Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Can I have your opinion on an electronic cigarette company called Vapor Corp.? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Vapor Corp., $1.89, symbol VPCO on the U.S. over-the-counter bulletin board (Shares outstanding: 81.0 million; Market cap: $153.1 million; www.vapor-corp.com), makes electronic cigarettes under the brand names Fifty-One, Krave, VaporX, EZ Smoker, Alternacig, Green Puffer, Americig, Fumare, Hookah Stix and Smoke Star. The company also develops private label brands for some of its distribution customers. Electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes,” are battery-powered products that let users inhale nicotine vapor without smoke, tar, ash or carbon monoxide. Vapor’s electronic cigarettes and accessories are available online and through infomercials and retail locations. For example, rechargeable and disposable versions of Krave are distributed to more than 60,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Chains that sell this brand include Rite Aid, Dollar General and Hess gas stations. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, Vapor’s revenue jumped to $6.4 million from $3.9 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were $0.01, compared to a loss of $0.02. The regulatory outlook for e-cigarettes is uncertain, but an…