Retail is heating up. A look at the hottest retail ETFs shows that the sector is dramatically outperforming the market so far in 2010 -- up to four times over! That means if you were holding some of the elite retail components in these funds, you would be doing even better.

Take online retailer Overstock.com (OSTK), up over 65% since January 1 to today's opening bell! Any investor who has blacklisted the entire retail sector is missing out on big moneymakers like this company.

Continue reading A Retail Revival: Three Discounters to Buy (OSTK, PCLN, COST)

A Retail Revival: Three Discounters to Buy (OSTK, PCLN, COST) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 May 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Acuity Brands Inc. (AYI) Q2 results were essentially flat but an analyst's upgraded helped boost shares.
• Borders Group Inc. (BGP) reported strong Q4 earnings due to cost cutting but revenue continued to decline.
• Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (CALM) received an analyst's downgrade on valuation following release of its Q3 report.
• CarMax Inc. (KMX) rose to a new 52-week high following better-than-expected Q4 earnings and sales results.
• Charming Shoppes Inc. (CHRS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q4 net loss and said same-store sales declined.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Borders, CarMax, LDK Solar, Mosaic, RIM, Rite Aid ...

Earnings Highlights: Borders, CarMax, LDK Solar, Mosaic, RIM, Rite Aid ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You'll never believe who's dropping dimes to the feds!

Sam Antar, formerly the CFO of Crazy Eddie, known in the New York area for over-the-top commercials that scared the hell out of kids (well, me at least), knows his way around a questionable balance sheet. For 15 years, he was the executive chef of book-cooking, ultimately taking a guilty plea to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges. He stayed out of the clink by taking the stand on the government's side at a 1993 trial, ultimately sending his cousin, Eddie Antar to prison for seven years or so.

Crooks make the best cops, so to speak, and Antar is putting his skills to work. He's out hunting for accounting fraud and sending his analyses off to the SEC. On his blog, the former CFO laid out what he called a "bulletproof case" against Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) - a company that the SEC had been investigating since 2006. The inquiry has been reopened.

Continue reading Crazy Eddie's crazy ex-CFO investigates Overstock

Crazy Eddie's crazy ex-CFO investigates Overstock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) announced on Thursday that it received a notice from the SEC stating that the company was under investigation concerning its "previously-announced restatements of its financial statements in 2006 and 2008 and other matters."

CEO Patrick Byrne noted in the press release that "All of the matters that are the subject of the subpoena have been thoroughly disclosed and we are disappointed, given the extensive public disclosures Overstock has previously made, that the SEC, given all of the challenges it faces, has apparently chosen to expend time and resources on another investigation of Overstock. Rest assured, I will continue to speak out as I have on the shortcomings of our financial regulatory system."

Continue reading Overstock announces 'another' SEC subpoena

Overstock announces 'another' SEC subpoena originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's today's update from the irony department -- special thanks to Sam E. Antar for e-mailing it to me. From a FORM 12b-25 filed with the SEC on June 30th:

"The Company recently discovered that it inadvertently issued more shares of the Company common stock in connection with its 401(k) Plan than were registered on the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-123540) relating to the plan. The Company needs additional time to ascertain the facts relating to this issue and to analyze the effects, if any, on the plan."

Continue reading Overstock issuing phantom stock?

Overstock issuing phantom stock? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Vultures can do very well capitalizing on the difficulties of others. That is the case with Overstock (NASDAQ: OSTK).

The company buys excess inventory from struggling brick and mortar retailers and sells the goods online. By passing savings on to the customer, OSTK is positioned to beat the pants off the competition.

In the wake of the dot-com crash, short sellers pummeled this stock without any regard for its real business prospects. Those prospects have only improved in the time since.

Continue reading Online retail stock #2: Overstock (OSTK)

Online retail stock #2: Overstock (OSTK) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The poor economy hasn't helped retail spending, that's for sure. In fact, it could be argued that market saturation has really hurt certain segments of the retail market.

Take Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX). In the past few years, you couldn't walk down some city streets and not run into multiple Starbucks outlets. Today, Starbucks is scrambling to reduce the number of stores.

Online retailers, on the other hand, are in a completely different position. Not only is there still plenty of room for expansion in the online retail space, but e-tailers have key advantages over their brick-and-mortar counterparts.

Continue reading Three online retail stocks ripe for profit

Three online retail stocks ripe for profit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) Q1 profit blew away estimates, sending shares soaring.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) topped analysts expectations and offered conservative guidance.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reported better-than-expected results but warned that if faced challenges.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) topped Q3 profit estimates and announced the start of quarterly dividends.
• Continental Airlines Inc. (NYSE: CAL) widened is net loss in Q1 but still beat low Wall Street estimates.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Apple, Ford, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Boeing, American Express and more

Earnings highlights: Apple, Ford, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Boeing, American Express and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Directionless market, but directed stocks (BA, CAL, COF, FRE, WFC, OSTK)

Closing Bell: Directionless market, but directed stocks (BA, CAL, COF, FRE, WFC, OSTK) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) earnings prospects garnered an analyst's upgrade.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) warned of a loss for the quarter due to the economic slowdown.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) posted lower Q2 profit and revenue that missed estimates.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) Q2 profit fell but beat estimates, and it reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
• Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) swung to a Q4 loss and warned that low demand will continue.
• Hartford Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) posted a loss, cut its dividend, and offered weak guidance.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Toyota, Disney, Merck, Marathon, News Corp. and others

Earnings highlights: Toyota, Disney, Merck, Marathon, News Corp. and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Overstock reports GAAP profitability -- sort of

Overstock reports GAAP profitability -- sort of originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overstock's traffic tanks: Still more bad predictions? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When the Bureau of Economic Research declared that the recession had officially begun in December 2007, the entire retail sector shrugged its shoulders and said, "No kidding."

Shares of companies that deal directly with the consumer, except for the deep discount retailers, have known for some time that the economy was struggling. Sales have been declining steadily and, with the deteriorating operating environment, shares of the retail stocks have been absolutely crushed.

The entire retail group is one of the biggest losers in the market this year, with some stocks down 80% to 90%.

That said, those retailers that offer big discounts, including Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Big Lots (NYSE: BIG), are doing much better on a relative basis.

Continue reading Stock up on Overstock.com (OSTK)

Stock up on Overstock.com (OSTK) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Quarterly earnings calls are a great opportunity for investors to hear directly from the companies they've invested in and to get clarity from management when they answer questions posed by analysts. I listen to hundreds of calls every quarter, and I'm constantly surprised (and sometimes confused!) by the responses offered by management. This is the first in a series of occasional posts on some memorable quarterly earnings call moments.

Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK). Chairman and CEO Patrick Byrne never ceases to . . . amaze me. While I sometimes come away from their quarterly call more perplexed than ever, Byrne's responses to questions certainly stand out. Here are some of the more memorable comments from their latest quarterly call, held on October 24, 2008.

While commenting on accounting errors that resulted in a financial restatement, Patrick Byrne explained it this way:

"We had been managing to a yardstick that turned out to have a bit of rubber in it at the end of the quarter."

Well, that certainly clarifies things!

Moving on to a conversation on EBITDA and Cap Ex, we hear that OSTK is:

". . . like the proverbial boa constrictor digesting a baby hippo. We ate the baby hippo about three years ago -- actually right now -- and it's moved its way through the boa constrictor."

Continue reading Caught on the earnings call: Overstock's CEO offers EBITDA without the 'A'

Caught on the earnings call: Overstock's CEO offers EBITDA without the 'A' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne takes a victory lap: not so fast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) fell sharply on Friday after the company reported yet another quarterly loss and disclosed that it would have to restate its earnings. In the press release announcing the restatement and earnings, CEO Patrick Byrne told investors that "The total effect of the errors over the five and a half year period (during which we generated nearly $3.5 billion in revenues) is a reduction in revenue of $12.9 million and a $10.3 million increase to cumulative net loss."

In the grand scheme of things, this isn't material. And there's certainly no reason to think this is anything other than an error -- a result of Overstock being a sloppy, poorly run company with a distracted CEO battling the imaginary demon of naked short selling, but not accounting "fraud."

Here's the best part: One of the imaginary demons that Patrick Byrne was out battling was Gradient Analytics, a small independent research outfit that Overstock sued for putting out negative research reports. Earlier this month, the lawsuit was settled. In that press release, Overstock said that "Gradient now believes that, to the best of its knowledge, Overstock's stated accounting policies did in fact conform with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and regrets any prior statements to the contrary."

Here's my question: was Overstock aware of the need for an earnings restatement when it settled the lawsuit? Or did it push through a settlement just before it disclosed that Gradient's allegations of accounting issues were proven to be right on the money? We may never know.

The larger point is that Overstock shareholders would be much better off if Patrick Byrne devoted his energy to managing his company, not lashing out at anyone who says mean things about him.

Overstock announces earnings restatement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Given the weakness of consumer spending, a lot of investors are worried that Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) may not come through with the profitable year the CEO Patrick Byrne has gone on the record as predicting.

Indeed this necklace, pointed out by a poster on a Yahoo! message board, may be a bad omen:

Sterling Silver Moveable Toilet Necklace

• Enhance your style with this sterling silver necklace
• Pendant features a fun and edgy toilet design with a lid that opens and closes
• Jewelry includes a princess-length chain

If you want it -- and I'm sure you do -- you can buy one at Overstock. It's only $16.99.

It looks like this toilet bowl of a company could be releasing some pretty crappy numbers.

Overstock looks to the toilet for revenue growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overstock settles lawsuit with Gradient Analytics originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overstock CEO: Stockpile food for the credit crunch! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overstock loses lawsuit, but doesn't mention it originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.