The stock market faithful have an old saying about no matter how grim things look for a chart or a company at any given moment, "News trumps all." It doesn’t matter what industry or sector, news of a contract, a biotech success, mineral find or anything that out of the blue adds substantial value to a portfolio and -- hopefully the financial records -- can send a stock rapidly moving upward.
Oddly enough, many news stories simply do not seem to grab the attention of the investment community for some reason (perhaps it is a matter of perception as to the true worth of the news) and subsequently the share value doesn’t change much, but when momentum traders hop on board and the general investment community embraces the news...look out...it could be a fast ride north.
Such was the case Tuesday with MediSwipe Inc. (OTCBB:MWIP) as the merchant payment solutions and financial products company for the health-care industry announced big news of merchant services agreements. Along with its wholly-owned subsidiary, 800 Commerce Inc., a turnkey e-commerce solution provider, MediSwipe disclosed that they have penned agreements in September that exceed $8 million in monthly gross processing volume. The Company anticipates that profit margins will equate to 1-3% of the gross volume.
Per the new agreements, MediSwipe and 800 Commerce will be providing merchant services, gift/loyalty cards and personal digitized healthcare records to a new merchant network which include diversified clients including wellness centers, e-commerce and high risk merchant accounts.
MediSwipe has been struggling to gain traction which was somewhat hampered by limitations in diversification in whom they service, but appears to be making the trend shift in the recent past to new business opportunities that have broadened their scope and widened potential which should increase shareholder value.
August brought a series of press announcing new merchant services agreements that totaled into the millions of dollars in gross processing volume. Moreover, MediSwipe shored-up a relationship with MMR Global (OTCBB:MMRF) to provide personal health records to thousands of its patients at low cost monthly fees as well as an alliance with www.800.com to provide toll free numbers, efaxes and voicemail along with its merchant processing services for both online and bricks and mortar businesses.
The ball may have gotten rolling slowly, but it hit the catapult Tuesday with the $8-million news. Shares closed on Monday at $0.0043, but gapped upward to open at $0.0066 and even busted into pennyland (a place it had not been since July 26) to touch $0.0115, before profit-taking set in and stripped away some of the gains.
At the closing bell, shares were still well in the green, trading at a 102% premium to Monday’s close; holding firmly at $0.0087. The average three-month trading volume for MWIP is 1.34 million shares a day, which looks like a speck from space with nearly 68 million shares trading hands Tuesday. Sometimes depressed stocks are simply waiting on a catalyst and the news certainly provided that for MediSwipe Tuesday.
