I believe that the biggest factor in a stock's ability to beat the market is its ability to beat the market's expectations.
That's why I look every week at three companies that have humbled Wall
Street's pros over the past few trading days. If a company has more in
the tank than the analysts figured, capital appreciation often follows.
We can start with Deere (NYSE: DE). The maker of heavy agricultural and construction machinery posted a quarterly profit of $0.23 a share
after backing out a bunch of one-time charges. That's a far cry from
the $0.81 a share it generated a year ago, but analysts were braced for
a mere $0.03 showing this time around.
Breakfast at Tiffany (NYSE: TIF)
was tasty on Wednesday, when the jewelry retailer delivered net income
of $0.34 a share from continuing operations, blowing past Mr. Market's
target of $0.24 a share. This showing bodes well for high-end jewelry
rivals Signet (NYSE: SIG) and Blue Nile (Nasdaq: NILE).
Finally, we have China Finance Online (Nasdaq: JRJC)
with a relative victory in China. It shed only $0.05 a share in its
latest quarter, and on a non-GAAP basis, the company posted a profit of
$0.03 a share. That's less than what the online-investment-research
specialist posted a year ago, but analysts were braced for a slightly
wider deficit. Wireless and ad-supported content haven't been enough to
offset declining subscription revenue.
Growth investors may prefer sexier dot-com plays in China, including Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) in paid search and Changyou.com (Nasdaq: CYOU)
in fantasy games, but value investors may be drawn to China Finance
Online's cash position, which makes up more than half of its market cap
at the moment.
© 2009 UCLICK L.L.C.
Post new comment