Movie theaters don't want you to know how many calories are in the popcorn and that's why they are resisting FDA attempts at requiring disclosures. If the FDA required scales in front of the popcorn counters, or that all popcorn be sold with free carrots, I might side with the theaters, but requiring one of those small nutritional information panels on the back of the popcorn bucket -- eaten in a darkened theater -- hardly seems oppressive to me.

I'm all for free choice and I don't want to take away anyone's jumbo popcorn as they go to the movies -- unless, of course, I get to eat some of it.

Continue reading What Movie Theaters Don't Want You to Know About the $6 Popcorn!

What Movie Theaters Don't Want You to Know About the $6 Popcorn! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• BP (BP) to buy from hold at RBS.
• Symantec (SYMC) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• GenOn Energy (GEN) and Nationwide Health Properties (NHP) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Logitech (LOGI) and Patriot Coal (PCX) to neutral from sell, as well as ARM Holdings (ARMH) to buy from neutral, at Goldman.
• Silvercorp Metals (SVM) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Cinemark (CNK) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Smith & Nephew (SNN) to market perform from underperform at Bernstein.
• Molex (MOLX) to overweight from underweight at JPMorgan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AB, ARMH, BP, DANG, JNS, LOGI, PCX, SYMC, YHOO, YOKU ...

Analyst Calls: AB, ARMH, BP, DANG, JNS, LOGI, PCX, SYMC, YHOO, YOKU ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"Moviegoers represent a captive audience that can't change the channel or block a pop-up ad," observes value investor Nathan Slaughter.

In his Half-Priced Stocks, he suggests, "We expect more companies than ever before to spend ad dollars on theater ads, leading to a banner year for National CineMedia (NCMI)."

Continue reading Top Picks for 2010: National CineMedia (NCMI)

Top Picks for 2010: National CineMedia (NCMI) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cinemark Holdings (NYSE: CNK), a leading owner of movie theaters, is a recent buy candidate from Leo Fasciocco, whose Ticker Tape Digest seeks stocks poised for technical breakouts.

"CNK an excellent intermediate-term play due to the strong profit outlook. The stock came public in 2007 at $20. It fell during the bear market. The stock formed a bottom, rallied and is now in position to breakout to the upside.

"With annual revenues of $1.8 billion, Cinemark is the third-largest motion picture exhibitor in the United States, operating 4,568 screens in 37 states and 12 Latin American countries.

Continue reading Cinemark (CNK): At the movies

Cinemark (CNK): At the movies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• American Technology downgraded both AVX Corp (NYSE: AVX) and Vishay Intertechnology Inc (NYSE: VSH) to Sell from Buy after channel checks suggested weaker than expected demand for the June quarter from Europe, EMS, and distribution.

• Sanders Morris believes investors should take profits in Buffalo Wild Wings Inc (NASDAQ: BWLD), cutting shares to Sell from Buy, and sees limited catalysts on the horizon that could drive shares higher.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded car rental companies Avis Budget Group (NYSE: CAR), Dollar Thrifty Automotive (NYSE: DTG) and Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) to Underweight from Equal-Weight to reflect weak Q2 rental prices.

• Lehman downgraded Amgen Inc(NASDAQ: AMGN) to EqualWeight from Overweight.

• Caris cut Limited Inc (NYSE: LTD) to Below Average from Average.

• Goldman downgraded Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) to Neutral from Buy.

• Soleil downgraded Cinemark Holdings Inc (NYSE: CNK) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades 6-25-07: AMGN, BWLD, LTD and NVDA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia initiated coverage on AutoZone (NYSE: AZO), Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) and O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY) with Outperform ratings. The firm sees upside for AutoZone from share buybacks, Advance Auto Parts from improved cost control and margins, and O'Reilly Automotive from share gains and fundamental performance.

• First Albany started Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) with a Buy rating and sees significant upside in the first-half of 2008.

• BMO Capital started Cinemark (NYSE: CNK) with an Outperform rating, citing Cinemark's internal growth opportunities as well as its international opportunities in Latin America.

• American Tech started Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) with a Neutral rating, saying fundamentals and the macro backdrop remain uncertain...

• Bernstein initiated coverage on Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) with Outperform ratings and a $635 target and $39 target, respectively, and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), InterActive Corp (NASDAQ: IACI) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) with Market Perform ratings and a $65 target, $38 target and $29 target, respectively.

Analyst initiations 6-22-07: AMZN, EBAY, GOOG, MNST and YHOO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Banc of America said summer blockbusters have fallen off faster than they expected and there are fewer mid-tier films to support growth:

• The firm downgraded Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ: CKEC), Cinemark Holdings (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) to Neutral from Buy.

• Equity Inns (NYSE: ENN) was cut to Sell from Hold at AG Edwards after the Whitehall acquisition. JMP Securities and Friedman Billings cut shares to Market Perform from Outperform and KeyBanc downgraded Equity Inns to Hold from Buy.

• Matrix USA downgraded Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Sell from Hold based on the eroding return of capital because of the company using capital to acquire and open new stores. Friedman Billings downgraded shares of

• Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to Market Perform from Outperform and removed the company from their FBR Top Picks list on expectations that 2H07 same-store sales will no longer improve, removing a catalyst...

• Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper.

• Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman.

• UBS downgraded Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp (NASDAQ: BGFV) to Neutral from Buy.

• Banc of America downgraded Cognos (NASDAQ: COGN) to Neutral from Buy.

• Roth downgraded Fuel Tech Inc (NASDAQ: FTEK) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades 6-22-07: ANF, BGFV, COGN, TLB and SBUX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $103 target at Pacific Crest, as the firm believes the company's long-term opportunity with new-market expansion is underappreciated.
• Pacific Crest also initiated shares of Ceragon Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: CRNT) with an Outperform rating and $12 target, as the firm believes accelerating wireless data growth is driving backhaul demand.
• Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley, a Buy rating and $21 target at Banc of America and a Buy rating at Merrill Lynch; Banc of America believes the current box office strength could drive upside to estimates.
• Morgan Stanley also initiated shares of Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) with an Equal Weight rating.
• Ocean Power Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTT) was initiated with a Buy rating and $24 target at Banc of America and a Neutral rating at First Albany.

• Telanetix Inc. (NASDAQ: TNXI) was initiated with a Buy rating and $8.50 target at Kaufman Bros, as the firm believes the company's market opportunity is significant and thinks it could be an interesting acquisition target if the telepresence market development accelerates.
• Banc of America initiated shares of OceanFreight Inc. (NASDAQ: OCNF) with a Buy rating and $23 target.
• Goldman Sachs initiated shares of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) with a Neutral rating and $54 target and shares of Kinder Morgan Management (NYSE: KMR) with a Neutral rating and $53 target.
• Deutsche Bank initiated shares of Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES) with a Buy rating and $49 target.

Analyst initiations 6-4-07: Guess initiated with Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shrek 3 could bring movie theaters back into favor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 May 2007 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.