Among the biggest winners in Wednesday’s early trading are Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA), Ford Motor (NYSE: F) and Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM). Top Percentage Gainers — Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) $29.35 +22.8% $29.28 $24.55 Ford Motors (NYSE: F) $10.40 +5.3% $14.57 $5.24 Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) $17.67 +4.6% $20.84 $7.37 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Wednesday’s early trading are Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA), Ford Motor (NYSE: F) and Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM). Top Percentage Gainers — Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) $29.35 +22.8% $29.28 $24.55 Ford Motors (NYSE: F) $10.40 +5.3% $14.57 $5.24 Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) $17.67 +4.6% $20.84 $7.37 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:30AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Tesla is a Magnet for Investors It’s been quite a week for executives at Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA), which sells high-performance electric cars. When the week began, it was unclear if the choppy stock market action would cause its imminent initial public offering (IPO) to land with a thud. But by Monday afternoon, its bankers lined up ample demand for the… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Wednesday’s early trading are Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI), American Greeting (NYSE: AM) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS). Top Percentage Losers –Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Acuity  Brands (NYSE: AYI) $36.75 -10.3% $47.91 $24.84 American Greetings (NYSE: AM) $18.52 -5.1% $26.21 $11.01 General Mills (NYSE: GIS) $35.45 –3.4% $38.98 $27.64 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Wednesday’s early trading are Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI), American Greeting (NYSE: AM) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS). Top Percentage Losers –Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Acuity  Brands (NYSE: AYI) $36.75 -10.3% $47.91 $24.84 American Greetings (NYSE: AM) $18.52 -5.1% $26.21 $11.01 General Mills (NYSE: GIS) $35.45 –3.4% $38.98 $27.64 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 10:30AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Another Victim of the Slow Construction Market Shares of Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI) are slumping -10% after the builder of lighting fixtures for commercial and residential construction markets missed estimates. This has become a recurring theme for many companies tied to the moribund construction industry, and is unlikely to change for at least several more quarters — if not longer. But a case can be… Read More

Over the past thirty years, investors have been pretty discriminating when it comes to decide which stocks to sell when they want to raise cash. Usually, the more speculative the stock, the more likely they were to be sold. But as we saw in the 2008 economic crisis, and as… Read More

Many investors have tired of positioning their portfolios for a housing recovery. Consistently positive growth trends are probably still a ways off, but there is no denying that sales activity remains well below normal levels, making a recovery a matter of not if, but when it occurs. Read More

With a mountain of technology patents under its belt, technology firm Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS) has a long history of successfully suing any firm that appears to use its intellectual property (IP) without permission. Just last month, we discussed the company’s latest legal challenges to secure royalties. On… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Tuesday’s early trading are Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR), Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD) and Alimera Sciences (Nasdaq: ALIM). Top Percentage Gainers — Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Alimera Sciences (Nasdaq: ALIM) $8.51 +5.4% $11.30 $7.76 Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD) $15.52 +4.3% $21.48 $11.36 Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR) $13.52 +3.4% $17.97 $10.70 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Tuesday’s early trading are Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR), Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD) and Alimera Sciences (Nasdaq: ALIM). Top Percentage Gainers — Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Alimera Sciences (Nasdaq: ALIM) $8.51 +5.4% $11.30 $7.76 Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD) $15.52 +4.3% $21.48 $11.36 Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR) $13.52 +3.4% $17.97 $10.70 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:30AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Bad News for Worthington, Good News for Investors If there is a silver lining to a horrendous trading environment that we are seeing in Tuesday trading, it is that companies with clearly good news to report can get lost in the shuffle. As a result, investors have time to pounce, as these shares almost always head higher once the market stabilizes. Shares of Worthington… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Tuesday’s early trading are Micron Technology (NYSE: MU), Baidu.com (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS). Top Percentage Losers –Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Barnes and Noble (NYSE: BKS) $13.74 –16.3% $28.78 $13.58 Micron Technology  (NYSE: MU) $8.76 -12.6% $11.40 $4.55 Baidu.com (Nasdaq: BIDU) $69.37 –6.8% $82.29 $26.80 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Tuesday’s early trading are Micron Technology (NYSE: MU), Baidu.com (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS). Top Percentage Losers –Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Barnes and Noble (NYSE: BKS) $13.74 –16.3% $28.78 $13.58 Micron Technology  (NYSE: MU) $8.76 -12.6% $11.40 $4.55 Baidu.com (Nasdaq: BIDU) $69.37 –6.8% $82.29 $26.80 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 10:30AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Micron’s Mixed Bag Shares of Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) are trading down -12% this morning after the memory chip maker delivered decent results on Monday evening, but a slightly cautious near-term outlook. Shares had looked set to open with more modest downside, but a Tuesday morning rout in the Nasdaq is really sinking this boat. For a fuller look at Micron’s quarter, and its impact on the peer… Read More

Don’t let the stock action fool you. Just because shares of Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) are off more than -10% in Tuesday trading, the company’s Monday night earnings release should give a cheer to the entire tech sector — that is, when investors are ready to once again embrace this highly cyclical industry. Right now, the whole technology group is getting no love from investors for fear that global economic pressures will kill the party before it really gets underway. Read More

Don’t let the stock action fool you. Just because shares of Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) are off more than -10% in Tuesday trading, the company’s Monday night earnings release should give a cheer to the entire tech sector — that is, when investors are ready to once again embrace this highly cyclical industry. Right now, the whole technology group is getting no love from investors for fear that global economic pressures will kill the party before it really gets underway. But the party has already started, if you look at the tech results we saw in the spring. Micron’s fiscal third-quarter results simply underscore the industry momentum that is already underway. For example, Micron’s sales doubled from the year-ago quarter, and a $246 million operating loss back then has morphed into a $540 million gain in the most recent quarter. Gross margins rose from 9.7% a year ago to 37.1% this time around. (Analysts expected gross margins to be only 35% — not because selling prices were higher than they expected, but because cost control was… Read More

When it comes to price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, the notion of “buy low and sell-high” doesn’t always apply. Some stocks with the lowest P/Es are cheap for good reason. Perhaps they are in the midst of a long-term decline that will see sales and profits… Read More

Investors may feel like they have nowhere to turn during times like these. Equity investors have seen a -35% return in the S&P 500 during the past 10 years, making it known as “The Lost Decade.” Meanwhile, those who turn to bonds are likely to find themselves sorely disappointed — the 10-year T-bill currently yields a measly 3.02%. So what’s an investor to do? Well, there is a security that provides diversification with bond-like regular income along with a shot at capital gains. Trouble is, most people haven’t heard of… Read More

Investors may feel like they have nowhere to turn during times like these. Equity investors have seen a -35% return in the S&P 500 during the past 10 years, making it known as “The Lost Decade.” Meanwhile, those who turn to bonds are likely to find themselves sorely disappointed — the 10-year T-bill currently yields a measly 3.02%. So what’s an investor to do? Well, there is a security that provides diversification with bond-like regular income along with a shot at capital gains. Trouble is, most people haven’t heard of it. And if they have, investors often shy away from them because they seem too complicated. It’s a real shame, because these readily available securities often make terrific investments for a portfolio. The security in question is known as “preferred stock.” Investors should think of preferreds as stock-bond hybrids, because they share characteristics of both. Let’s walk through how a preferred issuance is characterized and how investors can score juicy and stable returns. Hospital REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT) issued eight million… Read More