Author/Editor
Ray Blanco
Publisher
Agora Financial
Description
Focuses on companies with hot new technologies, including biotech and technology stocks. Formerly run by Patrick Cox, who moved on to launch Transformational Technology Alert, a similar letter for Mauldin Economics, and Stephen Petranek and Gerald Celente have also briefly helmed this letter.
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Breakthrough Technology Alert – Agora – Patrick Cox
Strange investment picks under $10/share.
Track record: -6.54, +56.14, -30.25, -50.00, -45.70, +113.33, -48.45, -53.65, -86.78, -49.33, -75.88, -33.05%
The two winners are overwhelmed by the huge losses. No stop loss orders in place.
This newsletter is worthwhile more for the interesting read factor than the performance. Every single reco is something that is fascinating — stuff that we once thought was far in the future, and now is nearly ready for primetime. This is probably why the track record is so poor. It is difficult to get the timing perfect for such technological advances as RNA interference, medical robotics, stem cells, and nanotechnology. This is due to political, ethical, and IP concerns, among other things, which he clearly points out in his research.
The best way to utilize this research is to put the stocks in your watchlist and wait for them to pop before hopping in. You may miss some gains, but you won’t suffer the 50-80% drops that many experience before taking off. Alternatively, invest your “breakthrough technology” capital in these, and be prepared to wait a LONG time for them to profit (while averaging down, if you want to.) Certainly not a TRADING service, but incredibly exciting to read and intellectually stimulating!
I have bought 4 of his reccomendations masde money on 3 and just bought 4 in almost a year–so you have to use discretion and not buy everything–but on balance you can mae money with him.
I feel he is too long term for me to follow blindly but if I have had several doubles and triples buying cheap and selling maybe too soon for his perspective but I feel a profit is a profit especially after the beating I took last year when everything I hsd went down
I have been with Breakthrough Technology Alert from the beginning and was very gun-shy at the beginning because it was taken over by Cox when Johnathan Kolber was fired by Agora. It taught me a good lesson because Wiggin, the main guy at Agora, kept pushing Kolber’s publication hard, and I lost thousands of dollars on his recos. SOLM, Pleuristem and others. Kolber had a horrible knack for predicting losers and Wiggin kept pushing his program! Anyway, Cox started out a bit slow but his info was really interesting and right on target, and soon he started picking up some winners. His insight and explanations for why he is picking these stocks is very insightful.
I have been with this newsletter from the begining and also with two of the previous similar ones,Emerging Capital Report and Vantage Point Investment Advisory since 2002. I found them to be very interesting and well worth the cost. I do agree with the reviews by Dweign, Peter C and Matt. This is called Transformation Technology and most of these are for long term and should be put on a watch list. After the hype of a newsletter, wait for the stock to return to a lower level before buying. (I have bought and sold Biotime three times this way and made money each time.)Of the 17 on his current list, 7 are now plus since recommentation.
I subscribed to Technology Alert in mid-October of 2008, prior to the “HUGE” Michael West announcement, and did put a few thousand dollars into three of the four recos. And, of course, I watched them tank. I made the cardinal mistake of getting in too late, as the newsletter hype and Patrick’s “insiders” had already driven the stocks up prior to the “tipping point” declarations from West. They took profits, I licked my wounds and waited months for the stocks to rebound enough to cut my losses and get out. I was able to sell the Biotime for more than I had in it, but I wouldn’t say the stock skyrocketed. I agree with Tor, wait til the run up runs down after the February 5 hoopla and buy a little CYTX and ISCO. If they perform like the others, you might make a few shekels.
I subscribed to Breakthrough Technology Alert In September 2009 under the 90-day risk free offer. I bought all 6 stock recommendations, and hold them all in my portfolio to date. Of the 6, 3 have returned substantial profits and other 3 have been under water since a couple of days after purchase.
The successes have been Biotime (BTIM), ISCO (recently after being in the tank) and RXI Pharmaceuticals (RXI). Patrick Cox’s reports on these stocks were in-depth, well-researched and convey a very convincing story for each “transformative” stock. Appears they are all very long term, and he does make that point, to buy them and forget about them, but that is hard to do when some are staring at you from your portfolio in red ink! I quickly learned too late that I should have waited until after the magic “deadline” to buy the stocks, and not bought as many shares in one transaction, as the prices initially soared, then plunged on all 6 stocks. I was able to ride Biotime up 2 out of 3 times and make a few thousand dollars, and I do believe that will be the strongest long term prospect of all of the picks. So, overall, to date, after 4 months, I am 3 for 6 winners, and each of the winners has returned close to or more than 100%, not transformative wealth (only 4 months), but great in this market!
Began subscribing 1.5 years ago and love the easy explanation of scientific breakthroughs in nanotechnology, stem cell, and robotics/artifical intelligence. Patrick Cox is a gifted writer and his editing staff excel.
The financial comparisons of these infant companies along with the easy to read technology explanations are thorough enough to be able to make subjective judgments about the timing of our own investments, albeit longterm is definitely the keyword here. We are not subjected to too much hype, but honest enthusiasm.
Out of 6 stocks, 4 are up a total of 186% (including International Stem Cell and BioTime)and 2 are down -23% (including GERON previously mentioned). I have never sold any of these stocks because I do not invest that much of my portfolio in them and I got in at the right time. I have “forgotten” about them.
And, oh yes, I can’t emphasize how important it is not to jump in late on new introductions but to wait for the dust to settle before buying these tiny stocks.
I subscribe to other Agora publications & thru some screw-up (which just got fixed…bummer), I could get all their publications when I logged onto the site. I downloaded every report from every advisor & tried a few of the trades.
If anyone here is making money off candlestick Steve…congrats…I couldn’t.
I am way up on ISCO since Feb 2010 (163%, sold my initial investment when it was even higher & bot BTIM), BTIM 46%, down a wee bit on MNRA & have 2 others on a watch list, to buy when they come down a bit.
Patrick has attended the Agora Wealth Symposium in Vancouver & will be there again this year. Listening to him present is interesting, especially in a panel. Believe he has Turrets or something, when asked a stock to buy…he’ll toss one out, he was asked the same one a couple of minutes later, his reply was “did I say that? I have no idea why I said that. Are you sure?”
Structured presentations are much better for him & I’ll be attending any presentation he makes this July.
I should subscribe but after getting it for free
I subscribed to BTA since January 2010.
Bought small stakes in about half of the recommendations and saw the portfolio go up pretty nicely till May, but it has since come down to show a small loss.
I do think the newsletter is a good help to find the most promising stocks in what is a difficult field to understand.
Let’s not forget that the Amex Biotech Index (^BTK), is one of the only benchmarks that has already broken above its year 2000 and 2007 peaks, so is officially in an ongoing bull market.
I plan to hold these stocks for the next 10 years.
Some will go out of businesses, others may be taken over.
If just a few of them do well it will make up for the losses (hopefully)
The ultimate in ‘story’ stocks. Pays no attention to valuation whatsoever. in another time would have touted price to eyeballs sorts of measures. his picks could read like the national enquirer – “cure cancer now!” “we can kill all viruses with a simple pill” “lose weight painlessly!” Of course some picks will go up, the the majority are losers.
you just cost me thousands with your sell call on isco.ob.confict of interest??? nothing has changed with the company.your sell call was wrong as was your later supposed apology.and then i find that before your call short interest increased from 186,129 on oct 25 to 623,416 on oct 26.a coincidence?? you tell me.price fell from a high of 2 dollars before your call to a low of 1.36.it closed today at 1.50.thanks for the call moron.i am forwarding short info to sec and finra.
I have made money on 90% of his picks. After a new recommendation is sent out the stocks gap allot higher.I usually wait until after the hype of a new recommendation is over. I wait to buy on a sell off in the stock on no new news.I don’t buy all his picks, just the one I think have a good shot at being a commercial success.
Most of the recommendations have made money if you get in at the beginning and sale on the rise. Of coarse if you stay in for the long term that does not always work. I have found that Patrick knows his business very well and seems to be very educated in the medical biotech field. Agora has a rule that none of their advisers can own any of the stocks they recommend. And yes the stock is AVXL.
You guessed right… AVXL
I paid the $127 quarterly to get into Patrick Coxes newsletter, and $29 for Ray Blanco’s “TPC” alert. As a total moron, (new comer) to the arena of trading, I guess he’s been real good, don’t forget, low commissions and exposure to market fluxuations, for those caught up in frequent in-and-out trading, commission + taxes? Some of my buys with him went up and down, most have held on, though a bit down. I think he’s good, Patrick.
The wait cleans out the suckers. I am either that, or a future winner. I subscribed in April of 2010. Be keeping him.
I didn’t subscribe – couldn’t afford it. I just want to comment on the “Breakthrough Profits” pitch I wasted about 15 minutes watching. Of course, almost nothing good is for free, but for some reason, I thought that this would be an exception. So I watched the video pitch – thought it would be 3-5 minutes. I didn’t actually time it, but it must have been 15-20. All along, he kept saying mentioning “the stock that I’m about to reveal to you” – that “about to” was long in coming. He never did mention that “free” pick.
In the end, of course, the report WAS free (and with other “free” stuff that’s “worth” over $3,000)- as long as you pay the almost $900 annual subscription to the service! Can someone please explain to me how these guys think that they can continually get away with insulting our intelligence and wasting our time by offering something for free that costs so much?? Even if it’s WORTH the money!
I rated everything average, just so as not to skew everyone’s average either way. Sounds from everyone else like he knows what he’s talking about, and that on average, if you get in and out right, you can make profit, but not (yet) the “Legacy Profit” that he entices with.
Thanks for this site – for reviews from real people who have real experience with these sometimes pretty UNreal promotions and services. Buyer – and subscriber – beware!
I subscribed to BTR like so many about 2 years ago after reading one one of his compelling promises. I quickly moved into some of his highley touted life altering positions. After watching these go up everytime he pumps them, and to watch them fall again after his sell wears off I concluded his recos. are definately high risk – long term positions. I think if you have the fortitude to watch your investments rise and fall double digits in short periods MAYBE one or so of these will pan out. In the end to each his own, but if you choose to invest with Patrick Cox you need to blend his recos. with something else such as commodities or mid/large cap, otherwise hang onto your behind as you may lose it with BTR.
I invest in several high risk sectors..jr resource stocks & with Patrick Cox’s BTA
In the resource side, 997/1000 Co’s will never find an economic ore body, I pay for advice to avoid the 997.
Same here, Patrick weeds out the dreamers & schemers. Does that mean all ~12 picks a year only go straight up? Would be nice but an investor only needs 3 good stocks/yr to stay retired.
Patrick had the best Agora writer presentation this past July, annual Agora Wealth Symposium in Vancouver. The best outside presenters were DR Michael West & Marcio Mello….both whom are making me a whack of $$
Patrick does not worry about market timing……you should
Yeah his hatchet job on ISCO sucks…bot more
Shorters target his picks once the news dies down a bit, so be patient & pick them up after a short attack.
Great investment ideas can be profitable, picking up a whack more shares after a short attack is even better.
Patrick presents the ideas, timing is your forte.
I keep a core holding & will trade out/in as market dictates