Yesterday my 2009 portfolio closed up 201% for the year. It has been an interesting journey, and while it is rather self congratulatory to discuss it, there are lessons to be learned.

Before I review some of the reasons I was able to do this I want to make it clear that I do not think this can be easily repeated; I look at the portfolio every day thinking this is too good to be true, and we all know what that usually means.

Another earnings report, another blowout quarter for Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG), the maker of the da Vinci robotic surgical system. Intuitive Surgical reported last Wednesday and the stock jumped Thursday and Friday on the news while analysts were busy revising their projections for future earnings and upgrading their recommendations and price projections (see: Chasing Value: The amazing Intuitive Surgical).

I have been one of Intuitive's biggest cheerleaders for years and like everyone else was encouraged to find the company still growing successfully on all fronts. Given my favorable opinion of the company, and the stock, I took a look at where it stood after the run-up (closing Friday at $222.53) to see whether there might be any value left, or if the frenetic buying had exhausted the possibility.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) narrowed its net loss in Q2 but not as much as expected.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) posted better-than-expected Q3 results on demand for iPhones and Macs.
• Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) reported earnings and revenue that topped expectations.
• JDA Software Group Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS) shares surged after it reported record results for Q2.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) lower Q4 results still topped earnings estimates, but shares fell.
• VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) unimpressive Q2 results still managed to beat analysts' low expectations.
• Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Q2 profit was flat year over year and revenue and cash flow declined.

Anybody reading Bloggingstocks.com for any length of time will know that I have been following Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) since its beginning.

Yesterday the company reported strong top and bottom line growth, with profits of $1.62 per share, about 37 cents ahead of analyst estimates, and its revenue of $260.6 million was $30.6 million greater than expected. Intuitive also raised its forecast for procedures performed using da Vinci systems, which can lead to increased sales.

The second quarter is now behind us and for the most part it was a positive one in terms of the market pushing higher almost 40%. This is the second review of my 2009 stock picks through June 30 (see: Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more). There was a lot of talk about green shoots this past quarter as Wall Street was looking for any small bit of optimistic data to support the market.

The federal printing presses continued to run at full speed pushing the dollar lower and oil prices higher. While the feds were printing money to cover their deficits, the States do not have that same luxury and many of them are having trouble balancing their budgets to the tune of billions of dollars.

The 2009 clock is ticking loudly. Last December I posted Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more. This is the first follow-up, four months later, through April 30 2009.

The year started off with continued turbulence. We have a new president, Barack Obama, who will boldly lead us where no man has gone before -- trillions further in debt, most likely.

Not that this is his doing, but it is his chosen calling, and right now he is calling out to the Congress to move forward on various contentious budget proposals and continued federal stimulus packages.

If stocks were drums then there would be no stock that I have been pounding louder than Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) for the last decade!

The stock has been moving upward every day for over a week gaining more than 50% in that time. It is up about 11% to $152.00 in mid day trading.

It was only two days ago that I posted Chasing Value: Intuitive Surgical's right price outlining why the stock was a value, but determining the exact value was not possible. If there was anyone that heeded my call then, they must be smiling today.

It is not possible to follow all stocks or companies with equal intensity, focus, or depth of knowledge. One that I have followed for over ten years is Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG).

I originally bought in at the very bottom, about $7.70 and last year sold about 20% of our position for $192. The stock had reached an all time high about 18 months ago just shy of $360, so my timing was far from ideal, but I was influenced by other factors. In this case a real estate transaction.

Over the past six months I have been buying more shares and have more than doubled our position. I believe that ISRG remains a growth stock, but for quite some time it has been value priced. However, I cannot tell you what exactly is the right price -- that is a big question.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) started off the new earnings season with disappointing results that helped to stifle the recent rally. Was that enough of a sign of what's to come? No, probably not. But the earnings reports start to fly in earnest this week, which should provide a more detailed picture of the state of things.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters anticipate that some of the biggest names will prove to be holding their own. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is expected to post a profit of $4.91 per share, marginally higher than a year ago, and Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) expected $1.22 per share profit is slightly lower year over year. Even Mattel Inc.'s (NYSE: MAT) estimated loss of $0.13 per share is the same as in the year-ago period.

If there is anything that makes me think we could be close to a market bottom, it is all the people that have gone off the deep end thinking the world may be coming to an end.

For the time being highly leveraged debt obligations seem to have come to an end. Large independent investment banks may have come to an end for now. The idea of a balanced budget may have come to an end a long time ago. However, the world is not coming to an end.

If anybody out there thinks that the times we live in come close to the Dark Ages, the American Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I or II, or the Great Depression, then they are wimps who know nothing about history or true misery.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD) shares to Buy from Hold on valuation following the company's Q4 results and outlook. The firm maintains a $25 target on the stock.
  
• Goldman upgraded Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) to Buy from Neutral based on valuation and expectations for 2010 earnings growth.
• Roth upgraded Maxwell Tech (NASDAQ: MXWL) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q4 results to reflect strong ultracapacitor sales growth and gross margin improvement. The firm maintains a $12 target on the stock.
• Nara Bancorp (NASDAQ: NARA) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
• Cubic (NYSE: CUB) was upgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Terex (NYSE: TEX) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

The 2009 clock is ticking loudly. The year has started off with a lot of continued turbulence. We have a new president, Barack Obama, who will boldly lead us where no man has gone before -- two trillion further in debt, most likely.

Not that this is his doing, but it is his chosen calling, and right now he is calling out to the Senate minority to compromise, and get yet another federal stimulus package off the shelf and out the door.

Over the past week I have heard rumors that Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) might acquire Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) and this may have caused some of the recent upward movement in ISRG stock. So I am watchful, but I see no facts at all other than the stocks rise on lighter than average trading volume.

It closed yesterday at $110.68. This is 27% above its 52-week low of $87.14 set in the last two weeks. Perhaps the rumors are wishful thinking on the part of some, and a few whispers somewhere in the murkiest alleyways of Wall Street created a story in some editor or promoters mind.

The first trading session of the 2009 may have brought some optimism with it as markets rallied, but it's difficult to imagine all our troubles over after a year that set one bad and worse record after another. Stocks mirrored the global economic slowdown brought on by the housing market and the financial markets crises.

Still, there are many who still seek to invest in hope that one day they could get nice returns on their investments. While the recent volatility in the stock market benefited some shrewd day traders, most investors know to stick to a long-term, stable investment plan.

To help achieve some of these long-term return, BloggingStocks contributors continued to suggest some companies to invest in, as well as some to avoid:

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) -- despite having his confidence in the stock shaken somewhat lately as sales may have been softer than expected, Steven Mallas is still bullish on the stock and feels it is attractive at these levels. Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), however, "seems a little scary to be buying in now," he says.

Anybody have capital gains to show this year? I didn't think so. Not unless you were shorting the market, and in particular financials. I got clobbered with everyone else. There were not many places to hide. Picking winners was like guessing where each piece of debris would land after the tornado moved through town.

The average crystal ball is looking quite foggy about now, nevertheless I have rummaged throughout the stock market to select nine stocks that I think offer more reward than risk. The market is priced for the worst in so many cases that I think the list could have included 50 companies without too much trouble.

In 2007 and 2008 I owned some but not all of the picks for the year. This year I own all of the stocks and they were all acquired in the latter part of the fourth quarter for a new portfolio.