Stockholder Vote be Damned: Big Bonuses Paid to Xstrata Execs in Glencore Merger

The $75 billion merger between commodities trading house Glencore International and Xstrata for form Glencore Xstrata plc was completed in April of this year. In December of 2012, several Xstrata executives received millions of dollars in bonus payments that had been rejected by shareholders

As part of the original merger offer, about 70 Xstrata executives were in line to receive some $223 million in retention bonuses, with Xstrata's CEO looking at a payout of around $47 million. After a shareholder vote in late November, the merger was approved but the retention bonuses were not.

According to Bloomberg News, Xstrata CEO Mick Davis paid his colleagues "transaction" bonuses. The payments came to light as part of a lawsuit in London involving a former Xstrata executive who was paid a transaction bonus of $783,000, but sued claiming he was owed a severance payment of about $667,000 when he was forced to resign. The severance payment was part of the executive's contract while the transaction bonus was not, according to lawsuit.

The letter from Davis announcing the bonuses was quite cheery:

The task of achieving a merger between Xstrata and Glencore has brought with it many hurdles along the way and has been a real test of our character to rise up and meet such obstacles. … I would like to thank you for the contribution you have made to get Xstrata to this point of the merger and am pleased to inform you that you have been awarded a transaction bonus.

Bloomberg cites the head of research at a U.K. body established to monitor public and private compensation:

It seems like a classic example of firms not wanting to heed investors' advice on pay. These payments should certainly be disclosed and explained.

Now there’s a classic British understatement for you.

Glencore Xstrata paid Davis about $7.4 million after terminating his six-month appointment as CEO of the combined companies.

Aval May Sell $1.3 Billion of Shares in Colombia Offering

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA, the Colombian banking group controlled by billionaire Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo, said it may sell about 2.4 trillion pesos ($1.3 billion) of shares in Bogota.

Grupo Aval's board considered the share sale in a meeting yesterday and authorized the company to start getting the necessary approvals, according to regulatory filing late yesterday. Aval is seeking to raise capital and bolster its finances after agreeing to make three acquisitions since December for $1.4 billion.

The shares fell 4 percent to 1,315 pesos at the close of trading in Bogota, the biggest drop in two years. It was the worst performance on Colombia's benchmark Colcap index, which declined 0.9 percent.

"The amount was surprising," Juan C. Dominguez, an analyst at Credicorp Capital's Colombia unit, said in a telephone interview. "It seems pretty high if you compare it to the purchases they've made."

Best Stocks To Invest In 2014

Aval has pledged to buy at least $500 million of shares in a separate capital raise planned for November by Banco de Bogota SA, the biggest of its four banks.

The group said today in a filing that it's withdrawing a registration with U.S. regulators to sell shares in New York. Chief Executive Officer Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutierrez, Sarmiento Angulo's son, told reporters Sept. 27 that while Aval was prepared to go forward with the sale in New York, the markets weren't cooperating.

Are the Shorts Right About Alcoa?

With shares of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) trading at around $8.70, is AA an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock's Movement

Alcoa is the most shorted stock on the Dow, and that short position has steadily increased. Are the shorts correct about the future direction of Alcoa's stock?

Alcoa has been around since 1888. It’s the world's leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and aluminum. It's also the world's largest miner of boxite. Alcoa has 60,000 employees in 31 countries.While it has underperformed the market recently, it's not going anywhere.

Investing should be about choosing quality companies and ignoring the timing aspect. However, it can't be denied that investing in Alcoa is all about timing. When the economy is beginning to show improvement, it’s a superb investment. When the economy is beginning to slow, it’s a poor investment. This doesn’t pertain to central bank action propping up the markets.; it pertains to the actual economy.

Revenue has been declining for Alcoa, which makes the bottom line imperative. Alcoa recently announced that it might cutback aluminum production – its reviewing 460,000 metric tons of smelting capacity. Cutbacks are most likely to take place where there are high energy costs and potential for regulatory changes.

Alcoa is still seeing strength in aerospace and autos. Aerospace might continue to see growth, but anyone predicting strong growth in autos is highly optimistic. Consumer discretionary industries aren't likely to perform well in the economic environment ahead.

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The chart below compares fundamentals for Alcoa and Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (NYSE:ACH).

	AA	ACH
Trailing P/E	37.99	N/A
Forward P/E	11.92	118.89
Profit Margin	1.05%	-5.41%
ROE	1.36%	-14.78%
Operating Cash Flow	1.66B	328.83M
Dividend Yield	1.40%	N/A
Short Position	8.90%	N/A

Let's take a look at some more important numbers prior to forming an opinion on this stock.

T = Technicals Are Mixed

Alcoa has performed poorly over three-year and one-year time frames. However, the stock has performed respectably over the past month. The stock is also now trading above its 50-day SMA and 200-day SMA.

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	1 Month	Year-To-Date	1 Year	3 Year
AA	5.83%	0.56%	-2.98%	-28.06%
ACH	8.66%	-13.60%	-4.63%	-55.19%

50-Day SMA	8.37
200-Day SMA	8.60

E = Equity to Debt Ratio Is Normal

The debt-to-equity ratio is close to the industry average of 0.60. Revenue is the big concern here, not debt.

	Debt-To-Equity	Cash	Long-Term Debt
AA	0.53	1.56B	8.92B
ACH	1.84	1.96B	16.61B

E = Earnings Have Been Inconsistent

The good news is that Alcoa has been in the black over the past three years. The bad news is that there was an earnings setback in 2012. Revenue also suffered a setback in 2012. On a quarterly basis, revenue declined while earnings improved year-over-year. Revenue and earnings both declined sequentially.

Fiscal Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Revenue ($) in billions	26.90	18.44	21.01	24.95	23.70
Diluted EPS ($)	-0.10	-1.23	0.24	0.55	0.18

Quarter	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenue ($) in billions	6.01	5.96	5.83	5.90	5.83
Diluted EPS ($)	0.09	0.00	-0.13	0.2188	0.13

 

Now let's take a look at the next page for the Trends and Conclusion. Is this stock an OUTPERFORM, a WAIT AND SEE, or a STAY AWAY?

T = Trends Do Not Support the Industry

Aluminum prices have declined 33 percent since their peak in 2011. Global demand is questionable at best. As mentioned earlier, aerospace and autos are showing strength, but it would be difficult to see continued strength in autos.

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Conclusion

Shorts aren't shorting this stock because they think it's going BK. They're shorting the stock because they don't think it's the right environment for Alcoa. While shorting a stock like Alcoa isn't recommended, the shorts are correct in regards to their analysis. Simply put, Alcoa performs well when the economy is beginning to strengthen and demand is on the rise. That isn't the case at this point in time.

Will EMC Continue to Run Higher?

With shares of EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) trading at around $24.88, is EMC an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock's Movement

EMC has underperformed the market year-to-date, which has frustrated investors. However, the past month has been strong – the stock is up more than 7 percent. Investors had been waiting for a catalyst earlier in the year. After a Q1 where revenue increased 5.80 percent year-over-year but earnings declined 1.20 percent year-over-year, there wasn't a lot of reason for investor conviction. This led to EMC making a couple of moves. It now yields 1.60 percent, and it expanded its share repurchase program to $6 billion through December 31, 2015. It should be noted that $3.5 billion will be repurchased by the end of Q2 2014.

EMC will also increase its debt load in order to fuel growth. This may lead to acquisitions in the areas of cloud computing, big data, and/or IT. EMC has displayed strong debt management to date. Despite the companies renewed hunger for growth and the increasing debt, the balance sheet will remain strong for the foreseeable future. Therefore, R&D and innovation opportunities will remain.

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In regards to revenue, EMC has a compounded annual growth rate of 11.55 percent over the past four years. Revenue has consistently improved on an annual basis, but the pace of growth has slowed. The same pattern has been seen for NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP), but on a different scale. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) has had a more difficult time as its revenue and earnings declined last year as well as last quarter on a year-over-year basis. Hewlett-Packard is struggling with a -11.60 percent profit margin. By comparison, NetApp has a profit margin of 7.98 percent, and EMC has a profit margin of 12.39 percent. NetApp is trading at 28 times earnings, and EMC is trading at 20 times earnings, making EMC look like the better value.

EMC Proven Solution may act as a catalyst going forward. This is private cloud computing. If successful, the rewards could be large. Cloud computing is booming, and this boom is expected to continue for many years. Storage is a concern for most businesses, and cloud computing offers businesses an opportunity to save time and money.

EMC's company culture is above average. According to Glassdoor.com, employees have rated their employer a 3.5 of 5, and 71 percent of employees would recommend the company to a friend. As far as leadership is concerned, 88 percent of employees approve of CEO Joe Tucci. This is an impressive number. It all starts at the top. If a good leader is in place, then the odds of success greatly increase.

In regards to analysts, they love the stock: 33 Buy, 7 Hold, 0 Sell.

On the negative side, there has been a decline in IT spending throughout the industry. Another negative is that operating margin for EMC declined 30 bps year-over-year to 18.9 percent. However, do the positives outweigh the negatives for EMC? That answer will be revealed soon.

Let's take a look at some important numbers prior to forming an opinion on this stock.

T = Technicals Are Strong

EMC has picked up some upside momentum over the past month. Can this momentum continue?

	1 Month	Year-To-Date	1 Year	3 Year
EMC	7.20%	-1.11%	1.54%	34.95%
NTAP	5.84%	14.04%	26.15%	-0.60%
HPQ	13.99%	73.40%	13.34%	-44.21%

At $24.88, EMC is trading above its averages.

50-Day SMA	23.52
200-Day SMA	24.09

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E = Equity to Debt Ratio is Strong

The debt-to-equity ratio for EMC is stronger than the industry average of 0.20.

	Debt-To-Equity	Cash	Long-Term Debt
EMC	0.07	6.53B	1.70B
NTAP	0.48	6.95B	2.25B
HPQ	1.12	13.24B	26.79B

E = Earnings Have Been Strong

Earnings and revenue have consistently improved on an annual basis over the past three years.

Fiscal Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Revenue ($) in millions	14,876	14,026	17,015	20,008	21,714
Diluted EPS ($)	0.64	0.55	0.88	1.10	1.23

Looking at the last quarter on a year-over-year basis, revenue improved and earnings declined. Both revenue and earnings declined on a sequential basis. However, EMC is now getting more aggressive.

Quarter	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenue ($) in millions	5,094.38	5,311.39	5,278.18	6,029.96	5,387.38
Diluted EPS ($)	0.27	0.29	0.28	0.39	0.26

Now let's take a look at the next page for the Conclusion. Is this stock an OUTPERFORM, a WAIT AND SEE, or a STAY AWAY?

Conclusion

To put it simply, even if IT isn't as strong as in the past, demand for cloud computing is expected to increase, and data levels will intensify. EMC is aiming for simplification in all areas, and buyers of any product or service appreciates simplicity. Combining these factors with a 1.60 percent yield, an expanded share repurchase program, and quality leadership, EMC is an OUTPERFORM.

Top 5 Biotech Companies To Invest In Right Now

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, small-cap biotech Repligen (NASDAQ: RGEN  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Repligen and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Repligen facts

Headquarters (founded)

Waltham, Mass. (1981)

Market Cap

$240.2 million

Industry

Biotechnology

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$65.9 million

Top 5 Biotech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (INO)

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on June 29, 1983, is engaged in the development of a new generation of vaccines, called synthetic vaccines, focused on cancers and infectious diseases. The Company's SynCon technology enables the design of universal vaccines capable of providing cross-protection against existing or changing strains of pathogens, such as influenza and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The Company's electroporation delivery technology uses brief, controlled electrical pulses to increase cellular uptake of the vaccine. Its clinical programs include cervical dysplasia (therapeutic), avian influenza (preventive), prostate cancer (therapeutic), leukemia (therapeutic), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV vaccines. It is advancing preclinical research and clinical development for a universal seasonal/pandemic influenza vaccine, as well as preclinical work for other products, including malaria and prostate cancer vaccines. Its partners and collaborators include University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health/Malaria Vaccine Initiative (PATH/MVI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Merck, ChronTech, University of Southampton, United States Military HIV Research Program (USMHRP), the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and HIV Vaccines Trial Network (HVTN). As of December 31, 2011 it owned 16.1% interest in VGX Int��.

Inovio�� Solution

The Company�� synthetic vaccine platform consists of its SynCon vaccine design process and electroporation delivery technology. It has developed a preclinical and clinical stage pipeline of vaccines. The Company�� synthetic vaccines are designed to prevent a disease (prophylactic vaccines) or treat an existing disease (therapeutic vaccines). Its synthetic vaccine consists of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) plasmid encoding a selected antigen! (s), which is introduced into cells of humans or animals with the purpose of evoking an immune response to the encoded antigen. The Company�� synthetic vaccines are designed to generate specific antibody and/or T-cell responses.

The Company�� SynCon technology provides processes that employ bioinformatics, which combine extensive genetic data and sophisticated algorithms. Its design process uses the genetic make-up of a common antigen(s) from multiple strains of a virus within a viral sub-type or taxonomic group (family) of pathogens, such as HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), human papillomavirus (HPV), influenza and other diseases to synthetically create a new antigen for the desired pathogen target that does not exist in nature. Its synthetic vaccine candidates are being delivered into cells of the body using its electroporation (EP) DNA delivery technology.

Cancer Synthetic Vaccines

The Company has two broad types of cancer vaccines: preventive (or prophylactic) vaccines, which are intended to prevent cancer from developing in healthy people, and treatment (or therapeutic) vaccines, which are intended to treat an existing cancer by strengthening the body�� natural defenses against the cancer. Two types of cancer preventive vaccines are available in the United States. The United States Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) has approved two vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix that protect against infection by the two types of HPV-types 16 and 18-that cause approximately 70% of all cases of cervical cancer worldwide. In addition, Gardasil protects against infection by two additional HPV types, 6 and 11, which are responsible for about 90% of all cases of genital warts in males and females but do not cause cervical cancer.

Cervarix manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is composed of virus-like particles (VLPs) made with proteins from HPV types 16 and 18. Cervarix is approved for use in females��ages 10 to 25 for the prevention of cervical cancer caused by! HPV type! s 16 and 18. Gardasil manufactured by Merck, is approved for use in females for the prevention of cervical cancer, and some vulvar and vaginal cancers, caused by HPV types 16 and 18 and for use in males and females for the prevention of genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11. The vaccine is approved for these uses in females and males ages 9 to 26. The FDA has also approved a cancer preventive vaccine that protects against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Inovio�� VGX-3100 is designed to raise immune responses against the E6 and E7 genes of HPV types 16 and 18 that are present in both pre-cancerous and cancerous cells transformed by these HPV types. E6 and E7 are oncogenes that play an integral role in transforming HPV-infected cells into cancerous cells. In March 2011, it initiated a randomized, double-blind Phase II study of VGX-3100 delivered using the CELLECTRA intramuscular electroporation device in women with HPV Type 16 or 18 and diagnosed with, but not yet treated for, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3. The study is designed to enroll 148 subjects. In January 2011, it announced the publication of a scientific paper in the journal Human Vaccines detailing potent immune responses in a preclinical study of its SynCon vaccine for prostate cancer targeting two antigens, prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA).

In January 2011, the Company announced the regulatory approval of a Phase II clinical trial (WIN Trial) to treat leukemia utilizing its new ELGEN 1000 automated vaccine delivery device. The single dose level, Phase II study, called WT1 immunity via DNA fusion gene vaccination in haematological malignancies by intramuscular injection followed by intramuscular electroporation. Cancer Vaccines encodes for hTERT, an antigen related to non-small cell lung, breast and prostate cancers. The vaccine is delivered using its electroporation delivery technology.

Infectious Disease Synthetic Vaccines

In Marc! h 2011, the Company announced the initiation of a follow-on open label, single dose Phase II clinical study in collaboration with ChronTech of the ChronVac-C HCV DNA vaccine delivered using its electroporation technology in treatment naive HCV infected individuals. Its HIV vaccines consist of candidates for HIV prevention, as well as therapy or treatment. PENNVAX-B is designed to target HIV clade B (most commonly found in the United States, North America, Australia and the European Union (EU). PENNVAX-G is designed to target HIV clades A, C and D, which are more commonly found in Asia, Africa, Russia and South America. This Phase I clinical study of PENNVAX-B (HVTN-080) vaccinated 48 healthy, HIV-negative volunteers to assess safety and levels of immune responses generated by Inovio�� PENNVAX-B vaccine delivered with its CELLECTRA electroporation device. PENNVAX-B is a SynCon vaccine that targets HIV gag, pol, and env proteins.

The Company�� VGX-3400X targets H5N1. The vaccine consists of three distinct DNA plasmids coded for a consensus hemagglutinin (HA) antigen derived from different H5N1 virus strains; a consensus neuraminidase (NA) antigen derived from different N1 sequences; and a consensus nucleoprotein (NP) fused to a small portion of the m2 protein (m2E) based on a broader cross-section of influenza viruses in addition to H5N1 and H1N1. Conventional vaccines are strain-specific and have limited ability to protect against genetic shifts in the influenza strains they target. They are therefore modified annually in anticipation of the next flu season�� new strain(s). It is focused on developing DNA-based influenza vaccines able to provide broad protection against known as well as newly emerging, unknown seasonal and pandemic influenza strains.

Animal Health/Veterinary

VGX Animal Health, Inc. (VGX AH), a majority-owned subsidiary, has licensed LifeTide, a plasmid-based growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) technology for swine. LifeTide is one of onl! y four DN! A-based treatments approved for use in animals and is the only DNA-based agent delivered using electroporation that has been granted marketing approval (Australia). VGX AH is also developing a GHRH-based treatment for cancer and anemia in dogs and cats. It is developing a synthetic vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) administered by its vaccine delivery technology. The FMD virus is one of the most infectious diseases affecting farm animals, including cattle, swine, sheep and goats, and is a serious threat to global food safety.

The Company competes with Crucell N.V, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Inc., Novartis, Inc., MedImmune and CSL.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  No fairytale ending
  Fairytale endings work great in the movies, but you rarely see them come to fruition in the real world. Small-cap biopharmaceutical Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT: INO  ) has seen shares nearly triple since April on the heels of multiple intriguing studies, but will the glass slipper fit over the long term?

• [By Sean Williams]

  On the clinical data front, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY  ) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT: INO  ) both put investors in their happy place.

Top 5 Biotech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Celsion Corporation(CLSN)

Celsion Corporation, an oncology drug development company, develops and commercializes targeted chemotherapeutic oncology drugs based on its proprietary heat-activated liposomal technology. The company is developing its lead product, ThermoDox that is in Phase III clinical trial for primary liver cancer; and in phase II clinical trial for treatment of recurrent chest wall breast cancer. It has a license agreement with Yakult Honsha to commercialize and market ThermoDox for the Japanese market. The company also has a license agreement with Duke University under which it received exclusive rights to commercialize and use Duke's thermo-liposome technology. In addition, Celsion Corporation has a joint research agreement with Royal Phillips Electronics to evaluate the combination of Phillips' high intensity focused ultrasound with its ThermoDox to determine the potential of this combination to treat a range of cancers. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Columbia, M aryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By EquityOptionsGuru]

  The Prolieve Thermodilatation System was actually developed by the current management of Medifocus while employed at Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ:CLSN). The system was also jointly developed with Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) before being acquired by Medifocus in July 2012. Prolieve has already received FDA approval, is currently generating revenue, and is the only in office alternative to drug therapy. The system essentially uses microwave energy to treat Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), which is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that typically affects men over the age of 50. The Prolieve device works by compressing and heating prostatic tissue that may be blocking the flow of urine. This particular treatment option offers patients several benefits including the following:

Best High Tech Companies To Own For 2014: InterMune Inc.(ITMN)

InterMune, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of therapies in pulmonology and fibrotic diseases. In pulmonology, the company focuses on therapies for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive and fatal lung disease. It markets pirfenidone, an orally active drug that inhibits the synthesis of TGF-beta under the Esbriet name in the European Union, as well as in a Phase III clinical trial in the United States. Pirfenidone is also approved for the treatment of IPF in Japan, where it is marketed by Shionogi & Co. Ltd. under the Pirespa trade name. The company?s research programs focus on the discovery of small-molecule therapeutics and biomarkers to treat and monitor serious pulmonary and fibrotic diseases. InterMune, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Brisbane, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  InterMune (NASDAQ: ITMN  )
  InterMune shares may have exploded higher by 30% over the past week, but there's certain to be a lot of nail-biting on the part of shareholders as we head into earnings season. The reason has been the slow acceptance of the company's idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis drug, Esbriet, based on its pricing in the EU. In previous quarters Esbriet sales have disappointed in a big way, but are expected to rise by 134% to nearly $13 million from last year, though losses are still anticipated to come in at $0.70 per share. Following its recent pop, Esbriet sales had better hit the mark, otherwise InterMune shareholders are probably going to be in for a long day.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Lunging forward
  Intermune (NASDAQ: ITMN  ) announced second-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Higher-than-expected revenue helped shares advance almost 16% for the week.

• [By Rich Smith]

  On Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a former vice president of finance, accounting officer, and controller of InterMune (NASDAQ: ITMN  ) with insider trading.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) continues to soar on the strength of global sales of its top drug Esbriet. The company is still seeking FDA approval to sell Esbriet in the United States. Before approval can take place, the company is awaiting top-line results from the phase 3 ASCEND study. InterMune expects to release these results during the second quarter of 2014. This could be a huge catalyst. UBS has a $15 price target, which should rise soon, and the consensus is at $16.

Top 5 Biotech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Gentium SpA(GENT)

Gentium S.p.A., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and manufacture of its primary product candidate, defibrotide, an investigational drug based on a mixture of single-stranded and double-stranded DNA extracted from pig intestines. It develops defibrotide for the treatment and prevention of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), a condition that occurs when veins in the liver are blocked as a result of cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation, that are administered prior to stem cell transplantation. The company has completed a Phase III clinical trial of defibrotide for the treatment of severe VOD in the United States, Canada, and Israel; and a Phase II/III pediatric trial in Europe for the prevention of VOD. It also offers sulglicotide that is developed from swine duodenum, and has ulcer healing and gastrointestinal protective properties in South Korea; and urokinase, which is made from human urine to treat various vascular disorders, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms. The company was formerly known as Pharma Research S.r.L. and changed its name to Gentium S.p.A. in July 2001. Gentium S.p.A. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Villa Guardia, Italy.

Top 5 Biotech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Cannabis Science Inc (CBIS)

Cannabis Science, Inc., incorporated on May 4, 2007, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treats disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance. On February 9, 2012, the Company acquired GGECO University, Inc. (GGECO). On March 21, 2012, the Company acquired Cannabis Consulting Inc. (CCI Group).

The Company is engaged in medical marijuana research and development. The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce, and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Although its summer, there has been a steady stream of good news about medical marijuana even though important small cap marijuana stocks�Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS: MJNA) and Cannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS: CBIS) have been fairly quietly lately while Growlife Inc (OTCBB: PHOT), a more indirect play on the spread of legalized marijuana, has produced�some news for investors:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  The difference between Growlife's leadership and, say that of competitors like Cannabis Science Inc. (OTCMKTS: CBIS) or Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTCMKTS: MJNA), has been relatively well documented here at the SmallCap Network site. I think the way I - well, someone else - put it back on June 25th says it best...."Growlife is sort of the demure girl in the corner who doesn't do shots off her navel in the bar." It may not have sizzle, but it does have substance.