Jim Cramer Blog

Here are 7 trading ideas for today. This list comes directly from the TradingMarkets Stock Indicators page and is based upon our latest quantitative research.
Bullish
Our research shows that stocks exhibiting this price behavior, while trading above their 200-day moving average, have on average, shown positive returns 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
5+ Consecutive Down Days: To learn more about our research into stocks that fall for 5 or more consecutive days, and how to use this information, click here.
Metal Management (NYSE:MM - News)
5+ Consecutive Lower Lows: To learn more about our research into stocks that make five or more consecutive lows, and how to use this information, click here.
Top Tankers (NYSE:TOPT - News)
2-Period RSI Below 2: To learn more about our research into stocks that have a 2-Period RSI below 2, and how to use this information, click here.
Daktronics (NasdaqGS:DAKT - News)
Stocks Down 10% or More: To learn more about stocks that have fallen 10% are more over the past 5 days, and how to use this information, click here.
Overstock.com (NasdaqGM:OSTK - News)
Bearish
Our research shows that stocks exhibiting this price behavior, while trading below their 200-day moving average, have on average, shown negative returns 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
5+ Consecutive Up Days: To learn more about our research into stocks that make five or more consecutive up days, and how to use this information, click here.
Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE:LGF - News)
5+ Consecutive Higher Highs: To learn more about our research into stocks that make five or more consecutive highs, and how to use this information, click here.
HealthSouth (NYSE:HLS - News)
Stocks Up 10% or More: To learn more about stocks that have risen 10% are more over the past 5 days, and how to use this information, click here.
Steven Madden (NYSE:SHOO - News)
Published By TradingMarkets.com

Labels: DAKT, HLS, Hot Stocks, LGF, MM, OSTK, SHOO, TOPT

Abitibi-Consolidated (NYSE:ABY - News) shares rose after the company agreed to merge with Bowater (NYSE:BOW - News) to form the No. 8 publicly traded global forest-products company. The combined company will have pro-forma annual revenue of US$7.9 billion and an enterprise value of US$8 billion, they said in a statement. The new entity, AbitibiBowater, will be held 52% by Bowater's shareholders and 48% by Abitibi's. In the deal, each Abitibi share will be exchanged for 0.06261 share of the new company. Each Bowater share will receive 0.52 share of AbitibiBowater. David J. Paterson, chairman, president and chief executive of Bowater, will be president and CEO of AbitibiBowater. John W. Weaver, president and CEO of Abitibi-Consolidated, will take the post of executive chairman at the merged entity.
Altiris (NasdaqGS:ATRS - News) shares soared after the company agreed to be acquired by Symantec Corp. (NasdaqGS:SYMC - News) for $830 million, or $33 per share.
British Airways Plc (NYSE:BAB - News) said it welcomed the decision by the cabin crew branch of the T&G union to call off the strikes scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday and for two 72-hour periods next month. BA said the details of the settlement will be released in due course. BA said it will attempt to reinstate as many flights as it can for Tuesday and Wednesday but regrets that the decision to cancel the strikes has come too late to prevent disruption to the travel plans of thousands of customers.
Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC - News) shares extended a recent rally following a report in U.K. newspaper The Financial Times that the company has held talks about an alliance or merger with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - News).
Cummins Engine (NYSE:CMI - News) said its fourth-quarter net income rose to $189 million, or a $3.75 share, from $167 million, or $3.31 a share, a year earlier, helped by higher engine sales. A Thomson Financial survey of analysts, on average, expected earnings of $3.77 a share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates usually exclude items. The Columbus, Ind., maker of engines said revenue rose to $3.03 billion from $2.75 billion a year earlier. The company forecasts 2007 earnings of $11 to $11.50 a share. Analysts expect earnings of $10.02 for the year, on average.
Educate Inc. (NasdaqGS:EEEE - News) agreed to a management buyout at $8 a share, or $535 million. Private equity firms Citigroup Private Equity and Sterling Capital Partners are also taking part in the deal, which values the Baltimore educational services firm at a premium of 39 cents a share, or 5% over its closing price of $7.61 on Friday. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter, is subject to approval by the company's stockholders. Apollo Sylvan, LLC and Apollo Sylvan II, LLC, holders of approximately 53% of the company's common stock, have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the proposed merger.
First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC - News) shares rose after the company agreed to be acquired by Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER - News) in a cash and stock deal worth about $1.8 billion. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, values First Republic at $55 per share. First Republic is a private banking and wealth management firm focused on high net worth individuals and their businesses. According to a joint press release from the two companies, as of September 30, 2006, First Republic had assets of $10.7 billion, loans of $7.6 billion, deposits of $7.9 billion, and assets under management or administration of $16.4 billion.
Gentex Corp. (NasdaqGS:GNTX - News) shares jumped after the auto parts maker posted higher fourth-quarter profit and sales thanks to increased demand for the company's higher margin mirrors. Mirror shipments rose 5% despite the steep automotive production cuts that slammed the domestic auto industry. Gentex posted a profit of $30.8 million, or 22 cents a share, up from $29.6 million, or 19 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 8% to $149.6 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 18 cents a share on sales of $145.7 million.
HealthSouth Corp. (NYSE:HLS - News) has agreed to sell its outpatient rehabilitation division facility for about $245 million to Select Medical Corporation, a privately-owned operator of specialty hospitals and outpatient rehabilitation facilities, as part of a strategy to position itself as a pure play post-acute care provider. The deal is expected to close in 60 to 90 days, and is subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC - News) said it has approved a 2-for-1 stock split, to be effected in the form of a stock dividend. The additional shares will be distributed on March 15 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 15.
Laureate Education (NasdaqGS:LAUR - News) said its board has agreed to a $3.1 billion buyout led by Douglas Becker, its founder and CEO, and backed by private equity consortium including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Citigroup Private Equity and hedge fund S.A.C. Capital Management LLC. Under the deal, announced Sunday, Laureate shareholders would receive $60.50 a share in cash, an 11% premium to the closing price of the stock Friday. Including assumed debt, the total value of the deal is $3.8 billion.
Mattel Inc. (NYSE:MAT - News) reported fourth-quarter net income of $286.4 million, or 75 cents a share, up from $279.2 million, or 69 cents, earned in the final three months of 2005. Average shares outstanding were 384 million in the latest quarter, down from 402.5 million a year earlier. Quarterly sales for the El Segundo, Calif.-based toymaker reached $2.11 billion, up 14% from the prior year's $1.84 billion; currency contributed two percentage points to the growth rate. Worldwide gross sales for the company's Barbie doll brand were up 3%, Mattel said. Operating income for the latest quarter came to $388.7 million, up 21%. Analysts, on average, had been looking for Mattel to earn 67 cents a share on revenue of nearly $1.99 billion, according to estimates compiled by Thomson First Call.
Shares of M.D.C. Holdings Inc. (NYSE:MDC - News) rose after analysts at JMP Securities upgraded the company to market outperform from market underperform. "Based on our analysis, we believe M.D.C. is much closer to the bottom than its peers," wrote JMP analyst Alex Barron in a research note Monday. "Its strong balance sheet and free cash flow generation should put the company in a very strong position to start buying land again once the market bottoms and land prices begin to come down hard."
Molecular Devices Corp. (NasdaqGS:MDCC - News) shares rose after the company agreed to be acquired by MDS Inc. (NYSE:MDZ - News) for $615 million. The deal values Molecular Devices' common shares at $35.50 each in cash, compared to Friday's close at $23.88. MDS said the combined company will have more than 1,100 employees. Excluding items, MDS expects the deal to be modestly accretive in 2007 and significantly accretive in 2008 and beyond. MDS anticipates the transaction will close in the second calendar quarter of 2007. Molecular Devices, a Sunnyvale, Calif., provider of bio-analytical measurement systems, posted revenue of $45.5 million for the quarter ended in September.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE:MOS - News) said second-quarter net income rose to $65.9 million, or 15 cents a share, from $55 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier. The average earnings estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Thomson was 15 cents a share for the latest quarter. The Plymouth, Minn., phosphate and potash company said revenue for the three months ended Nov. 30 rose 2% to $1.52 billion.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: ABY, ATRS, BAB, BAC, BOW, CFC, CMI, EEEE, FRC, GNTX, HLS, JEC, LAUR, MAT, MDC, MDCC, MDZ, MER, MOS, SYMC

Bullish calls:
Level 3 Communications(NASDAQ: LVLT - News): ' ... it looks really scary... LVLT issuing 160 million shares after the close? My favorite speculation for 2007... This, my friends, is not scary ... We've been talking about the virtuous circle up ... LVLT remains two thumbs up, way up ... This stock is headed higher.'Eagle Materials (NYSE: EXP - News): 'That is a great company with a gigantic insider buyer, with a phenomenal balance sheet, with a tremendous opportunity for a CX to take it over ... two thumbs up, way up.'Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU - News): 'I have been itching to buy this BIDU, to recommend it on the show... I keep waiting for a down day... It is killing me. I am right now sanctioning a small buy in BIDU right here, praying that it will come down.'Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH - News): 'TXRH has stalled out... I cannot give up on TXRH, but I just can't understand the bear case for TXRH. I say $13 ('mon-back). Let's buy them.'Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI - News)McDonald's (NYSE: MCD - News)Res-Care (NASDAQ: RSCR - News): 'it's a disability play ... This is my favorite. And I think you should swap out of the HLS, if you're in that, and get into RSCR which, to me, is best of breed in the field.'CarMax (NYSE: KMX - News): 'There is nothing like the retailing of cars. It is a phenomenal business ... 52-week high again. And I am saying don't ring the register. That is how good KMX is ... Two thumbs up, way up.'Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT - News): 'I prefer Savient over SGEN.'Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM - News): 'Holy cow, it just dropped 15 points. ('mon-back sound). Let's do some buying.'Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF - News): 'The bears keep swarming. I think they'll be wrong. Buy, buy, buy! I want to buy COF.'Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News): 'They're best in show ... I don't even know why Circuit City (NYSE: CC - News) exists. Julian Day is cutting back the Radio Shacks ... That means wide open field for BBY. The stock has been heading down ... It may be flatlining here and then, when it reports the quarter, it goes up 3 or 4. That's a tough call for me.'Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD - News): 'The stock is bouncing back now ... best in show. I want you to stick with it. As a matter of fact, I want you to buy it. Buy, buy, buy!'
Bearish calls:
Corn Products International (NYSE: CPO - News): 'Most of their costs are corn, and corn is going up, up, up ... but they're able to put through a price increase. They just gave you a dividend increase. I've got to tell you, this one is not for me. Don't buy, don't buy. But far be it for me to say sell, sell, sell. They seem to have the costs - even though they're skyrocketing - under control.'HealthSouth (NYSE: HLS - News)Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ: ENER - News): 'I cannot - in good conscience - recommend that stock with oil at $51, going to $49. So, I am going to say no, no, no. Sell, sell, sell.'Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN - News): 'It's a $300 million company. I cannot get behind it. It's at a 52-week high. I've got a lot of really great biotechs that are well off their high. Don't buy, don't buy.'

Labels: BBY, BIDU, CC, COF, CPO, DRI, ENER, EXP, HLS, Jim Cramer, KMX, LVLT, Mad Money, MCD, RSCR, RVBD, SGEN, SVNT, TM, TXRH

Jones Soda (NASDAQ: JSDA - News), National Beverage (AMEX: FIZ - News) and Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS - News)
Hansen Natural "ran out of fizz last summer," says Cramer, who now likes Jones Soda since it is "just beginning to run." Although the stock has been doing well, it is not too late to buy, and Cramer says he would pick some up on Monday afternoon after Thursday's buyers throw it back. Jones is a "relatively unknown stock" and the two analysts who cover Jones give it a "neutral" rating, but Cramer thinks that the company will have 100% earnings-per-share growth by next year thanks to the fact that retailers like Jones for its high premiums. Cramer thinks that Jones is a good regional to national story and has a "cultlike following" which is growing. Finally, Jones' winning deal with National Beverage will save Jones money. Cramer likes this company because it not only knows how to make a good soda, it also knows how to distribute its product.
Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD - News)
Since Riverbed has climbed 80% since Cramer's recommendation in October, he suggests investors ring the register a bit, but to hold their position. The company "has a product that saves businesses a lot of money on their bandwidth costs and infrastructure costs," and while it is not a "hot" stock, since of the nine analysts that cover it, there are six holds and three buys, Cramer believes "they will be pressured to change their view." He predicts Riverbed will earn 25 cents a share as its market grows and comments that it has a 90% win rate with its WAN contracts. In addition, the company has beaten its estimates every quarter since its IPO.
Sell Block: Federated Department Stores (NYSE: FD - News), Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI - News), Gmarket (NASDAQ: GMKT - News), Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN - News), HealthSouth (NYSE: HLS - News)
Cramer regrets having recommended FD and says that it is a sell. Since ATVI is up 7%, he would ring the register. Cramer would take a "schnitzel," or sell a portion of a stock while retaining a position, on Gmarket, since it is up 20%, but "under no circumstances" should anyone buy Nuance, since it is moving into speech recognition, and Cramer does not think this is a good business. HealthSouth which is selling off its divisions to fund its core business is "selling off its winners to fund its loser," and Cramer would get rid of the stock.

CEO Interview: Douglas Brooks of Brinker International (NYSE: EAT - News)
When asked if people should be worried about his company, Douglas Brooks replied, "It has been a tough macroeconomic environment," Brooks responded. "But what we've tried to emphasize is innovation ... and we've been trying to work on value." He went on to discuss the company's share buyback program, its dividend increase, and new restaurants opening nationally and internationally. Cramer says that Brinker has a "limited" downside and would buy the stock.

Labels: ATVI, EAT, FD, FIZ, GMKT, HANS, HLS, Jim Cramer, JSDA, Mad Money, NUAN, RVBD