Today, Blum Capital Partners'
Richard Blum
sells 7.9% of his shares of PRGX Global Inc. (
PRGX
), and 11.01% of his shares of Avid Technology Inc. (
AVID
). This represents more than 230,000 PRGX shares sold at $8.56
per share, and almost 900,000 AVID shares sold at $9.48 per
share, according to
GuruFocus Real Time Picks
.
Average stock prices for both companies have gone up since the
end of the second quarter. PRGX added about $1.79 to its price
per share, and AVID similarly increased its price per share by
about $1.59. Both companies have undergone declining revenue
growth percentages in the last five years; PRGX is down by 22.2%,
while AVID is down by 6.1%.
PRGX Global Inc. is an Atlanta-based global provider of recovery
audit and analytical services. It has served clients in more than
30 countries, and has expanded its services to industries
including retail, manufacturing, energy, communications,
healthcare, government and travel.
With a GuruFocus Business Predictability Rank of one star, PRGX
holds a Financial Strength ratio of 5 out of 10 and a
Profitability & Growth ratio of 5 out of 10. Its P/E ratio is
72.9 and its P/S ratio is 1.1.
Avid Technology Inc. holds similar rankings on GuruFocus. Also
with a Business Predictability Rank of one star, AVID has a
Financial Strength ratio of 5 out of 10, a Profitability &
Growth ratio of 4 out of 10, a P/E ratio of 14.2 and a P/S ratio
of .5.
Founded in 1987, Avid Technology is a company that develops
digital audio and video technology, whose target consumers fit a
wide and varied spectrum including film and television
production, music, video editing, music, live sound and
education. Its brands include M-Audio, Avid's audio solutions
branch that develops speakers, microphones and digital DJ
systems, Pinnacle Systems, providing software for home video
editing, and Sibellius, a software for professional music
composition and education.
Blum, whose investment philosophy includes "exercising patience
and discipline in waiting for opportunities to present
themselves," has also made headlines in the last month for
downsizing its stakes in global commercial real estate firm CBRE
Group Inc. (
CBG
), selling more than 9 million shares for about $17 per share.
This move brought Blum's stake to CBG down to 4%.
Although Blum's last few investment moves involved share
reductions, trends do not completely denote a lack of confidence.
Just last June, Blum reported buying more shares of JDA Software
Group Inc. (
JDA
), another member of the technology sector (as with AVID) that
targets business growth software solutions, as well as more
shares of eResearch Technology (
ERT
), a software applications provider targeting the pharmaceutical,
biotechnology and medical device industries (as with both AVID in
the tech sector and PRGX in the analytical and diagnostics
services).About GuruFocus: GuruFocus.com tracks the stocks picks
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