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  • lagold27: 
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  Umm..did you forget to mention the reason they have so much extra cash was because they got a $80 million loan from Wells Fargo in 2006 to allow them to continue with their Treasury Stock Repurchase Program.

  Oct 12 06:09 PM | Link | Reply
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  • Peter Mycro...: 
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  When you have a company like PPD, which pumps out so much free cash flow and at the same time has such a small float of shares, taking out a loan like that allows them to buyback large chunks in one shot deals when it makes business sense. In 2006, when they took out the loan they were trading at about 10 times their free cash flow and it was a wise decision on managements part to buyback as many shares as they could at those low prices. By buying back the shares it is was a win-win for shareholders and the company.
  The management of PPD is very shareholder friendly, but are also watching out for a hostile takeover. The business is so lucrative and unique that I am sure if they had zero debt on their balance sheet, they would have been bought out. Management has a long term plan and are well aware of the unique business model that they run and feel it is in their shareholders best interest to buy back as many shares as they can to gain more control of the company.
  When the company has free cash flow returns on invested capital of 80-90%+, I sort of feel very comfortable allowing them to do what they want as there are only a handful of companies in the world that can match that performance. As for the loan, they have paid half of it back and as of June 2009 they had $47 million in total debt and $39 million in cash on the books.
  If you want outrage then look at the Disney/Marvel deal. I very upset when Marvel was bought out by Disney as I would have made a lot more over the next decade if they stayed independent. If the SEC wants to investigate someone they should investigate the CEO of Marvel who was awarded a ton of options prior to the purchase by Disney.
  www.foxbusiness.com/st.../
  That was illegal, what PPD is doing is not.
  Thank You for posting your comment
  
  
  On Oct 12 06:09 PM lagold27 wrote:
  
  > Umm..did you forget to mention the reason they have so much extra
  > cash was because they got a $80 million loan from Wells Fargo in
  > 2006 to allow them to continue with their Treasury Stock Repurchase
  > Program.

  Oct 12 07:11 PM | Link | Reply
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  • lagold27: 
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  It is very lucrative because they make the majority of their profits from associate fees. That means they spend more time building their MLM than actually selling their product. Is that illegal..most certainly not. Is it unethical, i'd say so. To promise someone an opportunity to make millions "part-time" and make it nearly impossible for that goal to be reached because the product they sell is so ridiculously crappy.
  
  A first year member receives 60 hours of attorney time. Only 2.5 of those hours can be used for "pretrial" fees. The rest are used for trial time. What case only requires an attorney 2.5 hours to prepare for? Maybe a DUI? But don't fret by the 5th year of your membership you get 4.5 hours of pretrial time. So don't worry after 5 years your covered.....not.
  
  As for the buy back program. Yes, this can be very beneficial to investors. However it is just as beneficial to directors who own large amounts of the stock. Take a look at Mr. Thomas W. Smith. As a private trader he owns about 1.7 million shares. That is about 17% of the outstanding shares. Now it is one thing to invest in the company you work for it is another to be the majority public shareholder. So yes it is a win-win for shareholders and insiders who own a large amount of public shares. Not to mention price manipulation is illegal! If the sole reason for the repurchase program was to boost the stock price then that is illegal. And of course if you retire half the outstanding shares the price of the stock with inevitably skyrocket. So you need to come with a better reason they would buy their stock back besides that fact that it would benefit the shareholders. Why not pay out a dividend like a normal company.
  
  Now you said that PPL had to take a loan out so they would have some debt on their books or else they would be bought out. Last time I checked you can't be bought out if your not willing to sell.
  
  As for the Marvell/ Disney deal. I could careless. Unrelated

  Oct 13 02:47 PM | Link | Reply
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  • pjeanl5754: 
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  You miss the point sir, Pre-Paid Legal services is a preventative product not necessarily designed as an end all be all product for law suits. It is meant to make access to attorney possible for the masses, and it does provide some time for preparation. Your health insurance as well as you auto insurance all have deductibles you are expected to pay if you actually need the service. Pre-Paid Legal Services is an excellent product.

  Nov 20 03:27 AM | Link | Reply