MissionIR Small-Cap Investor Blog: September 2015

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

ENGlobal’s Corp. (ENG) General Automation Services is Key Deliverable for Energy Sector Solutions

ENGlobal’s core business is energy-related project delivery solutions. The automation segment is focused on integrated services geared for design, fabrication and implementation of advanced automation, control, instrumentation and process analytical systems. Within ENG’s Automation Engineering vertical is the company’s General Automation Services offering. The company builds shareholder value in many ways. General Automation Services is vital to this effort.

General services covers project management, construction coordination and construction management of automation projects. These projects typically involve DCS migrations, plant re-instrumentations and expansions, and instrument, electrical and control system installation. Additional automation services include loop check, commissioning and start-up support of process control, power distribution and generation, analytical and EPA regulated systems. Comprehensive system troubleshooting is often required at all junctures of an automation project including after a system has been in place for two or more years.

The company employs a staff that possesses the experience to deliver many services for a wide range of automation and control system applications. These services include an exhaustive list of tasks connected with automation and control systems. ENG deploys a team to manage an automation project from conception through start-up and optimization.

ENGlobal is positioned to deliver engineering and project services to the energy sector in the United States and around the world. ENG’s two business segments include Engineering and Automation. The automation segment delivers services for designing, fabricating and implementing advanced automation, instrumentation control and process analytical systems. The engineering component consults on the development and execution of projects where professional engineering and construction management are vital. The company’s Government Services group offers design, engineering, installation and operation to the public sector and facilities around the world. An additional tier of expertise comes in the way of installation and maintenance of automation and instrumentation systems for the U.S. Defense industry on a global scale.

ENG’s corporate headquarters are in Houston, Texas. Houston is also home for the company’s Engineering and Construction / Automation Engineering and Automation Integration and Fabrication facility. Engineering and Construction facilities are located in Denver, Colorado, Mobile, Alabama and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

For more information on the company, visit www.ENGlobal.com

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International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) Develops Breakthrough Technology to Treat Osteoarthritis

International Stem Cell Corp., a biotechnology company developing novel stem cell-based therapies, announced that its scientific team has developed a robust innovative technology to generate functional articular cartilage from the patient’s own skin or adipose tissue to treat osteoarthritis. ISCO believes this technology may allow the company to provide relief to patients suffering from osteoarthritic knee joints, as well as to those with shoulder joints and intervertebral spinal disk osteoarthritis.

Ruslan Semechkin, ISCO’s chief scientific officer, stated, “While we are working on obtaining regulatory approval for the Parkinson’s disease treatment in Australia, as well as in the US, we are also pursuing a number of other therapeutic indications including osteoarthritis, which can potentially be treated with the patient’s own cells.”

Even though osteoarthritis is prevalent in our society, there is a lack of an effective treatment for this disease. Developing and successfully testing a scalable system that permits the generation of functional human cartilage tissue with superior mechanical properties is a significant accomplishment. The capacity to provide greater stability than other tissue that is currently available for the treatment of osteoarthritis is even more impressive.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by progressive erosion of the articular cartilage. Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint in the body, the disorder most commonly affects joints in the hands, knees, hips and spine. The erosion of articular cartilage leads to joint pain, stiffness, and impaired mobility. According to the Arthritis foundation osteoarthritis affects over 27 million Americans with an estimated medical costs of as much as $65 billion.

For more information on the company, visit www.internationalstemcell.com

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Rand Logistics, Inc. (RLOG) Stands Alone as Only Carrier Offering Domestic Port-to-Port Services on the Great Lakes in both Canada and the U.S.

Rand Logistics, Inc. is a leading provider of bulk freight shipping services throughout the Great Lakes region. Through its subsidiaries, the company operates a fleet of four conventional bulk carriers and 11 self-unloading bulk carriers – including three integrated tug/barge units. Despite the growing national and international presence of logistics giants such as Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX), Rand has established a viable presence in the shipping industry as the only carrier able to offer significant domestic port-to-port services in both Canada and the United States on the Great Lakes. As a result, the company has built a strong client list that includes global brands such as Koch Industries, Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) and Kraft Foods (NASDAQ: KHC).

In recent months, Rand has successfully leveraged its strategic presence in the logistics market in order to achieve strong financial growth. During its fiscal quarter ended June 30, the company reported net income of $2.6 million, realizing a year-over-year increase of 47.6 percent. This performance was attributable to a collection of factors – including a 19 percent increase in tonnage carried over the previous year, a 5.2 percent decrease in vessel operating expenses related to a reduction in fuel costs and an overall increase in total sailing days.

“We were generally pleased with our first quarter results,” Ed Levy, president and chief executive officer of Rand, stated in a news release. “Business conditions for the primary commodities that we carry remain satisfactory, particularly in the river class market where we compete.”

Building on these results, Rand plans to introduce its newest vessel into service during the fourth quarter of this calendar year. This new vessel will carry the tonnage currently being handled by a chartered third-party vessel, providing the company with an opportunity to achieve levels of profitability that greatly exceed its current benchmarks.

“We remain focused on developing and executing initiatives to improve our return on invested capital,” continued Levy. “Specifically these initiatives are intended to drive operational excellence, leverage our market position, capture cost savings opportunities and improve the efficiency of our capital spending.”

According to a report by market research firm Kentley Insights, the coastal and Great Lakes freight transportation industry in the United States accounted for approximately $7.5 billion in total sales in 2011, and the industry has achieved an annual growth rate of 6.8 percent in recent years. For prospective shareholders, this favorable market performance is expected to provide Rand with a strong platform upon which to promote sustainable growth. Look for the company to lean on the experience of its management team in order to capitalize on this opportunity moving forward.

For more information, visit www.randlogisticsinc.com

Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (ETAK) Delivers Global Telecom Companies a Comprehensive Suite of Desirable, Necessary Services

Elephant Talk Communications Corp. was launched fourteen years ago as a result of a merger between Staruni Corporation and Elephant Talk Limited. Staruni Corporation (also known as Altius Corporation, Inc.), through 1997, was positioned as a web developer and Internet Service Provider after the company acquired Starnet Universe Internet Inc. Elephant Talk Limited started operating in 1994 in the international long distance services provider space focused on international call termination into China. Twelve years later, in 2006, Elephant Talk Communications Corp. decided to retire its strategy of focusing on international calls into China altogether.

Staruni Corporation began trading under the stock symbol SRUN in 2000. Replaced by symbol “ETLK” after the merger with Elephant Talk Limited, the symbol changed to “ETAK” when the stock split in 2008.

In the first in a series of acquisitions beginning in 2007, the company acquired Switzerland’s Benoit Telecom and in so doing solidified its position in the European telecommunications market, in particular, the Premium Rate Services and Toll Free Services space and to lesser extent in the Carrier (Pre) Select Services market. Leveraging its human capital, IT resources and acquired software, ETAK obtained the experience, expertise and software vital to highly efficient and robust telecom and multi-media systems, telecom regulations and European markets.

In the spring of 2010, ETAK acquired ValidSoft, an acquisition in line with its strategy to develop and market customized mobile solutions. ValidSoft’s strong suit is in the area of authentication and transaction verification capabilities which allow companies to efficiently implement solutions that protect against current forms of credit and debit card fraud and identity theft. The acquisition combines ValidSoft’s proprietary software with ETAK’s telecom platform to create the best electronic fraud prevention solution available.

Today, Elephant Talk delivers global telecommunication companies a comprehensive suite of services which allows them to offer mobile and landline telecom services as part of their overall business offering portfolio. Integration of their own applications with the telecommunication services provided by Elephant Talk’s Mobile Virtual Network Enabling (MVNE) platform is achieved using market standard Web Services.

In addition to basic voice, data and text services, the company offers an assortment of adaptable products such as premium messaging services, promotions and loyalty programs, subscriptions, location and other value-added services. These services include but are not limited to remote health care, mobile internet ID security, credit card fraud prevention, voice biometrics, mobile banking and remittances/payments in addition to many other emerging customized mobile services. Elephant Talk’s uniquely differentiated application suite of network embedded services and supporting patents are based upon what the company sees as the four main ingredients required for maintaining service value; individualized location, the relevant customer profile, real-time secure connectivity, and Elephant Talk’s platform which is an integral piece to making all of these services work in concert with one another.

Access security and authentication is supported by the company’s security software company, ValidSoft, which was acquired by Elephant Talk in 2010. ValidSoft’s game-changing telecom-based technology is cited as being the only integrated product set that provides card-based and an electronic fraud prevention solution. Regardless, ETAK sees its customer base needing real-time proximity-based card fraud detection, Out-of-Band Man-in-the-Browser protection for internet or mobile based transactions and Voice Verification for Telephone Banking. ValidSoft’s feature set offers what many see as a leading telecommunications-based authentication solution.

Elephant Talk Communications Corp. is a worldwide service provider of mobile, proprietary Software Defined Network Architecture – a platform for the telecommunications industry and cyber security solutions. The company is credited with boosting Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Enablers (MVNEs) and Aggregators (MVNAs) with a variety of versatile applications, state of the art industry expertise and high quality customer service without the need for an initial, cost-prohibitive investment. Elephant Talk partners with many of the world’s leading MNOs and technology companies such as T-Mobile, Vodafone, Affirmed Networks, HP and Zain.

For more information on the company, visit http://www.elephanttalk.com

Monday, September 28, 2015

ENGlobal Corp. (ENG) Ranked Among Industry Leaders by Engineering News Record

The 2015 Engineering News Record ranking of the top 500 design firms is effectively a who’s who of the engineering and construction industry’s best and brightest. Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR), a leading provider of engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services, claimed its spot near the top of the list through five operating segments – including oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure, government, global services and power. Likewise, Chicago Bridge and Iron Company (NYSE: CBI) and KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) leveraged the viability of the energy market in order to claim spots on the ENR ranking. Listed among these industry giants, ENGlobal Corporation’s (NASDAQ: ENG) innovative, cost-effective approach to EPCM services has helped it thrive in the engineering and construction markets for over three decades.

Through its engineering segment, ENGlobal provides consulting services for the development, management and execution of a variety of construction projects. Over the years, the company has built a reputation for its proficiency in the design of state-of-the-art plant automation systems, as well as its unique ability to deliver complex midstream/downstream projects. As a result, ENGlobal has entered into multiple alliance agreements with leading industry clients, allowing it to achieve steady financial growth.

In the second quarter of 2015, the company successfully translated this established industry position into strong financial results, achieving its sixth consecutive quarter of profitability. Through its engineering and construction segment, ENGlobal achieved an increase in gross profit margin despite difficult market conditions resulting from oil prices hovering near six-year lows. This consistent performance, along with a healthy cash balance and working capital in excess of $25 million, is expected to drive the company’s efforts to develop new business moving forward while its management team also considers growth through strategic acquisition.

In support of its efforts to promote sustainable growth, ENGlobal recently announced the addition of two key professionals to its management team. John Offutt, the company’s new general manager of midstream projects, and Robert Sammons, ENGlobal’s new general manager of automation engineering, supplement the leadership team with more than 55 years of combined industry experience.

For prospective shareholders, ENGlobal’s financial performance despite slumping energy prices demonstrates the flexibility and viability of its business model. Look for the company to build on these results in the months to come as it attempts to capitalize on current market conditions by securing new business and considering the implementation of an acquisition-based growth strategy.

For more information, visit www.englobal.com

International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) Stem Cell Therapy Commercialization Progress on the Verge of Major Milestones

Stem cell technology’s real untilled and still extremely fertile soil is the therapeutics market, where injected cells could help repair damaged tissue systems and thus effectively treat many conditions, including degenerative ones, for which the current standard of care is often palliative at best. Dealing with the underlying cause of a given condition, through the gradual replacement and/or reinforcement of an impaired tissue system or organ using injected stem cells, represents a true paradigm shift in how we think about treating many of today’s most debilitating diseases. However, to tap into the rich spoils of this as yet largely undiscovered country, requires a mix of technologies and logistical capabilities, of which tragically few companies today can seriously boast.

One company that doesn’t need to boast, as it has clearly achieved both the capacity to proprietarily differentiate adult human cells by chemically stimulating unfertilized donor eggs, as well as provide long-term, storable, high-quality stem cell product for real-world, commercial-scale therapeutic applications, is International Stem Cell Corp. At the core of the company’s pipeline of rapidly emerging therapeutics is its parthenogenesis technology, whereby the company can create large batches of pluripotent (able to develop into any type of cell), human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs), and do so in a completely ethical fashion. The company’s proprietary stimulation and differentiation technology also helps resolve the one major stumbling block facing stem cell therapies, immune rejection by the host. The company’s ability to make large batches of adult human cells from stem cells that are either specifically immune-matched to the donor, or immune-matched to the general population, gives ISCO an open road to therapy development, and the company has the testing to back up its technology too.

ISCO’s nine-month, 300 subject rodent model safety study, testing the tumorigenicity (propensity to promote tumor formation/growth) of its human neural stem cells (hpNSCs), which have been developed for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD), was submitted back in July as part of the build up to phase 1/2a human clinical trials in Australia. This study followed up on earlier results by ISCO with its hpNSCs, showing no tumors in any of the animals receiving neural stem cell transplants. The demonstrated ability of injected hpNSCs to create new neurons that produce the primary neurotransmitter, dopamine (with whose falloff PD is causally associated), as well as exhibit a neuroprotectant effect on surviving neurons makes this technology a potential gold mine if human clinical trials yield good results.

Given that PD is a progressive, degenerative disorder, and that the current standard of care, oral levodopa (L-dopa), is associated with progressively worse periods where symptoms manifest themselves fully, called “off” periods, there hasn’t really been a good long-term solution for addressing the unmet needs of a majority of PD patients. This majority of PD patients, for whom the current standard of care so often feels like they are just postponing the inevitable succumbing to the disease’s impairments, are plagued by the frequency and intensity of relapse periods increasing as the disease progresses using L-dopa. ISCO isn’t trying to mask the problem chemically with synthetic dopamine, the company has developed injectable replacement neurons to treat the underlying brain tissue degeneration, and hopefully actually restore full functionality to the patient.

According to a new study out by research and consulting firm, GlobalData, the PD treatment market for just the U.S., Brazil, Japan, and the major EU member states is on track to hit upwards of $4.7 billion by 2022. However, newly FDA-approved market entrants, such as Xadago (safinamide) – a drug which blocks the primary enzyme which break down dopamine, from Zambon and its SIX Swiss Exchange-traded partner Newron Pharmaceuticals (SWX: NWRN) – or Impax Laboratories’ (NASDAQ: IPXL) RYTARY, an extended-release oral capsule formulation of carbidopa-levodopa – still do not address the underlying causes of the disease. It is up to a company like ISCO to bring forth a real therapeutic treatment option here, with ethical stem cell technology that can actually regenerate the damaged tissue system(s). With PD, given its progressive nature, it is not unthinkable that periodic injections, or simply a thorough course of therapeutic treatments with hpNSCs, could restore the patient to full functionality.

A good indicator of this potential is ISCO’s parallel hpNSC therapy pipeline for stroke, where preclinical data indicates that injections administered even several weeks after the stroke could actually reverse the typically associated functional deficits completely. The alternative to such a therapy in the case of a stroke is often grueling physical therapy, required in order to get back or re-learn lost motor function. But with ISCO’s treatment option on the table, stroke could be handled in the future with a simple injection regimen, even well after the initial stroke hospitalization. The tremendous potential of hpNSC therapy in strokes speaks volumes about what that same therapy can do for PD patients, given that both are maladies of the CNS, and that the therapy functions by replacing damaged neurological tissue.

To dig deeper, visit www.internationalstemcell.com

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust – Leading, Award-Winning Agent Packs Powerful Punch in a Smaller Package

The biggest isn’t always the best, and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust has built its business model against the grain of the popular adage that says otherwise. Established in 1964, privately-owned Continental fully supports emerging and growth companies with exceptional attention and uniquely tailored business solutions. The firm is staffed with some of the industry’s most experienced experts, strategically implementing industry and regulation changes affecting the stock transfer agency environment.

In the last 10 years, the stock transfer industry has undergone significant consolidation as smaller players were acquired by larger agents or squeezed out of business. New technology, changing regulation, and increasing competition also cut the size of the playing field into what is now a competitive industry led by a handful of agents.

The largest transfer agents typically work with larger companies with a roster of hundreds of thousands of shareholders; certainly a valuable service to these bigger brands. Companies with 50,000 or fewer shareholders, however, benefit from the cost, personal attention, expertise and availability of a niche agent such as Continental. Focused on performing as an “accessible agent dedicated to growth and emerging companies,” Continental distances itself from the industry mega-agents.

Continental offers both the basic and extended offerings one would expect from a transfer agent that survived industry consolidation with exponential strength. Among its vast services, Continental provides comprehensive shareholder recordkeeping, transaction history, shareholder and stock activity reports, annual meeting management, dividend distribution, as well as industry-mandated services such as shareholder searches and escheatment. The agent also offers stock plan administration and services pertaining to corporate actions and escrow services. Continental has managed hundreds of IPOS and virtually all special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) brought to market in the last 20 years.

The firm has also successfully paced itself ahead of more similar-sized agents in the industry, as demonstrated by its 51-year history of award-winning success.

As the nation’s fourth-largest agent, Continental offers its clients something mega transfer agents cannot: the direct provision of personal attention from senior staff, flexible offerings, and innovative technology – contributing to a consistently stellar track record of superior customer satisfaction.

For more information, visit www.continentalstock.com

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (ETAK) is “One to Watch”

It looks like Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is picking up AT&T’s (NYSE:T) fumble of the Elephant Talk Communications (NYSE MKT: ETAK) ball after AT&T paid out ETAK $13.5 million to close down its contract with Mexican wireless company Iusacell (now AT&T Mexico). With software-defined network architecture and cybersecurity solutions provider ETAK now in the running to be the vendor for Verizon Partner Solutions, it’s clear that ETAK hasn’t missed a beat. A new Master Service Agreement with Verizon could be right around the corner for the company and the increasingly competitive nature of the telecom sector is brilliantly illustrated by Verizon scalping AT&T here, investing in a distributed architecture solution that can seamlessly provide users with bleeding-edge content delivery solutions.

The formation by ETAK of a special committee to explore JV, merger and strategic disposition alterations of its wholly-owned transaction cybersecurity solutions subsidiary, ValidSoft, speaks volumes here. Also, the news that ValidSoft has already quickly gone live with two UK banks, leveraging a device trust partnership with renowned consumer credit risk and analytics software company Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FICO) to deploy a solution using ValidSoft’s International Proximity Correlation capability, shows how attractive the company’s position is.

Application of the $13.5 million picked up on the Iusacell split has helped ETAK trim the fat too, allowing the company to eliminate debt overhang and giving it the procedural leeway to pull the trigger on corporate restructuring efforts that should reduce G&A costs by $5 million within this year alone. The share price has been climbing steadily since early this month and Friday’s spike to $0.63, a 75 percent jump, underscores the 50 percent gain since the start of the month so far. This is a fierce counter to the undervalued price point most analysts say the shares have seen since February. Notably, research firm Zacks just rated ETAK a short term strong buy and the company is making all the right moves to impress investors.

In fact, one big part of the company’s decision to get more aggressive with ValidSoft has been how poorly management believes the company’s share price accurately reflects the intrinsic value of the company and its ability to generate revenues on the strength of its mobile enabling solutions alone. Indeed, the global cybersecurity space was recently projected by Cybersecurity Ventures (Q3 2015) as being on track to grow by over 120 percent in the next five years, hitting upwards of $170 billion by 2020. This is a big opportunity for an innovator like ValidSoft and it stands to reason that ETAK’s tight synergy between the mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) and cybersecurity sides of its business will continue to give the company a decisive edge in the space.

The real success with ValidSoft of course comes from the ingenious balance struck between security and user experience that is achievable through the company’s voice authentication approach. Using a robust system which allows access, without the need for cumbersome and hard to remember passwords or hard tokens of some kind, is the brass ring of user authentication. Voice print capture keying is only as good as the biometrics engine behind it though and ValidSoft has gone to great lengths to ensure maximum security with the added benefits of a feature-rich environment, with the company’s solution allowing for configurability options like text-independent authentication, or the recital of a prompted phrase. Elephant Talk has been vital to ValidSoft’s ability to deliver its security software solutions via a true carrier-grade telecommunications platform, enabling ValidSoft the power to process transactions in real-time, and since its acquisition in 2010 by ETAK, the company’s MVNE and transaction cybersecurity units have rally gelled.

Take a look at the ongoing expansion of the mobile space, well-tracked by MobiLens® and Mobile Metrix® developer, comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), which recently indicated that the U.S. mobile market was at 76.6 penetration, as 186 million plus Americans now own smartphones. As subscriber bases swell to new heights, an MVNE like ETAK, with its ET Software DNA® 2.0 Platform, will continue to be a backbone solution for MVNO and mobile network operator (MNO) customers, who can experience as much as a 90 percent reduction in outlays while gaining the capacity to serve end users with a full set of mobile voice, SMS, and data services.

Mobile wallets are another key, fast-growing target in this area. With a report out in March from TechNavio forecasting a 36.8 percent CAGR through 2019, powered by the rapid proliferation of near-field communications (NFC) hardware and intense goading on by sector juggernauts like Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), mobile wallets are shaping up to be a defining driver of the success of an outfit like ETAK. You wouldn’t be wrong to suggest even that a kind of war is being waged between the biggest sector players, with the victor(s) deciding who will dominate this yet-emergent space. One thing is certain about how all of this will shake out at any rate: m-commerce is and will continue to represent a retail sea change. Allied Market Research’s projection of a $5.25 trillion global market for so-called ewallets, released back in late 2013, has now effectively ceased to shock savvy investors.

Consumers have been flocking to the amenities m-commerce has to offer, and everyone from brands to retailers on the sell side are already banking on the very bright future that the associated gold mine of big data from consumers will provide. Gathering the kind rigorous, actionable consumer intelligence that m-commerce solutions can now ubiquitously provide, while so substantially improving the user experience at the same time, was a reality merely dreamt of by brands and retailers only a decade ago.

The recent news out that EUTV® Brazil (Surf Telecom®) has tapped ETAK to handle the core virtualized software services platform implementation is another clear indicator of the company’s overall health. The company’s platform is the key element needed to fully realize Surf Telecom’s vision of capturing a huge chunk of the 280 million strong mobile subscriber base in Brazil, now that Surf Telecom has been officially granted a Tier 1 license by Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency, Anatel. ETAK will enable Surf Telecom to bring mobile services to a massive user base, as well as provide Surf Telecom with the capacity to offer MVNE and mobile virtual network aggregator (MVNA) capabilities to Brazilian MVNOs. This is bread and butter for ETAK’s ET Software DNA 2.0 Platform and will allow Surf Telecom to deliver a broad spectrum of powerful 4G solutions to the market at noticeably more competitive prices. This arrangement reflects Anatel’s commitment to stimulating healthy market forces, as well as the cost-effectiveness of ETAK’s comprehensive platform.

The ET Software DNA 2.0 Platform also greatly simplifies overall administrative requirements, with its highly intuitive and easy to use interface. The platform uses networked-embedded technology as well, which enhances internal systemic redundancy, resulting in an architecture that is substantially more robust, offers tighter security and usage efficiencies, and which simultaneously promotes the DNA 2.0 Platform’s inherent modularity and scalability. The fact that it’s cheaper to deploy and easier to manage spells music to the ears of MVNOs, and ETAK’s technology will allow Surf Telecom to bring forward some truly cutting edge MVNA/MVNE strategies, tailored specifically to the Brazilian MVNO market.

MVNOs have to move or die and are thus constantly looking to expand services provided while improving their existing offerings. The ability to use a single, highly modular telecom solution like the one provided by ETAK allows MVNOs to capture new revenue streams without the typically associated overhead risk.

Learn more about Elephant Talk by visiting the company’s website at www.elephanttalk.com

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

OurPet’s Company (OPCO) is “One to Watch”

A recent report out from one of the leading market research firms today, Packaged Facts – which has been at the forefront of consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, as well as demographic sector analysis now for over five decades – clearly indicates the strength of the U.S. pet products and services market, which did sales last year of around $73 billion. This is a huge pie for any company to carve a slice off of. The report’s trend lines show increased pet ownership rates, as well as increased ecommerce spending on pets, and a population of pets that are living longer, just like their owners. These trends appear intact for the foreseeable future and it seems like everywhere you go on this planet, people just love their pets.

While some consider the pet industry to be essentially proofed against recession, it is better to simply think of the industry today as being driven by family-oriented household spending, and therefore core to spending habits. Most pet owners consider their pets to be a regular member of the family and they will subsequently go well out of their way to care for a pet, spending a great deal of money for the well-being, as well as overall happiness of that family member.

Little wonder then that, even by the American Pet Products Association’s (APPA) more conservative estimates, based on their own compilation of various market research, the supplies segment of what they tallied as a $58 billion market last year was around $13.75 billion. With 45 million U.S. households currently owning dogs and 30 million households owning cats, any way you slice up the data, the numbers look good. The Packaged Facts report was keen to emphasize a 38 percent jump last year in the number of pet owners shopping online too, with heavy ecommerce hitters like Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) making it easier than ever to streamline product flow to end markets.

In an industry largely dominated on the services side by players like big box retail outfit PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) – which provides services like grooming and pet training, in addition to miles of aisles of pet products – the pet supply market is saturated with cookie-cutter tropes. Only a handful of companies are dedicated to creating defining brands and are capable of successfully cultivating what is essential to connecting with consumers in the pet products space: constant innovation and a tight feedback loop with the end users. A strong brand in this game is essential to success, but a company has to really make that connection with consumers through the products, winning them over to the superior style, design, continuity, and affordability of the brand.

One look at the latest product from rapidly developing proprietary pet supply company, OurPet’s Co. (OTCQX: OPCO), and it is plain to see that this operation really lives up to the vision of its founder, Dr. Steve Tsengas. Intelligent applications to toy design and product engineering, driven by deep insights into cat and dog biology, as well as psychology, have continually defined OPCO as a rising star within the industry.

Launched in May this year, the company’s new Catty Whack® electronic toy for cats was scientifically developed to stimulate the natural hunting instincts of our feline friends, using an erratic feather wand that darts in and out of five different holes and an enticing audio queue. Feeding the animal’s instinctual desires, as well asproviding therapeutic mental diversion that is also good exercise, directly addresses the needs of the animal to make them calmer and well-adjusted to domestic life. Only three months after the product’s debut, the Catty Whack managed to take home the New Product Showcase Award at the pet supply industry’s major conference, SuperZoo 2015. The Catty Whack, featuring the company’s electronic RealMouse® sound and erratic movement technology, was voted “Best New Cat Product” in the New Product Showcase by pet industry retailers themselves, illustrating how captivating the design, quality, and overall execution truly is. The company wheeled out a bevy of new products at SuperZoo 2015 in Las Vegas this year, with toys and feeding solutions at the heart of the OPCO booth.

The Catty Whack stole the show though, and this one product is a perfect example of the wide array of trend-setting and highly unique ideas available via OPCO’s OurPets® and Pet Zone® portfolios. This dual-brand portfolio is respectively set up in order to provide a tailored experience for the company’s pet specialty trade customers on the one hand, and those in the mass-market, as well as food and drug channels on the other. The company creates an entire range of products designed to promote the comfort and enjoyment, as well as the health and safety of pets. From accessories and toys to well-designed feeders and bowls, OPCO even makes a constantly evolving selection of pet waste management solutions. Many of the company’s highly unique products are one-of-a-kind market entrants and nearly every offering from OPCO is protected by the company’s growing IP library of over 160 issued and pending patents.

Record Q2 revenues reported by OPCO in early August were no surprise to investors who have been following the company closely. And while quarterly net revenues were up only four percent compared to last year, net income shot through the roof, pulling in a 77 percent gain on strong receptivity in pet specialty end markets, primarily due to the company’s recently introduced bowl designs, as well as new cat toys and accessories. The PetZone brand is also doing quite well in the mass market, food and drug channels, and a significant uptick in overall profit margins for the quarter was further enhanced by noticeably lower SG&A expenses. These guys run a tight ship it seems and the company even touted an upcoming rollout for a series of three new and proprietary feline waste management products early in 2016, which shows just how aggressively the company is delivering on consumer response to its brands of pet products.

Dr. Tsengas pointed out in the company‘s August 3 earnings conference call that ecommerce was picking up incredible amounts of steam for OPCO, and the segment currently represents about as much as 10 percent of the company’s footprint, which spans direct-mail catalog and internet, as well as leading pet specialty retailers and food, drug, and mass merchandisers. A strong relationship with ecommerce juggernaut Amazon.com doesn’t hurt of course and the company’s imminent expansion from Amazon Canada and Amazon co-existing, with the upcoming Amazon UK closing, will set OPCO up very nicely for maximum product throughput capability. Already tapped for Amazon Japan and India, the sky is the limit for the company’s international brands of pet products, and because the language of design is universal, consumer resonance barriers to entry will be at a minimum.

OurPet’s Co. has honed its design process down to creating holistic products that unify the behavioral, lifestyle, and health needs of both pets and their owners. The result is truly astounding, with products so clever that consumers can’t say no. An example of this is the WonderBowl™ selective feeder, which uses a small infrared tag on the pet’s collar in combination with a properly positioned and unit-based sensor to open the transparent lid for feeding. This brilliant design helps keeps food fresh, ensures that only the correct pet eats from the correct dish, and also keeps anything from getting into the food. The product directly addresses an unmet need that can often be a big problem in multi-pet households and demonstrates how OPCO beautifully addresses that underserved demographic with an elegant solution.

Whether it is coming up with new toys to help stimulate a pet’s mind and therefore contribute to preventing unwanted behaviors, or creating gorgeous designer dog bowls in durable stainless steel, OurPet’s Company is constantly rifling great products out to a loyal user base. It is this kind of forward thinking in product design that is capturing the most sought after consumer dollar demographics in the pet supply space and OPCO is proving itself to be quite the dynamo, churning out creative solutions to underserved or unmet needs in the market.

Take a closer look at the company by visiting www.ourpets.com, or www.petzonebrand.com

International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) Appoints Ms. Mahnaz Ebrahimi as CFO

Today before the opening bell, International Stem Cell Corp. announced that Mahnaz Ebrahimi will be taking over as the new chief financial officer, effective September 14, 2015. The prior CFO, Jay Novak, ended his employment in May.

Ms. Ebrahimi is a certified public accountant, a certified equity professional and a certified cash manager. She has more than 25 years of experience in financial management and accounting of growing research-driven companies in the life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical sectors. Most recently, she has been assisting several biotechnology and technology companies on accounting and SEC related matters in an expert consultancy capacity, including Flux Power Holdings, Polaris Pharmaceuticals and Ocera Therapeutics.

From 2010 until an acquisition took place in 2012, Ms. Ebrahimi served as director of Finance and Planning, as well as Treasury, of eBioscience. She also served as vice president of Finance and Administration and chief financial officer of Profil Institute for Clinical Research from 2003 to 2005. From 1989 to 2000, she served as director of Finance & Treasury and assistant controller of Agouron Pharmaceuticals, which became a subsidiary of Pfizer in 2000.

For those unfamiliar with International Stem Cell Corp., it is a California-based biotechnology company focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO’s core technology, parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs). ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology, and stem cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care.

For more information, visit www.internationalstemcell.com

Monday, September 21, 2015

ENGlobal Corp. (ENG): A Top Engineering Firm, With a Growing Market, Called Undervalued

ENGlobal Corporation, a Houston-based automation systems engineering company, is known worldwide for the design of state-of-the-art plant automation systems. Although serving a number of markets, the company is perhaps best known for their support of the energy industry, and therein lies a remarkable fact. Although the energy industry has been hit with challenges like never before, ENGlobal has not only managed to remain financially strong, returning to profitability while so many other energy related companies have suffered, it has grown technologically, developing sophisticated automation solutions that are now critical to an industry under pressure to reduce costs and grow operational efficiencies. ENG is expected to benefit significantly from the growing demand for energy infrastructure upgrades.

With operations in Texas, Colorado, Alabama, and Oklahoma, servicing projects worldwide, ENGlobal’s focus is on EPCM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management), and automation.

For the upstream, midstream, and downstream energy industries, the ENGlobal’s EPCM segment supports:

• Consulting Services

• Construction Management

• Mechanical Integrity

• In-Plant Staffing

• Quality Assurance

• Plant Asset Management

In addition, the company’s Government Services group in the EPCM segment specializes in the turnkey installation and maintenance of automation and instrumentation systems for the U.S. defense industry worldwide, providing engineering, design, and installation, as well as operation and maintenance, of various government, public sector, and international facilities.

On the Automation side, ENGlobal provides design, assembly, programming, installation, integration and servicing, of process control, analytical, and heat tracing systems for specific applications in the energy and processing related industries. They also perform fabrication and implementation of process distributed control and analyzer systems, advanced automation, and related information technology services.

Although ENGlobal is consistently ranked as one of the top engineering design firms, serving a growing market, with a superior performance and financial record, a recent Seeking Alpha article (http://seekingalpha.com/article/3431716-englobal-is-a-great-deep-value-micro-cap-energy-play) says they are undervalued, and states that ENGlobal offers long-term investors an “enormous long-run upside,” with “a potential to make at least a 220% return in 3 years.”

For more information on the company, visit www.ENGlobal.com

Friday, September 18, 2015

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust, Cost-Effective Transfer Agent Services & Full-Spectrum Support for Growth & Emerging Companies

The vital role transfer agents play in today’s increasingly hectic capital markets cannot be overstated. The investment community is reliant on trustworthy, rigorous record keeping by transfer agents when it comes to managing the transfer of securities and providing accurate distinctions regarding specialized transactions such as restricted and freely-tradable shares and proactively preventing unlawful distribution of unregistered securities.

While most transfer agents cater to big companies that have hundreds of thousands of shareholders or more, there are very few specialty shops that have mastered what it takes to fully service SMEs, providing them with the kind of mission-critical, tailored service required to successfully execute tender offers, stock splits, and exchange listing shifts. One of the undisputed masters in this field today is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust, which explicitly caters to companies that have 50,000 or less shareholders, offering round-the-clock access to senior experts and a client-tailored approach.

Continental cultivates strong client relationships, secure in the knowledge that the way to succeed in this arena is to deliver to emerging and midsize clients a full suite of personalized offerings. This key distinction makes Continental Stock Transfer & Trust shine when compared to their competition. From secure 24/7 access to balancing tools such as ControlBook Reporting, a proprietary platform offered to its clients to highly customized extended services, like employee and stock plan administration, dividend reinvestment plans, planning and executing successful annual meetings, EDGAR/XBRL services, or the handling of online material design and distributions.

Because of the specific focus Continental Stock Transfer & Trust has on the emerging markets, the firm has become extremely proficient in IPO fundamentals and thus has a long, successful track record of helping private companies go public. Continental understands the importance of preparing the ground work, such as the assembly of management teams, readying financials for audit, crucial hands-on liaision with the underwriters, and the successful navigation of SEC registration requirements.

A real testament to the company’s storied proficiency in the IPO game is its established reputation as an industry leader in special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) processing, having handled nearly every SPAC brought to market since 1990 via the same full-spectrum approach that has garnered Continental such accolades for its work in executing IPOs. By providing everything from general transfer, warrant and escrow agent services to distribution of proceeds and tax documents, or the necessary intra depository agent, bank and broker facilitation work, Continental has established itself as the leading provider of SPAC processing.

Look to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust for consistent philosophical dedication to emerging and growth companies.

Look closer by visiting www.continentalstock.com

Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. (SBOTF) Set to Benefit from Partner’s Presentation of Promising Clinical Data for KLH-Based Candidate

Stellar Biotechnologies, a leading provider of keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) protein, has made considerable progress toward expanding its production capacity in recent months in order to better accommodate increasing demand for the vital nutrient in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In July, through a collaboration agreement with Ostiones Guerrero SA de CV, the company secured exclusive rights to the development of a second KLH production site in Baja California, Mexico, effectively bolstering its position as a leader in the sustainable manufacture of the valuable ocean resource. Following this partnership, Stellar’s experienced management team was vocal about the positive implications of establishing itself as the only company with a reliable and scalable supply of KLH.

“We expect demand for reliable sources of KLH to grow, both from our existing partners and the broader biotech industry, as the clinical use of novel immunotherapies increases,” Frank Oates, president and chief executive officer of Stellar, stated in a news release. “We believe this [Ostiones] collaboration will better position Stellar to accelerate its production strategy to accommodate the anticipated growth in the industry.”

Earlier this week, Stellar’s strategy was reaffirmed when its partner, Neovacs, presented promising extended follow-up data from its phase I/IIa clinical trial of IFNα-Kinoid, which is being evaluated for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. Because the company’s KLH protein serves as the carrier molecule in Neovacs’s proprietary immunotherapy technology, these results are anticipated to play a key role in increasing the market demand for Stellar’s sustainable supply of the immune-stimulating protein in the future. In preparation for this increase, the company recently entered into an expanded supply agreement to meet Neovacs’s clinical and commercial requirements moving forward.

“This is an important milestone for Neovacs which, we believe, reinforces the role of KLH as a key carrier molecule in immunotherapy treatments,” continued Oates.

Rising demand for KLH has also had a positive impact on Stellar’s top line results in recent months. During its fiscal quarter ended June 30, the company recorded a 117 percent year-over-year increase in total revenues driven primarily by an increase in product sales resulting from its partners’ continued efforts to advance their respective clinical trials in various underserved therapeutic indications. For prospective shareholders, this performance could foreshadow an opportunity for tremendous growth in the coming months, as Stellar looks to effectively leverage its formidable position as the only company with a reliable and scalable supply of KLH.

For more information, visit www.stellarbiotech.com

Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology, Inc. (HART) Revolutionizing Implantation through Development of Second-Generation Implant Platform

Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology is a biotechnology company developing bioengineered organs in order to better address a collection of life-threatening conditions. The company’s development pipeline is headlined by its proprietary second-generation bioengineered organ implant platform, which is currently being developed as a tool to guide the repair of a patient’s own tissue in three unique indications – including diseases of the trachea, bronchi and esophagus. By utilizing a multi-platform approach to clinical development, HART intends to dramatically expand its market opportunity as it continues to explore the development and regulatory pathways for each indication in the coming months.

In recent months, HART’s scientific efforts have been primarily focused on targeting the body response issues encountered during testing of its first-generation trachea product. The company addressed these concerns by utilizing a more elastic material for the device’s scaffold and changing the type of cell that’s seeded onto the scaffold prior to implementation. Through these modifications, HART anticipates achieving improved regenerative response from the body, as well as a more natural restoration of organ function than was observed from its first-generation product. The company, in partnership with the Mayo Clinic, will put these hypotheses to the test in preclinical studies examining its second-generation platform during the fourth quarter of this year.

“We have made tremendous progress in recent months with the development of our second-generation bioengineered organ implant products,” Jim McGorry, chief executive officer of HART, stated in an August news release. “We are poised to make significant further progress over the coming 18 months, including key preclinical and regulatory achievements.”

As of June 30, the company reported a strong cash balance of $10.1 million with no outstanding debt. This favorable balance sheet is expected to play an instrumental role in HART’s ongoing efforts to develop and commercialize its innovative organ implant platform. In order to streamline this progress, the company has built a dedicated internal team of material scientists, engineers and biologists who, in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, are focused on bringing its products to the patients who need them as quickly as possible.

Currently, most human organs that are surgically implanted come from donors, creating a debilitating market shortage that costs the lives of an average of 22 people in the United States each day, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, immunosuppression following these transplants – which is necessary to insure that the implanted organ isn’t rejected – can lead to serious, potentially deadly infections. By utilizing a patient’s own cells to produce bioengineered organs, HART’s second-generation platform could effectively address both of these limiting factors, allowing the company to establish a sustainable foothold in some of the medical industry’s most critically underserved indications in the near future.

For more information, visit www.harvardapparatusregen.com

Thursday, September 17, 2015

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (RICK) Leveraging Popular Chain of Gentlemen’s Clubs to Promote Strong Financial Growth

RCI Hospitality Holdings, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates over forty upscale gentlemen’s clubs and restaurants in large markets around the country – including New York City, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas and Minneapolis. With an unrelenting focus on innovation, the company has created a truly upscale, friendly chain of clubs featuring some of the adult entertainment industry’s most popular and recognizable establishments. This market presence was reaffirmed earlier this month when Tootsie’s Cabaret Miami, the country’s largest adult entertainment complex and a subsidiary of RICK, was named “Overall Gentlemen’s Club of the Year” at the 23rd annual Gentlemen’s Club EXPO in New Orleans.

During its fiscal quarter ending June 30, the company successfully leveraged its established market position in order to achieve strong financial growth. RICK’s total revenues for the period were $35.8 million, which represented a 7.3 percent improvement over the previous year. Among this performance, the company achieved a 200 percent year-over-year increase in sales from its Bombshells restaurant/bar segment, underscoring the effectiveness of its recent acquisition-based growth strategy.

RICK’s management team is led by president and chief executive officer Eric Langan, who has headed the company for more than 15 years. By employing self-motivated managers, adhering to strict cost control, increasing cash flow and promoting maximized shareholder value, Langan has helped transform RICK into a leading consolidator in the expansive gentlemen’s club industry while maintaining a consistent spot on Forbes’s list of America’s 200 Best Small Companies. Moving forward, the company will benefit from his immense leadership experience as it continues to expand into the thriving restaurant industry.

With a full roster of past performers who have eventually joined the illusive ranks of Penthouse Pets and Playboy Playmates, it’s easy to see why RICK has continued to thrive in the adult entertainment market for more than three decades. Look for the company to rely on industry innovation and its experienced management team in order to ensure that its collection of major brands – including Rick’s Cabaret, Vivid Cabaret, Tootsie’s Cabaret, Club Onyx, Jaguars Club, XTC Cabaret and Bombshells – remain fixtures in their respective markets for the foreseeable future.

For more information, visit www.rcihospitality.com

International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) Immense Therapeutic Potential of Scalable, Ethically-Derived Stem Cell Tech on Display at Rodman & Renshaw

The promise of stem cell tissue transplantation is particularly exciting for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, an incurable and progressive disorder of the nervous system characterized by a gradual at first, and then increasingly severe impairment of various motor control faculties. Parkinson’s disease makes a good poster child for the enormous potential of stem cell therapy in other diseases/conditions, because it is materially defined by a localized degeneration of neurons, making targeted replacement therapy via injected cells extremely appealing.

International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO) is at the forefront of developing such therapies via its capacity to produce pluripotent (having the ability to develop into essentially any cell in the human body), non-embryonic, human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs), such as its lead product candidate, human neural stem cells (hpNSCs). And because hpNSCs have produced abundant evidence thus far that they can not only differentiate into neurons that help produce the primary neurotransmitter whose falloff is associated with Parkinson’s disease, dopamine, but can also directly express neuroprotectant capabilities, the potential for treating other incurable CNS diseases like multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is effectively on the table.

Moreover, because the company’s proprietary technology for creating pluripotent hpSCs utilizes unfertilized eggs, which are chemically stimulated to begin the process of division before being differentiated into either patient specific human leukocyte antigen-matched and histocompatible (heterozygous) hpSCs or HLA homozygous hpSCs that are immune-matched for compatibility with the vast majority of the population, ISCO’s technology constitutes an end run on the ethical controversy that has plagued stem cell research. At the same time, because a relatively small series of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) homozygous cell lines could effectively present treatment options which are suitable for huge swathes of the human population, ISCO has at its disposal a methodology for creating commercial scale volumes of cells (for therapeutic or research purposes) that resolves the stem cell industry’s primary procedural stumbling block, immune system rejection.

This is a significant advantage when it comes to research purposes and ISCO has already taken up the lead in the sector, creating the world’s first true human stem cell bank, UniStemCell™, a growing collection of non-embryonic histocompatible stem cells. The ability to go to an “off-the-shelf” cell line from the bank that is immune-matched to millions of individuals is also key when it comes to developing frontline stem cell therapies. Hence the buzz about the company’s rapidly developing therapeutic pipeline that covers several unmet needs, like neural stem cells for treating CNS maladies such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke, liver cells for treating even severe metabolic liver diseases such as Crigler-Najjar syndrome, and corneal/retinal cells for treating corneal blindness, as well as macular degeneration.

ISCO’s ongoing development of a powerful hpNSC based therapeutic solution for Parkinson’s disease will soon see a critical milestone in the phase I/IIa clinical trial set to take place in Australia, and the company’s recently submitted animal model study, showing that no tumors were observed in a battery of 300 rodents, gives investors a really good idea about how safe and effective such injected stem cell therapy could be for humans. Already commercially successful via its Lifeline Skin Care subsidiary, which saw an 18 percent Q2 jump in YOY revenue to $1.82 million, on the strength of sustained growth for revitalizing skin care products, International Stem Cell Corporation is also dedicated to helping the life sciences industry meet its own clinical research needs by providing a vast array of specialized cells and growth media through its Lifeline Cell Technology subsidiary.

ISCO’s CSO and board member, Ruslan Semechkin, PhD, offered attendees at the Rodman & Renshaw 17th Annual Global Investment Conference a general overview of such astounding capabilities, as well as a closer look at the company’s ongoing clinical and research programs. Investors who were unable to attend the conference can still get a good front seat look at the company’s therapeutic pipeline and ongoing programs, simply by visiting the company’s website at www.internationalstemcell.com.

Continental Transfer Trust Building on a Foundation of Trust, Integrity and Knowhow

When it comes to stock trading, investors have enough on their minds than to be preoccupied with the professionalism, thoroughness and accuracy of transfer agents. Traders and transfer agents alike are well aware that a recordkeeping inaccuracy by an inexperienced transfer agent can leave an investor with a potential financial loss and an unnecessary headache. Leaders within any profession realize their core service is one of trust supported by service and knowhow.

Beyond basic recordkeeping, transfer agent may also serve as the company’s paying agent to disburse cash proceeds relating to a corporate action. The best agents are versatile in that they also can act as a proxy agent, an exchange agent, a tender agent and manage shareholder inquiries promptly.

Rooted in a foundation of stability and professionalism over many decades is what defines independent and privately held Continental Stock Transfer and Trust. The company is a family-owned corporation deriving credibility from conducting business consistently for 51 years. The company’s undying commitment to its customer’s needs is just one of several hallmarks that defines its leadership position in the industry.

Targeting companies with 50,000 shareholders or fewer while supporting more than 1,100 public issues offers clients and prospective customers the confidence desperately needed in a transfer agent relationship. Continental serves its clients and shareholders in ways other large transfer agents are unable to. The company’s customer base is the beneficiary of personal attention from senior staff, innovative technology and world-class execution, which in turn provides the highest level of value in the industry.

For more information on the company visit http://www.continentalstock.com

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

2015 RESI Conference in Boston Expected to Set Records

The RESI (Redefining Early Stage Investments) kicks off today in Boston, Massachusetts, where 200 early stage investors, 300 fundraising executives and 100 service providers will meet for a one-day international partnering meeting that gives early stage life science companies the chance to book target meetings with relevant investors.

RESI Conference activities include the RESI Innovation Challenge, where attendees will use RESI cash tokens to “invest” in the conference’s most compelling RESI Innovators. The invested capital will be tallied and the Top 3 winners will receive an award at a cocktail reception at the end of the day.

Investor panels will cover a wide range of topics, including biotech angels to preclinical and phase I investors, phase II and III investors, big pharma, corporate venture capital, NIH funding and resources for startups, medical device investors, and more.

The vast lineup of early stage entrepreneur workshops include topics ranging from fundraising boot camp and government grants and contracts, to branding and messaging and how to research global investors.

The RESI Conference is an ongoing conference series that will be establishing a global circuit for early stage life sciences companies to source investors, create relationships, and eventually, get funding. Following highly successful events in San Francisco and Houston, earlier this year, the 2015 RESI conference in Boston is expected to be the biggest yet.

Upcoming RESI Conference schedules include San Francisco in January 2016, Houston in April, Toronto in June, and Boston again next September.

For more information, visit www.resiconference.com

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

ENGlobal Corp. (ENG) Doubling Down On Proactive Delivery of Top Shelf Automation & EPCM Capabilities for Energy Sector

In the face of some of the roughest energy markets in recent history, energy sector-focused EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) and automation firm ENGlobal (NASDAQ: ENG) has managed to trim the fat and prosper where other companies have faltered, showing over $21 million in Q2 profits (period ended June 27), net income of $0.03 per diluted share, healthy gross profit margins of nearly 22 percent, and zero borrowings under its current credit facility. ENGlobal has even doubled-down on an already deep bench of industry-leading management talent, with the recent appointment of a new GM for the company’s bread and butter, midstream energy projects, as well as a new GM for the automation engineering segment.

Building on a significant track record of unparalleled safety and successful project execution that has drawn on a wide variety of automation, engineering, construction and project management capabilities in the upstream, midstream and downstream areas, ENG’s tapping of two highly experienced, senior management assets is a clear sign to investors of how serious the company truly is. Grabbing 30-year midstream transportation projects veteran, John Offutt, to head up its Tulsa and Houston midstream operations, as well as Robert Sammons, who will focus on growing ENG’s automation footprint (applying his 25 plus years in the game to overseeing the company’s ongoing automation projects and technologies), is a fierce one-two punch for ENGlobal, thrown at a time when less adroit sector players at the same level are mostly scared to make a move.

This aggressive move by ENG shows how committed the company is to delivering top shelf engineering and related project services to the domestic and international energy markets. For contracts such as the one awarded back in April by a major midcontinent refiner, which pegged ENG to design and engineer an essential hydrodesulfurization unit (used to pull impurities containing nitrogen and sulfur out of crude oil). Slated to wrap sometime this year before December, ENG chalks up the award of such influential contracts as the hydrodesulfurization unit project to the immense scheduling benefits its diverse capabilities and national infrastructure footprint allow, as well as the sheer efficiency of the company’s cost management services.

ENGlobal has the talent, managerial prowess, forward-looking vision, industry reputation, and most importantly the diverse project execution skills that are collectively necessary to remaining dynamic, even as other sector players become stultified amid the ongoing downturn cycle in energy prices. An inevitable rebound into midstream CAPEX by energy firms, particularly in lagging areas like natural gas pipeline infrastructure and refining capacity, could open many doors for ENG in coming months and years, and this is even truer in emerging markets than it is here in the United States. Rough projections moving forward indicate that, globally, as much as 40 percent of all infrastructure build out in coming years will be energy sector related, and for a multidisciplinary microcap powerhouse like ENG, this spells the potential for big profits.

These combined conditions give a company like ENGlobal, with its eminent reputation, significant momentum. We are talking about an automation and EPCM contender here that routinely punches above its own weight class and has been ranked among the top 500 engineering design firms for over a decade by such trusted industry publications as Engineering News-Record.

Take a closer look at the company by visiting www.englobal.com