two weeks with considerable befuddlement and consternation. After all, the stock rallied more than 25% following the announcement that the Department of Education had preliminarily sided with the...

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MCRS: After a Year of Zero Growth, Are Shareholders Any Better Off Than They Were 12-Months Ago? Analyzing the Marriott...

August 22nd, 2013

“Hope is a dangerous thing.  Hope can drive a man insane.”Morgan Freeman (Red), Shawshank RedemptionWe are not alone in this.  There’s no shortage of short sellers who lament the action in...

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WPO: The Irrational Bid Scenario Now Comes Into Play and Catalysts Are Limited, Closing Out Our Short Idea With a...

August 6th, 2013

This is something we obviously did not see coming, but based on the action in WPO shares over the past 6-months perhaps someone else did.  In retrospect, we should have given greater attention to...

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Current Ideas

EXPI

SELL/SHORT

$4

HUSQ.B

SELL

$50

UFPI

SELL/SHORT

$45

TREX

SHORT

$18

PRDO

SELL/SHORT

$5

STRA

SELL/SHORT

$42

CWH

LONG

$75

OSTK

LONG

$128

CM

SELL/SHORT

$50

RY

SELL/SHORT

$50

ARC

LONG

$5.50

AYI

SHORT

$50

BIG

SHORT

$28

WWE

LONG

$65

XOXO

LONG

$37

RLGY

PAIR TRADE

$10

RDFN

PAIR TRADE

$30

BCO

LONG

$35

ING.PA

SHORT

$35

TRUP

SELL/SHORT

$10

CTC

SHORT

$101

ATGE

SHORT

$15

HCG.TO

SHORT

$0

RON.TO

SHORT

$9

ESI

SHORT

$0

BGG

PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC

25%

TTC

PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC

25%

Z

SHORT

$14.00

NA.TO

SHORT

$22

ZU

SHORT

$15

TRLA

SHORT

$20

MCRS

SHORT

$31

APOL

SHORT

$35

OPEN

SHORT

$30

KNL

PAIR - LONG KNL/SHORT MLHR

25%

CSGP

SHORT

$100

GCA

LONG

$8

IPSU

LONG

$20

MLHR

SHORT

$22

LOOP

PAIR - LONG CSGP/SHORT LOOP

40%

THQI

LONG

$35

WPO

SHORT

$275

COCO

SHORT

$0

HNI

SIG

RGR