Investing For Growth
Investing For Growth
(FOOL GLOBAL WIRE)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 3): Several of the IFG stocks were in the news today, so I'll say a quick hello after my vacation and get right to it -- Hello!
Checkpoint Systems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:CKP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:CKP)") end if %> was halted for much of today's sessions before finally opening down a few points. On Friday the stock soared after being recommended by the Cabot Market Newsletter. But today, the stock was discussed in Investor's Business Daily and some earnings numbers were reported incorrectly, leading to the halt in trading until the company could issue a press release clearing up the mistake in IBD.
All in all, a non-event. The market bought it up Friday on the recommendation and with some incorrect information and some investors looking to lock in profits, the stock gave back a bit today. Checkpoint is rapidly becoming an IFG darling, up roughly 40% for the Classic model and nearly 100% for the two Relative Strength models.
For those of you holding Bio-Rad Labs <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(AMEX:BIO/A)") else Response.Write("(AMEX:BIO/A)") end if %>, you didn't lose the farm today. Bio-Rad Labs split 3-for-2. The stock actually gained a half on the day.
In some earnings guidance, Green Tree <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:GNT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:GNT)") end if %> CEO Larry Coss told Reuters after a presentation at a Piper Jaffray Investment Conference that second-quarter estimates of $0.53 are achievable but could be difficult if interest rates continue to rise. "I think given the interest rate environment, that's a pretty substantial increase over last year," Coss said.
At the same conference, Medtronic <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:MDT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:MDT)") end if %> CFO Robert Ryan suggested that the company's gross margins on medical devices are sustainable at the current 72.8% if prices hold, and he expects they will. Ryan said he's comfortable with consensus estimates of $2.27 or $2.28. "That prediction is still a 20 percent increase over last year and is still above our stated goal of 15 percent growth in earnings per share," he added.
Oracle <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ:ORCL)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ:ORCL)") end if %> announced two new arrangements today. The first is an expansion of its long-standing relationship with Hewlett-Packard <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:HWP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:HWP)") end if %> to include solutions implemented on both HP- UX and Windows NT server systems for interconnected work groups in businesses and global enterprises. Together, Oracle and HP provide a comprehensive suite of solutions for enterprise applications, manageability, scalability, availability and performance for interconnected work groups that utilize a mixture of Intel and RISC systems. These solutions include Oracle and HP products, sales forces, and cooperative channel and marketing programs.
Secondly, Oracle announced that it will team with Compaq <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") end if %> to optimize Oracle Universal Server for the new Compaq ProLiant 5000 server. Oracle will use ProLiant 5000 systems, provided by Compaq as part of the Pacesetter '96 program sponsored by Compaq and Intel, to develop a fully integrated and optimized Oracle/Compaq platform for deploying business-critical applications.
And finally, Computer Associates <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:CA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:CA)") end if %> announced a broad-based strategy to energize POLYCENTER products acquired from Digital Equipment <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:DEC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:DEC)") end if %> and incorporate OpenVMS into a total enterprise management solution. The announcement comes three days after CA and Digital concluded their far-reaching alliance to offer comprehensive enterprise management solutions to customers worldwide.
Now to be completely honest, I don't know software and I follow these stories only because the mechanical IFG model points out these companies. But even to the naive and untechnical souls out there, it must be apparent that these are the hot shots, the big wigs, the studs of the software industry. The beauty of an approach like IFG is that it allows you to invest in companies you may not be able to explain to a seventh grader in a minute or less (sorry Peter Lynch, I can't do it). But the details behind the approach consistently beat the market, and that's what Fools are after.
If you're following the several variations of IFG, please notice that Todd Gunerman's IFG Scan approach picks up a new list of stocks for June starting today. And the Relative Strength Monthly model will be updated using this Friday's new list (the first Friday of each month).
And finally, my thanks to those Fools covering for me while I was on vacation. What a versatile and cooperative bunch. Between the Fools pitching in on the write-ups and the readers exchanging the data in the IFG folder, a real community effort is at work here and it's a pleasure to be a part of it. Folly forever!
Transmitted: 6/3/96 | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
