Medtronic: Dividend Stock Analysis
September 3, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Long Investment
Dividend Growth Investor submits:
Medtronic, Inc. (MDT) develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies worldwide. This dividend champion has raised distributions for 33 years in a row.
Over the past decade this dividend stock has produced a negative total return of 2.20% per year. The company was grossly overvalued in 2000, ending the year at a P/E of 68 which explains the poor returns over the past decade.
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Just One ETF: The ‘Other’ Precious Metal, For Industry or Currency
September 3, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Long Investment
Kevin Grewal submits:
Analyst Kevin Grewal is founder, editor and publisher of ETF Tutor, and editor at SmartStops.net and the ETF Institute. Previously, he worked as an analyst at a small hedge fund.
Which single asset class are you most bullish (or bearish) about in the coming year? What ETF position would you choose to best capture that?
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Hedging Your Bets With Silver and Gold – Mosseri and Loud
September 2, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Long Investment
The Gold Report submits:
Every day New York-based investment gurus Jeff Mosseri and Doug Loud make key decisions for their high net-worth clients. Many of those decisions involve strategically positioning investors in small- and micro-cap gold and silver plays. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, you will learn some of the names of those plays and how they use Mosseri and Loud as hedges against a failing economy.
The Gold Report: Today, we’re talking with Jeff Mosseri, president of New York-based Greystone Asset Management and a director of Axiom Capital, as well as Doug Loud, who is the executive director of both companies. How do you go about making your clients money?
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Preparing for Inspire Pharmaceutical’s 2011 Phase 3 Catalyst
September 2, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Long Investment
Tony Pelz submits:
As most everyone in the biotech space is focused on the events coming in September/October, it’s a good idea to scan for companies with longer term, yet largely ignored, future catalysts. One such company with an impending future catalyst is Inspire Pharmaceuticals (ISPH).
Inspire is a biopharmaceutical company focused on researching, developing and commercializing prescription pharmaceutical products for ophthalmic and pulmonary diseases.(1) Inspire receives revenues through several product offerings targeting bacterial conjunctivitis, allergic conjunctivitis and dry eye. The referenced future catalyst involves their Phase 3 drug candidate Denufosol Tetrasodium, an inhalation solution for cystic fibrosis. According to the Company:
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Brown-Forman Misses Earnings Expectations
September 2, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Long Investment
Zacks.com submits:
Brown-Forman Corp. (BF.B), a leading global producer and distributor of premium alcoholic beverages, reported fiscal 2011 first-quarter earnings that declined 8.2% to $111.4 million or 76 cents per share, from $121.4 million or 81 cents in the prior-year quarter. The quarterly result also came in behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 84 cents per share.
Quarterly Details
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Market Review: Traders, Investors Turn Defensive on Bad Economic News
September 2, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Editor’s Pick
A barrage of bad U.S. economic news stoked recession fears in August, causing investors and traders to turn decidedly defensive. The S&P 500 dropped 4.5% last month, with defensive sectors such as healthcare and utilities dramatically outperforming cyclical areas. U.S. small-caps fell 7.5%, consistent with the risk-aversion theme.
Foreign stocks fared better; the MSCI World Ex-U.S. Index declined 2.7%, thanks to relative strength in emerging markets, which have been showing signs of “decoupling” from the morass of the developed world. Investors continue to seek refuge in Treasury bonds and gold, which have been the favored asset classes since stocks peaked in April (Exhibit 1).
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Why Anavex Is a Strong Buy
September 2, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Long Investment
Wealth Daily submits:
By Brian Hicks
Last Saturday, the New York Times ran a rather lengthy piece on the Alzheimer’s epidemic. The article came on the heels of the high-profile failure of Lilly’s (LLY) late-stage AD drug, Semagacestat.
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Focus Media and NetEase: Two Attractive Trading Opportunities
September 2, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Short Ideas
Xiaofan Zhang submits:
Focus Media (FMCN) and NetEase (NTES) are two of the best-performing stocks in the Chinese Internet and New Media sector year-to-date. My research suggests these two stocks are now attractive trading opportunities: Focus Media represents a buying opportunity, while NetEase represents a shorting opportunity.
Focus Media’s turnaround story has not been fully recognized by the market. With the Chinese advertising market continuing its recovery and Focus Media increasingly refocusing on its core businesses, I forecast Focus Media will grow non-GAAP EPS by 54%-62% year-over-year to $1.05-$1.10 in 2010. According to my calculations, currently investors on average are estimating around 30% Y/Y EPS growth in 2010, much lower than my forecast range. I believe the market’s conservative stance on Focus Media is due to the uncertainty regarding whether the U.S. economy is heading toward a double-dip recession, which could have a negative ripple effect on global economic growth and advertising spending. In my opinion, even in the worst-case "double-dip" scenario, Focus Media is still a turnaround story mainly because of the steps it has taken to refocus on its core businesses (Commercial, In-Store, Poster Frame networks). I believe the market will eventually become more optimistic and raise its 2010 EPS growth estimate to at least 55% for Focus Media, which implies significant upside to current stock price.
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Bond Market Instability in a Liquidity Trap
September 1, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Editor’s Pick
Employment, Interest, And Money submits:
For simplicity, let’s assume that the Fed’s policy instrument (now that the federal funds rate is stuck near zero) is the 10-year Treasury note. As an example, suppose the yield is 4%. In that case, it’s all but certain that the Fed, if it chooses, can do something to stimulate the economy and raise the inflation rate.
For example, suppose the Fed were to bid the 10-year note yield down from 4% to 1%. It would take out a whole slew of marginal noteholders in the process. Banks that had been satisfied with a 4% return would be unsatisfied with a 1% return and would lend more aggressively. Domestic investors that had been satisfied with a 4% return would be unsatisfied with 1% and would bite the bullet and buy stocks. International investors would be unsatisfied and would shift their investments into foreign assets, thus weakening the dollar and making US products more competitive. Households would refinance their mortgages and spend some portion of the increased cash flow. Others who previously couldn’t afford houses could now afford them, so demand for houses and home furnishings would go up. And so on. With such a huge policy action, it’s virtually certain that business activity would accelerate enough to reverse any deflationary pressure.
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Education Stocks: Is Worst Over?
September 1, 2010 by Seeking Alpha
Filed under Investment Ideas
Original Article from Seeking Alpha Short Ideas
Mercenary Trader submits:
By Mike McDermott
For-profit education companies have taken a pounding over the last few months. While bullish investors point to stable earnings and a growing need for vocational education, regulatory concerns have given the bears the upper hand.
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