Executive Summary  |   Portfolio  |   Guru Analysis  |   Watch List

Executive Summary	September 16, 2011

The Economy Given that the headlines of the past month or two have been dominated by the financial crisis in Europe and fears of another recession in the U.S., you'd expect the latest round of economic data to show a major downturn in U.S. economic activity. So far, however, that hasn't happened. Rather than a major downturn, the latest numbers are showing that activity for the past month or two has been relatively flat. That's certainly not what we want to see, but it's far better than many have been predicting. In fact, some of the data has actually been positive. The service sector expanded at a healthy pace in August, for example, according to the Institute for Supply Management. It was the 21st straight month the sector has expanded, and it did so at a faster rate than it did in July. The group's employment and new orders sub-indices also both showed growth for the month. Industrial production also increased in August, according to the Federal Reserve, the fourth straight month it increased. And that was in spite of one of the three main industrial groups -- utilities -- posting a 3% decline because temperatures moderated during the month. The latest Commerce Department data showed that business sales and inventories both increased in July, indicating that businesses were more confident about the economy than you might think. They aren't confident enough to start hiring, however. The August jobs report from the Labor Department showed that job creation was flat for the month, a very disappointing figure. The headlines seemed to be a bit misleading on this, however. Many blared some variation of "Zero job growth for first time since 1945", as though the results were the worst since 1945. Of course, there have been plenty of months over the past 66 years when job growth was negative. August was simply the first time it had been exactly zero -- no growth, no shrinkage -- since '45. Like job growth, retail and food service sales were also flat in August, after two straight months of gains. Not a good sign, but, again, we're talking about flat growth -- not the huge decline that many were expecting. New claims for unemployment, meanwhile, have risen slightly (about 4%) since our last newsletter, a discouraging sign. They are still significantly higher than they'd need to be to make a dent in the unemployment rate. There's some hope on the horizon though -- job openings hit their highest level in three years in July, according to the Labor Department. Typically it takes a couple months to fill openings, so we could be looking at some decent hiring numbers in September or October -- if employers are hiring people who are unemployed, not those who are simply switching from another job. That's part of what President Obama's $447 billion jobs bill aims to do -- provide incentives for employers to hire those who have been out of work for more than six months. There are some big questions about whether that will work, however. As Charles Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders noted recently, employers tend to add jobs not because of short-term incentives; they do so because they see increasing demand on the horizon and have confidence in the longer-term picture. And until some of the major regulatory questions -- what will happen with taxes, and whether Obama's healthcare bill will be repealed -- are resolved, Sonders says businesses lack the clarity and confidence to make major investments in new employees. All in all, since our last newsletter, the S&P 500 returned 0.4%, while the Hot List returned 1.6%. So far in 2011, the portfolio has returned -9.1% vs. -3.9% for the S&P. Since its inception in July 2003, the Hot List is far outpacing the index, having gained 145.4% vs. the S&P's 20.9% gain. Tune Out The Noise Lately -- for the past few years, in fact -- it seems like macroeconomic factors have had a far greater impact on the market than have individual stock fundamentals. Some have termed it the "risk-on, risk-off" trade: Negative news about the global economy sends equity investors rushing herd-style for the door, fearing another 2008-like crisis and market crash; when economic news is good (or "less bad"), they breathe a sigh of relief and pile back into equities. Often, this occurs indiscriminately. It doesn't matter much what the individual stock or company does -- if the broader economic news is bad, sell it; if the news is okay, buy it. Correlation levels bear out this trend. The Chicago Board of Options Exchange runs a "correlation index" that measures how closely the movements of the S&P 500 components track each other. The index had been in the 40 to 50 range in the months leading up to the Lehman Brothers collapse; after, it rose sharply, topping 100 in November 2008. It fell quite a bit, but hasn't gotten back to pre-Lehman levels, staying well above 50 for most of the nearly three years since. It's been rising since late July as the Europe fears have heated up, and for the past couple days has been in the low-80s. This can be maddening for a value investor. After all, value investors depend on certain stocks becoming overvalued and others becoming undervalued. When everything moves more or less together, a wrench is thrown into that whole process. Stocks move less on their earnings power and share prices, and more on vague premonitions and hunches. One day, a resignation by a top European Central Bank official sends the market plunging downward, as investors fear it's a sign that Europe won't be able to pull together to fix its problems. Another day, the German Chancellor makes some positive comments about Greece, and the market jumps -- all is well again. Some say this has brought in a new age of investing, one in which you have to play the risk-on, risk-off game, and somehow do it better than the masses. To those who try, I say good luck. Because, most likely, luck is the only thing that will work if that's the game you're playing. Think you can predict what top European officials will do or say from day to day? Or that you can jump in early -- ahead of the high-frequency traders -- when the market starts to assert an upward or downward trend on a given day? I certainly can't do either of those things. And frankly, I don't know anyone who can. I think even great investors like Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Joel Greenblatt, and Peter Lynch would readily admit that they can't either. What to do then? Well, in a recent Wall Street Journal article, Jason Zweig offered some insights. One big thing you can do is keep perspective, he says, and I couldn't agree more. The first step in doing that is realizing that, while it may seem like today's market is more at risk from macro factors than markets of the past were, it's really not. Back in a March newsletter I noted that the notion of "normal" times is a misguided one. While today macro events like the European banking crisis, U.S. debt, and terrorist threats play on investors minds', a myriad of other macro events -- many with far wider-reaching impacts -- played on investors' minds in the past. World War II threatened to end our country as we know it. The opening of China to the outside world created tremendous opportunity, and uncertainty, in the global economy. So too did the fall of the Soviet Union -- which, at the time, was the largest nation in the world. In his article, Zweig interviews investment advisor William Bernstein, who, in addressing the issue of terrorism and the supposed "unprecedented" impact it has on the economy, put things in crystal-clear perspective: "Two generations ago, the U.S. endured a global conflict that cost 50 million lives," Bernstein said. "The next generation faced down the Soviet Union and its 20,000 nuclear warheads. If you had told Americans then that the U.S. should someday be even more afraid of a handful of jihadis from countries that couldn't even make their own bicycles, they'd have keeled over laughing." I don't mean to make light of the problems facing us today. They are very serious indeed, and there is no guarantee they will be fixed efficiently or in totality. But I believe we've lost some perspective. And a big reason, as Zweig astutely notes, is the tremendous advances in information-sharing. "The average person lives today in a virtually mediated reality," Sheldon Solomon, a psychology professor at Skidmore College, told Zweig. "Thanks to the unfiltered spread of news over services like Facebook and Twitter, we all get a wide variety of instantaneous images that are likely to have more-inflammatory effects." You also have instantaneous access to your portfolio. Every time the market drops, you see it right there on the screen, and it can hit you right in the gut. That's led many investors to shorten their time horizons, Zweig notes, when they should in fact be lengthening them. I agree. If you think you can time all of the macro news and move in and out of the market in short intervals, you're most likely fooling yourself. Equity investors have over the past 20 years (through 2010) averaged annualized returns of 3.83%, according to the research firm Dalbar, Inc. In the same period, the S&P 500 has gained 9.14%. By jumping in and out of the market at the wrong times, investors have cost themselves more than 5 percentage points per year. From 2008-2010 -- as this brave new "macro" world took hold -- investors fared slightly better, but still lagged the S&P by about 1.4 percentage points per year. Their hunch-playing, on average, still detracted from their returns. Instead of trying to time the market's day-to-day or week-to-week swings, I'd rather stay the course and stick to a good strategy for the long term. Let the traders take each others' money -- and then give it right back -- as they try to outguess the market in the short term. Focus on the fact that plenty of good values exist right now in the market -- eight of the ten stocks in the Hot List have price/earnings ratios (using trailing 12-month earnings) of 12 or lower, even though they have been growing earnings at rates of 13% to 50% over the long term. Of the nine non-financials, five have no long-term debt, one has a debt/equity ratio of less than 1%, and three have debt/equity ratios between 18% and 39%. And there are plenty of other stocks out there that are nearly as attractive. History has shown that when fears are high, those who buy equities with a long-term perspective make out well. They buy low -- maybe not at the absolute low, but low enough -- and good things happen when you buy low. Remember, when Lehman Brothers collapsed exactly three years ago yesterday, on September 15, 2008, many said those who kept buying stocks -- particularly U.S. stocks -- were headed for ruin. Well, it's three years later, and the S&P 500 is actually in the black, and the Nasdaq Composite is up about 20%. And those are indices. Many good stock-picking strategies have fared far better. Since Sept.1, 2008 (we track monthly data but not day-to-day data, thus the slightly different start date), my Motley Fool-inspired portfolio, for example, is up 47.7%. My Joel Greenblatt-based portfolio has gained about 15%. The Hot List is right around even, not a bad place to be given that we're not even fully healed from the 2008 crisis and Great Recession. Just as importantly, the portfolio is well positioned to take advantage of the current fears and resulting bargains in the market going forward. Others can crowd into overpriced bonds, speculate on gold, or sit in cash that is yielding virtually nothing -- we'll stick with stocks, block out the day-to-day noise, and focus on long-term value.		Editor-in-Chief: John Reese Since Inception   Hot List 145.4% S&P 500 20.9% Accuracy 56.0% Beta 1.2 YTD   Hot List -9.1% S&P 500 -3.9% Since Last Issue   Hot List 1.6% S&P 500 0.4% Avg. Fundamentals   Market Cap (mil) $2,997 PE Ratio 10.6 5 Yr EPS Growth 27.7% Yield 1.6% Rel. Strength 51 Portfolio Sectors Services 4 Technology 3 Basic Materials 1 Financial 1 Healthcare 1
Advertisement Validea Capital Management - Private Portfolio Management Based on Strategies of Legends Are you looking for an alternative to your underperforming mutual funds or financial advisor? Click here to download Validea Capital's investment kit and learn more about the firm's guru-based portfolios. Get More Information on Validea Capital! ** Validea Capital Management is a separate investment advisory firm managed by Validea.com founder John Reese. Thre information above in not intended as personal investment advice and should not be interpreted as such. Guru Spotlight: Peter Lynch Choosing the greatest fund manager of all-time is a tough task. John Templeton, Benjamin Graham, John Neff -- a number of investors have put up the types of long-term track records that make it difficult to pick just one who was "The Greatest". If you were to rank Peter Lynch at the top of the list, however, you'd probably find few would disagree with you. During his 13-year tenure as the head of Fidelity Investments' Magellan Fund, Lynch produced a 29.2 percent average annual return -- nearly twice the 15.8 percent return that the S&P 500 posted during the same period. According to Barron's, over the last five years of Lynch's tenure, Magellan beat 99.5 percent of all other funds. If those numbers aren't impressive enough, try this one: If you'd invested $10,000 in Magellan the day Lynch took the helm, you would have had $280,000 on the day he retired 13 years later. Just like investors who entrusted him with their money, I, too, owe a special debt of gratitude to Lynch. When I was trying to find my way in the stock market many years ago, Lynch's book One Up On Wall Street was a big part of what put me on the right track. Lynch didn't use complicated schemes or highbrow financial language in giving investment advice; he focused on the basics, and his common sense approach and layman-friendly writing style resonated not only with me but with amateur and professional investors all over, as evidenced by its best-seller status. The wisdom of Lynch's approach so impressed me that I decided to try to computerize the method, the first step I took toward developing my Guru Strategy computer models. Just what was it about Lynch's approach that made him so incredibly successful? Interestingly, a big part of his approach involved something that is not at all exclusive to being a renowned professional fund manager: He invested in what he knew. Lynch believed that if you personally know something positive about a stock -- you buy the company's products, like its marketing, etc. -- you can get a beat on successful businesses before professional investors get around to them. In fact, one of the things that led him to one of his most successful investments -- undergarment manufacturer Hanes -- was his wife's affinity for the company's new pantyhose years ago. But while his "buy-what-you-know" advice has gained a lot of attention over the years, that part of his approach was only a starting point for Lynch. What his strategy really focused on was fundamentals -- that's why I was able to computerize it -- and the most important fundamental he looked at was one whose use he pioneered: the P/E/Growth ratio. The P/E/Growth ratio, or "PEG", divides a stock's price/earnings ratio by its historical growth rate. The theory behind this was relatively simple: The faster a company was growing, the more you should be willing to pay for its stock. To Lynch, PEGs below 1.0 were signs of growth stocks selling on the cheap; PEGs below 0.5 really indicated that a growth stock was a bargain. To show how the P/E/G can be more useful than the P/E ratio, Lynch has cited Wal-Mart, America's largest retailer. In his book "One Up On Wall Street", he notes that Wal-Mart's P/E was rarely below 20 during its three-decade rise. Its growth rate, however was consistently in the 25 to 30 percent range, generating huge profits for shareholders despite the P/E ratio not being particularly low. That also proved another one of Lynch's tenets: that a good company can grow for decades before earnings level off. The PEG wasn't the only abbreviation Lynch popularized within the stock market lexicon. His strategy is often used as a primary example of "GARP" -- Growth At A Reasonable Price -- investing, which blends growth and value tenets. While some categorize Lynch as a growth investor because his favorite type of stocks were "fast-growers" -- those growing earnings per share at an annual rate of at least 20 percent -- his use of PEG as a way to make sure he wasn't paying too much for growth really makes him a hybrid growth-value investor. One Size Doesn't Fit All One aspect of Lynch's approach that makes it different from those of other gurus I follow is his practice of evaluating different categories of stocks with different variables. His favorite category, as I noted, was "fast-growers". These companies were growing earnings at a rate of 20 to 50 percent per year. (Lynch didn't want growth rates above 50 percent, because it was unlikely companies could sustain such high growth rates over the long term). The other two main categories of stocks Lynch examined in his writings were "stalwarts" and "slow-growers". Stalwarts are large, steady firms that have multi-billion-dollar sales and moderate growth rates (between 10 and 20 percent). These are usually firms you know well -- Wal-Mart and IBM are current examples of "stalwarts" based on that definition. Their size and stability usually make them good stocks to have if the market hits a downturn, so Lynch typically kept some of them in his portfolio. "Slow-growers", meanwhile, are firms with higher sales that are growing EPS at an annual rate below 10 percent. These are the types of stocks you invest in primarily for their high dividend yields. One way Lynch treated slow-growers and stalwarts differently from fast-growers involved the PEG ratio. Because slow-growers and stalwarts tend to offer strong dividend yields, Lynch adjusted their PEG calculations to include dividend yield. For example, consider a stock that is selling for $30, and has a P/E ratio of 10, EPS growth of 12 percent, and a 3 percent yield. To find the PEG, you'd divide the P/E (10) by the total of the growth rate and yield (12+3=15). That gives you 10/15=0.67, which, being under 1.0, indicates that the stock is indeed a good value. Another difference: For slow-growers, Lynch wanted a high yield, and the model I base on his approach requires dividend yield to be higher than the S&P average and greater than 3 percent. Beyond The PEG The PEG wasn't the only variable Lynch applied to all stocks. For fast-growers, stalwarts, and slow-growers alike, he also looked at the inventory/sales ratio, which my Lynch-based model wants to be declining, and the debt/equity ratio, which should be below 80%. (For financial companies, it uses the equity/assets ratio and return on assets rates rather than the debt/equity ratio, since financials typically have to carry a lot of debt as a part of their business.) The final part of the Lynch strategy includes two bonus categories: free cash flow/price ratio and net cash/price ratio. Lynch loved it when a stock had a free cash flow/price ratio greater than 35 percent, or a net cash/price ratio over 30 percent. (Lynch defined net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt). Failing these tests doesn't hurt a stock, however, since these are only bonus criteria. A Market-Beater For most of the time since I started tracking it in July 2003, my Lynch-based 10-stock portfolio has been one of my better performers. It's run into a very rough patch in 2011, however, and is down 19.1% year to date (all figures in this paragraph through Sept. 14). Still, even with that rough patch, the strategy is averaging annualized returns of 6.4% since its inception -- a very respectable return considering the S&P 500 has averaged annual returns of 2.1% over the same period. Interestingly, the 20-stock Lynch-inspired portfolio we track has held up much better this year, and has one of the best long-term track records of all my portfolios. It has averaged annual returns of 13.3% since its July 2003 inception, vs. that 2.1% figure for the S&P. That would seem to be a sign that the strategy is a solid one, and that the 10-stock portfolio's troubles should be short-term issues. Here's a look at the stocks that currently make up my 10-stock Lynch-based portfolio: TeleNav, Inc. (TNAV) Capella Education Company (CPLA) Tech Data Corporation (TECD) Ternium S.A. (TX) STMicroelectronics N.V. (STM) Xyratex Ltd. (XRTX) Superior Industries International, Inc. (SUP) OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (OVTI) Rudolph Technologies, Inc. (RTEC) Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (AEIS) The Stomach's The Key While it's not a quantitative factor, there is another part of Lynch's strategy that was a critical part of his success, and it's one that is particularly relevant given the portfolio's rough recent run: Don't bail when things get bad. Lynch recognized that the stock market was unpredictable in the short term, even to the smartest investors. In fact, he once said in an interview with American television station PBS that putting money into stocks and counting on having nice profits in a year or two is like "just like betting on red or black at the casino. ... What the market's going to do in one or two years, you don't know." Over the long-term, however, good stocks rise like no other investment vehicle, something Lynch recognized. His philosophy: Use a proven strategy and stay in the market for the long term and you'll realize those gains; jump in and out and there's a good chance that you'll miss out on a chunk of them. That, of course, is particularly hard to do when the market gets volatile. But the fear and anxiety investors feel during such times make it more important than ever to heed Lynch's advice: "The real key to making money in stocks," he once said, "is not to get scared out of them." News about Validea Hot List Stocks Micron Technology Inc. (MU): Micron shares had soared 27% (as of mid-afternoon Sept. 15) since the Hot List picked up the stock on Sept. 2. The move lacked a specific catalyst, but it seemed that value (the stock had lost more than half its value since late April amid concerns that chipmakers would be hit hard by an economic downturn) and optimism that the chip industry has taken the worst of its licks seemed to be at work. The Next Issue In two weeks, we will publish another issue of the Hot List, at which time we will rebalance the portfolio. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at hotlist@validea.com.

Current Portfolio Ticker Company Name Industry Guru Score BPI BRIDGEPOINT EDUCATION, INC. Schools 97 FRX FOREST LABORATORIES, INC. Biotechnology & Drugs 72 TX TERNIUM S.A. (ADR) Iron & Steel 67 CPLA CAPELLA EDUCATION COMPANY Schools 65 GTAT GT ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES INC Semiconductors 60 ASIA ASIAINFO-LINKAGE, INC. Software & Programming 56 CECO CAREER EDUCATION CORP. Schools 54 MKTX MARKETAXESS HOLDINGS INC. Investment Services 50 DV DEVRY INC. Schools 50 MU MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. Semiconductors 8 Ticker Market Cap Date Added Start Price Return BPI $1,138 3/18/2011 $18.02 $21.67 20.3% FRX $9,069 9/2/2011 $33.10 $33.03 -0.2% TX $4,886 9/2/2011 $24.48 $24.37 -0.4% CPLA $504 9/2/2011 $30.42 $33.16 9.0% GTAT $1,295 9/2/2011 $11.42 $10.23 -10.4% ASIA $791 9/2/2011 $11.00 $10.99 -0.1% CECO $1,262 9/2/2011 $15.36 $16.54 7.7% MKTX $1,122 9/2/2011 $28.92 $29.53 2.1% DV $2,831 9/2/2011 $40.74 $41.38 1.6% MU $7,068 9/2/2011 $5.50 $7.04 28.0%

Detailed Stock Analysis Disclaimer: The analysis is from Validea's selection and interpretation of content from the guru's book or published writings, and is not from nor endorsed by the guru. See Full Disclaimer BPI   |   FRX   |   TX   |   CPLA   |   GTAT   |   ASIA   |   CECO   |   MKTX   |   DV   |   MU   |   BRIDGEPOINT EDUCATION, INC. Profile Strategy: Growth Investor Based on: Martin Zweig Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (Bridgepoint) is a provider of postsecondary education services. The Company's wholly owned subsidiaries, Ashford University and the University of the Rockies, are regionally accredited academic institutions that offer associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in the disciplines of business, education, psychology, social sciences and health sciences. These institutions deliver programs online, as well as at its traditional campuses located in Clinton, Iowa, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. As of December 31, 2010, it offered approximately 1,345 courses, 71 degree programs and 134 specializations. As of December 31, 2010, it had 77,892 students enrolled in its institutions, 99% of whom were attending classes online. Analysis Guru Score: 85% P/E RATIO: [PASS] The P/E of a company must be greater than 5 to eliminate weak companies, but not more than 3 times the current Market P/E because the situation is much too risky, and never greater than 43. BPI's P/E is 7.52, based on trailing 12 month earnings, while the current market PE is 14.00. Therefore, it passes the first test. REVENUE GROWTH IN RELATION TO EPS GROWTH: [PASS] Revenue Growth must not be substantially less than earnings growth. For earnings to continue to grow over time they must be supported by a comparable or better sales growth rate and not just by cost cutting or other non-sales measures. BPI's revenue growth is 112.33%, while it's earnings growth rate is 33.34%, based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates using the current fiscal year eps estimate. Therefore, BPI passes this criterion. SALES GROWTH RATE: [FAIL] Another important issue regarding sales growth is that the rate of quarterly sales growth is rising. To evaluate this, the change from this quarter last year to the present quarter (38%) must be examined, and then compared to the previous quarter last year compared to the previous quarter (47%) of the current year. Sales growth for the prior must be greater than the latter. For BPI this criterion has not been met and fails this test. The earnings numbers of a company should be examined from various different angles. Three of these angles are stability in the trend of earnings, earnings persistence, and earnings acceleration. To evaluate stability, the stock has to pass the following four criteria. CURRENT QUARTER EARNINGS: [PASS] The first of these criteria is that the current EPS be positive. BPI's EPS ($0.90) pass this test. QUARTERLY EARNINGS ONE YEAR AGO: [PASS] The EPS for the quarter one year ago must be positive. BPI's EPS for this quarter last year ($0.58) pass this test. POSITIVE EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR CURRENT QUARTER: [PASS] The growth rate of the current quarter's earnings compared to the same quarter a year ago must also be positive. BPI's growth rate of 55.17% passes this test. EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL QUARTERS: [PASS] Compare the earnings growth rate of the previous three quarters with long-term EPS growth rate. Earnings growth in the previous 3 quarters should be at least half of the long-term EPS growth rate. Half of the long-term EPS growth rate for BPI is 16.67%. This should be less than the growth rates for the 3 previous quarters, which are 64.86%, 36.36%, and 87.76%. BPI passes this test, which means that it has good, reasonably steady earnings. This strategy looks at the rate which earnings grow and evaluates this rate of growth from different angles. The 4 tests immediately following are detailed below. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN PRIOR 3 QUARTERS: [PASS] If the growth rate of the prior three quarter's earnings, 66.39%, (versus the same three quarters a year earlier) is greater than the growth rate of the current quarter earnings, 55.17%, (versus the same quarter one year ago) then the stock fails, with one exception: if the growth rate in earnings between the current quarter and the same quarter one year ago is greater than 30%, then the stock would pass. The growth rate over this period for BPI is 55.2%, and it would therefore pass this test. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN THE HISTORICAL GROWTH RATE: [PASS] The EPS growth rate for the current quarter, 55.17% must be greater than or equal to the historical growth which is 33.34%. BPI would therefore pass this test. EARNINGS PERSISTENCE: [FAIL] Companies must show persistent yearly earnings growth. To fulfill this requirement a company's earnings must increase each year for a five year period. BPI, whose annual EPS growth before extraordinary items for the previous 5 years (from the earliest to the most recent fiscal year) were -2.15, 0.32, 3.15, 0.74, and 2.14, fails this test. LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH: [PASS] One final earnings test required is that the long-term earnings growth rate must be at least 15% per year. BPI's long-term growth rate of 33.34%, based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates using the current fiscal year eps estimate, passes this test. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] A final criterion is that a company must not have a high level of debt. A high level of total debt, due to high interest expenses, can have a very negative effect on earnings if business moderately turns down. If a company does have a high level, an investor may want to avoid this stock altogether. BPI's Debt/Equity (0.00%) is not considered high relative to its industry (57.64%) and passes this test. INSIDER TRANSACTIONS: [PASS] A factor that adds to a stock's attractiveness is if insider buy transactions number 3 or more, while insider sell transactions are zero. Zweig calls this an insider buy signal. For BPI, this criterion has not been met (insider sell transactions are 99, while insiders buying number 88). Despite the fact that insider sells out number insider buys for this company, Zweig considers even one insider buy transaction enough to prevent an insider sell signal, therefore there is not an insider sell signal and the stock passes this criterion.   FOREST LABORATORIES, INC. Profile Strategy: P/E/Growth Investor Based on: Peter Lynch Forest Laboratories, Inc. (Forest) develops, manufactures and sells branded forms of ethical drug products, most of which requires a physician's prescription. The Company also focuses on the development and introduction of new products, including products developed in collaboration with licensing partners. Its products include those developed by the Company and those acquired from other pharmaceutical companies and integrated into its marketing and distribution systems. The Company's principal products include Lexapro, Namenda, Bystolic, Savella and Teflaro. On April 13, 2011, the Company acquired Clinical Data Inc. (Clinical Data), a specialty pharmaceutical company. Analysis Guru Score: 98% DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION: FRX is considered a "True Stalwart", according to this methodology, as its earnings growth of 14.50% lies within a moderate 10%-19% range and its annual sales of $4,505 million are greater than the multi billion dollar level. This methodology looks for the "Stalwart" securities to gain 30%-50% in value over a two year period if they can be purchased at an attractive price based on the P/E to Growth ratio. FRX is attractive if FRX can hold its own during a recession. INVENTORY TO SALES: [PASS] When inventories increase faster than sales, it is a red flag. However an increase of up to 5% is considered bearable if all other ratios appear attractive. Inventory to sales for FRX was 11.16% last year, while for this year it is 10.21%. Since inventory to sales has decreased from last year by -0.94%, FRX passes this test. YIELD ADJUSTED P/E TO GROWTH (PEG) RATIO: [PASS] The Yield-adjusted P/E/G ratio for FRX (0.55), based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, is O.K. EARNINGS PER SHARE: [PASS] The EPS for a stalwart company must be positive. FRX's EPS ($4.11) would satisfy this criterion. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] This methodology would consider the Debt/Equity ratio for FRX (0.00%) to be wonderfully low (equity is at least ten times debt). This ratio is one quick way to determine the financial strength of the company. FREE CASH FLOW: [NEUTRAL] The Free Cash Flow/Price ratio, though not a requirement, is considered a bonus if it is above 35%. A positive Cash Flow (the higher the better) separates a wonderfully reliable investment from a shaky one. This methodology prefers not to invest in companies that rely heavily on capital spending. This ratio for FRX (8.54%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of the stock. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria. NET CASH POSITION: [BONUS PASS] Another bonus for a company is having a Net Cash/Price ratio above 30%. Lynch defines net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt. According to this methodology, a high value for this ratio dramatically cuts down on the risk of the security. The Net Cash/Price ratio for FRX (40.77%) is considered favorable.   TERNIUM S.A. (ADR) Profile Strategy: P/E/Growth Investor Based on: Peter Lynch Ternium SA is a steel company in Latin America that manufactures and processes flat and long steel products for the construction, home appliances, capital goods, container, food, energy and automotive industries. The Company operates in three segments: Flat Steel Products, comprising the manufacturing and marketing of hot rolled coils and sheets, cold rolled coils and sheets, tin plate, welded pipes, hot dipped galvanized and electro-galvanized sheets and pre-painted sheets; Long Steel Products, comprising the manufacturing and marketing of billets (steel in its basic, semi-finished state), wire rod and bars; Others, comprising mainly pig iron, pellets and pre-engineered metal buildings. During the year ended December 31, 2010, Flat Steel Products accounted to 86% of the Company's overall revenues. Approximately 57% of Ternium's sales were generated in North America and 41% in South and Central America. Analysis Guru Score: 100% DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION: This methodology would consider TX a "fast-grower". P/E/GROWTH RATIO: [PASS] The investor should examine the P/E (7.66) relative to the growth rate (29.91%), based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates, for a company. This is a quick way of determining the fairness of the price. In this particular case, the P/E/G ratio for TX (0.26) is very favorable. SALES AND P/E RATIO: [PASS] For companies with sales greater than $1 billion, this methodology likes to see that the P/E ratio remain below 40. Large companies can have a difficult time maintaining a growth high enough to support a P/E above this threshold. TX, whose sales are $8,297.3 million, needs to have a P/E below 40 to pass this criterion. TX's P/E of (7.66) is considered acceptable. INVENTORY TO SALES: [PASS] When inventories increase faster than sales, it is a red flag. However an increase of up to 5% is considered bearable if all other ratios appear attractive. Inventory to sales for TX was 27.23% last year, while for this year it is 26.46%. Since inventory to sales has decreased from last year by -0.77%, TX passes this test. EPS GROWTH RATE: [PASS] This methodology favors companies that have several years of fast earnings growth, as these companies have a proven formula for growth that in many cases can continue many more years. This methodology likes to see earnings growth in the range of 20% to 50%, as earnings growth over 50% may be unsustainable. The EPS growth rate for TX is 29.9%, based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates, which is acceptable. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] This methodology would consider the Debt/Equity ratio for TX (33.06%) to be normal (equity is approximately twice debt). FREE CASH FLOW: [NEUTRAL] The Free Cash Flow/Price ratio, though not a requirement, is considered a bonus if it is above 35%. A positive Cash Flow (the higher the better) separates a wonderfully reliable investment from a shaky one. This methodology prefers not to invest in companies that rely heavily on capital spending. This ratio for TX (7.30%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of the stock. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria. NET CASH POSITION: [BONUS PASS] Another bonus for a company is having a Net Cash/Price ratio above 30%. Lynch defines net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt. According to this methodology, a high value for this ratio dramatically cuts down on the risk of the security. The Net Cash/Price ratio for TX (33.64%) is high enough to add to the attractiveness of this company.   CAPELLA EDUCATION COMPANY Profile Strategy: Growth/Value Investor Based on: James P. O'Shaughnessy Capella Education Company is an online postsecondary education services company. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Capella University, the Company offers a range of doctoral, master's and bachelor's programs. As December 31, 2010, it offered over 1,250 online courses and 43 academic programs with 136 specializations to over 39,000 learners. It also offers certificate programs, which consist of a series of courses focused on a particular area of study. In addition, Capella Education Company also offers academic services, such as new learner orientation, technical support, academic advising, research services (particularly for doctoral degree candidates), writing services and online tutoring. It also provides appropriate educational accommodations to learners with documented disabilities through its disability support services team. During the year ended December 31, 2010, it formed the joint-venture Sophia Learning, LLC, as majority owner. Analysis Guru Score: 75% MARKET CAP: [PASS] The first requirement of the Cornerstone Growth Strategy is that the company has a market capitalization of at least $150 million. This will screen out the companies that are too illiquid for most investors, but still include a small growth company. CPLA, with a market cap of $504 million, passes this criterion. EARNINGS PER SHARE PERSISTENCE: [PASS] The Cornerstone Growth methodology looks for companies that show persistent earnings growth without regard to magnitude. To fulfill this requirement, a company's earnings must increase each year for a five year period. CPLA, whose annual EPS before extraordinary items for the last 5 years (from earliest to the most recent fiscal year) were 1.06, 1.33, 1.66, 2.51 and 3.64, passes this test. PRICE/SALES RATIO: [PASS] The Price/Sales ratio should be below 1.5. This value criterion, coupled with the growth criterion, identify growth stocks that are still cheap to buy. CPLA's Price/Sales ratio of 1.15, based on trailing 12 month sales, passes this criterion. RELATIVE STRENGTH: [FAIL] The final criterion for the Cornerstone Growth Strategy requires that the Relative Strength of the company be among the top 50 of the stocks screened using the previous criterion. This gives you the opportunity to buy the growth stocks you are searching for just as the market is embracing them. CPLA has a relative strength of 12. This does not pass the final criterion. As a result, this methodology would not consider the stock even though it passed the previous three criteria.   GT ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES INC Profile Strategy: Growth Investor Based on: Martin Zweig GT Advanced Technologies Inc., formerly GT Solar International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a global provider of polysilicon production technology and multicrystalline ingot growth systems and related photovoltaic manufacturing services for the solar industry, and sapphire growth systems and material for the light emitting diode (LED) and other specialty markets. The Company's customers include solar companies, as well as companies in the chemical industry. It operates in three segments: polysilicon business, photovoltaic (PV) business and sapphire business. On July 29, 2010, it acquired Crystal Systems, Inc. (Crystal Systems), a crystal growth technology company that produces sapphire material used for LED applications, as well as other specialty markets, such as medical, research, aerospace industries and defense. In August 2011, the Company acquired Confluence Solar, Inc. Analysis Guru Score: 85% P/E RATIO: [PASS] The P/E of a company must be greater than 5 to eliminate weak companies, but not more than 3 times the current Market P/E because the situation is much too risky, and never greater than 43. GTAT's P/E is 6.59, based on trailing 12 month earnings, while the current market PE is 14.00. Therefore, it passes the first test. REVENUE GROWTH IN RELATION TO EPS GROWTH: [PASS] Revenue Growth must not be substantially less than earnings growth. For earnings to continue to grow over time they must be supported by a comparable or better sales growth rate and not just by cost cutting or other non-sales measures. GTAT's revenue growth is 75.21%, while it's earnings growth rate is 49.58%, based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates using the current fiscal year eps estimate. Therefore, GTAT passes this criterion. SALES GROWTH RATE: [PASS] Another important issue regarding sales growth is that the rate of quarterly sales growth is rising. To evaluate this, the change from this quarter last year to the present quarter (71%) must be examined, and then compared to the previous quarter last year compared to the previous quarter (39.5%) of the current year. Sales growth for the prior must be greater than the latter. For GTAT this criterion has been met. The earnings numbers of a company should be examined from various different angles. Three of these angles are stability in the trend of earnings, earnings persistence, and earnings acceleration. To evaluate stability, the stock has to pass the following four criteria. CURRENT QUARTER EARNINGS: [PASS] The first of these criteria is that the current EPS be positive. GTAT's EPS ($0.40) pass this test. QUARTERLY EARNINGS ONE YEAR AGO: [PASS] The EPS for the quarter one year ago must be positive. GTAT's EPS for this quarter last year ($0.11) pass this test. POSITIVE EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR CURRENT QUARTER: [PASS] The growth rate of the current quarter's earnings compared to the same quarter a year ago must also be positive. GTAT's growth rate of 263.64% passes this test. EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL QUARTERS: [PASS] Compare the earnings growth rate of the previous three quarters with long-term EPS growth rate. Earnings growth in the previous 3 quarters should be at least half of the long-term EPS growth rate. Half of the long-term EPS growth rate for GTAT is 24.79%. This should be less than the growth rates for the 3 previous quarters, which are 366.67%, 84.00%, and 78.26%. GTAT passes this test, which means that it has good, reasonably steady earnings. This strategy looks at the rate which earnings grow and evaluates this rate of growth from different angles. The 4 tests immediately following are detailed below. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN PRIOR 3 QUARTERS: [PASS] If the growth rate of the prior three quarter's earnings, 112.96%, (versus the same three quarters a year earlier) is less than the growth rate of the current quarter earnings, 263.64%, (versus the same quarter one year ago) then the stock passes. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN THE HISTORICAL GROWTH RATE: [PASS] The EPS growth rate for the current quarter, 263.64% must be greater than or equal to the historical growth which is 49.58%. GTAT would therefore pass this test. EARNINGS PERSISTENCE: [FAIL] Companies must show persistent yearly earnings growth. To fulfill this requirement a company's earnings must increase each year for a five year period. GTAT, whose annual EPS growth before extraordinary items for the previous 5 years (from the earliest to the most recent fiscal year) were -0.13, 0.25, 0.61, 0.60, and 1.24, fails this test. LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH: [PASS] One final earnings test required is that the long-term earnings growth rate must be at least 15% per year. GTAT's long-term growth rate of 49.58%, based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates using the current fiscal year eps estimate, passes this test. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [FAIL] A final criterion is that a company must not have a high level of debt. A high level of total debt, due to high interest expenses, can have a very negative effect on earnings if business moderately turns down. If a company does have a high level, an investor may want to avoid this stock altogether. GTAT's Debt/Equity (38.95%) is considered high relative to its industry (15.22%) and fails this test. INSIDER TRANSACTIONS: [PASS] A factor that adds to a stock's attractiveness is if insider buy transactions number 3 or more, while insider sell transactions are zero. Zweig calls this an insider buy signal. For GTAT, this criterion has not been met (insider sell transactions are 110, while insiders buying number 37). Despite the fact that insider sells out number insider buys for this company, Zweig considers even one insider buy transaction enough to prevent an insider sell signal, therefore there is not an insider sell signal and the stock passes this criterion.   ASIAINFO-LINKAGE, INC. Profile Strategy: Growth Investor Based on: Martin Zweig AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (AsiaInfo-Linkage), formerly AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc., is a provider of telecommunications software solutions and information technology products and services in China. The Company's software and services enables its customers to build, maintain, operate, manage and improve their communications infrastructure. It's products and services in telecom business include business operation support systems, including billing and partnership relationship management applications; business intelligence systems, including data warehousing platforms and data mining applications; operating support systems (OSS) package, including protocol adaptor, service fulfilment, process management and service activation; service and data applications, such as mail centers, mobile device management and mobile e-commerce platforms, and network infrastructure services, including network design and implementation, integrated network management and professional maintenance and support. Analysis Guru Score: 85% P/E RATIO: [PASS] The P/E of a company must be greater than 5 to eliminate weak companies, but not more than 3 times the current Market P/E because the situation is much too risky, and never greater than 43. ASIA's P/E is 11.26, based on trailing 12 month earnings, while the current market PE is 14.00. Therefore, it passes the first test. REVENUE GROWTH IN RELATION TO EPS GROWTH: [PASS] Revenue Growth must not be substantially less than earnings growth. For earnings to continue to grow over time they must be supported by a comparable or better sales growth rate and not just by cost cutting or other non-sales measures. ASIA's revenue growth is 34.94%, while it's earnings growth rate is 46.95%, based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates. Sales growth is not at least 85% of EPS growth so the initial part of this criteria is not met, however, since both sales growth and eps growth are greater than 30%, that requirement is waived and the company passes this test. SALES GROWTH RATE: [PASS] Another important issue regarding sales growth is that the rate of quarterly sales growth is rising. To evaluate this, the change from this quarter last year to the present quarter (95.9%) must be examined, and then compared to the previous quarter last year compared to the previous quarter (93.2%) of the current year. Sales growth for the prior must be greater than the latter. For ASIA this criterion has been met. The earnings numbers of a company should be examined from various different angles. Three of these angles are stability in the trend of earnings, earnings persistence, and earnings acceleration. To evaluate stability, the stock has to pass the following four criteria. CURRENT QUARTER EARNINGS: [PASS] The first of these criteria is that the current EPS be positive. ASIA's EPS ($0.44) pass this test. QUARTERLY EARNINGS ONE YEAR AGO: [PASS] The EPS for the quarter one year ago must be positive. ASIA's EPS for this quarter last year ($0.28) pass this test. POSITIVE EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR CURRENT QUARTER: [PASS] The growth rate of the current quarter's earnings compared to the same quarter a year ago must also be positive. ASIA's growth rate of 57.14% passes this test. EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL QUARTERS: [FAIL] Compare the earnings growth rate of the previous three quarters with long-term EPS growth rate. Earnings growth in the previous 3 quarters should be at least half of the long-term EPS growth rate. Half of the long-term EPS growth rate for ASIA is 23.47%. This should be less than the growth rates for the 3 previous quarters which are 15.79%, -60.27% and 4.35%. ASIA does not pass this test, which means that it does not have good, reasonably steady earnings. This strategy looks at the rate which earnings grow and evaluates this rate of growth from different angles. The 4 tests immediately following are detailed below. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN PRIOR 3 QUARTERS: [PASS] If the growth rate of the prior three quarter's earnings, -34.78%, (versus the same three quarters a year earlier) is less than the growth rate of the current quarter earnings, 57.14%, (versus the same quarter one year ago) then the stock passes. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN THE HISTORICAL GROWTH RATE: [PASS] The EPS growth rate for the current quarter, 57.14% must be greater than or equal to the historical growth which is 46.95%. ASIA would therefore pass this test. EARNINGS PERSISTENCE: [FAIL] Companies must show persistent yearly earnings growth. To fulfill this requirement a company's earnings must increase each year for a five year period. ASIA, whose annual EPS growth before extraordinary items for the previous 5 years (from the earliest to the most recent fiscal year) were 0.11, 0.45, 0.35, 0.73, and 0.89, fails this test. LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH: [PASS] One final earnings test required is that the long-term earnings growth rate must be at least 15% per year. ASIA's long-term growth rate of 46.95%, based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates, passes this test. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] A final criterion is that a company must not have a high level of debt. A high level of total debt, due to high interest expenses, can have a very negative effect on earnings if business moderately turns down. If a company does have a high level, an investor may want to avoid this stock altogether. ASIA's Debt/Equity (0.00%) is not considered high relative to its industry (21.27%) and passes this test. INSIDER TRANSACTIONS: [PASS] A factor that adds to a stock's attractiveness is if insider buy transactions number 3 or more, while insider sell transactions are zero. Zweig calls this an insider buy signal. For ASIA, this criterion has not been met (insider sell transactions are 19, while insiders buying number 10). Despite the fact that insider sells out number insider buys for this company, Zweig considers even one insider buy transaction enough to prevent an insider sell signal, therefore there is not an insider sell signal and the stock passes this criterion.   CAREER EDUCATION CORP. Profile Strategy: Value Investor Based on: Benjamin Graham Career Education Corporation (CEC), through colleges, schools and universities that are part of the CEC family, offers education to a diverse student population of over 116,000 students in a variety of career-oriented disciplines. The Company has more than 90 campuses that serve these students are located throughout the United States and in France, Italy and the United Kingdom and Monaco. Its institutions includes American InterContinental University (AIU), Brooks Institute; Colorado Technical University (CTU), Harrington College of Design, INSEEC Group (INSEEC) Schools, International University of Monaco (IUM), International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT), Istituto Marangoni, Le Cordon Bleu North America (LCB), and Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. CEC organized its businesses across four segments: University, Health Education, Culinary Arts and International. On April 15, 2010, the Company acquired IUM, an international business university. Analysis Guru Score: 86% SECTOR: [PASS] CECO is neither a technology nor financial Company, and therefore this methodology is applicable. SALES: [PASS] The investor must select companies of "adequate size". This includes companies with annual sales greater than $340 million. CECO's sales of $2,107.6 million, based on trailing 12 month sales, pass this test. CURRENT RATIO: [FAIL] The current ratio must be greater than or equal to 2. Companies that meet this criterion are typically financially secure and defensive. CECO's current ratio of 1.55 fails the test. LONG-TERM DEBT IN RELATION TO NET CURRENT ASSETS: [PASS] For industrial companies, long-term debt must not exceed net current assets (current assets minus current liabilities). Companies that meet this criterion display one of the attributes of a financially secure organization. The long-term debt for CECO is $0.5 million, while the net current assets are $197.4 million. CECO passes this test. LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH: [PASS] Companies must increase their EPS by at least 30% over a ten-year period and EPS must not have been negative for any year within the last 5 years. Companies with this type of growth tend to be financially secure and have proven themselves over time. CECO's EPS growth over that period of 255.1% passes the EPS growth test. P/E RATIO: [PASS] The Price/Earnings (P/E) ratio, based on the greater of the current PE or the PE using average earnings over the last 3 fiscal years, must be "moderate", which this methodology states is not greater than 15. Stocks with moderate P/Es are more defensive by nature. CECO's P/E of 10.30 (using the 3 year PE) passes this test. PRICE/BOOK RATIO: [PASS] The Price/Book ratio must also be reasonable. That is, the Price/Book multiplied by P/E cannot be greater than 22. CECO's Price/Book ratio is 1.33, while the P/E is 10.30. CECO passes the Price/Book test.   MARKETAXESS HOLDINGS INC. Profile Strategy: P/E/Growth Investor Based on: Peter Lynch MarketAxess Holdings Inc. operates an electronic trading platform for corporate bonds and other types of fixed-income instruments, through which the Company's institutional investor clients can access the liquidity provided by its broker-dealer clients. The Company offers its clients the ability to trade the United States corporate bonds, European corporate bonds, credit default swaps, agencies, high yield and emerging markets bonds and asset-backed and preferred securities. The Company also executes certain bond transactions between and among institutional investor and broker-dealer clients on a principal basis by serving as counterparty to both the buyer and the seller in matching back-to-back trades, which then settle through a third-party clearing organization. Through its Corporate BondTicker service, the Company provides fixed-income market data, analytics and compliance tools that help its clients make trading decisions. Analysis Guru Score: 91% DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION: This methodology would consider MKTX a "fast-grower". P/E/GROWTH RATIO: [PASS] The investor should examine the P/E (28.66) relative to the growth rate (38.69%), based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, for a company. This is a quick way of determining the fairness of the price. In this particular case, the P/E/G ratio for MKTX (0.74) makes it favorable. SALES AND P/E RATIO: [NEUTRAL] For companies with sales greater than $1 billion, this methodology likes to see that the P/E ratio remain below 40. Large companies can have a difficult time maintaining a growth rate high enough to support a P/E above this threshold. MKTX, whose sales are $165.4 million, is not considered large enough to apply the P/E ratio analysis. However, an investor can analyze the P/E ratio relative to the EPS growth rate. EPS GROWTH RATE: [PASS] This methodology favors companies that have several years of fast earnings growth, as these companies have a proven formula for growth that in many cases can continue many more years. This methodology likes to see earnings growth in the range of 20% to 50%, as earnings growth over 50% may be unsustainable. The EPS growth rate for MKTX is 38.7%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, which is considered 'OK'. However, it may be difficult to sustain such a high growth rate. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [NEUTRAL] MKTX is a financial company so debt to equity rules are not applied to determine the company's financial soundness. EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: [PASS] This methodology uses the Equity/Assets Ratio as a way to determine a financial intermediary's health, as it is a better measure than the Debt/Equity Ratio. MKTX's Equity/Assets ratio (91.00%) is extremely healthy and above the minimum 5% this methodology looks for, thus passing the criterion. RETURN ON ASSETS: [PASS] This methodology uses Return on Assets as a way to measure a financial intermediary's profitability. MKTX's ROA (13.28%) is above the minimum 1% that this methodology looks for, thus passing the criterion. FREE CASH FLOW: [NEUTRAL] The Free Cash Flow/Price ratio, though not a requirement, is considered a bonus if it is above 35%. A positive Cash Flow (the higher the better) separates a wonderfully reliable investment from a shaky one. This methodology prefers not to invest in companies that rely heavily on capital spending. This ratio for MKTX (4.03%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of the stock. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria. NET CASH POSITION: [NEUTRAL] Another bonus for a company is having a Net Cash/Price ratio above 30%. Lynch defines net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt. According to this methodology, a high value for this ratio dramatically cuts down on the risk of the security. The Net Cash/Price ratio for MKTX (10.85%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of this company. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria.   DEVRY INC. Profile Strategy: Value Investor Based on: Benjamin Graham DeVry Inc. (DeVry) is a provider of educational services and the parent organization of Advanced Academics, Becker Professional Education, Carrington College and Carrington College California, Chamberlain College of Nursing, DeVry Brasil, DeVry University, and Ross University. These institutions offer a range of programs in business, healthcare and technology and serve students in middle school through postsecondary education, as well as accounting and finance professionals. In August 2011, the Company acquired he business operations of privately held American University of the Caribbean. Analysis Guru Score: 86% SECTOR: [PASS] DV is neither a technology nor financial Company, and therefore this methodology is applicable. SALES: [PASS] The investor must select companies of "adequate size". This includes companies with annual sales greater than $340 million. DV's sales of $2,182.4 million, based on trailing 12 month sales, pass this test. CURRENT RATIO: [FAIL] The current ratio must be greater than or equal to 2. Companies that meet this criterion are typically financially secure and defensive. DV's current ratio of 1.97 fails the test. LONG-TERM DEBT IN RELATION TO NET CURRENT ASSETS: [PASS] For industrial companies, long-term debt must not exceed net current assets (current assets minus current liabilities). Companies that meet this criterion display one of the attributes of a financially secure organization. The long-term debt for DV is $0.0 million, while the net current assets are $308.2 million. DV passes this test. LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH: [PASS] Companies must increase their EPS by at least 30% over a ten-year period and EPS must not have been negative for any year within the last 5 years. Companies with this type of growth tend to be financially secure and have proven themselves over time. DV's EPS growth over that period of 310.2% passes the EPS growth test. P/E RATIO: [PASS] The Price/Earnings (P/E) ratio, based on the greater of the current PE or the PE using average earnings over the last 3 fiscal years, must be "moderate", which this methodology states is not greater than 15. Stocks with moderate P/Es are more defensive by nature. DV's P/E of 11.50 (using the 3 year PE) passes this test. PRICE/BOOK RATIO: [PASS] The Price/Book ratio must also be reasonable. That is, the Price/Book multiplied by P/E cannot be greater than 22. DV's Price/Book ratio is 1.89, while the P/E is 11.50. DV passes the Price/Book test.   MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. Profile Strategy: Price/Sales Investor Based on: Kenneth Fisher Micron Technology, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of semiconductor devices, principally dynamic random access memory (DRAM), Nandi Flash memory (NAND Flash and NOR Flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products. In addition, the Company manufacture semiconductor components for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors and other semiconductor products. During the fiscal year ended September 2, 2010, the Company had two segments: Memory and Numonyx. On May 7, 2010, the Company acquired Numonyx Holdings B.V. (Numonyx), which manufactures and sells NOR Flash, NAND Flash, DRAM and Phase Change memory technologies and products. Analysis Guru Score: 80% PRICE/SALES RATIO: [PASS] The prospective company should have a low Price/Sales ratio. Non-cyclical (non-Smokestack) companies with Price/Sales ratio between .75 and 1.5 are good values. MU's P/S ratio of 0.77 based on trailing 12 month sales, falls within the "good values" range for non-cyclical companies and is considered attractive. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] Less debt equals less risk according to this methodology. MU's Debt/Equity of 18.32% is acceptable, thus passing the test. PRICE/RESEARCH RATIO: [PASS] This methodology considers Technology and Medical companies with low Price/Research ratios to be attractive. This ratio indicates how much a market values a company's Research and Development (R&D). Companies with Price/Research ratios between 10 and 15 are on the borderline. A Price/Research ratio above 15 indicates the company spends too little on R&D or is extremely overvalued. Investors should seek those between 5 and 10. MU's Price/Research ratio of 11.33 is considered "OK". PRELIMINARY GRADE: Some Interest in MU At this Point Is MU a "Super Stock"? NO PRICE/SALES RATIO: [FAIL] The prospective company should have a low Price/Sales ratio. To be considered a "Super Stock", non-cyclical (non-Smokestack) companies should have Price/Sales ratios below .75. However, MU, who has a P/S of 0.77, does not fall within the "Super Stock" range. It does fall between 0.75 and 1.5, which is considered the "good values" range for non-cyclical companies. Nonetheless, it does not pass this "Super Stock" criterion. LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH RATE: [PASS] This methodology looks for companies that have an inflation adjusted EPS growth rate greater than 15%. MU's inflation adjusted EPS growth rate of 37.22% passes the test. FREE CASH PER SHARE: [PASS] This methodology looks for companies that have a positive free cash per share. Companies should have enough free cash available to sustain three years of losses. This is based on the premise that companies without cash will soon be out of business. MU's free cash per share of 2.36 passes this criterion. THREE YEAR AVERAGE NET PROFIT MARGIN: [FAIL] This methodology looks for companies that have an average net profit margin of 5% or greater over a three year period. MU, whose three year net profit margin averages -15.23%, fails this evaluation.   Watch List The Watch List contains the highest scoring stocks according to our guru consensus system that are not currently in the Hot List portfolio. We provide this list both for informational purposes and for investors who are not comfortable with a portfolio of ten stocks. Ticker Company Name Industry Guru Score LULU LULULEMON ATHLETICA INC. Retail (Apparel) 60 HITK HI-TECH PHARMACAL CO. Biotechnology & Drugs 50 CW CURTISS-WRIGHT CORP. Misc. Fabricated Products 47 CSTR COINSTAR, INC. Recreational Activities 47 OZRK BANK OF THE OZARKS, INC. Regional Banks 46 AFSI AMTRUST FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) 46 CSH CASH AMERICA INTERNATIONAL, INC. Misc. Financial Services 44 QSII QUALITY SYSTEMS, INC. Software & Programming 43 AZN ASTRAZENECA PLC (ADR) Biotechnology & Drugs 43 PBR PETROLEO BRASILEIRO SA (ADR) Oil & Gas - Integrated 43

Disclaimer

The names of individuals (i.e., the 'gurus') appearing in this report are for identification purposes of his methodology only, as derived by Validea.com from published sources, and are not intended to suggest or imply any affiliation with or endorsement or even agreement with this report personally by such gurus, or any knowledge or approval by such persons of the content of this report. All trademarks, service marks and tradenames appearing in this report are the property of their respective owners, and are likewise used for identification purposes only. Validea is not registered as a securities broker-dealer or investment advisor either with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or with any state securities regulatory authority. Validea is not responsible for trades executed by users of this site based on the information included herein. The information presented on this website does not represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks or any financial instrument nor is it intended as an endorsement of any security or investment. The information on this website is generic by nature and is not personalized to the specific situation of any individual. The user therefore bears complete responsibility for their own investment research and should seek the advice of a qualified investment professional prior to making any investment decisions. Performance results are based on model portfolios and do not reflect actual trading. Actual performance will vary based on a variety of factors, including market conditions and trading costs. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Individual stocks mentioned throughout this web site may be holdings in the managed portfolios of Validea Capital Management, a separate asset management firm founded by Validea.com founder John Reese. Validea Capital Management, which is a separate legal entity and an SEC registered investment advisory firm, uses, in part, the strategies on the web site to select stocks for its clients.