Stock tips from someone who knows nothing

I really know very little about the stock market, but I know what I like.  I also think both Flippy and I have a good feel for “trends” in the marketplace, and that’s been helpful over the past few years as we’ve done a teeny-tiny bit of stock market dabbling.  Sometimes we’re successful; we bought Starbucks when it was priced around $14, and we bought Jones Soda when it was still just on the Canadian stock exchange, and priced at about 75 cents per share.  We gave Flippy’s dad a good tip many years ago and I think he profited from VCAI, long before it turned info WOOF.

We’ve also had our “crash and burn” moments, though: investing in BN.com during their IPO, with the assumption they’d do well because Amazon.com stock was close to the $100 mark at the point.  Uh, no… we lost a bundle on that one, as we bought at $18 and then the company bought back their stock a couple of years later at about $1.40.  Nasty.  We also lost on House to Home, which was an offshoot of the ill-fated “Home Base” retail outlet.  You’d think the economy could support two major “do it yourself” retailers, but apparently, it can’t.

So, it’s with caution that I write about a couple of our recent stock market purchases, specifically, those in the pet sector.  I don’t know if the companies are destined to make billions, but I do know they’re making good products and have good ideas, and I think that’s a step in the right direction.

The first is Pet Ecology Brands, who advertise themselves as an “animal health management” company.  They’ve got a couple of neat products on the market—a line of fat-free dog treats, and an environmentally-friendly, scoopable cat litter called ScoopLite.  What I really love about the litter, though, is that it contains a component which will help cat owners detect UTIs in their pets!  The litter changes colour in the presence of alkaline urine, as the less acidic the urine, the more conducive the enviroment to bacteria, crystal formation, etc.  A product like this could have helped us detect Derek’s problem long before blood appeared in the urine, so I think it’s an excellent idea.  You can read more about the litter here: Scientific Cat Litter.  Pet Ecology Brands is currently trading at about 14 cents per share.

The second company I’ve been watching is Pets Mobility, Inc..  Their first major project is a bit silly—they’re designing PetsCell, a cell phone for dogs.  The idea is that the owner can “call” the dog during an absence, to reassure the dog, have a little chat, or whatever.  The project has some broader applications, though—the phone would allow an injured owner to call for help via the cell phone, and there’s also the ability to enable GPS tracking on the collar to trace a missing person who’d been found by a search dog, for example.  The collar could also have a remote camera attached for the same purpose.  I personally like the idea of integrating microchip ID technology and GPS (to allow owners to actually track a missing pet), and I think this is something the company is looking to in the future.  The stock is currently about 40 cents per share, and while I don’t think the company’s projects will appeal to every pet owner, they’ll certainly attract the attention of those owners with a little extra cash with which to pamper their pet.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/23 at 05:47 PM

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  1. >>>  I personally like the idea of integrating microchip ID technology and GPS (to allow owners to actually track a missing pet).  <<<

    I would be *all* over that!  I can not believe that somebody has not jumped on that one yet!

    Sounds like you have had some great successes with the stockmarket!  I am impressed.  :)

    Posted by Expat  on  08/24  at  05:58 PM
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