MissionIR Small-Cap Investor Blog

Thursday, January 30, 2014

VolitionRx Ltd. (VNRX) Dubbed “Bright Biotech” by Wall St. Cheat Sheet Contributor

VolitionRx was one of two companies recently highlighted in an article published in Wall St. Cheat Sheet that emphasized the long-term impact of positive news and/or achievements in the biotechnology industry.

“One way to offset the current market uncertainty is to look for news driven stocks that appear to be paving the way for future growth. This is especially true in the biotechnology sector where one positive news announcement can help pave the way for years of innovation. Two companies that have released recent positive announcements include Medivation (NASDAQ:MDVN) and VolitionRx (VNRX.OB). Investors should keep their eyes on both of these promising companies.”

To read the full article visit http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/2-biotechnology-stocks-with-a-bright-future.html/

Contributor Tom Meyer starts with a run-down of Medivation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the rapid development of novel therapies to treat serious diseases, such as cancer, for which there are limited treatment options. The company’s flagship product, XTANDI, is FDA-approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-related prostate cancer who have previously been treated with chemotherapy.

As an introduction to life sciences company VolitionRx, Meyer describes the company’s goal to make non-invasive, simple-to-use cancer blood tests similar to the tests that are currently available for diabetics. VolitionRx’s R&D is currently centered in Belgium as the company is initially focused on marketing its products in Europe due to an easier path to regulatory approval there. The company’s primary focus at this time is on the colorectal cancer market, though its technology has the potential to be expanded into other cancers.

Meyer breaks-down into layman’s terms the science behind VolitionRx’s cancer blood tests, as well as the company’s ongoing clinical activities before concluding that:

“The colorectal cancer market is in need of much better diagnostics. The current available options include colonoscopies (invasive and expensive) and FIT/FOBT faecal-based tests (unpleasant and don’t screen for pre-cancerous polyps). If VolitionRx can successfully get some of its products to market, the company should see a dramatic climb in its share price. Also, investors should begin to see a run-up in the company’s share price as VolitionRx gets closer to revenue production.”

For more information, visit www.volitionrx.com

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Porter Bancorp, Inc. (PBIB) Subsidiary PBI Bank to Be Honored at 10th Annual Best Places to Work in Kentucky Awards

Porter Bancorp, which runs a series of 18 full-service banking offices across 11 counties in some of Central Kentucky’s best markets (including metropolitan Louisville, as well as the surrounding counties of Henry and Bullitt) via their subsidiary PBI Bank, was proud to report today that PBI Bank has been named as one of the select few medium-sized companies eligible to receive the Best Places to Work in Kentucky award for 2014, as administered by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management (KYSHRM) and dedicated “Best Places to Work” program developer, Best Companies Group.

This is a prestigious distinction for PBIB and clearly heralds to all that not only is PBI Bank one of the best employers in the state, but that the company is of tremendous value to the overall state economy, as well as helping to bolster the state’s business and workforce profile. Winner rankings for the 10th annual Best Places to Work in Kentucky are scheduled to be announced this April 24 at Heritage Hall in the Lexington Convention Center and represent the combined analytical effort of the vast KYSHRM organization, which has a membership exceeding 1.5k HR and business professionals spanning 13 local chapters across the state in all industries.

President and CEO of PBI Bank, John T. Taylor, pointed directly to what he feels is the operation’s most important asset, their employees, before pledging to continue to drive the kind of high standards that have garnered PBIB this key distinction by heartily rewarding integrity, teamwork, and service excellence. PBIB had $1B in assets as of September 2013 and running the gauntlet of the two-step process for this award, beating out the stiff competition first in the policy, practices, and demographics competition (25% of score) and then rocking the employee survey portion (75%), shows that the well-oiled PBIB machine has a deep customer-oriented bench of happy talent, as well as the sector muscle to deliver for shareholders.

The rigorous scoring methodology employed by Best Companies Group (BCG) is at the heart of this award’s prestige and their reputation in the industry over the last decade since inception speaks for itself. Combining comprehensive reporting with extremely granular surveying tools, BCG has mastered the filigree art of highly-customized data gathering solutions, resulting in some of the most articulate trend analysis available today. BCG is a division of Central Penn Business Journal and Next Magazine publisher Journal Multimedia, a multi-title publisher for a whole host of respected, award-winning business and consumer publications, as well as a developer of websites, video content and events.

PBI Bank will be recognized at the ranking ceremony and all the winners will subsequently be formally recognized via feature in a magazine that is to be distributed state-wide, bringing yet more patrons through the doors of this bank, whose brand is already known for unparalleled customer service and a history that stretches back to 1902.

For more information, visit PBI Bank online at www.PBIBank.com

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With EPA Deadline Ahead, Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. (MEEC) Receives Multi-Year Commitments from Major U.S. Power Producer

Midwest Energy Emissions (ME2C), a developer of proprietary, cost-effective mercury capture technologies to power plants and other large industrial coal-burning units in the United States and Canada, reports that it has received firm commitments from a major U.S. power producer for multi-year, mercury pollution control for Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) compliance.

The commitments are for a fleet of nine generating units capable of achieving mercury removal levels compliant with MATS at a significantly lower cost and with less operational impact than currently used methods. ME2C estimates that revenues for this relationship will grow to roughly $30 million per year by 2016 with initial revenues beginning in 2014.

“This is a significant milestone achievement for our team and shareholders, with anticipated annual revenues of over $30 million per year when the full fleet of this single power provider is under MATS compliance. We further believe that this is just the beginning of the adoption of our technology by others and expect to be making additional commercial announcements soon,” CEO Alan Kelley stated in the news release.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) MATS rule requires that all coal-fired and oil-fired power plants in the U.S., larger than 25 mega-watts, must remove roughly 90 percent of mercury from their emissions beginning April 16, 2015, though some plants have been given extensions into 2016.

ME2C is quickly growing its reputation as a leading solution for power plants to achieve compliance, benefitting from decades of thorough research and testing.

“This very significant win for our company is the direct result of over 20 years of dedicated research and technology development in advanced mercury control solutions. We believe that our proprietary technology is truly the best in class, and this business commitment serves as validation of our belief,” Kelley said.

For more information visit www.midwestemissions.com

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Health Care Industry and Voice Biometrics — Growth Drivers for Nuance Communications, Inc. (NUAN)

On January 21, Nuance surprised investors by raising its EPS and revenue guidance for the first quarter ending in December 2013. The company raised its EPS guidance to $0.23 to $0.24, from an earlier guidance of $0.18 to $0.21. The increased revenue guidance stands at $467 million to $471 million. This has created optimism around the stock after a dismal performance in 2013.

Looking into 2014, the imminent shift to ICD-10 in the health care industry and the increasing use of voice biometrics in financial services are two potential accelerators of growth for the company’s top-line.

Shift from ICD-9 to ICD-10 in health care industry

An important trend in the health care sector is the impending implementation of coding standard ICD-10 in October 2014. ICD-10 includes five times more codes than ICD-9 contains. The new coding standard will significantly increase the number of codes used in billing systems once it is effective. As a result, documentation will take more time, increasing labor costs. This will drive health care companies to automate documentation and boost the revenue of providers of clinical information management (CIM) solutions.

The increasing need for automation in the health care industry has increased demand for Nuance’s CIM solutions. The company generated revenue of more than $100 million in fiscal-year 2013 for its CIM solutions and added 35 new customers. In fiscal-year 2013, the company introduced Clintegrity, an automation solution that supports the industry’s transition to ICD-10. This has helped the company’s existing customers that adapted ICD-9 in shifting to ICD-10 as well as its new customers.

The potential for the company’s CIM solutions is high because most health care providers have not yet implemented ICD-10 and are required to implement it by October 2014. Implementation of ICD-10 increases the demand for the company’s CIM solutions as customers increasingly opt for automation. Apart from that, this will also make the company’s ongoing transition smoother from a license-based revenue model to an on-demand revenue model as the company provides its Clintigrity solutions as a combination of on-demand services and term licenses.

Financial institutions are increasingly deploying voice biometrics

The demand for voice biometrics is growing from financial institutions, as they increasingly view it as the best way to secure customer accounts and financial information. Apart from security, voice biometrics also increases customer satisfaction and reduces costs associated with customer care. This increasing usage of voice biometrics is beneficial to Nuance.

Nuance successfully implemented its FreeSpeech voice biometrics for the institutions such as Barclays and Tatra Banka last year. After implementing voice biometrics, customer satisfaction increased at Barclays, while a reduced conversation time of 5% lowered costs. Another implementation at Tatra Banka reported that customer identification now takes 10 to 15 seconds, which has significantly improved customer satisfaction by 20% and secured customer transactions.

On Dec. 6, 2013, ING Bank Romania implemented Nuance’s voice biometrics for customer authentication. ANZ bank had also tested Nuance’s voice biometrics, indicating a growing use of voice biometrics in the financial industry. Nuance dominates the voice biometrics market with more than 35 million voice prints deployed, giving it around 80% of the total market. This gives the company an advantage in attracting more customers to its voice biometrics services as financial companies deploy them. The global voice biometrics market for the financial sector is expected to increase from $200 million in 2012 to $750 million by 2015. As the voice biometric market leader, Nuance will benefit greatly from the growth in this market.

The company’s executive compensation is too high

Compensation for Nuance executives is extraordinarily high compared to its operating income. In fiscal-year 2013, Nuance’s executive compensation was $43 million, almost 90% of operating income. The management is rewarding itself with hefty compensation.

This could change in the future, with Carl Icahn’s recently increased stake in Nuance to 19%. He has two members appointed on Nuance’s board of directors from his company Icahn Enterprises L.P. As a major shareholder, Icahn will push for changes that will increase shareholder value to increase the value of his stake. This may result in cost-cutting by management including a possible reduction in executive pay.

Conclusion

Nuance reported losses for the last four quarters, resulting in negative earnings of $115 million for fiscal-year 2013. As a result, the company’s stock fell more than 30% last year. However, the company has strong growth prospects for 2014.

The company’s leadership in the voice biometrics industry will help it benefit from the growing use of voice biometrics in the financial industry. Apart from that, the growing need for automation in the health care industry will help the company’s health care segment grow. Meanwhile, Icahn will push the company’s management to cut costs, which will increase operating income.

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Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ATNM) CEO Featured in Exclusive Interview with MissionIR

Today before the opening bell, an interview with president and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kaushik J. Dave, a 25-year veteran with extensive biotech and pharmaceutical experience, was released. The full audio interview is available at the following link: http://ATNM.MissionIR.com/interview.html.

Actinium is a biotech company leveraging modern science and its proprietary platform to develop and commercialize groundbreaking therapies for treatment in different types of cancer that currently do not have any approved treatment.

Iomab-B is the company’s lead program for bone marrow conditioning in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who do not have any curative treatment options. Iomab-B is poised to start a pivotal phase 3 study, backed by significant data from five completed phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials.

“This program has the potential to disrupt the field of bone marrow transplant, and as a consequence, has attracted a significant amount of interest from the medical community,” Dr. Dave stated in the interview.

Actinium’s pipeline also includes Actimab-A, currently in phase 1/phase 2 clinical studies as a primary induction treatment of AML. The company’s business model is to leverage its expertise and strong partnerships with leading cancer institutions to further the development of these drug candidates.

Dr. Dave detailed his education and extensive background in the pharmaceutical industry and drug development, noting that his interest in joining Actinium stemmed from recognizing the company’s “significant unrealized potential for growth.” Dr. Dave also briefly touched on the blended expertise of the rest of Actinium’s leadership and board of directors.

“These folks, all of them, bring complementary skills… all of which make our team well-equipped to face challenges of a rapidly ascending biotech company,” he stated.

In 2013, Actinium achieved several important milestones, as explained by Dr. Dave in the interview, which have positioned the company to reach several key objectives in 2014, including:

• Iomab-B poised to start phase 3

• Interim phase 2 results for Actimab-A

• Uplist to Nasdaq or NYSE exchange

• Obtaining additional analyst coverage

• Establish strategic collaborations

Wrapping up the interview, Dr. Dave explained Actinium position in the biotech industry, how it is raising awareness in the investment community, and the company’s recent private placement of approximately $6.6 million in gross proceeds, which is allocated toward achieving the company goals for the year.

For more information, visit www.ActiniumPharmaceuticals.com

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Methes Energies International Ltd. (MEIL) Announces Affiliation with Ontario Biodiesel Association

Today before the opening bell, it was revealed that Methes Energies Canada Inc. has joined the Ontario Biodiesel Association as a Founding Member. The Ontario Biodiesel Association engages in promotion efforts on behalf of production and use of biodiesel in the Province of Ontario, Canada.

Members of the Ontario organization have made investments of over $80 million in plant and equipment for biofuel production in the province. Aside from environmental benefits, notably the biofuel industry exercises positive direct and indirect economic influences on Ontario and its agricultural sector.

Paul Grenier, Executive Director for the Ontario Biodiesel Association, said, “OBA’s strength is the unity of biodiesel producers, supporting Provincial policy development, to improve Ontario’s air quality by promoting increased use of Biodiesel. The OBA is working with the Ontario government, feedstock suppliers, and other key stakeholders to the industry to reach this goal.”

Methes Energies Canada Inc. President Nicholas Ng, said, “We are proud to be a Founding Member of the OBA and look forward to work together with other producers in the province. The timing of a mandate in Ontario could not be better and we are hoping for an early implementation as early as April 2014. Other provinces in Canada have strong mandates already in place including production incentives for biodiesel producers. Ontario is moving in the right direction and we are excited to be part of the process in helping the government drafting policies that will have a positive impact for all stakeholders.”

In May 2013, the Ontario Minister of Finance, the Honorable Charles Sousa, via the government’s budget, announced and committed to a consultation process for Ontario’s biofuel policy development. Having begun in July 2013, this process, Methes Energies Canada Inc. notes, along with the creation of the Ontario Biodiesel Association, shows the biofuel industry’s commitment to its industry participants’ collective interests and concerns.

For more information, please visit: www.methes.com

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AVT, Inc. (AVTC) Partners with Active Ride Shop for New Retail Vending Location

AVT, a provider of custom vending machines, automated retailing business opportunities, and self-service kiosks, has designed a new automated outdoor mall for Active Ride Shop, a widely popular skate and surf market retailer.

AVT’s integrated vending machines align with a relatively cashless society, utilizing advanced equipment, reporting, and support. For Active Ride, the new self-service system enables the retailer to reach new customers and expand brand awareness in a cost-effective and engaging manner.

“We are happy to have developed a dynamic, custom solution for Active — one of the most loved companies in North America,” Shannon Illingworth, founder and chairman of AVT stated in the news release. “As retailers continue to seek new ways to improve revenues and increase customer access to their products, AVT stands at the forefront by creating custom automated systems that engage, inspire and reward.”

Automation is a rising trend in the technology industry, driven by demand for quick, easy and accessible transactions. ATV’s vending machines are expanding into a range of applications, including retail, tools, safety equipment, office supplies, school lunches, medical supplies, and more.

For more information, visit www.autoretail.com

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