Port 24 update

I finally had a chance to revisit the Port, and spent a while cleaning it up.

MITI was bought out, CLSN and DCTH had reverse splits (boy do I wish I'd sold those prior to the mothball!) and a few calls expired worthless.

This morning I check out the prices of CLSN, DCTH, and PIP and "sold" them at the bid.
Just now I couldn't resist and picked up 2000 shares of VHC.

So the current Port looks like this:
Cash $27,780.30
1500 ARQL
1200 BTX
2600 CLDX
2500 CORT
1100 EXEL
7000 NNVC
6000 PPHM
1600 SGMO
2000 VHC
1800 ZIOP

Total worth (as of this moment) is $213,642.30.
That is a return of 113%, and annualized to about 16% over nearly seven years. Almost 4  of those years, the Post has been neglected to a sorry degree, too! Not bad.

I'll be more active now, and utilizing calls as usual to pick up additional income.

Good luck to all portfolios in the days ahead!

ZIOPharm (ZIOP)

ZIOPharm is a biotech in the cancer space, with an important trial expecting data in the last week of March 2013.

PICASSO 3 is a phase 3 trial in soft tissue sarcoma, using ZIO-201, or palifosfamide. Pali, for short, is also being tested in a phase 3 trial for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with data nearer the end of the year.

They released news this morning that Indiana University has sponsored and initiated a phase 2 trial in recurrent metastatic germ cell (testicular and ovarian) tumors, using pali also. Since the lead investigator here is the same Doctor who leads the NSCLC trial it bodes well of him using the University's time, money, and prestige in bringing this phase 2 there.

ZIOP also has some interesting drugs in their pipeline, albeit most of them are much longer term propositions. Right now, this truly is a play on the PICASSO 3 trial.

While I am cautiously optimistic on its success there, biotech is not for the faint of heart! With the stock closing yesterday at $4.74, I am looking for a runup to the mid $5s in the next two weeks. If PICASSO 3 comes in sucessful I'd like to see the price hit somewhere around $7-8. And conversely, with failure I would expect a price of around $3, although rebounding over the summer to current levels due to the NSCLC trial, and pipeline, potential.

Best,
Trond Hildahl

** This is presented for educational and informational purposes only, and should not be construed as personalized legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. My own resources, risk tolerance, and personal situation have been taken into consideration for any trades mentioned and should not be used as a basis for someone else's trades. Stocks may lose value and this is not recommendation to buy or sell this particular issue. **

Today's trades and new Port24 additions

I have two trades for covered call fanatics, today. PIP and VHC both have very good arguments for a trade which yield 14 and 8%, respectively.

PIP is trading at $2.74, with the Aug11 $2.50s selling for $0.65. You'll end up losing 24 cents on the shares, if exercised, but gain the 65 cents on the option, netting 41 cents profit per $2.74 share - over 14% for a month. On the downside (especially important to note if they lose their lawsuit) you are "protected" down to $2.09.

VHC is trading at $34.55 with the Aug11 $35s selling for $2.80. That is an 8% dividend while you wait, with an extra 1% of capital gains if exercised.

I think both of these will end where they are, or higher, on 8/19/11.

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On the Port24 front, I miss having NBIX already, but will not buy in again here.
I bought 2500 CORT at $3.82, 6000 PPHM at $1.78, and 1800 ZIOP at $5.87. I am trying to buy lots of stock that end up somewhere around $10K at a whack.

I sold 20 Jan12 $2.50 calls against 2000 of the 6000 PPHM (Peregrine Pharma) for $25/contract. This is about a 14% return for the 6 month period, with an additional 40% return if exercised. I LOVE this risk/reward ratio, especially since I've only sold options on a third of the position. If the price rises into the $2s again, I will sell more, at much higher premiums.

I also sold 18 Aug11 $6 calls against the ZIOP (Ziopharm) for $25/contract. While "only" a 4% return for the month, I am more than willing to either lose the stock if over $6, or rinse and repeat under $6.

CORT (Corcept) is a stock I will hang onto for a couple months, assuming there will be a runup into the $5s or more as the FDA PDUFA date approaches. I'll sell calls at that point.

Port24:
19.8% annualized return (since 5/14/2008)
$5,468.80 in cash
1500 ARQL (0)
1200 BTX (0)
2600 CLDX (0)
9000 CLSN (0)
1600 DCTH (0)
300 DNDN (0)
1100 EXEL (0)
2000 MITI (0)
7000 NNVC (0)
2500 PIP (0)
1600 SGMO (0)
2500 CORT (0)
6000 PPHM (20)
1800 ZIOP (18)

PZG sell

Paramount Gold & Silver had a modestly good PR today and I've decided to sell the 3,600 shares the Port24 holds (at $3.71). That gives me an 18% return over the five months I have held.

I still like PZG but will look to re-enter somewhat lower ... the next news is not expected for a few months and I suspect it will trail down again.
Others I'm considering for inclusion at today's prices are more SGMO or PIP. VHC and ZIOP are also contenders.

Regards,
Trond