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Not The Usual Suspects: "Other" ETFs Benefiting From Apple's Run to $500
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 - 1:58pm | 648The superlatives for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) in terms of stock price performance simply know no bounds. By now, the world knows this stock trades over $500 per share and with a forward P/E of less than 11, it's arguably not all that expensive. Beyond that, at the close of markets on Monday, the gap...
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S&P Prefers Consumer Discretionary SPDR to Rivals
Monday, February 13, 2012 - 4:48pm | 449There's no shortage of exchange traded funds tracking consumer discretionary stocks on the market today, but no two funds are created exactly the same. In that vein, a recent research note from S&P Capital IQ emphasizes that cost should not be an investor's only consideration when parsing...
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Americans Are Starting the Day at McDonalds
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 1:30pm | 529McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) revealed on Wednesday that revenue rose 6.7 percent in January, thanks to an increase in sales on breakfast items, plus beverages and the new Chicken McBites. Obviously, McDonald's is the cornerstone of every American breakfast. All joking aside though, the oatmeal products...
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Is Coinstar the Future of Video Rentals?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 10:14am | 1209Has the change-counting kiosk maker come up with the perfect formula for video renting success? For roughly two decades, when consumers wanted to rent a movie, they went to Blockbuster Video. There were other video chains in the mix as well, such as Family Video and Hollywood Video. But it was...
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McDonald's Delivers A January Comparable Sales Increase Of 6.7%
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 8:58am | 88McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) today announced global comparable sales growth of 6.7% in January. Performance by segment was as follows: U.S. up 7.8% Europe up 4.0% Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa up 7.3% In the U.S., comparable sales rose 7.8% as customers visited McDonald's to enjoy...
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Has There Ever Been a Higher Valuated Company With Fewer Employees Than Facebook?
Monday, February 6, 2012 - 1:05pm | 927By Sterling Wong With a potential $100 billion valuation, Facebook could be the apotheosis of the new US employment landscape reality in which tech companies create enormous wealth but few jobs. All eyes have been on Facebook this week as the world's largest social network made its much-...
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Brady, Manning And 4 ETFs For The Super Bowl
Friday, February 3, 2012 - 1:21pm | 801It's almost here. America's biggest sporting event, the Super Bowl, comes our way on Sunday and Super Bowl XLVI from Indianapolis is an intriguing rematch of the 2008 that saw the New York Giants upset the New England Patriots. Fans of variety may not be bullish on Sunday's game. It will be the...
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Piper Jaffray Maintains Overweight, $108 Target on McDonald's
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 10:40am | 107Piper Jaffray reiterates its Overweight rating and $108 target price on McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) following a recent meeting with the company's management. Piper Jaffray says, "We are incrementally more confident on MCD shares following our recent visit with management. While we recognize that the...
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Is Starbucks the McDonald's of Coffee?
Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 6:05pm | 967Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is losing the gains it had for the day on Thursday in after-hours trading as investors react to the company's disappointing earnings, as Q1 2012 served earnings per share of 50 cents to investors, giving the market jitters. Despite the fall in the coffeemaker's share price...
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Bet On These 4 Blue-Chip Brands
Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 5:03pm | 423One of the things that legendary investor Warren Buffett looks for in his stock picks is a "moat," or some quality or qualities that protect a company's business from encroaching competition. One of the most common, and lucrative, "moats" is a tremendous brand which is instantly recognizable and...
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BMO Capital Markets Raises Target to $110 on McDonald's
Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 11:14am | 121BMO Capital Markets reiterates its Perform rating on McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) and raises its price target to $110 from $100 as the company should continue to see strong comps, despite challenges in EPS for 2012. BMO Capital Markets notes, "McDonald's reported 4Q EPS of $1.33, up 15% yr/yr and $0.04...
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Oppenheimer Downgrades McDonald's to Perform
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 2:32pm | 92Oppenheimer downgrades McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) to Perform from Outperform and removes its $100 price target on the stock on limited visibility on EPS beats in the future. Oppenheimer says, "We continue to believe MCD represents a best-in-class operator and our rating adjustment does not reflect a...
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J.P. Morgan Believes McDonald's Stock to Take a Breather Post-Strong Performance
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 10:31am | 157In a recent research report published by J.P. Morgan, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) had a fantastic 4Q with a solid EPS. J.P. Morgan commented in the report, “Favorable weather contributed to an even stronger underlying global comp month at 9.6% vs. our ~6.5% estimate and commentary that January...
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Sterne Agee Raises McDonald's PT in Light of Strong Performance
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 10:30am | 93According to a research report published today, Sterne Agee is increasing McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) PT from $106 to $109 following an impressive 4Q. “While non-operating items provide a modest headwind to EPS growth, we continue to believe that MCD is the best positioned player in QSR to gain...
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Deutsche Bank Trimming McDonald's EPS Slightly
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 10:29am | 182According to a research report published today by Deutsche Bank, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) current and projected sales trajectory are quite good, but EPS must be trimmed slightly due to higher f/x and tax rate. Deutsche Bank commented in the report, “MCD posted 4Q11 EPS of $1.33 vs. DBe/consensus of...