Schaeffer's Street Chatter Highlights the Following Stocks: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Panera Bread, and PetroKazakhstan

Business Wire, Dec 29, 2004

CINCINNATI -- Today's "Street Chatter" from Schaeffer's Investment Research focuses on: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE:MSO), Panera Bread (NASDAQ:PNRA), and PetroKazakhstan (NYSE:PKZ). Street Chatter" is a daily report that analyzes three newsworthy stocks that are generating a lot of attention on Internet message boards. "Street Chatter" is published on www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research.

For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRSC1M&PAGE=1 .

Street Chatter:

1. This morning's Wall Street Journal made mention of the fact that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE:MSO) has endured heavy insider selling activity of late, with almost $90 million worth of MSO shares being dumped by those closest to the company. Last night, VA Partners announced the sale of nearly half a million of their MSO shares between December 16 and December 22. Since November 23, VA Partners' stake in the domestics firm has shrunk from 8.2 percent to 6.1 percent.

MSO stock, on the other hand, has more than tripled in value over the past few months. And after a late-November breakout above resistance near the 19 mark, MSO has continued higher above support from its 10-day moving average.

Click the following link to see the Daily Chart of MSO Since October 2004 with 10-Day and 20-Day Moving Averages: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=12131 .

Spooked by the company's eponymous founder's incarceration and the insider selling, perhaps, options players are circling in the bearish camp. Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for MSO has mounted a steady advance since late September and now stands at 1.06, just seven percent shy of an annual peak. A Schaeffer's Sentiment PowerTools (http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/powertoolsobs) indicator test illustrates that MSO is prone to outperformance after its SOIR reading lands in the top 10 percent of all the past year's data. For example, MSO has rallied an average of 9.8 percent in the 15 trading days following a high SOIR reading, compared to the stock's average at-any-time decline of 0.44 percent over the same time span. These encouraging SOIR numbers, combined with the impressive technical performance displayed by MSO, have earned the stock an Equity Scorecard (available on Schaeffer's Gold (www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=UC04*W&PAGE=1)) rating of 9.0 out of 10.0.

Click the following link to see the Equity Scorecard of MSO: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=12131 .

According to Thomson/First Call, six analysts cover MSO shares, one of whom designates the stock as a "hold," with the remaining five listing MSO as a "sell" or worse. This is also encouraging to contrarians, as it paves the way for future upgrades, should the stock continue to outperform. Finally, another bit of good news is the stock's short-interest picture. After a 16-percent increase last month, there are about six million MSO shares sold short, representing nearly 47 percent of the stock's float. This is more than enough in the hopper to allow for a short-covering rally on any good news or continued strength from the stock.

2. Panera Bread (NASDAQ:PNRA) has earned a mention on Internet message boards today after WR Hambrecht initiated coverage on the equity with a "buy" designation. Before this move, PNRA boasted eight "buy" or "strong buy" ratings along with nine "holds" and zero "sells." Hambrecht's move buts the "buys" on even keel with the "hold" ratings.

Technically speaking, PNRA has been trading along a rocky path for the past few months, shuffling higher and lower with little regard or respect for its moving-average trendlines. Currently, the stock is flirting with resistance near the 40 area, above which PNRA has not traded since April. From a longer-term perspective, the stock's 10-month and 20-month moving averages completed a bearish crossover earlier this quarter, the first such cross since November 1998.

Should the stock break out of this frustrating pattern, a short-covering rally could soon come to pass as bearish investors scramble to stave off losses. Almost 30 percent of the equity's float is currently sold on the short side, and the nearly seven million shorted PNRA shares would take more than 12 days to cover at the stock's average daily volume. One group that is counting on a burst of strength in the shares is the options crowd, judging from the stock's SOIR of 0.44, which is lower than 86 percent of the past year's worth of data.

Click the following link to see the Daily Chart of PNRA Since August 2004: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=12131 .

3. Hoover's reports that PetroKazakhstan (NYSE:PKZ) is a Canadian oil and gas exploration and production concern. Early this morning, PKZ officials announced a temporary curbing of crude oil production at Turgai Petroleum (a joint venture between PKZ and Lukoil). The production halt, which began on December 27 and is expected to last only a few days and cause just a minor financial effect, was the result of marketing disagreements.