Saturday, January 14, 2012

Top 10 Best-Performing NASDAQ Stocks of the Week: INHX, IDIX, ACHN, JASO, IPGP, VELT, AVNR, MFLX, SINA, CECO (Jan 14, 2012)

Below are the top 10 best-performing stocks in the NASDAQ Composite index for
the past week. Two Chinese companies (JASO, SINA) are on the list. Inhibitex,
Inc. (NASDAQ:INHX) was the 1st best-performing stock last week in this segment
of the market. Its weekly performance was 148.73% for the week. Its price
percentage change is 124.41% year-to-date. Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(NASDAQ:IDIX) was the 2nd best-performing stock last week in this segment of the
market. Its weekly performance was 104.54% for the week. Its price percentage
change is 93.69% year-to-date. Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) was
the 3rd best-performing stock last week in this segment of the market. Its
weekly performance was 56.19% for the week. Its price percentage change is
62.34% year-to-date. JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:JASO) was the 4th
best-performing stock last week in this segment of the market. Its weekly
performance was 37.88% for the week. Its price percentage change is 35.82%
year-to-date. IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IPGP) was the 5th
best-performing stock last week in this segment of the market. Its weekly
performance was 27.89% for the week. Its price percentage change is 46.35%
year-to-date. Velti Plc (NASDAQ:VELT) was the 6th best-performing stock last
week in this segment of the market. Its weekly performance was 26.10% for the
week. Its price percentage change is 17.94% year-to-date. AVANIR Pharmaceuticals
(NASDAQ:AVNR) was the 7th best-performing stock last week in this segment of the
market. Its weekly performance was 25.45% for the week. Its price percentage
change is 34.63% year-to-date. Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (NASDAQ:MFLX) was
the 8th best-performing stock last week in this segment of the market. Its
weekly performance was 25.16% for the week. Its price percentage change is
25.40% year-to-date. SINA Corporation (USA) (NASDAQ:SINA) was the 9th
best-performing stock last week in this segment of the market. Its weekly
performance was 23.57% for the week. Its price percentage change is 15.23%
year-to-date. Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) was the 10th best-performing
stock last week in this segment of the market. Its weekly performance was 23.51%
for the week. Its price percentage change is 19.95% year-to-date.

Top 10 Investment Services Stocks with Highest Upside: RODM, NOAH, SAR, FBRC, GLCH, OPAY, COWN, CS, UBS, INTL (Jan 14, 2012)

Below are the top 10 Investment Services stocks with highest upside potential,
based on the difference between current price and Wall Street analysts average
target price. One Chinese company (NOAH) is on the list. Rodman & Renshaw
Capital Group Inc. (NASDAQ:RODM) has the 1st highest upside potential in this
segment of the market. Its upside is 292.2%. Its consensus target price is $2.00
based on the average of all estimates. Noah Holdings Limited (ADR) (NYSE:NOAH)
has the 2nd highest upside potential in this segment of the market. Its upside
is 237.5%. Its consensus target price is $19.92 based on the average of all
estimates. Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) has the 3rd highest upside
potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 126.7%. Its consensus
target price is $30.37 based on the average of all estimates. FBR & Co.
(NASDAQ:FBRC) has the 4th highest upside potential in this segment of the
market. Its upside is 85.2%. Its consensus target price is $4.00 based on the
average of all estimates. Gleacher & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLCH) has the 5th
highest upside potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 80.5%. Its
consensus target price is $2.83 based on the average of all estimates. Official
Payments Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OPAY) has the 6th highest upside potential in this
segment of the market. Its upside is 73.0%. Its consensus target price is $7.25
based on the average of all estimates. Cowen Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:COWN) has the
7th highest upside potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 67.3%.
Its consensus target price is $4.50 based on the average of all estimates.
Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS) has the 8th highest upside potential in
this segment of the market. Its upside is 60.3%. Its consensus target price is
$36.28 based on the average of all estimates. UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS) has the
9th highest upside potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 50.4%.
Its consensus target price is $17.95 based on the average of all estimates. INTL
Fcstone Inc (NASDAQ:INTL) has the 10th highest upside potential in this segment
of the market. Its upside is 44.9%. Its consensus target price is $36.00 based
on the average of all estimates.

ETFs Can’t Beat United Technologies, But They Can Hold It For You

Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies (NYSE: UTX ), announced Jan.
10 that it had secured a $194 million contract from the Department of Defense to
build engines for the F-35 stealth fighter. The announcement should reassure
investors that top-line revenue growth at the company hasnt evaporated despite
defense spending cuts. But before running out to buy its stock, you might want
to consider the alternatives. No, Im not talking about another stock, but rather
an exchange-traded fund like the Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLI ),
which is managed by State Street Global Advisors, along with eight other Select
Sector SPDRs. To date, State Street has gathered more than $20 billion in assets
for the nine index funds that comprise the S&P 500. As the funds website states,
Select Sector SPDRs have the diversity of a mutual fund, the focus of a sector
fund, and the tradability of a stock. All true. But why would someone whos
interested in owning United Technologies shares want to own a bundle of stocks
instead? Read on and Ill explain. Anyone who buys United Technologies stock is
getting arguably one of the best-run conglomerates in the country. In addition
to Pratt & Whitney, its brands include Carrier, Otis and Sikorsky. All very
well-known, the four combined for $42.6 billion in revenue in 2010. A $10,000
investment at the end of 2001 is now worth slightly less than $24,422 compared
to $13,312 for the S&P 500. UTX currently yields 2.5% and is part of the
Dividend Achievers index (companies increasing dividends in 10 or more
consecutive years), its easy to see why someone would want to own its stock.
Unfortunately, the past doesnt always predict the future. For this reason, some
investors might be better served exploring a more diversified ETF alternative.
In terms of volume, the XLI is one of the top 20 ETFs, with an average daily
volume of 16.9 million shares. More than 15% of its shares change hands on a
daily basis. Liquidity is not a problem. Its net assets as of Dec. 31, 2011,
were $2.71 billion. The fund has 61 holdings, with United Technologies being the
third-largest at 5.39%. Its top 10 holdings represent 49.3% of the overall
assets of the fund. For those of you who like the 2.5% yield United Technologies
offers, the ETFs yield is similar, at 2.2%. From a performance perspective, the
ETF unfortunately hasnt come close to meeting the returns of United Technologies
over the past decade, averaging 4.9% annually compared to 10.4% for the
conglomerate. On the bright side, it did outperform the S&P 500 in the same time
frame. Because of this underperformance, Ive widened my search to see if theres
something from an ETF perspective that fared better, is still broadly
diversified and has United Technologies in the top 10 holdings. The only ETF
that comes close is the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE: DIA ),
which seeks to provide results similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and
has 32 holdings compared to 30 for the index itself. In terms of
diversification, the 32 holdings cover all nine sectors, including industrials,
which is the largest representation at 21.5% of the fund. United Technologies is
the seventh-largest holding with a weighting of 4.66%. Its as blue-chip as there
is. Its 10-year annual return as of the end of December 2011 is 4.44%, 46 basis
points less than the XLI. Its a toss-up. Bottom Line Those chasing performance
at the expense of everything else, including risk, sometimes get stung. While a
550-basis-point difference in annual performance is definitely a big deal, its
important to remember that investing in a single company without any
consideration for diversification provides absolutely no protection against
disaster. If you like United Technologies as a company but dont have the funds
to buy 15 to 30 stocks equally as solid, both ETFs allow you to have your cake
and eat it too. And theres nothing wrong with that. As of this writing, Will
Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Why Stocks Are Likely to Head Higher

Several nasty economic reports led to a lower opening yesterday. December
retail sales showed a gain, but when autos were subtracted they showed a net
loss, and the initial weekly jobless claims climbed to 3.63 million from 3.61
million the prior week. Continuing jobless claims were also higher. But some
better-than-expected corporate earnings from Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ:
TSCO ) and Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS ), plus a stronger euro, played a
part in a rally that started at mid-morning and lasted until the close. At the
bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 22 points to 12,471, the S&P 500
gained 3 points at 1,296, and the Nasdaq gained 14 points to at 2,725. Advancers
were ahead of decliners on both exchanges by 1.6-to-1. Click to Enlarge The
index that hardly anyone talks about, but which had the highest total return
last year, the Dow Jones Utility Average, is still plodding along. It was the
story of "The Tortoise and the Hare" of Wall Street. While the public
focused on gold, tech and banks, the Dow Utility Index gained 14.8%, and on top
of that paid average dividends of around 3.5%.

Don’t Let Wynn Lawsuit Scare You Away From Gaming Stocks

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN ) own vice chairman, Kazuo Okada, who indirectly
owns 20% of the company, filed suit against Wynn so he could get a look at its
books. Allegedly, hes been stonewalled from doing so, and hes asking about a
$129 million donation to the University of Macau and $30 million Okada gave to
the company to develop a Macau casino. Does the lawsuit have merit? Who knows?
Should you care? Probably not. Its entirely possible that something will get
uncovered in the lawsuit. It doesnt take much imagination to think what, uh,
incentives the Chinese may have wanted to let an American build a casino in
Macau. But Stephen Wynn is a Vegas legend and a survivor, at that. I dont think
hell come out of this too badly. If anything, it just helps makes his companys
stock all the cheaper. The stock is back to levels not seen since the end of
2010, and is attractively priced. Macau continues to provide huge revenue for
all the gaming stocks, and Wynn is no exception. Although earnings this year are
projected to grow 13%, analysts have a 40% annualized growth rate for the next
five years. I think thats a tad optimistic, but even if you chop that in half, a
20 P/E on 2012 earnings of $6 per share yields a $120 price tag. Add 20% growth
to that each year and it makes Wynn a solid buy. Wynn also has a great balance
sheet, with $1.7 billion in cash against $2.93 billion in debt. That debt number
also has been decreasing consistently over the past several quarters. Las Vegas
Sands (NYSE: LVS ) also is looking attractive. It does carry a hefty debt load
of $9.2 billion, and came off a horrible 2009 loss of $540 million before
chalking up a $407 million 2010 profit. It already has racked up a $950 million
profit in the first three fiscal quarters alone, so the possibility of tripling
2010s numbers is strong. Earnings are pegged to grow 25% in 2012, and 38%
annually thereafter. It trades at 22 times 2011 earnings and only 18 times 2012
earnings. With 49% insider holdings, managements interests are very much aligned
with shareholders. The stock looks like a buy to me at these levels. As for MGM
Resorts International (NYSE: MGM ), a bet on this stock is like betting on a
six-game football parlay. The company had the misfortune of undertaking the
massively expensive CityCenter project right when the financial crisis hit. MGM
took on enormous debt for this project. Right now, that debt stands as $13
billion, with a comparatively meager $1.8 billion of cash on hand. The company
lost more than $1 billion in 2009 and 2010. It has stemmed its losses this year,
but there still is red ink to be had. While MGM has pushed off its debt maturity
dates so bankruptcy is not immediately likely, I dont see how it will turn
things around. In fact, I don't know why the stock is even at $11. Maybe some
investors are hoping the roulette wheel will stop with the marble right on that
one particular number they chose. As of this writing, Lawrence Meyers did not
hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks.

Put Your Long-term Dollars in Utilities

iShares Dow Jones Utilities Index Fund (NYSE: IDU ) This ETF seeks to mimic
the return of the Dow Jones Utility Index. At least 90% of its assets are in
depository receipts that represent the index. And the index is composed of
electricity, gas, water stocks, etc. Last year, this ETF had a return of 18.6%.
It currently pays a dividend of $2.90, providing a dividend yield of 3.37%.
Technically IDU is in a powerful bull channel, which keeps pace with its 50-day
moving average. It is resting on that line now, and so any break below it would
be an excellent opportunity to make a long-term investment in the utility
sector. Click to Enlarge

Top 10 Leisure Services Stocks with Highest Upside: EXPE, CKEC, CTRP, MMYT, LONG, AWAY, CNK, IILG, MTN, PCLN (Jan 14, 2012)

Below are the top 10 Leisure Services stocks with highest upside potential,
based on the difference between current price and Wall Street analysts average
target price. Two Chinese companies (CTRP, LONG) are on the list. Expedia, Inc.
(NASDAQ:EXPE) has the 1st highest upside potential in this segment of the
market. Its upside is 84.4%. Its consensus target price is $52.86 based on the
average of all estimates. Carmike Cinemas, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKEC) has the 2nd
highest upside potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 64.1%. Its
consensus target price is $11.60 based on the average of all estimates.
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP) has the 3rd highest upside
potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 56.5%. Its consensus
target price is $38.04 based on the average of all estimates. MakeMyTrip Limited
(NASDAQ:MMYT) has the 4th highest upside potential in this segment of the
market. Its upside is 46.1%. Its consensus target price is $33.00 based on the
average of all estimates. eLong, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:LONG) has the 5th highest
upside potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 44.3%. Its
consensus target price is $21.50 based on the average of all estimates.
HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ:AWAY) has the 6th highest upside potential in this
segment of the market. Its upside is 43.4%. Its consensus target price is $35.75
based on the average of all estimates. Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) has
the 7th highest upside potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is
30.9%. Its consensus target price is $25.09 based on the average of all
estimates. Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IILG) has the 8th highest upside
potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 30.7%. Its consensus
target price is $18.00 based on the average of all estimates. Vail Resorts, Inc.
(NYSE:MTN) has the 9th highest upside potential in this segment of the market.
Its upside is 30.5%. Its consensus target price is $52.71 based on the average
of all estimates. priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:PCLN) has the 10th highest
upside potential in this segment of the market. Its upside is 28.5%. Its
consensus target price is $620.05 based on the average of all estimates.

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