By Steve Garcia -

As previously speculated in past articles, http://www.kingofalltrades.com/author/asm610

Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LCAPA, NASDAQ:LINTA) essentially confirmed they have plans in the works to take their satellite radio interests global this past week.  Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei answered a question after his company’s 4th Quarter Conference Call regarding Worldspace (OTC: WRSPQ) and Liberty’s acquisition efforts aimed at Worldspace assets through Bankruptcy court.  Among his comments was a statement that Worldspace has L-Band spectrum licensing worldwide, and that they were looking for a creative way to monetize Sirius XM Radio,  converting their  shares in the company  is not an option they are likely to pursue at this time.  As a matter of fact, Mr. Maffei said that Board Chairman John Malone would be firmly against that option.

Looking at the broader picture, Liberty Media has an important connection in Europe through Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA, NASDAQ:LBTYB), which has dealt intensively with licensing and programming transmission regulations with many member countries of the European Union (EU).  With Worldspace having L-Band spectrum licensing globally, and both the XM infrastructure side of Sirius XM Radio and Worldspace having come from the same technologies, it’s not a big leap to speculate that the XM side of Sirius XM is a key part of the globalization planning.  Worldspace broadcasts in the 1467-1492 MHz frequency range of the “L” band, and Worldspace’s proprietary and patented technology is coincidentally used in each XM Radio receiver.  In fact, the Worldspace Global Content and Programming department used to provide approximately 10% of the original content music programming heard in America on XM Satellite Radio. (more…)

By Steve Garcia -

Taser International (NASDAQ:TASR) reported a record $104.3 million in net sales achieved for 2009, an increase of $11.4 million or 12.3% over 2008, driven mostly by growth in international and Federal sales. The company features several types of non lethal weapons such as the X26, M26, the C2 and the latest device the X3, a semi automatic multi shot stun weapon. The company reported that Federal and military sales increased significantly during Q4 2009, partly due to the first order of 2500 Taser X26 ECDs and related accessories shipped under an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract from the United States Army Garrison Rock Island Arsenal. Additionally, The United States Marshals Service ordered 433 X26 ECDs.

Among the highlights of the 4^th Quarter Conference call and filing were the following;

Adjusted revenues for Q4 2009 were $31.0 million, an increase of $4.6 million, or 17.6% when compared to Q4 2008. On a GAAP basis, net sales in Q4 2009 were $34.5 million, compared to $26.4 million in Q4 2008. Adjusted revenues exclude the impact of a $3.5 million revenue deferral related to the TASER X26 to X3 trade in credit program, most of which was recognized as revenue either when the trade in occurred or following the expiration of the offer on December 31, 2009.  Some cost savings were achieved through vigorous cost controls. Sales, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses in Q4 2009 decreased 10.5% to $9.8 million. (more…)

By Steve Garcia -

After more than a year of high wire balancing, Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) shares which went as low as .05 cents last year, have recovered to the milestone of over one dollar in trading today, a price not seen since September 19 2008. Yet the bashing of the company and the fear mongering continues to roll in. It would behoove all current shareholders as well as possible future shareholders to review the business model and SEC filings of the past 6 months at a minimum, as the basher press is in full swing with feigned fears regarding sentiment as well as possible r/s scenario.

The CEO of Sirius XM Radio Mel Karmazin, is on record over the course of the last few months, as saying that a r/s will only be used to stave off delisting from the NASDAQ Global Market. It appears that organically, through merger synergies and other efficiencies gained since the merger of Sirius and XM in 2008, the combined company’s stock has answered the call and is seeing favorable sentiment among investors as well as many fund managers. The climb over a dollar is sure to increase both retail and institutional interest. At the very least, Sirius XM may be on the radar for being re-instated on the Russell Index this year, as it was removed last June due to its share price. Each year, the Russell Investment Group rebalances its indexes during its annual reconstitution commonly known as the Russell Reconstitution or the Russell Rebalance. The removal event occurred June 26 2009, so there are still several months before Sirius XM has an opportunity to be re instated. (more…)

By Steve Garcia -

TASER International Inc.  (NASDAQ:TASR), http://www.taser.com/pages/default.aspx, a market leader in technologies that protect life recently showed why it is in my opinion, a good stock to look to for future growth and speculation. TASER International was founded in September 1993 and has remained committed to providing solutions to violent confrontation by developing products that enable people to protect themselves.  Taser and its employees are committed to protecting life by providing innovative, high quality products and services that always exceed customer expectations.  TASER International’s products protect human life, providing advanced Electronic Control Devices (ECDs) for use in the law enforcement, medical, military, correctional, professional security, and personal protection markets.  TASER devices use proprietary technology to incapacitate dangerous, combative, violent, enemy or high-risk subjects who pose a risk to law enforcement/correctional officers, military,  innocent civilians, or themselves in a manner that is generally recognized as a safer alternative to other uses of force which are many times deadly.  TASER technology protects life, and the use of TASER devices dramatically reduces injury rates for law enforcement officers and suspects. Taser is committed to producing high quality equipment which reduces risk of violence, or use of deadly force.

In taking a look at Taser for the first nine months of 2009, adjusted revenues were $73.2 million, an increase of $6.8 million or 10.0% over the first nine months of 2008. Adjusted revenues excluded the impact of a $3.5 million revenue deferral related to the X26 to X3 trade-in credit program, the balance of which is expected to be recognized as revenue when the trade-in occurs or the offer expires at December 31, 2009. The impact of this deferral should be reported in the upcoming Quarterly conference call.

(more…)