Intriguing Stocks in Monday's IBD - EDO and CVTX

Here are two very different stocks that I found intriguing in Monday's IBD.

Edo Corporation - EDO

Here are excerpts from a piece in last Monday's IBD by Mike Angell:

Handsets’ Deadly Use: Detonators

More and more terrorists are using cell phones to remotely detonate bombs — and there’s not much authorities can do about it. At least, not that they can say. Cell phones have been connected to terrorist bombings in Madrid, Bali and Israel. Many roadside bombs in Iraq are believed to be triggered by cell phones....

The U.S. military in Iraq is equipped with an estimated 4,200 jammers to prevent all kinds of remotely detonated bombs. New York based Edo Corp. makes the product, but a spokesman said the company declined to comment.

IBD SmartSelect® Corporate Ratings
Edo Corporation (EDO) Ratings as of 8/30/2005

Earnings Per Share (EPS) Rating - 88 - Edo Corporation has outperformed 88% of all publicly-traded companies based on its short and long term earnings growth rates.
Relative Price Strength (RS) Rating - 23 - Edo Corporation has outperformed 23% of all publicly-traded companies in terms of its stock price performance over the last 12 months.
Industry Group Relative Strength (Grp RS) Rating - C+ - Edo Corporation belongs to an industry group that has performed in the bottom 60% of the 197 industry groups tracked by Investor's Business Daily, measured over the last six months.
Sales + Profit Margins + ROE (SMR) Rating - B - Edo Corporation rates in the top 40% of all publicly-traded companies based on four fundamental factors used by many analysts today: a company's sales growth rate over the last three quarters, before- and after-tax profit margins, and return on equity (ROE).
Accumulation/ Distribution (Acc/Dis) Rating - B- Edo Corporation stock has been experiencing moderate buying, based on its daily price and volume changes over the last 13 weeks.

CNBC's Stock Scouter rates EDO a 7:

EDO Corporation, a small-cap value company in the capital goods sector, is expected to outperform the market over the next six months with less than average risk.

Quick Summary
Pro
Earnings growth in the past year has accelerated moderately compared to earnings growth in the past three years. Positive
One or more analysts has modestly increased quarterly earnings estimates for EDO. Positive
Con
The most recent quarterly earnings report was slightly lower than analysts’ consensus forecast. Neutral/Negative
The StockScouter measure of relative price change and consistency is low. Negative

EDO is a commendably tight-lipped company making very useful tools that may frustrate terrorists and their intentions. Electronic jammers may not be glamorous devices made by Q for 007, but this is no longer the good old days of the Cold War. EDO manufactures an intriguing device, it's trading at $27.30, near its 52-week low of $25.89, and has pretty good numbers. Wish I knew more about the company and these products, but at the same time, I'm glad I don't. So let's put it into the WershovenistPig stock watch list.

CV Therapeutics - CVTX

Here are excerpts from a piece by Peter Benesh:

Drug Firm Is Ready For Liftoff

Looks like it’s three strikes and you’re in for the folks at CV Therapeutics. It’s taken 14 years, but CV now has three heart-related drugs close to launch, two within the next three quarters and the third by 2007....

The first drug from CV is Aceon for hypertension. The second is Ranexa for chronic angina. The third, Regadenoson, is called a cardiac stressor. It’s used for patients who can’t take the usual treadmill heart stress test....

THE COMPANY
CV Therapeutics went public in 1996. It focuses on molecular, or chemically based, treatments for cardiovascular problems. The firm’s science is based on receptors. Receptors are tiny structures on cells that let hormones, germs and chemicals trigger changes within the cell. Lange doesn’t personally know of any rivals that do the same thing. “But there maybe competition we don’t know about,” he said.

LOOKING AHEAD
CV is working on treatments for asthma and two other heart conditions, Lange says. The wild card is whether it remains an independent company. “Biotech is the home of innovation, (and) big pharma is so big it needs more and more drugs to meet expectations,” Monane said. That means CV could be a buyout target. Lange acknowledges as much.“We’ve been on a lot of lists.” Still, Lange says his goal is for CV to be as big as Amgen or Genentech.

IBD SmartSelect® Corporate Ratings
C V Therapeutics Inc (CVTX) Ratings as of 8/30/2005

Earnings Per Share (EPS) - 6 - C V Therapeutics Inc has outperformed 6% of all publicly-traded companies based on its short and long term earnings growth rates.
Rating Relative Price Strength (RS) Rating - 92 - C V Therapeutics Inc has outperformed 92% of all publicly-traded companies in terms of its stock price performance over the last 12 months.
Industry Group Relative Strength (Grp RS) Rating - A+ - C V Therapeutics Inc belongs to an industry group that has performed in the top 20% of the 197 industry groups tracked by Investor's Business Daily, measured over the last six months.
Sales + Profit Margins + ROE (SMR) - D - C V Therapeutics Inc rates in the bottom 40% of all publicly-traded companies based on four fundamental factors used by many analysts today: a company's sales growth rate over the last three quarters, before- and after-tax profit margins, and return on equity (ROE).
Rating Accumulation/ Distribution (Acc/Dis) Rating - B - C V Therapeutics Inc stock has been experiencing moderate buying, based on its daily price and volume changes over the last 13 weeks.

CNBC's Stock Scouter rates CVTX a 5:

CV Therapeutics, Inc., a small-cap growth company in the health care sector, is expected to outperform the market over the next six months with average risk.

Quick Summary
Pro
Shares are under heavy accumulation by financial institutions. Positive for a small company like CVTX
The StockScouter measure of relative price change and consistency is high. Positive
Con
The price-to-earnings multiple is a negative number. No effect
Previous day's closing price for CVTX was close to its 50-day moving average. Neutral

CVTX is near its 52-week high, but that's not surprising if executives are name-dropping companies like Genentech (DNA) that have been just soaring. I wish it were cheaper as this is a company that hasn't made any money yet, but has potential, potential not just now but months from now, when I'll be investing. And it has potential in not just one drug, but three. Three is less risky than one. This is another intriguing stock for the stock watch list.