Integrated circuit and systems software solution provider Qualcomm Inc.'s (QCOM) shares, first discussed here on January 28, 2011, at a price of $53.74, have pulled back about 10% to $54 in early 2011, but just view the retreat as a chance to scoop up shares, if you missed the January entry price.

And the reason is obvious enough: Qualcomm has the right products at the right time. The smartphone segment, aided by the 3G internet, is on fire, which has resulted in record model station modem (msm) chipset shipments.

Continue reading Qualcomm: Ride the Mobile Upgrade Wave

Qualcomm: Ride the Mobile Upgrade Wave originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Futures Up as Investors Await Home Sales, Personal Income Data

Futures Up as Investors Await Home Sales, Personal Income Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google's (GOOG) mobile operating system, Android, is an example of how acquisitions have made a big difference. This technology came from a deal struck in 2005. Then, after lots of internal development, Google launched Android in 2007. Since then, the growth has been sizzling.

In fact, according to the most recent report from comScore, Android's market share hit 31.2%. Yes, it is now the number one mobile operating system.

Continue reading Android Becomes the King of Mobile

Android Becomes the King of Mobile originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Safeway (SWY) overall option implied volatility of 28 is near its 26-week average of 29, according to Track Data, suggesting nondirectional movement into its March 9 analyst meeting.

Nokia (NOK) volatility is near ten-month lows. Nokia April and July put option implied volatility is at 38, below its 26-week average of 44, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

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

Options Update: Safeway Volatility Flat into Analyst Meeting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google's (GOOG) Android smart phone operating system has seen tremendous adoption over the past year as its market share has increased from a mere 6% in 2009 to around 24% by 2010. This has come at the expense of smart phone operating systems from Nokia (NOK), Research in Motion (RIMM) and Microsoft (MSFT). The other main competitor, Apple's (AAPL) iPhone OS, saw a slight increase during this time period from 26% to 28%.

We believe that Android's success has to do with the fact that it partnered with smart phone makers like Motorola Mobility (MMI), Dell (DELL), LG and Sony Ericsson (SNE) in providing its OS. Higher Android adoption helps Google by enabling more mobile searches from Google's platform as Google is the default search engine on Android phones.

Continue reading Nokia-Microsoft's OS Impact on Android Limited for Now

Nokia-Microsoft's OS Impact on Android Limited for Now originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Molycorp (MCP) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Humana (HUM), HealthSpring (HS) and UnitedHealth (UNH) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Williams Cos. (WMB) to conviction buy from neutral and UBS (UBS) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• China Kanghui (KH) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Armstrong World (AWI) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Time Warner (TWX) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Calpine (CPN) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• 3M Company (MMM) to neutral from underperform and Kirby (KEX) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: DWA, HUM, MMM, MRVL, NOK, TWX, UBS, UNH, WMB ...

Analyst Calls: DWA, HUM, MMM, MRVL, NOK, TWX, UBS, UNH, WMB ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lately, Research In Motion (RIMM) has been ramping up its dealmaking. Some of the recent transactions include QNX, Dash Navigation and Torch Mobile.

Tthe latest deal came this week: RIM agreed to buy Gist (the price tag was not disclosed). The company develops a service that prioritizes incoming messages. It even provides the user with helpful research information on contacts, such as from social networks and blogs. The app is currently for Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Google's (GOOG) Android devices.

Continue reading RIM Strikes a Deal for Gist

RIM Strikes a Deal for Gist originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

So, I'm sitting here in front of my screen, watching the market action. Kind of a boring day, at least for my portfolio. In particular, one of my holdings, Microsoft (MSFT), is acting in a very boring manner. I was hoping to see some interest on the part of Wall Street in that name today following the stock's recent weakness, but alas, there is none to be had. At the time of this writing, shares are down fractionally to $27.15.

Investors have been digesting the news concerning the deal between the maker of Windows and Nokia (NOK). The plan is to generate some competition in the smartphone business. Success with this initiative would be nice for shareholders of both companies.

Continue reading Microsoft: Should I Add to My Position?

Microsoft: Should I Add to My Position? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nokia Focuses on Microsoft

Nokia Focuses on Microsoft originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Trinity Industries (TRN) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Cameron (CAM) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Expedia (EXPE) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Micron (MU) to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANF, CAM, CLX, EXPE, GME, MU, NAV, NOK, WMT ...

Analyst Calls: ANF, CAM, CLX, EXPE, GME, MU, NAV, NOK, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Down Slightly After Last Week's Gains

U.S. Stock Futures Down Slightly After Last Week's Gains originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is probably one of the most interesting stories of the Internet revolution. Microsoft (MSFT) jumped out the starting gate with its Windows operating system and took the world by storm. Then for some unknown reason, Microsoft missed the entire search engine revolution and Google (GOOG) raced to first place. Now Microsoft has again missed the next leg -- the iPhone and iPad revolution, and Apple (AAPL) holds first place in this segment.

Nokia (NOK) was a pioneer in the smartphone revolution, but with Apple's drive to the top, Nokia lost its momentum. Once Nokia had 50% of the handset market. Now that share has fallen to just 29%. It's hard to believe but Microsoft has only 2% of the global phone software market.

Continue reading Microsoft and Nokia Join to Build a New Smartphone

Microsoft and Nokia Join to Build a New Smartphone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: When Bulls Run the Bears Off (EGPT, APA, MNKD, EXPE, BIG, NOK, MSFT)

Closing Bell: When Bulls Run the Bears Off (EGPT, APA, MNKD, EXPE, BIG, NOK, MSFT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

U.S. stock futures are lower this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 39 points to 12,155, while those for the S&P 500 index declined 6.1 points to 1,313. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index lost 7.75 points to 2,354.

Shares of Nokia (NOK) dropped in pre-market trading as the company unveiled partnership with Microsoft (MSFT).

Negative sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.42%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.27%.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Lower; Nokia Shares Slide on Microsoft Deal

U.S. Stock Futures Lower; Nokia Shares Slide on Microsoft Deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First we had the iPhone revolution. Now, The Financial Times reports that Apple (AAPL) is planning to expand the iPhone to handle mobile commerce, giving the company access to the multibillion-dollar transaction industry.

You are probably wondering what and how this will be done. The iPhone 5, due out this year, likely will incorporate technology called Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC incorporates financial account information and ties the data to specific devices.

Continue reading Apple Expected to Include 'Wave & Pay' with iPhone 5

Apple Expected to Include 'Wave & Pay' with iPhone 5 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Calls

• Medtronic (MDT) to buy from neutral and 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• CarMax (KMX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Points International (PTSEF) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Nokia (NOK) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.
• Amdocs (DOX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Western Alliance (WAL) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Carbo Ceramics (CRR) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Brinker (EAT) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ...

Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's become all-too-common for Nokia (NOK). That is, another quarter with a drop in earnings. As for Q4, there was a 21% reduction. As for its global market share, it fell by 2% to 32%. So far in today's trading, the stock is off 2.52% to $10.46.

True, Nokia cranks out lots of cash. In the quarter, earnings still amounted to $1 billion. Sales were up 6%.

Continue reading Nokia Is Still Getting the Wrong Number

Nokia Is Still Getting the Wrong Number originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nokia (NOK - option chain) stock is trading lower today after an analyst with Strategy Analytics said the company's market share in global handset sales will fall to 33% for the fourth quarter of 2010, down from 39% in 2009. Traders are also selling off in anticipation of the first earnings release under the new CEO. It is common wisdom that the first earnings usually feature a round airing out the last guy's dirty laundry. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on NOK.

Continue reading Nokia Expected to Lose Chunk of Market Share

Nokia Expected to Lose Chunk of Market Share originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Choppy Markets After Europe (GM, MELA, CPWM, LNG, NOK)

Closing Bell: Choppy Markets After Europe (GM, MELA, CPWM, LNG, NOK) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded BP (BP) to buy from neutral.
• STEC (STEC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• MCG Capital (MCGC) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Corporate Office (OFC) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• Citigroup upgraded K-Sea Transportation (KSP) and Post Properties (PPS) to hold from sell.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Embraer (ERJ) to buy from underperform.
• Wilmington Trust (WL) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Parkway Properties (PKY) was upgraded to hold from sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BP, EOG, FDO, MOT, MRO, NEM, NOK, ODP, RIMM, TGB ...

Analyst Calls: BP, EOG, FDO, MOT, MRO, NEM, NOK, ODP, RIMM, TGB ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.