Nuvilex (NVLX.PK) is a company that I'd never heard of until about about a week ago when a client asked me to take a look.

At first glance, my reaction was something along the lines of "why should I be bothered with a $0.05/share microcap transformational/developmental stage biotechy company with downright scary financials and a strange history?" After doing a ton of reading and research, I'm starting to realize why I - and you - should care about this company, regardless of it being a volatile microcap OTC penny stock.

NVLX reminds me a bit of Dara (DARA) and other microcap bio stocks, insofar as it's essentially impossible to value with any degree of certainty. For that reason, I think it's more important to understand where the company is and where it's going, rather than attempt to quantify how much it's worth. (We could use several methods to attempt

Looking for the next gem takes a lot of effort and time. Gems are everywhere. This time, I was looking for promising US companies in the vitamin and dietary supplement market.

Background

According to a 2011 National Institutes of Health (NIH) study published in the Journal of Nutrition, 54% of all American adults took dietary supplements in 2006 (the last year figures were available). That figure, which was up by nearly 10 percentage points in the last decade, trails more recent industry survey results, many of which point to usage in 2011 settling around the 70% mark. Vitamins and Dietary Supplements (VDS) enjoy broad acceptance in the United States, where nearly half of all users reported using more than one supplement daily, and nearly 10% took five or more supplements a day. While all-in-one multivitamins remain the most commonly taken supplement, a rising consumer interest in nutrition and

In my previous two articles on Chromadex (CDXC.OB) wherein I explained the company and the huge potential opportunity of getting long the stock (as well as the risk factors), I mentioned that the first human study of the firm's pTeroPure compound was going to be presented this Thursday at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research Conference. Well, luckily for you, I happened upon the official abstract of the presentation and the conclusions from the aforementioned study, and guess what?

Conclusion: Pterostilbene reduces blood pressure in adults.

This is just the beginning, the first human study and only included 80 participants, but it's still extremely promising, and will no doubt promote further study while generating even more interest in Chromadex's products and stock. Now that it's been scientifically proven that pTeroPure does, in fact, reduce blood pressure, that removes at least one risk factor I mentioned

A new trend is developing in the pharmaceutical industry: Leading companies are beginning to focus on safer plant-based and nutraceutical products that provide the efficacy without the side effects. Industry leaders are realizing that they are missing out on tremendous revenue opportunities, as consumers will not buy many products because of the side effects.

Flying under the radar is an innovative natural products chemical company called ChromaDex (CDXC.OB). ChromaDex has been developing its plant-based nutraceutical line for the past 13 years and, from my perspective, is at the forefront of this new trend in medicine.

On Sept. 20, the company will announce the results of a clinical trial for its lead product, pTeroPure. This will take place at the prestigious American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research Conference. pTeroPure is addressing three huge pharmaceutical markets: blood pressure, obesity, and cholesterol. If the trial results are positive for any

In my first post on ChromaDex (CDXC.OB), I laid out the enormous opportunity and potential challenges the company faces. Today, I want to take but a moment to delve a bit more into the story. I promise, this won't be too long a read, but it will be worth your while if the stock's performance since my last post, +20%, in a week, is any indication. To be perfectly honest - as a cynic - even I'm surprised at the speed and magnitude of the run-up, but I think there's still plenty of more room to run.

Now, introduction aside, I think there are a few areas investors and potential investors need to focus on, the beauty of which is that one reinforces the other and vice-versa, the so-called (by me, at least) 360 business model:

(click to enlarge)

Through its legacy businesses (testing, supplying samples of chemicals (botanicals and

Today I want to talk to you about a company that ordinarily would never have shown up on my radar, Chromadex (CDXC.OB), but before I do, I just want to revisit what I wrote in my first post on Bank of Internet (BOFI)

I began with "I hate banks. I hate many if not most bank stocks, and I hate analyzing them even more, the reasons for which could be the topic of an entire post itself." Lo and behold, a new client asked me to research a company in another area that I generally loathe analyzing: Biotech/chemicals.

Often, such firms go about betting the farm on what they hope will become blockbuster products that make oodles of money, alas, for any company and the industry as a whole, the hit rate is far closer to zero% than 100%. As an investor, you're essentially betting on an asymmetric binary

Today I will look at five stocks, each with ties to the highly profitable weight-loss industry. My discussion will take us through the financials of these five companies. As we will see, some of these companies hold great promise for dieters and those suffering from type 2 diabetes. Some of these companies could also be good investment candidates. The five companies I will look at are Weight Watchers International (WTW), USANA Health Sciences (USNA), GNC Holdings (GNC), Walgreen (WAG), and ChromaDex (CDXC.OB).

Weight Watchers International, trading at about $51. This juggernaut has a market cap just south of $3 billion and sports an attractive price to earnings ratio of 13.31. It also has a great price to earnings growth ratio of 0.75. There is no price to book as the result of a negative book value

Transparency/Disclosure: I was compensated modestly by ChromaDex Corporation to write this article. While I have vetted each company, researched it thoroughly and I've done my own due diligence, my due diligence is not a substitute for your own.

Merck (MRK) has recently endured a few difficulties within the pharmaceutical industry, from drugs not passing FDA approval, to increased competition from generic drugs. These struggles lead me to believe it is smart to stay away from Merck stock, though I think investors should still keep an eye on the company. I do see room for a change in strategy for Merck, which could lead to improvements in profitability and shareholder value.

Merck has recently faced a setback regarding its experimental treatment for bone cancer. According to its exclusive license agreement with Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA), Merck is responsible for the development and commercialization of the treatment, called ridaforolimus. The

More than 1.4B adults were categorized as obese globally in 2008 and demographic trends are actually pointing towards an increase in this figure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has gone up more than 300% over the last three decades, around 1 out of 5 children aged 6-19 are obese, and more than 1 out of 3 are either overweight or obese. And even though consumers have become increasingly cognizant about the negative health risks associated with obesity, Americans' eating habits have remained the same.

Decades and decades of research to find the ultimate weight loss drug have been disappointing to say the least. The good news is that the tide is heading in the right direction. The FDA has become aware of the common side effects of obvious treatment mechanisms, BioPharma has been driving innovation ex post failures, and shareholders are demanding

The combination of sovereign debt crises and slowing economic progress has created a perception that we are in a "perfect storm" leading up to a double dip. As a result, markets will likely have elevated volatility over the next few years. In my view, healthcare firms and their suppliers rank amongst the safest high yielding investments right now for several reasons -- chief among them being (1) low PE ratios, (2) generous dividend distributions, and (3), most importantly, future catalysts. When it comes to building a proper portfolio in the sector, investors should diversify across large pharmaceuticals, emerging players, and small cap firms supplying the majors. What follows is a list of companies that are safe against a double dip backdrop and have driven momentum.

Pfizer (PFE)

This large company currently trades at just 9.4x forward earnings largely due to its patent cliffs. Exclusivity losses for Lipitor and other leading

Disclaimer: The distributor of this research report, Gould Partners, is not a licensed investment adviser or broker dealer. We are a consultant to a third-party representing ChromaDex and have received $1,000 for independent research. Investors are cautioned to perform their own due diligence as information contained within this report has been derived from public sources and cannot be guaranteed by us to be fully accurate. Always discuss investments with a licensed professional before making any financial decision. Statements made herein are often "forward-looking statements" as defined under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Since these statements are uncertain, actual results may be materially different from those expected.

With Jeremy Levin now at the helm of Israel's largest pharmaceutical firm, Teva (TEVA), the stars are aligned for healthcare titan Phillip

Whether it be for risk aversion or for optimism about media coverage, investors often like to invest alongside the experts. Perhaps one of the best investors to follow is Phillip Frost. This billionaire built his fortune off of takeovers and aggressive corporate growth strategies. First came the sale of Key Pharmaceuticals to Schering-Plough for $600 million in 1972. Fifteen years later, he sold Ivax to Teva (TEVA) for $7.4 billion. At the same time, he also dramatically grew OPKO Health (OPK) through a series of acquisitions. What makes Frost particularly worth following now is that he is backing small-cap companies that increasingly appear to fall in the same M&A/growth backdrop as OPKO Health and Teva have.

Frost is currently the Chairman of Teva, a major biopharmaceutical company that has suffered from weak momentum in generics. While I find that Teva is still meaningfully from irrational risk discounting, I don't

Transparency/Disclaimer: I was compensated modestly by public relations to write this article. While I have vetted each company, researched it thoroughly and I've done my own due diligence, my due diligence is not a substitute for your own.

Pfizer (PFE) seems to be having trouble getting its new rare disease drug approved by the FDA. As things stand, the health advisory panel that is addressing the issue has given a split vote on whether the drug, aimed at treating a rare neurodegenerative disease, should be approved.

The problem is the panel agrees that the drug does not meet the main goal of the study in treating the fatal condition in question. However, it also agrees that the drug treats a 'surrogate endpoint' that may correlate with the underlying treatment of the fatal disease that is the subject of the study. Basically, a decision needs to be made on

The FDA has two multi-billion dollar decisions to make this summer regarding obesity and weight loss treatments. The regulatory agency is expected to vote on a drug called lorcaserin on June 27th and another drug, Qnexa, on July 17th. Both drugs target the multi-billion dollar obesity and weight loss market. Most directly, the FDA's decisions will impact the two companies submitting the drug applications: Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) and Vivus (VVUS), respectively. In addition, there are a few more companies that will be affected by these FDA decisions, and this article provides a deeper look into these investments.

It should come as no surprise that obesity is one of the leading healthcare problems in the U.S., contributing to a large variety of health problems and costing a significant amount of funds budgeted to Medicare and Medicaid. Between the years 1987 and 2002, the number of Americans suffering from obesity doubled while

Please note, VFC's Stock House has been monetarily compensated by JSDC LLC on 29 June to cover CDXC.OB for a period of 90 days. The fact that VFC has been compensated inherently indicates a strong bias on my behalf. The goal of this website and all articles published on my behalf is to provide investors with information, opinions, and starting points about various companies across many sectors. It's up to each individual investor to decide what he or she finds relevant.

Some stocks and stories worth watching this week:

(AMPE): Ampio has traded with some volatility over the past few weeks, but hasn't been hit as hard as other developmental companies during the latest round of the stock market storm. With quite a few catalysts due before the end of 2011- including the completion of multiple ongoing clinical trials - it's one to keep on the

Please note, VFC's Stock House has been monetarily compensated by JSDC LLC on 29 June to cover CDXC.OB for a period of 90 days. The fact that VFC has been compensated inherently indicates a strong bias on my behalf. The goal of this website and all articles published on my behalf is to provide investors with information, opinions, and starting points about various companies across many sectors. It's up to each individual investor to decide what he or she finds relevant.

With August now upon us, it's game time for ChromaDex Corp (CDXC.OB).

As previously reported, August is the expected timeframe for the commercial launch of the BluScience product line. The launch, consisting of four unique products based on the company's proprietary natural ingredient, pTeroPure, will bring the ChromaDex brand into GNC stores nationwide.

GNC may only be the first wave of the national launch, however, as previous

Shares of Spectranetics Corporation (SPNC) went from $6.56 to as high as $7.20 before closing the day at up $.39 at $6.95 (+5.95%) after we told our premium readers on Wednesday that despite the fact company shares had been trading lower in previous days, the stock appeared undervalued.

As we told our subscribers, Canaccord Adams analyst Jason Mills also thought the stock was a BUY with an $8.75 price target and on Thursday morning, the company announced that they had achieved record revenues of $32.2 million in the second quarter and 7% growth over the prior year. Other highlights from their key announcement included:

• Lead Management revenue increased 15% compared with prior year second quarter
• Vascular Intervention revenue continued turnaround with second consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth, up 8% over first quarter 2011 levels
• International revenue grew 42% over prior year second quarter
• Net income of $584,000,

From the time it was founded in 1999, ChromaDex Inc. (CDXC.OB) has specialized in creating and supplying botanical reference standards, but it is ready to start earning revenues for its investors by commercializing its strong and growing product pipeline. In addition, the technical chart looks promising for shares to continue trending higher.

Since its 52-week low ($1.12) in mid-June, the stock has been trading on a very nice uptick pattern and it is easy to see that a critical resistance level (and 52-week high) at $2.03 is well within reach of being broken. If that occurs, we could see a nice break-out as important news catalysts start to hit the ticker.



Some upcoming catalysts may easily provide the push needed for the stock to begin trading even higher. With $3M in cash, no debt and a market cap of only $115, perhaps even more appealing to potential investors is the