There are five reasons why I think Raser (RZ) is a buy right now.

1. A 2 million-share "spot secondary" was placed on Friday at $8.95 - a healthy discount to the prior day's closing price of $10.  The market did not like this one bit, but it's got the stock down to a very attractive level again and, if an investor really examines what happened, this stock sale exhausts RZ's recent shelf filing.  Translation: there should be no more "overhang" of the company selling stock in the immediate-term.  Plus, the company just put roughly $18 million into its pocket which helps with its continued drilling programs.
2. It recently announced that it has drilled into one of the most important geological finds of the last 25 years in North America.  At the time the resource was certified, it had a "p90" of delivering over 130 megawatts and had a high likelihood of delivering over 230 megawatts.  Since then, the resource has continued to heat up - this is a very very hot property and the land value alone is likely worth more than Raser's current market capitalization as another geothermal developer could make a very comfortable living exploiting this property.
3. The financing commitment from Merrill Lynch is likely to close within the next two weeks, which will silence many skeptics who have wondered aloud if Merrill would ever fork over the money.  This will knock out yet another leg of the short stool and bring Raser one step closer to delivering on its promises to build a plant by October.
4. That plant is nearly constructed - the foundations and cooling towers are nearly ready, several units have been delivered and installed. Pictures are available on the company website.
5. The math, to those willing to do it, is very compelling.  In a nutshell, Raser spends $5 million to drill holes on its property, and then receives $25 million in net present value dollars (it receives much more in actual dollars, but it's spread out over 10-20 years).  This is for a 10 megawatt resource - if it only delivers on HALF of what it has promised investors (100mhw per year for the first 3 and then 150mhw per year thereafter), the stock is worth 50% more than it is today.

This brief article is likely to attract the spiteful comments by shorts that other bullish Raser articles have attracted in the past.  I welcome them - I will respond to them with factual statements about geophysics, the company and the business model.  However, I will only respond to intelligent and well thought-out comments/questions. Prior authors on Raser have been lampooned with unreasonable and incorrect arguments.  In my opinion, that only shows desparation.  I will not respond to those as they are a waste of all readers' and my time.

The topic of skyrocketing food prices has become front-page news all around the world. Although several items have contributed to the meteoric rise in the prices of various grains, rice, and corn, the current U.S. policy on corn-based ethanol is considered to be one of the main culprits. The imbalance of supply and demand for corn as a result of its use in making ethanol has contributed to a surge in inflation in many farm and agricultural areas; meat, dairy products and bread prices have all moved up considerably. Additionally, given the acute nature of the problem, the U.S. energy policy and its support of corn ethanol is now coming under criticism, since 20 pounds of corn (enough to feed a lot of hungry people) is required to produce just one gallon of ethanol.

So what is the solution?

Raser Technologies (RZ) has been the topic of much discussion over the last few months. With roughly 4 million shares sold short and a relatively thin trading volume profile, much emotion and misinformation has dominated the online forums. This essay seeks to present the facts in an unbiased fashion so that investors may make an informed decision on the shares. Further, this author seeks to present all the facts, versus a partial and incomplete analysis as others have presented.

It is this author's viewpoint however, that most rational and well-informed investors will conclude that the stock presents an excellent investment opportunity. In the name of full-disclosure, readers should know that Abraham Gaines is the pen name of the author, who is an institutional investor and owns shares of Raser.

Shares of SulphCo (SUF) have been the target of short sellers since a January 2006 article in Barron’s brought to light some unfavorable dealings of the firm’s then CEO and founder. Since January 2007, however, things have changed dramatically and the shares may be worth a look on the long side. With over 10 million shares sold short, a recent contract win, a thinly held float, and relatively low trading volume, shares of SUF could be poised for a substantial move higher in the coming weeks or months.

BlueFire Ethanol Fuels (BFRE.OB) is a company which converts municipal solid waste (otherwise known as garbage) into ethanol. The company came public through a reverse merger in 2006 to access the public markets for funding. Management has worked together for many years at ARK Energy and has extensive experience in funding and permitting energy projects. Through their experiences, the company developed a series of patents surrounding their process, which has been proven extensively, as they had a production program running in Izumi Japan for four years. Recently, the company secured $15 million worth of funding and is about to break-ground on their first US production facility in Lancaster, CA.

On November 5, 2007, I posted a lengthy article on this site regarding Raser Technologies (RZ). At that time, the market cap was $550 million. Today, it’s 43% higher in a downward-trending market. This essay provides an update on the current activities and highlights the significance of recent announcements.

Raser Technologies (RZ) is an often bashed stock – particularly by the uninformed. Sure, the company has a long history of over-promising and under-delivering and they also have no revenue and earnings….but there is much more than meets the eye to the informed analyst.

Here is the bull story and why this $10 stock can triple in a relatively short period of time.