BloggingStocks

Investing in Cuba: 11 Plays on an 'Untapped Opportunity'

Steven Halpern — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: International Markets, Newsletters, Stocks to Buy

"As soon as it is possible to do so, several North American companies are likely to move quickly to enter Cuba, the greatest untapped opportunity remaining in the western hemisphere," says Jim Powell.

Here, the editor of Global Changes & Opportunities looks at what he believes are the best investment opportunities for investing in Cuba, should such a change occur.

"In August, Raul Castro announced that 500,000 public workers in Cuba will be laid off and will need to find jobs in newly-legalized small private enterprises.

Continue reading Investing in Cuba: 11 Plays on an 'Untapped Opportunity'

Investing in Cuba: 11 Plays on an 'Untapped Opportunity' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 31 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst Calls: CAH, EXPE, FSLR, HOT, LVS, MWW, NUVA, POT ...

Laurie Pasternack — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Expedia Inc (EXPE), Barrick Gold (ABX), Analyst Initiations, Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)

Analyst Upgrades

JPMorgan upgraded Vivus (VVUS) to overweight from neutral.
Citigroup upgraded Corn Products (CPO) to buy from hold.
Maxim Integrated (MXIM) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
Cardinal Health (CAH) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
Citigroup upgraded Monster Worldwide (MWW) and EchoStar (SATS) to buy from hold, as well as Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to buy from sell.
BMO Capital upgraded Potash (POT) and Barrick Gold (ABX) to outperform from market perform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CAH, EXPE, FSLR, HOT, LVS, MWW, NUVA, POT ...

Analyst Calls: CAH, EXPE, FSLR, HOT, LVS, MWW, NUVA, POT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Timeshare growth spurt ends severely

Tom Johansmeyer — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR)

Timeshares, that wonderful relic from the 1970s, are about as popular as disco and excessive chest hair this year. Thanks to the recession, timeshare sales are forecasted to suffer their worst fall since this vacation option came on the scene more than 30 years ago. The plunge could reach 30 percent, according to Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association, a trade group, and the next year and a half could be tough, as well.

In the United States, timeshare sales fell 8.5% last year to $9.7 billion. They reached their peak the year before, when sales hit $10.6 billion, according to a study by Ernst & Young. The 2008 decline was the first sustained by the industry since it started keeping score in 1975.

Continue reading Timeshare growth spurt ends severely

Timeshare growth spurt ends severely originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: HOT, GOOG, WPI, LYG ...

Laurie Pasternack — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:55:00 EST

Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Google (GOOG), Daimler (DAI), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Analyst Initiations, Lloyds TSB Group plc ADS (LYG), Suntech Power Hldgs ADS (STP), China Mobile Limited (CHL)

Analyst upgrades:

Baird upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT), Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) and Marriott (NYSE: MAR) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and indications that negative sentiment has reached a bottom.
Citigroup upgraded Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) to Buy from Hold as they find the valuation attractive and think management can grow earnings and book value in 2009/2010. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered their target price to $37 from $45.
ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) was upgraded at Natixis to Buy from Hold.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: HOT, GOOG, WPI, LYG ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: HOT, GOOG, WPI, LYG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Option Update: Starwood volatility elevated; shares near five-year low

Paul Foster — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:27:00 EST

Filed under: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Options

Starwood (NYSE: HOT) was downgraded to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Goldman says: "due to valuation and given that we expect fundamentals to start deteriorating in both the higher end segments of the lodging industry as well as international markets."

HOT overall option implied volatility of 55 is above its 26-week average of 45 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: Starwood volatility elevated; shares near five-year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starwood Hotels (HOT) drops on Marriott (MAR) earnings

Brent Archer — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:12:00 EST

Filed under: Major Movement, Earnings Reports, Bad News, Industry, Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Options, Technical Analysis

Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT) shares are falling today after competitor Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) reported Q2 earnings that dropped year-over-year and said it expects weak economic growth and soft U.S. lodging demand to persist into 2009. This could be a bad sign for HOT, which reports earnings in two weeks. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on HOT.

After hitting a one-year high of $75.29 last July, the stock has hit a new one-year low today. This morning, HOT opened at $36.81. So far today the stock has hit a low of $35.23 and a high of $36.82. As of 12:05, HOT is trading at $35.77, down 1.63 (-4.4%). The chart for HOT looks bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a November bear-call credit spread above the $50 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 6.4% return in four and a half months as long as HOT is below $50 at November expiration. Starwood would have to rise by more than 39% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

HOT as been above $50 as recently as late May but has shown resistance around $39.50 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out on 7/24) are a positive surprise, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance HOT might find at its 200-day moving average, which is currently around $50 and falling.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in HOT or MAR.

Starwood Hotels (HOT) drops on Marriott (MAR) earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marriot (MAR) second quarter earnings preview

Michael Fowlkes — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:13:00 EST

Filed under: International Markets, Earnings Reports, SEC Filings, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Products and Services, Management, Competitive Strategy, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wachovia Corp (WB), Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Economic Data, Lehman Br Holdings (LEH)

The earnings season was officially launched last night with Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) reporting better than expected numbers, and tomorrow we are going to see another big name, Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) report its second quarter numbers.

The company is due to report its current earnings prior to the market open, and going into tomorrow's report analysts are looking to see the company show 49 cents per share on $3.15 billion in revenues. The housing slump over the past year has definitely been hurting hotel operators, so it will be interesting to see what kind of quarter Marriott is able to show to its investors.

The last time the hotel chain released its quarterly numbers was back on April 17, when it matched analyst estimates for its first quarter with 33 cents per share. The stock made a brief rally following the release, but over the past month has been in a solid downward trend.

Continue reading Marriot (MAR) second quarter earnings preview

Marriot (MAR) second quarter earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Option update 2-5-08: Starwood volatility flat; Sam Zell owns 7.72% HOT stake

Paul Foster — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:44:00 EST

Filed under: Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Options

Starwood (NYSE: HOT) is hosting a meeting with sell side community at 7:45 a.m. Eastern time today.

Sam Zell reported a 7.72% stake in HOT on Feb. 4.

Smith Barney says: "We view as a strong vote of confidence in HOT's underlying fundamentals (and asset value) by a sophisticated real estate investor."

HOT overall option implied volatility of 40 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option update 2-5-08: Starwood volatility flat; Sam Zell owns 7.72% HOT stake originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Market highlights for next week: AAPL, AMZN, MER, CFC to report Q3

Eric Buscemi — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Conventions and Conferences, Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Halliburton (HAL), Boeing Co (BA), Merrill Lynch (MER), Countrywide Financial (CFC), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Texas Instruments (TXN)

Monday October 22

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10am
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm
Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5:30pm

Tuesday October 23

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 11am
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm

Wednesday October 24

Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10am
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10:30am

Thursday October 25

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: XMSR) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10am
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc (NYSE: HOT) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10:30am

Friday October 26

Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 12pm
PDUFA date for Adams Respiratory Therapeutics Inc's (NASDAQ: ARXT) Guaifenesin, a prescription cough treatment
PDUFA date for Sanofi-Aventis SA's (NYSE: SNY) Taxotere for induction therapy of locally advanced head and neck cancer prior to chemoradiotherapy and surgery

Market highlights for next week: AAPL, AMZN, MER, CFC to report Q3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starwood Hotels to open W Bangkok

Meg Massie — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:35:00 EST

Filed under: Thailand, Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Options, Technical Analysis

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) announced today that its W Hotels unit will open W Bangkok in 2011. The new hotel will feature 400 rooms and will be part of a mixed-use development in Bangkok's commercial and diplomatic center. If you think that the company will not fall by too much over the next few months, now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on HOT.

After climbing to a one-year high of $75.45 in July, HOT took a nosedive to a 52-week low of $52.63 just six weeks later in August. The stock has had a bumpy ride over the past few months, but appears to be settling in with support just below $60. HOT opened this morning at $59.55. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $59.06 and a high of $61.53. As of 3:00 p.m., the stock was trading at $60.46, up $0.72 (1.21%). HOT's chart is improving from bearish to neutral, while S&P gives the stock an encouraging 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a January bull-put credit spread below the $45 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 6.4% return in just 3 months as long as HOT is above $45 at January expiration. Starwood Hotels would have to fall by more than 25% before we would start to lose money.

HOT hasn't been below $45 since October 2004 and has shown support in the upper $50's recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out 10/25) disappoint, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by strong historical support around $55. Additionally, HOT has a strong history of beating earnings estimates, with the company's last earnings miss coming in Q1 2003.

Meg Massie is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.
DISCLOSURE: At publication time, Meg neither owns nor controls positions in HOT.

Starwood Hotels to open W Bangkok originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cramer lists Mariott among potential hotel targets

Brent Archer — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:10:00 EST

Filed under: Major Movement, Analyst Reports, Deals, Good news, Industry, Hilton Hotels (HLT), Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Options, Technical Analysis, Blackstone Group L.P (BX)

Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) opened at $48.77. So far today the stock has hit a low of $46.82 and a high of $48.85. As of 10:55, MAR is trading at $47.45, up $2.99 (6.7%).

After hitting a one year high of $52.00 in April, the stock dropped sharply to find support just below $44. Hotels are soaring today after Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) announced plans to purchase Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT). Jim Cramer says that some other hotel stocks are deserving of takeovers, and he is tagging Marriott as possible buyout candidate in the aftermath of the HLT deal. Other potential targets mentioned are Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) and Wyndham (NYSE: WYN). Our own Douglas McIntyre sees MAR and HOT as targets as well. Recent technical indicators for MAR have been bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an October bull-put credit spread below the $40 range. MAR hasn't been below $40 since October and has shown support around $43 recently. This trade could be risky if the acquisition buzz surrounding the hotel stocks dies down with little action, but even if that happens, it looks like this stock could find support right near $45, where it bounced a few times in the past two months.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in MAR, BX, HOT, HLT, or WYN.

Cramer lists Mariott among potential hotel targets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With Hilton sold, will Marriott and Starwood be next?

Douglas McIntyre — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:45:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Competitive Strategy, Private Equity, Hilton Hotels (HLT), Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Blackstone Group L.P (BX)

Now that Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has bought Hilton (NYSE: HLT) for $26 billion, The Wall Street Journal is asking [subscription required] whether Marriott (NYSE: MAR) and Starwood (NYSE: HOT) might be next.

The question is reasonable. Hilton has outperformed the other two companies in the stock market over the last two years, with its shares up 50%. Some of that is due to recent takeover speculation.

Marriott's shares are up only 30% over that period and Starwood's only 15%. All three companies have market caps in the $15 billion to $20 billion range, so none is so large as to be outside the financial ability for a private equity firm to take them over.

But, Starwood may make the easier target. Marriott is still controlled by its founding family while Starwood has had a bit of musical chairs in its executive suite. The company's CEO left in April.

Starwood has had virtually no growth in revenue over that last four quarters, and had low operating income in its last reported quarter. If private equity interests think they can improve that, the company becomes an attractive candidate.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

With Hilton sold, will Marriott and Starwood be next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst downgrades 11-27-06: Hilton, Marriot downgraded

Melly Alazraki — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 11:23:00 EST

Filed under: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, U.S. Steel (X), Hilton Hotels (HLT), Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Three prominent stocks in the hotel sector along with Analog Devices (ADI) topped today's list of downgrades.

A.G. Edwards downgraded three hotels, citing valuation for their rationale: Starwood Hotels (NYSE:HOT), Hilton Hotels (NYSE:HLT) and Marriot Int'l (NYSE:MAR) were downgraded to Hold from Buy.
Bernstein downgraded Analog Devices (NYSE:ADI) to Market Perform from Outperform; they are cautious on the strategy, execution and overall risk/reward profile of the company.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

Brean Murry downgraded two retailers to Sell from Hold today: Claire's Stores (NYSE:CLE) and Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO). The firm believes Claire's recent upside was due to speculation of a buyout, which they feel is unlikely, while Aeropostale's downgrade was based on the "50% off-the-store", which should limit the potential benefits.
Finally, US Steel Group (NYSE:X) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Soleil, citing valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst downgrades 11-27-06: Hilton, Marriot downgraded originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Nov 2006 11:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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