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Posted
Sep 29 2009, 11:40 AM
by
Jim Jubak
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 The stock market got all excited Monday by big acquisitions announced by Xerox (XRX) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT).
Xerox announced that it would buy Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) for $6.4 billion in cash and stock and Abbott said it would buy the drugs business of Solvay (SVYSY) for $6.6 billion in cash.
That news helped stocks reverse recent weakness: The Standard & Poor's 500 closed up 1.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.3%. The two deals came after news of acquisitions like Dell's (DELL) $3.9-billion cash offer for Perot Systems (PER).
Now, I can understand why the market as a whole would get excited at the news. Mergers and acquisitions push up stock prices. Dell, for example, has offered a 70% premium to buy Perot Systems.
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Posted
Aug 05 2009, 09:42 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This article was written by Minyanville's Josh Lipton The first publicly known cyberspace attack came in the 1980’s, when the KGB hired West German hackers to penetrate U.S. military and research networks. In the years since, cybersecurity attacks against both military and civilian installations have become more sophisticated and well publicized. In 2007, the departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, and Commerce and NASA all suffered major intrusions by unknown foreign entities, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, President Barack Obama has made cybersecurity a priority of his administration. “[I]t’s now clear this cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation,” he said in a speech in May. And on Monday, the White House’s acting cybersecurity czar announced her resignation. So, for now, the White House cybersecurity post is still unfilled. (See also: Seven Addictions to Replace Your Hacked iPhone)
However, the threat from foreign enemies and rogue hackers continues, threatening both public and private sector cyber infrastructure. It also presents potential money making profits for companies developing technologies to beat back the cyber threat, and for nimble investors thinking about market opportunities.
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Posted
Jul 27 2009, 10:27 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Say the word RadioShack (RSH) and you'll usually get a snort from Wall Street. Of the 19 analysts that cover the stock, only one had a rating stronger than hold, Barron's reports.
But last week, two of them changed their mind. Analysts from FBR and RBC Capital Markets upgraded their ratings from hold to outperform, Barron's reports. RadioShack shares jumped to $16 from the $14 range in response. Monday, however, the shares dropped back some 6%. Why were analysts suddenly bullish on the downtrodden electronics retailer?
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Posted
Jul 24 2009, 09:49 AM
by
John Reese
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
My investment philosophy is based on a central concept: Individuals can beat the market by learning from the wisdom of history's greatest investors. In that spirit, at the end of every week I recap what the market gurus I follow are saying about the investment world and the economy.
This week, these gurus have been making some pretty bullish statements -- or at the very least not sounding bearish. For example, some big-name hedge fund managers who made out shorting stocks last year, including Crispin Odey and Phillipe Jabre, are now finding major short positions to be too risky, Reuters reported.
Now, they are tilting their portfolios mostly -- or completely -- to the long side. Odey said that “equities now look exceptionally cheap against cash," and has his European fund 65% long in equities. Jabre says he has no short positions because it would be “too dangerous.”
They aren't the only strategists who have stopped shorting. Commodities guru Jim Rogers told Bloomberg this week that, for one of the few times in his career, he has no major short positions.
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Posted
Jul 23 2009, 06:59 AM
by
Minyanville
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Tech Looking Toppy?
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has been on quite a winning streak, chalking up 11 consecutive higher closes and leading some to believe that stocks may be due for a pullback. But according to Professor Jason Geopfert, that winning streak has happened 17 times since 1971, rarely ever marking a meaningful top despite being “overbought” in some sense by the time it recorded 11 victories. In 10 out of those 17 instances, he said, the index managed to rally for 12 or more days and usually took several weeks (if ever) to see a pullback of significance.
For more trading context, check out Toddo’s Fundamental Cause and Flaws.
From the Bull Pen: Tech bulls do have the momentum. Bulls already playing the Ultra Q’s (QLD) can continue to ride the stock with a trailing 2% sell stop. A pullback to $39-$40 could offer another entry, should it ever happen.
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Posted
Jul 10 2009, 12:14 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
It is rare that I will say any stock is a must own, especially in the current market environment. With the economy wriggling free from the death grip of a massive debt explosion, how can any corporation be a must-own holding?
Apple Inc. (AAPL) is the exception.
No matter what the economic conditions, Apple is the one company that can thrive through thick and thin. The last year or two of remarkable performance is a clear indication of Apple's staying power.
How can you not want to own this company?
Perhaps you were one of the sellers gripped by fear of the loss of shining star, Steve Jobs? If so you just missed more than $50 of stock appreciation.
Perhaps you are one those now selling because the stock has gone too far too fast?
If so, get over it. Apple Computer, even with the impressive run-up, trades for a modest 25 times trailing earnings and 23 times forward earnings. In a normative market state, Apple would garner a frothy 50 multiple to be considered at a peak valuation. Put a 50 multiple on the current estimate for September year-end 2009 earnings, and you get a stock price of $276
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Posted
Jul 09 2009, 05:40 PM
by
CAPS Editor
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Th![]() is post comes from Rich Duprey at partner site The Motley Fool.
Had Jerry Maguire been an investor instead of a fictional sports agent, he might have become famous for yelling, "Show me the cash flow!"
Earnings come and go, and the green-eyeshade types can legally manipulate them to mask a company's true operations. Yet a company's ability to generate cash remains the preeminent indicator of its worth.
In short, cash is king.
Let's look at companies that have proven themselves prodigious generators of free cash flow, which is the amount of money a company has left over that it could potentially pay to its investors.
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Posted
Jul 08 2009, 06:52 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Yep, it had to happen. Twitter is fast becoming a hotbed for scammers and online villains.
The super-hot online communication tool that limits its users to short messages is the new home for people offering phony employment offers. If you see a message saying that you can earn hundreds of dollars a day just by tweeting from your computer, it's probably best to ignore it. The Better Business Bureau says it's seeing an increase in the number of companies turning Twitter "into a virtual ATM with little effort and no risk," the Los Angeles Times reports.
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Posted
Jul 06 2009, 03:50 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Alnylam (ALNY) leads a short list of some of the fastest-growing biotech stocks where analyst estimate revisions continue to rise.
Biohealth Investor began by analyzing 171 stocks in the biotech sector based on revenue growth over the trailing four quarters, identifying 30 stocks in the sector with better than 50% revenue growth over the past year.
We then screened those 30 stocks to look for those very few names that have seen both strong growth in at least the past two years and positive analyst estimate revisions in recent months, in an effort to find stocks with strong trends that still have potentially improving operations going forward.
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Posted
Jun 23 2009, 10:50 AM
by
Minyanville
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Intel Deal with Nokia Intel Corp (INTC) is making another big push into the mobile phone industry. According to Bloomberg, the world’s largest chipmaker will host a conference call today announcing its plans to provide processors to Nokia (NOK) for its production of mobile devices. Details are still unavailable, but some analysts are still excited over the news because Nokia is the world’s largest maker of mobile phones. Just last February, Intel said it landed a contract with LG Electronics, the third largest phone-maker in the world. CEO Paul Otellini scrapped his predecessor’s $5 billion investment into the field in 2006 after he felt the company was late to the market. Now, he’s attempting to make the push back into phones to lessen Intel’s dependence on computers, which account for approximately 90% of sales.
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