John H. Ford's  Instablog

Yesterday, I initiated a position in Marathon patent group (MARA.OB). I like the business model, management team, and low valuation. I'm working on an article which will explain all aspects of this new IP company.

Disclosure: I am long MARA.OB.

Today MusclePharm announced that Dr. Phillip Frost has increased his investment in the company. This is a strong confirmation to my previous article.

Disclosure: I am long MSLPD.OB.

As a trader, I thought it would be a good idea to publish the short-term shareprice performance for all Seeking Alpha articles I have written. My calculations are based on the closing price immediately prior to when the article was published, and the highest price within five days following publication.

The average short-term gain for all articles over the past 18 months, was 36%. My worst performing article eked out a 1% gain, and my best hit 248%.

One error I made in 2012, was publishing articles after the shares had experienced a tremendous run-up. It takes me at least two weeks to write an article, and in a couple of instances, by the time I finished the article, the share price had appreciated 50% to 100%. I will attempt to avoid repeating that error in 2013.

Here are the publication dates followed by the results:

MSLP, December 19, 2012, short-term gain: 6%

PTNT, November 27, 2012, short-term gain: 22%

MGT, November 5, 2012, short-term gain: 3%

DSS, October 8, 2012, short-term gain: 7.6%

OPK, October 3, 2012, short-term gain: 8.6%

CDXC, September 14, 2012, short-term gain: 30%

CUR, September 11, 2012, short-term gain: 248%

VRNG, August 6, 2012, short-term gain: 31%

VRNG, July 25, 2012, short-term gain: 9%

VRNG, July 23, 2012, short-term gain: 21%

VHC, May 3, 2012, short-term gain: 61%

OCLS, March 27, 2012, short-term gain: 20%

VHC, March 7, 2012, short-term gain: 23%

OCLS, February 9, 2012, short-term gain: 45%

ISR, November 22, 2011, short-term gain: 6%

ISR, November 17, 2011, short-term gain: 23%,

EK, October 3, 2011, short-term gain: 100%

OCLS, September 21, 2011, short-term gain: 51%

EK, September 6, 2011, short-term gain: 5%

VHC, August 25, 2011, short-term gain: 31%

EXAR, August 22, 2011, short-term gain: 6%

VHC, August 16, 2011, short-term gain: 1%

EK, August 12, 2011, short-term gain: 67%

VHC, June 1, 2011, short-term gain: 37%

Average short-term gain for all articles: 36%

As my Wall Street network expands, I hope to be providing insight into undervalued, undiscovered companies, and present my case to Seeking Alpha readers.

Cheers and good trading to all in 2013.

John Ford