JNJ is one of the few companies listed on the DJI that has actually gone up this year. The stock has been performing espeically well since its July breakout and is one of the few DJI stocks that have been consistently posting higher highs and lower lows over the past 3-4 years. The stock is up around 7% this year and just needs to consolidate to hold above resistance at about 67 and will be fine. I’m going to keep an eye out for this not expecting huge returns or trading opps, but more for sustainability and solid returns.

As the dollar recovers, gold seems to be going lower and lower. The commodity is now trading in the 800’s

Gold stocks (GG, ABX, AUY, GLD, GDX) are also trading at 6 month lows. On the flip side, DZZ, which is a short gold ETN has gone up from 24 to 34 or 40% in just over a month.

What I find odd is that a consumer report regarding wholesale prices rising came out yesterday. This indicates there is inflation going on and gold should be a good hedge against this inflation. The above stocks are trading awefully cheap and I’m really tempted to get into ABX since support seems to be around 30 and maybe AUY with support at around 10. If gold stays under 800 for an extended period of time, more than a month, then I might have second thoughts on this. I’m going to follow these two stocks closely to see if support holds then enter a small position.

Many people correctly predicted that Hansen would bounce since the stock appeared undervalued and oversold. Congratulations for those who bought at the low 20’s who have seen the stock shoot back up 40%. However, technically, the chart is still quite ugly as the stock will have to see higher lows before the trend can be said to be broken. But I still like Hansen for these reasons

1. Fundamentals. No, Hansen did not beat earning estimates, it missed ever so slightly. But margins are relatively better, the company still has no debt with over 100 million in free cash flow and decreased operating expenses. Also, the company is still growing EPS and sales way faster than last year. Also, the EPS is now 1.72, meaning if the company continues to grow at 20% (it has done better), the stock should be worth about 35 in a year.

2. Market share. Monster has now surpassed Red Bull as the America’s top selling energy drink. Despite the energy drink business being dragged down by the recent economic slowdown, Monster is still gaining market share. Hansen is also proceeding in trying to capture market share in Spain, Sweden and the U.K. which means their expenses will be lower once the rollout process is complete.

3. The current stock price. At 28 per share, the downside is really limited since the stock is trading at such a low PE for its fantastic balance sheet and earnings growth. Insiders have bought back 1.7 million shares last quarter meaning they believe the stock is cheap too.

I don’t really enjoy energy drinks and monster to me just seems like a huge can of sugar and caffeine that makes my hand shake and my head hurt. But the stock looks like a good deal, while its on sale.

True Religion is in a very interesting position. I invested in this stock in late 2005 to early 2006 based on solid fundamentals and heavy buying volume. I got out in 2006 before I went abroad for a year but have always kept an eye on this stock. What is so interesting is that this stock was last seen with a short interest of 60-70% of its total float. What I don’t understand is this company has raised guidance again and again. They did it once in May, and now again. Even after raising guidance they posted earnings of 39 cents, beating street estimates of 32 cents and beating revenue estimates by 14 million. The company has year over year earnings increase of 86% and a projected 5 year growth rate of 20%. TRLG also opened up its NYC store in union square and will have 5 new stores by the end of this year. Ratio wise, ROE and Profit margin are ridiculously good. So why is everyone short on this stock? Previous articles have mentioned how this stock is in perfect position for a short squeeze. They were right. The stock has jumped to 28 from 23 when the articles were written. I don’t have direct numbers on how many people got squeezed out but according to shortsqueeze.com there are still 10,505,300 shares short, 66% of the float. What the hell do you guys all know that I don’t? The PE ratio of 23.40 is also lower than most high-end retailers who aren’t posting solid numbers. I think this will be squeezed some more but TRLG just got downgraded for hell knows why and is down 5% afterhours. Buying opp?

The situation at Six Flags just keeps looking more grim. Aside from the company blaming the weather for their misfortunes, there are many other negatives surrounding the second largest theme park. Six Flags has not turned in a profit in 10 years and has 2 billion in debt. Their bonds have been downgraded to just above junk bond status and they have recently suspended their dividends.
Also, the management just seems to be very… shady. How do you not mention EPS? That’s basically all we care about in the end isn’t it? Also, the management keeps saying they have a ample amount of cash but in reality, they can’t even cover payments to preferred shareholders that are due next year.
Lastly, I go to amusement parks once in a while and they are a total rip off. But wait… shouldn’t this be good for Six Flags. I’m spending 5 bucks on a bottle of coke and shooting basketballs at a tiny rim for 10 dollars trying to win a teddy bear. By the way, Six Flags shares are cheaper than anything you can get at the amusement park, but probably still have less value.

I don’t know if there are shares to short. Also, they tried to find a buyer to no avail so I don’t think this will come back to bite.