A fair number of initial public offerings (IPOs) have flourished in this choppy market . Indian travel site MakeMyTrip (Nasdaq: MMYT), up as much as +66% in its first day of trading Thursday, and rental housing software firm RealPage (Nasdaq: RP), up +30%, are two of the latest examples. 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

I’ve been investigating fad stocks lately, and thought one article might be enough, until I came across such a perfect example, I thought investors absolutely had to know about it. [See: 3 “Fad” Stocks That Collapsed. . . and the Next One To Fall] We often learn… 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

In a former life, I worked as a manager and analyst at IBM (NYSE: IBM) for almost 20 years. During my time there, I was in charge of some pretty big budgets — some reaching nearly $100 million a year. But at a major company like IBM, there are some even larger numbers in play. Case in point: On Monday of last week, IBM sold $1.5 billion in bonds. It was a good time to do it, too. According to The Wall Street Journal, the three-year notes were issued with an interest rate of… Read More

In a former life, I worked as a manager and analyst at IBM (NYSE: IBM) for almost 20 years. During my time there, I was in charge of some pretty big budgets — some reaching nearly $100 million a year. But at a major company like IBM, there are some even larger numbers in play. Case in point: On Monday of last week, IBM sold $1.5 billion in bonds. It was a good time to do it, too. According to The Wall Street Journal, the three-year notes were issued with an interest rate of just 1% — barely above what similar Treasuries pay. But it’s not news that companies are issuing debt now to fund their business. Remember: rates are at record lows. If you think you’ll need the money, it’s a great time to issue bonds. However, it is news that IBM is doing it. My former employer has an uncanny track record when it comes to the timing of its debt offerings. IBM seems to know when interest rates have hit lows, and issues debt just as rates are about to ratchet back… Read More

In the battle for television viewers against traditional cable companies, the country’s two-leading satellite cable providers have been engaged in a low-grade war these past years. With each passing quarter, either DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) or Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) scores a direct hit. Both fighters benefit while the industry is… Read More

While the United States, China and Japan duke it out for the top three economic slots in the global economy, Germany has settled in as number four. And from where investment pros sit in Bonn, that’s a pretty nice place to be. While China wrestles with possible bubbles, Japan tackles deflation and the United States frets about its government spending, Germany has spent much of the last few years away from the headlines. But behind the scenes, the country is undergoing a powerful export-led transformation that should catch… Read More

While the United States, China and Japan duke it out for the top three economic slots in the global economy, Germany has settled in as number four. And from where investment pros sit in Bonn, that’s a pretty nice place to be. While China wrestles with possible bubbles, Japan tackles deflation and the United States frets about its government spending, Germany has spent much of the last few years away from the headlines. But behind the scenes, the country is undergoing a powerful export-led transformation that should catch the attention of investors here in the United States as well. According to just-released data from Germany’s Federal Statistics Bureau, German exports are currently rising at a +25% to +30% clip compared to a year ago. That’s a remarkable feat when considering that most of its major trading partners appear too sickly to absorb all that trade. The export surge is due to a bit of methodical planning and a bit of serendipity. To be sure, German policy planners have always made sure that business conditions remain favorable by providing a very strong economic and trade infrastructure. Read More

Sometimes an investment looks like a no-brainer — until you dig a little deeper. On the face of it, Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO) looks like one heckuva stock. The company offers insurance policies for bond buyers, focusing on the state and local municipal bond business. It’s a good business in normal times and a great business right now, thanks to especially high premiums to insure these increasingly risky bonds. Assured’s two main rivals, MBIA (NYSE: MBI) and Ambac Financial (NYSE: ABK) are… Read More

Sometimes an investment looks like a no-brainer — until you dig a little deeper. On the face of it, Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO) looks like one heckuva stock. The company offers insurance policies for bond buyers, focusing on the state and local municipal bond business. It’s a good business in normal times and a great business right now, thanks to especially high premiums to insure these increasingly risky bonds. Assured’s two main rivals, MBIA (NYSE: MBI) and Ambac Financial (NYSE: ABK) are on the ropes, enabling the company to steal market share. Assured reported second-quarter profits last week of $0.91 a share, roughly +30% ahead of consensus forecasts and a company record since being spun-off from insurance giant ACE (NYSE: ACE) in 2004. And even after a nice double-digit gain on Friday, shares trade for just 80% of book value or about six times likely 2010 profits and 4.5 times expected 2011 profits. The “potential” in this case depends on… 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