Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) has pulled back from its 52-week high of $247.55. At the time of this writing, shares were exchanging hands for about $215. The 52-week low for the stock is $70.05.

We know that this company has been a great performer. Investors who bought at the lower end of the chart have been amply rewarded. But for those who don't own the name, is it time to buy? And, likewise, for those who do own it, is it time to sell?

Say you have $20,000 to $100,000 to invest. You can put it in stocks, hope to make a 10% return over time, and if the market moves up, you could walk away with an extra $2,000 to $10,000 before taxes. Or, you could take that same investment, and put it into something that could generate far greater returns.

James Altucher, Managing Director of Formula Capital, says that a better way to reap big returns is to exploit your employer. (See video.)

Viacom is now being blamed for secretly uploading copyright infringing content by YouTube's chief counsel, Zahavah Levine. This announcement comes as the court prepares to render a decision in the $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit Viacom (VIA) brought against Google's (GOOG) Internet video giant, YouTube.

Attorney Levine has stated in a blog post: "For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there."

Video chain Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) reported earnings earlier this week for the fourth quarter. While there were some positive aspects to the story, I can tell you that the stock is not a buy at all, at least not from where I sit.

Okay, let me throw some of the good stats out at you. According to the press release, Blockbuster's same-store sales, or comps, are doing well. In Q4, domestic comps rose well over 4%. Free cash flow was positive. And earnings on an adjusted basis calculated out to $0.40 per share. That was a huge beat, since analysts were looking for $0.25 per share.

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is a pro. While some of its deals have failed, the fact remains that the company has built a global powerhouse via dealmaking.

However, last year was uncharacteristic for the aggressive Cisco; that is, the tech giant bought only four companies. Keep in mind that, in a typical year, the company will average a deal a month.

Well, things may change in 2009 (this is according to Barrons' Tech Trader Daily blog). All in all, it looks like Cisco will rev up the deal machine.

OK, so what might Cisco target? A key area is video.

This certainly makes sense. After all, video requires tremendous Net infrastructure. Plus, video is likely to be more attractive to corporate America. Ultimately, a video-meeting could be much more cost-effective than flying to meetings.

Oh, and it looks like the slowing economy may be a good thing. It should mean better valuations -- and more motivated sellers. And, Cisco has the firepower to get attention, with a whopping $27 billion in the bank.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

"Investors have been focusing on the shortcomings at Qwest Communications International (NYSE: Q), and to be sure, it has plenty," observes turnaround specialist George Putnam.

In his The Turnaround Letter, he adds, "But the company also has very valuable assets and strong cash flow. In addition, we believe the stock would command a good premium in a takeover." Here's his bullish review.

"Following its IPO in 1995, Qwest expanded via acquisitions and partnerships, and participated in the telecom bubble of the late 1990's.

"Unlike many of the other high-flying telecoms of that era, however, Qwest realized that in addition to a story you needed customers. In 2000, it went out and acquired US West, which gave Qwest the revenue base to survive the bursting of the telecom bubble

"Although the company survived, the shareholders have had a rocky ride during the current decade. The stock peaked around 60 in 2000, dropped to just above 1 in 2002, rebounded to 10 in 2007 and then declined to its present level.

"Management's challenge is too maximize the value of its assets. One of Qwest's greatest assets, and biggest challenges, is its huge traditional landline telephone business. The landline business is in a slow but steady decline as customers move to wireless or Internet telephony.

While at the recent Digital Hollywood conference, I heard much talk about online video. And the main question was: How can you make money from it?

Well, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is trying to find some ways. In fact, this week, the company agreed to purchase Origin Digital (the amount was not disclosed).

The privately-held firm calls itself a "global video applications service provider." That is, the company helps with the key elements of managing, syndicating and reporting digital content – across various platforms, such mobile, VOD, IPTV, broadband, and so on.

Accenture already has a Digital Media Service division. But, with Origin Digital, there will definitely be much more heft as well as opportunities for cross-selling.

All in all, this seems like a good fit for Accenture. After all, Corporate America realizes that online video has many benefits in terms of obtaining customers, education, and branding. Yet, it's a process that does require some deep domain expertise.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Back in 2000, a variety of dot-coms – like Pets.com, LastMinuteTravel.com, Monster.com (Nasdaq: MNST) and so on – spent gobs of money on Super Bowl commercials. Of course, it marked the height of the bubble. Since then, upstart companies have been mostly afraid of producing commercials.

Hey, take a look at this classic ad from Pets.com (now defunct), during the 2000 Super Bowl:

But don't be afraid. While I'm not suggesting that you shell out $2.7 million for a Super Bowl ad, I still think things are different. After all, it's fairly cost-effective to advertise on local cable channels. What's more, online video is also surging.

So how can you crank out a top-quality 30-second spot?

Let's take a look:

Production: Technology is making it incredibly cheap to create commercials. "All you need is an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Mac laptop and the iMovie software that comes with the computer," said Rob Frankel, who is the author of The Revenge of Brand X and has his own marketing firm. "And just about any MiniDV camera can produce broadcast-quality video."

That's all he needed to create this spot:

To spice things up, you can use stock footage and music clips (which may even be free). "A simple Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) search will find a lot of stock content," said Frankel.

Crafting the right message: It's temping to be too cute or cutting-edge when putting together a 30-second spot. Unfortunately, the result is that your audience ignores things – or is just confused. Some tips:

• Focus on one idea (that's easy to understand). Clutter is your enemy.
• Avoid special effects and location shoots.
• Don't star in your own commercials.

"Notice that some of the best commercials these days offer one central image or theme with even stark or simplified backgrounds," Rachel Weingarten, who is the president of GTK Marketing Group. "It might be wiser to spend more on the concept and come up with a very clever and catchy phrase or theme or even sweepstakes or promo that can drive people to your website, retail location or some other call to action."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) will bombard its customers with content. It is opening a new business that will offer its cable subscribers a massive library of films and TV shows that they can also watch on the internet. Comcast hopes to offer up to 6,000 movies.

According to The New York Times, "Comcast is already the world's largest buyer of content, and it is spending about $4.5 billion a year to assemble content from around the world to offer on demand."

While Comcast's TV offerings will be only available to subscribers, its internet video site will be open to the public. But how does that help the company? Comcast is up against established internet video sites, ranging from YouTube to the higher end Hulu. There is abundant video material already on the web.

From a cable VOD standpoint, most consumers only watch the most popular films. Having thousands of extra films is hardly likely to bring in extra subscribers.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.