Spotlight on NASDAQ

April 2008 - By Annah Mason

ABOUT SPOTLIGHT ON NASDAQ
EQUITIES is celebrating the unparalleled success of NASDAQ by publishing “Spotlight on NASDAQ,” an ongoing department dedicated to the truly 21st century electronic stock exchange. In the 37 years since its inception, NASDAQ has asserted itself as the dominant U.S. electronic equities marketplace and the most liquid trading platform available anywhere to investors and issuers.

Technology is at the heart of this all-electronic globalmarketplace. Showcasing itsmany distinctions from traditional, floor-based stock exchanges, NASDAQ’s MarketSite, amodern-day icon in the heart of New York’s Times Square, has become a symbol of NASDAQ’s progressive culture by embodying its global electronic strategy, soon to include the all-electronic OMX exchange in Europe. Through our “Spotlight on NASDAQ,” EQUITIES will provide its readers unique coverage straight from the NASDAQ MarketSite. NASDAQ has made this special insight possible, reinforcing the exchange’s commitment to raising the visibility of its publicly-traded issuers.

DRI Corporation Celebrates Silver Anniversary

David L. Turney, chairman, president and CEO of DRI (NASDAQ: TBUS), presided over the closing bell on March 3 to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary. DRI went public in 1994 despite a severe downturn in the U.S. market, gathering enough support to start building the international relationships that today account for 50% of its business. For Turney, celebrating the corporate anniversary at the MarketSite “formalizes the fact that NASDAQ highly values its listed companies, both large and small.” DRI’s advanced suite of products targets transportation and transit-security markets with voice-announcement systems, Internet-based information for passengers, and automatic vehicle-monitoring systems. Its technology helps increase the mobility, flow, and safety of public transportation, giving DRI access to a competitive but lucrative market. “We’ve grown the company and achieved profitability in a tough market by providing products that capitalize on key trends,” says Turney. “We serve a market that is core to the public’s every day life.” The company also addresses homeland-security markets with a video actionable intelligence product, which gives transit operators the ability to remotely control (and shut down, if necessary) public vehicles that are wired to a DRI security system. With homeland security a growing global concern, Turney understands the importance of staying relevant. “We are constantly investing in product and market development in order to be the very definition of cutting edge,” he says, “and we intend to lead our market— not follow.”

Power Medical Interventions Inc.

Michael Whitman, president and CEO of Power Medical Interventions (NASDAQ: PMII), presided over the closing bell on February 13 to celebrate its recent IPO.With its shares trading just below $10, the company develops, manufactures, and markets intelligent surgical instruments aimed at revolutionizing surgical procedures. Most notably, it’s developed and commercialized the SurgASSIST platform of “intelligent surgical instruments,” a suite of computer- assisted surgical tools that has been used in an estimated 30,000 surgical procedures in more than 350 hospitals and medical institutions worldwide.

Sigma-Aldrich Corp.

Dr. Jai Nagarkatti, CEO of Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: SIAL), presided over the NASDAQ opening bell alongside Robert Griefeld, NASDAQ President and CEO on February 20 to celebrate two corporate milestones: its first year of sales exceeding $2 billion and 33 years listed on NASDAQ. The company’s biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in nearly every facet of medical research, including genomics, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, and the diagnosis of disease. Operating in 36 countries with customers in lifescience companies, hospitals, and university and government institutions, Sigma-Aldrich has a steady earnings record, posting a 25% growth from Q1 to Q4 of 2007.The company predicts a 2008 profit of $2.52 to $2.62 a share.

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Harvey J. Berger, chairman and CEO of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA), presided over the opening bell on February 13. The biotechnology company is developing a comprehensive approach to cancer that addresses the greatest unmet medical need—treatment for aggressive and advanced-stage cancers for which current treatments are inadequate. ARIAD recently formed a global partnership with Merck & Co. (NASDAQ: MRK) to develop and commercialize deforolimus, its lead cancer product candidate,which has been given fast-track designation by the FDA for the treatment of soft-tissue and bone sarcomas.

Oscar De La Hoya: From Boxer to Businessman
Though best known as boxing’s “golden boy,” 10-time world champion Oscar De La Hoya has more recently assumed the role of entrepreneur. In 2001, he founded Golden Boy Enterprises, a leading boxing-promotion venture that will undoubtedly smooth his transition to business upon retiring from the ring. Through the company, De La Hoya invests in real estate, Spanish-language publications, and various entertainment and sports-related projects, most notably becoming co-owner of the Houston Dynamo, a major league soccer team worth an estimated $40 million.

For the former Olympic gold medalist, visiting the NASDAQ MarketSite is an important notch in the belt of this budding businessman. “It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do, especially now with the transition that I’m making from boxing to business,” he says. “Visiting New York has always been exciting for me, and I’ve passed by the [MarketSite] tower many times and wondered what goes on inside.”

Alongside business partner Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, De La Hoya rang the closing bell on February 28 to garner publicity for his next match, in which he’ll face Steve Forbes on May 3 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. “You can compare NASDAQ to boxing,” says De La Hoya. “It’s about the fight, the struggle to be on top, and the ability to get up after being knocked down. It’s about who prevails and who can come out on top at the end—that’s why I’m excited to do this.”

Both De La Hoya and Schaefer believe in socially responsible investing, a growing trend in the financial community and one close to De La Hoya’s heart. “Of course, what I first look for in an investment is growth opportunity,” he says. “But close behind that is an investment’s integrity.Whether we’re getting involved with real estate or a boxing promotion, I want it to be done honestly and for the right people.”

Schaefer explains the team’s multidimensional investment philosophy: “Our plan is always twofold. Oscar has a diversified investment portfolio, made up of traded equity, private equity, and so on, and there we look at opportunities based on a best-of-class approach, selecting for the various asset classes to the best managers. Then we have the more exciting side, where we make investments in businesses, some of which we operate and in others we take minority participation. We like to build equity positions in traded companies, always staying below the 5% threshold and looking for the most undervalued opportunities. But throughout that investment approach and strategy, there is one seam that connects them all, and that is the fast-growing Hispanic market.”

With Hispanic Americans controlling nearly $800 billion of wealth in the U.S., there exists a burgeoning market somewhat ignored by corporate America. “We believe there’s going to be a snowball effect there,” says Schaefer. “Hispanics in this country are going to become much more powerful and influential, so we are basically looking for investments where there is a synergy between opportunity and community.”

When asked how Hispanic Americans are learning to save and invest, De La Hoya points to the role of secondary education. “I believe that there is always more that can be done,” he says, “and it’s important to me that our kids get a proper education in finance and how to take care of money while they’re still young, which is why I wanted to open the ODLH school.” In 2003, the boxer donated $1 million to help found the Oscar De La Hoya Animo High School, a charter school for young adults in East Los Angeles.

The Golden Boy team will continue to pursue financial opportunities with the Hispanic community in mind. “Right now, we’re just trying to align ourselves with the best brands and partners,” says Schaefer. “Golden Boy Enterprises intends to bring together a portfolio of sports and entertainment properties focused on the Hispanic market like we have never before seen in this country.”