Another earnings report, another blowout quarter for Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG), the maker of the da Vinci robotic surgical system. Intuitive Surgical reported last Wednesday and the stock jumped Thursday and Friday on the news while analysts were busy revising their projections for future earnings and upgrading their recommendations and price projections (see: Chasing Value: The amazing Intuitive Surgical).

I have been one of Intuitive's biggest cheerleaders for years and like everyone else was encouraged to find the company still growing successfully on all fronts. Given my favorable opinion of the company, and the stock, I took a look at where it stood after the run-up (closing Friday at $222.53) to see whether there might be any value left, or if the frenetic buying had exhausted the possibility.

Anybody reading Bloggingstocks.com for any length of time will know that I have been following Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) since its beginning.

Yesterday the company reported strong top and bottom line growth, with profits of $1.62 per share, about 37 cents ahead of analyst estimates, and its revenue of $260.6 million was $30.6 million greater than expected. Intuitive also raised its forecast for procedures performed using da Vinci systems, which can lead to increased sales.

My colleague (sort of) James Cramer has suddenly turned into a giant, growling bear. He has been moving in that direction for a few months and now he thinks we all should go into hibernation for five years. He is so wrong!

First of all, it is never a good idea to make decisions while you are in panic mode. Second, Jim's guidance is moving with the market so he is not making any serious prognostication, just staying slightly ahead of the mob. He might as well stick his finger in the air.

Are things bad? Yes! Could they get worse? Yes! Would I run for the hills? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Even though I agree we are in for some tough times, I think the market is reacting to more than meets the eye (see All bets are off -- stocks' irrational downside).

If I recall correctly, 50% of the significant gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average were made on 7% of the up days. You have to be in the game to win the game. If you are in panic mode you should alter your investment portfolio so that you can rest easy. Diversification helps and speculation hurts.

Most people who have been investing for any length of time have heard of dollar cost averaging. This is where you put a certain amount of money into an index fund regularly each month, so that when the market is up you are buying fewer shares at higher prices and when the market is on sale, like it may be today, you are buying more shares at a lower price. This allows you to grow your portfolio consistently while paying a reasonable price for the shares you add -- on average.

TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) is recently down 5 cents to $10.75. In December 27, 2007, TSCM hit a seven-year high of $16.74.

James Cramer, a director and a beneficial owner of 1,904,003 shares and 1,754,538 indirect shares, sold 30,000 shares at $12.58 on January 15, 2008.

TSCM March option implied volatility of 71 is above its 26-week average of 52 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

This is going to be a journey ending with eight stock picks for 2008, on December 28, 2007. It is my intention to use the closing prices on that day for those eight stocks as the point of departure to publicly track the results and see if I can beat the market again. This year, as measured through October I have done so. I have also been tracking James Cramer's picks and he too has beaten the market to date, but lags behind me (sorry, couldn't resist). While we made some great picks, we both had some dogs as well. Furthermore, I will be the first one to admit that there is some luck involved in the short run.

Last year I beat the market, earning 29%, and it was my fifth straight year doing so after going down in flames with the rest of you when the tech bubble burst. At that time I also had the pleasure of being an Enron investor as well, so I have made plenty of blunders. But I have learned a lot from my mistakes, and hopefully others can learn from them as well as I share my investing adventures and how I turned things around.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says getting rid of the CEO was a good first step, but more must be done to turn things around.

The temptation is to say that getting rid of Chuck Prince is too little, too late for this once-great bank. But that's just not true. What needs to be done is a quick dismantling of everything that Prince has done -- his worldwide acquisition of assets, including everything in Japan, as well as the fast shedding of these hedge funds.

More important, whoever runs the place has to sell things that have simply accumulated over the years. Of course, some of this will have to resemble a fire sale -- think like what Dick Parsons, a Citi (NYSE: C) (Cramer's Take) board member, had to do at Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) (Cramer's Take) to save that.

This year has been a stock picker's market extraordinaire! This month's review provides ample evidence of this, as you'll note that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), which I included for fun because of its popularity, beat all else as a portfolio of one. The average of my seven picks came in second, beating James Cramer's average based on his nine picks. Both Cramer and I beat each of the three indices I am tracking, and therefore beat the average as well, with the largest and most stable, the Standard & Poor's 500 coming in last.

Of course, this could easily change given recent market volatility. A sharp downturn in the market could reverse our fortunes. A lot can happen in the remaining two months -- I take nothing for granted.

While Google shined brightly this year, Cramer and I have each made one pick that shined brighter. Cramer's best, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has gone into orbit this year on the wings of the iPhone, iPod, and growing Mac sales. Benefiting from rising oil prices, shortages in China and the Chinese government allowing a 10% price hike, my PetroChina ADR (NYSE: PTR) has rocketed, becoming the second-largest capitalized company in the world. PTR has done this even in the shadow of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) selling its shares and Warren Buffett questioning the huge appreciation of the Chinese stock market and stocks overall.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced on June 27th that John Stumpf would be CEO of WFC, succeeding Dick Kovacevich, who will continue as Chairman of WFC. WFC said "Kovacevich has said he will remain with company no later than the end of next year, when he will be 65." Kovacevich competed with retired John Reed to lead Citigroup (NYSE: C) in the 1970s; Reed was appointed to CEO. Kovacevich took a leadership position at Norhwest Bank, eventually purchasing WFC in 1998. James Cramer has said Kovacevich should be considered as a replacement for current Citigroup CEO & Chairman Chuck Prince.

Daily M&A Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

This Chasing Value post marks my 400th story for BloggingStocks over the last 18 months. I originally agreed to do about five per month, so I have exceeded what I thought was practical, given my other responsibilities. Through this time I have learned a lot about writing, blogging, editing, the internet, AOL, and have continued to improve my investing acumen, which is a never-ending process. Many of our readers have contributed with some thought-provoking commentary and made this time a more interesting journey. I created the Chasing Value section after discussions with Senior Editor Amey Stone, and it seems to have gathered a modest following. This is the latest installment tracking my 2007 picks.

Through September, the market has benefited from a 0.5% interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve Board, recovering much of August's losses. This has also stimulated oil and gold prices to new highs and caused the dollar to shrink in value overseas. To some degree I think this resulted in foreign stocks rising significantly, most notably Huaneng Power International ADS which derives 100% of its revenue outside the United States. Last December, I made a strong case for HNP; prior to its recent rise I did so again for our Volatile Market picks: Huaneng Power (HNP) is my pick for the next 50 years.

This year continues to be a stock picker's market, as the volatile James Cramer of TheStreet.com and I have both topped the indices. Cramer made the best and worst picks for the year among those I've been tracking monthly. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is the best performer among all the stocks and indices in this review, and has stabilized what might have otherwise been a mediocre showing. It has been a good year for energy and tech stocks. The past few months have been dismal for the financial sector, and anything lingering near its giant shadow.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is once again approaching its high of 14,000 and looks like there might be room to exceed it. The housing market and subprime loans continue to worry investors, but unlike last month when an interest rate cut was not a certainty, the market seems to be betting now that another cut is not far off.

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

Worlds apart, Cramer and Orman speak to totally different classes of investors. Jim Cramer is the fast-talking showman talking primarily about stocks and Suze Orman is a slow-talking educator preferring funds. While Cramer likes to jump around playing with bells and whistles, Orman is making sure she speaks clearly and enunciates to her audience so they can understand and follow along.

The biggest difference between the two gurus is that Orman is interested in what you do with 90% of your assets and Cramer is only interested in the 10% Mad Money. Orman talks about getting people started on actually thinking about their personal finances and financial well-being. Cramer is interested in the sport of investing. He gets a rush from the whole subject. Orman is in no rush and much more sedate. Clearly Orman offers far more sound advice in the form of broad investing principles you can live by year in and year out with a minimal amount of work. That said, watching her is like going to your history and geography class. Valuable information, but not the highest form of entertainment. Cramer is a stock trader, and that fact by itself has proven to be harmful to most investors, even professionals. But his investment broadcasts are more like visiting the sports book in Las Vegas with 100 games in play at the same time.

When I hear Jim Cramer speak lately in interviews it is a forgone conclusion that he anticipates that either he will quit due to burnout when it is no longer fun, or he will simply sputter away after pushing his show so far off the edge of zaniness that there remains nothing left to do and viewers move on to something else. He oftens mentions that it can't last forever. And it certainly can't stay fresh forever. This is not an obituary for his CNBC show. Only the recognition that all things must end and Cramer brings it up all too often.

He could never do four decades like Louis Rukeyser, who was America's most popular economic commentator. This when Cramer was just opening his eyes and knew nothing of the world of finance.

I admire Cramer's work ethic and his candor in calling it like he see's it on "Mad Money" and in interviews. Cramer is real. There will be no other. He has done such a good job being real that often it is not what he says anymore, it's just him, like the stand up comic that is on a role and is funny no matter he says. Its just him. It seems to me that not only is Cramer a "what you see is what you get" kind of guy, but who he is permeates everything he does. He could never be a 'buy and hold' guy. He is a 'trader' through and through. He needs the action. It's a sport and he needs the rush.

No surprise the volatile James Cramer of TheStreet.com carries the burden of having made the best and worst picks for the year among those I've been tracking monthly. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), the best performer among all the stocks and indices in this review, has saved his rear throughout the year. In general, it has been a good year for energy and tech stocks. It has been a poor year for the financial sector, and as of August, for most of the Wall Street investment firms.

August had some gut wrenching moments but finished on a positive note. Still, the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 14,000 level has not been seen since the financial sector gave the bears something to grouse about. The housing market and subprime loans continue to worry the market, but no help is expected in the form of rate cut from the Federal Reserve.

Crude oil prices have been up slightly, but down at the pump even through the busy Labor Day weekend and even with continued turmoil in Iraq. All the speculation about a Dow 15,000...16,000...17,000 has come and gone and I have not read about such silliness lately.

Last week Barron's [subscription required] socked it to Mr. Booyah!, James Cramer, with a cover story highlighting his overall mediocre stock-picks performance and the associated antics on his highly rated (for cable) CNBC Mad Money show.

There have been many follow up stories reflecting on the Barron's article and I thought I had to add my voice, not to jump on to the bandwagon, but to share my own take. Differing tracking sites weighed in on how successful Cramer has been (or not) in his stock picking. As I read Barron's own take and the many twisted tales portrayed by CNBC and TheStreet.com, I thought about my own tracking. You see, I have actually been tracking Cramer's nine picks for the year and sharing it with our readers each month. This month I posted Chasing Value 2007 picks : Google (GOOG) runs up, Cramer runs down, indices worse and Cramer did in fact beat the indices through the end of July.

Here is an excerpt:

You really should watch Hilary Kramer: Market has further to fall, but there is opportunity in KDN, CBI, ACH to get some market perspective. The video was posted on August 21, 2007 and she makes some very good stock recommendations. Over the past 18 months that I have been looking at her picks versus those of James Cramer, I have found that you would have done better with Hilary.

While giving her full credit for her stock picking and market coverage I find I must strongly disagree with a statement she made. Cautioning viewers that " There is going to be a meltdown" is not overly alarming, but I take great exception to her stating that "This market can go down 25%." She shared her fear that there are 9000 hedge funds and that 3000 might close down.

It is possible that people may panic in certain circumstances and the market can stray into irrational short-term behavior once again, but I find her reasoning a little soft. Let's assume that the 9000 hedge funds own 50% of the total equity in the stock market (they don't) and one third go out of business, that would equate to a 15% collapse of value (unscientific, I know, but there is some correlation).

"Fed Chair" James Cramer enjoyed taking credit for yesterday's announcement that the Fed had eased its Discount Rate. But today's Barron's takes him to task for trying to keep Mad Money viewers from measuring the extent to which his stock picks underperform the market indices.

Cramer has accomplished many things. He managed a hedge fund, started TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) which survived the dot-com bust, he writes columns for New York magazine, and he provides a unique blend of entertainment and stock touting on CNBC.

But Barron's analysis of his stock picks over the last two years suggests that you would have been better off buying a low-cost stock index fund. Barron's cites an analysis by YourMoneyWatch.com that analyzed his stock picks between 7/28/05 and 8/17/07 -- finding that Cramer's picks lagged the general market averages. Specifically, his picks were up 12%, the Dow Jones Industrials Average rose 22%, the S&P 500 gained 16% and the NASDAQ was up 14%.