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Century Casinos, Inc. (CNTY $9.85) is an international casino company that owns and operates casinos and hotels in Colorado, South Africa, and the Czech Republic. It operates casinos aboard the ultra-luxury vessels of Silversea Cruises, The World of ResidenSea, and Oceania Cruises, owning 50% of and providing technical casino services to the Casino Millennium in the Marriott Hotel in Prague. Solid increases in quarterly earnings per share are meeting the minimum 25%+ guidelines and appear on pace to continue at above that rate based on consensus estimates.  Management’s 24% ownership stake aligns its interest with shareholders.  Institutional ownership during the fourth quarter reportedly rose by 855,000 shares and now represents approximately 24% of the total shares outstanding.  CNTY hails from the 41 member Leisure-gaming/equipment group, ranked 18th out of the 197 industry groups tracked, solidly in the top quartile - where the odds increase that you will find a winner.

What to Look For and What to Look Out For: Stocks trading at under $15, or $12, or $10 per share are also more often discouraged per strict CANSLIM interpretation, and there are other concerns that deserve mention when considering all other key criteria. Over the past year, the company’s financials have shown tremendous improvement with four consecutive double-digit percentage gains in quarterly sales revenues, although growth in revenues is not at a 25%+ rate which would be preferred under the guidelines. One other concern is that its Return on Equity (ROE) is reported at 11%, below the 17% guideline. While the major indices have bounced off key technical support areas, the market's lack of heavy volume behind meaningful gains also raises a red flag and serious questions as to the level of institutional conviction behind the broad market's rally attempt.  That hurts investors' odds.  Consequently, it is advised that aggressive investors should go lightly on the gas pedal, as caution is especially important when investing in low priced, micro-cap stocks. Deterioration leading to a close under its 03/01/05 high close of $9.20 would negate the bullish 04/07/05 action and be cause for concern.  Stop losses at 7-8% are always advised, and a violation of the 50 DMA on heavy volume would be considered a technical sell signal.  To confirm the breakout to new 15-week highs, watch for it to build on its recent gains, preferably with another good advance on above average volume. This would be considered an important follow-through day, or added confirmation that the uptrend in the stock has institutional conviction sufficient enough to lead to a sustained advance.

Chart courtesy www.stockcharts.com

In terms of candlestick chart analysis, on the above graph it formed a bullish hammer on February 15^th as it closed near the session’s high after a moderate intra-day sell-off. This also coincided with it reaching prior lows (January 12^th) or technical chart support that set the stage for a rally. The stock attracted clear buying demand in late February, rising to the $9.25 area on above average volume.  In textbook fashion, the issue eased as volume dried up. The March 8^th failed reversal session qualified as a “shooting star” in candlestick terminology.  This formation entails a small real body because the stock closes near the session’s opening price and at the lower end of its intra-day range, with a long upper shadow (sometimes called "wicks") represented by the session’s high. The April 7^th session is referred to as a “bullish belt-hold line” in candlestick analysis, as the stock opened near the session’s low and closed well above its opening price, although in this instance it fell $0.02 shy of its pivot point of $9.87 chosen for this analysis.