The Astrological Investor

One feature we like to do every now and then is what we call "Pennies From Heaven." This is a spotlight on stocks we've stumbled across in our research which fit three important criteria. First, they have to be, as the category name implies, selling for around or under, a dollar a share. Preferably under, but we won't quibble where there's money to be made. Second, the price chart and technical action should indicate a long process of liquidation is finally running its course, and the stock has exhausted a significant downtrend. Or, to put it more succinctly, it has to be on the floor. Down so far it can only go up, OR out of business. And finally, the corporate horoscope must indicate some astrological fireworks ahead.

Our caveat here is that this kind of astrological "bottom fishing" with highly speculative shares is somewhat akin to bombsquad work. These little darlin's are most fun when they DO explode, but the danger is that they'll go lower still, lie there for a few years and tie up capital, or simply go bankrupt and take all your beer money with them. If our observations here tempt you and things don't quite work out the way we imagined they could, don't come crying to us. On the other hand, if you rack up 500% in a few months on one of these babies, you could always show your appreciation by taking us out to dinner.

BIOCONTROL TECHNOLOGY

Incorporated March 20, 1972
Nasdaq Small Cap BICO Current Price: .15

BICO is the kind of stock that can make a poor man feel like a plunger. There are umpty-ump million shares outstanding on this one, and it is not uncommon for it to trade several million a day. In fact there was a 30 million share day recently (the big volume spike under the weekly price chart). From the company website we find the Company originally focused on the manufacture and sales of cardiac pacemakers, heart valves, and associated accessories. With the discovery of the revolutionary noninvasive glucose detection method by company founder David L. Purdy, BICO began to move toward the perfection of this noninvasive glucose sensor for the measurement of glucose in diabetics, and other technology. Since then, Biocontrol has concentrated on the research and development of such products and is currently emerging onto the market with leading-edge technologies of its own, as well as several which the Company will continue to develop and market through subsidiaries and joint ventures. One of which such subsidiaries, it appears, is named 'Barnacle Ban Corporation.' Perhaps there's hope yet for the undersides of the yachts we'll all buy if these "Pennies From Heaven" grow into big bucks.

Shares can be currently had for around .15. That's 1/8 of a dollar ladies and gents, so step right up and how many hundred of thousands of shares would you like? The weekly price chart reproduced here shows the long, sickening decline from $6 in 1995. The daily price chart on this stock seems to be telling us that the price pattern is stabilizing into a flat-line bottom. This looks like a heart patient in need of shock therapy. That shock might very well come in August. BICO's price history is nothing short of a spectacular heartbeat. In '83 it went from around $2 to just a tad under $14. That's a 600% move. In '91 the shares soared off the floor at around .20 (that's 20 cents) to a spike just under $8. That's a return of around 3,600%!!! We'll take two of THOSE every year, thank you very much. In '96, the laggard only went from $2 to $6. Now past performance is no guarantee of etc, etc, but we kinda like where BICO is right now. It may be Deja Vu all over again for this stock.

It's not for nothing BICO is on our Obsidian Wave list for this cycle. Pluto conjuncted its Neptune at 5.17 Sagittarius exact on November 23rd of last year. Price spiked briefly but substantially, and the stock has since settled back. Pluto goes retrograde in March, and comes all the way back to exactly 5.17 Sagittarius. It hangs there at a "station" (astronomical phenomenon where, from the viewpoint of Earth, a retrograding planet appears to have stopped moving) for a full week. Seven days at 5.17 Sagittarius, right on top of BICO Neptune! Sorry if it may not mean much to YOU, but that sure excites US. If we factor in that Saturn, that depressing taskmaster who brings burdens and troubles, is right now slowly moving off BICO's Mercury, we could make a case for the past month being the pits for this stock. But with patches of blue sky showing amidst the grey clouds, August might be beckoning with open arms. Add to the mix a nice trine from Uranus to corporate Moon in Late March, and again in July, we might be seeing the worst of things right now, with nowhere to go but up. We may not need a sophisticated glucose detector here, to savor the sweet smell of success!

PROTEON, INC.

Jan 1, 1974
Nasdaq PTON Current Price: 1 1/8

"Manufactures network access solutions including hubs, adapters, routers and token ring switches."

Enter the Dragon... "In an aggressive push to make the Internet accessible to all PC users, OpenROUTE(R) Networks, Inc. (a Proteon subsidiary) announced the Dragon(TM) series of Internet Access devices. The two new Dragon products allow small businesses to connect all their employees to the Internet through one small unit that costs as little as $249. The base model Dragon features the ultimate in ease-of-use features and is the best value on the market. The Dragon series gives users the cost benefit of connecting their workgroup of PCs to the Internet using a single, shared Internet account via a shared modem and one telephone line. Dragon users also have room to grow with an upgrade path to the Dragon Pro. The Dragon Pro is ideal for the professional business person working at home or in a small office. It features support for inbound calls; support for inbound connections from the Internet; support for personal Web servers and other small office servers; upgradability to dedicated high speed Internet links; and an upgrade path to OpenROUTE Networks' GT series product line for small business."

All well and good, nevertheless Proteon is currently a financial basket case. We have often wondered where these little companies get the millions upon millions of dollars that they lose every year as they march along in the development of their products. Astrologically, PTON has Pluto kissing its Neptune right now, but Pluto retrogrades and doesn't do its full number on Neptune until next winter. That ticker symbol PTON puts us in mind of the giant serpent of Greek mythology. Python, as you may remember, was born from the slime and stagnant waters which remained upon the surface of the Earth after the Deluge. We find it quite fitting that the company's prime product is named "Dragon." The gods indeed have a Jupiterian sense of humor, do they not? While Pluto will be adding dynamic force to this company's 'scope come next Winter, Uranus will be active this year, from mid March into May when it contacts PTON's Venus/Jupiter conjunction at 11 and 14 degrees Aquarius respectively. January, February and March of '99 see Uranus sweep fully over both degrees, while Pluto passes over the corporate Neptune. That should roust the python from the watery depths, if anything will. We suspect, however, that there may be action sooner, so we think this is the time to get interested. At an asked price of 1 1/8, we admit there is considerable downside. But buying something like this is like taking on a very long term option. We suggest a nibble now, and then some steel nerved observation would be in order.

Perhaps in some esoteric fashion Greek mythology offers a modern day clue for this stock. In common with all the other gods, Proteus, perhaps Proteon's namesake, enjoyed the gift of prophecy and had the power to assume any shape he pleased. He would change his form very rapidly. A long-term monthly chart of this stock confirms such violent volatility. But in his ode to Proteus, the words of the immortal Homer seem to sum it up best...

"On spiry volumes, there, a dragon rides; Here, from our strict embrace a stream he glides; And last, sublime, his stately growth he rears, A tree, and well-dissembled foliage wears."

We think perchance the poet dost issue a "BUY" on Proteon.

CORNUCOPIA RESOURCES, INC

November 14, 1985
Nasdaq Small Cap Current Price: .25

What would be an analysis of tempting price disasters in stocks if we didn't include a gold share? Company description reads something like "Holding company with subsidiaries which acquire, explore for and develop precious mineral resource properties, including gold." The Astrological Investor himself being a Director in a similar public company, we sympathize heartily with management. We remember this company having some properties in joint development with Newmont Mining, and being a small player in the Carlin Trend neighborhood in Nevada. We regret to say we are not up on the latest fundamentals here, so, like all "Pennies From Heaven" selections, we urge you to do your due diligence here and research this company as though you were going to invest your hard earned money in it. Especially if you DO invest your hard earned money into it.

This is essentially what we see as a leveraged play on a gold rally. Like Sunshine Mining regarding silver, CNPGF is a low-priced way to get aboard a significant percentage move in gold. Like an option that never (hopefully) expires, if you pick this little darlin' up at just the right time, you can sleep at night and joyfully await the end of the civilized world, knowing that a modest bull in gold will bring you several hundred percent on your money in Cornucopia. In which case the company is aptly named.

We see this as an astrological "relief" play. CNPGF has mirrored the gold market swings of recent years, and sure enough the stock has been under considerable astrological pressure during the downleg of this gold bear. Not the least of which has been the transiting Uranus squaring the company's natal Pluto/Venus conjunction at 5 and 6 degrees Scorpio. At the same time, Uranus has been conjuncting the company's Jupiter, but now it is moving off and trining CNPGF Mars. Jupiter swings in to trine the corporate Sun at 22 Scorpio, and then Saturn at 29, from May to July of this year. At the same time, it squares the Moon at 22 Sagittarius (on our Noon chart). It just looks like the emergence of nice action to us, after some nasty grinding over the past year. If the gold bottom is indeed in, and the yellow metal is ready to rebound in any kind of healthy fashion, we suspect Cornucopia Resources will prove a Cornucopia of profits for those hardy souls buying now.

NOTE: Any comments, predictions, or speculations concerning companies, investments, or investment markets are for research and educational purposes and may be subject to error. Past patterns and occurrences in financial markets, whether in relation to astrology or any other form of analysis or strategy, may not always be reliable indicators of future activity. Readers are advised of the potential risk of capital loss in any uninsured investment, including stocks, bonds, gold bullion, futures, and other investment vehicles. Even paper money issued by lawfully constituted governments, including the Treasury of the United States of America, carries no guarantee that its purchasing power and relative value will remain intact and not erode over time. Information contained in this post may have been gathered from many sources, believed to be reliable, but no guarantee can be made as to the accuracy of such information. The issuer of this post is not a dealer or broker in investments, neither stocks, bonds, gold, or other investments. The issuer of this post may have a position in the securities, commodities, or investments mentioned. The issuer of this post presents the material herein as proprietary opinion and research and is not acting in any investment advisory capacity. Readers are advised to consult with their own personal or corporate sources of financial or market counsel. All choices made by readers of this post based on the information contained herein are the responsibility of the reader. It is the right of every person in a free society to use the information presented herein as they best see fit.