Ascendiant Cap. Mkts George Santana reiterates Strong Buy rating, $7.00 price target July 31, 2012. Believes "ABTL is an undiscovered little gem: net cash, generating cash flow, devoid of the need for significant capital expenditures, profitable, and growing."
- Mar. 2012 quarter was the highest quarterly revenues since Sept. 2008.
- Four consecutive quarters of net profitability
- Five consecutive quarters of positive EBITDAS
-Net cash ($0.80 per share at end-Mar. 2012: $12mm in cash vs. a $5mm
convertible note issued in a Sept. 2010 acquisition)
- Next few quarters have fairly easy revenue comps year-over-year.
- Expecting another quarter of profits and cash flow in Q2 report
In their view, "ABTL is a growth stock with potentially strong operating leverage priced at deep-value multiples. At a P/E of 7.6x 2013E EPS, an Enterprise Value of 0.3x forecast 2013E revenues and 3.4x forecast 2013E Operating EBITDAS, Autobytel appears valued as a wildly unprofitable company with a risky balance sheet. Instead, Autobytel is a profitable Internet company, with operating metrics continuing to strengthen and a very clean net-cash, low-debt balance sheet."
Ascendiant goes on to say that "Management appears to be of the conservative, non-promotional, “just-execute” type atypical of the usual sort we find running Internet companies (to Autobytel’s credit). Perhaps this is why Autobytel’s turnaround has garnered so little attention. In any case, we believe the improved operating results will begin to speak for themselves, leading to a sharply higher stock price as the media and investor communities begin to take notice. Even should the company have a slow quarter in the current environment, the basic story of a fundamental turnaround remains compelling, in our view."
Ascendiant Capital Markets is led by George Santana, who has nearly twenty years of equity research experience in the United States and foreign markets. During his career, Mr. Santana has been recognized six consecutive times in the Institutional Investor magazine poll of top analysts.
