"Philip Morris International (PM), a holding on our Recommended Buy List, has caught fire with investors this summer, recently hitting a 52-week high," says Geoffrey Seiler.

The editor of BullMarket.com explains, "The company's CFO, Hermann Waldemer, was recently at an investor conference in New York, and below, we review his presentation and comments for this update on how the cigarette business has been doing outside of the U.S.

"Our primary purpose is to assist investors in growing their capital and income base from which to derive cash for their current and future needs," says Kelley Wright.

The editor of IQ Trends -- and author of the just-released book Dividends Still Don't Lie -- explains, "To that end we believe that high-quality stocks purchased at historically low-price-to-high-yield offers the best potential for downside protection and upside appreciation.

Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced this morning that it will buy privately-owned Colombian cigarette maker Protabaco in a deal that will cost the company $452 million. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on PM.

PM opened this morning at $43.06. So far today the stock has hit a low of $42.01 and a high of $43.57. As of 11:45, PM is trading at $42.85 up 51 cents(1.2%). The chart for PM looks bullish and S&P gives PM a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Altria (NYSE: MO - option chain) stock is falling today after a Florida jury found that the death of a smoker was caused by his addiction to cigarettes. MO's subsidiary Philip Morris now is involved in the second phase of the trial , which is to decide who is at fault for his addiction. This is the first case in which an individual smoker's family sued a tobacco company for death by cigarette addiction. This is a tough precedent for MO and the cigarette industry, as it opens the industry up to potentially limitless civil suits from individual smokers.

While I believe that cigarette stocks are well-suited to our current environment, Phillip Morris International (NYSE: PM), a former subsidiary of MO, looks much more attractive to me, due in part to its lower exposure to the American legal system. PM is off by only 0.6% today compared to MO' s 3.5%. If you think Altria 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 MO.

"Philip Morris International (NYSE: PMI) remains a buy, despite these difficult markets," says Tom Slee in Gordon Pape's Internet Wealth Builder. Here he reviews the global tobacco firm.

"Spun off from the Altria Group earlier this year, Philip Morris International is off to a flying start.

"The company posted strong second-quarter earnings. After a special charge for its Rothmans acquisition, earnings came in at 81 cents a share, up from 69 cents a share the year before.

"The company had been reporting as a clearly defined division of Altria so it's possible to make comparisons and plot progress.

"Gross revenues rose 17.6% to $15.6 billion with double-digit growth in all business segments, helped to some extent by currency benefits. Sales were particularly strong in Egypt, Russia, and Argentina.

"At the same time, the company is engaged in an extensive cost reduction program. It's a positive picture and PM rewarded investors with a 17% dividend increase from $1.84 to $2.16 a year.

"This is what I had been hoping for. Management is willing to share the wealth with investors and this could become one of the few defensive income stocks with growth potential, as long as you don't mind investing in a cigarette manufacturer.