"Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is a well-run company with a fortress-like balance sheet," says growth stock expert Brandon Clay.

In his Invest with an Edge he suggests, "Maicrosoft's war chest of cash and their ability to sparkle with products like Bing makes the company an attractive long-term bet." Here's the advisor's review.

"Microsoft was once the kind of stock investors dreamed of owning. Rising thousands of percent from its IPO in the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, Microsoft was at one point the largest U.S. company by market cap.

"As technology evolved and Microsoft matured, Wall Street turned its focus to 'sexier' areas of technology like Internet stocks. Operating system software wasn't the in-thing anymore. Microsoft became a value stock rather than a growth play.

Continue reading Microsoft (MSFT) 'Fortress-like' balance sheet

Microsoft (MSFT) 'Fortress-like' balance sheet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a special report, Global advisors look to China.

"It's not often you find a company trading at about $3 that has more than $5 per share in cash," says Nathan Slaughter, referring to Nam Tai Electronics (NYSE: NTE).

Here's his review from Half-Priced Stocks he suggests, "Nam Tai is a textbook example of a company that has been beaten up and left for dead." Here's his assessment.

Continue reading Nam Tai (NTE): Cash-rich trade

Nam Tai (NTE): Cash-rich trade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"If you are looking for maximum rebound potential, you have to go lower down on the quality spectrum; it is typically the lower quality and lower priced stocks that will have the largest gains when the market rebounds," says turnaround expert George Putnam.

In his industry-leading service focused on distressed companies, The Turnround Letter, he looks at a package of 10 stocks recently trading below $5 per share while also offering "bundles of cash."

Here's his review:

Continue reading Ten cash-rich, low-priced turnaround stocks

Ten cash-rich, low-priced turnaround stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Given the problems in the credit markets, companies with plenty of cash and little debt should find support on Wall Street," says Chuck Carlson, editor of The DRIP Investor and the industry leader in dividend reinvestment plans.

Here, the advisor profiles three such "cash-heavy firms"-- Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM).

Carlson explains, "Companies with lots of cash have lots of flexibility in how they run their businesses. Big cash coffers allow firms to pursue acquisitions, fund capital projects, boost dividends, or buy back stock."

He continues, "Also, companies with big cash holdings will become increasingly attractive as takeover candidates, especially if the large cash holdings represent a big chunk of the company's market value."

The advisor has screened for companies with strong cash positions and long-term debt as a percentage of total capital of less than 30%. Among those that passed were three tech issues several that he owns on his buy list.

Continue reading Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm: 'Cash-heavy techs'

Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm: 'Cash-heavy techs' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.