The shares of drug store chain giant CVS Caremark (CVS), first written about here on February 16, 2009, at a price of $27.30, have pulled back slightly after testing $36, but just view that retreat as an opportunity to scoop up shares.

CVS's fundamental story remains strong. Look for 2011 revenue to increase 155 to 18%, aided by more pharmacy benefit clients, and 2% to 3% same-store sales growth.

Continue reading Has CVS's Pullback Created an Opportunity?

Has CVS's Pullback Created an Opportunity? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If we told you that the largest pharmacies chains in the U.S., CVS Caremark (CVS) and Walgreens (WAG), planned to sell more groceries and produce, would you believe us? If so, you would be right. CVS Caremark plans to double the size of its food section and revamp about 20% of its 7,000 stores to better cater to groceries and quick check outs, and Walgreens started to satiate its appetite for the nation's trillion-dollar food budget by announcing last year that it would add up to 500 food items including salads, sandwiches, frozen meats, soups, juices, yogurts and even sushi to its offering.

How Do Consumers Benefit?

Continue reading CVS Stocks More Food That Could Add More Beef to Our Upside

CVS Stocks More Food That Could Add More Beef to Our Upside originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CVS Caremark (CVS), a drugstore chain that competes with Rite Aid (RAD) and Walgreen (WAG), reported earnings for the fourth quarter on Thursday. The market wasn't taken by them. Looking at the extreme right side of the chart, it can be seen that the stock came under some pressure after the release. This afternoon, the shares are under further pressure: at the time of this writing, they were off by 1.1% to $32.55, with heavy volume backing the trade.

Does it sound like the company missed the estimate attached to it? No, that wasn't the problem. According to the Associated Press, adjusted profit came in at 80 cents per share, one penny ahead of the prediction.

Continue reading CVS Caremark: Buy After Latest Report?

CVS Caremark: Buy After Latest Report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Is CVS Headed Toward $40 and Beyond?

Is CVS Headed Toward $40 and Beyond? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walgreen (WAG) is having a merry Christmas. The stock closed on Thursday at $39.19. The 52-week high for the shares is $40.20. Pretty cool for those who own this name. Something even cooler: the drugstore chain issued a solid fiscal first-quarter report earlier in the week.

The press release begins with three bragging bullet points: the top line gained 6% and came in at $17.3 billion; gross margin expanded by 80 basis points; operating cash flow was $1.2 billion. Nice, but in terms of the latter point, it should be noted that cash from operations was essentially flat compared to last year's number. That's okay, though, it's still respectable.

Continue reading Walgreen Near 52-Week High After Q1 Report

Walgreen Near 52-Week High After Q1 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

To say that the shares of CVS Caremark (CVS), first written about here on February 16, 2009, at a price of $27.30, underperformed this summer would be an understatement.

CVS shares formed a bear hug during a walk-down from about $38 to $27. There, however, the shares appeared to gain equilibrium and have since moved back above $30.

Continue reading Is Now a Good Time to Scoop Up Shares of CVS?

Is Now a Good Time to Scoop Up Shares of CVS? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I never would have predicted such a bullish reaction. As I write this, Walgreen (WAG) is up over 12% to $34.04 on the back of an earnings report. With one hour to go before the market closes, volume is huge.

Those of you who bought prior to the report could not have possibly expected this. It represents a big departure from the last time the drugstore posted results. Back in June, shareholders were disappointed with their investment since Wall Street thought the stock should be sold off on the data. It's like night and day this afternoon.

Continue reading Walgreen Up Big on Q4 News

Walgreen Up Big on Q4 News originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rite Aid's (RAD) sell-off Thursday was almost comical. Sometimes you've just got to laugh when a stock that's trading around a dollar suddenly drops over 13%. That's exactly what the drugstore's shares did by the end of the day's regular session. It finished at a quote of 95 cents. And, as you might expect, volume was pretty significant.

Who buys a stock like this? Clearly, someone braver than me. Adding this one to a portfolio is basically no different than playing the slots in Vegas. The one-year chart hasn't changed much since I discussed the company back in June; it still tells a tale of volatility and downward momentum. It's not a ride I'm willing to take.

Continue reading Rite Aid Sold on Q2 News

Rite Aid Sold on Q2 News originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm going to offer up brief opinions on some of the events from the past trading week. Maybe you had your eye on one or two of them as well.

Playboy (PLA) reported a net loss in its second quarter. The red ink came out to 16 cents per share this time around; last year, the loss was 26 cents per share. You know what? It doesn't really matter if management was able to narrow the bleeding. Playboy is purely an arbitrage play now, with Hugh Hefner making a bid to take control of the business (a competing bid has been made by FriendFinder, which owns Penthouse). I would avoid making a buy here, since the arbitrage game can be a difficult one to win.

Continue reading Thoughts on Market Stories from the Week

Thoughts on Market Stories from the Week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• BofA/Merrill upgraded ConocoPhillips (COP) to neutral from underperform following the better-than-expected Q2 report. The firm has a $61 price target on shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Citrix Systems (CTXS) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and raised its target for shares to $65 from $45. Shares were also upgraded to neutral from underperform at Cowen following the better-than-expected Q2 report.
• Macquarie upgraded Arch Coal (ACI) to outperform from underperform and raised its price target to $29 from $23. The firm expects PRB priced to move higher given increased domestic and export demand combined with supply shortfalls.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Equinix (EQIX) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Williams-Sonoma (WSM) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ACI, BA, COP, CTXS, CVS, NGS, NVDA, VPRT, WSM ...

Analyst Calls: ACI, BA, COP, CTXS, CVS, NGS, NVDA, VPRT, WSM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading CVS Caremark Up on Earnings News

CVS Caremark Up on Earnings News originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Rite Aid: Smaller Loss, but I'm Not Interested

Rite Aid: Smaller Loss, but I'm Not Interested originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Walgreen Disappoints Market with Q3 Report

Walgreen Disappoints Market with Q3 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walgreen Co. (WAG - option chain) shares rose Friday after the company said it signed a new agreement with CVS Caremark (CVS) that will allow Walgreen to continue participating in CVS's pharmacy benefit management network. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on WAG.

WAG opened at $31.01. In morning trading, the stock hit a low of $30.18 and a high of $31.38. As of 12:00, WAG was trading at $30.37 up 1.10 (3.8%). The chart for WAG looks bullish and S&P gives WAG a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Continue reading Walgreen Rises on New Deal with CVS Caremark

Walgreen Rises on New Deal with CVS Caremark originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I first discussed CVS Caremark Corporation (CVS) here on February 16, 2009, at a price of $27.30. Shares of drug store chain giant have pulled back recently, but investors may view that move as an opportunity to scoop-up shares at a decent price. Here's why.

Look for methodical, successful CVS post same-store sales growth of 4% to 6% in 2010.

Continue reading Is Now a Good Time to Consider CVS?

Is Now a Good Time to Consider CVS? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Most investors wouldn't give a fund described as 'relatively prosaic, dull, conservative' a second glance; that, however, is exactly how John Neff described the Windsor Fund that he headed for more than three decades," notes John Reese, an advisor who models specific portfolios designed around the stated investing strategies of many of the stock market's most legendary investors.

In his Validea newsletter, Reese explains, "And, while his style may not have been flashy or eye-catching, the returns he generated for clients were dazzling -- so dazzling that Neff's track record may be the greatest ever for a mutual fund manager.

"Over his 31-year tenure (1964-1995), Windsor averaged a 13.7 percent annual return, beating the market by an average of 3.1 percent per year.

Continue reading Ten Top Value Plays: Spotlight on John Neff

Ten Top Value Plays: Spotlight on John Neff originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CVS Caremark (CVS) has received notice from Walgreen (WAG) that the latter would not participate as a provider in any new prescription drug plans awarded to CVS's pharmacy benefit manager after June 7.

Walgreen feels that it's no longer "in the best interests of its customers, pharmacists and shareholders to grow its future business" with CVS. Any current CVS plans in which Walgreen is already a service provider will not be impacted.

Continue reading Walgreen and CVS Caremark in Benefits Row

Walgreen and CVS Caremark in Benefits Row originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CVS Caremark (CVS), a drugstore chain that competes with Rite-Aid Corporation (RAD), Walgreen Company (WAG), and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), is acting in a boring way this afternoon. My screen shows, at the time of this writing, the stock down 44 cents, or 1.2%, to $36.64.

That's not too bad for the kind of trading session we're having. I bet CVS would have been up today following its Q1 report had the market action been different. But the tape is the tape, you can do nothing about that. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the company made, on an adjusted basis, 60 cents per share, which was two pennies ahead of estimates.

Continue reading Does CVS Look Okay After Q1 Report?

Does CVS Look Okay After Q1 Report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rite Aid (RAD) continues to be a stock that I want to avoid. I know it's risen a lot over the last year, but such price action doesn't sway me in this case.

You've got to be careful when a company reports a loss, even if that loss is narrower than what was reported in the comparable period. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Rite Aid lost 24 cents per share. Last year at this time, the red ink came out to $2.67 per share. Yes, this is a vast improvement; same thing happened in the third quarter back in December of last year.

Continue reading Rite Aid Down on Q4 Report

Rite Aid Down on Q4 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walgreen Company (WAG), a drugstore entity whose major competitors are CVS Caremark (CVS), Rite Aid (RAD), and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), reported second-quarter data earlier today; they weren't too thrilling, to be completely honest.

On a reported basis, net income increased three pennies to 68 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, earnings came out to 70 cents per share (this would be after adding back the two pennies dedicated to restructuring charges). Estimates called for 71 cents per share. Poor Walgreen just couldn't keep up with the analysts this time around.

Continue reading Walgreen Company Reports a Not-So-Compelling Second Quarter

Walgreen Company Reports a Not-So-Compelling Second Quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.