Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Trading Updates: Ask Hits $0.91 Before Market Opens; Sellers Dominate The Morning; VectorVest: ERHE Undervalued At $1.06; Blog Gets 100,000th Visitor

The opening Ask is set at $0.90 this morning, a minute from the opening bell on Wall Street, and the opening Bid is $0.89. It quickly fell to $0.895 as more than 145,000 shares traded in the first minute. The Bid hit $0.90 and the Ask $0.91 at 9:25am EST, but sank before the open.

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Update, 4pm EDT, 4/26/05: Looks like we close at $0.82, down $0.055 for the day. Volume crested above 3 million at the last minute, reaching 3,028,500. The closing Bid was $0.82 and the closing Ask $0.84. News is still the gold standard around here, and most investors and myself will be glued to the message boards and Nigerian news sites and their own stock brokerage updates for any word. At 3:47, as the price was $0.815, Buys still dominated Sells by 1,491,365 to 1,390,087, reflecting a late surge of selling near the close, probably by day traders who close out their positions before the market day ends. ADVFN counted 609 trades at 3:48pm EDT.

By the close, ERHC On The Move recorded 2,587 visitors - a large number for this time of day - and we'd tied the record day for clicks, April 13, with 144. Many thanks for your tremendous support!

Update, 3:57pm EDT, 4/26/05: The Bid is $0.82 and the Ask is momentarily $0.82, as volume reaches 2,989,500.

Update, 3:54pm EDT, 4/26/05: The price is $0.828, the Ask, while the Bid is at $0.82, and volume is at 2,984,300. Sells outpaced buys 1,465,185 to 1,333,087 at 3:39pm EDT, on 585 trades - half of yesterday's trades.

Update, 3:50pm EDT, 4/26/05: The price is $0.82, and the Bid is back to $0.815 and the Ask to $0.82, while the 3 million-share mark approaches. Volume is 2,969,200.

Update, 3:45pm EDT, 4/26/05: The price is now $0.81, but as of 3:21, there's been no change of buyer sentiment, with Buys still outpacing Sells 1,428,305 to 1,291,087. Don't tell that to the market makers and day traders and swing traders, though. They've taken the price down to $0.80, the low of the day, and the Ask to $0.81. If you get the impression that I'm disappointed, you're right - mainly because the share price is reflecting negative volume that isn't happening and ignoring awards that are both certain and imminent. It appears we may close several cents lower for the day. This is apparently the short-sellers' revenge for the great news yesterday that kept their selloff from gathering any steam and left us with a substantial gain. Awards in the next 15 minutes would unalterably change this, however.

Update, 3:31pm EDT, 4/26/05: Well, the 3:15 surge has seemingly come and gone and left us still at $0.83, the Bid, with the Ask slightly lower at $0.835 and volume at 2,789,900 shares.

Update, 3:25pm EDT, 4/26/05: The $0.83 price and Bid/Ask are static. Volume is at 2,777,600 shares.


Update, 3:20pm EDT, 4/26/05: The price is at $0.835, off its day's low of $0.83, the current Bid. Volume is 2,770,800 shares. With 544 trades at 3:05, Buys had outsripped Sells by 130,000 shares. The deceptively low price doesn't reflect the improved positive buying activity.

Update, 3:16pm EDT, 4/26/05: Volume has leapt to 2,762,800 while the share price and Bid are at the low of the day, $0.83, and the Ask is at $0.835. Apparently, an update from Swinging K on Raging Bull's ERHE message board has demoralized traders, predicting that awards are up to two days away.

Update, 3:05pm EDT, 4/26/05: The share price and Bid is at the low of the day, $0.83, as the Ask sticks with $0.84. Nine minutes till party time.

Update, 3:00pm EDT, 4/26/05: With a string of Buys totaling 40,350 at 2:44, the Buys moved further ahead of Sells, 1,373,585 to 1,152,592 and the unidentified unchanged at 52,800. That action is not reflected in the 3:00pm EDT share price of $0.835, $0.001 below the Bid, while the Ask stands still at $0.84 on volume of 2,650,500 shares.

Update, 2:58pm EDT, 4/26/05 Bid has moved up $0.001 to $0.836, and the Ask is at $0.84. Volume is still 2,625,500 shares, up 200 in the past six minutes.

Update, 2:52pm EDT, 4/26/05 The Bid is again at $0.835 and the Ask at $0.84. while volume has climbed to 2,625,300 shares. 3:15 grows nearer.

Update, 2:48pm EDT, 4/26/05 A lot of sales are taking the price down, but Buys have now leapt 150,000 shares ahead of Sells as of 2:33pm EDT, with Buys at 1,333,236 and Sells at 1,149,592, and 52,800 unidentified. That's the largest margin of Buys over Sells of the day. There were 516 trades as of 2:38pm EDT.

Update, 2:47pm EDT, 4/26/05 We're off $0.035 at $0.84. The Ask is sticking at $0.85, while the Bid has fallen to $0.835. Volume is 2,579,000 shares.

Update, 2:41pm EST, 4/26/05 The price has clawed back to $0.85 on 2,541,100 shares as the 3:15 surge approaches, but the Ask has fallen back to $0.84, probably as day traders try to hit the trains early. We expect the last 45 minutes to be hot and heavy today, because somewhere out there, someone knows all the answers... .

Update, 2:40pm, 4/26/05 The Bid is slowly moving up, from $0.83 to $0.8310 to $0.832 to $0.833 to $0.835 in the space of half a minute.

Update, 2:34pm EST, 4/26/05 Unaccountably, the Bid has fallen to $0.83, the current price, and the Ask to $0.85, as volume leaps to 2,535,600.

Update, 2:32pm EST, 4/26/05 The price has now improved to $0.87, while the Bid is $0.86 and volume has reached 2,461,600 shares. With 474 trades at 2:17, Buys outnumber Sells by 1,157,085 to 1,059,972, a substantial improvement over this morning but denoting an ambivalent market that is sadly reflected in the meandering price.

Update, 2:01pm EST, 4/26/05 Going into the last two hours without news, we nonetheless expect a significant price improvement as ERHC Energy's preferential rights are guaranteed and we know they will be awarded within a day or two. The price now stands at $0.86, the Bid at $0.845, and the Ask at $0.86. Volume is 2,240,300 shares.

Update, 1:51pm EST, 4/26/05 The price has improved to $0.86, the Ask, while the Bid is at $0.85. 2,232,800 shares have traded today.

Update, 1:45pm EST, 4/26/05 Investors are biting their nails as they wait for news and the share price floats aimlessly around. Fortunately, my daughter is a cosmetologist.

Update, 1:45pm EST, 4/26/05 The price is back at $0.85 and the Ask back to $0.86, with volume at 2,225,500.

Update, 1:37pm, 4/26/05 The price is $0.845, the Ask, as volume hits 2,166,900. The Bid is still $0.84. As if 15 minutes ago, though, buyers continued to lead sellers, although by a slim margin. With 440 trades at 1:24pm EST, Buys were 1,037,835 shares and Sells were 1,016,807 shares, with 35,800 shares unidentified. That followed 11 straight Sells totaling 28,040 shares.

Update, 1:30pm EST, 4/26/05 We're now at $0.84, the low share price of the day, and that's the Bid while the Ask is at $0.845. Volume so far is 2,116,400 shares. Indications are that buyers are having difficulty getting these cheap shares.

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Daddi17, who runs the useful PalTalk chat group and ERHC Website, has bravely posted some possible numbers as an outcome of the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority Round 2 block awards, which could come within the hour or tomorrow morning. I say "bravely" because as readers of this blog know, predictions can turn people mighty vile when they go wrong.

Here's Daddi17's best guesses, in the order ERHC made its preferential choices:

By: dadd17
26 Apr 2005, 01:04 PM EDT
Msg. 29546 of 29554

Jump to msg. #

Possibilities:
Just reading numbers

Block 5
ICC-OEOC Consortium 40% - Operator
Sahara Energy Fields 35%
ERHC Energy 15%
Indie 10%

Block 6
Filtim Huzod Oil & Gas 65% Operator
ERHC Energy 15%
Indie 10%
Indie 10%

Block 2
Devon/Pioneer/ERHC 65% Operator ERHC with 30%
Foby Engineering 25%
Indie 10%

Block 3
Devon/Pioneer/ERHC 55% Operator ERHC with 20%
Andarko 35%
Indie 10%

Block 4
Noble-ERHC 55% Operator Noble with 30% to ERHC's 25%
Andarko 35%
Indie 10%

I hope he's right!

Update, 1:15pm, 4/26/05 The price is $0.85, the Bid $0.847, and the Ask $0.85, with some 2,039,100 shares trading hands. No news yet from the JMC. Investors should be aware of a pattern that has persisted in ERHE trading, and that is that the price always seems to fall shortly before good news. That may have something to do with market makers covering their short positions, or anxiety among investors, but the history of the stock suggests that such falls are standard before news that blows the price through the roof. Today's very modest profit taking hardly qualifies as a fall, but it may be setting the floor for in concrete for our impending takeoff to the $1 stratosphere.

THANK YOU, INVESTOR NO. 100,000! We're in a mood of joyous celebration as we thank all the visitors to ERHC On The Move that have made this site a great success. I am deeply grateful to each and every one of you for your support, your readership and all the many kind things you have said about us. We are now the second Search Result for "erhc" on Google, and after the company itself the primary source of information for Web visitors on ERHC Energy.

Here are the statistics (Date, Visitors, Clicks, % Clicks/Visitors, Cost Per 1,000 Impressions, and Income) we downloaded just about 10 minutes ago:


Monday, April 25, 2005 2,454 98 4.0% $11.65 $28.58
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 1,337 114 8.5% $34.13 $45.63
Totals 100,036 1,514 1.5% $4.02 $401.71
Averages 1,205 18 $4.84

Update, 12:50pm EST, 4/26/05: With volume at 1,957,300, speculation about the timing of the awards is dominating the Raging Bull ERHE message board. The latest from Sam Dimka gives nothing away, but rockreation made an excellent point: that awards are likely today simply because it will be difficult to schedule Joint Ministerial Council member-ministers for another, now-unscheduled day. If we were in Abuja, we could wait and see if the presidential limousine was leaving the palace headed towards the JMC meeting. The bid is lower at $0.859 and the Ask is, too, at $0.865. The last price was $0.865.

Update, 12:44pm EST, 4/26/05: We're 64 visitors away from Mr or Mrs. 100,000!

Update, 12:36pm EST, 4/26/05: The price is weakening to $0.865, and the Ask to $0.865 with the Bid at $0.855. Volume is at 1,944,900 shares.

Update, 12:33pm EST, 4/26/05: By 12:14, with 385 trades recorded, Buys are now outpacing Sells by 947,015 to 929,757, with 35,800 unidentified. That's a strong improvement, and there has been a very long string of buys developing. with 19 Buys to 10 Sells in the first 15 minutes of the noon hour. There may be news ahead, judging from those numbers.

Update, 12:25pm EST, 4/26/05: We are 185 visitors away from Number 100,000!

Update, 12:25pm EST, 4/26/05:The price is at $0.87 and the Bid is at $0.855, as a gap opens up between those hedging against a delay and those hoping for good news. 1,938,300 shares have traded.

Update, 12:21pm EST, 4/26/05: An update has come in from Raging Bull poster orangeandwhite0:

****Update****


Just got off the phone with Sam Dimka. He was in a hurry so didn't have time to talk. He said JMC is still in session. I asked him if meetings were going well and he said they were indeed going well. Expect news at anytime folks.

Update, 12:15pm EST, 4/26/05: Lower now at $0.87, the Bid, with the Ask at $0.875. 1,920,100 shares have changed hands.

Update, 12:13pm EST, 4/26/05: Trading slows as the wait for news grows anxious. 15 minutes ago, at 11:55, the sellers still dominated, with Buys totaling 812,325 and Sells of 896,544 shares, and still 35,800 undidentifiable. As of 11:50, there have now been 366 trades, meaning that there were 55 in the space of the one intervening hour since our last Buys/Sells update at 10:50am.

Update, 12:08am EST, 4/26/05: The price and Ask have improved to $0.875, while the Bid has improved to $0.87. Volume has hit 1,855,900 shares at a brisk pace.

Update, 12:02am EST, 4/26/05: At the noon hour, ERHE traders aren't very hungry for anything but news, news, news. Awards could well come within the hour, but we'll have to wait for word from Abuja-based journalists at Reuters and Dow Jones before we know anything. Mmeanwhile, the share price remains at $0.87, the Ask, while the Bid is still fixed at $0.865, and volume hits 1,816,000 shares.

Update, 11:56am EST, 4/26/05: The price is $0.87 on 1,744,500 shares traded, with the Ask still at $0.87 and the Bid $0.865.

Update, 11:55am EST, 4/26/05: We're 361 visitors away from 100,000...

Update, 11:50am EST, 4/26/05: We are just 482 visitors away from number 100,000 at ERHC On The Move. That should happen about noon, so let's hope the magic number coincides with awards! The price has improved to $0.87, the Ask, and the Bid is at $0.865, while 1,705,300 shares have traded.

Update, 11:40am EST, 4/26/05: Trading is in suspense for the moment as they wait for news from Abuja. There were no trades in the last 7 minutes.

Update, 11:32am EST, 4/26/05: Two hours into the day, ERHE is trading at the Ask of $0.86, with the Bid at $0.855, and volume has climbed to 1,689,900 shares.

Update, 11:27am EST, 4/26/05: VectorVest, the automated stock valuation program, has set the current value (before awards) of ERHE at $1.06, and says that while it is below average as to safety, it is undervalued and is rated a Buy. The company says this morning:

>Value: Value is a measure of a stock's current worth. ERHE has a current Value of $1.06 per share. Therefore, it is undervalued compared to its Price of $0.88 per share. Value is computed from forecasted earnings per share, forecasted earnings growth, profitability, interest, and inflation rates. Value increases when earnings, earnings growth rate and profitability increase, and when interest and inflation rates decrease. VectorVest advocates the purchase of undervalued stocks. At some point in time, a stock's Price and Value always will converge.


Update, 11:20am EST, 4/26/05: Traders should be aware that with the substantial completion of yesterday's work, the Joint Ministerial Council may be set to make awards and would likely announce them at about 12pm EST, which is just 40 minutes away. If awards come today, the share price will likely cross $1, and perhaps hit $1.15. No Dow Jones update by 1pm would indicate that no awards were made today. However, there is nothing to bar a late announcement, or an early one tomorrow.

Update, 11:15am EST, 4/26/05: With 1,635,400 shares traded, we're off $0.02 at $0.855, the Bid, and the Ask has settled at $0.86.

Update, 11:10am EST, 4/26/05: With 1,604,400 shares traded, the price stands at $0.86, the Ask, while the Bid is at $0.855.

Update, 10:50am EST, 4/26/05: The first 311 trades, completed by 10:50am, show that Sells are outpacing Buys this morning by 782,024 to 723,775, with 35,800 shares unidentified.

Update, 10:44am EST, 4/26/05: The Bid has sprung back to $0.865 and the Ask to $0.87 on 1,487,500 shares of volume. The price is $0.87.

Update, 10:33am EST, 4/26/05: The Bid is at $0.84 and the price at $0.845, the Ask, on 1,293,100 shares of volume. Looks like traders are taking profits. The morning pullback has become siomething we're accustomed to. It should be over by 11am EST.

Update, 10:30am EST, 4/26/05: The Bid falls to $0.845, the Ask to $0.85, on 1,182,200 shares of volume.

Update, 10:29am EST, 4/26/05: After the first hour, the volume has climbed to 1,161,200 while the price hits $0.85, the Bid, and Ask sits at $0.855.

Update, 10:27am EST, 4/26/05: Oops! The price has fallen to $0.855, the Bid, while the Ask is at its low of the day, $0.86. Volume is 1,118,600 shares.

Update, 10:23am EST, 4/26/05: Traders are reluctant to test a new low for the day and Buyers are slow to bid higher than $0.88 or $0.89 as we wait for awards in the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Zone. While volume is very high, there's no sense of adventure out there. The Bid is now $0.87 and the Ask $0.875, while the price is at $0.87, the day's low.

Update, 10:17am EST, 4/26/05: 47 minutes into the trading day, 1,027,200 shares have traded and the price is at $0.88, with the Bid at $0.87. The Ask is at $0.88.

Update, 10:12am EST, 4/26/05: 1 million shares have traded! Price is $0.885.

Update, 10:11am EST, 4/26/05: The share price returns to $0.885, the Ask, and the Bid stays at $0.88, on 939,066 shares of volume.

Update, 10:09am EST, 4/26/05: The bid has improved to $0.88 and the Ask to $0.885 on 899,066 shares of volume. The price is $0.875, however.

Update, 10:07am EST, 4/26/05: The price is $0.88 with volume at 879,066.

Update, 10:05am EST, 4/26/05: The Bid is at $0.875 and the Ask at $0.88 as volume reaches 818,766.

Update, 10am EST, 4/26/05: Volume has reached 764,586, witht the price and Bid at $0.873 and the Ask at $0.88.

Update, 9:55am EST, 4/26/05: The share price has reached $0.885 on volume of 703,396.

Update, 9:53am EST, 4/26/05: We're back to an Ask of $0.89 and Bid of $0.885, on 660,996 shares traded.

Update, 9:50am EST, 4/26/05: The price has climbed back to $0.887, and the Ask to $0.89. while the Bid stays at $0.88. Volume is 604,597.

Update, 9:47am EST, 4/26/05: The price is now $0.885, the Ask, while the bid remains at $0.88, on 506,847 shares of volume.

Update, 9:45am EST, 4/26/05: Now 15 minutes into the day, the Bid is higher at $0.88 and the Ask higher at $0.885, on 483,847 shares of volume.

Update, 9:43am EST, 4/26/05: The Bid has risen to $0.873, and the Ask to $0.875, on 422,100 shares.

Update, 9:42am EST, 4/26/05: The Bid has dropped to $0.872, and the Ask to $0.874, on 382,100 shares.

Update, 9:40am EST, 4/26/05: The price is $0.875 10 minutes into the day, with the Bid still $0.875 and the Ask $0.88. 360,065 shares have traded.

Update, 9:38am EST, 4/26/05: The Ask has dropped to $0.88, while the Bid remains set at $0.875, yesterday's close. Volume has slowed to 325,085.

Update, 9:35am EST, 4/26/05: The Ask has dropped to $0.887, and the Bid has stayed at $0.875. 321,565 shares have traded in the first five minutes.

Update, 9:32am EST, 4/26/05: 300,000 shares traded in the first two minutes, and the price is $0.88, with the Bid set at $0.875 and the Ask at $0.88.

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