Posts for Ticker ‘NVO’

Defensive Stocks Offering No Haven (WMT, PEP, KO, TAP, KFT, CAG, CPB, HRL, MCD, MO, VGR, RAI, PG, CL, MRK, JNJ, NVO)

Burning Money PicWasn’t it just last week that we were up eight days in a row on the DJIA?  And now we have a sell-the-news reaction to the recent growth numbers.  Maybe it is because we ran too far too fast and because we started pricing in robust growth rather than muted growth.  But generally when equities have stayed hot and then start to sell off in profit taking or in case things got too heated, you at least see a migration into some of the defensive stocks.  That is not the case.  In our normal 16 Defensive Go-To Stocks, only ONE was up.  If you throw in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) as the ultimate defensive stock like we usually do, then you have only TWO of 17 trading up on the day….

PEPSICO INC (NYSE: PEP) $56.1805.. Down $0.4895; -0.86%
COCA COLA CO (NYSE: KO) $48.58.. Down $0.19; -0.39%
MOLSON COORS CO. (NYSE: TAP) $47.01.. Down $0.37; -0.78%
KRAFT FOODS INC. (NYSE: KFT) $28.08..  Down $0.27; -0.95%
CONAGRA FOOD INC. (NYSE: CAG) $20.13.. Down $0.40; -1.95%
CAMPBELL SOUP CO. (NYSE: CPB) $30.86.. Down $0.50; -1.59%
HORMEL FOODS CORP. (NYSE: HRL) $37.00..    Up 0.05; +0.14%
MCDONALDS CORP. (NYSE: MCD) $55.72.. Down $0.51; -0.92%
ALTRIA GROUP INC. (NYSE: MO) $18.13.. Down $0.16; -0.83%
VECTOR GROUP LTD. (NYSE: VGR) $15.71.. Down $0.07; -0.44%
REYNOLDS AMERICAN (NYSE: RAI) $45.17.. Down $0.54; -1.18%
PROCTER GAMBLE CO. (NYSE: PG) $53.05.. Down $1.06; -1.96%
COLGATE PALMOLIVE (NYSE: CL) $71.82.. Down $0.89; -1.21%
MERCK CO INC. (NYSE: MRK) $31.79.. Down $0.64; -1.97%
JOHNSON & JOHNSON (NYSE: JNJ) $59.88.. Down $0.56; -0.92%
NOVO NORDISK (NYSE: NVO) $60.024.. Down $0.986; -1.62%

Oddly enough, Wal-Mart is the ONLY one of the DJIA 30 components trading higher this afternoon.

JON C. OGG
SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

Posted on: September 1, 2009 – 2:31 pm in Defensive Stocks, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is The New Nordic ETF For You? (GXF, ERIC, NOK, NHY, NVO, STO)

NYSE Euronext has begun trading a new ETF this week that is meant to track the large companies throughout the Nordic region.  This seeks to track the FTSE Nordic 30 Index, which is comprised of the 30 largest and most liquid companies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. The ETF launched is called the Global X FTSE Nordic 30 ETF (NYSE: GXF) and it is sponsored by Global X Funds.

You might even think of this as the Nordic-Dow.  Some of the key ADR stocks in the index that you will easily recognize are LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Norsk Hydro (NYSE: NHY), Novo-Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), and StatoilHydro ASA (NYSE: STO).

Here is a full list of the 30 constituents.

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 20, 2009

Posted on: August 20, 2009 – 3:58 pm in ADR, ETF, , , , , ,

The War On Diabetes Heats Up (NVO, AMLN, LLY, MNKD, PFE, VVUS, BMY, AZN, ARNA, GERN, STEM, OREX, GNBT, SPEX, ORMP, HDIX, PODD)

Biotech ImageDiabetes is becoming an epidemic in the U.S. and the Western World.  The ties to obesity are often direct, so the potential treatments are often directly tied as well.  We did a recent dig down for the next $170 billion opportunity for eight different major diseases and conditions, and now we have conducted a much deeper dig down specifically in the field of diabetes over at BioHealthInvestor.com.  We have recent and upcoming FDA action and data being presented from Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD), Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Alkermes Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN).  There is a mini-race going on between some of the later stage studies from obesity and diabetes candidates from Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA), VIVUS, inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS), Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN).  Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) and StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) were noted as two of the stem cell hopes, although stem cells may later rather than sooner.

Generex Biotechnology Corporation (NASDAQ: GNBT), Spherix Incorporated (NASDAQ: SPEX) and Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCBB: ORMP) were all noted in the much smaller or emerging plays.  Home Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HDIX) and Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ: PODD) have both recently had key events as the interest in test equipment companies continues to remain high.

FULL STORY with much more detail at BioHealthInvestor.com.

Posted on: August 10, 2009 – 10:56 am in Biotech, Drug companies, FDA, Healthcare, Medical, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CROX, FTE, MMC, PCS, WTR, LEAP, NVO, RRGB, TI, TRI)

Everyone is on hold for jobs data, but there are still pre-market research calls.  These are the top ten analyst calls we saw for upgrades and downgrades this Friday morning:

Crocs (CROX) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
France Telecom (FTE) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Marsh & McLennan (MMC) Raised to Buy at UBS.
MetroPCS (PCS) Raised to Hold at Auriga.
Aqua America (WTR) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Leap Wireless (LEAP) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel; Cut to Hold at Soleil.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Red Robin Gourmet (RRGB) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Telecom Italia (TI) Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Thomson Reuters (TRI) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: August 7, 2009 – 8:00 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

The Next Blockbuster Drugs: A $170 Billion Opportunity

biotech

Safety and efficacy data are critical to drug candidates. But what really makes a potential drug attractive is strong top-line data, a new biotech-based treatment, and a massive potential market.

With help from Thomson Pharma and our own backlog of coverage, BioHealthInvestor.com, a 247wallst.com website, sought to find the most promising biopharmaceutical candidate from both biotech and pharmaceutical companies in each of the top 10 most prevalent medical conditions in the U.S. Read More »

Posted on: July 22, 2009 – 4:01 am in Biotech, Drug companies, Editor's Picks, Pharmaceuticals, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BioHealth Business Daily (AMGN, NVS, AMLN, LLY, ALKS, NVO, LLY, VICL, SCLN, ARNA)

These are some of the top stories affecting key drug and biotech stocks that are covered with more in-depth details and analysis this morning at BioHealthInvestor.com:

Amgen Inc’s (Nasdaq: AMGN)’s osteoporosis drug did so well in a head-to-head Phase III trial vs. the current standard drug from Novartis Inc. (NYSE:  NVS) that the Amgen’s drug may become the new standard for patients with breast cancer.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN), along with partners Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) and Alkermes Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKS), announced its new drug application for a once-weekly version of Byetta will be reviewed by the FDA, which may  help invigorate growth for the franchise.

Vical Inc. (Nasdaq: VICL) announced a positive four-month interim analysis for what is arguably its second-largest market opportunity, taking potentially another small step toward the goal of attracting a partner for its herpes vaccine program.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: SCLN) shares are down more than 7 percent on revenue and secondary offering fears. And Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ARNA) shares are falling after another dilutive offering.

Also, see our in-depth feature this week on five of the fastest-growing biotechs with improving analyst estimates: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), Amicus Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: FOLD), Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: HALO), American Oriental Bioengineering Inc. (NYSE: AOB), and Stemcells Inc. (Nasdaq: STEM).

-The 24/7 Wall St. Team

Posted on: July 8, 2009 – 9:47 am in Biotech, Drug companies, FDA, Medical, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AWK, BEAT, CHKP, IACI, MVL, MYGN, NVO, SYMC, WERN)

These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades this Wednesday morning in early trading.

  • American Water Works (AWK) Started as Buy at Brean Murray.
  • CardioNet (BEAT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup; Cut to Hold at boutique firm Roth.
  • Checkpoint Software (CHKP) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • IAC/Interactive (IACI) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Marvel Entertainment (MVL) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Myriad Genetics (MYGN) down on downgrades from RBC, Oppenheimer, Citigroup, Morgan Joseph, and more.
  • Novo Nordisk (NVO) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Symantec (SYMC) Started as Outperform at JMP Securities.
  • Werner Enterprises (WERN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

After today, we’d expect analyst coverage to start getting this until at least next Tuesday because of the shortened week.  We have already seen the effects of fewer participants this week, particularly after such a stellar quarter that just ended yesterday.

Jon C. Ogg
July 1, 2009

Posted on: July 1, 2009 – 7:11 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (AZN, BMR, ETR, MMM, NFLX, NVO, SWK)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades we have seen from Wall Street early this Monday morning:

AstraZeneca (AZN) Raised to Buy at UBS.
BioMed Realty Trust (BMR) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Entergy (ETR) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
3M (MMM) Raised to Equal-Weight at BVarclays.
Netflix (NFLX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Stanley Works (SWK) Raised to Outperform at Baird.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: April 27, 2009 – 6:54 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BIDU, CERN, CLF, DE, DIET, LDK, MRVL, MCHP, NVO, YSI)

These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen early this Tuesday morning with about two hours until the market opens

Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Cerner (NASDAQ: CERN) Cut to Hold at Auriga.
Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Deere (NYSE: DE) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
eDiets (NASDAQ: DIET) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Cut to EqualWeight at Morgan Stanley.
Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) Started as BUy at Deutsche Bank.
Microchip Tech (NASDAQ: MCHP) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Novo Nodisk (NYSE: NVO) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
U-Sture-It Trust (NYSE: YSI) Raised to Outperform at Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
March 24, 2009

Posted on: March 24, 2009 – 6:49 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (MDRX, AAUK, EBAY, HNZ, SOLR, ITG, NVO, SI, SCR, PCU, STP, VISN)

Burning_money_pic_3These are most of the general analyst calls we have seen with downgrades or negative implications this Wednesday morning in the early pre-market trading hours:

  • Allscripts-Misys (NASDAQ: MDRX) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
  • Anglo American (NASDAQ: AAUK) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) Started as Sell at Collins Stewart.
  • HJ Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
  • GT Solar (NASDAQ: SOLR) Started as Buy at Kaufman Brothers.
  • Investment Tech (NYSE: ITG) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • Novo-Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
  • Siemens (NYSE: SI) Cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  • Simcere Pharmaceutical Group. (NYSE: SCR) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Southern Copper (NYSE: PCU) Cut to Sell at UBS.
  • Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) Cut to Underperform at FBR.
  • VisionChina Media (NASDAQ: VISN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

There were also many financial downgrades and some downgrades specific to the oil patch this morning as well.  As you can see by the few upgrades noted earlier, the pace of downgrades is still greatly exceeding upgrades.

Jon C. Ogg
January 14, 2009

Posted on: January 14, 2009 – 8:03 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , ,

ZymoGentics Backers File To Sell Stock (ZGEN, NVO)

ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZGEN) has filed an SEC registration which would allow the company to sell up to $100 million of its common stock from time to time. What is important to note is that this is intended to replace the company’s previously filed shelf registration statement set to expire on December 1, 2008.  What is also important to note is that the filing is essentially of little benefit to the company.

Read More »

Posted on: November 25, 2008 – 4:53 pm in Biotech, Insider Activity, Secondary Offering, ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (AER, AGP, LEH, NVO, CRM, SNPS)

These are some of the downgrades or cautious analyst calls we are seeing this Thursday morning:

  • AerCap (AER) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Amerigroup (AGP) Started as Neutral at B of A.
  • Lehman (LEH) estimates cut at Citigroup.
  • Novo Nordisk (NVO) Started as Neutral at UBS.
  • Salesforce.com (CRM) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • Synopsys (SNPS) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
August 21, 2008

Posted on: August 21, 2008 – 6:29 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , ,

Five Big Winners For A Crummy Day (BBBY, NVO, SWHC, S, AUY)

Chances are that if you weren’t short selling all day, this was another ugly summer day that made you want to panic. Covering the market wasn’t any more fun either.  But imagine that there were some key stock winners on a day where oil breaks above $140.00 per barrel and when the DJIA, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 were all down roughly 3%.  You might think you’d have to be Dr. Pangloss for any positive takes, but here are a few key stock winners:

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) closed up 4.27% at $29.79 after beating earnings the night before.  We saw nearly triple the volume with more than 14.3 million shares traded.  Earnings were down from the prior year but still better than analysts were expecting.  You just know their customer base isn’t going to stay at home forever, recession or not….

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) was another standout winner, and it is amazing that the volume on this diabetes winner has remained so low.  The Danish drug company is often one of the few winners on crummy days as their diabetes treatments are above and beyond all.  Shares closed up 2.8% at $67.85.  While 480,000 shares isn’t as actively traded as many key US drug stocks, it is nearly double a normal day for NVO shares. Recession or no recession, that insulin for diabetics has to keep coming and it has to keep getting better and better.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) rose by 6.6% to $5.45 today on more than double volume of 1.66 million shares.  And it wasn’t because we all have to buy guns to fight off the economically challenged. The Supreme Court overturned a handgun ban in Washington D.C. by a 5-4 decision, ruling that the district’s handgun laws violated the Second Amendment by denying individuals the right to own guns.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) bucked the day’s trends after it said that the recently launched touch screen Samsung Instinct smart phone broke company sales records in its first week in stores.  If there was a phone company that needed a rally, it’s Sprint.  Shares closed up almost 3.4% at $8.84 on almost twice the normal trading volume with more than 64 million shares trading hands.

Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) was the volume leader in major gold stocks today.  With a weakening dollar and oil cruising past $140/barrel, you know the gold bugs were winning today.  We saw more than a 3% gain to back above $900/ounce for gold today.  Yamana shares were up 6.8% at $15.61 on over 21.4 million shares, almost twice its average daily volume.

Interestingly enough, none of the major integrated U.S. oil companies rose today.  Even that huge list of DEFENSIVE STOCKS FOR A CRUMMY MARKET failed to perform again today. 

Jon C. Ogg
June 26, 2008

Posted on: June 26, 2008 – 4:03 pm in Defensive Stocks, HI/LOW, , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADBE, CRL, GEOY, NOKU, HUN, IVGN, LRCX, NVO, RTN, YHOO)

These are not all of the calls we are seeing in pre-market coverage, but these are ten of the calls impacting shares this Tuesday morning:

  • Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Charles River Laboratories (NYSE: CRL) downgraded to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • GeoEye (NASDAQ: GEOY) started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Hoku Scientific (NASDAQ: HOKU) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Broadpoint.
  • Huntsman (NASDAQ: HUN) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Invitrogen (NASDAQ: IVGN) Raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) raised to Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) Raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) Downgraded to Underweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.

Elsewhere in analyst coverage, you can see the full medical & biotech calls at BioHealthInvestor.com and earlier we covered some more exclusive analyst calls in Telecom, Media & Tech as well as Credit Suisse initiating coverage on the Homebuilder sector.
Jon C. Ogg
June 24, 2008

Posted on: June 24, 2008 – 6:43 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ABH, ETN, HES, LECO, LPX, MVSN, MUR, NVO, SWS, WBS)

These are not all of the analyst calls affecting shares this morning, but these are ten that we are focusing on this Monday morning:

  • AbitibiBowater (NYSE: ABH) started as Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
  • Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Hess (NYSE: HES) Added to Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List.
  • Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ: LECO) started as Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  • Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE: LPX) started as Underperform at RBC Capital Markets.
  • Macrovision (NASDAQ: MVSN) raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  • Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) cut to Underweight at JP Morgan.
  • Novo-Nordisk AS (NYSE: NVO) raised to Neutral at HSBC Securities.
  • SWS Group (NYSE: SWS) started as Market Perform at KBW.
  • Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) raised to Outperform at KBW.

Jon C. Ogg
June 9, 2008

Posted on: June 9, 2008 – 6:33 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADP, MKTX, MA, NVO, OXY, OVTI, PAYX, PCG, RAD, TER)

These are not the only analyst calls this morning, but these are the calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on early this Tuesday morning:

  • Automatic Data (NYSE: ADP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America.
  • MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) raised to Neutral from Sell at Banc of America.
  • Mastercard (NYSE: MA) raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • Novo-Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) downgraded to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
  • Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • OmniVision (NASDASQ: OVTI) raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  • Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America.
  • PG&E (NYSE: PCG) raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  • Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  • Teradyne (NYSE: TER) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Jon C. Ogg
February 26, 2008

Posted on: February 26, 2008 – 7:05 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AU, CEPH, KO, CXR, MCO, NVO, URBN, WAG, CVC, CMCSA, TWC, DISH, DTV)

Below are some of the key general calls we are looking at in early pre-market trading:

  • Anglogold (NYSE: AU) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  • Cephalon (NASDAQ: CEPH) downgraded to Underperform at Morgan Stanley.
  • Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.
  • Cox Radio (NYSE: CXR) downgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
  • Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) raised to Peer Perform a Bear Stearns.
  • Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Cable & Satellite Initiations: UBS has initiated cable and satellite companies. Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) were all started as neutral at UBS.  DIRECTV (NYSE: DTV) was initiated as Buy and DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) was initiated with a Neutral rating.

Jon C. Ogg
February 8, 2008

Posted on: February 8, 2008 – 7:31 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Defensive Stocks Show Rotation Out of Tech (PEP, KO, BUD, TAP, KFT, CAG, CPB, HRL, MCD, MO, VGR, RAI, PG, CL, MRK, JNJ, NVO)

The markets haven’t fallen apart after yesterday’s 360 point dive on the DJIA, but we are still trading a tad lower today.  Now that Cisco Systems is showing you can’t just automatically hide out in all big technology stocks, it appears that investors who want to keep equity exposure are flocking to the DEFENSIVE STOCK names.  You can see below on our ticker list of defensive stocks that only Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) is not up today out of our 17 go-to defensive stocks.

DJI            13,249.05    -50.97    (-0.38%)   
S&P500    1,473.49     -2.13       (-0.14%)
NASDAQ   2,718.11    -30.65     (-1.12%)

PEP    $60.77    +$0.81 (1.35%)   
BUD    $50.29    +$0.23 (0.46%)   
TAP    $54.25    +$0.36 (0.67%)   
KFT    $33.37    +$0.04 (0.12%)   
CAG    $23.03    +$0.02 (0.09%)   
CPB    $35.50    -$0.08 (0.22%)   
HRL    $35.16    +$0.09 (0.26%)   
MCD    $59.21    +$0.83 (1.42%)   
MO      $72.75    +$0.77 (1.07%)   
VGR    $21.89    +$0.30 (1.39%)   
RAI     $63.71    +$0.64 (1.01%)   
PG     $70.07    +$0.65 (0.94%)   
CL     $75.33    +$0.01 (0.01%)   
MRK   $54.59    +$0.39 (0.72%)   
JNJ    $64.20    +$0.29 (0.45%)   
NVO  $123.41   +$1.72 (1.41%)   

Out of the top 10 holdings in the NASDAQ 100 QQQ (NASDAQ:QQQQ), only Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) are trading up.  Unlike prior cautionary days, technology is giving back at least some of the gains today after the Cisco news last night.  It’s hard to tell a trend reversal if it is only the first or second day, but you can at least see where the money is going today (and it isn’t flocking back into financials yet).

Jon C. Ogg
November 8, 2007

Posted on: November 8, 2007 – 12:08 pm in Defensive Stocks, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Defensive Stocks Show No Panic Rotation (PEP, KO, BUD, TAP, KFT, CAG, CPB, HRL, MCD, MO, VGR, RAI, PG, CL, MRK, JNJ, NVO)

With the markets down so much today on the financial stock fallout after the Citi downgrade/concern and with oil stocks listing lower after the Exxon miss, we wanted to show a brief comparison of DEFENSIVE STOCKS versus the market today.  If the market does start to get shaky, many of these defensive stock names are where traders will look to hide their equity money.  That may be even more-so the case now that the fiscal year-end window dressing trade for mutual funds has played out.

If you look below the top defensive stocks, which are all trading lower today, are by and large not down as much as the broad market but they aren’t showing any massive defensive interest either.  Of the 30 DJIA components, only 3 are positive today and they are all technology related. 

DJIA            13,727.52 (-202.49/-1.45%)
S&P500      1,527.59  (-21.79/-1.41%)
NASDAQ    2,829.27  (-29.85/-1.04%)

PEP    $73.19    (-0.53/-0.72%)   
KO      $61.63    (-0.13/-0.21%)   
BUD   $50.95    (-0.33/-0.64%)   
TAP    $55.83    (-1.40/-2.45%)   
KFT    $32.98    (-0.43/-1.29%)   
CAG    $23.50    (-0.23/-0.97%)   
CPB    $36.51    (-0.47/-1.27%)   
HRL    $36.21    (-0.27/-0.74%)   
MCD   $59.29    (-0.46/-0.77%)   
MO      $72.63    (-0.30/-0.41%)   
VGR    $21.62    (-0.26/-1.19%)
RAI      $63.49    (-0.94/-1.46%)   
PG       $69.44    (-0.08/-0.12%)   
CL       $75.03    (-1.24/-1.63%)   
MRK    $57.93    (-0.33/-0.57%)   
JNJ      $64.91    (-0.26/-0.40%)   
NVO    $122.55   (-2.14/-1.72%)

So today may be a bad day and decliners may be greatly higher than advancers, but there is not any major fear going on even if the VIX is back over 21.0 right now. Of course that can change, but that isn’t the case so far.

Jon C. Ogg
November 1, 2007

Posted on: November 1, 2007 – 12:30 pm in Defensive Stocks, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Defensive Stock Picks Better Than The Market (September 7, 2007)

We are frequently asked about how certain basket picks perform compared to the overall market.  It has been years since anyone has claimed their stocks should gain regardless of the market because most people have smartened up to that nonsense.  But "Defensive Stocks" do perform better in general on a relative basis in down markets.  That isn’t a guarantee and that isn’t an absolute, but at least they did today.

Out of the 30 DJIA components, only J&J was up on the day.  Out of the 17 defensive stocks we gave earlier this morning, 3 of the 17 closed up.  On average of the 17 defensive stocks, if you invested in each one equally the picks would have ‘only’ been down 0.85% out of the basket.  That is better than the DJIA, S&P 500, and NASDAQ. 

For whatever it is worth, it’s worth noting that ‘relative performance’ doesn’t necessarily pay bills if the market heads too far south.  Here is how the markets fared compared to the defensive stock picks:

                  CLOSE      CHANGE    PERCENT
DJIA         13113.38    -249.97     -1.87%
NASDAQ    2565.7      -48.62       -1.86%
S&P500    1453.55     -25.00       -1.69%

Tick     Close       Change   Percent
PEP     $67.98      $(0.58)    -0.85%
KO       $54.59      $(0.07)    -0.13%
BUD     $49.84      $0.14       0.28%
TAP      $89.24      $0.56        0.63%
KFT      $32.89      $(0.50)    -1.50%
CAG     $25.52      $(0.06)    -0.23%
CPB     $35.54      $(1.14)    -3.11%
HRL     $34.99      $(0.81)    -2.26%
MCD     $49.24      $(0.52)    -1.05%
MO        $67.39      $(0.88)    -1.29%
VGR     $22.98      $(0.09)    -0.39%
RAI       $63.77      $(0.36)    -0.56%
PG        $65.47      $(0.64)    -0.97%
CL        $65.43      $(0.57)    -0.86%
MRK     $49.57      $(0.90)    -1.78%
JNJ      $61.68      $0.02         0.04%
NVO     $113.00    $(0.47)     -0.40%

Jon C. Ogg
September 7, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: September 7, 2007 – 3:32 pm in Defensive Stocks, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,