Filed under: Forecasts, Rants and raves, Google (GOOG), Serious Money, Stocks to Buy, Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG)

Hey there Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) fans, congratulations on another fantastic earnings report. But I wouldn’t be too smug if I were you.

Amazingly, there is a company out there that did even better. That company is Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG).

While Google is getting most of the press, this rapidly growing company is not just “high-tech”… it may be the “highest-tech” stock in the market, or close to it. ISRG, which makes robotic surgical equipment, beat Google last year, it trounced it this year, and it is highly likely it will surpass it next year.

Looking at a chart for the past three years it may be shocking to some investors to imagine anything leaving Google in its dust…but Intuitive Surgical has, take a gander:

For a while after Google’s IPO and immediate run-up, the stock almost kept pace. But with each passing quarter ISRG has been on a blistering path. As reported by The Motley Fool: “The company behind the robotic arms that are revolutionizing the surgical process on operating tables everywhere earned $1.04 per share during the third quarter. Wall Street was looking for a profit of only $0.80 a share. Intuitive has now beaten estimates in each of the past 20 quarters.” Last quarter I wrote Intuitive Surgical jumps over 32% - where’s the ceiling? I guess it still has none.

GOOG reported Q3 45% growth; ISRG reported 65% Q3 growth and it’s accelerating. Speculation abounds about when Google — closing today at $650.75, gaining $6.06 (+0.94%) — will reach $1,000 dollars a share. No one is talking about when Intuitive Surgical, which closed today at $285.86, gaining $16.52 (+6.13%) will reach $1,000 a share?

Anybody out there agree with me that ISRG gets there first? Yes, I think ISRG, capitalized at about $10.5 billion, has more room to fly than Google, which is capitalized at $151 billion. So after glowing about ISRG, I cannot close without stating that both companies offer phenomenal products, have great management, great futures and should be on your watch list. To anyone who was astute (and lucky) enough to get in early on both — my hats off to you!

To find potential opportunities and verify my track record, read Chasing Value or Serious Money.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Earnings reports, Law, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Intel (INTC), Halliburton (HAL), Merck and Co (MRK), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will be reporting its fourth quarter financial results after the close today. Apple is forecast to report earnings of 86 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Here is BloggingStocks’ preview. The New York Times also discussed Apple’s new Leopard OS system due out this Friday. Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, talks of decades of updates.

Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) reported third-quarter profit this morning that climbed 62% on higher sales led by its Transformers and Marvel brands and a favorable tax adjustment. The company easily beat analysts’ expectations of 71 cents per share for the quarter and reported earnings of $161.6 million or 95 cents per share. Excluding an adjustment, earnings were $132 million, or 78 cents per share. Quarterly revenue rose 17% to $1.22 billion, beating analysts’ expectation of $1.14 billion according to Thomson.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) shares are up 2.6% in premarket trading after the company reported a sharp rise in third-quarter profit this morning, raising its 2007 profit forecast in view of strong current trends. Sales of its vaccines and cholesterol drugs helped profits. The company earned $1.53 billion, or 70 cents per share, up from $941 million, or 43 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, Merck earned 75 cents per share, beating analysts estimates of 69 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) reported third quarter results yesterday (Sunday). Earnings rose 19% in the third quarter, as the company continues to expand its business in the Eastern Hemisphere. Net income was $727 million, or 79 cents a share. Excluding an income tax gain, the company earned 64 cents per share, matching analysts’ estimate. Third-quarter revenue rose 16% to $3.93 billion, beating estimates of $3.87 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

The head of the Federal Trade Commission has rejected requests to open a formal antitrust investigation of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) for anticompetitive conduct, according to The New York Times.

The European Commission would take until Nov. 13 to examine Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) US$3.1 billion bid for DoubleClick to look at promises made by Google that aim to eliminate antitrust concerns.

After three years, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) finally agreed to comply with a landmark 2004 antitrust decision by the European Commission. It would not appeal against a decisive European Union court ruling two months ago that backed the Commission.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Scandals

Carmen Electra gained fame as a Playboy centerfold and scantily-clad star of Baywatch, but her latest business ventures may not be so innocent. Take a look at a few examples of her involvement with shady penny stock promotions:

• Back in June of 2006, MarketWatch’s Chuck Jaffe wrote up a company Electra was involved with as his Stupid Investment of the Week. Jaffe received a phone call featuring the prerecorded voice of Carmen Electra, touting a company called Luvoo.com (OTC PK: LUVT). Shares of that company have since collapsed to 8 cents per share.

• Electra also signed on as a spokesman for a company called eFoodSafety.com (OTC BB: EFSF), and the company put out a press release hyping her involvement.

• The most interesting one: Payment Data Systems Inc. (OTC BB: PYDS) is a tiny microcap that announced its Carmen Electara prepaid Mastercard last year. Here’s where it gets potentially shady. The company paid penny stock shill Jonathan Lebed $25,000 for a one-month investor relations contract that mainly consisted of sending out emails to his subscribers touting the stock with messages like “Combined with PYDS’s new Carmen Electra debit cards and many more celebrities coming soon, it doesn’t get much bigger than this!!!”

• For those of you who don’t remember, Lebed made headlines in 2000 when he settled SEC charges of stock manipulation — at the age of 15. Ever the self-promoter, Mr. Lebed posted a YouTube video of himself rubbing elbows with Ms. Electra.

I don’t know the extent of Ms. Electra’s involvement with these companies/stock promotions. But the fact is she has gotten herself involved with some pretty shady characters, and it’s something her handlers may want to keep an eye on: Associating with the targets of SEC investigations can be a career-killer.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Management, Internet, Competitive strategy, Amazon.com (AMZN), Technology

When Jeff Bezos came to Seattle a little over 10 years ago to set up an online bookstore (before the word ‘internet’ was a household term), little did he know that his company, Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) — would become the world’s largest online retailer.

With a retail product selection that is second to none and an IT infrastructure that rivals any Fortune 500 company’s global operations, Amazon.com has done amazing things in the last decade. One of them includes becoming profitable more than a few years ago, way after going public in 1997.

But times change, and longtime Chief Technical Officer Rick Dalzell is leaving the company. Dalzell is widely credited with building the systems that made Amazon the online retailing leader, as well as creating a global computer infrastructure that allows other companies to “borrow” computer time from Amazon for computing tasks (instead of buying computer servers themselves). In a way, Amazon has been a role model for distributed computing practices just as much as changing the face of retailing.

Continue reading Amazon.com retiring CTO Rick Dalzell leaves behind large legacy

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Products and services, Competitive strategy, General Electric (GE), News Corp’B’ (NWS)

It’s not that mud-slinging has already begun between financial news network CNBC and the just-launched Fox Business Network, but that’s not stopping CNBC host Donny Deutsch from taking a hard look at the newest (and well-funded) kid on the block, courtesy of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (NYSE: NWS). In a recent interview with Portfolio.com, Deutsch laid out some pickings on the table, from a ruffle with conservative and feather-fluffer Ann Coulter to how he perceives the newer Fox Business Network as a competitor to the network where he already has a show — CNBC.

Deutsch’s words were kind but firm, saying that the management team in charge of production at CNBC is playing its “A game” to this day and does not plan on stopping. Well, no problem — but the level of thinking that put CNBC where it is now is not the same level of thinking that will keep it there. Roger Ailes and Fox will see to that. Deutsch says that while Murdoch and Ailes “are not dopes,” CNBC has an incredible brand and business model.

Umm, so what? That is not a plan on how it’s going to compete with a new network with plenty of cash to run a better business model and become an even bigger brand. I’m not saying Fox will trump all, but harping on current success does not guarantee future success. CNBC is great for many of us (myself included), but so far, I’ve heard very little on competitive strategy that will stave off the Fox Business Network infection. I hope CNBC has formed one, and it’s under way.

After reading this teenager language-laced interview, I hope there is more meat behind CNBC’s strategy than goofy analogies and references to how great past success was. I am a fan, yes — CNBC is a daily watch for me on television. But, I also know when to get serious when a new competitor comes to town. And Fox has come to play all nine innings with a very fresh bench.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Indices, Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Technical Analysis, S and P 500

Most investors know that certain days of the week are better for stocks than others. Over the past 10 years, for example, the S&P 500 index has fared best on Wednesdays and worst on Tuesdays, with median returns of 0.10% and 0.00%, respectively. These differences, of course, are relatively small. But some rather more noteworthy divergences crop up when you break down the patterns by sector.

In that case, Friday happens to be the best day of the week, both in absolute terms and relative to the market, when the median daily performance of all the various S&P 500 economic sectors are taken into account. The winning group? Energy, with an average return of 0.21% and 0.17%, respectively. Coming in a close second, in nominal terms at least, is the information technology group, with a gain of 0.21% on Wednesdays and 0.20% on Mondays.

As far as which day of the week is the worst for any particular sector, there are two contenders for the crown. In absolute terms, Monday has been the laggard, with the energy sector declining by an average of 5 basis points over the course of the past decade. In terms of relative performance, however, Wednesdays are at the bottom, dragged down by the -0.12% median return of financial shares.

Continue reading Some days are better for investing, as far as sectors are concerned

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: From the boards, Newspapers, Economic data, Federal Reserve

The doomsayers are coming out of the woodwork after last week’s market downturn, but Ben Stein remains bullish in his latest column for The New York Times. More Americans own their own homes than ever before, and most people who want jobs have them.

But as Stein points out, the subprime mess that has enveloped some of the top investment banks has brought to our attention a more serious problem: Corporate governance in America basically doesn’t exist: “Those at the top can blame anyone they like for their companies’ imprudence, but they are ultimately responsible. Why are they still in their jobs? Not one C.E.O. of a major commercial or investment bank has lost his job despite some staggering write-downs. Why? Is this the board of directors’ old buddy system at work? Sure looks like it.”

And he complains, as I have been too lately, that the SEC doesn’t appear to be doing much in the way of going after these banks which appear to have engaged in accounting that could be characterized as aggressive at best.

So yeah, the economy may be fine. And if you’re a long-term investor, you shouldn’t even think about selling your index funds now — history has demonstrated amply that market timing doesn’t work.

But we should be concerned about what the most recent scandals have taught us about corporate governance and corporate ethics. Enron ain’t as far behind as we perhaps thought.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Good news, Competitive strategy, Pfizer (PFE), Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Merck and Co (MRK), Amgen Inc (AMGN)

Shortly after the Vioxx fiasco about three years ago, Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) stock took a dive, and many analysts thought it would be down for the count, with potential losses from litigation running into the tens of billions of dollars. Some analyst reports thought the losses could reach as high $50 billion.

Looking back now, I am glad I bought it when it was down and I am glad I kept it after its runup. About six months ago, after Merck continued to make progress in defending itself against the thousands of pending lawsuits, I penned Merck shareholders dancing in street; new ones join in! As long as you continue to educate yourself about business and investing, you will continue to read about the importance of good management in the longterm success of a company. More than any other, Merck has been voted the top-managed company in the world, yet the stock dropped immediately as traders and fair-weather friends ran.

Well, those that looked closer can be proud of the current state of the company, as Merck again has reported better-than-expected earnings results. The company said it earned $1.53 billion, or 70 cents per share, compared with $941 million, or 43 cents per share, in the year-ago period when it took a $598 million charge for legal expenses related to its withdrawn Vioxx arthritis drug.

Continue reading Merck & Co. (MRK) goes from being a dog to the BIG DOG

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Rumors, Xerox Corp (XRX)

The M&A rumor mill hyping a buyout of Lexmark International Group (NYSE: LXK) by Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) has been silenced. On Friday, when Xerox reported a 53% drop in third-quarter earnings, company CEO Anne Mulcahy commented on a suggestion that her firm might be looking to buy rival printing concern LXK.

She quickly put these allegations to rest, noting: “I don’t think Lexmark is an ideal candidate . . . there is nothing [it] would bring to the table that would be really value-creating for us.”

But Mulcahy certainly is not acquisition-averse; she has overseen Xerox’s purchase of four companies in the past 15 months. She noted that Xerox hasn’t ruled out deals with smaller companies that would help bulk up her company’s software offerings.

Continue reading Xerox not lusting for Lexmark after all

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Filed under: Consumer experience, Wal-Mart (WMT), Black Friday

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is cracking down this holiday season when it comes to the famous “Black Friday” sales that happens the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is widely considered to be the busiest shopping day of the entire year and it’s when many retailers go into the black for the year — in other words, they become profitable on that day.

In recent years, newspaper ads from Wal-Mart and other large retailers have found there way onto the internet weeks before the ads are supposed to be available, enabling people to find out about these Black Friday sales quite a bit before the retailers want to announce them. Last year alone, I found scanned newspaper ads all over the place on the web, with large collections found at consumer forums like FatWallet.com, bfads.net and GottaDeal.com.

This year may be a bit different as Wal-Mart’s legal team takes a more proactive approach. Their message to websites and forums which are considering displaying Wal-Mart’s Black Friday ads before Thanksgiving: don’t do it. The retailer’s legal team is rounding up the usual suspects early this year, telling them that displaying the retailer’s ads before their official November 19 release date violates copyright laws (among other things). Will threats curb the amount of Black Friday newspaper ads we’ll all see come Thanksgiving? I suspect that it may cut down on their availability, but I doubt it will eradicate them entirely from the internet.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This