Continue reading Altria Shoots to New 52-Week High

Altria Shoots to New 52-Week High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On Thursday, the shares of Crocs, Inc. (CROX) shuffled to a new 52-week high for the second time in as many sessions. The equity topped out at $8.47 on an intraday basis, marking its best price since July 2008. But with the stock hovering near a 20-month peak, can the shares continue to climb -- or are they due for a pullback?

If today's drop of more than 2% is any indication, it seems that CROX's positive momentum is cooling. The stock's Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 63, not far from overbought territory, so this modest retreat isn't terribly surprising.

Continue reading Can Crocs Continue Its Quest for New Highs?

Can Crocs Continue Its Quest for New Highs? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hormel Foods (HRL) surged past analysts' fiscal first-quarter earnings estimates, with the sultan of Spam swinging to a profit of $111.2 million, or 82 cents per share, up 37% from the year-ago period. Sales for the quarter climbed 2.3% to $1.73 billion. Both numbers easily exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations, which called for a profit of just 68 cents per share on $1.67 billion in revenue.

Hormel added to the positive momentum by boosting its earnings forecast for the rest of fiscal 2010. The packaged-foods firm now expects to bank a profit of $2.68 to $2.78 per share, up from its prior forecast of $2.63 to $2.73 per share.

Continue reading Spam Still Going Strong: Hormel Hikes Earnings Forecast

Spam Still Going Strong: Hormel Hikes Earnings Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A report today in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) says that Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is delving into the "lean" manufacturing techniques employed by the likes of Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM). Scott Heydon has been named the coffee company's new "vice president of lean thinking," and he's visiting Starbucks joints around the country to help eliminate wasteful movements by the chain's baristas.

Yes, that's right. Under Heydon's aegis, baristas are encouraged to economize their motions to maximize how quickly they can whip up one of the chain's signature drinks. "Motion and work are two different things," he explained to the Journal. "Thirty percent of the partners' time is motion; the walking, reaching, bending." If the process can be streamlined to include less motion, therefore, Starbucks could theoretically churn out more coffee confections in less time, and possibly with fewer workers.

Continue reading Investors cheer the newer, 'leaner' Starbucks

Investors cheer the newer, 'leaner' Starbucks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I like to check out stocks that are at or near a 52-week high in a tough market. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is one of them. Not only is the stock near a 52-week high right now, but it is up today almost 3% by nearly a buck.

Netflix is a very interesting company -- it has done extremely well with its DVD-by-mail subscription model, and it has offered a lot of competition for Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI). It's got great brand equity, the company's stock seems to be working -- why not go with it? In fact, Larry Schutts recently talked about how the stock was in bullish-flag mode. (By the way, I recently discussed my negative feelings about Blockbuster.)

The only problem here is that the market has been so volatile that my gut tells me many 52-week-high-stocks might be dangerous. In an upward-trending market, they might work, but in our current bear environment, I'm not so sure. Plus, I've been burned recently by some badly-timed purchases. So, while I have been watching Netflix, I'm a bit sheepish about getting in at the moment. A pullback will make this one much more interesting. Yes, many technical traders will tell me that the trend is a friend -- it is oftentimes. And I do have to say that this is one strong stock that almost got me to enter in near the high -- but I resisted, and I will continue to wait this one out.

Steven Mallas owns none of the companies mentioned here.

Not buying Netflix for now originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There were several events during the last week that are almost certainly clues to what is likely to happen in certain industries and the economy in general as Wall Street looks forward to the July through September period. The week was dominated by the launch of Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and the extended glow for AT&T (NYSE: T), but in the broader picture, the news means very little.

Looking at other news:

Oil closed over $70 for the first time since late last summer. While the news may be good for Exxon (NYSE: XOM) and other big exploration and refinery companies, it will hurt industries from air freight to automotive.

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) hit a 52-week high, a sign that Wall Street believes the PC industry may have a good second half, especially with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) also trading near its high point.

An unusually broad number of stocks representing several important industries hit 52-week lows. While it would be expected that home builders like Beazer (NYSE: BZH) would struggle in a poor housing market, Blackstone (NYSE: BX), Circuit City (NYSE: CC), and one of the nation's largest banks, Wachovia (NYSE: WB) also touched bottoms.

Continue reading A week of warnings and opportunities for the next quarter

A week of warnings and opportunities for the next quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.