Coinstar (CSTR) is, without a doubt, a very compelling stock to watch. I've been both bullish and bearish on the idea over the last several months. The one-year chart shows some fascinating price action. It makes one want to buy the name, but at the same time, I'm sure many investors wonder what the future will be like for the owner of the Redbox DVD-rental kiosk (i.e., how will it specifically adapt to the demand for digital delivery of movies?).

This week, TheFly mentioned that an analyst firm believes the stock will climb even higher, perhaps all the way to $80. That would represent a pretty impressive return based on where the quote is right now.

Continue reading Coinstar: Time To Buy or Sell?

Coinstar: Time To Buy or Sell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While I'm not necessarily going to say you can't still buy Netflix (NFLX), I will say that I just can't get myself to send in an order at current levels. During Wednesday's after-hours session, the shares gained 9%, reaching $167.33 in reaction to the latest quarterly report. That's not far from the 52-week high of $174.40. I'm not sure where the stock will end up during Thursday's regular session, but I doubt I'll be changing my mind about the online movie-rental business.

The chart does look good, though, doesn't it? Some of the sections may be rocky, but for the most part, the equity has been extremely resilient and a great buy on pullbacks. And with the 52-week low set at $47.56, you know that a lot of the true believers have made some good money (at least on paper).

Continue reading Netflix Earnings: Too Late to Buy?

Netflix Earnings: Too Late to Buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Should You Avoid Coinstar?

Should You Avoid Coinstar? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Netflix Earnings: Sell or Hold On?

Netflix Earnings: Sell or Hold On? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Blockbuster (BBI) is not a stock any sane investor should buy. First, it's under a buck. Second, it is currently down over 20% in afternoon trading, backed by significant volume. I'm seeing a price of just under 40 cents as I write this. Not a good situation.

Yet, I'm sure there are a fair amount of professional speculators out there making bets on the business. Hey, I can't predict the future, but I just don't see how anyone can take a chance on the shares. The one-year chart is terrible. And the most recent earnings report, released yesterday after the bell, is likewise a horrible sight to behold.

Continue reading Blockbuster's Terrible Q1

Blockbuster's Terrible Q1 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 May 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Can Movie Gallery's Death Save Blockbuster?

Can Movie Gallery's Death Save Blockbuster? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not long ago, I wrote about Netflix (NFLX) hitting a 52-week high. At that time, the shares were around the $75 level. I cautioned that one had to be careful about buying an overbought stock. I mean, how much further could the equity climb?

Yeah, right. At the close of trading on Wednesday, the shares were priced at $86.98. The current 52-week high stands at $89.10 (as of this writing). And during yesterday's after-hours session, the stock climbed 1.6% to $88.40, in response to the first-quarter earnings report.

Continue reading Netflix Had a Great Quarter, but Be Cautious About Stock

Netflix Had a Great Quarter, but Be Cautious About Stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm going to take a brief look at two quarterly reports from the past week. We've got a popular restaurant chain on the menu, as well as a DVD-rental business that is causing Hollywood a lot of headaches.

The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) reported flat sales revenue in the fourth quarter. And when I say flat, I mean it: $400.6 million versus $400.4 million. On an adjusted basis, net income was 28 cents per share, representing an increase of 87%. This was four pennies ahead of estimates.

Continue reading Two Quarterly Releases: The Cheesecake Factory and Coinstar

Two Quarterly Releases: The Cheesecake Factory and Coinstar originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) is trading down today. Looks like investors aren't in the mood for the stock just before the new year begins. At the time of this writing, shares of the online DVD-rental concern were off by nearly 3%.

Kind of sad, when you think about it. Netflix is up big on the year. It was a great story of capital appreciation: buy the dips, and you made out. Whenever you thought the company was about to head into a downturn, it ended up proving you wrong. When things seemed just absolutely awful, like they did back in the first quarter, Netflix was resilient in the face of financial adversity.

Continue reading Netflix Weak Today -- Sell Before 2010?

Netflix Weak Today -- Sell Before 2010? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Blockbuster (BBI) is a terrible company and stock. After perusing the third-quarter report, published Friday after the bell, I don't see any reason to modify such a rough statement.

Sorry about that, but what else can I say about a huge revenue decline and a wider loss coupled with a story that continues to deteriorate? According to the Q3 earnings release, Blockbuster experienced a 21% drop on the top line. On an adjusted basis, the company lost 20 cents per share, compared to 9 cents per share in the comparable period a year ago. Helping to drive this abject performance was a 14% contraction in same-store sales.

Continue reading Blockbuster: A bomb of a quarter

Blockbuster: A bomb of a quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will shrimp's eyes help create a better DVD? The answer is yes. Researchers at the University of Bristol, England, who are studying the shrimp's eye have found a way to create a better DVD.

How is this possible? Scientists discovered that the Mantis shrimp, found off the coast of Australia, can see in 12 primary colors, four times that of humans. The shrimp's eye can detect different kinds of light polarization which is the direction of oscillation in light waves.

Continue reading Will the shrimp's eye create a better DVD?

Will the shrimp's eye create a better DVD? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is feeling a little heat from studios Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal. The major media companies would all like to make more money from Netflix's business model, according to BusinessWeek.

No one is really satisfied these days with the DVD industry. Growth in home video is no longer what it used to be. So content makers perceive a need to engage new strategies to offset the this lack of expansion. It would be nice if those strategies were confined to innovation in movie development and the reduction of project budgets. Instead, trying to negotiate more beneficial deals with distributors such as Netflix will probably be the focus of media execs.

Continue reading Content companies want more money from Netflix

Content companies want more money from Netflix originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the past, it has been the Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii or Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone creating holiday hype -- what product will it be this year?

Quite honestly, none. The tech realm is still looking for the next big holiday hit. This is why it appears that we could be facing a holiday season full of buy-one-get-one-free specials or pushy salespeople trying to get you to allow their company to install the new flat-panel TV or add ons that will help integrate your home entertainment system.

So, what does this mean for electronics retailers?

Continue reading Tech sector could have some unhappy holidays

Tech sector could have some unhappy holidays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Redbox sues Warner Home Video over DVD availability

Redbox sues Warner Home Video over DVD availability originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) programmed a new movie recently on one of its prime media assets. The film, titled Princess Protection Program, debuted on the Disney Channel and stars a young actress named Selena Gomez. The casting choice was no accident. Because Disney tries to be as synergistic as possible (the company is generally good when it comes to the science of synergy, although there are certainly opportunities for it to be even better), the Mouse made sure to use Gomez since she is the popular star of another Disney Channel program called Wizards of Waverly Place, a project meant to capture at least a little of the Harry Potter magic.

Continue reading Disney Channel does it again with 'Princess' film, but it still has challenges

Disney Channel does it again with 'Princess' film, but it still has challenges originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), a DVD-rental business that competes with Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), was upgraded yesterday by Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. He sees good tidings ahead for the company. He believes that Netflix will see higher margins and a healthy stream of earnings. His thesis centers on the fact that the subscriber base is likely to grow and that streaming movies will lower the cost of delivery.

Upgrades are tricky beasts. Ideally, an investor or, more likely, a trader, wants to be in the stock before the upgrade occurs. Buying a company after it's been upgraded requires a lot of due diligence. And you have to get over the fact that you might be buying at a high price.

Continue reading Netflix upgraded: What does this mean for investors?

Netflix upgraded: What does this mean for investors? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You know you're probably looking at a tough business situation when the first thing you see on an earnings release is a pair of bullet points related to financing strategies that are clearly meant to show the reader that a company is getting its house in order.

Such was the case with Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) and its Q1 report, which came out Thursday after the bell. Remember, this is the company that, not long ago, received a notice about its woes.

Liquidity is the name of the game these days for Blockbuster. Too bad it isn't the company's business model. As far as that goes, the video-rental chain is still having its difficulties. Revenues dipped 19% to $1.1 billion. On an adjusted basis, net income came out to 19 cents per share versus 21 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Continue reading Blockbuster beats in Q1, but stock is too big a gamble

Blockbuster beats in Q1, but stock is too big a gamble originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 May 2009 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) did a spectacular job in Q1. The famous DVD-rental-by-mail entity issued its quarterly numbers on Thursday after the bell. On an adjusted basis, Netflix delivered 40 cents per diluted share. That represented bottom-line growth of over 70%. I guess movies truly are resistant to recessions, huh? Revenues advanced over 20%.

According to earnings.com, that 40-cent figure means that management destroyed expectations since Wall Street was looking for somewhere around 31 cents per share. I should point out, however, that I've noticed that some other sources listed the expectations as being a little higher than 31 cents. No matter, Netflix beat the bottom line.

Continue reading Netflix beats in Q1, but investors sold stock after report -- bad sign?

Netflix beats in Q1, but investors sold stock after report -- bad sign? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Will Borders Stop Selling CDs and DVDs?

Will Borders Stop Selling CDs and DVDs? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I love this news item, and I think shareholders of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) -- parent company of BloggingStocks -- should, too. Time Warner wants to allow customers the opportunity to buy titles from the media conglomerate's movie catalog via an on-demand DVD protocol. So, if a movie isn't currently available on retail shelves, you could still order it. The title is copied to a disc and sent off to the consumer. No fuss, no mess, no inventory to manage. It's great!

I think on-demand DVD manufacturing needs to be exploited in a bigger way. It isn't new, but you don't really hear about it. Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) on-demand publishing arm, CreateSpace, use it as a way of selling content without carrying inventory. I'd have to believe that if such services were promoted on an extensive basis, they might catch on.

Continue reading Time Warner explores on-demand DVD model -- will it work?

Time Warner explores on-demand DVD model -- will it work? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.