Encouraged by strong second quarter 2012 results, an upbeat guidance and a series of positive subsequent developments, we are upgrading Bayer Corporation (BAYRY) to Outperform from Neutral. Our long-term recommendation is in line with the Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy rating) carried by the stock in the short run. Bayer performed impressively in the second […]
Archives for September 2012
September 2012 - Page 8 of 19 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From
Chemical Financial Corp. - Growth & Income
Chemical Financial Corporation (CHFC) announced impressive second quarter results in late July, which included an earnings surprise of 16.3%. This regional bank has now outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 11 of the last 14 quarters with an average beat of 24.9%. This Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stock hit its 52-week high on September […]
This is a "Problem" Every Investor Ought to Have
Believe it or not, holding a stock with massive 100%- plus gain creates something of a problem.
Now I admit that talking about a stock that has doubled may seem like a crazy topic in this market – especially given the wall of worries facing the global economy.
But here's the thing: even though Private Briefing is only a year old, three of our recommendations have already doubled in price – or more.
These big gainers include:
- Galapagos NV (PINK ADR: GLPYY): This company was our very first pick on our very first day of publication. Since then the shares of this Belgium-based baby biotech have risen as much as 133%.
- NQ Mobile Inc. (NYSE ADR: NQ): Shares of this cybersecurity play soared as much as 146% after we recommended it in our "Five Stocks for 2012" special report, before they settled back.
- And Pharmacyclics Inc. (Nasdaq: PCYC): Shares of this cancer-treatment biotech have zoomed as much as 148% (including 111% in only 90 days after we picked it as one of our favorite biotech plays). And Wall Street brokerages are only now sliding up their target prices to even higher levels.
Now clearly, this is a great "predicament" to be in. Even still, it begs the question: "What should I do when one of my stocks doubles in price?"
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To Me, This New Social Networking Idea is Just Brilliant
Scott McNealy knows how to create the kind of cutting-edge high tech that makes money for his investors.
Lots of it.
You probably know McNealy as a cofounder (in 1982) and CEO of Sun Microsystems. For more than 20 years, his Silicon Valley-based firm set the standard for computer servers and workstations.
Sun also created the widely used Java programming language that still runs of billions of computing devices around the world and is a key contributor to open-source software.
Not only did McNealy and his tech firm help change the world forever, they brought an incredible payoff to investors along the way.
Sun went public in 1986, and it sold to Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) in 2009 for about $7.4 billion.
As a long-time tech writer, I have followed McNealy's career for many years. And when I heard that he is the force behind a new startup, I decided it was time to find out what he's up to these days.
I got the chance to chat with him by phone for about half an hour the other day.
After hearing firsthand from McNealy about his latest startup, my first thought was, it's no wonder an elite group of investors has already ponied up about $20 million to back this idea.
Scott McNealy's Latest Gem
It's a company called Wayin.
This social network startup is built on the power of a simple but vital idea – creating a global community of users who tap the service to get feedback from a large group of voices on any number of topics.
Think of it as instant polling or focus groups for questions of education, human resources, politics, games, entertainment, and more.
It used to take weeks or months for companies to get customers or workers to weigh in with their opinions.
Now with Wayin, they can do it on the fly along with a larger audience from around the world.
As such, Wayin plugs into the huge appeal of social network leader Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB).
It also works well with Twitter, a service that allows members to send out short messages of up to 140 characters to their followers. Both online firms have become runaway success stories with several hundred millions users around the world.
Here's how McNealy describes his new firm:
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Economic Crisis Coming After Election, Warns Jim Rogers
By Money Morning Staff Reports The Federal Reserve continues to take Americans down a dangerous road to financial armegeddon, even by secretly printing more money to avoid "getting egg on their face again." That's according to legendary investor Jim Roger, an outspoken critic of the Feds policies of "Quantitative Easing," who told India's Economic Times, […]
Investing in Gold After QE3
It's been just four trading days since QE3 ended and gold prices are already up about $40 an ounce.
Prior to the announcement, gold was trading at six-month highs, but dipped slightly before Thursday's anticipated news. Upon hearing the Fed's decision, gold prices shot up 2% that day.
Here we are on Tuesday and gold prices have slightly dipped with Comex December futures declining $4.50 to $1,766.10 an ounce. Many investors have hit the sidelines to watch whether or not the Eurozone will dodge increasing doubts about its bailout agreements.
But we're still a long way from the long-term price target for gold. Can this QE-fueled rise match ones for QE1 and QE2? History does have a way of repeating itself…
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Fiscal Cliff Deals "Devastating" Blow to Defense
The potential effect of the fiscal cliff on our national security spending just became clearer – and more unsettling.
Friday, amid pressure from Congress, the Obama administration for the first time outlined how some $100 billion in spending cuts scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 will disrupt thousands of federal programs if no action is taken to avert the fiscal cliff.
The automatic cuts, known as sequestration, are a kind of threat Congress implemented on itself in the 2011 Budget Control Act. Yet, they were never meant to actually happen.
As White House press secretary Jay Carney explained in Friday's briefing, the idea was to make the cuts so objectionable that Congress would come up with a more acceptable way to reduce the deficit.
"The sequester was designed to be bad policy, to be onerous, to be objectionable to both Democrats and Republicans," Carney said.
The detailed report is aimed at putting Congress into action. The Office of Management and Budget clarified in its introduction, "The specter of harmful across-the-board cuts to defense and nondefense programs was intended to drive both sides to compromise. The sequestration itself was never intended to be implemented."
But to date, no concessions have been agreed upon and the perilous looming cuts are coming closer to reality. The announcement brings the U.S. nearer to going over the dreaded fiscal cliff, which scores of analysts say will thrust the economy into a recession in 2013 by draining mountains of money out of the already besieged economy.
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How QE3 – Like QE1 and QE2 – Will Trigger Inflation
The traditional safe haven assets of gold (NYSE: GLD) and silver (NYSE: SLV) have surged in price due to the announcement of the latest round of quantitative easing, QE3 – but those aren't the only assets QE3 will push higher.
While QE3 might seem harmless to U.S. consumers, it is present every time they gas up their cars or buy food at the grocery store.
In fact, all three rounds of quantitative easing have led to higher priced commodities.
Whether you realize it or not, QE3 – same as the stimulus programs before it – is adding greatly to the costs of everyday life. QE3 is directly leading to higher prices for oil, food and the cost of imported goods.
Over time, that results in a tremendous consumer expense in all product and service categories.
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NOC Gets $11.5M AN/UPX-24 Contract - Analyst Blog
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) has received a firm-fixed-price follow-on production contract worth $11.5 million from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (“NAVAIR”) for the fabrication, testing and delivery of AN/UPX-24(“V”) interrogator sets for their Aegis combat ships. AN/UPX-24(V) consists of a control monitor, a central processor-controller and up to 22 control indicators, which help to […]
Pfizer-Hisun JV Launched - Analyst Blog
Pfizer (PFE) and Chinese pharmaceutical company, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals, recently announced the launch of their joint venture (JV) – Hisun-Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. The joint venture, Hisun-Pfizer, will focus on the development, manufacture and commercialization of off-patent products in China and across the world. Pfizer and Hisun had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in […]