Tuesday, December 31, 2013

AbbVie Replaces Pfizer On Goldman’s Conviction Buy List

As far as Goldman Sachs is concerned, Pfizer (PFE) is out and AbbVie (ABBV) is in.

Analyst Jami Rubin and her team removed Pfizer from the firm's much touted Conviction Buy list on Tuesday, and replaced it with AbbVie.

Now don't panic. Goldman isn't downgrading Pfizer. Rubin maintained her Buy rating and raised her 12-month price target to $35 from $34. She writes:

We have long been advocates of the PFE breakup/ spin story, having argued for such a restructuring as early as November 2008. While as previously discussed we continue to expect PFE to move down the path of a full break up by 2017 (announcement likely in 2015/2016), we no longer see our call as out of consensus. PFE is up 82.5% since being added to the CL on 8/9/11 vs. the S&P 500 up 53.9%.

Still, Rubin and her team say they "simply see greater upside to AbbVie," which has a price target of $60 a share. Rubin writes:

With an $18B revenue base, ABBV has more pipeline leverage than most other mid-sized biopharma peers and is entering a long period of robust clinical trial read-outs beginning Q4.

Shares of Pfizer fell 1.7% today to $31.28, while AbbVie rose 3.4% to $50.

Firms work to make the most of their young advisers

When Adam Thurgood started his career as an adviser in his early 20s, he already had a background as a financial analyst for Prudential Securities, but it still took two years before he was allowed to wade into client services.

Now, as the junior partner at HighTower Las Vegas, Mr. Thurgood, 36, and his colleagues are looking to 20-somethings not yet on their feet as financial advisers to tackle one of their industry's most nettlesome problems: managing their clients' money when it inevitably changes hands to the next generation.

The Henderson, Nev.-based practice, which is part of Chicago-based financial services firm HighTower Advisors, decided to empower two junior employees — Kyle Porterfield, 25, and Steven Paulson, 21 — with the responsibility of developing a business strategy for the next generation of clients. The move reflects a nascent effort by the industry to get young workers involved in meaningful projects sooner than in the past.

The HighTower team is just one example of how the model for bringing new advisers up through a practice is changing. In the past, new entrants to the field followed a traditional apprentice-type model, where they would learn the ropes from established advisers.

More: What NextGen advisers want from employers

Increasingly, firms are treating that training as more of a reciprocal relationship. And they are seeking the input of young and would-be advisers in a number of different ways.

Some put young employees in sink-or-swim, face-to-face interactions with clients, while others prefer to use their trainees in technical or research positions. Still others are tapping into their younger workers' skill sets in areas such as social media to bring their older workers up-to-date.

At HighTower Las Vegas, the junior employees came up with the idea of creating a Millennial advisory board, which brings together the children of wealthy clients to discuss what they want and expect from the firm.

“The numbers are shocking how few Millennials keep their parents' adviser, and that's what we're trying to solve,” Mr. Thurgood said. “They can relate to these people a little bit more easily than older people.”

The team's moves echo industry consultants who say that firms must be more proactive not only in training young advisers but in seeking their input in order to improve retention and harness communications technologies to meet the needs of the next generation.

“Five or 10 years ago, we still had the luxury. The current generation of advisers were still young enough,” said Kim Dellarocca, global head of segment marketing and practice management at Pershing, a support firm for independent advisers.

But less than a third of advisers are under 46, according to research firm FA Insight.

And now that the average adviser across most of the industry's channels is over 50, the industry lacks the capacity to serve younger clients at a moment when it faces a gro! wing threat from the Internet, Ms. Dellarocca said.

“We open ourselves to disruption, because someone will figure it out,” she said.

FPA president Michael Branham on why all mentor relationships are mutually beneficial

REVERSE MENTORING

Ms. Dellarocca's firm has started its own so-called reverse-mentoring program to recruit young talent, pairing nine staff members under 40 with senior executives asking them for feedback on company policies.

“We're doing what we think [advisers] should be doing,” said Gerald Tamburro, 52, a managing director at Pershing. “This is a program we think will have a significant impact on the bottom line.”

Mr. Tamburro is being mentored by Pershing employee Erin Kronenberg, 30, from whom he seeks advice on using Microsoft Excel, among other topics, he said.

The young mentors also meet together and brainstorm ideas on topics ranging from corporate strategy to technology.

Young advisers are also working to develop social media, which for most advisers is a little-used and unproven tool for generating new clients, as a cornerstone of the practice.

Heather Ford said that she hopes eventually to add financial planning services and a social-media focus to her mother's accounting firm.

The 26-year-old student at Texas Tech University studies a curriculum of personal financial planning, which didn't exist until recent years and includes courses in social media.

“That's going to help me be more marketable,” Ms. Ford said. “You have to think about how you're going to market yourself and what you're going to offer a firm.”

At Cambridge Investment Research Inc., a panel of advisers 40-something and younger have also been tasked with brainstorming for the future. The advisers meet face to face, twice a year, and split into three subgroups focused on forecasting business models of the future, suggesting corporate policies and procedures, and developing technology solutions.

The program has been in place since 2009, and one of its first accomplishments was developing the company's social-media strategy, according to Amy Webber, the independent broker-dealer's president and chief operating officer.

“They've been really aggressive in ! pushing us,” she said.

Mark Tibergien of Pershing on the benefits of reverse mentoring

INFORMAL INPUT

Generally, advisers are seeking the input of their younger employees through more informal means, often asking those who are more proficient with data and analysis to add value in those areas while they develop the arguably harder skill of relating to clients.

Many young advisers struggle to gain the trust of clients, most of whom are in their 50s and 60s, and who tend to see wrinkles and gray hair as symbolic of credibility but look past the other skills that those advisers can bring to the table.

Harvey L. Snider Jr. manages more than $150 million for Merrill Lynch clients with his two sons, Luke, 26, and Sam, 25, in Duluth, Ga.

He said that they face some resistance from clients, many of whom are elderly widows, despite the young advisers' empathy and skill using iPad apps to illustrate client presentations.

“Some of the comments that come back is that I just like being seen with the boys, but: "I like you handling the money,'” said the senior Mr. Snider, 54. “"You have the gray hair.'”

Beyond easing the transition to working with clients and strengthening a practice with new skills, creating a more reciprocal relationship with would-be advisers may also help alleviate the high costs and risks associated with bringing on fresh talent.

Hiring and training new advisers costs tens of thousands of dollars, a burden for small, independent firms, which earn between about $90,000 and $1.3 million in pretax income, on average, according to the 2013 InvestmentNews/Moss Adams Adviser Compensation and Staffing Study.

The expense speaks to the complexity of incubating new talent, as most firms reward client relationships with wealthy clients, but young advisers lack the tools, such as cold calling, that a previous generation of sales-oriented advisers used to develop their Rolodexes. Creating a more reciprocal relationship might give new employees more time to cultivate their skills, while still providing an immediate benefit to the practices in which they work! .

For that reason, Jim Harris, an adviser who runs a practice management consulting firm, said that he often recommends that his peers take on a young trainee.

“The biggest reason why it doesn't happen more is because the advisers are shortsighted, and I've had to kind of push and prod and poke to get folks to do this,” said Mr. Harris, whose firm, Financial Practice Management Corp. is based in Marietta, Ga. “It needs to be done right, but if it is done right and the hire is correct, it almost always lends itself to making more money.”TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

For incoming advisers, new training opportunities with existing teams offer ways to get established when the number of spots in training programs at large firms have been reduced since the financial crisis, and going it alone comes with high risks.

“The financial crisis was really the kiss of death, but now they're starting them up again, but very selectively,” Sharon T. Sager, a 30-year veteran of the securities industry at UBS Wealth Management Americas and its predecessors, said of the training programs.

Her team manages $1.1 billion for clients.

“The failure rate of starting out on your own without any experience is huge,” said Kelsey Dougherty Plummer, 24, who assists a 46-year-old adviser, Pamela S. Rigsby, in developing investment solutions for clients at the independent Raymond James Financial Inc.-affiliated firm Pursuit Wealth Strategies in Raleigh, N.C.

Now advisers are increasingly having the “aha” moment that they need young advisers to succeed in order for their businesses to grow while clients' assets diminish as they spend in retirement, according to Joni Youngwirth, managing principal for practice management at Commonwealth Financial Network.

Young advisers also provide a way for firm owners to plan for succession and for firms to handle the extra labor that comes with growing practices.

“The age thing is kicking in, and they realize they've built up something that has genuine value, but unless they've got someone to take it over, they will not see any of that value,” Ms. Youngwirth said. “There's a pretty quick wake-up call.” Like what you've read?

Monday, December 30, 2013

The Basics Of Option Price

Options are contracts that give option buyers the right to purchase or sell a security at a predetermined price on or before a specified day. They are most commonly used in the stock market but are also found in futures, commodity and forex markets. There are several types of options, including flexible exchange options, exotic options, as well as stock options you may receive from an employer as compensation, but for our purposes here, our discussion will focus on options related to the stock market and more specifically, their pricing.

Who's Buying Options and Why?
A variety of investors use option contracts to hedge positions, as well as buy and sell stock, but many option investors are speculators. These speculators usually have no intention of exercising the option contract, which is to buy or sell the underlying stock. Instead, they hope to capture a move in the stock without paying a large sum of money. It is important to have an edge when buying options.

A common mistake some option investors make is buying in anticipation of a well-publicized event, like an earnings announcement or drug approval. Option markets are more efficient than many speculators realize. Investors, traders and market makers are usually aware of upcoming events and buy up option contracts, driving up the price, costing the investor more money.

Changes in Intrinsic Value
When purchasing an option contract, the biggest driver of success is the stock's price movement. A call buyer needs the stock to rise, whereas a put buyer needs it to fall. The option's premium is made up of two parts: intrinsic value and extrinsic value. Intrinsic value is similar to home equity; it is how much of the premium's value is driven by the actual stock price.

For instance, we could own a call option on a stock that is currently trading at $49 per share. We will say that we own a call with a strike price of $45 and the option premium is $5. Because the stock is $4 more than the strike's price, then $4 of the $5 premium is intrinsic value (equity), which means that the remaining dollar is extrinsic value. We can also figure out how much we need the stock to move to profit by adding the price of the premium to the strike price (5 + 45 = 50). Our break-even point is $50, which means the stock must move above $50 before we can profit (not including commissions).

Options with intrinsic value are said to be in the money (ITM) and options with no intrinsic value but are all extrinsic value are said to be out of the money (OTM). Options with more extrinsic value are less sensitive to the stock's price movement while options with a lot of intrinsic value are more in sync with the stock price. An option's sensitivity to the underlying stock's movement is called delta. A delta of 1.0 tells investors that the option will likely move dollar per dollar with the stock, whereas a delta of 0.6 means the option will move approximately 60 cents on the dollar. The delta for puts is represented as a negative number, which demonstrates the inverse relationship of the put compared to the stock movement. A put with a delta of -0.4 should raise 40 cents in value if the stock drops $1.

Changes in Extrinsic Value
Extrinsic value is often referred to as time value, but that is only partially correct. It is also composed of implied volatility that fluctuates as demand for options fluctuates. There are also influences from interest rates and stock dividend changes. However, interest rates and dividends are too small of an influence to worry about in this discussion, so we will focus on time value and implied volatility.

Time value is the portion of the premium above intrinsic value that an option buyer pays for the privilege of owning the contract for a certain period. Over time, this time value premium gets smaller as the option expiration date gets closer. The longer an option contract is, the more time premium an option buyer will pay for. The closer to expiration a contract becomes, the faster the time value melts. Time value is measured by the Greek letter theta. Option buyers need to have particularly efficient market timing because theta eats away at the premium whether it is profitable or not. Another common mistake option investors make is allowing a profitable trade to sit long enough that theta reduces the profits substantially. A clear exit strategy for being right or wrong should be set before buying an option.

Another major portion of extrinsic value is implied volatility – also known as vega to option investors. Vega will inflate the option premium, which is why well-known events like earnings or drug trials are often less profitable for option buyers than originally anticipated. These are all reasons why an investor needs an edge in option buying.

The Bottom Line
Options can be useful to hedge your risk or speculate since they give you the right, not obligation, to buy/sell a security at a predetermined price. The option premium is determined by intrinsic and extrinsic value. There are numerous ways to benefit from using option contracts.To learn more about option strategies that you can take advantage of, please read our other option articles.


Twitter is Still Overextended, Overvalued (TWTR)

The explanations for the 20% plunge Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) shares have suffered over the past couple of trading days are widely varied, but there's a core idea common to all of them... TWTR shares soared 87% over the course of the month before hitting Thursday's peak, and being overbought, were vulnerable to such a pullback. That may not be the overreaching reason TWTR is under fire here, however. (And make no mistake - Twitter shares are still under fire right now.) The true, ultimate reason this stock has fallen sharply of late - and is apt to keep falling for the foreseeable future - is far more alarming.

And that alarming reason is? Newsflash: TWTR is ridiculously, stupidly overvalued, and in no way, shape, or form, can even the stock's now-much-lower price of $60 per share is nearly impossible to justify... even if traders are truly thinking of it as a long, long-term play.

It's undoubtedly going to be an unpopular idea, particularly among the segment of the trading crowd that likes to be vocal (and take personal shots at anyone who voices a dissenting opinion). You may even some of those "colorful" counter-opinions in support of Twitter - at any price - below. That's fine. The only thing a newcomer or a current shareholder needs to think about, and justify, is how TWTR could even come close to eking out more gains when the stock's price has already greatly exceeded the market's norms.

Just to put things in perspective, the average revenue forecast for Twitter Inc. in 2014 is right around $1.0 billion. Even giving the micro-blogging site another year to grow the top line, the pros expect TWTR will generate (and this is a high-end estimate) no more than $1.8 billion in sales. The firms that underwrote the IPO don't foresee anything more than $1.3 billion in 2015. Compared to the current market cap of $33.7 billion, Twitter is trading at 25.9 times its distant forward-looking sales. Compared to the market-typical P/S ratio of 2.5, it's alarmingly easy to say TWTR is ten-times overvalued.

Twitter Inc. isn't profitable yet, and may not be anytime soon. Even assuming it could be profitable in accordance with EBITDA projections of $210 million in 2015 and 2015 EBITDA projections of $395 million, the stock's trading at a distant forward-looking P/E of 85... before factoring in income taxes and any depreciation (TWTR doesn't have much in the way of interest-payment liabilities). That's about seven times greater than the market's normal P/E of 12.0, which is based on a post-EBITDA figure. On a GAAP basis, TWTR is realistically priced somewhere around 100 times future (2015) earnings.

The fans and die-hards will be quick to suggest the revenue and profit outlooks are too low, and that Twitter Inc. is going to blow the outlooks out of the water when the time comes. That's fine - everyone's entitled to an opinion (even a faulty one). Just for the record though, if TWTR does end up doing the impossible and topping sales and earnings estimates in 2014 and 2015, it'll be the first technology and/or social media name at its current stage in its lifetime to do so. When an investment thesis requires a miracle to happen (for the first time ever), it may be time to rethink any optimistic feelings behind your bullishness.

For more trading ideas and insights like these, be sure to sign up for the free SmallCap Network newsletter.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Minyanville: At Apple, investors still see evol…

Lest we forget, Apple wasn't the only tech titan trying to recapture some of its former glory on Tuesday. Nokia, whose 14-year reign as the world's number-one cell phone maker abruptly ended in 2012, also unveiled a battery of new products.

The Finnish firm's fall from grace is a salient reminder that, in technology, the only constant is change. Amid increased competition, and having recently reported a first-ever sequential slowdown in iPad sales, Apple's stock has tumbled 18% in 12 months. Are yesterday's rollouts enough to stop the rot?

First off, snap judgments should be avoided with all things Apple. How silly does the snickering and skepticism that greeted the original iPad's introduction in 2010 now seem. It would go on to become the most talked-about tablet since Moses, upending an entire industry en route.

That said, the much-anticipated announcements appear to continue a troubling trend of evolution rather than revolution from the Cupertino company. This may be why shares responded by ending off 0.29%, admittedly after nine straight increases, even as the S&P 500 Index advanced to another record.

The absence of a fingerprint sensor got the thumbs-down from many, yet there was still much to admire. Highlights included faster processing power, a sharper resolution Retina display on the iPad Mini, and a re-branded iPad Air that is notably lighter and sleeker than previous incarnations. All with the Jony Ive-inspired aesthetic beauty we have come to expect of Apple, a design delight that remains a marvel even as it is increasingly taken for granted.

Surprises? A couple. Apple interestingly opted to make its new Mac operating system, OS X Mavericks, available for free. Its CEO, obviously taking aim at Office, claimed that by doing so, "We are turning the industry on its ear." Microsoft stock, down 1.17% on the day, clearly didn't like the sound of that.

And an unexpected price hike for the Mini indicates it continues to cannibalize -- if a man called Cook will! forgive the phrase -- the flagship iPad itself to a greater extent than anticipated. This smaller device is increasingly important for Apple, proving that even Steve Jobs got it wrong on occasion. (The Apple legend once famously called tiny tablets "dead on arrival.")

All told, yesterday's developments are essentially incremental upgrades, aimed at keeping things ticking until either the iWatch or Apple TV are finally unwrapped. The latter, especially, has become Silicon Valley's version of Waiting for Godot, and if Apple, two years after the passing of its iconic co-founder, does not deliver soon, investors' patience will eventually wear as thin as these latest products.

This story originally appeared on Minyanville.

MORE FROM MINYANVILLE

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Apple rekindles rivalry with old foe

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Saturday, December 28, 2013

China growth data boost stock futures

Accelerating economic growth in China was underwriting gains in U.S. stock futures Friday.

Dow Jones industrial average index futures rose 0.2%, Standard & Poor's 500 index futures gained 0.2% and Nasdaq index futures added 0.5%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 surged 0.7% to close at an all-time high of 1,733.15. The Dow fell 2.18 points to 15,371.65. The Nasdaq rose 23.71 points, or 0.6%, to 3,863.15, a 13-year high.

THURSDAY: S&P 500 closes at all-time high, Dow dips

China's economic growth rebounded in the latest quarter to 7.8% from a two-decade low of 7.5% in the second quarter, helped by government stimulus measures. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose just under 1% on the news and China's Shanghai composite index added 0.2%.

GLOBAL MARKETS: China's economic growth rebounds to 7.8%

Regional markets in Europe tracked higher on the last trading day of the week. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was up 0.5%, Benchmarks in France and Germany were up by a similar amount.

In energy markets, benchmark crude for November delivery was up 14 cents at $100.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $1.62 to $100.67 on Thursday.

Teradata shares drop after hours on cut outlook

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Teradata Corp. shares fell late Monday after the data-services company cut its outlook for the year.

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Shares of Teradata (TDC)  fell 11% to $46.65 on heavy volume after the company said it now expects adjusted full-year earnings of $2.70 to $2.80 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings of $2.85 a share.

Teradata also expects adjusted third-quarter earnings of 69 cents to 70 cents a share on revenue of $665 million. Analysts forecast 69 cents a share on revenue of $700 million.

Demand Media Inc. (DMD)  shares declined 0.3% to $5.84 in light volume after the company said it had accepted the resignation of its chief executive, Richard Rosenblatt, effective Oct. 31.

Yahoo Inc. (YHOO)  said late Thursday it will accept questions from the public during its earnings call late Tuesday that are tweeted with the hashtag #YHOOearnings. Shares rose less than 0.1% to $34.02 in moderate volume.

Shares of Resource Capital Corp. (RSO)  declined 3.8% to $5.82 in moderate volume after the real-estate investment trust said it would launch a $100 million offering in notes due 2018.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO): All Set To Tap Radio-Access Market

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is eyeing the radio access market and the move would align well with Cisco's mobility portfolio and Wi-Fi expertise. This should enable Cisco to offer a comprehensive solution for service providers and support the transition to next-generation radio access networks, a market valued at $40 billion.

The logic has a rationale as the service provider-focused, licensed radio access piece is a key missing component of Cisco's much improved wireless arsenal.

The addition of radio-access services would complement Cisco Mobile Exchange framework, which provides the gateway from the radio-access network to IP networks and their value-added services.

It would also support Cisco's Radio-Access Network (RAN) optimization solution set. This technology supports the industry's accelerating migration toward IP by taking it all the way to the cell site.

Cisco's RAN set enables the operator to reduce backhaul costs, improve cell site maintenance, and support additional services that can be provisioned from this valuable asset. Backhaul and cell site maintenance represent a significant operating expense for most mobile network operators (typically 20 to 30 percent).

Moreover, carriers face many challenges as they migrate their networks toward 3G. These challenges include evaluating different radio-access technologies while dealing with constrained operating and capital expenditure budgets.

The latest $310 million acquisition of U.K-based Ubiquisys is a step in that direction. Ubiquisys is a leading provider of intelligent 3G and long-term evolution (LTE) small-cell technologies that provide seamless connectivity across mobile heterogeneous networks for service providers.

Ubiquisys makes transmitters that reduce carriers' costs and service reliability as it shifts traffic from congested towers to more targeted locations inside an office, home or public space. Moreover, the acquisition is timely as investment in this space would increase next year ! as carriers shell out more money to improve coverage in crowded areas such as stadiums and convention centers.

Cisco has been concentrating more on the mobile wireless space. In January, the company acquired Denver-based BroadHop Inc., a company that lets service providers better separate data traffic, allowing them to offer customers premium service packages with higher speeds.

Cisco also bought $475 million for Intucell Ltd., an Israel-based software company that helps mobile-network operators manage traffic more efficiently.

Cisco may enter the radio access market by adopting its tried and tested spin-in model. The strategy would be similar to the models adopted for UCS, and now Insieme.

"Given the tough economics and competitive dynamics of this market, we believe Cisco may try to disrupt this market following its tried-and-tested spin-in model i.e. funding a start-up with the option of integrating it (via an acquisition) subsequently," UBS analyst Amitabh Passi wrote in a note to clients.

As of now, it is unlikely to envision a large-scale acquisition by Cisco of one of the large incumbents to break into this market.

However, Cisco is not alone in this market as it faces formidable competitors including Ericsson, Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent, and NSN, and it is unclear to where, and how Cisco will differentiate itself at attractive profitability (consistent with Cisco's long-term margin goals).

"At this juncture, it is our initial belief that the increasing miniaturization of radios, rising software content, and cloudbased technologies may provide the kind of opening Cisco hopes to capitalize on," Paasi said.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Top Five Guru-Held Technology Stocks

Using the GuruFocus Aggregated Portfolio Screener you can filter results to see what companies maintain the highest amount of guru ownership. By using this screener, we filtered down to see which technology companies are held by the most gurus. As of the second quarter, the following five tech stocks are held by the largest number of gurus.

Microsoft (MSFT)

As of the close of the second quarter there were 55 guru owners of Microsoft. During the past quarter there were 20 gurus buying shares of MSFT and there were 34 gurus making sells of their stake in the company. These gurus maintain a combined weighting of 137.09%.

The top three guru shareholders of Microsoft:

1. Dodge & Cox: 77,260,349 shares, representing 0.93% of the company's shares outstanding and 3.2% of the fund's total portfolio.
2. PRIMECAP Management: 63,165,491 shares, representing 0.76% of the company's shares outstanding and 3.1% of the fund's total portfolio.
3. Jeff Ubben: 57,750,000 shares, representing 0.69% of the company's shares outstanding and 20.5% of his total assets managed.

Microsoft generates revenue by developing, manufacturing, licensing and supporting a wide range of software products and services for many different types of computing devices.

Microsoft's historical revenue and net income:

[ Enlarge Image ]

The company recently declared a dividend of $0.28 per share. This dividend represents an increase of $0.05 per share or a 22% increase from its previous dividend.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:

[ Enlarge Image ]

The analysis on Microsoft reports that the price is near a five-year high, its interest coverage is comfortable and its revenue has sh! own predictable revenue and earnings growth.

Microsoft has a market cap of $272.73 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $32.74 with a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/S ratio of 3.50 and a P/B ratio of 3.50. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 14.4% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated Microsoft the business predictability rank of 3.5-star.

Google (GOOG)

As of the close of the second quarter there were 47 guru owners of Google. During the past quarter there were 16 gurus buying shares of GOOG and there were 27 gurus making sells of their stake in the company. These gurus maintain a combined weighting of 113.63%.

The top three guru shareholders of Google:

1. PRIMECAP Management: 3,058,842 shares, representing 0.92% of the company's shares outstanding and 3.9% of the fund's total assets managed.
2. Frank Sands: 2,776,485 shares, representing 0.83% of the company's shares outstanding and 8.2% of his total portfolio.
3. Chris Davis: 2,678,747 shares, representing 0.8% of the company's shares outstanding and 6% of his total portfolio.

Google is a global technology company engaged in improving the ways people connect with information. The company's business is mainly focused around the following key areas: search, advertising, operating systems and platforms, enterprise and hardware products.

Google's historical revenue and net income:

[ Enlarge Image ]

The company's most recent quarterly report highlighted:

· Revenues up 19% to $14.11 billion.
· GAAP net income of 3.23 billion, compared to $2.79 billion from last year.
· GAAP EPS was $9.54 on 338 million diluted shares outstanding, up from $8.42 last year.

The analysis on Google reports that the company's price is near a 10-year high, the company has issued $5 billion of debt over the past three years, its interest coverage is comfortable and it's shown sign! s of pred! ictable revenue and earnings growth.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that Google is currently overvalued:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Google has a market cap of $295.22 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $886.50 with a P/E ratio of 26.40, a P/S ratio of 5.30 and a P/B ratio of 3.80. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 37% over the past 10 years.

GuruFocus rated Google the business predictability rank of 3-star.

Cisco Systems (CSCO)

As of the close of the second quarter there were 46 guru owners of Cisco Systems. During the past quarter there were 23 gurus buying shares of CSCO and there were 20 gurus making sells of their stake in the company. These gurus maintain a combined weighting of 69.58%.

The top three guru shareholders of Cisco Systems:

1. Donald Yacktman: 52,890,691 shares, representing 0.99% of the company's shares outstanding and 6.1% of his total assets managed.
2. Jeremy Grantham: 49,830,519 shares, representing 0.93% of the company's shares outstanding and 3.2% of his total portfolio.
3. Jean-Marie Eveillard: 43,088,314 shares, representing 0.81% of the company's shares outstanding and 3.3% of his total portfolio.

Cisco Systems sells networking and communications products and provides related services. The company's two main products are switches and routers, but Cisco essentially touches everything in the networking industry, from security to storage to application switching.

Cisco's historical revenue and net income:

[ Enlarge Image ]

The analysis on Cisco reports that the company's price is near a three-year high, that over the past three years they have issued $939 million of debt, the company has shown predictable revenue and earnings growth and the dividend yield is at a three-year high.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the ! company i! s currently undervalued:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Cisco Systems has a market cap of $128.14 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $23.90 with a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/S ratio of 2.70 and a P/B ratio of 2.20. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 8.4% over the past 10 years.

GuruFocus rated Cisco the business predictability rank of 3.5-star.

Apple (AAPL)

As of the close of the second quarter there were 43 guru owners of Apple. During the past quarter there were 27 gurus buying shares of AAPL and there were 22 gurus making sells of their stake in the company. These gurus maintain a combined weighting of 72.04%.

The top three guru shareholders of Apple:

1. David Einhorn: 2,397,706 shares, representing 0.26% of the company's shares outstanding and 17.8% of Einhorn's total portfolio.
2. Ken Fisher: 1,532,339 shares, representing 0.17% of the company's shares outstanding and 1.6% of his total assets managed.
3. Jeremy Grantham: 1,257,717 shares, representing 0.14% of the company's shares outstanding and 1.3% of his total portfolio.

Apple designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication devices, and portable digital music and video players and sell a variety of related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions. The company's products and services include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and OS X operating systems, iCloud and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings.

Apple's historical revenue and net income:

[ Enlarge Image ]

The company recently released its iPhone 5s and 5c which are reportedly doing really well in the U.S. market.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that Apple is currently undervalued:

[ Enlarge Image ]

The analysis on Apple reports that the company's revenue has slowed over the past year, its operating margin is expanding and its asset growth is faster than its revenue growth.

Apple has a market cap of $441.11 billion. Its shares are trading at around $485.54 with a P/E ratio of 12.10, a P/S ratio of 2.70 and a P/B ratio of 3.60. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 81.6% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated Apple the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.

Oracle Corporation (ORCL)

As of the close of the second quarter there were 39 guru owners of Oracle. During the past quarter there were 29 gurus buying shares of ORCL and there were 10 gurus making sells of their stake in the company. These gurus maintain a combined weighting of 76.74%.

The top three guru shareholders of Oracle:

1. Jeremy Grantham: 49,839,220 shares, representing 1.08% of the company's shares outstanding and 4% of his total assets managed.
2. Meryl Witmer: 37,704,501 shares, representing 0.81% of the company's shares outstanding and 6.2% of her total portfolio.
3. PRIMECAP Management: 24,270,386 shares, representing 0.52% of the company's shares outstanding and 1.1% of the fund's total portfolio.

Oracle is a provider of enterprise software and a provider of computer hardware products and services. The company provides technologies of cloud computing, including database and middleware as well as web-based applications, virtualization, clustering and systems management.

Oracle's historical revenue and net income:

[ Enlarge Image ]

The company has announced three new or newly improved products today. They announced a Oracle database in-memory option to accelerate analytics, data warehousing reporting and OLTP. They also announced that that the company had enhanced its in-memory applications with new Ora! cle datab! ase in-memory option. Lastly, the company unveiled its fastest and scalable server and engineered system, the SPARC M6-32 and Oracle SuperCluster M6-32. To find more about these products click here.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Oracle has a market cap of $157.17 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $33.94 with a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/S ratio of 4.30 and a P/B ratio of 3.60. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 19.8% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated Oracle the business predictability rank of 5-star.

You can check out other top held sectors of the market by using the Aggregated Screener here.

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Related links:GuruFocus Aggregated Portfolio ScreenerJean-Marie EveillardTry a free 7-day premium membership

Thursday, December 26, 2013

IBM Sells Customer Care Business (IBM)

IBM (IBM) announced today that it has closed a deal with SYNNEX to sell its customer care outsourcing services segment.

The deal was struck for a total of $505 million with roughly $430 million of that figure coming from cash. The deal also mandated that SYNNEX enter a multi-year agreement with IBM as partners for global customer care and outsourcing services.

SYNNEX, a Fortune 500 firm, is known for its IT supply chain services. The California-based firm trades under the ticker SNX and has seen its stock price soar approximately 60% since the middle of April.

IBM shares were up $1.62, or 0.87%, at Tuesday’s close. The stock is down just over 2% in 2013.

The U.S. Navy Loves This Micro Cap

As a concept, tidal power seems straightforward enough:

The ocean moves continuously without incurring any problematic conditions like lack of wind or sun, as is the case in the best-known renewable energy sources. With a constant source of motion, all that's needed to generate power is a drive shaft connected to a dynamo.

But a concept - by itself - doesn't make any money... especially in the "renewable energy" space. You need an effective product to make an impact.

That's why the U.S. Navy loves this little company...

It's Always High Tide for These Buoys

Harnessing tidal power involves using coastal waters - and their wave and tidal currents - as a continuous source of energy. And several recent tidal pilot projects have indicated that there is considerable potential here for significant power generation.

Infrastructure development, of course, requires more than proof of concept. And you also need some significant investment. But this is where things are picking up...

To further this cause, the U.S. Department of Energy has entered the discussion by providing a new $16 million round of funding for tidal power. It includes 17 initiatives to improve efficiency, along with some necessary data accumulation and environmental impact studies.

There is no doubt the potential here is impressive...

Current DOE estimates put the possible annual power to be obtained at more than 1,400 terawatt hours of electricity. That would be enough electricity to power millions of homes.

As with most efforts to develop what remains a niche source, most of the attempts thus far have been by smaller companies with limited capital and a restrained ability to stay afloat (no pun intended) until the market expands.

But Ocean Power Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq GM: OPTT) - a firm I have followed for some time - is different.

The whole company is worth just $16 million at the moment. But it's having success now using stationary buoys to generate power.

Any move into the tidal wave sector remains a high-risk investment move, to be sure. Ocean Power Technologies, for example, has lost 67.5% of its value since I began tracking the stock in early April of 2011.

However, there's still some merit here.

In addition to landing one of the new DOE grants, Ocean Power has one pretty important partner in its current projects.

It's the U.S. Navy.

In fact, through their Ocean Renewable Energy joint project, the two can lay claim to developing the first commercial grid connection for tidal power. The facility has been in operation since 2010 and is located at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, in Oahu.

In addition, the Navy also recently announced an increase in activity at its related (and already operational) Hawaiian wave power test bed. The objective here, according to a report several months ago from the United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLFT), is to provide an up-to-date shared Research and Development (R&D) platform for private sector wave power developers.

As the sector leader, Ocean Power Technologies is likely to be the first company to benefit from this decision.

Yet, even the ability to estimate tidal and wave patterns with any accuracy - thereby enabling a realistic efficiency measurement - is several years away.

So any move at this point into companies like OPTT remains a speculative one at best. Still, in the more diversified energy balance emerging, the tides will have their place.

In that case, working with the U.S. Navy is certainly a big plus.

Syrian Crisis Update

Meanwhile, the move to punish Syria has been slower to develop than anticipated last week. As a result, after a major move up, NYMEX futures contract oil prices have subsided 2% over the two trading sessions leading up to Labor Day. No matter. Once the decision is made to attack, the angst will return with force.

Markets dislike uncertainty, and pending military actions present the greatest uncertainty of all. That means there will be volatility moving forward. Expect it will now take at least another week before the U.S. Congress reconvenes to consider the Obama Administration's request for authorization to proceed.

Thus far, among the "fair weather allies," only the French appear committed to move. The British Parliament voted down the PM's request, but has left the door open pending the report from the UN review team.

In the interim, Washington has turned up the heat with several high-level public conclusions, including those by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, that clear evidence exists for: (1) Assad government's use of chemical weapons against his own people, (2) nerve gas (sarin) residue from the attack outside Damascus, with (3) more than 1,400 deaths confirmed as a result of the chemical attack.

There will be more disclosures as the return date for Congress approaches in a concerted attempt to drum up sufficient political support. Absent a UN report showing no chemical weapons were used (virtual impossibility), that support will materialize.

In short, I will have much more to say about what all of this means for the energy sector in due course.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Equity, Bond Flows Bounce Back in Early July

During the first week of July, investors changed their tune on where central-bank policymaking is heading and poured nearly $6 billion into equity funds and over $2 billion into bond funds, according to the EPFR Global.

This was quite a turn for fund flows, which had seen nearly $58 billion in redemptions from bond-funds alone over the past four weeks, according to EPFR Global, which released its latest report on Friday. (The research firm tracks almost 50,000 funds and $19.6 trillion in assets worldwide.)

Investors seemed to be responding to remarks made by central bankers in the Europe, which reflected comments made by members of the Federal Reserve concerning the less-than-imminent death of quantitative easing.

U.S.- and Europe-based funds accounted for most inflows with investors positioning themselves ahead of an earnings season that, at least for exporters, should be a good one, the research group says.

While Canada and Australia continued to experience record outflows, Germany, Switzerland and UK equity funds took in over $100 million; funds focused on Italy, Spain and Sweden also recording solid inflows. “Investors largely shrugged off data showing unemployment in the European Union holding at record levels and fears the Portuguese government will collapse, taking its commitment to austerity measures with it, with daily data only turning negative on July 3,” EPFR explained.

In Japan, equity funds hit a six-week high. With renewed turmoil in Egypt, dropping oil production in Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria, energy-sector funds saw inflows top $2 billion for the first time since early 2011.

“Seven of the other 10 major groups tracked by EPFR Global also posted inflows as receding fears about the pace of monetary tightening and a focus on the upcoming 2Q13 earnings season attracted some fresh money,” the group shared.

Emerging-markets bond funds, however, suffered net redemptions for the sixth-straight week, though the level of outflows was just a-fifth of the previous week’s record-setting amount.

Emerging-market corporate bond funds, though, had outflows hit their highest weekly total since the start of the current financial crisis.

Bullish on U.S. Investments

In late June, an online survey of investors found that most, 63%, are bullish about the prospects for domestic stocks in the third quarter of 2013, according to the Tokyo-based Monex Group. This is up from 57% in March and 43% in December 2012.

“This surprising result flies in the face of broad pessimism about the outlook for global equities, as well as clear concern about how growing budget deficits and other structural problems could affect the U.S. economy going forward,” the online brokerage group explained in a press release.

Also, some 53% of investors using Monex’ broker-dealer said they are bullish about the U.S. dollar vs. 49% in March and 35% in December.

U.S. investors, however, are still downbeat about global equities, with 40% predicting they would decline in the third quarter of 2013.

"The survey results suggest that concerns about global economic challenges haven't dampened U.S. investors' expectations for domestic stocks and the U.S. dollar," said Salomon Sredni, CEO of TradeStation Group, Inc. and COO of Monex Group, in a press release.

***

For direct insights on the role of ETFs in client portfolios from multiple experts—including Rick Ferri, Ron Delegge, Skip Schweiss and more—we invite you to register for AdvisorOne’s premiere advisorcentric Virtual ETF Summit, which starts July 23 (and get multiple hours of CFP Board CE).

 

 

Why you should maintain an investment dairy

Whether it is living on a budget or eating to a diet plan, or having a running program the most important (and often neglected) portion is RECORDING your thoughts and actions. Let us assume you 'think' you know what is happening to your eating, running or saving, that is enough, right?

Wrong. Completely wrong. You need to write down the actual proceedings as it happens. Corporate World has a Budget, and a Budget Compliance committee. This committee makes a continuous comparison of the actual with the budgeted numbers. This gives us a basis for

a) Corrective action or b) Revising the Budget.

If you 'thought' that equities will give you ATLEAST 18% p.a. you were proved wrong from say 2007 to 2012. So maybe you need corrective action.

Let us say you DECIDE to maintain an Investment Diary similarly for all your investing…

Assuming a diary is a place where you will write down your darkest, best, an investment diary is a must.

These 5 things MUST, MUST, MUST go into a diary if you really want to improve as a stock picker:

a) Log all ideas - history tells you which were good and which bad. A diary will be cruel enough to tell you that your best pick was a fluke, or whether it was a product of some effort. A diary is much more honest than your brain. A brain lets you remember events as you wish it had happened, rather than how it actually happened.

b) Learn your lessons! losing money in the market is fine, losing the lesson is NOT. Losses get registered in the mind better than the profits...so it is important to know WHY you lost money. Was it a decision taken over 3 pegs of whiskey? was it a decision taken to please a broker? Or was it on the basis of information from a poorly informed member of the Board of Directors? Et el Rajat Gupta?

c) List advice from people YOU think are good advisers or people who can or are mentors. also if you find an expert from the media and to keep it a little light even whom the media thinks as experts...and see what really works. Write down all the ideas that people give and see what works. Also see the logic. See the hype - and separate it from the reality. All these things help you MATURE as an investor.

d) Give vent to whomsoever but be careful if it is in a public forum / electronic media - do not maintain it in an electronic form. You may want to edit the language if you know about 100,000 people are going to see it.

e) Collect compliments

f) Write down what do YOU think will happen in the immediate future...and why. Then see whether you were right, and if you are right whether it was luck or skill.

Doing all this helps you be a better investor. Just the process alone is worthwhile!

Keeping all this in an electronic form...and updating makes NO SENSE...because you cannot know how u modidifed it...so a hard copy makes more sense....

Alnylam Up to Positive Data - Analyst Blog

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALNY) recently announced positive top-line results from a phase I study on ALN-TTRsc. The news positively impacted Alnylam share price by 15.8%.

ALN-TTRsc is a ribo nucleic acid interference (RNAi) therapeutic targeting the transthyretin (TTR) gene that is being developed for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR).

Results from the study revealed that ALN-TTRsc was successful in reducing serum TTR protein levels to more than 80% in healthy volunteers who were enrolled in the study. The recent study results were at par with the previously reported ALN-TTRsc results in non-human primates.

Results from the phase I study further revealed that ALN-TTRsc was generally safe and well tolerated. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single- and multi-dose, dose-escalation study is still ongoing. Alnylam will assess the safety and tolerability of the candidate (single or multiple ascending subcutaneous doses) along with other parameters like assessment of clinical activity of the candidate as measured by serum TTR levels.

Alnylam plans to initiate a phase II study on ALN-TTRsc later this year depending on the successful completion of the phase I study. Positive results from the phase II study will lead to the initiation of a phase III study on the candidate in 2014.

We remind investors that Alnylam also has ALN-TTR02 in its pipeline that is being developed for the treatment of ATTR. Alnylam is currently evaluating the safety and tolerability of the candidate in a phase II study.

We note that Alnylam has a development and commercialization agreement with Sanofi (SNY) for Alnylam's RNAi therapeutics, which include ALN-TTR02 and ALN-TTRsc. The agreement is for the development and commercialization of these candidates in Japan and the broader Asian-Pacific region. Alnylam intends to develop and commercialize the ALN-TTR program in other countries as well.

We are encouraged by the pipeline progress at Alnylam.! The company is expecting several study results on its RNAi therapeutic candidates in the coming quarters. Positive pipeline related news will boost the stock.

Alnylam, a biopharmaceutical company, presently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other biopharmaceutical stocks such as Jazz Pharmaceuticals Public Limited Company (JAZZ) and Santarus, Inc. (SNTS) also look well positioned with both carrying a Zacks Rank #1.


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Can Dreamworks Continue This Bullish Run?

With shares of Dreamworks Animation (NYSE:DWA) trading around $23, is DWA an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Dreamworks is engaged in the development and production of animated films and their associated characters in the worldwide film, home entertainment, television, merchandising and licensing markets. The company aims to create family entertainment, including animated feature films, television specials and series, live entertainment properties and related consumer products, meant for audiences of all ages. The company’s films are distributed through many outlets by Paramount Pictures Corporation, a subsidiary of Viacom (NYSE:VIA).

In a recent deal with Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Dreamworks has agreed to add its content to the streaming service as Netflix looks to ramp-up its original programming menu with popular choices from the maker of Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda. With this deal, Dreamworks will continue to gain exposure and surely a growing audience.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Dreamworks stock is surging higher after establishing lows just last year. The stock is now pulling-back after such an impressive run. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Dreamworks is trading slightly above its rising key averages which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

DWA

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Dreamworks options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

Implied Volatility (IV)

30-Day IV Percentile

90-Day IV Percentile

Dreamworks Options

62.35%

80%

78%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very significant amount of call and put options contracts, as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

Put IV Skew

Call IV Skew

August Options

Flat

Average

September Options

Flat

Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Dreamworks’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Dreamworks look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

2013 Q1

2012 Q4

2012 Q3

2012 Q2

Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)

-36.36%

-441.46%

26.09%

-62.50%

Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)

-1.06%

20.87%

15.88%

-25.41%

Earnings Reaction

7.31%

-1.80%

6.69%

-6.30%

Dreamworks has seen decreasing earnings and mixed revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have had mixed feelings about Dreamworks’ recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Dreamworks stock done relative to its peers, Twenty-First Century Fox (NYSE:FOXA), Disney (NYSE:DIS), Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE:LGF), and sector?

Dreamworks

Twenty-First Century Fox

Disney

Lions Gate Entertainment

Sector

Year-to-Date Return

43.39%

39.29%

29.36%

96.16%

35.87%

Dreamworks has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Dreamworks is a provider of highly-demanded entertainment products to eager audiences around the world. A recent deal with Netflix may increase exposure for the company. The stock is now digesting gains after a strong surge higher, in recent months. Over the last four quarters, earnings have decreased for the company while revenue figures have been mixed which has produced mixed feelings among investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Dreamworks has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Dreamworks to OUTPERFORM.

Monday, December 23, 2013

5 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Dividend Stocks Ready to Pay You More in 2014

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume today.

Benefitfocus

Benefitfocus (BNFT) is a provider of cloud-based benefits software solutions for consumers, employers, insurance carriers and brokers. This stock closed up 4.7% at $57.24 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 1.05 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 105,972

Volume % Change: 1152%

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

From a technical perspective, BNFT spiked notably higher here right above some near-term support at $53.70 with strong upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of BNFT within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if BNFT manages to take out Friday's high of $58.23 to more resistance at $59.43, and then once it clears its all-time high at $60.48 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in BNFT as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $54.47 or above more near-term support at $52.70 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 105,972 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then BNFT will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $65 to $70.

Coleman Cable

Coleman Cable (CCIX) is a designer, developer, manufacturer and supplier of electrical wire and cable products for consumer, commercial and industrial applications, with operations mainly in U.S. and, to a lesser degree, Honduras and Canada. This stock closed up 7.8% to $26.40 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 1.58 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 101,362

Volume % Change: 1734%

>>5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

From a technical perspective, CCIX gapped up sharply higher here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $25.45 with monster upside volume. This move briefly pushed shares of CCIX into breakout and new 52-week-high territory, after the stock flirted with some near-term overhead resistance at $26.44. Shares of CCIX closed just below its intraday high on Friday at $26.40. Market players should now look for a continuation move higher in the short-term if CCIX manages to take out Friday's high of $26.50 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CCIX as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $26.13 or above $24, and then once it sustains a move or close above $26.50 with volume that hits near or above 101,362 shares. If we get that move soon, then CCIX will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $30 to $35.

Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply (TSCO) is an operator of retail farm and ranch stores. This stock closed up 1.1% at $74.92 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 6.62 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 968,867

Volume % Change: 616%

>>4 Big Stocks on Traders' Radars

From a technical perspective, TSCO trended modestly higher here with strong upside volume. This move pushed shares of TSCO into breakout and new 52-week high territory, after the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $74.60 to $74.78. Market players should now look for a continuation move higher in the short-term if TSCO manages to take out Friday's intraday high of $75.50 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TSCO as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $74.08 or above its 50-day at $71.52 and then once it sustains a move or close above $75.50 with volume that this near or above 968,867 shares. If we get that move soon, then TSCO will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $80 to $83.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact (CTCT) provides on-demand engagement marketing tools that are designed for small businesses, associations and non-profits primarily in the U.S. This stock closed up 6.8% at $30.60 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 1.68 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 373,366

Volume % Change: 565%

From a technical perspective, CTCT ripped sharply higher here with strong upside volume. This move pushed shares of CTCT into breakout and new 52-week-high territory, after the stock closed above its previous high of $29.71. Market players should now look for a continuation move higher in the short-term if shares of CTCT manage to take out Friday's high of $31.34 to some more past resistance at $32.18 with strong volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CTCT as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $28.84 or above $28 and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $31.34 to $32.18 with volume that hits near or above 373,366 shares. If we get that move soon, then CTCT will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $36 to $40.

Overstock.com

Overstock.com (OSTK) is an online retailer offering closeout and discount brand and non-brand name merchandise, including bed-and-bath goods, home decor, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics and computers, apparel and designer accessories. This stock closed up 2.9% at $29.95 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 1.82 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 301,477

Volume % Change: 506%

From a technical perspective, OSTK ripped higher here with strong upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of OSTK within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if OSTK manages to take out some past overhead resistance levels at $30.82 to $32.05, and then once it clears more resistance at $32.21 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in OSTK as long as it's trending above $29 or above $28 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 301,477 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then OSTK will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $35.60. Any high-volume move above that level will then give OSTK a chance to tag $40.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.


RELATED LINKS:



>>5 Big Trades for Post-Taper Gains



>>3 Hot Stocks to Trade (or Not)



>>5 Cash-Rich Stocks That Could Pay Triple the Gains in 2014

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.


Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now

We've seen quite a long, and somewhat, complex bull market over the past few years, writes Tom Bradley, of The Globe and Mail, who analyzes it through a three-pronged approach.

A long stock market run goes through many phases. There's a healthy debate going on right now as to where this one is at��oes it have further to go, or is it over? In assessing where we are, it's useful to look back at how things unfolded over the last four and a half years, and understand why markets have gone up so much.

I'm going to look at it through three lenses��undamentals (the outlook for profits and dividends); valuation (what we're paying for those profits and dividends) and investor sentiment (how bullish or bearish investors are).

When this bull market started on March 9, 2009, the fundamentals didn't look very good. The banks were teetering, a recession was imminent, and the outlook for earnings was poor, to say the least.

In hindsight, it was as good a starting point for a bull market as you'll ever see. The necessary requirements were all there�� poor short-term outlook, rock-bottom price to earnings multiples (P/Es), forced selling from margin accounts and liquidity-strained pensions funds, and a feeling that we'll never make a decent return in the stock market again.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Regal Beloit Corporation(RBC)

Regal Beloit Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells electric motors and controls, electric generators and controls, and mechanical motion control products primarily in the United States and Asia. The company operates in two segments, Electrical and Mechanical. The Electrical segment manufactures and markets AC and DC commercial, industrial, and commercial refrigeration electric motors and blowers, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) electric motors and blowers. It also provides precision servo motors, electric generators, automatic transfer switches and paralleling switchgear, and control electric power generation equipment; AC and DC variable speed drives and controllers, and other accessories for industrial and commercial applications; and capacitors for use in HVAC systems, high intensity lighting, and other applications. The Mechanical segment manufactures and markets a range of mechanical motion control products, i ncluding worm gears, bevel gears, helical gears, and concentric shaft gearboxes; marine transmissions; after-market automotive transmissions, and ring and pinions; custom gearing; gearmotors; electrical connecting devices; and manual valve actuators, which are used in oil and gas, water distribution and treatment, and chemical processing applications. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and end users through its direct sales people and manufacturer?s representative organizations. Regal Beloit Corporation was founded in 1955 and is based in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Electric-motor maker�Regal Beloit (NYSE: RBC  ) announced on Friday its third-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 5% from $0.19 per share.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Cinemark Holdings Inc(CNK)

Cinemark Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the motion picture exhibition business. As of June 30, 2011, it operated 436 theatres with 4,983 screens in 39 states of the United States, as well as in Brazil, Mexico, and 11 other Latin American countries. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    As movie-theater operator Cinemark (NYSE: CNK  ) exits the Mexican market, another "gringo" is expanding to fill the gap -- from even farther north of the border.

  • [By John Udovich]

    The shares of small cap IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) have slipped more than 10% this week on growth concerns - meaning it might be a good idea to take a closer look at the stock plus its performance�verses other cinema stocks like Carmike Cinemas, Inc (NASDAQ: CKEC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) along with the PowerShares Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment ETF�(NYSEARCA: PEJ).

Hot Gold Companies To Own In Right Now: CRB Futures Index(CR)

Crane Co. manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Engineered Materials, Merchandising Systems, Fluid Handling, and Controls. The Aerospace & Electronics segment offers pressure, fuel flow, and position sensors and subsystems; brake control systems; coolant, lube and fuel pumps; and seat actuation products. This segment also provides power supplies and custom microelectronics for aerospace, defense, medical, and other applications; and electrical power components, power management products, electronic radio frequency, and microwave frequency components and subsystems for the defense, space, and military communications markets. The Engineered Materials segment manufactures fiberglass-reinforced plastic panels for the truck trailer and recreational vehicle markets, industrial markets, and the commercial construction industry. The Merchandising Systems segmen t offers vending solutions, such as food, snack, and beverage vending machines; and vending machine software and online solutions, as well as payment solutions, including coin accepters and dispensers, coin hoppers, coin recyclers, bill validators, and bill recyclers. The Fluid Handling segment manufactures and sells various industrial and commercial valves and actuators; provides valve testing, parts, and services; manufactures and sells pumps and water purification solutions; distributes pipe, pipe fittings, couplings, and connectors; and designs, manufactures, and sells corrosion-resistant plastic-lined pipes and fittings. The Controls segment produces ride-leveling, air-suspension control valves for heavy trucks and trailers; pressure, temperature, and level sensors; ultra-rugged computers, measurement and control systems, and intelligent data acquisition products; and water treatment equipment. Crane Co. was founded in 1855 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    Crane Co. (NYSE:CR) reported that Andrew L. Krawitt, Vice President, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer, will be speaking at the 2012 Citi Global Industrials Conference in Boston on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 from 2:00 PM to 2:40 PM.

  • [By Howard Gold]

    In recent years, Congress has passed continuing resolutions (CR) instead of formal budgets to fund the government. The latest runs out on October 1, which is when fiscal year 2014 begins. Without that funding, the government would begin shutting down.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Calling all cash flows
    When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Crane (NYSE: CR  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: M&T Bank Corporation (MTB)

M&T Bank Corporation operates as the holding company for M&T Bank and M&T Bank, National Association that provide commercial and retail banking services to individuals, corporations and other businesses, and institutions. It offers business loans and leases; business credit cards; deposit products, such as demand, savings, and time accounts; and financial services, including cash management, payroll and direct deposit, merchant credit card, and letters of credit. The company also provides residential real estate loans; multifamily commercial real estate loans; commercial real estate loans; one-to-four family residential mortgage loans; investment and trading securities; short-term and long-term borrowed funds; brokered certificates of deposit and interest rate swap agreements related thereto; and branch deposits. In addition, it offers foreign exchange, as well as asset management services. Further, the company provides consumer loans, and commercial loans and leases; cred it life, and accident and health reinsurance; and securities brokerage, investment advisory, and insurance agency services. As of December 31, 2009, it had 738 banking offices in New York State, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia; a commercial banking office in Ontario, Canada; and an office in George Town, Cayman Islands. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jack Adamo]

    We've owned the common stock of M&T Bank (MTB) for almost two years. It has returned 43% so far. Super bank analyst Meredith Whitney, and Tom Keene, the brilliant Bloomberg economist, both called M&T the best-managed large American bank. It consistently delivers superior returns while taking less risk.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited(NZT)

Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services, as well as information, communication, and technology services in New Zealand and Australia. Its products and services include local, national, international, and value-added telephone services; mobile services; data, broadband, and Internet services; IT consulting, implementation, and procurement services; and equipment sales and installation services. The company also involves in the retail of telecommunications products and services. It serves residential, business, and government customers. Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited was founded in 1987 and is based in Auckland, New Zealand.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Avon Products Inc. (AVP)

Avon Products Inc. manufactures and markets beauty and related products worldwide. Its product categories include color cosmetics, fragrances, skin care, and personal care; fashion jewelry, watches, apparel, footwear, and accessories; and gift and decorative products, housewares, entertainment and leisure, and children?s and nutritional products. Avon Products Inc. markets its products through direct selling and independent representatives, as well as through distributorships. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    Finally, beauty products maker Avon Products (NYSE: AVP  ) gained 4.1% after also reporting its first-quarter results. Total revenue dipped 4% for the quarter, but was hurt primarily by unfavorable currency translation. Volume dropped 3%, but was countered by a 3% jump in prices. The Street might appear pleased with Avon's stabilizing business, but I continue to see its volume declines and high representative turnover as discouraging. Price hikes seem to be the only way Avon can stabilize its domestic and overseas business, and that's a recipe that I'm fairly certain will lead to lost customers.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Health and beauty products provider Avon Products� (NYSE: AVP  ) �will pay a regular quarterly dividend of $0.06 on�June 3 �to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 14. That's the same amount it declared in February and November.

  • [By Grace L. Williams]

    You don’t have to go door to door to find dismal news about Avon (AVP) today. Between the stock tanking over 20% and the company�� announcements of a weak third-quarter topped with news that federal regulators are increasing the penalties to resolve its ongoing bribery probe, it�� one ugly afternoon for the beauty product and cosmetics company.

    The Wall Street Journal�� Serena Ng and Anna Prior recapped Avon�� woes nicely this afternoon:

    The government’s position, disclosed by Avon in a regulatory filing, adds another big weight on a company already struggling to turn around a string of poor results. On Thursday, the door-to-door seller of makeup and consumer products reported a third-quarter loss following a steep drop in sales in the U.S. and China.

    Regarding the bribery probe, the WSJ writes:

    Avon has been trying to resolve a federal bribery probe that has dogged it since 2008 and has already racked up roughly $340 million in legal and related costs. The company is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department to settle an investigation into whether Avon breached the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by providing gifts or making payments to officials in China and other countries to get licenses to sell its products.

    Analysts were mixed-to-negative in reaction to the news, revising their recommendations and slashing price targets. Rommel Dionisio of Wedbush, for one, cut the price target to $21 from $24, writing:

    Avon reported third-quarter revenue of $2.323 billion and adjusted earnings-per-share of 14 cents, again short of consensus forecasts of $2.443 billion and 19 cents, respectively. Overall local currency sales fell 1%, sequentially worse than the 2% growth seen in the second quarter, as sharp declines in North America (18%) and Asia-Pacific (19%) were partially offset by growth in Latin America (6%).

    We believe shares of Avon should trade at a 5%-10% disc

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Deswell Industries Inc.(DSWL)

Deswell Industries, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of injection-molded plastic parts and components, electronic products and subassemblies, and metallic molds and accessory parts for original equipment manufacturers and contract manufacturers. The company produces various plastic parts and components for the manufacture of consumer and industrial products, including plastic component of electronic entertainment products; cases for flashlights, telephones, paging machines, projectors, and alarm clocks; toner cartridges and cases for photocopy and printer machines; parts for electrical products, such as air-conditioning and ventilators; parts for audio equipment; cases and key tops for personal organizers and remote controls; double injection caps and baby products; parts for medical products comprising apparatus for blood tests; laser key caps; and automobile components. Its electronic products include audio equipment, such as digital audio workstation, digital or analogue mixing consoles, instrument amplifiers, signal processors, firewire/USB audio interfaces, keyboard controllers, and speaker enclosures; high end home theatre audio products comprising 7.1-channel audio-visual Hi-Fi stereo receivers-amplifiers; complex printed circuit board assemblies; and telecommunication products consisting of VoIP keysets for business communications. The company?s metal products include metallic molds and accessory parts used in audio equipment, telephones, copying machines, pay telephones, multimedia stations, automatic teller machines, and vending machines. In addition, it distributes audio equipment. The company sells its products in the United States, the People?s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Holland, Norway, and Germany. Deswell Industries, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company(RRD)

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company provides pre-media, printing, logistics, and business process outsourcing products and services to private and public sectors worldwide. The company operates primarily in the commercial print portion of the printing industry, with related product and service offerings designed to offer customers solutions for communicating their messages to target audiences. Its products and related service offerings include magazines, catalogs, retail inserts, books, directories, financial print, direct mail, forms, labels, office products, statement printing, pre media, and logistics services. The company also offers business process outsourcing services that comprise transactional print and outsourcing services, statement printing, direct mail, and print management services; and product configuration, customized kitting, and order fulfillment for technology, medical device, and other companies. It distributes its products to end-users through the United Sta tes postal services, retail channels, electronically, or by direct shipment to customer facilities. R.R. Donnelley & Sons was founded in 1864 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    RR Donnelley (NASDAQ: RRD  ) will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share of its common stock on June 3 to shareholders of record as of April 26, the company announced this week.

  • [By John Udovich]

    Printing and the various forms of marketing communications that need to be printed (like business cards and stationary) are fundamental to the needs of every business, meaning the recent share surge of small cap Standard Register Co (NYSE: SR) after it announced an acquisition along with its long-term performance against better known peers like RR Donnelley & Sons Co (NASDAQ: RRD) and VistaPrint Limited (NASDAQ: VPRT) is worth taking a closer look at. After all, Standard Register is up 363.2% since the start of the year verses a return of 113.4% for RR Donnelley & Sons Co and�75.9% for VistaPrint Limited.

  • [By Brian Stoffel]

    R.R. Donnelley & Sons (NASDAQ: RRD  )
    This company, based out of Chicago, has been an industry stalwart since its founding in 1864. Back then, founder Richard Donnelley printed the precursor to the Yellow Pages for Chicago residents. �

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Cummins Inc.(CMI)

Cummins Inc. designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and natural gas engines, electric power generation systems, and engine-related component products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Engine, Power Generation, Components, and Distribution. The Engine segment offers a range of diesel and natural gas powered engines under the Cummins and other customer brand names for the heavy-and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, agricultural, construction, mining, marine, oil and gas, rail, and governmental equipment markets. This segment also provides new parts and service, as well as remanufactured parts and engines. The Power Generation segment offers power generation systems, components, and services, including diesel, natural gas, gasoline, and alternative-fuel electrical generator sets for use in recreational vehicles, commercial vehicles, recreational marine applications, and home stand-by or residential applications. This segment also provides components that make up power generation systems, such as engines, controls, alternators, transfer switches, and switchgears. The Components segment supplies filtration products, turbochargers, aftertreatment systems, intake and exhaust systems, and fuel systems for commercial diesel applications. This segment offers filtration and exhaust systems for on-and off-highway heavy-duty and mid-range equipment, as well as supplies filtration products for industrial and passenger car applications. This segment also develops after treatment and exhaust systems to help customers meet emissions standards and fuel systems. The Distribution segment provides parts and services, as well as service solutions, including maintenance contracts, engineering services, and integrated products. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and other customers. Cummins Inc. was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Columbus, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    Second, fuel cost control has been crucial, and will remain a key component to Swift's success. Swift is handling its fuel costs this by maximizing the operating efficiency of its tractor and trailer fleet, and by partnering up with natural gas diesel engine manufacturer Cummins (NYSE: CMI  ) . The goal of this partnership is to develop natural gas engines that get comparable mileage to diesel at a cheaper cost, and when combined with increased CNG fueling stations around the U.S. operated by Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ: CLNE  ) , create a win-win scenario for all parties involved. To that end, Swift's fuel operating costs should drop, Cummins will have a steady stream of business, Clean Energy Fuels gets a large fueling customer under its belt that will help with building out its fuel station infrastructure, and the world gets fewer emissions from burning diesel.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Johnson & Johnson(JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture, and sale of various products in the health care field worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices and Diagnostics. The Consumer segment provides products used in baby care, skin care, oral care, wound care, and women?s health care fields, as well as nutritional, over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, and wellness and prevention platforms under the brands of JOHNSON?S, AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, JOHNSON?S Adult, NEUTROGENA, RoC, LUBRIDERM, DABAO, LISTERINE, REACH, BAND-AID, CAREFREE, STAYFREE, SPLENDA, TYLENOL, SUDAFED, ZYRTEC, MOTRIN IB, and PEPCID AC. The Pharmaceutical segment offers products in various therapeutic areas, such as anti-infective, antipsychotic, contraceptive, dermatology, gastrointestinal, hematology, immunology, neurology, oncology, pain management, and virology. Its principal products include REMICADE for the treatment of immune me diated inflammatory diseases; STELARA for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis; SIMPONI, a treatment for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis; VELCADE for the treatment of multiple myeloma; PREZISTA and INTELENCE for treating HIV/AIDS patients; NUCYNTA for moderate to severe acute pain; INVEGA SUSTENNAtm for the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults; RISPERDAL CONSTA for the management of bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia; and PROCRIT to stimulate red blood cell production. The Medical Devices and Diagnostics segment primarily offers circulatory disease management products; orthopaedic joint reconstruction, spinal care, and sports medicine products; surgical care, aesthetics, and women?s health products; blood glucose monitoring and insulin delivery products; professional diagnostic products; and disposable contact lenses. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in Ne w Brunswick, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Chris Hill]

    Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) reported higher than-than-expected earnings. Shares of the consumer giant are up 28% in the past year. Will Johnson & Johnson continue to produce for investors? Should Johnson & Johnson follow Procter & Gamble's (NYSE: PG  ) lead and double down on some of its more profitable assets. In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts talk about the future of Johnson & Johnson.

  • [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

    Johnson & Johnson provides valuable and essential health care products and services to many consumers and companies operating worldwide. The company will pay at least $2.47 billion in damages related to defective hip implants sold by the company. This is the second multibillion-dollar settlement Johnson & Johnson has faced in the last month. The stock has been has been trending higher in the last several years and is currently trading near highs for 2013. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been rising, which has led to positive feelings among investors about recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Johnson & Johnson has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Johnson & Johnson to OUTPERFORM.

  • [By Chuck Saletta]

    There are currently four U.S. companies with the top ranked AAA debt rating: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) , ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) , Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) , and Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ: ADP  ) . Investors buying their debt are nearly completely certain that they'll get all their interest payments on time, and get full redemption value when the bonds mature.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Pentagon Awards Nearly $1 Billion in New Contracts Thursday

The Department of Defense issued some 22 separate contract awards Thursday, totaling just under $1 billion in combined value. Not all of them went to publicly traded defense contractors, of course, but enough of them did to be worth mentioning. Here are a few of the lucky winners:

Roomba maker iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT  ) was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract worth up to $30 million for the supply of "robotic systems and spare parts" to the U.S. Army. Specific robot models were not named, but the contract more likely deals with PackBots bomb-disposal robots than with small, autonomous vacuum cleaners. Raytheon (NYSE: RTN  ) won a contract nearly as big -- a $22.4 million order placed against a previously issued basic ordering agreement for the supply of 53 ECP-6279 retrofit kits for installation aboard Navy F/A-18 E/F fighter jets and EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft. Raytheon is expected to complete delivery by July 2015. Oshkosh's (NYSE: OSK  ) contract was even bigger -- a $40.4 million award for the supply of "Armor B-Kits" to up-armor medium tactical vehicles for the Army.  Aeroflex (NYSE: ARX  ) , in contrast, won a smaller $15.2 million award to supply and maintain ground radio maintenance automatic test systems, or GRMATS. Up to 300 GRMATS are covered by the award, and work is to be completed by Aug. 25, 2014. Rounding out this list, L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL  ) won $10.2 million to pay for the exercise of two options for design and installation services for an undersea warfare training range (USWTR) off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., for the Navy. Construction is to be complete by May 2019.