24/7 Wall St.

We have a different cast of characters in this weekend’s UNUSUAL SUSPECTS for the week ahead.  Many bits of news and rumors are carrying over from last week into the coming week and we have several key earnings on deck along with corporate events.  The cast of characters in the UNUSUAL SUSPECTS includes Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Beckman Coulter, Inc. (NYSE: BEC), F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (NYSE: GAP), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), Horiyoshi Worldwide Inc. (OTCBB-HHWW), Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), Plains All American Pipeline LP (NYSE: PAA),  Western Gas Partners LP (NYSE: WES), Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM), Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD), SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI), Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC), and Youku.com Inc. (NASDAQ: YOKU).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is likely doing all it can to contain the mountain of rumors about the iPad2 with dual cameras and even a CDMA aversion at launch so that it doesn’t have order softness of the first iPad going into Christmas.  So far, sales have not been hindered.  We still want to refer back to the first reaction: Apple is turning its customers into lemmings.

Beckman Coulter Inc. (NYSE: BEC) was much higher after reports that it was up for sale.  We ran the analysis to see what it can fetch in a sale, and some common sense might dictate that the premium Friday was already enough.

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) landed the #1 spot in the Investors Business Daily 100, or IBD 100, this weekend.  It is followed by 2-RVBD, 3-LULU, 4-NFLX, 5-SLW.  F5 was announced to join the S&P 500 during last week and NASDAQ named it as one of the new NASDAQ 100 members to join the index.

General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) was noted over the weekend by Barron’s as “being eligible to join the Russell 3000 Index as soon as Friday, December 17.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (NYSE: GAP) looks done for the holders of stock.  Shares were halted after losing more than half their value and after hitting new multi-year lows under $1.00.  The grocery chain filed for bankruptcy.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) will have to play some damage control.  The guidance was disappointing, but the lack of clarity will erode its credibility with many investors and you already know that this one is heavily shorted.  Shares fell 9.65% to $33.81 on more than 20 million shares.  That is still not as bad as the end of September when the SEC issues first arose and the stock fell to $31.06 from $37.01.

Horiyoshi Worldwide Inc. (OTCBB-HHWW) is one we will offer no opinion on due to it being OTCBB but it is one which has risen now for about 20 consecutive days or thereabouts.  This one designs, manufactures, and markets Horiyoshi the Third, a “high-end clothing and accessories product line based on the artistry of World renowned Japanese Tattoo Artist, Yoshihito Nakano (Horiyoshi III).”

Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) caught the cover story of Barron’s this weekend as Mike Santoli said in ‘Play Time for Mattel’ that the toy maker “is minting money from hot-selling brands, and returning cash to shareholders.”  The publication noted a Carl Icahn stake, earnings and dividend growth, and it trading at a discount to rival Hasbro. We’d look for a 2% pop in Mattel in a market-neutral scenario Monday morning. At $25.48, the 52-week range is $19.07 to $26.12.

MLPs have risen in value and many have had secondary offerings this year.  Barron’s gave two MLP picks that could still have upside ahead: Plains All American Pipeline LP (NYSE: PAA) and Western Gas Partners LP (NYSE: WES).

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) reports earnings this coming Thursday and Thomson Reuters has estimates for the enterprise software leader of $0.46 EPS and $8.34 billion in revenue. For the quarter ahead, those estimates are $0.46 EPS and $8.41 billion in revenues.  Shares are currently around $$29.80 and the 52-week range is $21.24 to $29.85 as that high was hit today.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is set to have an investor meeting this coming Thursday.  Look for an outlook into 2011 and beyond, with a key on how it manages commodity costs and currencies. Another trend to listen for that is important for ALL consumer products: in-store promotion costs.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) reports earnings this coming Thursday after the close.  Thomson Reuters consensus is $1.64 EPS and $5.39 billion in revenue. For the quarter ahead, those estimates are $1.61 EPS and $5.46 billion in revenues.  Shares are currently around $61.85 and the 52-week range is $52.53 to $76.95.  Keep in mind that shares are higher by about 50% in the last three months.

Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) is due with its retail drugstore turnaround-less earnings this coming Thursday.  Thomson Reuters consensus is -$0.13 EPS and $6.2 billion in revenue. For the quarter ahead, those estimates are -$0.14 EPS and $6.42 billion in revenues.  Shares closed down 1% at $0.91 and the 52-week range is $0.86 to $1.77.

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was already recovering after the Howard Stern contract signing, but S&P gave it a corporate credit rating upgrade to “BB-” versus a prior “B+” rating late Friday afternoon.  This was in part on Howard Stern, but the finances and company metrics were noted as well.  We’d expect more analysts to chime in with rating or price target changes this week.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) saw serious speculative options trading on top of exponential stock volume after it told Community Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: CYH) no to its $6.00 buyout offer.  There is a belief that Tenet will fetch a higher price, hence the $6.65 close.

Youku.com Inc. (NASDAQ: YOKU) is going to be on the trader-radar again.  After its IPO blew out the doors shares went all the way up to $50.00 after being touted as “The YouTube of China.”  The problem is that it loses money and was all speculation as the media reports.  Expect the volatility this week to continue, often without rhyme nor reason.  Shares closed down 12% at $37.50 Friday.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG