Stocks of oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf Of Mexico have been under pressure lately, as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Energy XXI (EXXI), whose name utilizes the Roman numeral 21, has been no exception. But EXXI may be a clear example of Wall Street throwing out the baby with the bathwater and in this case some oil-polluted bathwater. Thanks to the BP (BP) - Transocean (RIG)- Halliburton (HAL) mess, companies operating in the Gulf Of Mexico may face new regulations and permit reviews, in the wake of the spill from the 18,000 foot deep BP-owned well. Already President Obama has initiated a ban on approving new deep water drilling contracts. However, Energy XXI and other shallow water drillers are also being punished.

One of Marketocracy.com's best stock pickers, Mike Koza owns a significant amount of EXXI in his virtual fund. Koza has outstanding track record of a 38% average annual return for the past five years. EXXI's stock has fallen from about $22 to about $15 recently. Here is what Mike had to say about EXXI: Read More...

The following article was written by Jack Weyland. Jack is a member of Marketocracy, Inc. and has outperformed the S&P 500 by 145% over the past five years. Disclosure: Jack owns DEPO in his personal account and it is a top holding in his Marketocracy.com account.

Depomed (DEPO) is a drug delivery company based in Menlo Park, CA that improves the bio-availability of generic drugs by using polymers usually used in the food and cosmetics industry to reduce side effects and lower the doses necessary for oral medications.

Once the drug using Depomed's Acuform technology is swallowed, it enlarges and becomes a gel-like substance that prevents it from passing through the stomach too quickly. This eliminates the "burst" of dosage that occurs in many other remedies that pass too quickly from the upper gastrointestinal tract. These bursts can worsen potential side effects. AcuForm technology keeps the drug in the stomach for eight to nine hours, improving its effectiveness and reducing side effects.

An example of Depomed's AcuForm technology being used in the real world is Glumetza. Glumetza is generic metformin (oral anti-diabetic) used for the treatment for type II or "adult onset" diabetes. Glumetza has grown to become the number one branded generic metformin drug.

When assessing the merits of a generic drug with a unique drug delivery technology, the most significant risk of course is patent protection. Depomed has had many challenges to its 's intellectual property and so far has prevailed. Read More...