Analyst Upgrades

• Netflix (NFLX) and Zions Bancorp (ZION) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Akamai (AKAM) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• CSX (CSX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Nordstrom (JWN) to buy from neutral, WellCare (WCG) to conviction buy from buy and Humana (HUM) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• E-Commerce China Dangdang (DANG) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• VMware (VMW) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Celanese (CE) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADM, AKAM, ALL, CP, CSX, HRL, HUM, JWN, NFLX, NSRGY ...

Analyst Calls: ADM, AKAM, ALL, CP, CSX, HRL, HUM, JWN, NFLX, NSRGY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"What's safe and cheap in today's market? Food stocks top our buy list this month," suggests leading value advisor Richard Band.

The editor of Profitable Investing explains, "Here are two of my favorite buys, each with the potential to rack up a total return (price gain plus dividends) of at least 15% in the coming year: Nestle (NSRGY) and PepsiCo (PEP).

Continue reading Nestle and PepsiCo: 'Cheap and Safe'

Nestle and PepsiCo: 'Cheap and Safe' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kraft Foods (KFT) has done well to sustain demand in the face of higher coffee prices brought on by rising commodity prices. Kraft is the world's second largest food and beverage company after competitor Nestlé. It also competes with PepsiCo (PEP), General Mills (GIS) and Kellogg (K).

Kraft manufactures both food and beverages, with beverages accounting for nearly 14% of our $32.58 price estimate for Kraft's stock, which reflects a small premium to market price. Chocolate, candy and gum constitute around 31% of our price estimate, with snacks adding 19% and grocery products representing another 14%.

Continue reading Coffee Prices Heat Up; Kraft Can Cool the Fire with Flavored Water

Coffee Prices Heat Up; Kraft Can Cool the Fire with Flavored Water originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The past week's data-point-of-consequence for investors had to be investment decisions by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A).

Buffett ended positions in several stocks in the fourth quarter, including the Bank of America (BAC), Nike (NKE), Fiserv (FISV), Becton Dickinson (BDX), Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Lowe's Co.s (LOW), Nalco (NLC) and Nestle (NSRGY), according to a filing, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Berkshire added to a holding of only one stock in the fourth quarter: Wells Fargo (WFC).

Continue reading Tell-Tale Stat: Buffett's Berkshire Divests Bank of America, Nike Stakes

Tell-Tale Stat: Buffett's Berkshire Divests Bank of America, Nike Stakes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Research In Motion (RIMM) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Citigroup (C) to buy from hold at ISI Group.
• Integrated Silicon (ISSI) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: C, CHK, EBAY, KMB, MRK, NSRGY, PFE, RIMM, SNDA, VRA ...

Analyst Calls: C, CHK, EBAY, KMB, MRK, NSRGY, PFE, RIMM, SNDA, VRA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee (SLE)?" Think again. Swiss company Nestle has filed a lawsuit against the Illinois-based food giant, claiming patent infringement of the Nespresso coffee system. While the Swiss are known for staying neutral, Nestle felt compelled to seek legal action in an effort to protect its highest-selling product.

Nespresso is the business model that keeps on giving ... once customers buy one of the high-end machines, they also need to buy capsules of blended coffee (available in 16 varieties of varying flavors and intensity). The machines run from $199 to $599 and the capsules are about 55 cents apiece (which provides one cup). That 12-cup-a-day habit can add up quickly.

Continue reading Nestle Sues Sara Lee over Patent Infringement

Nestle Sues Sara Lee over Patent Infringement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Remember the Eggo waffle shortage in November that had everyone up in arms? Well, we could all be facing a similar crisis soon with a treat that's even more sinful: cookie dough.

Now, we all know we are supposed to cut and bake that tube of raw cookie dough, but how many of us haven't opted, instead, to grab a spoon and dig in? It's not the healthiest practice to begin with, for sure, but it becomes a bit more dodgy if harmful bacteria is involved.

Continue reading Cookie Dough Shortage in Our Future?

Cookie Dough Shortage in Our Future? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Kraft Sells Pizza So It Can Buy Chocolate

Kraft Sells Pizza So It Can Buy Chocolate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the Bell: Investors Pause After Monday's Heady Gains in Stocks

Before the Bell: Investors Pause After Monday's Heady Gains in Stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Halloween stocks offer investors a chance at financial treats

Halloween stocks offer investors a chance at financial treats originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading General Mills 1Q earnings preview

General Mills 1Q earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Over the past year, M&A has been on a starvation diet. Then again, with a terrible recession and credit crunch, what do you expect?

Yet, while it is still toot soon to tell, there are signs that things are beginning to improve. Just look at what's cooking between Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) and Cadbury (NYSE: CBY). Both global giants are involved in, well, an M&A food fight.

Continue reading Kraft wants to eat Cadbury for $16.7 billion

Kraft wants to eat Cadbury for $16.7 billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Coffee demand outstrips supply; coffee stocks up for commodity squeeze?

Coffee demand outstrips supply; coffee stocks up for commodity squeeze? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lean Cuisine 'Tuscan' and 'Mediterranean' chicken meals recalled originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

Okay, to begin with, I should be completely honest: I'm a definite Kirstie Alley fan. I've watched her since the beginning, since she walked into Shelly Long's shoes on Cheers and took the show to a whole other level. I watched as she began to mature gracefully in Summer School and the Look Who's Talking movies, and even stayed with Veronica's Closet for way longer than I should have. Over the years, I watched her bloom, blossom, expand her horizons, umm...

Okay, yes, I also watched her gain a lot of weight. Somewhere between the overripe evil of Gladys Leeman in Drop Dead Gorgeous and the impressive avoirdupois of Fat Actress, Kirstie Alley definitely put on some serious pounds. When they started shooting her in low light with dark clothes, I had my suspicions; when Fat Actress debuted, there was no longer any doubt.

Still, I was rooting for Kirstie, and I was happy when she got a gig working for Jenny Craig (a division of Nestle, VTX:NESN). While I'm not sure that weight loss is for everyone, I have no doubt that, for Kirstie Alley, it meant the difference between being gainfully employed and using her royalties from syndicated TV shows to buy herself an island and a bunch of muumuus. I hoped that the marriage between Kirstie and Jennie would thrive and be, if not fruitful, at least healthy.

Continue reading Spokesperson fiasco #6: Kirstie Alley and Jenny Craig

Spokesperson fiasco #6: Kirstie Alley and Jenny Craig originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Novartis buying Nestle's chunk in Alcon originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• B. Riley downgraded shares of World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) to Neutral from Buy on valuation with the stock only 1% below their target price. However, B. Riley admits shares may move higher during the next 30-35 days, due to the upcoming WrestleMania event in Orlando, FL.
  
• Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill on valuation and a lack of near-term catalysts; shares were also lowered to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns.
  
• ING lowered Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) to Hold from Buy as they expect organic growth to slow in 2008.

• Banc of America downgraded Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• HSBC downgraded Repsol SA (NYSE: REP) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Del Monte Foods (NYSE: DLM) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.

Analyst downgrades: WWE, NVO and NSRGY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jay Winthrop of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC, a $250 million (assets under management) New York registered investment advisory firm, likes to buy stocks whose prices are so low that the odds of them benefiting from a positive surprise exceed those of losing from a negative one. Douglass Winthrop is ahead of the S&P year-to-date and has delivered "positive, tax-efficient results since inception in 2002." Through its 10% to 15% stock turnover, it offers investors lower expenses and taxes than its higher turnover "fast money" peers. As Winthrop summed it up: "Good things happen to cheap stocks."

Four stocks that he mentioned particularly caught my attention:

• Nestle S A (OTC: NSRGY). Nestle has benefited from its investment in emerging markets -- giving it a strong brand and distribution presences in countries experiencing rapid growth. A significant share of its profits are generated in developing markets. And its core food business is cheap when its strategic investments are backed out. Nestle trades at a mere 13x to 14 x operating earnings -- which is lower than the value of stocks in its peer group. Finally, Nestle is capitalizing on the profitable and growing health and wellness trend.
• Legg Mason (NYSE: LM). Legg Mason is a pre-eminent asset manager with $1 trillion under management. But its stock has declined due to temporary problems. Its Value Trust fund -- which had long outperformed the market under its manager Bill Miller -- has had two sub-par performing years in a row. And it's had troubles integrating a merger with Citigroup Inc.'s (NYSE: C) mutual fund unit. Winthrop also thinks Legg Mason has been hit by the overall decline in financials. However, he argues, Legg Mason trades at 1% of assets under management which is far below the 2% industry average. And its valuation is much less than that of newly public alternative investment managers.

Continue reading Douglass Winthrop picks for 2008: Nestle, Legg Mason, Comcast, Markel

Douglass Winthrop picks for 2008: Nestle, Legg Mason, Comcast, Markel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Dec 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jamba Juice signs deal with Nestle to sell pre-packaged juice originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Some people are disinterested in chocolate, while others of us would drive through a hurricane to feed our Godiva jones. According to the UK Telegraph, a new study in the Journal of Proteome Research suggests that the culprits may live in our stomach.

According to the findings of scientists at the Nestle Research Centre and others, the type of bacteria busy aiding in digestion in the guts of chocolate lovers may be different than those of people who don't crave the brown bliss. Since 90% of the cells making up a human being are actually bacteria and other symbiotic partners along for the ride, how could we expect to be able to fight off the urgings of such a throng?

While the findings are only suggestive of a link, I wonder if any chocolate company executives are already fantasizing about the effects on sales of adding the sweet-craving bacteria to their products.

I can't decide if this is good or bad news for the Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) and other chocolatiers. If you could eliminate your desire for chocolate, would you?

Hershey (HER) devotees may be smaller than you think originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 14 Oct 2007 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.