By: Tomas Ronolski - AllPennyStocks.com News

Friday, March 15, 2013

For those of us that wake up every morning and when the feet hit the floor, the first move is towards the coffee machine; there’s nothing like that taste of that first sip of good coffee to get the day going. The 2012 Coffee Statistics Report shows that Americans alone consume 400 million cups of coffee per day. That’s 146 billion cups each year, making the U.S. the top coffee consumer in the world. Amazingly, coffee shops are still the fastest growing segment in the restaurant industry, with a 7 percent annual growth rate through 2012. To that end, it’s no wonder that companies like Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq:SBUX) and Green Mountain Coffee, Inc. (Nasdaq:GMCR) have been the focus of analysts as the two stalwarts slug it out for market share. Both have also seen attractive share price appreciation in the past 52 weeks, although Starbucks’ 14 percent increase seems paltry compared to Green Mountains’ whopping 182 percent rise in value.

A junior looking to wedge itself in with the big boys is Baristas Coffee Company Inc. (Pink Sheets:BCCI). Operating out of Seattle, Washington – the same city as Starbucks’ headquarters – Barista obviously commands a far smaller share of the market with its capitalization of only $11.81 million, but apparently it has some grand plans for the near future. The company operates a brand of drive-thru espresso stands.

Baristas carries a “pink sheet” listing on OTC Markets, but does file its financial reports there under “alternative reporting standards” for transparency, giving it a “current” status. The latest report, filed in November, shows the company generating $413,000 in revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2012. Gross profits were $321,788 and net profits were $116,839.

As disclosed last week, the upstart has already secured a new ticker (“BAPI”) with the NASDAQ stock exchange that is reserved for them when/if they complete the application process, comment periods and receive approval to uplist to the NASDAQ Capital Markets.

Today, Baristas said that it has submitted its application for submission on the NASDAQ market.

Now, the reality is that the company certainly has its work cut out for it. SEC filings need to be current, and independent Board of Directors must be established (which generally means insurance covering those members), Audit Committees, code of conduct and much more under NASDAQ’s Rule 4300. The company has plenty of fundamental moves to accomplish its goals, including getting its price per share much higher than its current 5.6 cent price tag equating to an $11.81 million market capitalization.

Barry Henthorn, chief executive at Baristas, acknowledges the tasks at hand and sees the company as up for the challenge that can help create liquidity, corporate validation, transparency and better funding potential to further expand operations.

"We have now taken another significant step towards Baristas moving from the OTC to the NASDAQ Capital Market. We recognize that there is still a great deal of work that must be completed in order for us to complete the process and that our success is dependent on our ability to complete our goals,” Henthorn said in a Friday statement.

Shares of BCCI have seen a substantial spike in value with the company opening new stores in Arizona in February and chatter about the move to a senior exchange, spiking from about 1.5 cents early in March to Thursday’s close of 5.6 cents for gains of 250 percent. Across the past 52 weeks, however, shares are basically flat. If the uplist is going to happen, investors should be seeing a flurry of corporate updates to meet all the necessary requirements, which could continue to support attention and upward pressure. Proper due diligence is, as always, encouraged.

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