With its stock depressed on two years of domestic downtrends, Coca-Cola, one analyst says, may be worth 50% more than its current share price.

Because of MSCI's attractive long-term prospects, the shares are worth buying -- even after rallying from 13 to 28. The bullish upside is the high-30s to low-40s.

Since the earnings call, fear of a solar-panel price war has dragged First Solar stock to 142. That may seem like too severe a selloff for a company that just reported record gross margins on a doubling in sales. But in fact, the company's June quarter revenue "beat" was a figment of bookkeeping: First Solar recognized $84 million in revenue as a result of reclassifying its investment in a project as "debt" rather than "equity." After banks lent money to the project -- a 53-megawatt solar farm southeast of Berlin -- First Solar gave up its right to convert its own investment into an equity stake, and then decided to recognize sales and profits on the solar panels it supplied the project. Responding to our questions, First Solar says it never controlled the project and booked the panel sales at agreed-upon prices. In a 10-Q footnote, however, the company says that its sales to projects in which it's invested may raise issues under the Financial Accounting Standards Board's new rule (SFAS 167) on transactions with "variable interest entities." That rule was adopted after Enron got in trouble for transactions with entities it actually controlled. Whether or not regulators question such transactions, investors may well question whether the company-funded projects reflect natural demand for its panels.

With Americans downsizing and decluttering, Williams-Sonoma (WSM) is wisely scouring new frontiers that might show the same appreciation for its lovely but pricey housewares. The San Francisco chain will open four stores in Dubai and Kuwait next year, some under its Pottery Barn brands, and the push abroad will help pad revenue. Yet shares have rallied 213% since November, twice better than Bed Bath & Beyond 's (BBBY) resounding run. Analysts are penciling in a spirited rebound for Williams-Sonoma, with per-share earnings projected to jump from $0.03 this year to $0.33 in 2010. But Williams-Sonoma will have to move a mountain of scented candles and throw pillows both here and overseas to justify its current multiple of 44 times 2010 profits.

In contrast, Barnes & Noble (BKS) shares trading near 21, or 17 times 2010 profits, don't look obviously expensive, but last week's deal to buy the college-bookstore business from its founder, chairman and key shareholder deserves closer study. On paper, the $596 million deal will give B&N a barely expanding business and 624 new stores, many strategically parked on college campuses. But the deal "doubles its exposure to one of the segments that we believe are most at risk to technology change over the next several years," says Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter. Electronic penetration of educational materials is low -- at 2% to 3% -- and technology is still a limiting factor today, but that merely heightens the inevitable threat from downloading and online purchases in the long term, especially given the textbook market's higher prices and younger, tech-savvier demographics. As Balter puts it, "the slippery slope to declining results just got steeper." His target price: 15.

Amid the buying frenzy, rumors circulated that the government might separate their weak assets into a "bad bank." But any such restructuring is wishful thinking, and hardly Washington's top priority. Fannie's total senior preferred stock -- or borrowings from the government -- has ballooned to $46 billion, while Freddie's has reached $51 billion. Each must pay the government roughly $5 billion in annual dividends, a staggering burden that exceeds profits in their best years. With foreclosures still rising and both companies highly insolvent, common stock buyers far down the totem pole won't see any benefits soon -- unless, of course, enough others buy into the fallacy to bid these clunkers up further.

Amid the buying frenzy, rumors circulated that the government might separate their weak assets into a "bad bank." But any such restructuring is wishful thinking, and hardly Washington's top priority. Fannie's total senior preferred stock -- or borrowings from the government -- has ballooned to $46 billion, while Freddie's has reached $51 billion. Each must pay the government roughly $5 billion in annual dividends, a staggering burden that exceeds profits in their best years. With foreclosures still rising and both companies highly insolvent, common stock buyers far down the totem pole won't see any benefits soon -- unless, of course, enough others buy into the fallacy to bid these clunkers up further.

Motors Liquidation's worthlessness, at least, is more directly apparent. Management very helpfully declares on its Website "there will be no value for the common stockholders in the bankruptcy liquidation process, even under the most optimistic of scenarios." Alas, that didn't stop the throngs who chased shares above $1 last week.