Jim Cramer's Mad Money Review

General Dynamics (GD), Alliant Techsystems (ATK), L-3 communications (LLL), Raytheon (RTN), Lockheed Martin (LMT) Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Faced with the prospect of an economic slowdown, investors should look to defense stocks which "are the darlings of Wall Street…regardless of how the economy is doing." Political considerations won't affect the stocks, since Republicans like to spend on defense and Democrats want to look strong. Cramer concentrated on RTN since his prior recommendations, GD, ATK, LLL, LMT and NOC have all gone up. Cramer thinks RTN can easily beat its lukewarm guidance and notes the company's "fabulous" buyback and international growth.
ConcoPhillips (COP)
The oils have crept down on news of new taxes for oil companies and are low at least compared to rising crude costs. Cramer would use any dip as a buying opportunity for a long-term investment because "there's a simple case for oil … We're running out of it." He prefers COP because it is inexpensive, sells natural gas (which Cramer believes is consistently undervalued) and is not exposed to corrupt Third World regimes.
Related: Kurt Wulff comments on COP's low price and strong cash flow.
CEO Interview: T.J. Rodgers Cypress Semiconductor (CY), Sunpower (SPWR)
Cramer said Cypress is a good stock for those nervous about semiconductors, and Rodgers discussed the company's "extraordinarily flexible" chip that can be used in an e-bike, a Nordic track and an iPod. CY recently reported a "blockbuster" quarter and is seeing an upswing in demand for its products. In addition, CY owns half of Sunpower and plans to find a way to allow shareholders to benefit from this holding after tax restrictions are removed. Cramer said CY is the "cheap way" to own Sunpower.
Related: Eric Savitz asks if Cypress'core value worth is less than nothing.
MBIA (MBI), MGIC Investment (MTG)
Cramer would be wary of making too much money at once, an indication that an investor is not diversified enough. He suggests anyone who profited from the rise in MTG and MBI last week should sell the stocks, since they are not going higher.
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: ATK, COP, CY, GD, Jim Cramer, LLL, LMT, Mad Money, MBI, MTG, NOC, RTN, SPWR

Bullish:
PepsiCo (PEP), BEA Systems (BEAS), General Motors (GM), RRSat Global Communications Network (RRST), Zumiez (ZUMZ), Superior Offshore International (DEEP), Oshkosh Truck (OSK), Northrop Grumman, L-3 Communications (LLL), Lockheed Martin (LMT), General Dynamics (GD), Cisco Systems (CSCO), XTO Energy (XTO), GMX Resources (GMXR), Siemens (SI), Transocean (RIG), Schlumberger (SLB), Prudential Financial (PRU), MetLife (MET) and Halliburton (HAL).
Bearish:
Smart Balance (SMBL), Parametric Technology (PMTC), DirecTV (DTV), Parker Drilling (PKD) and Assurant (AIZ).

Labels: BEAS, CSCO, DEEP, GD, GM, GMXR, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, LLL, LMT, Mad Money, OSK, PEP, PRU, RIG, RRST, SI, SLB, XTO, ZUMZ

Bullish calls:
Herbalife (HLF): 'I have switched to Herbalife (HLF) and I am much thinner!' US Bancorp (USB): 'at 4.8% yield, USB... I'd pull the trigger right here! I think they're going to own the mortgage market.' Wells Fargo (WFC) Southern Copper (PCU): 'Skee Daddy likes PCU... no doubt about it.' Freeport McMoRan (FCX): ' if you want a cheaper stock that is off more, because the hedge funds kept dumping it all over the place... it is Freeport McMoRan, which is down a quick $15.' Novartis(NVS): 'Novartis is the play.' Cal-Maine Foods (CALM): 'Yeah, that stock is still cheap. And people don't understand... it's like the only egg producer around there.' Kraft Foods (KFT): 'That's the big dairy play that I like very much, and I'm reiterating that everybody's circling around KFT. Irene Rosenfeld's going to sell some brands. That stock goes from $32 to $35.' Dell(DELL):'It reports later this week. I think it's going to have an upside surprise … I think it reports $30 by the year's end.' Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) PepsiCo(PEP): 'PEP, at $68, has still got more upside. Great international growth. Frito Lay turned. Brand new sugar-free Gatorade coming, and great ads last night on Sunday Night Football on NBC.' Toll Brothers (TOL): 'I think is going to bottom, ahead of all the other homebuilders - the only area in this whole country with real estate that is not falling off a cliff.' CACI International (CAI) Raytheon (RTN): 'I like Raytheon more than CAI.' Lockheed Martin (LMT): ' … broke out today.' General Dynamics (GD) American Standard (ASD): 'ASD, in the end, is an inexpensive stock. You know I like the management. But it's got a new CEO. It's no longer going to be Fred Poses. I've got to stick by ASD!' Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK)
Bearish calls:
Blackstone Group (BX): 'I think BX is just the quintessential wrong stock to own.' Fortress Group (FIG) Alvarion (ALVR): 'It's an Israeli wireless company. I really like it…. Let it pull back under $10.' NutriSystem (NTRI):' It's controversial, because there's a very big short position … There are some people who think that NTRI's stuff is not that tasty.' Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) CPI (CPY) Pre-Paid Legal Services (PPD)

Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: ASD, CALM, CCE, Dell, FCX, GD, HCBK, HLF, Jim Cramer, KFT, Lightning Round, LMT, NVS, PCU, PEP, RTN, TOL, USB, WFC

Nvidia (NasdaqGS: NVDA - News): 'They make the fastest gaming chips. They make the best ones. You buy some and then, if it comes in, you buy some more ... It's a growth stock in the right quarter, at the right time of the year ... NVDA is two thumbs up.'Dynegy (NYSE: DYN - News): 'I like DYN as an asset play, and if the earnings don't hit the number, because of some natural gas realization, come on ('mon-back sound)... step up to the plate...'China Telecom (NYSE: CHA - News)Baidu.com (NasdaqGS: BIDU - News)Nymex (NYSE: NMX - News): 'I believe someone will buy, but I would not recommend a stock just on its takeover ability alone... I would emphasize that, on its earnings - and the earnings here are unbelievable.'Teck Cominco (NYSE: TCK - News): 'People worry that China doesn't have enough demand... that maybe our economy is so slow that it's going to bring down the rest of the world. That's not true. TCK is still a buy. I like it very much.'Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News): 'I want to buy the defense stocks here. I think it's a terrific opportunity. Don't take your cue from the stocks. Take your cue from the companies, and LMT is doing incredibly well!'General Dynamics (NYSE: GD - News)Raytheon (NYSE: RTN - News)Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC - News)Ralcorp Holdings (NYSE: RAH - News): 'I've liked RAH before on the show. I like it now.'ENGlobal (AMEX: ENG - News): 'This is a company that does everything you need to do to produce refining petroleum. It's right. You're right. I'm staying with it. 'Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA - News): 'I just don't think they're as bad as the bears think.'Allergan (NYSE: AGN - News): ' ... for anything eye... I'm going to send you that way.'Bearish calls:Spectranetics (NasdaqGM: SPNC - News): ' ... don't know whether I want to buy it all the way up here... don't buy, don't buy... there are so many that are still down, but it's a good quality company.'Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX - News)Perfect World (PWRD): 'I am just going to say forget about it... it's too darn hard.'RealNetworks (NasdaqGS: RNWK - News): 'Even thought the guys that run those companies throw really great cocktail parties, and probably wish that I was there, no thank you! (buzzer sounds)... 'Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW - News): 'You know, I can't recommend this sector right now - don't buy, don't buy - even though I know they have really easy comparisons. I can't go there. That sector's being too hurt. No to retail.'Advanced Medical Optics (NYSE: EYE - News)Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News): 'I think there's $3 up, $3 down... which means to me - don't buy, don't buy - not worth playing... '
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: AGN, BIDU, CHA, DYN, ENG, GD, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, LMT, NMX, NOC, NVDA, RAH, RTN, TCK, TMA

Bullish calls:
Raytheon (NYSE: RTN - News): 'Raytheon's probably the cheapest.'General Dynamics (GDNorthrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC - News)Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News)Frontline (NYSE: FRO - News):'Yours is a winner. Frontline is a buy. I see the stock went down today, but, you know, a lot of stocks went down today. That's a good one.'UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH - News): 'Understand, I've owned this stock for a couple of years for my charitable trust. This is precisely the kind of stock that does well on a slowdown. ... I want to buy the stock.'Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC - News): 'Every railroad stock has been killed. ... All of them are owned by very big hedge funds. ... People say to themselves, 'I guess all the hedge funds are getting killed.' That is not true. ... I still like the stock.'Trinity Industries (NYSE: TRN - News): 'When this mortgage mess clears up, I think Trinity comes back. I think that's the kind of stock you buy. ... I'm not backing away."'Nastech Pharmaceutical (NasdaqGM: NSTK - News): 'I would prefer, if you want to speculate, that you speculate with Nastech Pharmaceutical.'American Standard (NYSE: ASD - News): 'I frankly don't know why the market hates it so much. ... I'm stickin' by. It's painful, but I'm stickin' by it.'LKQ (NasdaqGS: LKQX - News): 'I like your company. I would stick with it.'Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY - News): 'I'll stick with Yamana.'
Bearish calls:
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX - News): 'They canceled an IPO. I don't like the balance sheet. This is not my favorite company in the group. Even at $13, I'm going to reiterate that I can't get behind the medical company Boston Scientific.'Spartan Motors (NasdaqGS: SPAR - News)Jones Soda (NasdaqCM: JSDA): 'They missed the quarter. You cannot miss the quarter and be a high-multiple stock. Not only did they miss the quarter -- they missed the last quarter. ... I cannot pull the trigger. ... Jones is in the penalty box.'Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD - News): 'Here's a company that's doing absolutely everything right, but no one cares. My take is this: The Limited is too cheap, but I can't think of a catalyst to turn this stock around.'St. Joe (NYSE: JOE - News): 'I cannot be in the stock. It's just not the place to be.'WCI Communities (NYSE: WCI - News)SuperGen (NasdaqGM: SUPG - News)Coeur d'Alene Mines (NYSE: CDE - News): 'I have never been a fan of Coeur d'Alene. They always issue a lot of stock. They never seem to go anywhere.'
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: ASD, AUY, BSX, CDE, FRO, Jim Cramer, JOE, Lightning Round, LKQX, LMT, LTD, NOC, NSC, NSTK, RTN, SPAR, SUPG, TRN, UNH, WCI

PepsiCo (P'EP), Kellogg (NYSE: K - News), Nova Chemicals (NYSE: NCX - News), Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP - News) and Celgene (NasdaqGS: CELG - News), EMC (NYSE: EMC - News)
In the aftermath 0f last week's carnage, Cramer urged investors to search in the rubble for damaged stocks but not damaged companies. One indicator that the damage is only skin deep is if the companies reported great quarters right before the selloff. However, financial and housing stocks are simply no good, according to Cramer. While Pepsi and Kellogg both reported great quarters, Pepsi jumped and then gave back its gain while Kellogg went flat. He prefers Pepsi to Coke and thinks this $66 stock is really worth $80. Cramer predicted Kellogg will have a great quarter. He considers both stocks to be an antidote for a slowing economy. Concerning NCX, Cramer said the quarter was strong and he thinks the company will be taken over. Cramer likes SGP and CELG, even though the latter stock is up. Cramer liked EMC's quarter so much, he bought the stock, and he says the company's spinoff of VMWare will be VMware "the sexiest initial public offering of the year."
Boeing (NYSE: BA - News) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News)Cramer predicts BA and LMT will go to $120, since both had been at $80 and are now around the $100 mark. BA is producing fuel-efficient planes which hold more passengers and is not affected by the domestic economy. Cramer would buy a maximum of 100 shares incrementally. He adds LMT is a good play on the Iraq War, since the defense budget is "huge." Cramer added LMT is a good international stock and is a "buyback king."
Adobe (NasdaqGS: ADBE - News)
Cramer feels secure about the tech because the sector usuallly does well in the late summer and it has the least exposure to housing ills. He likes ADBE right now even more than Microsoft because he thinks the third and fourth quarter will benefit from sales of Creative Suite 3, the "best software for publishing."
Mad Mail: Transocean (NYSE: RIG - News) and Omniture (NasdaqGM: OMTR - News)
Cramer calls RIG the most creditworthy company apart from Schlumberger, but he would recommend selling some gains. He adds that he hopes those who saw a $4 jump for OMTR sold some stock.
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: ADBE, BA, CELG, EMC, Hot Stocks, Jim Cramer, K, LMT, Mad Money, NCX, OMTR, RIG, SGP

Bullish calls:
Sears (NasdaqGS: SHLD)Monsanto (NYSE: MON - News): 'The bears and the analysts refuse to get behind this stock ... They think it's overvalued as a chemical stock. It's part of the ag play ... hybrid corn seeds, in a world where we are short corn seeds. MON is not done going up. I would be an aggressive buyer right here at $59. ('mon-back sound).'Agrium (NYSE: AGU - News)Deere (NYSE: DE - News)Spartan Motors (NasdaqGS: SPAR):' I want you in SPAR. That's the one to pull the trigger on right now.'Virgin Media (NasdaqGS: VMED): 'I want VMED to be bought here! VMED is the play for cable in Europe, in London... It has been stalled here ... I think you want to pull the trigger on VMED. I like it as much as ever. All aboard.'Time Warner (NYSE: TWX - News): 'Other cable companies - notably CMCSA and TWX - have started to move back up.'Comcast (NasdaqGS: CMCSA) Research In Motion (NasdaqGS: RIMM): 'RIMM hit a 52-week high today ... Almost no other tech stock I follow has done that. I think it's a sign of strength ... I bet RIMM is having a great quarter. They have survived every single war imaginable. I'm not backing away. I still like the stock. I would still be a buyer. Buy, buy, buy!'Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM - News): 'The stock is stuck... It's been hurt by weak sales of Tundra - their F-150 competitor... It's also been hurt by a strong yen ... That's a mistake. $126? Come on. I'm doing a triple buy.'Hexcel (NYSE: HXL - News): 'HXL is engineered product. That stock is down more than 20% from its high? That's a colossal mistake. Buy, buy, buy!'Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: ATI - News): 'Did you know that ATI - my stock of the year last year - another new high today! That one's a winner.'Foster Wheeler (NasdaqGS: FWLT): 'FWLT is the way to play construction. They've got the best order book.'Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News)L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL - News)General Dynamics (NYSE: GD - News)Theravance (NasdaqGM: THRX): 'THRX was the stock that stumped me last week, and one of the reasons why it stumped me is that it's moving up very rapidly ... The stock had a big run but, you know what? I think it's really got that great bloodline now... So I like THRX.'
Bearish calls:
Hudson City Bancorp (NasdaqGS: HCBK): ' ... with the yield curve... with the 10-year at 4.75%, and the short rates higher, that's a nightmare for any regional bank ... Don't buy, don't buy.'Force Protection (NasdaqCM: FRPT): 'I believe that SPAR, which then gives the products to FRPT, is the better play.'Veraz Networks (NasdaqGM: VRAZ): 'This one I got behind. It is not working. That is worrisome to me. When they don't work like this, I've got to pull my situation, and do more work.'XM Satellite Radio (NasdaqGS: XMSR): 'XMSR is very problematic ... The FCC and congress have made this dea (merger with Sirius Satellite Radio) too difficult ... I want to sell XMSR.'Crystallex (AMEX: KRY - News): 'KRY has been creeping up ... I would recommend sell at $4 and change. I'll buy it back at $2 and change. I do not trust this Chavez. You can't either.'CDW (NasdaqGS: CDWC)Washington Group (NYSE: WNG - News): 'I like the construction group, but you know my favorite has not been WMG, but it's been FWLT.'SAIC (NYSE: SAI - News): 'I don't want to be linked to government spending right now, because I think it's not trustworthy... '
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: AGU, ATI, CMCSA, DE, FWLT, GD, HXL, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, LLL, LMT, Mad Money, MON, RIMM, SHLD, SPAR, THRX, TM, TWX, VMED

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News): 'I think LMT is incredibly cheap. It's got a huge buyback. A question whether it even needs to be public. I would buy that stock hand over fist, every time it gets hammered. It's been a big winner, and it will stay a big winner.'Reliance Steel (NYSE: RS - News): 'RS is the cheapest stock left in the group. I look at RS, in the mid-$40s, and I think it's a travesty... The stock deserves to sell in the $50s... 'Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX - News): ' There are very few stocks that I feel have created value by merging in this country... FCX has created a giant colossus of copper... As the Chinese continue to buy copper, you are going to coin money FCX... I typically don't like the cyclicals right here. FCX is a buy, buy, buy, and I want you to stay long it. FCX, you rock!'Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC - News): ' It has reported two great upside surprises. And it does not get the respect ... JEC is best in show.... trades very difficult... I think $90 goes to $110. I like the infrastructure group. They're doing a great job.'Foster Wheeler (NasdaqGS: FWLT): 'I like FWLT.'Transocean (NYSE: RIG - News): 'I've got to go with best of breed RIG. Long Live RIG!'GlobalSantaFe (NYSE: GSF - News)
Neutral calls:
Riverbed (NasdaqGM: RVBD): 'It has now pulled back to $26. There is a sense that the stock is played out, and the reason is that there's been so much insider selling. I am now in 'wait and see' mode in RVBD.... I can't pull the trigger on RVBD, until I see the quarter...'
Bearish calls:
United States Steel (NYSE: X - News): 'Swap out of X and get into RS.'Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV - News): 'it was the once-great - because no one else had its recipe... and now everyone's got its recipe... and now, it's a don't buy ... LUV has got to come down before I can recommend it.'Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD - News): 'I've got to take the extraordinary step of pressing every single bad button there is! Sell, sell, sell! The house of pain... There is no reason for AMD to live! It has no purpose! It has nothing going for it! If you're in AMD, I give you permission right now to leave, and sell that stock!'GameStop (NYSE: GME - News): 'The new product's dried up a little, so I've got to tell you, I would not buy GME until we get closer to the Christmas season. I think it does nothing for now.'Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO - News): 'No. DO does not have the leverage to the world that RIG has. It has a little too much Gulf of Mexico for me ... I cannot bless that stock.'
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: AMD, DO, FCX, GME, GSF, JEC, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, LMT, LUV, Mad Money, RIG, RS, X

Bullish calls:
Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL): 'AAPL is the best-acting technology stock in the book ... Don't trust most of techonlogy, until we get to the summer... but not AAPL. I think AAPL is best in show. Pull the trigger on any weakness...'Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY - News): 'I think gold is a good place to go. I think people should have 1 gold stock out of 10. And the stock they should own is AUY! Which is the only gold company which is completely and utterly replenishing its coffers, even as it is produces gold. You got it right. Do you back up the truck? Let's do that at $12.'Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK - News)General Dynamic (NYSE: GD - News): ' ... you know that GD may be best in show.'Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News): 'Take a look at LMT, which got completely crushed today. That shouldn't have been down $3.'Genentech (NYSE: DNA - News): 'This stock acted pretty darn well in the selloff. It has been meandering between $80 and $85. I think that Evastin's problems are way overblown ... it's still in my top 4.'Gilead Sciences (NasdaqGS: GILD)Celgene (NasdaqGS: CELG): 'I don't like DNA as much as I like CELG, which is my #1 name.'Genzyme (NasdaqGS: GENZ): 'I don't like it [DNA] as much as GENZ.'Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT): 'Everybody knows that Vista's not selling well. I think that MSFT, at $26, deserves and merits a buy here... not on voice recognition, but on a crystal, rock-solid clear balance sheet, and a business that isn't going away. The stock is now down five straight points. That's an overaction, and I'm buying. Buy, buy, buy!'GlobalSantaFe (NYSE: GSF - News)Transocean (NYSE: RIG - News): 'Rig is #1.'Garmin (NasdaqGS: GRMN): 'I thought GRMN acted very well today ... What a clean quarter they had. Let that stock come in to $50. And then, I don't care about the insider selling. I need you to pull the trigger multiple times... $50, then $47, and then $45... What a stock! What a company.'
Neutral calls:
Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO - News): 'When I went through the quarter for DO... Frankly, I was not as impressed as I wanted to be... Here's the deal... The pecking order of drillers is very clear: RIG* is #1... Then GSF... and only then, would you pick up DO.'
Bearish calls:
SAIC (NYSE: SAI - News): 'Remember, I said that SAIC, I had to give up on it... I rode it up to $21 and then I rode it back. My bad.'
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: ATK, AUY, DNA, DO, GD, GSF, Jim Cramer, LMT, Mad Money, RIG, SAI

Bullish calls:
Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL): 'AAPL is the best-acting technology stock in the book ... Don't trust most of techonlogy, until we get to the summer... but not AAPL. I think AAPL is best in show. Pull the trigger on any weakness...'Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY - News): 'I think gold is a good place to go. I think people should have 1 gold stock out of 10. And the stock they should own is AUY! Which is the only gold company which is completely and utterly replenishing its coffers, even as it is produces gold. You got it right. Do you back up the truck? Let's do that at $12.'Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK - News)General Dynamic (NYSE: GD - News): ' ... you know that GD may be best in show.'Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News): 'Take a look at LMT, which got completely crushed today. That shouldn't have been down $3.'Genentech (NYSE: DNA - News): 'This stock acted pretty darn well in the selloff. It has been meandering between $80 and $85. I think that Evastin's problems are way overblown ... it's still in my top 4.'Gilead Sciences (NasdaqGS: GILD)Celgene (NasdaqGS: CELG): 'I don't like DNA as much as I like CELG, which is my #1 name.'Genzyme (NasdaqGS: GENZ): 'I don't like it [DNA] as much as GENZ.'Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT): 'Everybody knows that Vista's not selling well. I think that MSFT, at $26, deserves and merits a buy here... not on voice recognition, but on a crystal, rock-solid clear balance sheet, and a business that isn't going away. The stock is now down five straight points. That's an overaction, and I'm buying. Buy, buy, buy!'GlobalSantaFe (NYSE: GSF - News)Transocean (NYSE: RIG - News): 'Rig is #1.'Garmin (NasdaqGS: GRMN): 'I thought GRMN acted very well today ... What a clean quarter they had. Let that stock come in to $50. And then, I don't care about the insider selling. I need you to pull the trigger multiple times... $50, then $47, and then $45... What a stock! What a company.'
Neutral calls:
Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO - News): 'When I went through the quarter for DO... Frankly, I was not as impressed as I wanted to be... Here's the deal... The pecking order of drillers is very clear: RIG* is #1... Then GSF... and only then, would you pick up DO.'
Bearish calls:
SAIC (NYSE: SAI - News): 'Remember, I said that SAIC, I had to give up on it... I rode it up to $21 and then I rode it back. My bad.'
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: AAPL, ATK, AUY, DNA, GD, GSF, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, LMT, Mad Money, RIG

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY - News) beat earnings expectations on Wednesday afternoon with $0.31 EPS over an estimated $0.28 EPS. EBAY's PowerRating is 4.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - News) beat earnings on Wednesday afternoon, announcing $0.43 EPS over an expected $0.42 EPS. QCOM's PowerRating is 4.
AT&T (NYSE:T - News) announces earnings Thursday before the open; watch for $0.59 EPS. T's PowerRating is 5.
Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW - News) looks set to announce $0.93 EPS on Thursday morning. DOW's PowerRating is 5.
Analysts are expecting Ford (NYSE:F - News) to report -$0.91 EPS on Thursday morning before the bell. F's PowerRating is 6.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - News) is expected to report $1.45 EPS when the company reports quarterly earnings tomorrow. LMT's PowerRating is 5.
Nokia (NYSE:NOK - News) reports quarterly earnings Thursday morning; analysts expect $0.35 EPS. NOK's PowerRating is 4.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: DOW, EBAY, F, LMT, NOK, QCOM, T

Return to the Limelight
Jay Weinstein, of Oak Forest Investment Management, in Bethesda, Md., my guru for undervalued, ultra-small companies, in 2005 picked Atrion (ATRI), a medical-products company, and it jumped 57%. For 2006, he chose Astronics (ATRO), only one letter away, and it rose 60%. Now, for 2007, he's back to Atrion. "Chief executive Emile Battat and his chief financial officer, Jeff Strickland, have done a phenomenal job building shareholder value," Weinstein tells me. He sees Atrion ending 2007 with no debt and $6 a share in earnings. So at current prices you are paying a multiple of 13 times earnings -- puny for a company growing at better than 15% annually. Weinstein reveals that his clients own a big chunk of the stock. But with a market capitalization (shares outstanding times the stock price) of just $145 million, the share price is apt to be volatile.
Last year, I said Tom Brown "is probably the best financial-stock analyst in the business." After the performance of First Marblehead (FMD), which returned 152% (best on my list for 2006) and which, by the way, Brown still likes, I am going to drop the "probably." For the year ahead, one of the holdings of Brown's hedge fund jumps out: CompuCredit (CCRT). The company focuses on the subprime lending market, issuing credit cards, auto loans, and small "payday" advances to people without the best creditworthiness. CompuCredit is a smart operator in a tough business. "Earnings growth and profitability have been strong -- and figure to stay that way," writes Brown, but "CompuCredit's stock trades at an extremely low valuation" -- just eight times the $4.60 in earnings per share that Brown expects in 2007.
I have rhapsodized over Hennessy Cornerstone Growth, a mutual fund that follows a stock-picking formula that screens for rising earnings, a low price-to-sales ratio and above-average stock-price increases. The fund has returned an annualized 17% over the past five years. Its low price-to-sales criterion means that an abundance of retailers and energy companies qualify for the portfolio, so I prefer to look for stocks in other sectors. One of the best is Emcor Group (EME), which designs, operates and maintains sophisticated electrical and mechanical systems for factories, utilities and office buildings. The stock is pricey, but growth is impressive, with profits expected to rise by one-third in 2007.
A Health-care Pick
As I write this column, Fidelity Equity-Income fund is on track to beat the S&P 500 for the seventh year in a row, at risk levels well below the benchmark. Managed by Stephen Petersen for the past 13 years, the fund owns large-company stocks that pay nice dividends. Petersen is adding to the fund's holdings of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), maker of drugs, medical devices and consumer health products. Although the business could be under the gun of a Democratic Congress, shares trade at a modest valuation of 16 times expected 2007 earnings, with a dividend that's rising at a consistent, double-digit rate.
Value Line Investment Survey has a great record for picking stocks. As of December 1, only two of the roughly 2,000 stocks that Value Line covers received top ratings for both timeliness and safety: Lockheed Martin and Du Pont. It's a tough choice, but I slightly prefer Lockheed Martin (LMT), the aerospace company. Its stock has doubled since early 2004 but still trades at a price-earnings ratio of 16, based on estimated 2007 earnings. Plus, its volatility is well below the market as a whole.
Magazines and More
I'm a fan of money manager Joel Greenblatt, author of The Little Book That Beats the Market, which sensibly advocates a stock-picking strategy that combines both growth and value elements. Greenblatt operates a free stock screener at www.magicformulainvesting.com. When I tried it last year, the screener produced 25 attractive selections, of which I picked American Eagle Outfitters. It returned a juicy 121%. Facing another 25 choices, I am drawn to Meredith (MDP), publisher of Better Homes & Gardens and other magazines and owner of 14 television stations. At a time when traditional media are out of favor, Meredith has been increasing its profits at a rapid pace. Nevertheless, it carries a modest valuation.
Ric Prentiss, the top telecom analyst at Raymond James & Associates, a brokerage with an exceptional track record for stock picking, tells me his best idea right now is a small company with an unwieldy name -- Ntelos (NTLS). It sells wireless phone and Internet service to customers in Virginia and West Virginia. Also, Ntelos sells wholesale wireless service to Sprint and, says Prentiss, it should benefit as Sprint moves its newly acquired Nextel customers to the CDMA technology that Ntelos provides. A big attraction of the stock, says Prentiss, is that it's cheap compared with similar businesses. Why? The company, founded in 1897, is "still not very well known." That's what we like in a stock: market inefficiency.
Friess Associates, which manages $12 billion in assets through vehicles such as the wonderful Brandywine fund, has kind words for SkyWest (SKYW), a regional airline that, in the words of the Friess newsletter, Looking Forward, "receives payment [from Delta and United] for each completed departure rather than on a percentage-of-revenue basis, minimizing the effects of load factors and fuel price hikes." Considering its rate of profit growth, the stock trades at a low valuation of nine times expected 2007 profits.
After two big losers in a row, the Prudent Speculator newsletter has been placed in my penalty box, and I'm returning to an old favorite among newsletters, Dow Theory Forecasts, for a selection. We need an energy company for 2007, and highly rated on the Dow Theory buy list is ConocoPhillips (COP), which has been rearranging its portfolio in a way that appears perspicacious. For example, Conoco's purchase of Burlington Resources in March 2006 made it the largest natural-gas producer in North America -- a smart move in a tight market. Based on expected 2007 earnings, shares trade at a P/E of just 8 and yield 2.1%.
Unloved and Little Known
Now, here's a contrarian stock. Universal Forest Products (UFPI) makes wood and plastic building products, such as roof trusses, for the construction and do-it-yourself sectors. With the decline in the housing market, the stock skidded 40% between May and December. It is, however, a selection of one of my favorite analysts, Cleveland-based Elliott Schlang, of Great Lakes Review, who focuses on midwestern stocks in boring industries. He likes companies with heavy insider ownership, strong cash flow and solid balance sheets. Universal meets the criteria and, trading at a P/E of 12 based on estimated 2007 earnings, it looks awfully cheap. That's the list. Just remember warning number three.
By James K. Glassman, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Labels: ATRI, ATRO, CCRT, COP, EME, FMD, JNJ, LMT, MDP, NTLS, SKYW, UFPI

UTStarcom (NASDAQ:UTSI - News) announced that the company was undergoing an SEC investigation for trading by unnamed third parties. UTSI's PowerRating is 4.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - News) announced a $635 million deal to help upgrade the Turkish Air Force. LMT's PowerRating is 5.
Par Pharmaceutical (NYSE:PRX - News) announced that the FDA approved its new drug, Ondansetron ODT, which is a generic drug used to battle nausea associated with chemotherapy. PRX's PowerRating is 5.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - News) announced that the 2006 Christmas shopping season was the company's "best ever." The orders for December 11th alone topped 4 million separate items. AMZN's PowerRating is 5.
Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM - News) and Perry Ellis (NASDAQ:PERY - News) have both scheduled a 3:2 stock split for Friday, December 29. IRM's PowerRating is 5, and PERY's PowerRating is 6.
Learning Tree (NASDAQ:LTRE - News) is the only major stock reporting earnings next week. LTRE is expected to report $0.03 EPS on Thursday.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: AMZN, IRM, LMT, LTRE, Nasdaq, NYSE Group, PERY, PRX, UTSI