It would be easy for us to simply dismiss PCLN’s proposed acquisition of OPEN for $103/share as an irrational bid and nothing more than another chilling sign of Internet bubble 2.0, but in no way would that approach improve our...
READ MORE >Yesterday we had the opportunity to tour the floor at the National Restaurant Association’s 2014 annual conference. We wanted to pass along some key observations from our time in the exhibit hall. As you might imagine given our...
READ MORE >In what surely has become an alarming trend for bulls on the stock, OPEN MISSED consensus revenue expectations for the fourth time in five quarters. We cannot think of another situation where a growth company so consistently fell...
READ MORE >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...
READ MORE >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...
READ MORE >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...
READ MORE >In another market environment things might be different. Marking the fifth time in the past three years, OPEN missed consensus revenue expectations for 2Q13. On top of that, the company lowered guidance for FY13 substantially. Panic? Not exactly. Had the...
READ MORE >In what can only be described as a surprise to the marketplace, OPEN announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire IACI’s Rezbook. As part of the deal Urbanspoon, a leading mobile...
READ MORE >And so it begins….Two and a half years ago we introduced OPEN as a short idea predicated on four principal tenets: At its core, OPEN provides a “solution without a problem”. OPEN’s ERB technology and...
READ MORE >Yesterday we had the opportunity to tour the floor at the National Restaurant Association’s 2013 annual conference. We wanted to pass along some key observations from our time in the exhibit...
READ MORE >Seriously, who wouldn’t love this business? In 4Q12, OPEN’s growth in diners seated per restaurant collapsed, but the company had healthy net additions in restaurant clients, stability in NA cover...
READ MORE >A few weeks ago we published a lengthy report which outlined some of the more troubling competitive developments for OPEN in North America. We maintain our view that the company is on the cusp of a major deceleration in many of its key...
READ MORE >It’s true, OPEN shares are up 55.6% over the past 12-months with the stock witnessing gains of nearly 22% in the past 3-months alone. The short interest, which once represented close to 50% of the float has now...
READ MORE >Well at least they didn’t miss consensus revenue estimates again…. Seriously though, do you remember the “good old days” when supposed growth companies that reported a massive deceleration in operating metrics, low quality...
READ MORE >Over the past month, PAA Research conducted a survey of approximately 80-85 restaurant operators a significant percentage of which are clients of OPEN and MCRS. The general purpose of the survey was to gain...
READ MORE >Heading into the company’s 3Q12 earnings release, OPEN shares had rallied 31.8% over the past 3-months compared to a meager 3.4% gain for the Nasdaq. Clearly investor enthusiasm for OPEN shares continued to increase over the past...
READ MORE >We had to laugh. Approximately two weeks ago, rumors started to surface that YHOO under the stewardship of Marissa Mayer, might consider an acquisition of OPEN. Outside of combining one high margin, mature business facing...
READ MORE >With OPEN shares down 24% in the past month and now trading at what some might think is an attractive 18.7x consensus EPS for 2013 we shouldn’t be completely surprised by the strength in the stock...
READ MORE >In case you missed it, I recently had the opportunity to speak with Leslie Norton of Barron's about PAA Research, our approach to idea generation, and some of our latest thoughts on for-profit education, payment processing and OPEN, Z, BGG, and TTC. You can find the full interview HERE.
READ MORE >If you were to listen solely to OPEN management, the company’s path to market dominance in the online restaurant reservation space is merely an exercise in “blocking and tackling”. Management continues to execute on the same strategy the company had in...
READ MORE >Was it really just only 12-months ago that OPEN was the darling of Wall Street? It seems like another lifetime. Approximately one year ago to the day, OPEN reported another quarter of 40%+ YOY organic revenue growth and handily...
READ MORE >At the highest level here are the headlines about OPEN’s 4Q11 earnings results and subsequent earnings conference call: 1) the company delivered a low quality beat, 2) underlying operating metrics for the most part were...
READ MORE >Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: a heavily shorted stock, which was one of the worst performing names in its sector in 2011 has now rallied more than 20% to start the year. Of course in...
READ MORE >In the lengthy report we published on OPEN on Monday (backed by a survey of 110-120 restaurant owners) we outlined a number key issues that we expected to become discounted in the stock over the next...
READ MORE >In the 7+ months since we introduced OPEN as a short idea, we have been in a position where the stock has gained more than 40% against us and now trades more than 40% below where we initiated our...
READ MORE >OPEN shares traded off sharply today in response to GOOG’s announcement that it had acquired Zagat, a worldwide publisher of ratings and reviews of restaurants and other businesses. The Zagat restaurant surveys, launched more than 30 years...
READ MORE >Approximately 5-months ago, we introduced OPEN as a short idea based on the following thesis: 1. OPEN’s electronic reservation booking system (ERB) in many respects is a solution without a problem 2. Restaurants view the...
READ MORE >If you happen to be looking at OPEN for the first time, you might be wondering: what’s the big deal about the stock from a pure performance perspective? Year-to date the stock has gained a measly 0.5%, compared to a 2.8% gain for the S&P 500. Obviously, OPEN has been...
READ MORE >Approximately 12-weeks ago, we introduced OPEN as a short idea. You can read our original 40-page report by clicking here. The principal elements of our short thesis are as follows: 1. OPEN’s electronic reservation booking system...
READ MORE >Approximately 8-weeks ago, we introduced OPEN as a short idea. You can read our original 40-page report by clicking here. The principal elements of our short thesis are as follows: 1. OPEN’s electronic reservation booking system (ERB) in many respects...
READ MORE >SELL/SHORT
$230
SELL/SHORT
$55
LONG
$70
SELL/SHORT
$4
SELL
$50
SELL/SHORT
$45
SHORT
$18
SELL/SHORT
$5
SELL/SHORT
$42
LONG
$75
SELL/SHORT
$50
SELL/SHORT
$50
LONG
$5.50
SHORT
$50
SHORT
$28
LONG
$65
LONG
$37
PAIR TRADE
$10
PAIR TRADE
$30
LONG
$35
SHORT
$35
SELL/SHORT
$10
SHORT
$101
SHORT
$15
SHORT
$0
SHORT
$9
SHORT
$0
PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC
25%
PAIR - LONG BGG/SHORT TTC
25%
SHORT
$14.00
SHORT
$22
SHORT
$15
SHORT
$20
SHORT
$31
SHORT
$35
SHORT
$30
PAIR - LONG KNL/SHORT MLHR
25%
SHORT
$100
LONG
$8
LONG
$20
SHORT
$22
PAIR - LONG CSGP/SHORT LOOP
40%
LONG
$35
SHORT
$275
SHORT
$0