Grifco Inc (GFCI)

[10 bagger]

OT...From your article...

This is reprinted from the link on your posting...hank

See if there are financial filings.

If a company doesn't disclose financials, you shouldn't invest in it, Bernstein says. It's easy to find out if the company files financial statements by visiting the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). Click on "search for company filings," then "companies & other filers" and then enter the company's name. All the company's filings with the SEC will pop up on your screen. Look for quarterly filings (10-Qs) and annual filings (10-Ks). If these filings aren't there, don't invest in the stock, Bernstein says.

If they are there, take a close look. You might be surprised how flimsy the company really is. Take Vinoble, a company that was pitched in an e-mail Bernstein received in October and is listed on both the Pink Sheets and OTC Bulletin Board. Vinoble underwent several reverse mergers, conducted a 1-for-500 reverse stock split (reducing shares outstanding and increasing the stock's price) and now calls itself a homeland security company. The company's 10-K filing shows it has $38 in cash. Not $38 million or even $38,000. Just $38. Vinoble did not return calls for comment.

Look for more information.

PinkSheets.com operates the infrastructure many brokers use to get quotes on Pink Sheets stocks. It also maintains a public website that reveals all publicly available data regarding the shares. It's a handy and easy-to-use way to see what information, if any, is available.

Simply type the stock symbol into PinkSheets.com and you get the summary page. Here, you'll find the stock price, the stock high, the percentage change and other basics. The site will also list the company's earnings per share, or EPS. If those pieces of data aren't there, that means the company has not reported any financial information.

An even closer look can reveal other red flags. Under the "Company Notes" item, you can tell if the company has changed names. Typically, a name change means it was formed in a "reverse merger," which is a tactic some companies use to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Using this legal tactic, penny-stock operators keep morphing their "companies" into new entities with mergers so they have a new story to sell their stock.

So next time you think about investing in that sure-fire nanotechnology or alternative energy stock listed on the Pink Sheets, stop and follow the steps above. You might get cooled off fast. "A lot of those companies are hyping what they are and who they are," Starr says. "I refer to them as wannabes."