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Posted
Jun 01 2009, 02:04 AM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The recovery from multiyear lows this year has been so fast and furious that already more than 140 major companies have seen their shares double in size or better -- an astonishing number for a five-month span. And unlike most years, we're not talking about tiny no-name outfits that caught a lucky break, but dozens of companies with brands you can recognize.
This is not a matter of merely passing interest, because many of these companies are still very cheap and in no way finished advancing. And furthermore their sheer number makes me think that there are probably many more lurking in the wings just waiting to be reborn.
The leader so far this year is actually a previously a little known biotech called Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA). It's up 2,820% on the strength of FDA approval of its Fanapt therapy for the acute treatment of adult patients with schizophrenia. That's the equivalent of a lottery ticket, so let's move on.
Next on the list of companies with market caps over $300 million that have at least doubled from the start of the year is Avis Budget Group, up 585% from 95 cents to just under $5. It hung around the $1 level until mid-April, when it began levitating in anticipation of a strong earnings report in early May. Once the company announced it beat earnings estimates but badly trailed revenue estimates, most analysts expected it to roll over.
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Posted
Apr 10 2009, 12:19 PM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The Nasdaq 100 stormed to the front of the parade early this year as the index with the most resilience, strength and excitement, and its leadership role has only grown in the past week. Many of its largest components, such as Amazon.com, have simply blown away their competition in 2009 and every week now are doing more to shake off their bear-market blues.
The top Nasdaq 100 pick in my Strategic Advantage newsletter is Adobe Systems, which is also top-rated by the Stock Scouter rating system here at MSN Money. It's up 15% this month, and after shooting above its January high now looks like a good canddiate to reach its 200-day average at $29 over the next month. Here's why.
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Posted
Apr 29 2009, 12:23 PM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The entertainment industry has been hammered by the recent downturn, as consumers have pulled back on buying everything from movie tickets to video games. But Dolby Laboratories has bucked the trend, performing well on all fronts in a mostly stagnant market. DLB shares are up 16% this month, soundly beating the market's 8% advance, and are gunning for more.
Even if you don't recognize the name, you've no doubt seen Dolby's logo blaring at you at the start of a film. It's best known for surround-sound work, especially in theaters, but has branched out to providing its technology to video games, digital TV and mobile phones. Audiophiles know their tech is the industry standard.
Let's take its three-dimensional film technology first. The latest in a recent line of 3D films was released in March, DreamWorks' "Monsters vs. Aliens." With a strong debut at $58 million and a total of $318 million in receipts so far, the format is catching on fast. Reviewers and critics hailed the technology's ability to freshen up the theater experience. DLB got a chance to rake in profits of its own with Walt Disney's "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience."
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Posted
Jul 20 2009, 02:45 AM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Evidence is mounting that renewed weakness in the economy has begun to pummel states and cities, a development that will impede the progress of the federal government's fiscal stimulus efforts. The latest word of borderline terror emerged over the weekend from Pennsylvania and Silicon Valley.
On Friday, the government of Philadelphia reported that it has stopped paying its vendors and suppliers because it lacks the cash. The mayor of the nation's sixth most populous town blamed state lawmakers who were slow to approve a request to hike the city sales tax. The mayor also wanted rules changed that would allow it to contribute less to a pension plan.
Philly announced it won't spend money on anything but payroll, debt service and emergencies until the state gives the go-ahead to up taxes to 8% for a period of five years. The city's problems are the same as seen in cities and states across the country: Widespread layoffs have led to lower spending at retailers, which has in turn yielded lower tax revenue. While the city's income is variable, though, its obligation to pay city retirees is fixed.
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Posted
Sep 18 2009, 02:39 AM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
If you're an out-of-work behavioral finance specialist, I have a project for you: Figure out why there's a three-year cycle of optimism and pessimism among investors.
ISI Group analysts pointed out in a note to clients this week that investors in the past decade and a half have been getting overly happy and overly gloomy every three years. I never thought about it before, but it seems to be true enough.
Back in 1997, investors grew gloomy and global markets tanked amid the Asian currency crisis. But three years later, in 2000, investors became overly sunny about the Internet revolution and the market topped.
Three years after that, in 2003, investors were too bearish again after terror attacks, Enron's collapse and a three year decline in stocks, and the market hit bottom. Three years after that, in 2006, investors got too bullish again amid hopes about globalization, China, a housing boom and economic Goldilocks scenarios -- and the real estate market topped out.
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Posted
May 07 2009, 04:23 AM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported strong earnings this week, but there are lots of other companies in the networking space that have cropped up in the past few years and deserve investors' attention.
One that our StockScouter system has liked a lot recently is SonicWall (SNWL), a small but fast-growing company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., that specializes in network and content security. Its size and earnings are dwarfed by industry giants Cisco and Juniper (JNPR), yet it has earned a secure niche for itself due to a strong lineup of innovative products.
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Posted
May 25 2009, 06:37 PM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
While the past week was quiet for equities, with measures of volatility continuing to fall, action warmed up in commodity and bond markets on increased fears that the Federal Reserve's monetary injections and U.S. Treasury borrowing will result in inflation. As a result, long-term interest rates are rising rapidly, the U.S. dollar is weakening, and the prices of crude oil and precious metals are climbing. All of these factors threaten the economy's early signs of stabilization and complicate the government's efforts to end the downturn.
The situation is maddening. Like two doctors treating a cancer patient with a mix of chemotherapy and radiation, Fed chief Ben Bernanke and Treasury chief Tim Geithner are doing all they can, but at some point, too much medicine will kill the patient. Bernanke is trying to push down interest rates by using newly printed dollars to purchase mortgages and U.S. debt. Geithner is trying to boost the economy through rescue funds, tax rebates, and government spending, all financed with public debt.
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Posted
Sep 01 2009, 06:26 PM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
When the century-old investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed a year ago, it spawned not just a global financial firestorm but a cottage industry of insider accounts of where it all went wrong. Three major books have been published and more are on the way -- each proposing to tell us the darkest secrets of the world's worst-run brokerage. (My take on it: New column.)
Any endeavor that pits Type A personalities against each other in a battle for control of the public discourse is bound to be competitive, and one like this in which reputations are at stake will naturally be especially fierce. That makes the effort by Lawrence G. McDonald, a former vice president at Lehman, particularly compelling, as he was first out of the gate.
In a late-night conversation from his vacation in Paris, the former fixed-income trader told me that the book, "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense," took him and co-author Patrick Robinson one hundred and seventy-three 17-hour days to research and write -- including Christmas and New Year's. Not that anyone's counting. Because he was first off the starting line with a publishing contract and a plan, he managed to grab co-workers for interviews "at a golden moment of frustration," he says, a time when they wanted the bad apples at Lehman exposed. The bottom line is about what you'd imagine: An overmatched boss failed to listen to smarter underlings and drove the company into the ground. The details are amazing, which makes the read compelling even if you feel you know the whole story already.
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Posted
Sep 14 2009, 03:37 PM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
President Obama's tough-love speech to Wall Street on Monday underlined the increasing importance of government's role in the markets over the coming years. Whether you call it state capitalism, socialism or some other epithet, investors have come to believe policy makers worldwide must keep up their application of adrenaline to financial systems while businesses and consumers are getting their act together.
Any hint of withdrawal of governments' love will spook the markets, so you really need to put your antenna up every time policy makers speak on this subject. In the past week were three important comments along these lines in China, Europe and Washington. Pay attention.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged Thursday to continue his government's aggressive stimulus efforts, saying the world's third-largest economy faces persistent problems and uncertainties from the global recession despite an upturn in growth. The Wall Street Journal reported that in a speech to business leaders at a World Economic Forum meeting in the northeastern port city of Dalian, Wen reaffirmed the government's confidence that it can reach 8% growth in gross domestic product this year.
He said Beijing's efforts to propel growth have been "timely, forceful and effective." China's economic growth accelerated in the second quarter to 7.9% from a year earlier, up from 6.1% in the first quarter. Wen didn't offer fresh initiatives or discuss additional outlays beyond the already announced stimulus spending. So far so good; this will keep China in rally mode.
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Posted
Sep 29 2008, 01:09 PM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Members of Congress shocked the world today by voting down legislation aimed at resolving the U.S. credit crisis, evidently determining that it was far from the comprehensive rescue plan that its promoters claimed and instead was just a handout to fatcats. Investors responded by throwing a fit, punching the Dow Jones Industrials Average down 778 points.
The House move was one part nihilism, one part bluff-calling and one part an expression of total constituent outrage, and only history will be able to judge if representatives' snub of their political leadership will rank among the greatest blunders of all time or a brave move of principle. Both views will have their day in court, for dispassionate analysis
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