Samuel Madden, CFA

The backlog has grown from $1.6 billion in early 2012 to $5.8 billion today, which is equal to nearly five times today’s revenue.

Murphy USA, Inc. (MUSA): Historical financials, FY2012 versus FY2011 Marketing segment total revenues increased by $239.0 million in FY2012 to $19.0 billion compared to the FY2011 amount of $18.8 billion. Total fuel sales volumes per station averaged 277,001 gallons per month in 2012, down 0.3% from the prior year amounts. Within operating revenues, merchandise sales increased […]

On January 15, a short-seller announced that LKQ was a good short candidate. Upon this news, the stock has traded off more than 15%.

Triangle Petroleum, or “Triangle,” (TPLM) is a relatively unknown mini-conglomerate in the oil and gas sector. It has three distinct business lines.

Pinecrest Energy (PRY, PNCGF) is a Toronto Venture Exchange–listed oil and gas exploration and production company focused on the Alberta, Canada, Slave Point region.

Vocera Communications (VCRA) provides a unique solution in the healthcare communications industry and has a leading position in this developing market.

NQ Mobile shares tanked nearly 50% after a report by Muddy Waters Research stated that NQ Mobile had misrepresented cash balances and inflated revenue.

Fertilizer stocks plummeted on the heels of the announcement that Russia’s Uralkali was quitting the Belarusian Potash Company cartel. The market overreacted.

Vocera Communications (VCRA) roughly has a 10% market share of potential hospital contracts in the U.S. Per some Street estimates, VCRA’s total addressable market in the U.S. healthcare is roughly $6 billion.

Murphy USA, Inc. (MUSA): Differentiation Murphy differentiates itself from its competitors primarily through: Small-format offerings leading to higher sales per square foot (average footprint for comps is 3,000 square feet): MUSA sells roughly nine times the merchandise per years per square foot compared to comps ($4,744 versus $547). Volume-focused sales model: MUSA’s monthly fuel gallons sold […]

As investors, we should position ourselves to be rewarded if we are right, but not suffer painfully if we are wrong. If the cycle looks to be turning, turn with it

Market Overview Growth Drivers Appear Secular, Not Cyclical In general, CRO revenue growth is driven by three market-wide factors.  First, as providers of clinical trials services, CROs are directly tied to R&D budgets among biopharmaceutical clients.  Overall R&D budgets have been growing in the low-single digit range.  Second, the percentage of clinical trials services performed […]

Murphy USA is a price leader compared to most gas stations and compensates by driving significantly more volume than comparable stores.

NQ Mobile shares tanked nearly 50% after a report by Muddy Waters Research stated it had misrepresented cash balances and inflated revenue.

ICON plc (ICLR) is poised to benefit from an ongoing secular shift towards the outsourcing of clinical trials services. While this trend has already begun, it is likely only in the third or fourth inning, providing for several years of robust, predictable growth. In the more near-term, we believe that the Street is underestimating ICON’s margin […]

Murphy USA, Inc. (MUSA): Company overview Murphy is a low-price, high-volume fuel retailer that also sells convenience merchandise through low-cost kiosks. The business was recently spun off from Murphy Oil and primarily generates its revenues by marketing retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise through a large chain of 1,179 (as of June 30, 2013) […]

The company is not covered by sell-side analysts and is thinly traded. EnviroStar is a business with superb economic characteristics and is trading at reasonable valuations.

LKQ is the nation’s largest provider of alternative vehicle collision replacement products and a leading provider of alternative vehicle mechanical replacement products.

LKQ’s relationships with insurance companies and its proprietary location-based database creates a very powerful value proposition within the decision process of automotive repair.

TUSA is Triangle’s wholly owned E&P subsidiary located in the Williston Basin that generated ~$160 million of revenue and ~$110 million of EBITDA in 2013.

Symmetricom, Inc. (SYMM) To communicate the thesis, I will first briefly step through the value proposition (as I understand it) of a timekeeping solutions business like SYMM and then highlight where end-market inflection points and current business restructuring support my investment thesis. In general, a company like SYMM exists to satisfy three fundamental imperatives: Provision […]

I believe this stock could double over the next year from $20 to $40 as it’s rerated due to the lucrative MLP structure.

In 2013, EAC purchased Evergreen Helicopters (EHI) and Air Amazonas (AA), which will more than double the company’s revenue.

In 2009, Erickson Air Crane sold to ZM Private Equity (also known as Centre Lane Partners) and hired a new CEO. In April 2012, EAC went public.

Vocera Communications’ (VCRA) revenue growth in 2013 suffered from a combination of macro and micro factors. Ultimately, it can be boiled down to three main issues.

The company currently trades for 6.9 times 2015 consensus EBITDA and $685 million per rig, which is a premium to its peers.

People have been asking me over the past few weeks what my views are on the Twitter IPO (TWTR) as well as my view on Twitter as a general business.

Drought conditions in 2012 led to an increase in commodity prices, showing the importance of efficient mechanical irrigation and equipment.

EnviroStar exhibits an attractive earnings yield of 18.9%. P/E multiples do not give credit to the substantial amounts of cash on hand.

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH): Market overview Medicaid is a rapidly growing segment within healthcare, which should directly benefit MOH. In addition to typical market growth of mid-single digits, there are several supplemental drivers. Healthcare reform (Obamacare) Under current reform provisions starting 2014, Medicaid would expand coverage to additional 11 thousand uninsured. Based on its presence within […]

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH): Revenue growth In general, Medicaid health plans grow revenue by increasing their membership or generating higher rates from state governments. The latter portion is often left up to negotiations between plans and states. States often have the final say, but given cost savings managed care can generate, they are loathe to bring […]

As one of the leading Medicaid-focused HMOs, MOH enjoys a strong foothold in one of the healthcare sector’s fastest-growing markets.

Symmetricom, Inc. (SYMM) detailed investment thesis The “Old SYMM” presently outweighs the new/good, and (as mentioned previously) is leveraged to traditional sync timekeeping solutions on the communications side. On the government/enterprise front, you have frequency instruments and other time and measurement solutions that are highly leveraged to the at-risk DoD spending/budget. Reversing the sign of […]