Brian Nelson

Honoring CNBC Anchor Mark Haines

by

Brilliant CNBC anchor, Mark Haines, who had been a fixture there for 22 years, passed away last year. On March 9, 2009, three years ago to the day, he officially called the “market bottom.” Though many attempted to do so for weeks and months during the Great Recession, his call was original and genuine. The S&P has doubled since that time.   View Mark Haines “market-bottom” call on March 9, 2009: 

EDAC Tech Reports Fantastic Fourth-Quarter Results; We Expect an Even Better 2012

by

Best idea EDAC Technologies (EDAC) reported fantastic fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday that showed significant earnings improvement and backlog growth. We are increasing our fair value estimate for the aerospace component supplier to $15 per share (from $10) on the basis of stronger profitability over the intermediate term than previously expected. The firm’s fourth-quarter sales jumped 27% from the same period a year ago, while net income per share came in at $0.21 per share versus roughly break-even in last year’s quarter. Sales for its AERO product line advanced 30%, while revenue for its Machine Tool product line increased at a similar pace. We continue to anticipate increased levels of sales in coming years thanks to an acceleration of commercial deliveries at … Read more

Pandora Disappoints in a Big Way; We’d Continue to Steer Clear of the New Issue’s Shares

by

One of the more hyped initial public offerings recently, Pandora (P) reported its fiscal fourth-quarter 2012 results after the close Tuesday that disappointed investors on many fronts. The Internet radio pioneer’s outlook was even more of a let-down, and we remain on the sidelines with respect to the firm’s shares, which are off more than 20% today. The performance of Pandora is yet another reminder for the retail investor to be cautious of new issues shortly after their initial open.   Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue grew more than 70% from the same period a year ago, but the pace was less than its full-year growth rate, suggesting that expansion slowed during the period. Advertising revenue advanced 74%, while subscription and other revenue jumped a … Read more

We Prefer Nike to Under Armour

by

When it comes to iconic American brands, Nike (NKE) stands side-by-side with Coca-Cola (KO), McDonald’s (MCD) and Apple (AAPL). Like other iconic American brands, Nike has rebounded strongly from its 2009 lows, with shares up over 11% this year alone. Though we think shares are fairly valued, we still like Nike much more than Under Armour (UA) on a fundamental basis. Surprisingly, Nike is taking share in apparel. Under Armour might pride itself on its innovation and first-mover advantage in the compression and weather-appropriate layer materials. However, we think Nike is taking share thanks to a more fashionable and affordable line up. Our channel checks at Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), which just reported a spectacular quarter, suggest that not only are Nike racks emptier … Read more

Merck Weighed Down by Currency But Reaffirms Full-Year 2012 Outlook

by

Merck (MRK) provided guidance for the first quarter of 2012, and while its outlook came in below consensus expectations, the main driver behind the weakness was currency, a non-operating event. Specifically, the drug maker expects foreign exchange to impact sales 1% to 2% in its first quarter, with non-GAAP earnings per share expected to come in between $0.95 and $0.98 per share for the period (consensus was at $1.01). Despite the negative currency impact, Merck re-confirmed its guidance for full-year 2012 non-GAAP earnings per share to be between $3.75 and $3.85 per share. Though the news today suggests that some analysts were too optimistic about Merck’s bottom-line numbers, we think the company’s long-term trajectory remains in line with our forecasts. … Read more

Qualcomm Hikes Dividend, Announces Share Buyback Program

by

On Tuesday, Qualcomm (QCOM), a leader in 3G and next-generation mobile technologies, announced that it would hike its dividend 16% to an annualized payout of $1 per share and implement a $4 billion share buyback program. The dividend increase was modestly higher than our expectations for roughly a 12% jump, but we still remain on the sidelines with respect to the firm’s shares in the portfolio of our Dividend Growth Newsletter. Its annual dividend yield of 1.4% remains too low for us to get excited, despite the company’s tremendous opportunity via global smart phone growth. And with Qualcomm trading roughly in line with our estimate of its intrinsic value, we think its share buyback is a net-neutral event on its … Read more