STKL - Shoulda mentioned this tip earlier...

[wiseheart]

STKL. Sunopta Inc.

I bought in last week after researching for a week. Looked liked a good time to buy. They announced good earnings yesterday, so Im already up 13% on the position. I found this stock through the screener I mentioned in my other post. Im not quite sure what the stock is going to do now, but I think in the long term it has a lot of upside. Organic foods/ethical companies are growing big time (i.e. Whole Foods WFMI which Im also looking at buying if it drops a little more)

Comments, burns?

Oh, as of today, Im up 50% in the last 7 months! Woot!
Combination of luck and risk taking most likely.

[Sniper]

They had a Conf Call today... did you listen to it?

About SunOpta:
SunOpta, Inc. operates in the natural and organic food markets in Canada and the United States. The company’s operations are classified into three segments: SunOpta Food Group, Opta Minerals, and StakeTech Steam Explosion Group.

The SunOpta Food Group segment produces, packages, markets, and distributes natural, organic, kosher, and specialty food products and ingredients with a focus on soy, oat, sunflower, rice, and corn.

The Opta Minerals segment processes, sells, and distributes silica free loose abrasives, industrial minerals, specialty sands, and recycles inorganic materials for the foundry, steel, bridge, and ship cleaning industries.

The StakeTech Steam Explosion Group segment owns numerous patents on its proprietary steam explosion technology, and designs and subcontracts the manufacture of these systems for processing non-woody fibers for use in the paper, food, and biofuel industries.

The company, formerly known as Stake Technology, Ltd., was incorporated in 1973. It changed its name to SunOpta, Inc. in 2003. SunOpta is headquartered in Norval, Canada.

[Sniper]

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2006--SunOpta Inc. (SunOpta or the Company) (Nasdaq:STKL; TSX:SOY) today announced results for the year ended December 31, 2005. All amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars.

Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2005 were a record $122,070,000, representing a 48% increase over the comparable quarter in 2004. This represents the 33rd consecutive quarter of record revenue growth versus the comparable quarter in the previous year. Net earnings in the quarter were $1,559,000 or $0.03 per diluted common share, compared to $353,000 or $0.01 per diluted share in the same period in 2004, a 342% increase. Quarterly earnings include the one time impact of costs related to food donations provided for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, costs associated with the flooding of Opta Minerals' New Orleans abrasives plant, fees associated with the Company's new bank financing arrangements completed in the quarter and a non-cash reduction in legal fees previously recorded in a legal suit with a supplier. Diluted earnings per share were $0.04 in the fourth quarter of 2005 prior to these special items.

During the fourth quarter the Company realized significant improvement in the SunOpta Food Group led by growth in oat fiber revenues and operating margin, continued strength in private label aseptically packaged products and cost rationalization initiatives within the SunOpta Canadian Food Distribution Group. The newly formed SunOpta Fruit Group performed well in the quarter, led by strong growth in organic ingredient sales sourced from strategic worldwide partners and growers, and strong growth in natural and organic private label solutions for the North American retail market. Internal growth for the company in the quarter was 18.3% representing the highest quarterly growth rate in 2005.

The contract to provide Europe's largest ethanol producer, Abener Energia, S.A. of Seville, Spain, with patented steam explosion equipment and process technology for the first commercial production facility in the world to convert wheat straw into ethanol remains on plan. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in the spring of 2006.

For the year ended December 31, 2005 the Company achieved record revenues and earnings. Revenues in 2005 increased by 39% to $426,101,000 from $306,251,000 in 2004, led by a 42% increase in revenues within the Company's vertically integrated natural and organic food operations. The Company's annualized revenue growth of 39% was driven by internal growth of 13.5% and growth via acquisitions of 25.5%.

Net earnings for the year were a record $13,558,000 or $0.24 per diluted common share as compared to $11,016,000 or $0.20 per diluted common share in 2004.

Jeremy N. Kendall, Chairman and CEO of SunOpta, commented, "I am very pleased with the improvement in operating earnings in the fourth quarter and satisfied that we have overcome the challenges we faced in our oat fiber and distribution businesses. Looking ahead to 2006 we expect all business units to grow their top and bottom lines. The previously announced contract to provide a major global retailer with aseptic packaged soymilk commenced in January and is going very well. We also expect that the recently announced acquisition of Magnesium Technologies Corporation (Magtech) by Opta Minerals Inc. will significantly add to their growth and profitability in 2006."

The Company continues to be well positioned for future growth with net working capital of $81,734,000 and total assets of $301,482,000. The debt to equity ratio at December 31, 2005 was 0.37:1.00, providing the Company with further financial resources to invest in internal growth and execute its acquisition program.

The Company has previously announced that it expects to achieve revenues of $540,000,000 to $550,000,000 in 2006, an increase of 27% to 29% versus 2005. The increase is based on a combination of expected 20% internal growth and the annualized revenues of acquisitions completed in 2005.

The Company expects to earn $0.26 - $0.30 diluted earnings per common share in 2006, excluding any special items or acquisitions that may be completed during the year. This guidance assumes an effective tax rate of 31%.

[Sniper]

SunOpta Investor Presentation - Jan 2006

SunOpta 2004 Annual Report

[wiseheart]

Unfortunately, I was asleep until 11, because
I stayed up until 3 playing poker, thats 11 pacific.
So, I missed the call. Thanks for putting up the
links and such sniper

[Mr. Now]

This is a good looking pick. I like the sector and the chart. All systems seem go on this one. I'm trying to get some between 7.10 and 6.77. Patience.

Nice breakout around the 1st of the year. I hope it doesnt run away just yet.

[wiseheart]

Hard to get in at the level after the move up today.
Thanks for saying it is a good pick, that means a lot
coming from someone with such good posts.

I do remain cautious on this though. I have kept half
of my holdings in foreign stocks right now because
Im really not sure whats going to happen with this market?
But my risky portfolio has done well, going up substantially in the last two days, while the market has gone down.

Anyways you can screen for stocks like this on the businessweek stock screener, and it will also give you a chart on the bottom that says how well your screened stocks have performed ytd. If anyone wants me to write up a detailed report on how to do this, Id be glad too.

[Mr. Now]

Make sure you use stops to protect yourself. If you are up 20% definitely put stops 20% below to define your risk to be equal to your profits. This way you are on a 100% freeroll.

A detailed post on the screening process is great. I look forward to seeing this-- especially in light of the large overall research effort you said you put into this pick. Describethe process after the screen id also.

The cool think about this stock is the way the intermediate-term (but long) downtrend was broken decisively around the 1st of the year. It all came together right there and the strong volume thereafter is a great sign. Now more price appreciation and rising volume on a great earning report.

Usually right here (after all these price events and the earnings) is a good place to hope for a dip to get into a stock like this. I've laid out orders to obtain a position equal to 2% of my equity.

A good way to buy a trending stock on weakness is to identify a zone for purchases instead of a single price.

Each unit is the same size in # of shares. Each buy is for progressively more units as price dips to meet support.

This is not "averaging a loser". That would happen if I planned say 200 shares and then changed my plan (when it slips) to buy 200 more for 400 total to average down. That's a cardinal sin of trading. I never average a loser or move an initial stop down on a long position.

Buying a trending stock this way ensures you get a favorable avg-price. By initiating buying as price nears a strong area of support, you can also set a tight stop below that (supposed) support.

The recipe creates a high-reward low-risk opportunity. You are out at a very small loss on any significant penetration of support.

Orders:

Units $Per
6 $7.10
7 $6.99
8 $6.88
9 $6.77

Look at the chart to check these price levels. I like this stock. If my confidence in the stock was lower or if it was thinly traded and/or volatile, I might commit less equity and also choose steps that are wider-- 1.5 or 2X previous, for example:

2 $7.10
4 $6.99
8 $6.88
16 $6.77

The "average true range" measure is very helpful in fine-tuning these decisions.

I'm hoping we get a little downdraft here in the overall market so the backdrop is conducive to me getting some of this stock. I recently took a small haircut on WFMI and I'm looking for a stock in this sector to add to my holdings.

The value of planning and patience can be easily measured in dollars if you are a trader or a poker player.

See also:
Average True Range
http://www.stockcharts.com/education...indic_ATR.html

[Sniper]

This stock actually popped up on my radar today, so I figured I'd bump it to see if anyone had a chance to look into the financials for this stock.

[Sniper]

Wiseheart, this stock continues to channel up, you still holding it?