MissionIR Small-Cap Investor Blog

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

OurPet’s Company (OPCO) Short Sellers Backing Off, Drop by 71%

Short interest in OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) has sharply fallen, presumably driven by a host of factors, including word that the specialty pet retailer has several new pet products and strategies on deck. The company’s total short interest was 1,900 shares in February, as reported by FDANewsAlert.com (citing FINRA), a drop of 70.7% from 6,500 shares previously reported. Based on average trading volume of 2,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently one day.

OPCO Tuesday said it will unveil a new product at next month’s Global Pet Expo, sending shares up nearly 11% to an intraday high of $0.89 on 1,000 traded hands. Earlier in February, the company announced its strategic partnership with Aplix IP Holdings Corp., a software and solutions provider in Japan that will help OPCO further develop its product lines in the $60 billion pet industry.

“We literally searched the world for the strategic partner who shares the same passion as we do and would closely work with us to bring these ideas to reality. We’re fortunate to have found what we were looking for in Aplix of Japan, a world leader in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi design, development and manufacture of related components,” OPCO CEO Dr. Steve Tsengas said in the news release. “OurPet’s and Aplix have invested extensive resources to develop new products fueled by smart technology and we look forward to collaborations that continue this development.”

Since July, shares of OPCO have risen nearly 13%, outperforming the S&P500 by 22.7%, most likely given a boost by well-paced and frequent updates on new products, a new communication strategy, executive appointment and strong second-quarter, third-quarter and nine-month 2015 performances.

OPCO currently has more than 160 issued or pending patents and derives more than 75% of its revenue from proprietary products. For the first nine months of 2015, OPCO reported revenues of $17.1 million, an increase of 6% compared to the comparable period of 2015. Gross profit increased 15% to $5.4 million vs. the year prior, while gross profit margin increased 2.5 percentage points to 31.6% for the first nine months of 2015 from 29.1% the prior year. Net income for the first nine months of 2015 increased 146% to $886,319, or $0.04 per share, from $359,935, or $0.02 per share, for the same period in 2014.

Increased market exposure and growing recognition of the company’s firming position in the specialty pet retail market have squeezed out the majority of short sellers looking to profit off a misplaced forecast for a decline in OPCO’s share price.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ourpets.com

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International Stem Cell Corp. (ISCO) Provides Hope for Parkinson’s Patients with Ethical Stem Cell Development

Parkinson’s disease is caused by death of dopamine-producing cells in a brain region called the substantia nigra, which hampers movement. Current treatments focus primarily on replacing the lost dopamine, but these treatments eventually fail because the dopamine-making cells continue to die. For this reason, stem cell therapy is of interest. International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO) is a biotechnology company that focuses on the development of therapeutic and biomedical products worldwide. The company’s products are based on human parthenogenetic stem cells, a proprietary type of pluripotent stem cells. International Stem Cell Corp. develops cell types, including neural stem cells, for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive movement disorder, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time. Nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s disease. The cause is unknown, and although there is presently no cure, there are treatment options such as medication and surgery to manage its symptoms.

The amount of money that the U.S. and individuals spend each year on Parkinson’s disease is staggering. The combined direct and indirect costs of Parkinson’s disease – including treatment, social security payments and lost income from inability to work – is estimated to be nearly $25 billion per year in the U.S. alone. Medication costs for an individual person with Parkinson’s average $2,500 a year, and therapeutic surgery can cost up to $100,000 per individual, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s website (http://dtn.fm/4uIwr).

Stem cell research has the potential to significantly impact the development of disease-modifying treatments for Parkinson’s disease, and considerable progress has been made toward creating dopamine-producing cells from stem cells. The development of new cell models of Parkinson’s disease is a particularly promising area of stem cell research, as the current lack of progressive, predictive models of Parkinson’s disease remains a major barrier to drug development.

International Stem Cell Corp. has pioneered development of a new class of stem cells – human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) – that has the best characteristics of each of the other classes of stem cells. These stem cells are created by chemically stimulating the oocytes (eggs) to begin division. The oocytes are not fertilized and no viable embryo is created or destroyed. The ethical advantage of derivation from unfertilized oocytes, combined with immunomatching advantages, makes these stem cells a very promising source for cell-based therapy.

For more information, visit www.internationalstemcell.com

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

OurPet’s Company (OPCO) Has Strong Foothold in Growing Pet Products Industry

The pet industry has grown exponentially over the past decade with many pet adoption agencies springing up all over the world, the Westminster Dog Show, and products that have increased the general interest in the health and treatment of pets. Every pet we make a commitment to should be taken care of with the love and affection we would expect from our parents. Giving our dogs names, paying for their training and registering their credentials, and designing a specific diet and routine of exercise for them are prime examples of how much we care about our furrier halves. OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) develops, produces and markets various pet accessory and consumable products designed to awaken pets’ natural instincts and build the pet/human relationship, be it in feeding, playing or waste management.

Sold globally through pet specialty retailers (PetSmart and PetCo), food, drug and mass chains (Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Kroger (NYSE: KR)), e-commerce and international channels, the company’s products are marketed under the OurPets®, Pet Zone® and PetTastic® brands, with well-known sub-brands such as Play-N-Squeak®, Cosmic Catnip™, Durapet®, SmartScoop® and Flappy®. In total, OurPet’s has an intellectual property portfolio featuring more than 160 individual patents, giving the company sustainable access to the pet products industry for the foreseeable future.

Nearly 100 million American households own either a dog or cat, and these families are expected to spend $61 billion in 2015 on their pets alone, according to the American Pet Products Association. With the health conscience consumer segment experiencing rapid growth, it is logical to predict that this type of shopper will want to buy the same type of safe, healthy and innovative products for their pets. In the most recent quarter, OurPet’s reported record revenue of $6 million, which was a 7 percent increase from the comparable quarter of 2014. The company also reported a massive 428 percent jump in net income to $410,450, or $0.02 diluted earnings per share, compared to $77,751, or $0.00, for the comparable quarter of 2014.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ourpets.com

Innovation is Staple of OurPet’s Company (OPCO) Structure – New Product Debuts Next Month

Since its founding over two decades ago, progressive innovation has fruitfully been OurPet’s Company’s (OTCQX: OPCO) modus operandi. True to its core mission to develop and market high-quality, innovative products designed to improve the health, safety, comfort and enjoyment of pets, OurPet’s is set to unveil a new, first-of-its-kind line of products at the pet industry’s largest tradeshow coming up next month.

The Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida, March 16-18, 2016, will feature the newest, most cutting-edge pet products on the market. If last year’s roster (1,051 exhibitors, 3,113 booths, and more than 3,000 new product launches) is any inclination, the 2016 event will provide OurPet’s with considerable exposure and the opportunity to showcase its progress since last year’s event. OurPet’s will be at the Global Pet Expo booth #2455.

“After the OurPets Catty Whack won ‘Best New Cat Product’ at SuperZoo last year, we knew that we had to build off of that momentum,” Gabriella Chessman, VP of marketing at OurPet’s, stated in today’s news release. “Our R&D team has been diligently working over the past year and we are really excited to finally show the world what we have been working on.”

OurPet’s operates under a “two-brand solution” to participate in key niches of the pet care industry: the OurPets brand caters to pet specialty customers and consumers, while the Pet Zone brand focuses on the needs of the food/drug/mass-market channel and shoppers.

With this strategy, OurPet’s offers a wide range of cat and dog products – including feeding solutions, waste management, intelligent pet care and more – all of which keep the company on track for progressive trajectory in the highly lucrative pet care industry.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ourpets.com

Friday, February 12, 2016

Moxian, Inc. (MOXC) Promotes Precision Marketing

Moxian, Inc. (OTCQB: MOXC) specializes in precision marketing. For six years, the company has fixed its attention on enabling business owners to engage in high-level, targeted marketing. How? Moxian has combined a customer relations management tool with data analysis capabilities to offer a comprehensive solution — an online-to-offline platform — that incorporates social media and business for small- and medium-sized enterprises largely based in China.

Moxian offers social customer relationship management, marketing, event hosting, vouchers and product listings services, in addition to actionable reports. By allowing merchant clients to study consumer behavior, Moxian’s products and services have also been generating repeated interactions between users and merchant clients.

With the company’s User App, users gain access to a social media platform that comes complete with a package of services, including:

a news center;

a voice chat service called MO-Talk;

a game center that enables users to play games and earn Moxian-sponsored MO-Points;

a variety of merchant stores, which enable users to shop at the company’s merchant clients’ stores via the use of mobile devices; and

MO-Shake, a service that allows users to shake their phone to win merchant-sponsored vouchers, Moxian-sponsored MO-Coins or MO-Points, as well as coupons, discounts, or admission to other events hosted by merchant clients.

Moxian also has a Business App. This app allows merchants to oversee their presence within the platform. It also allows the company’s merchant clients to open an e-commerce shop, plan a marketing campaign, interact with customers, offer rewards and discounts, manage payments and receive analytics.

Moxian’s innovative platform, plus its corresponding loyalty program, has been driving its significant growth. Last month, Moxian Technologies (Beijing) Co., a subsidiary of Moxian, Inc., revealed that, per a five-year cooperation agreement, it would become the sole reseller of ad space for Xinhua New Media Culture Communication Co. in the gaming industry. It would also become the sole information and operations partner in the gaming platform of the Xinhua New Media App.

This deal shows promise for both companies. It creates a new source of revenue for Moxian, laying a solid foundation for the company’s future growth, and it could help drive the Moxian App into the mainstream. As an exclusive gaming partner for the Xinhua New Media App, which has over 100 million users with 10 million daily active users, Moxian can leverage this opportunity to promote its games on the platform while acquiring a large number of young, active users for the Xinhua App.

The deal will also strengthen Moxian’s partnership with Xinhua New Media Centre. While marketing the Xinhua App, Moxian will assist in ramping up user engagement and getting users to read and click on Xinhua ads for Moxian rewards. Users of the app will be rewarded with Mo-Coins and Mo-Points when they participate and click on any ads. They can then redeem those Mo-Coins and Mo-Points for rewards by simply logging into the Moxian Platform.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Moxian.com

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc. (OGES) Ushering in a New Era in Battery Manufacturing

Lithium ion batteries are more widely used than ever before. To illustrate this fact, consider the recent rise in production by Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), the automotive company behind a line of luxury electric cars, electric vehicle powertrain components and other battery products. Following the launch of its $5 billion Gigafactory focused on improving traditional lithium ion batteries, Tesla expects to have the ability to produce more lithium ion batteries each year than were manufactured worldwide in 2013, according to a report from Fox Business.

This sharp increase in production capacity will likely be met with an equally strong rise in demand. Leading global research firm Research and Markets forecasts the industry sustaining a compound annual growth rate of 14.4 percent in the seven year period ending 2019, leading to a global market value in excess of $33.1 billion. While major industry players such as Tesla are making advances toward bringing the benefits of this growth back to the United States, a large majority of currently-available lithium ion batteries and related products are imported from factories in China and Southeast Asia.

The dangers of substandard lithium ion batteries are well documented. Despite the fact that roughly 30 percent of the 5.5 billion cell phone batteries produced each year are shipped by air, according to a report by the Insurance Journal, an increasing number of passenger and freight airlines – including both United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) and Delta (NYSE: DAL) – have taken steps to ban bulk shipments of lithium ion batteries following reports that these storage solutions contributed to fires that destroyed two Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 cargo planes in 2014. While the exact cause of these fires has yet to be identified, the National Transportation Safety Board openly criticized Boeing and its battery manufacturer for the faults.

In a 2013 article (http://dtn.fm/mR9i1) published by Forbes, contributor Steve Denning summarized one potential issue observed in the manufacturing process of the Boeing 787.

“Some degree of outsourcing in other countries—i.e. offshoring—is an inevitable aspect of manufacturing a complex product like an airplane, because some expertise exists only in foreign countries. For example, the capacity to manufacture Lithium-ion batteries lies outside the U.S.,” Denning stated in the article. “While there is nothing in principle wrong with necessary offshoring, the cultural and language differences and the physical distances involved in a lengthy supply chain create additional risks. Mitigating them requires substantial and continuing communications with the suppliers and on-site involvement, thereby generating additional cost.”

This practice of offshoring lithium ion battery manufacturing has led to additional quality and safety concerns in recent months. During the final months of 2015, hoverboards were established as the go-to gift for the holiday season. However, improperly manufactured lithium ion batteries and substandard quality control transformed this futuristic gift into a nightmare for dozens of families around the globe (http://dtn.fm/RLEf0).

Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: OGES) is taking a proactive approach to combatting the dangers of some internationally-produced stored energy products by commercializing a full line of ‘Made in the USA’ lithium ion battery solutions. The company’s products – including its Pro Series, Patriot Series, Freedom Series and Liberty Series – are designed, manufactured and tested to strict standards directly from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Brevard Country, Florida. In the coming months, Oakridge expects to install more than 2.6 gigawatt-hours of production capacity for U.S.-manufactured electrodes, cells and batteries, creating an affordable, competitive product that gives families and businesses an opportunity to support the local economy.

With an experienced management team in place and a detailed company roadmap outlining plans to increase its presence in the rapidly expanding lithium ion battery market, Oakridge is well-positioned to usher in a new era in battery manufacturing as a leader in the ongoing ‘on-shoring’ movement. Look for the company to continue expanding upon its product line in the coming months in an effort to promote strong, sustainable returns for shareholders.

For more information, visit www.oakridgeglobalenergy.com

Content Checked Holdings, Inc. (CNCK) Nutritionist Contributes Health and Wellness Tips in Z Living Article

Content Checked Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: CNCK) continued to make progress toward increasing awareness of its innovative suite of mobile apps last week when it was named in an article published on Z Living, a leading network for health and wellness programming. In the article, titled “Foods That Sneak Sugar Into Your Weight-Loss Meal Plan,” author Menaka Warrier examines the effects of cutting out sugar when attempting to shed a few pounds. Victoria Brodsky, head of nutrition for Content Checked, contributed helpful advice regarding the true benefits of sugar-free and low-fat foods.

In the article, Brodsky warns that “sugar-free foods lure us with the prospect of eating sweets and maintaining that waistline, but over-indulging in them can be counterproductive… Their unnatural makeup of delivering sugar without the calories promotes metabolic dysfunction which causes you to store fat and leads to an increase in appetite.” Along with this advice, the article features a link to a selection of posts on the Content Checked website which provides additional information about limiting sugar intake and promoting a healthier lifestyle.

To view the full article, visit http://dtn.fm/UG3gk

Z Living is dedicated to showcasing the best of healthy lifestyle and wellness entertainment across multiple mediums – including television, the internet and on-demand streaming networks. The network’s website attracts an audience of more than 36,000 unique month visitors with a regularly updated selection of articles focusing on beauty, fitness, food and healthy lifestyle inspiration.

In recent weeks, Content Checked has leveraged the marketability of its suite of nutrition-based mobile apps – including ContentChecked, MigraineChecked and SugarChecked – to secure coverage in an assortment of popular blogs and news sites. Through these efforts, in addition to a planned rebranding of its products to be unveiled in the coming weeks, the company aims to increase its market share while continuing to improve the lives of individuals with specific dietary preferences or food-related allergies.

For more information, visit www.contentchecked.com