The Dow Jones Industrial Average isn’t considered the most accurate reflection of the market’s overall performance, but few can argue against the fact that it is the most widely recognized and highly symbolic representation of the state of American stocks. Outside of the large-cap, old-line American companies… Read More

Depending on your investment style, either growth stocks or value stocks likely hold greater appeal. But sometimes you don’t have to choose. On rare occasion, a stock can represent the best of both worlds. These GARP (Growth at a Reasonable Price) stocks tend… Read More

Bearish comments from analysts at JP Morgan and Robert W. Baird this week regarding tech spending has put an already-weak sector under even greater pressure. Major tech names like Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) are retreating from recent gains and some tech stocks are quickly falling into the abyss. On Tuesday, shares of Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT), Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX), and Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) all hit 52-week lows. For existing shareholders, it’s fair to wonder if it’s time to cut their losses. And for investors that have… Read More

Bearish comments from analysts at JP Morgan and Robert W. Baird this week regarding tech spending has put an already-weak sector under even greater pressure. Major tech names like Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) are retreating from recent gains and some tech stocks are quickly falling into the abyss. On Tuesday, shares of Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT), Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX), and Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) all hit 52-week lows. For existing shareholders, it’s fair to wonder if it’s time to cut their losses. And for investors that have avoided this sector as it has tumbled, do these newly-cheapened stocks signal it’s time to jump in? Let’s take a look… Applied Materials One of the key challenges for all tech stocks involves the steep peaks and dips in revenue and profit streams. With such robust swings, investors always apply relatively low multiples. In the area of semiconductors, investors are often even more wary, as capital spending cycles enter into boom and bust cycles with alarming frequency. Applied Materials, for example, saw sales plunge -38% in fiscal (October) 2009, yet… Read More

The oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico will alter the landscape for offshore drilling for decades to come. Uncertainty over new regulations, lawsuits and the near-term hit to business in the region have sent the share prices of many major players in the industry to multi-year lows. But at current valuations, shares of these major players are pricing in extremely negative outcomes and don’t take into consideration that Gulf drilling is a small and declining percentage of global activity. As a result, I’ve found one major industry player that… Read More

The oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico will alter the landscape for offshore drilling for decades to come. Uncertainty over new regulations, lawsuits and the near-term hit to business in the region have sent the share prices of many major players in the industry to multi-year lows. But at current valuations, shares of these major players are pricing in extremely negative outcomes and don’t take into consideration that Gulf drilling is a small and declining percentage of global activity. As a result, I’ve found one major industry player that qualifies as “The Bargain Stock of the Year.” After several months of high-level drama and extreme uncertainty, the oil spill in the Gulf appears to finally be under control. BP plc (NYSE: BP) is in the midst of completing its “static kill” cap that should stem the leak from the Macondo well permanently. In addition to the devastation the disaster has brought to the Gulf region, share prices of BP and its partners in the well, which include Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) and Mitsui, which owned about 25% and 10% of the well, respectively,… Read More

Walking by my firm’s trading desk in 2008, I overheard some chuckling. Turns out, a pair of traders were having a laugh fulfilling a client’s seemingly foolish “buy” order for shares of Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX). They wondered if the client had… Read More

It’s like the senior prom for the aviation business: The Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom is a chance for companies to showcase their wares and tout their latest sales. It’s one way for industry players and investors to gauge who’s up, who’s down — and who’s out. Read More

The largest players in the technology space garner the lion’s share of attention. Investors are obsessed with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), as are consumers who have shifted from snapping up iPods to iPhones and the newest iPad device. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is the other big name that draws attention with its… Read More

We’re just 90 days away from Congressional mid-term elections, so it’s time to think about what that might mean for investors’ portfolios. If it becomes increasingly clear that the GOP will re-take control of one or both houses of Congress, it could provide a… Read More

Pharmacies, labs, billing agencies and insurers all say business is down from the same period a year ago. Recent earnings reports show Americans are seeking less medical care. The reason is twofold. The most obvious is that unemployment remains high, at… Read More

One might think that just because the economy stinks and consumers have cut back on spending that any stock described as being “retail” would be in trouble. For the most part, that would be right. However, there is a relatively unknown… Read More