The Unusual Suspects for the Week Ahead (ALXA, ALKS, AB, AAPL, VZ, BORN, CIT, CEG, IMGN, JAZZ, MSFT, POT, BHP, RGC, CNK, YHOO)

Earnings season is just getting underway and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 11,000 on Friday.  There are many stocks to watch outside of earnings this week.  The cast of characters in The Unusual Suspects includes Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXA), Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS), AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), China New Borun Corporation (NASDAQ: BORN), CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT), Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: CEG), Immunogen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN), Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAZZ), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).  We have included a review and preview for each where applicable.  This week is more filled with biotech news than others due to a busy FDA calendar.

A full earnings calendar is available here for the week, including INTC, JPM, GE, APOL, SWY, AMD, GOOG, JBHT, INFY, and MAT.  Also, gold is getting jittery now and Friday’s $1,345 handle closed right in the middle of Thursday’s more than $30 point swing from high to low as it traded above $1,360 and below $1,330.  We took a look at the gold stocks and included a list of gold stocks that appear to be overvalued against peers and a list that appears to be undervalued gold stock against peers.

Alexza Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXA) has an FDA PDUFA date for Monday regarding a decision on its AZ-004 as its lead program for treatment of agitation in schizophrenic or bipolar disorder. patients.  At $3.03, its 52-week range is $1.93 to $3.92 and shares traded roughly in a $3.10 to $2.70 range in the last week.

Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) has a decision due Tuesday for the approval of its opioid addiction treatment Vivitrol.  The drug is already approved as an injection treatment for alcohol dependence and the company has already had Phase III results showing that Vivitrol helped patients against opioid addiction. A panel has already recommended approval of the drug.  At $15.92, it hit a new 52-week high on Friday and the range is $7.54 to $15.98 and it traded in a wide range last week with a low close to $14.60 before it hit a new 52-week high.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) was given the cover story from Barron’s this weekend. The article titled “A Deep Value Play” said that it got hit worse than most of its rivals in the financial crisis and it wonders if its new CEO (former Goldman Sachs member) turn it around.  Barron’s  points out that at $26.59 on October 1, shares were trading 64.7% below a pre-crisis high of $75.35.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has not yet formally announced its decision to sell the CDMA phone via Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).  The latest rumor is the umpteenth time the rumor has been out that a CDMA iPhone is coming to Verizon.  We expect formal confirmation on this soon, maybe as soon as this week or next week.

China New Borun Corporation (NASDAQ: BORN) is new as a stock and it produces and distributes corn-based edible alcohol in China. The company probably just got a lot more famous (if it was even known before) after this weekend because it unseated Netflix as the #1 stock in the Investors Business Daily 100.  The IBD 100 might not ramp it but it will be more on the map than ever now for many momentum investors.  IBD gave it a positive article last week as well and last Monday it was trading under $11.00 per share.  At $16.08, it hit a 52-week high on Friday and the post-IPO range this year is $4.80 to $16.14.

CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was given a very positive article in Barron’s called “On the Road to Redemption.” Barron’s noted, “The financial crisis pushed CIT into bankruptcy and John Thain out the door at Merrill Lynch. Together, they seem to be faring a lot better.”  At $40.79, its 52-week range is $24.83 to $42.94.  Look for a pop on Monday if the market holds up.

Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: CEG) has pulled out of negotiations on a $7.5 billion loan guarantee to build a nuclear reactor in Maryland with Electricite de France after a fee dispute was called ‘unworkable.’ At $32.15, its 52-week range is $28.21 to $38.73.

Immunogen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) is set to present positive drug data on Monday.  The news was out of Friday, the stock rallied, and options trading was up in anticipations.  FULL DETAILS are available at BioHealthInvestor.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAZZ) has a Monday FDA PDUFA date for its JZP-6 for fibromyalgia. At $10.11, its 52-week trading range is $6.01 to $13.95 and the last week was very volatile with a trading range of roughly $10.90 to $9.80.  The big drop was last Tuesday and the open interest is active in the OCT-2010 $10 and $11 calls and active in the $9 and $10 puts.  Tuesday’s big drop was after disclosing that it has not received a Paragraph IV certification with respect to a different filing.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is set on Monday to formally unveil a lineup of smartphones with a revamped mobile operating system available through AT&T and T-Mobile USA.  This may get a lot of coverage, but how many times can you ask “Uh, late to the the party or what?”.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) is an ongoing premium merger-arb situation that just won’t end.  The reports are that the company may consider a break-up to fend off BHP Billion plc (NYSE: BHP) in its bidding process, but there are also reports that the Ontario Teachers pension plan may make a bid for the company.  At $145.80, its 52-week range is $83.85 to $153.29.

Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) and Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) were both touted by Barron’s this weekend as having the concerns way overblown about the threat to cable and movie spending.  These were called “A Cheap Ticket.” We would note that Regal is actually much more off of 52-week highs than competitor Cinemark and it has a lower nominal share price as well.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has been highlighted as needing to unload some of its Asian assets to unlock value, but the company is still in the deal-making business for private companies despite losses in its management team.  Now the rumors have Yahoo! possibly acquiring Groupon, a social coupon website.

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JON C. OGG