Barron's Summary 9-13-2008
1172 views
Rate Now: 1 2 3 4

average rating: 0.00 / 0 ratings
Created by barrons2
DESCRIPTION:

Date updated:09-13-2008

Summary of the bullish and bearish positions mentioned in the September 13th, 2008 Barron's.

symbol name last price % change open
  • +
  • MIDD
    The Middleby Corp
  • $44.34
  • -5.44%
  • $46.31

Sales growth for Middleby has averaged 22% annually over the past five years, versus 15% for the industry. A positive surprise could send the shares above 80.

People owning MIDD also tend to own: WLTWYAAVAEROALLAOSASH

TheStreet.com Rating: B- What is this?

  • +
  • LEH
    Leh
  • $0.00
  • N/A
  • $N/A

Lehman could end up in someone else's hands before U.S. trading opens on Monday morning. Stronger AIG and Merrill Lynch look like the victims of panic selling.

People owning LEH also tend to own: BNICXEFAEWJEWYGOOGIVE

TheStreet.com Rating: No Rating What is this?

  • +
  • MER
    11.88
  • $11.78
  • 0.00
  • $11.78

Merrill also looks attractive, with its stock at a fraction of its $22 a share book value. Merrill has taken its medicine by selling mortgage assets and raising capital. The value of its stake in BlackRock Financial is $11 billion, and its retail brokerage network is conservatively worth $20 billion. Their combined value is more than Merrill's current market value of $26 billion, meaning investors are paying nothing for the rest of the firm.

People owning MER also tend to own: AIGALLAXPBACBRK-BCCOF

TheStreet.com Rating: D+ What is this?

  • +
  • AIG
    Amer Intl Group N
  • $35.48
  • -9.67%
  • $35.44

It's tempting to say that AIG is a bargain, even if it's forced to raise equity with a dilutive sale of common stock. Its book value at the end of June was $29 a share. This effectively discounts over $40 billion of after-tax write-downs. Yields on AIG credit-default swaps surged Friday to eight percentage points. Reflecting this, an exchange-traded issue of AIG subordinated debt (AVF) was yielding 14% Friday. That's not a misprint.

People owning AIG also tend to own: AAIBMINTCJNJJPMKOMSFT

TheStreet.com Rating: D- What is this?

  • +
  • MFE
    Mcafee
  • $42.31
  • +0.50%
  • $41.81

McAfee has a stronger track record than Symantec and may prove more nimble in deploying new technology. Its stock, mostly flat this year, could easily jump 30% by next fall.

People owning MFE also tend to own: CTXSSYMCABNAIGBKCERJEWJ

TheStreet.com Rating: B What is this?

  • +
  • ALJ
    Alon Usa Energy
  • $7.90
  • -6.51%
  • $8.31

Little-known Alon USA (ALJ) was up, as well, but may have more reason than just a storm and easing crude-oil prices for its recent strength. Parent Alon Israel Oil has been actively adding to its 75% stake in the $600 million company with open-market purchases. John J. Licata, chief investment strategist of independent research firm Blue Phoenix, notes that the company, recovering from a plant explosion early this year, has significant exposure to asphalt and clean diesel, firmer parts of the industry. And, without hoping one bit for a particularly damaging storm this time, it's worth noting that following earlier severe Gulf hurricanes refining stocks ripped higher as margins stayed high.

People owning ALJ also tend to own: AAPLCSCONVDANXGOATSSBUXVLO

TheStreet.com Rating: C What is this?

  • +
  • EBAY
    Ebay Inc.
  • $23.34
  • +0.43%
  • $23.00

The company already faces a variety of headwinds: Many sellers are irritated about recent changes eBay (EBAY) made in its fee structures. The softening consumer economy is not helping matters. And with well over half of its revenue coming from outside the U.S., its financial results will be hurt by the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar. But that may not be the worst of it. Brian Blair and Ryan Hunter of investment-research firm Wedge Partners wrote late last week that the company's business is "deteriorating" and that the company is readying layoffs that could affect 10% of the company's 15,000 employees.

People owning EBAY also tend to own: AAADPAVPBACBRK-BBUDCSCO

TheStreet.com Rating: C+ What is this?

  • +
  • LYV
    Live Nation
  • $6.99
  • -1.83%
  • $7.00

Live Nation wants to keep a bigger slice of every dollar consumers spend on live music, and one way to do that is to go head-to-head against Ticketmaster in the ticketing business. Others have tried to take on Ticketmaster. But no previous rival has had Live Nation's market share in concert promotion. It is bigger than the next 10 biggest concert promoters combined. Ticketmaster didn't just lose a big customer; it gained a formidable adversary

People owning LYV also tend to own: ATIFDXGSHLTJNJLUVNYX

TheStreet.com Rating: D What is this?

previous next

Portfolio not tracked!

Comments not available

ADD YOUR COMMENTS:

This Week's 'Barron's' Roundup

By Roberto Pedone Posted on Nov. 9, 2009 Financial-Services Bull: Barron’s talks with Anton Schutz, portfolio manager at the Burnham Financial Industries Fund (BURFX)...

11.09.09 | 11:01 AM
Rocket Stocks for the Week

By Jonas Elmerraji Posted on Nov. 9, 2009 Last week brought investors a welcome return to gains as the S&P 500 pushed up 3.2% over the course of the last five trading d...

11.09.09 | 08:04 AM
Jim Cramer's Portfolios of the Week

By Roberto Pedone Posted on Nov. 6, 2009 According to Jim Cramer, the bears are tellinginvestors six lies. On Wednesday’s “Mad Money” TV show, Cramer said if you ...

11.06.09 | 15:52 PM
'Fast Money' Portfolios of the Week

By Roberto Pedone Posted on Nov. 5, 2009 The traders on CNBC’s “Fast Money” told their viewers what they must know after Warren Buffett announced on Tuesday his l...

11.05.09 | 12:05 PM
more articles
Nymph's Trading Daily Trading Diary
04.13.09 | 01:10 AM From author Trading Nymph
Wealth distribution by race and ...
11.23.08 | 18:44 PM From author Valerie J
The Presidential/Political Thread
01.02.08 | 08:05 AM From author Dave Cox
Full Disclosure
11.09.08 | 12:30 PM From author alchemist
more forums
today 's lists
52-Week Lows

Here is a list of some of the biggest stocks that hit 52-week lows on Nov. 2, 2009. more

Biggest % Gainers

Here are some of the largest % gainers from Nov. 2, 2009. more

Stocks With Unusual Option Activity

Unusually active options can often indicate that a major event in a stock is about to take place, or that unsophisticated investors (using options in lieu of leverage) are ... more