Anthrax vaccine manufacturer salvages contest portfolios
05.11.2008 10:01
Shopping
- Source: toledoblade.com
In a sign of the gloom that enveloped Wall Street last month, one of the few promising picks in The Blade's Stock Market Game was a pharmaceutical company that sells a vaccine for Anthrax bacteria. Emergent BioSolutions Inc., Rockville, Md., was responsible for keeping Waterville resident Garry Mills in the lead of the year-long contest. The stock soared 256 percent between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 to $18.01 His hypothetical portfolio was one of just four entries - among a field of nearly 900 contestants - that has made money. He and other entrants started with an imaginary $40,000 divided evenly among four stocks, two from the New York Stock Exchange and two from Nasdaq. Mr. Mills' portfolio was up 43 percent at month's end to $57,031. However, three of his four picks were in the red with Universal Display Corp., down 48 percent; Dendreon Corp., down 21 percent; and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, down 17 percent. Moving into second place in the contest was Jan Rizzo, of Sylvania, whose portfolio also included Emergent BioSolutions. The stock was the only one among his four picks in positive territory. His portfolio has grown 23 percent to $49,152. "If it weren't for EBS, I'd be with the rest of the pack -down," said Dr. Rizzo, a dentist in Clinton, Mich. Christina Wegner, a financial advisor at the Toledo office of Smith Barney, said it's not surprising that so many portfolios are in the red. "Last month was a difficult month until the final week," she said. Major stock indices are down by nearly a third since the start of the year and 15 percent in October alone, she added. David Livingston, a consultant in Waukesha, Wis., who follows The Blade on toledoblade.com, was briefly in the lead at the start of his contest. But his portfolio, consisting of some once promising financial firms such as Washington Mutual and National City Corp., has sunk to just $7,741. "One of my stocks is trading on the Pink Sheets for four cents," Mr. Livingston confessed. The contest winner will be the portfolio with the biggest gain at the end of the year. Contest rules required that each stock pick trade for at least $5 a share as of Dec. 31, 2007. Each contestant was allowed to change one stock midyear. First prize is $200 in cash and a three-day/two-night trip for two, including transportation and hotel, to Chicago, Toronto, or Tampa during 2009. Travel arrangements will be made by contest co-sponsor Central Travel of Toledo. Second place receives $300 in cash; third place, $200. Among portfolios in the red is The Blade's dartboard picks, chosen at random by four members of the business news staff. The picks slipped 31 percent to $27,483. Still, that was good enough for 135th place Oct. 31. The other contest leaders and their portfolio values are Tom Moran, Toledo, $42,915; Dan Stacy, Gibsonburg, $42,231; Michael Soubeyrand, Holland, $39,276; Mary Humpert, Temperance, $39,275; Jon Dresher, Grand Rapids, $39,233; Leonard Giesige, Hamler, Ohio, $38,840; Matt Bowlin, Tiffin, $38,106; Edwin T. Harwood, Monroe, $37,512. Contact Gary Pakulski at:
gpakulski@theblade.com
or 419-724-6082.
| 
Add comment