Raw Greed morning update

Posted on February 15, 2006 , filed under Stocks | Print This Post

Good Morning, let’s get started. Today I am watching FLWS, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. The company was mentioned by Jim Cramer in an article about stocks that should be included in creating a Valentine’s Day portfolio. Usually when Jim Cramer mentions a stock in a positive light, you can expect that stock to see a slight jump up. I believe the market will have a hard time continuing yesterdays rally. Investors will be tempted to lock in profits. If 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. can produce excellent Valentine’s Day sales results we should see the stock jump up close to $7 very quickly.

Stocks of semiconductor fabricators are acting a bit strange. Both TSM, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited and UMC, United Microelectronics Corporation are down after announcing strong 4th quarter, 2005, revenues. Both companies are expecting a smaller decline in 1st quarter, 2006, revenues compared to a year earlier. Utilization at both semiconductor fabricator plants has improved on a YTD basis. Revenue and utilization rate point towards improving fabrication demand in 2006 for both companies. With such positive business prospects for either company, I expected TSM and UMC to rally along with the rest of the market. Current long term fears surrounding INTC, Intel Corporation may be to blame. I would look at the current drop in price for TSM and UMC as a purchasing opportunity.

I plan to get back into gold stocks, but not just yet. I expect to see gold drop around low $530’s before the metal resumes its jump up to $600. Gold is currently trading at $541.50.