With shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) trading around $177, is IBM an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:
T = Trends for a Stock’s MovementIBM is an information technology company. The company operates in five segments: Global Technology Services, Global Business Services, Software, Systems and Technology, and Global Financing. Technology products and services are in high demand worldwide, as consumers want to be up to speed and companies always need the latest and greatest to stay ahead of the competition. Cloud computing has been hot in recent times, which has not been good news for IBM. Should the company want to hold on to its market share, it needs to make moves quickly and provide the technology products and services that worldwide consumers and companies demand.
IBM today announced it is further expanding its operations across Africa with the opening of two new IBM Innovation Centers in Lagos, Nigeria, and Casablanca, Morocco. These new centers aim to spur local growth and fuel an ecosystem of development and entrepreneurship around Big Data and Analytics and cloud computing in the region.
Best Mid Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Urban Outfitters Inc.(URBN)
Urban Outfitters Inc. operates lifestyle specialty retail stores under the Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN brand names in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Its Urban Outfitters stores sell women?s and men?s fashion apparel, footwear, accessories, and gifts, as well as apartment wares, such as rugs, pillows, shower curtains, books, candles, and novelties to young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores provide women?s casual apparel and accessories, shoes, gifts, and decorative items, as well as home furnishings, including furniture, rugs, lighting, antiques, table top items, and bedding to women aged 28 to 45. The company?s Free People stores primarily offer Free People branded merchandise mix of casual women?s apparel, intimates, shoes, accessories, and gifts to young contemporary women aged 25 to 30; Terrain store provides lifestyle home and garden products, antiques, live plants, flowers, wellness products, and accessori es, as well as landscape and design service solutions; and BHLDN store offers a range of weeding collections consisting of wedding gowns, bridesmaid frocks, party dresses, assorted jewelry, headpieces, footwear, lingerie, and decorations. As of January 31, 2012, it operated 197 Urban Outfitters stores, 168 Anthropologie stores, 62 Free People stores, 1 Terrain garden center, and 1 BHLDN store. The company also operates a wholesale business under the Free People brand name that distributes apparel to other retailers and department stores in the United States. In addition, it markets its brands directly to consumers through its e-commerce Websites, including urbanoutfitters.com, anthropologie.com, freepeople.com, urbanoutfitters.co.uk, urbanoutfitters.de, urbanoutfitters.fr, anthropologie.eu, shopterrain.com, and bhldn.com, as well as through its Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People catalogs. The company was founded in 1970 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani a.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Kevin Britland/Alamy There were plenty of winners and losers this week, with the world's largest software company making a major gaming acquisition and one mall retailer once again turning to notoriety to draw attention. Here's a rundown of the week's smartest moves and biggest blunders. Netflix (NFLX) -- Winner Netflix took the next step in its global invasion by launching its service in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg this week. These will be competitive markets in Old World territories that are protective of their homegrown talent, but it's important for Netflix to keep stamping its passport by pushing into new countries. Netflix is also beefing up its catalog of original content. This week it struck a deal to carry two seasons of a new show that Judd Apatow co-created and wrote. The initial 10-episode season of "Love" won't be made available until 2016. The 12-episode second season will follow in 2017. However, it's one more reason that Netflix should be able to retain its growing subscriber base. Urban Outfitters (URBN) -- Loser The edgy mall retailer has gone too far again. Urban Outfitters took down the product page for a vintage Kent State University sweatshirt that it was selling online on Monday. It featured splattered red splotches that make it seem as if they are blood stains. Obviously this will hit too close to home to anyone who remembers the tragic 1970 massacre at Kent State. Urban Outfitters knew what it was doing. It had priced the sweatshirt at $129, claiming that only one was available. Urban Outfitters has left the public shaking its head at some of its edgier decisions, which have included an outfit that mocks depression and shirts that read "Eat less" and "Jesus, I'm drunk." This one seems to have outdone those earlier stunts in its pursuit for negative publicity. Microsoft (MSFT) -- Winner Microsoft is a company that has never shied away from 10-figure acquisitions, and it's at it again with the $2.
Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy For 2014: China Finance Online Co. Limited(JRJC)
China Finance Online Co. Limited provides integrated financial products and services in the People?s Republic of China. It offers various financial services, including news, data, analytics, and brokerage-related services through Web portals, desktop solutions, and mobile handsets. The company?s Web portals comprise jrj.com and stockstar.com, which offer subscription-based service packages that integrate financial and listed company data, information, and analytics from various sources with features and functions, such as data and information search, retrieval, delivery, storage, and analysis to individual users and institutional customers, including domestic securities and investment firms. It also collects, processes, and provides financial analysis tools, real-time and historical data, news, research reports, and online forums in one integrated information platform that allows its subscribers to make investment decisions with respect to various listed company stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and stock index futures. In addition, the company?s financial analysis tools offer subscribers with the ability to calculate and analyze financial data, such as securities market data analysis tools; technical analysis; and fundamental analysis. Further, it provides securities brokerage and online advertisement services. The company offers its products and services through its Websites, telemarketing, and customer service centers to individual investors managing their own money; professional investors, including institutional investors managing money on behalf of their clients and high net worth individuals; and other financial professionals, such as investment bankers, stock analysts, financial reporters, and middle class individuals. China Finance Online Co. Limited has strategic alliances with China Center for Financial Research of Tsinghua University and China Telecom. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic o f China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Monica Gerson]
China Finance Online Co (NASDAQ: JRJC) is expected to post its Q4 earnings.
Stanley Furniture Co (NASDAQ: STLY) is estimated to post a Q3 loss at $0.11 per share on revenue of $25.32 million.
Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy For 2014: Saratoga Investment Corp(SAR)
Saratoga Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in buyout, acquisition, growth, recapitalization, and note financing transactions of private middle market companies. It structures its investments as debt and equity by investing through first and second lien loans, mezzanine debt, select high yield bonds, senior secured bonds, unsecured bonds, and preferred and common equity. It seeks to invest in the United States. The firm primarily invests in companies having EBITDA between $5 million and $50 million. It invests through direct lending as well as participation in loan syndicates. The firm was formerly known as GSC Investment Corp. Saratoga Investment Corp. is based in New York, New York with an additional office in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Monday
Earnings Releases Expected: Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE: SAR), Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ: OZRK) Economic Releases Expected: Japanese industrial production, eurozone industrial productionTuesday
Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy For 2014: Accenture plc. (ACN)
Accenture plc provides management consulting, technology, and business process outsourcing services worldwide. It offers various management consulting services in the areas of finance and enterprise performance, operations, risk management, sales and customer service, strategy, sustainability, and talent and organization management, as well as provides industry-specific management consulting services. The company also offers system integration consulting services and solutions, including enterprise solutions and enterprise resource planning, industry and functional solutions, information management services, custom solutions, and Microsoft solutions; and technology consulting services and solutions comprising information technology (IT) strategy, infrastructure consulting, IT security consulting, and application modernization and optimization. In addition, it provides technology outsourcing services, which include application outsourcing services; infrastructure outsourcin g services in service desk, workplace, data-center, network, security, and IT spend management service areas; cloud computing services; and mobility and embedded software services. Further, the company provides business process outsourcing (BPO) services for business functions and/or processes, including finance and accounting, human resources, learning and procurement, and others, as well as industry-specific BPO services, such as credit services. It serves communications, electronics and high technology, media and entertainment, banking, capital markets, insurance, health, public service, airlines, freight and logistics, automotive, consumer goods and service, industrial equipment, infrastructure and transportation service, life sciences, retail, chemical, energy, natural resources, and utility industries. Accenture plc has a strategic collaboration with Marriott International, Inc. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Julianne Pepitone]
The pure-tech focus differs from other tech stock barometers. The Nasdaq, for example, is often cited as a "tech index" but only 42% of the composite is made up of tech companies. The S&P 500 Information Technology index includes several stocks that aren't typically considered at the cutting edge of tech, such as MasterCard (MA, Fortune 500), money transfer service Western Union (WU, Fortune 500) and consulting firm Accenture (ACN).
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