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Jim Cramer drafts VMware (VMW) to his Fantasy Football Stock Portfolio

Jon Ogg — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:53:00 EST

On last night's MAD MONEY on CNBC, Jim Cramer gave a host of potential draft picks for his "Fantasy Football Draft Pick Stock Portfolio." In his wide receiver stock pick group from last night, the one that stood out the most is the beloved VMware (NYSE: VMW). He thinks the 85% market share of the virtualization market and the huge performance of the IPO will make this one a steady scoring player.

I have been out on VMware quite a bit and the funny thing about this stock is that there truly exists a VMware Conundrum. Don't get me wrong, the company is phenomenal and its space has exponential growth ahead of it. However, the low float and the incredibly tight fists that EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) holds over it with 86% under lock and key means that this can ramp (or tank) on very little volume. Its market capitalization is well over $20 billion, yet only a tiny portion is in the free float.

The company also made an acquisition Tuesday morning, so it isn't going to just sit idle to see if can catch up to its market cap organically. It has been in the spotlight all week because of the VMware VMworld 2007 conference. Timid investors need to tread lightly because this one can move with a mind of its own. Similarly, the analysis may not mean as much due to its size versus its float.

Jim Cramer drafts VMware (VMW) to his Fantasy Football Stock Portfolio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jim Cramer using Fantasy Football methods for stock picks for a recession

Jon Ogg — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Schlumberger Limited (SLB), Altria Group (MO), Procter and Gamble (PG), Deere and Co (DE)

Recently on MAD MONEY, Jim Cramer gave a huge list of stock picks for a recession, as he is certain one is coming. He wanted to go over a huge list of defensive stock picks, but said on Friday that he will give his pick out of each group of six picks for the positions on the team.

I gave my own huge list of 17 Defensive stock picks that managed to fare far better than the overall market by far.

Cramer gave a list of six defensive linemen and these are the ones you eat, drink, smoke, and use the personal products of. But then he gave a list of stocks that are his quarterback draft picks. These are more aggressive and these are not really defensive stock picks, and he says these will be the first to rally from the bottom.

When you look at defensive stock picks it is more than important that if you are in an environment that the stock market is hitting skid row and putting in low after low, then these are going to fall victim to stock selling as well. Relative performance won't pay the rent if it is merely lower losses.

But that is why this list of stocks that should do well regardless is such a good focal point as an alternative. The one thing that Cramer left off though, is that there can become a point of "multiple compression" where investors just won't pay the same price to earnings multiple or the same multiple of book value for a stock that they used to.

Jon Ogg produces SPECIAL SITUATION INVESTING NEWSLETTER; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Jim Cramer using Fantasy Football methods for stock picks for a recession originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo! (YHOO) angers fantasy football fans

Jonathan Berr — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:22:00 EST

Filed under: Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Yahoo! (YHOO), Time Warner (TWX), News Corp'B' (NWS)

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) today notified my friends and I that the time we spent last night on our fantasy football draft was wasted because of server problems. Excuse me?

How can Yahoo not have enough server capacity to accommodate the scores of fantasty drafts that happened last night? It's not like Yahoo hasn't done this before or that this weekend's start of the football season is a closely guarded secret.

"We have fixed the issues that caused the problems and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused you," the company said in an email. It set up a new draft for my league for this evening. I'm not sure my friends and I are going to bother.

This could have serious problems for the Internet portal. People who play fantasy football are desireable to advertisers since they stay on Web sites for long stretches of times while they live out their NFL dreams. That means that they are more likely to notice advertisements.

As it faces growing competition from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and everyone else under the sun, Yahoo can't afford to anger its loyal users particularly for popular features such as fantasy football users. Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE: DIS) ESPN, Time Warner Inc's (NYSE: TWX) AOL and News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Fox Sports are bound to benefit from Yahoo's misstep.

Yahoo! (YHOO) angers fantasy football fans originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo (YHOO) investors shouldn't jump for joy yet

Jonathan Berr — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:39:00 EST

Filed under: Major Movement, Analyst Reports, Internet, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), Marketing and Advertising

The investors who are flocking to Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) today because Bear Stearns argued that the internet portal would make an attractive acquisition target need to take a deep breath and count to ten because any deal isn't going to happen any time soon.

For one thing, internet advertising is going to take a hit over the next few months because financial services firms are going to cut spending due to the subprime mortgage meltdown. Plus, why would any company buy Yahoo! while questions remain about Project Panama.

Shares of Yahoo!, up about 6% this year, have gotten beaten up badly over the past year, tumbling about 19%. Pundits are predicting gloom and doom for the Sunnyvalle, Calif.-based company, which continues to struggle against Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and other web sites such as News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace for advertising dollars.

The news, though, hasn't been all bad. President Susan Decker and other top Yahoo! executives have been buying shares over the past few months. Yahoo's traffic also will benefit as fantasy football season ramps up. Bloomberg News notes the initial public offering of Alibaba.com may boost the company's earnings by 78 cents per share.

Those are more compelling reasons to buy Yahoo. Remember, a potential buyout is like a potential weight loss. The gap between theory and reality can be huge.

Yahoo (YHOO) investors shouldn't jump for joy yet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Sep 2007 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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