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Printing profits? A contrary look at newspapers

"We're looking for profits in a sector of the economy that almost everyone has written off -- newspapers," says Glenn Rogers.

In Internet Wealth Builder, he explains, "I have been involved in the newspaper industry for good portion of my career; so it has been with great dismay that I've watched the industry crumble over the last few years." For contrary investors, he looks to New York Times (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett (NYSE: GCI).

"The Internet in general has siphoned off millions of dollars of advertising that used to belong to the newspaper industry.

Continue reading Printing profits? A contrary look at newspapers

Viacom (VIA.B): Star Trek to the Beatles

"Viacom (NYSE: VIA.B), the cable, movie and video game empire of longtime chairman Sumner Redstone, is a solid media stock that we think can be accumulated on dips," suggests Geoffrey Seiler.

In his always-excellent BullMarket.com, he looks to the upcoming release of Star Trek and the new Beatles-based music video game as potential catalysts for improved results. Here's his update.

"Viacom, which spun off CBS in 2007, describes itself as an entertainment content company that operates in two segments: Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment.

Continue reading Viacom (VIA.B): Star Trek to the Beatles

Playboy (PLA): Speculative bet on the bunny

"Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) is a speculative stock, with plenty of potential but also downside risk," suggests Alex Green. In The Oxford Club, he looks at the firm's turnaround potential.

"Yes, Playboy's publishing empire is a big money loser. But it still has one of the most recognized brands in the world. The rabbit head logo generates more than $1 billion in licensing fees annually.

"When you consider that Playboy Enterprises has a market capitalization of a little over $100 million, you begin to see how undervalued this stock is.

Continue reading Playboy (PLA): Speculative bet on the bunny

Mid-year favorites from Dow Theory: BIIB, CMCSA, OII

"Midyear is as good a time as any to pause and reflect," says Richard Moroney in Dow Theory Forecasts -- a newsletter with the distinction of having been published for more than 50 years.

Here, he reviews the state of the market and offers a look at trio of favorite stocks which he considers "fundamentally superior" companies: Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), and Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII).

Continue reading Mid-year favorites from Dow Theory: BIIB, CMCSA, OII

Cinemark (CNK): At the movies

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

Tune in to DirecTV (DTV)

"In recent months, DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) has shown that pay television is recession-resistant; indeed, the company has been dishing up subscriber growth," says Richard Moroney.

In his Dow Theory Forecasts, the advisor explains why the satellite-TV system operator is among those select stocks consider to be "Focus List" buys -- the top long-term buy rating in their model portfolio.

"In the nearly 15 years since DirecTV sold its first satellite-television system, the company has grown to serve more than 18 million U.S. subscribers, or 16% of the country's households. DirecTV also operates in Latin America, where it generates 12% of revenue.

Continue reading Tune in to DirecTV (DTV)

Good 'news' for Thomson Reuters (TRI)

"Some companies are managing very well now and quietly laying a foundation for solid earnings growth when the recovery gets underway," says Tom Slee.

The contributing editor to The Internet Wealth Builder adds, "A few even offer a good yield while we wait." One such company, he believes is Thomson Reuters Corp. (NYSE: TRI).

"I particularly like Thomson Reuters. It's low key and not terribly exciting, but by paying a $1.12 dividend to yield 4.1% the stock should provide investors with an excellent long-term return. Here's some background:

Continue reading Good 'news' for Thomson Reuters (TRI)

Disney (DIS): Entertainment turnaround

"Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is arguably the most prominent entertainment operation in the world today, with one of the world's most recognized brands across all of its major business segments" says George Putnam.

In The Turnaround Letter, he observes, "We believe that the current market volatility and economic weakness provide an opportunity to buy into a preeminent global brand at a temporarily depressed price."

"Disney controls theme parks, such as Disneyland and Disney World; television networks, including ABC and ESPN; movie studios, and character-themed consumer products.

"While the company's financial results have been hurt temporarily by the global economic weakness, we believe it is well positioned to prosper again when economic conditions improve.

Continue reading Disney (DIS): Entertainment turnaround

Cisco (CSCO) targets consumer entertainment

"Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) has increasingly developed a series of technologies more closely tied to end-users -- with a focus on the home entertainment hub," notes Toby Smith.

The editor of ChangeWave Investing explains, "The company understands that the market for consumer electronics products is too big and too important to ignore."

"It is well known that Cisco is the dominant supplier of the switches and routers that enable networks and computers to be linked together.

"Recently, Cisco made its most consumer-oriented acquisition by picking up privately held Pure Digital Technologies, the maker of the popular and simple-to-use Flip video camcorder.

Continue reading Cisco (CSCO) targets consumer entertainment

In the ring: World Wrestling (WWE)

"Although a slow-growing company, World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) offers a steady dividend close to 8%," says Harry Domash, editor of Winning Investing. Here's his "take down" on the stock.

"World Wrestling is the company behind the professional wrestling that you see on TV. It also produces live wrestling exhibitions worldwide, licenses its characters for merchandise and sells videos and DVDs showcasing its stars.

"WWE is a slow grower. Its yearly sales, currently running around $500 million, are only expected grow in the 5% to 10% range. However, WWE is very profitable, has plenty of cash in the bank, little
debt, and is generating more than $1 per share in excess cash annually.

"Even better, WWE seems eager to let its shareholders in on the action. In February, it hiked its quarterly dividend by 50% to $0.36 per share. We expect only modest share price appreciation. However, with a steady 8% or so dividend yield, WWE is a perfect holding for this turbulent market.

"WWE reported December quarter earnings of $0.30 per share, $0.13 above analysts' forecasts and 36% above year-ago. Sales rose 22% to $133 million. Buy to hold 6 to 12 months. Its next dividend payment -- $1.44 per share -- is expected in June for a yield of 7.9%."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Sigma Designs (SIGM): A 'blowout' quarter for media chips

"I use the term 'blowout' very sparingly," says tech expert Paul McWilliams in his Next Inning newsletter, which focuses solely on technology investing. "But even 'blowout' falls short of describing the quarter turned in by Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM)."

Indeed, the advisor notes, "I've likely described something as a 'blowout' less than ten times in the past five years. These 'waterfall' quarters don't happen often. As for Sigma, I didn't see this one coming and it's time to fix it.

"As background, SIGM makes media processor SoC (System on Chip) solutions for STB, BluRay and HD DVD, TV and various consumer devices that benefit from hooking into an IP video network.

"IPTV is an IP video network and, as a result of IPTV, we are putting these sorts of video networks in our homes. Roughly 77% of SIGM's sales last quarter were into IPTV STB applications.

"To give you an idea the magnitude of this recent surprise, SIGM's revenue for Q3 of this year (the October quarter) is closer to the forecasts most analysts had for Q4 next year than it was to what they were forecasting for the quarter just closed.

Continue reading Sigma Designs (SIGM): A 'blowout' quarter for media chips

Why so much fear over AOL's (TWX) lowered expectations?

It's hard to make sense of what market analysts do sometimes. The stock prices of companies can swoon and sway based on analysts who can be 1) mostly incorrect about the prospects for covered companies, 2) dismal in their track records of earnings predictions and 3) falling into a pattern of some other weird alternative like market influence. I'm not saying all are that way, but some sure seem like it. When Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has a fantastic quarter but misses over-inflated earnings projections just a tiny amount, the stock price plummets (only to recover shortly thereafter). What is the point? To some, analysts run the market.

The same thing happened to AOL, a division of Time Warner, Inc. (NYSE: TWX). The company that owns this blog performed a fast and well-timed turnaround last year from a subscription-based model to an advertising-based model and the bet paid off from many perspectives. Of course, some analysts thought an immediate gratification of revenue from ad sources would befall AOL the first day this switch started happening. Unless things can be changed 'on a dime,' that generally never happens. Nevertheless, I consider AOL's strategy to morph into an ad-based revenue model to have worked pretty darn well in such a short period of time.

Alas, the double-digit ad revenue growth predictions by AOL execs, which turned into a few quarters of 40% ad revenue growth, set the stage for later disappointment. Although AOL's advertising revenue was less than expected for the second quarter that was reported on August 1st, it still went up a healthy 16%.

Continue reading Why so much fear over AOL's (TWX) lowered expectations?

Hasbro: Licensing rights 'tranform' profits

Boosted by its licensing rights and marketing agreements for such characters as Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Transformers, quantitative analyst Vahan Janjigian recommends toy maker Hasbro (NYSE: HAS).

The editor of The Forbes Growth Investor says, "Hasbro has done an outstanding job of selecting licensing opportunities," noting that licensing agreements with Lucas Licensing and Marvel Entertainment give Hasbro rights to develop toys based on Star Wars movies and Marvel comic books.

The Marvel deal, he notes, provides an excellent example. Janjigian says, "Its numerous comic book characters, some of which are more than 40 years old, offer plenty of potential for future sales, especially as more of them make it onto the big screen."

He states, "A renewed focus on core brands and licensed merchandise has led to strong results in the past year. First quarter net revenues surged 33.6% year-over-year to $625.3 million."

Spider-Man branded merchandise, he observes, which benefited from the release of the movie Spider-Man 3, was responsible for more than half of the growth in volume.

The recent opening of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, he adds, could translate into brisk toy sales in the second quarter. Indeed, he forecasts, with seven films based on Marvel properties projected to be released over the next two years, Hasbro's prospects look "extremely promising."

Further, he says, "Hasbro should also benefit from the much hyped Transformers film." In fact, he notes, licensing revenues should receive a boost from the more than 230 Transformers-related agreements entered into by third-parties expecting to capitalize on the film.

He explains, "Transformers could signal more movie opportunities for HAS owned properties, which may further boost brand awareness and toy sales. Indeed, a G.I. Joe movie is already in the works."

The advisor concludes, "And let's not forget the company's more traditional products. The company has some of the most recognized brand names in the toy industry. Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers make classic board games such as Monopoly and Scrabble."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com features the latest investment ideas and market commentary from the financial newsletter community.

It's time for Time

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX ) has been selected as the "undervalued stock of the month" by Paul Tracy, in his StreetAuthority Market Advisor.

The advisor explains, "We think the company's days as an industry laggard are over and we think the company is well-positioned to leverage its valuable assets and unlock shareholder value in the years ahead."

For those unfamiliar with the company's operations, he explains that Time Warner is the largest media conglomerate on the planet. First, he notes, there is AOL, which has built a powerful network of highly-trafficked web sites. He explains, "Its ubiquitous instant messenger service is used to send 1.8 billion messages every day."

Then, he adds, there is Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), which has grown to become the nation's number two cable provider with a massive base of 15 million customers -- roughly half of whom have signed up for premium services such as digital video or high-speed internet.

The film business, he points out, includes Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema, and has "raked in billions" in global box office revenues from blockbuster hits like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.

In fact, he says, Warner Brothers is planning to bring the Harry Potter world to life, unveiling plans to collaborate on a new theme park based on the "wildly popular" series.

Continue reading It's time for Time

CBS is in for a tough slog

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) needs hits and needs them now.

The company today reported lackluster first quarter results. Profit from continuing operations was $213.5 million on revenue of $3.66 million. Excluding one-time items, profit was 33 cents, beating the 32-cent average profit forecast and $3.61 million revenue forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Operating income excluding some costs at the company's television business, its largest, fell 6% to $399 million, while revenue rose a mere 2% to $2.57 billion. As Bloomberg News points out ratings at the company's flagship network excluding sports are down 12% in the 18 to 49 year old demographic. Though CBS' "CSI" shows remain popular, the company is losing ground to ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and Fox's "American Idol."

Continue reading CBS is in for a tough slog

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DJIA+144.9510,463.11
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S&P 500+17.501,108.88

Last updated: November 23, 2009: 11:57 AM

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