Gateway Inc. (NYSE:GTW) announced today in a Form 4 filing with the SEC that Harbinger Capital Partners had acquired 505,700 shares on September 22 on the open market, bringing their stake up to 27,155,930. This news comes shortly afterway Gateway rejected John Hui's $450 million bid for the company's retail operations and did not comment on a possible offer to acquire all outstanding shares. It is also worth noting that Richard Snyder - a company Director - purchased 139,644 shares (about 60,000 of that being an award) with on the 19th. With Hui's second offer still on the table, a buyout at a premium to the current market price remains a possibility.

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Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (NDAQ:NABI) revealed today in a 13D/A filing with the SEC that activist hedge fund Third Point intends to "conduct shortly a consent solicitation in order to remove Mr. McLain and possibly one or more other directors from the Board of Directors". The fund also said it would "solicit consents in favor of a proposal requesting that one or more individuals named by the Reporting Persons be added to the Board to fill any vacancies created by the removal of directors". This news comes after the company expressed dissatisfaction with Chairman McLain after having difficulty obtaining financial records. If Third Point is successful in obtaining its Board seats it will likely seek "strategic alternatives" for the company, which may include an outright sale of the company.

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America Talk (NDAQ:TALK)
13D/A Filing by Flagg Street Capital
Flagg Street Capital - a 9% shareholder in the company - said today that the company's proposed buyout at $8.10/share does not reflect the full value of the company. The fund told the company that they, along with other large shareholders, would like to see a buyout at a higher price.

McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD)
Company Watch
Reports surfaced today indicating that Bill Ackman of Perishing Square wants to buy $2 billion more in stock and may engage in a proxy battle to help unlock shareholder value. Perishing was involved with McDonalds in the past when they tried to convince the resturant chain to spinoff some of its real estate holdings; however, the measure failed after McDonalds instead agreed to special dividends and other measures to increase shareholder value.

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (NDAQ:NABI)
Response to Third Point's 13D/A Filing
Nabi told investors today that it had retained the Bank of America to assist it in its efforts to seek strategic alternatives in order to unlock shareholder value. The company has been under increasing pressure lately by activist hedge fund Third Point, who criticized management's lack of action in the past and resistance to providing relevent financial information to investors.

P.H. Glatfelter (NYSE:GLT)
13D Filing by Pirate Capital
The company revealed today that activist hedge fund Pirate Capital had raised its stake in the company to 5.7%. Pirate Capital is well known as a champion of shareholders that will stop at nothing to unlock value - even if it means liquidating the company. The fund also received some press lately after it failed to disclose a series of divestures in OSI Restaurants and other holdings.

Eagle Materials, Inc. (NYSE:EXP) revealed some insider buying recently in several Form 4 filings with the SEC. On September 19th, Director Lawrence Hirsch purchased 400,000 shares on the open market in a transaction worth over $14 million - a significant amount for an individual. Richard Stewart, another director, revealed yesterday that he had also purchased 1,000 shares in a transaction worth over $35,000. Does this insider buying make sense?

Well, the company is the second largest maker of drywall - the very same industry that caught Warren Buffet's interest (however he's invested in the largest producer, USG Corp.). The stock's recent declines come as a result of the slowdown in residential construction, which accounts for 40-50% of the company's drywall sales; however, the company's commercial demand remains quite strong. Last quarter, the company saw a 27% rise in revenues and a 70% rise in earnings. Finally, the stock is trading at a P/E of just 11x with a PEG ratio of 0.20 and trading significantly below its enterprise value, all of which indicates that the company is severely undervalued.

Although the residential real estate market may not be doing so well right now, this company still benefits from the commercial side of the market and is available on the cheap! This stock is definitely worth keeping an eye on!

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Visteon Corporation (NYSE:VC) revealed today in a 13D/A filing with the SEC that Pardus Capital had increased its stake in the company to 14.1% and is also seeking Board representation. According to the 13D/A filing, Pardus is seeking to:

"continue to engage in discussions from time to time with management, the Board of Directors, other shareholders of the Issuer and other relevant parties concerning, among other things, the business, operations, board composition, management, strategy and future plans of the Issuer. In the context of these discussions, the Reporting Persons have raised with the Issuer the possibility of an individual suggested by them joining the board, and have been informed that the Issuer has taken this matter under advisement."

This news comes just as Visteon released an 8K filing announcing that they would cut their 2006 outlook and warned on second half sales:

"Johnston and Stebbins are expected to indicate that reductions to second- half customer production levels, changing vehicle mix, and other cost factors will challenge the company's financial results for the remainder of 2006. As a result, the company does not expect to meet the financial guidance targets announced on Aug. 1, 2006. The company currently expects second half product sales to be about 10 percent lower than first half product sales of $5.7 billion."

The company also took a blow yesterday when Valeo reportedly withdrew their bid for the company without explanation, after many speculated that the company was preparing to make an offer. Although this still remains a possibility, the Valeo management refused to make comments on the matter.

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Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA)
10K Watch
Boeing announced today in a press release that they had reached an agreement with FedEx (NYSE:FDX) to sell and modify almost 90 757's in a deal worth an estimated $2.6 billion. The acquisition is expected to have a strong impact on Boeing's earnings, while the startup expenses will not likely be material to the company.

Educate, Inc. (NDAQ:EEEE)
8K Filing
The company announced today that its CEO - along with several other officers and hedge funds - is offering $8 per share cash for the company in a bid to take the company private. The Board of Directors said it would review the bid in due time.

eHealth, Inc. (NDAQ:EHTH)
Ammended S-1 Filing
eHealth announced that its expected IPO price is between $10 and $12 per share with 5 million shares being sold. Lead underwriters include Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.

Friendly Ice Cream Corp (AMEX:FRN)
Ammended 13D Filing
The company revealed today that The Lion Fund has consulted with the Chairman of the Board of Directors and management of the Company concerning the business, operations and future plans, and is seeking seats on the Board of Directors for Mr. Sardar Biglari and Dr. Philip L. Cooley.

Sizeler Property Investors (NYSE:SIZ)
8K Filing
Sizeler announced today that the bid from Compson Holdings is not as favorable as the previous bid from Revenue Properties Inc., taking into account all financial, legal, regulatory, and other information. This comes after an activist hedge fund involved with the company demanded a valuation.

UAL Corporation (NYSE:UAUA) - better known as United Airlines - moved up today on news that the company retained Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to explore strategic alternatives. Those familiar with the situation say that the company is likely seeking a merger with Delta Airlines (DALRQ) or Continental Airlines (CAL). This news comes after UAL emerged from bankruptcy and the airline industry as a whole swung to a profit, with the help of lower fuel costs and more travellers. UAL enjoyed a share of this profit with strong performance last quarter; however, their stock remains one of the cheapest airline plays, trading at only 0.79x earnings (trailing). Any effort to unlock shareholder value could help this stock come to value at a significant premium to the current market price. Many traders are speculating that the company will require the help of a hedge fund or suitor in order to help it with any potential merger; therefore, a 13D and 8K filings would be the ones to watch as this situation unfolds.

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Titan International (NYSE:TWI) revealed on Friday that Jana had upped its stake in the company to over 22%. Although Jana didn't disclose anything noteworthy in this filing, they do have a long history in the company, which may help shed light on possible motives for the acquisitions. In October 2005, Titan was the subject of a proposed buyout at $18 per share buy One Equity Partners LLC. Jana was responsible for blocking this deal, after sending a letter to the Titan Board demanding either respond to its demands or explain why $18 per share was a fair price. Jana cited several reasons for its belief that Titan shares are undervalued at $18 in a both a SC 13D filing in October and a SC 13D/A filing with the SEC in December, where the company noted:

"... Pro-forma for the acquisition of Goodyear's agricultural tires business and adjusting for the non-operating assets, the $18 offer price represents only 5.6x trailing twelve-month EBITDA. For this reason, we believe any sale of the Company should either be postponed until the benefits of the Goodyear acquisition are realized, or alternately should be at a price which more appropriately reflects the added value that will arise following the close of this acquisition. We also would like to point out that just earlier this year Company management expressed to us a concern that a private equity buyer would attempt to buy the Company for $18, which management at the time described as less than fair value.

Other events have also strengthened our view that the proposed price falls short of fair value and fails to fully reflect the strength of both the Company and general industry trends. For example, reflecting strong industry fundamentals, the stock price of one of Titan's significant customers, Deere & Co., has increased by almost 17% since October 12, 2005, the day after One Equity's offer was announced. We believe that Titan's stock would have risen during this period as well, particularly given that the outlook for North American agricultural equipment sales continues to be strong in general, were it not being held down by One Equity's low bid. In addition, Titan Europe, in which Titan holds a 29% interest, saw its stock price increase by over 15% in the days following the announcement of an acquisition which would materially increase its size and provide significant operating synergies. We believe it is reasonable to assume that were it not for the proposed sale to One Equity at $18 per share, Titan's share price would have also seen the benefit of this acquisition by Titan Europe."

Since this time, the stock has trended down from around $20 to its current levels right around the mid $17 per share. The company has made an effort to cut costs by laying off some employees, while it has made headway in its own efforts by signing several new contracts with both Deere & Co. and Grove, among others. Whether or not the company can turn itself around remains to be seen; however, this move by Jana should be encouraging for long-term investors. This is definitely a stock worth watching.

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Banta Corporation (NYSE:BN) announced yesterday that they had received a letter from Cenveo dated September 20th, in which Cenveo proposed a business combination transaction involving the company. Banta said that it "is in the process of reviewing the proposal and will respond to Cenveo as appropriate in due course". What did this letter say? Well, Cenveo had a few kind words for Banta's Board regarding the transaction:

"As you might expect, following our prior proposals to acquire Banta, we were amused to read in your press release on September 14th that Banta has adopted "strategic initiatives" to "create value for shareholders." At Cenveo, we are always working to create value for shareholders and do not wait until we have received proposals from third parties to do so

We were also disappointed to hear on your carnival-like conference call that you continue to refer to Cenveo's $47.00 per share fully-financed, all-cash proposal for Banta's shares as "illusory". To reiterate what I stated in my letter of September 5th, we have obtained committed financing to complete this acquisition from Lehman Brothers and Wachovia ... I personally believe that you and the Banta board have breached your fiduciary duties to shareholders by taking actions to entrench yourself by not responding to my September 5, 2006 letter and the $47.00 per share proposal to purchase Banta.

Further, to say, as you did on your call, that we were unable to reach an agreement on the terms of a "standard" confidentiality agreement is a joke. We have offered to meet with you and to provide you with information about our commitment from Lehman Brothers and Wachovia WITHOUT OBTAINING ANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION FROM YOU. Why do you need a confidentiality agreement when we are not asking for any confidential information at this time?

The fact that you and your board continue to hide behind your poison pill is in my view 110% un-American. A level playing field is required in order to permit Banta shareholders to decide who manages their company, not a poison pill. As you stated on your most recent conference call, your poison pill is in place to "make sure that your shareholders have the benefit of long-term look at the future." Shareholders now have had plenty of time to review your plan. Therefore, the pill is no longer necessary and we believe it is the board's fiduciary obligation to remove the poison pill and let the shareholders decide the future of Banta."

But is $47 a good deal for shareholders? Well, the stock was trading at around $50 before the company durastically lowered is FY 2006 guidance in July before raising them suddenly in September. However it is difficult to argue that the company is undervalued right now. Although it has a PE of around 17x, it has a PEG of almost 2.87, which is highly overvalued. The company does have a strong cash position and low debt; however, the company is still trading well above its enterprise value. Either way you look at it, $47 is a good price for this stock unless management is capable of executing some other plan to unlock shareholder value in the near term, which doesn't appear to be the case.

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DivX, Inc. (NDAQ:DIVX) is up 13% in mid-day trading today on its debut on the NASDAQ. Those familiar with technology know DivX very well as one of the most popular codecs on the market for compressing video. But the company also licenses its technologies to consumer hardware device manufacturers and certifies their products to ensure the interoperable support of DivX-encoded content.

Let's take a look at whether or not the company is a good buy... Financially, Divx has done extremely well. The companies revenues tripled between 2003 and 2004, and more than doubled between 2004 and 2005. Notably, the company also achieved profitability in 2005 with a net income of $2,295,000 or $0.05 per share (diluted). As of December 31, 2005, the company also had a strong cash position of over $25 million with only $1.2 million in debt and a deficit of $19.4 million. This is a rather healthy balance sheet for a technology company that is just IPO'ing. But are the revenues sustainable? First, let's look at where they are coming from; according to their S-1 filing:

"We derive most of our revenue from the licensing of our technologies to consumer hardware device manufacturers, software vendors and consumers. We derived 81%, 75% and 55% of our total revenues from licensing our technology in 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively ... In the year ended December 31, 2005, Philips accounted for approximately 13% of our total revenues, and our top 10 licensees by revenue accounted for approximately 41% of our total revenues."

The company also relies on an agreement with Google:

"Revenues under the Google agreement represented approximately 15% of our total revenues in 2005. We currently include Google software in both the basic and enhanced versions of our software that we make available to consumers at no cost from our website. In exchange for offering the included Google software to our consumers, and the subsequent activation of the software by those consumers, Google pays us royalties based on specific performance targets."

At first glance, this seems like bad news. With an increasing amount of their total revenues coming from one market (licensing) and only a few key customers, there is a risk that these deals could go bad, which would significantly impact the company's bottom line. However, as long as the DivX brand name remains strong and their technology keeps evolving, it should not be difficult for the company to retain these contracts. Many public companies have survived with non-diversified revenue streams, including Google! However, it is important for investors to watch the market for competitors and keep an eye on the revenue numbers in the future.

Overall, DivX appears to be a relatively stable company now with its main risk being in non-diversified revenue streams. The shares are trading at a premium now after the IPO, but the company could make a great buy in the near future after the shares settle down. It is a great stock to keep an eye on!