K-Line ratings cut

Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s third-largest shipping line, fell the most in a week in Tokyo after Nomura Securities Co. cut its rating on the stock because of overcapacity among container lines.

K-Line, as Kawasaki Kisen is also known, fell as much as 3.3 percent to 385 yen and traded at 389 yen as of 9:52 a.m.

The shipping line, which gets more than 40 percent of its sales from transporting containers, is suffering from a slide in demand for furniture, building materials and electronic goods in the U.S. and Europe as the supply of ships increases. Nomura cut its rating on K-Line to “reduce” from “neutral”.

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Maersk shares drop after new offering

From Bloomberg

Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S fell the most in six months, as the company held its biggest share sale since World War II to help finance acquisitions in the oil and terminals businesses.

Maersk fell as much as 8.4 percent in Copenhagen, its biggest one-day drop since March 5. The shares traded at 34,000 kroner, down 7.9 percent, at 12:15 p.m.

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Dryships to sell more stock

The other day I noticed Dryships was one of the most actively traded stocks. They have just announced plans for a second stock offering in 2009.

I think people buy and sell this stock just as a gamble, because the price does not reflect the value, but it continues to go up.

I am not the only one who believes the stock is overvalued.

Martin Sommerseth Jaer, who follows DryShips for Arctic Securities and has a “sell” rating on the shipowner’s stock, says today’s announcement is not a surprise.

He told TradeWinds: “If you look at the extreme leverage in the company, this is an obvious outcome. The equity market is willing to purchase overpriced DryShips shares so why not issue stock?

“It is selling a dime for a dollar and, interestingly, the more dimes it sells for a dollar the more accretive it is for to previous shareholders as it aids net asset value."

This is because the equity is being raised at share price levels above underlying NAV, he explains.

click here for complete article from Tradewinds