Jim Cramer's Mad Money Review

Cramer Cries Foul:
United Technologies (UTX), Microsoft (MSFT), Honeywell (HON), IBM (IBM), Fluor (FLR), Union Pacific (UNP), CSX (CSX)
Cramer declared he was sick and tired of taking abuse from people who say I've gotten it wrong, specifically Robert Samuelson who wrote in a recent Newsweek article that Cramer advocates rate cuts only to create a short-term lift for stocks. Cramer argued he has been advocating rate cuts for a year, and band-aid stimulus packages that give away taxpayer monies that we don't have are not the solution. Instead, he advocates a rate reduction of 1.75% and said the Fed was unsophisticated, arrogant and incredibly reckless. Cramer said in the current environment, he would consider buying UTX, MSFT, HON, IBM, FLR, UNP, CSX.
Excuses, Excuses: Motorola (MOT), Nokia (NOK)
Sometimes a loser company's excuses can bring down good companies. Cramer cited MOT, which reported abysmal numbers last week, admitted mobile sales were down 38% and blamed the economy. As a result, there was a huge selloff of MOT and NOK, even though NOK reported a 44% increase in sales, bigger market share and strength in foreign markets. Nokia should not be punished for Motorla's sins, particularly since MOT makes products no one wants to buy and lacks vision.
CEO Interview: Emanuel Chirico of Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) also with stocks Liz Claiborne (LIZ), VF Corp (VFC), Jones Apparel (JNY)
Cramer says retail is the place to be if there will be another rate cut and mentions he likes LIZ, VFC and JNY in addition to PVH. Emanuel Chirico said although his company was one of the first in the sector to issue warnings about a sluggish consumer, PVH recently beat its estimates by two cents a share. While inventories are up slightly, Chirico highlighted PVH's successful buyback program and its renaming Continental Airlines Area to Izod Arena, which will be a strong marketing tool. While Cramer likes all the retail names he mentioned, he adds PVH is the cheapest in the group.
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Labels: CSX, FLR, HON, IBM, Jim Cramer, JNY, LIZ, Mad Money, MOT, MSFT, NOK, PVH, UNP, UTX, VFC

NCR (NCR) and Eastman Kodak (EK) are two stocks with a great deal of potential upside and a cushion to the downside. NCR, is a leading manufacturer and designer of ATMs and scanners. Because of its recent anonymity, NCR is a great play on the rise of the middle class in the former U.S.S.R. and the Third World. Cramer says NCR has a huge buyback coming. NCR is sporting 17% growth in ATM sales, with Europe having only 500 ATMs per million people and even fewer in China. A sleeper stock that deserves more attention. Eastman Kodak might not seem like a good buy being a couple points above a 52-week low. Cramer has been betting against Kodak since he started his hedge fund, but he believes the company is about to turn around. After years of losses, its balance sheet is healthy now, sporting $6 of net cash per share. With $82 million in digital income, Kodak is ready to come back alive.
CEO Wall of Shame
Cramer finally removed Citigroup (C) CEO Chuck Prince from his Wall of Shame. He replaced Prince with Kerry Killinger, CEO of Washington Mutual (WM). WaMu’s Kerry Killinger rocketed past Motorola (MOT) CEO Ed Zander and Alcatel Lucent's (ALU) Pat Russo to the top position. Cramer said Killinger has done such a poor job running Washington Mutual that the Fed will cut rates to bail the bank out. Compared to total loans, Washington Mutual’s allowance for losses is far too low.

Mad Mail
The first writer asked Cramer how he intends to play the environment during NBC Universal’s Green Week? Cramer said all week he will work on individual ideas about how to play green, focusing on companies that make power cheaper but are still profitable. The second mailer questioned Cramer’s Apache call in the mid-$70s. Cramer said that his earlier statement; that the company would not go through $80, turned out to be wrong. He said he wished he’d given the stock more leeway, but he made the wrong call. He apologized for his mistake. The third viewer mentioned that Diana Shipping (DSX) CEO Simeon Palios, whom Cramer had interviewed on the show last week, may have had trouble articulating his company’s story in proper English. The viewer wondered if Cramer had made any follow-up on the call. Cramer felt Palios indicated that the bull story wasn’t there and that he was negative.

Labels: ALU, C, EK, Jim Cramer, Mad MOney Recap, MOT, NCR, WM

CEO Wall of Shame. Cramer still has Citibank (C) CEO Chuck Prince at the top of his Wall of Shame, and thinks that he will be forced out this week after listening to a conference call. The next CEO is Motorola's (MOT) Ed Zander. Lastly, Patrica Russo of Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) rounds out the top three. Although he has their CEO on the Wall of Shame, Cramer thinks that Motorola is a stock to buy because Carl Ichan owns a large position in the stock, plus they announce their quarterly earnings on Friday, and Cramer thinks they might finally bottom out this quarter. Cramer also thinks that the company is worth $24.60 per share if it is broken up, which is 27% higher than the current price.
Cramer then went to the phones. The first caller asked about Kraft (KFT), and Cramer thinks the stock is low risk, high reward. The next caller asked about Research in Motion (RIMM), and Cramer thinks that it is taking a breather for the next couple of days.
CoPart (CPRT) Cramer analyzed a stock he has been waiting to bring up on the show for a while. CPRT has finally moved down enough from its highs that Cramer feels good about recommending it. The company is in the middle of a large stock buyback, and is going to continue to grow.
After the lightning round, Cramer talked about the buyout rumors surrounding Saks (SKS). Cramer doesn't think the stock jumped enough on the news, and he likes the stock anyway. Cramer believes SKS will be bought out around $23 - $24 per share, and it is worth up to $26.30 per share when compared to the buyout price Neiman Marcus got last year.
Mad Mail. The first email asked about Biogen (BIIB), and Cramer thinks that it could be bought out at $100. The next email asked about Hologic (HOLX), and Cramer is still bullish. The next email was about Petro China (PTR), which Cramer thinks is up too much.
Sudden Death. Cramer doesn't like Lloyd's (LYG), and recommended Allstate (ALL), Metlife (MET), or Prudential (PRU) instead. He does like Textainer Group (TGH).

Labels: ALL, ALU, BIIB, CPRT, Jim Cramer, KFT, LYG, Mad Money, Mad MOney Recap, MET, MOT, PRU, PTR, RIMM

Bullish
Morningstar (MORN),
Blackstone (BX),
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB),
Sonic (SONC),
Cisco (CSCO),
Motorola (MOT),
Nokia (NOK),
EMC (EMC)
Caterpillar (CAT).

Bearish
Netgear (NTGR)
Infosys Technologies (INFY),
Audiovox (VOXX),
VMware (VMW),
Clearwire (CLWR)
Alvarion (ALVR).

Labels: BX, CAT, CSCO, EMC, FITB, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, Mad Money Lightning Round, MORN, MOT, NOK, SONC

Nokia (NOK), Navteq (NVT) and Motorola (MOT): Cramer would use the decline since the Navteq acquisition as an opportunity to buy NOK, and says that NOK far surpasses competitor MOT.
Capital One (COF): This bank may have finished its decline since there is reassuring news from California that the number of defaults will not be overwhelming, says Cramer.
Cisco (CSCO) and Ciena (CIEN): Cramer prefers Cisco to Ciena, which he would sell since it has jumped 10 points.
Bank of America (BAC), JP Morgan (JPM): BAC is inexpensive and should reach $60 from $52, Cramer predicted, adding that JPM's CEO Jamie Dimon is overrated.
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Labels: BAC, CIEN, COF, CSCO, Jim Cramer, JPM, MOT, NOK, Stop Trading

Labels: ACTU, BEAS, BIDU, DISCA, FCSX, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, Mad Money, MOT, NLY, NOK, RSH, WB, WNG

Novellus Systems (NasdaqGS: NVLS - News), Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News), Intel (NasdaqGS: INTC - News), EMC (NYSE: EMC - News), Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - News)Cramer would buy Novellus, which guided down its earnings, revenues and orders and still rose 10%. The stock is even up after missing its estimates, which demonstrates the health of the tech sector, according to Cramer. Similarly, Motorola is back up after reporting a disastrous quarter. He predicted Intel will reach $30 and investors will be safe to buy half their positions now "because you're immunized. I expect it will be contained either at the $25 strike or the $27.50 strike." Other great tech names are EMC, which is a buy at $19 ahead of VMware's IPO, MSFT, whose performance is sluggish but will still see $32. "This group is like oil was a year ago," Cramer said. "You just can't stop buying it."
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Labels: EMC, Hot Stocks, INTC, Jim Cramer, MOT, MSFT, NVLS

Olin (NYSE: OLN - News), PPG (NYSE: PPG - News), Applied Materials (NasdaqGS: AMAT - News), KLA-Tencor (NasdaqGS: KLAC - News), Novellus (NasdaqGS: NVLS - News), Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News): Buyouts in the chemical sector have caused prices to rise, and Cramer says it's time to sell OLN and PPG and buy tech stocks. He likes AMAT "up 3 in the blink of an eye," Tencor, which he sees rising another 5 points and NVLS, which made an "incredible" 11% rise despite its disappointing numbers. Even Motorola is coming back after reporting a terrible quarter. "Just take your wallet and just like throw it at the tech stocks!," Cramer said.
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Labels: AMAT, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's Stop Trading, KLAC, MOT, NVLS, OLN, PPG

Here are 7 options to watch for today. This list comes directly from the TradingMarkets Options Indicators page. The list is created using OptionVue options analysis software.
Most Underpriced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Capital One Financial Corp. Sept 85 Calls (NYSE:COF - News). COF's PowerRating is 5.
Most Underpriced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Baidu.com Sept 160 Puts (NasdaqGM:BIDU - News). BIDU's PowerRating is 3.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. While list finds the most overpriced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Mastercard Inc. Aug 180 Calls (NYSE:MA - News). MA's PowerRating is 7.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Southern Copper Corp. Aug 95 Puts (NYSE:PCU - News). PCU's PowerRating is 4.
Stocks with Abnormal Call Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual call option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Call Volume Alerts list suggests a possible takeover, extraordinarily good earnings report, or other news which may favorably affect the stock.
Symantec Corp. (NasdaqGS:SYMC - News). SYMC's PowerRating is 5.
Stocks with Abnormal Put Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual put option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Put Volume Alerts list suggests an extraordinarily negative earnings report, or other news which may negatively affect the stock.
Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV - News). HOV's PowerRating is 5.
Abnormal Put/Call $ Volume: These stocks have the highest dollar put volume in relation to their call volume. These high ratios are indicative of extreme bearish sentiment in the underlying stock.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - News). MOT's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: BIDU, COF, Hot Stock Options, HOV, MA, MOT, PCU, SYMC

IBM (NYSE: IBM - News): Although Cramer thinks IBM could rise 15% because unpopular CEO Sam Palmisano is taking a "permanent intellecutal vacation," he notes the stock could fall 20% if a new chief isn't chosen soon. Cramer suggested "maybe IBM could get a board of directors," which he thinks the company badly needs since it took so long to let Palmisano go.
Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL), Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News), Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News): Cramer says Apple is the one tech stock worth buying, since Wednesday is the final quarter before the release of its iPhone. He would pick up the stock at $90, especially since NOK and MOT are not doing well, and adds the only reason NOK is up 6 points is not due to its own strength but MOT's weakness.
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: IBM, Jim Cramer, MOT, NOK, Stop Trading

Stocks snapped this week's rally, as a mixed batch of earnings reports led some traders to take profits after two weeks of gains in the Dow Jones industrials.
Investors pulled back after Yahoo Inc. posted a surprising 11 percent drop in its first-quarter profit. Also making investors shudder were disappointing results from International Business Machines Corp. and Motorola Inc.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave some support to the Dow after the bank reported a 55 percent jump in profits that far surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The 30 companies that make up the index -- nearly half of which report earnings this week -- have been mostly beating the Street's predictions.
Wall Street was rattled by a sharp drop in the dollar, which is now at 26-year lows against the British pound. The U.S. currency has been weakening because interest rates have remained steady since the summer, and because the U.S. economy is slowing. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.94, or 0.15 percent, to 12,754.10. The Dow has advanced in 12 of the past 13 sessions.
Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 2.13, or 0.14 percent, at 1,469.35, and the Nasdaq composite index shed 11.72, or 0.47 percent, to 2,505.23.

Labels: Dow Jones, IBM, JPM, MOT, Nasdaq, YHOO

Bullish calls:
Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF - News): 'Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap! This is an iron pellet company, and there is a worldwide shortage of iron ... I believe that CLF - if it does not get the stock higher - will be purchased by another company - buy buy buy!'Vodafone (NYSE: VOD - News): 'I think the 3% yield, plus the incredible assets it has in Europe yields a buy, and I would buy the stock.'Gilead Sciences (NasdaqGS: GILD)Celgene (NasdaqGS: CELG): 'I've got the CELG at $55.'Genzyme (NasdaqGS: GENZ)Infosys Technologies (NasdaqGS: INFY): 'You know that's one of my favorite outsourcing companies! Now there are a lot of people who won't want to put money in Bangalor... I think those people are short-sighted.'Accenture (NYSE: ACN - News): ' ... you could always do ACN, ahead of next week's quarter, which I think will be good.'Six Flags (NYSE: SIX - News): 'They reported a quarter that everyone said was bad. And did the stock blink an eye? Absolutely not. I am with you. I believe the comparisons will be really easy for SIX. Pull the trigger my friend.'Sun Microsystems (NasdaqGS: SUNW): 'I think SUNW is okay. This is a new position for me. I have historically disliked SUNW... At $6 bucks, I don't know... enough hate is enough. They've got a new CEO. They've got a KKR shareholder. I think there's a lot of ways to win. $1 down, $3 up.'Indevus Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGM: IDEV): 'I recommended IDEV... and it is still ramping... but it's a little $6 stock, so I'm not going to push it hard here. They've got a lot of compounds... I would take a shot. It's a flyer. It's a speculative name.'Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL): 'If it's going to $100 and beyond, I don't think $93 is a bad level, but let's do it this way: Let's buy 25 shares, with the hope it comes in so we can get our 100 shares in... I think iPhone is going to be gigantic. 'Amgen (NasdaqGS: AMGN): 'I say buy it here with a minimum risk/reward. Maybe even do it in deep-in-the-money in options.'
Bearish calls:
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX - News): ' We pulled the trigger, and told people to sell at $18, and I am not changing my mind. I still don't like BSX, even down here at $15. Sell, sell, sell!'Baidu.com (NasdaqGM: BIDU): 'I can never trust the communist Chinese communists to allow a free-speech internet to be able to prosper... which is why I refuse to endorse BIDU. Don't buy, don't buy.'Pozen (NasdaqGM: POZN): ' Too dicey, ever since they did that migraine game... I've got the CELG at $55. That's better. I like the GILD better too. And let's not forget GENZ!Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News): 'NOK is falling apart.'Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News): 'MOT is competely and utterly just (house of pain)।'
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Labels: ACN, AMGN, BIDU, BSX, CELG, CLF, GENZ, GILD, IDEV, INFY, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, Mad Money, MOT, NOK, POZN, SIX, SUNW, VOD

A Good Call: AT&T (NYSE: T - News), Verizon (NYSE: VZ - News), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S - News) and Qwest (NYSE: Q - News)
Four companies are poised to become the candidate for the government's largest ever telecommunications contract, Networks Universal, and Cramer believes this contract is significant if it will "move the needle." He comments T and VZ are already so large that even though the deal will mean $68 billion over the next 10 years, it shouldn't move these stocks more than 50 or 60 cents upward. Sprint would be a likely candidate, but although the company reported a good quarter, things look less rosy for Motorola, Sprint's supplier. This leaves Qwest; "I think you'll see a gigantic move, as the permanence of Q is no longer in doubt," said Cramer. Even if Q doesn't get the deal, it is in the "fast-growing part of the country" and may be a takeover target. Cramer would do a mon' back!
Water the Odds? Pico Holdings (NasdaqGM: PICO)
A student at the University of Texas gave Cramer the idea to look at water stocks, and while he is not hitting the bull button yet, Cramer suggests doing homework on PICO, a small speculative play. While Cramer is not thrilled with the water utility market, he likes the fact that PICO sells its water at a premium and has a 35 mile water pipeline under construction. While only one analyst is covering the stock, but Cramer says, "Water is becoming too hot for it to stay under the radar." He urges investors who have done their homework to use limit orders when buying PICO.
Sell Block: Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI - News), GSI Commerce Inc. (NasdaqGS: GSIC), Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News), Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News)
Although Cramer has been bullish on BBI, he was essentially bullish on CEO John Antioco, and would sell the stock on the announcement of Antioco's departure, because "he was the one who gave us our double in the stock" and "exceeded handily" his promises. Although some are critical of Antioco's long-term performance, Cramer pointed out that he saved BBI from Netflix, and he would take gains in the stock now. Cramer notes GSIC is up 28% since his December recommendation, and he would do a schnitzel (sell the gains) on its large increase. Cramer then discussed the "unbelievable Barnum and Bailey stuff" that occurred when some "joker" of an analyst suggested buying Nokia after Motorola cut guidance. "What's bad for MOT is going to be bad for NOK," said Cramer, because MOK's problem is an indication of an industry-wide problem.

CEO Interview: Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC - News)
When Cramer asked why CFC stopped giving out "bad loans" at a time everyone was doing it, Angelo Mozilo said he was talking about problems with loan quality and margins at New Century and Ameriquest a year ago. The companies had a bad business model, Mozilo continued, stating there will be consequences for minority and first-time prospective homeowners because of disappearing liquidity, and this trend will impact the housing market. However, he added the subprime mess has cleared the field of many of CFC's competitors, and the company will be in a dominant position at the end of this painful subprime ride. Cramer commented its time to pick up survivors like CFC ahead of a Fed rate cut in May. Cramer aimed to reassure viewers about Muzilo's stock-selling; "He's an older fellow... It's time for him to do a little insider selling... and I would start doing some outsider buying!"
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Labels: BBI, CFC, GSIC, Jim Cramer, Mad Money, MOT, NOK, PICO, Q, S, T, VZ

Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC - News), Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH - News), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - News) and J. Crew (NYSE: JCG - News)
Cramer counsels patience until next Friday when BSC, LEH and GS should be "painfully low" when the bears attack after earnings reports on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively. This means investors can buy the Big Three at "incredible bargains, " says Cramer, adding: "Stocks react to whoever shoots first, not how good the numbers are. And right now the bears have to shoot first." He commented the "only company worth banking on next week" is J. Crew, which was held back by its "digestion of a big secondary," a stock offering which Cramer thought had "terrible pricing" at $37.50. However, Cramer thinks the price will be taken out by its great quarter, and while there is some risk, he feels it is immunized from the downside with its 2% decline. Cramer suggests buying ahead of its report on Tuesday.

March Madness: Akamai (NasdaqGS: AKAM)
Cramer likes AKAM for two reasons: First, it is one of his so-called "rubble stocks" which was unfairly savaged during the selloff; "Personally, I'm offended that it's down here," he remarked. Secondly, since it is the "leading company for optimizing online video," Cramer believes it is a great way to play March Madness, or the NCAA College basketball championship, which should attract widespread online viewership. He commented Akamai is usually much higher this time of year, and the company gave guidance that was "way up from the forecast." Cramer says Akamai is a good way to play bandwidth shortage.
Two IPOs to Avoid: Aruba Networks and Glu Mobile with stocks Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News) and Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO) and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU - News)
Not all IPOs are created equal, and Cramer does not want investors to go near Aruba Networks which will trade under ARUN or Glu Mobile, which will trade under GLUU, unless their prices are cut. Aruba's main rivals are "heavy hitters" MOT and Cisco, warns Cramer and Aruba sells through vendor ALU, a company Cramer doesn't like. Mobile game producer, Glu Mobile would be a decent stock at $8, according to Cramer, but it should not be selling at the best-0f-breed $10-$12 range.
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Mad Mail: Dynegy (NYSE: DYN - News) and UAL (NasdaqGS: UAUA)
Cramer commented CEO Bruce Williamson is "one of the best in the country" and predicts a move from $8.58 to $10. Cramer told another viewer the one airline he would buy would be UAL, but only as a speculative play.

Labels: AKAM, ALU, BSC, CSCO, GS, JCG, Jim Cramer, LEH, Mad Money, MOT

Colgate (NYSE: CL - News), Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW - News), Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK - News): Cramer says that many people are more interested in the Fed than stocks, and that the Fed-obsessed may miss out on good moves like buying Colgate, Illinois Tool Works and Black & Decker. He expressed a wish that investors could return to a time when "we recall that there are only certain industries that are hurt by these rates -- auto and housing." Since neither industries are expected to perform well, Cramer believes a rate hike is unlikely, and while he believes there will be a rate cut, he doesn't expect an upside from a rate reduction this year.
3M (NYSE: MMM - News), Merck (NYSE: MRK - News), UPS (NYSE: UPS - News): Cramer commented on three companies which had poor guidance, 3M, UPS and Merck, and said that 3M "doesn't have a clue," Merck has "bad management" and a"very bad pipe," and expressed bafflement at UPS's low guidance.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX - News): When Aaron Task asked about Carl Icahn taking a stake in Motorola, Cramer noted that the activist financier has changed his methods; while Icahn once would really shake up a company, he now enters with a "substantive, constructive critique." Cramer said that he was wary of companies that avoid Icahn, because he can offer "tremendous guidance from many different fields," although Icahn tends to be rough on management. Cramer was surprised to see TWX's Dick Parsons, whom Cramer calls "a modern-day classic CEO" embrace Icahn in spite his cool feelings initially. "The CEO matters more than people realize," comments Cramer, "and the CEO sets the tone."
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Labels: BDK, CL, ITW, Jim Cramer, MMM, MOT, MRK, TWX

Summary: Following Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News)'s surprise high earnings report last week, Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News)'s 4Q results from two weeks earlier paled even more. Nokia's cellphone margins were actually up, despite intense competition and resulting phone price cuts. The company's handset operating margins rose to 17.8%, up more than 2% from the previous quarter, while Motorola, at 4.4%, went half as high as anticipated. All handset competitors have suffered from shrinking margins, with the sole exception of Nokia and Sony (NYSE: SNE - News)-Ericsson (NasdaqGS: ERIC). Motorola is taking growth in market share and volume in emerging markets, at the cost of margins and profit. Slashing the cost of its popular RAZR model resulted in increased market share at the expense of its other handsets. The gap between the two giants can widen in the short term, as Nokia releases new handsets, rich in feature and fashion. Due to the great success of Motorola's RAZR, Nokia had adopted a strategy of scale and cost, allowing it to succeed while the competition flounders. Motorola is currently trading at 15.2x earnings, versus Nokia's 17.2. Bottom Line: "After two quarterly-earnings misses in a row and with no hot successor to the RAZR in sight..Motorola stock appears to be no better than dead money for at least the first half of 2007."
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Labels: MOT, NOK, SNE

Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM - News), ConcoPhillips (NYSE: COP - News) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX - News)
Although oil stocks moved up on Friday, Cramer does not trust the sector, and commented that people knew that oil stock prices were ahead of the price of oil, and when they held these stocks up, they cratered. He noted that when oil prices were this high before, XOM was in the $60s and now it is in the low $70s. Cramer admitted that he was "blindsided" by COP which reported low margins after saying "a lot of really good things" at a meeting a few weeks ago. However, he still thinks COP is a buy because the company is "committed" to its stock, and would also recommed Chevron for its dividend.
Related: Kurt Wulff discusses XOM's expected return for 2007.
Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN - News) and Genentech (NYSE: DNA - News)
Cramer notes that its strange that drug stocks are moving up precisely at a time when the Democrats are talking about lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries: 'Maybe ... you can't change the Medicare policy like we thought," he said and commented that drug companies are very good at lobbying and spreading around money. Although the first half of the year is usually tough for biotech, Cramer thinks that the sector could catch up with pharma, and notes that AMGN and DNA did not perform well in the latter half of 2006.
Related: Amgen acquires option On experimental Cytokinetics heart drug
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - News), Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News), Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB - News), Sprint (NYSE: S - News)
Tech has rebounded, and Cramer comments that the analysts are far more negative than the companies. He sees a buying opportunity ahead of MSFT's Vista launch and says there is every reason to get behind tech. Cramer calls MOT a "problem company," says he is "sick and tired" of TLAB attributing its poor performance to integration in telco, and thinks that TLAB has no product portfolio. Cramer adds that, among MOT's woes, its CEO Ed Zander is "curiously absent" and, as Sprint's largest supplier, MOT might be affected by Sprint's inconsistent performance.
Related: Tiernan Ray discusses Sprint's "huge miss."
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Labels: AMGN, COP, CVX, DNA, Jim Cramer, MOT, MSFT, TLAB, XOM

Watch the Profits: Nabors (NYSE: NBR - News), Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD - News), Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News), Circuit City (NYSE: CC - News), TJX (NYSE: TJX - News), Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST - News), Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - News)
Concerning the stronger-than-expected employment figure, Cramer told host Aaron Task that he likes a situation when half of the analysts think that the Fed should raise rates and the other half want the Fed to lower rates, since an environment is created in which profts cause less disappointment. He added that recently the market is "killing" companies with less than spectacular results, and Task noted that this trend has been noticeable with Nabors, Limited Brands and Motorola. Cramer mentioned that he wanted to recommend LTD because of its jump to $32 after the Victoria's Secret fashion show, but then it fell to $29, and Cramer said that he now prefers TJX and ROST. Task discussed BBY's better-than-expected sales and Cramer said he would double up on the retailer even though it has gone up. "Best Buy has a history of doing two things: disappointing or telling people it's going to disappoint in November and then giving an upside surprise in January," he said. "The fact that anyone is not wise to this is irritating," said Cramer, who urged viewers to buy the stock "hand over fist." Although Circuit City has been moving up with BBY, Cramer says it doesn't have the inventory controls, the good merchandising or a sales staff which pushes the more expensive products. He commented that he doesn't like the cell phone business, especially Nokia, and with Motorola struggling, he would avoid buying component players such as Texas Instruments, although he wouldn't necessarily sell it. Finally, Cramer recommended taking a "hard look" and Apple and picking it up.
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Labels: CC, LTD, MOT, NBR, NOK, ROST, TJX, TXN

LifeCell (NASDAQ:LIFC - News) reports earnings on Monday before the open, with analysts looking for $0.16 EPS. LIFC's PowerRating is 4.
Schnitzer Steel (NASDAQ:SCHN - News) reports earnings on Monday morning; watch for $0.99 EPS. SCHN's PowerRating is 6.
Big-cap earnings season for 2007 begins on Tuesday, when Alcoa (NYSE:AA - News) reports earnings in the afternoon. Watch for heightened volume and price action ahead of the announcement. AA's PowerRating is 5.
Oil prices today bounced back after heavy losses from the past 2 sessions. Watch major energy companies during this period of heightened volatility, like Exxon Mobile (NYSE:XOM - News), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - News), and Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - News). XOM's PowerRating is 6, COP's PowerRating is 7, and VLO's PowerRating is 6.
The tech sector continues to be under pressure, with a downgrade for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - News) and a profit warning from Motorola (NYSE:MOT - News). INTC's PowerRating is 5, and MOT's PowerRating is 4.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: AA, COP, INTC, LIFC, MOT, SCHN, VLO, XOM

Bullish calls:
Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT - News): ' ... I'm not selling the rest, because this company, and KBR ... both have the single best pin action off all the oil that's been found, and the money - particularly the new need to have petro plants and nuclear - that FWLT is going to be a core position for me. Two thumbs up, way up.'KBR (NYSE: KBR - News)Conceptus (CPTS): 'I like it, but I can't rave about it, because I like other companies in medical devices. And I haven't tried it personally, but I hear good things.'Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO - News)J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP - News)Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN - News)Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News): 'The best of times at BBY ... should be bought here. Why? Because they are annihilating CC. 'Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX - News): ' ... brutally knocked down by momentum sellers. And I have been calling a bottom here at $52 bucks. I like that better than Bio-Reference Laboratories."Indevus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDEV - News): 'A lot of ways to win. I mentioned the stock as being a good speculative play. Everyone do a little homework, and see if you like the stock.'
Bearish calls:
O2 Micro International (NASDAQ: OIIM - News): ' My friend, we're trying to stay away from mixed signals. I'm talking about mixed-signal circuits, which I have lost money in for maybe 15 years. I want you to get off right now, and sell that stock.'SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK - News): ' ... for a trade, I think it can go to $47. But this stock has got tremendous tax-loss selling. And I don't want you to run into that, because that is a buzzsaw! Wait until January if you have to own SNDK.'Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO - News):Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News): 'I can't get wild about WMT, which has that look and feel of a dollar store.'Dollar General (NYSE: DG - News): 'I see a trade at $14-17, $14-17. I can't get wild about that.'UAL (NASDAQ: UAUA - News): 'I want you to ring the register. You made a great trade... but no, you must take that money off the table. I cannot have it turn into a loss. Congratulations on a good one.'CPFL Energia (NYSE: CPL - News): 'Too dicey! I think that a Brazillian 4% yield is not enough to keep me with maybe so-so growth ... I would rather see you, honestly, in an American growth utility.'Brightpoint (NASDAQ: CELL - News): 'You know I don't like the wireless business ... It's too hard a business. I don't want to touch it. 'Arena Resources (NYSE: ARD - News): 'It is a sleeper oil stock, but it's up a lot, and as much as I lik