Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features Sears Holding, Ford Motor, Elan, Winnebago Industries, and Bed Bath & Beyond

Business Wire, June 16, 2005

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the June 16 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Sears Holding (NASDAQ:SHLD), Ford Motor (NYSE:F), Elan (NYSE:ELN), Winnebago Industries (NYSE:WGO), and Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY). Schaeffer's Market Blog is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. The Market Blog is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. They are quick insights to the day's most notable market activity from an options perspective. 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=PROB1M&PAGE=1.

Schaeffer's Market Blog for Thursday, June 16, 2005:

Below are just a few of today's Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1.

9:56 AM Bear Stearns Initiates Sears Holding at "Outperform"

Sears Holding (NASDAQ:SHLD) has been on a tremendous run over the last 18 months, with the stock increasing by over 500 percent during this time period. On December 31, 2003, the stock closed at $23.95 and is now trading over $150. The stock got a boost from Bear Stearns this morning as the investment firm initiated coverage on SHLD with an "outperform" rating. The sentiment toward SHLD has been growing more optimistic over the past few months, but obviously the optimism has been warranted. The Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) is at 0.57 which is more optimistic than 96 percent of the readings for the past year. The short interest has fallen by 32 percent over the last two months, even though the stock has been consolidating between $135 and $150. Analyst ratings are somewhat odd - currently only three analysts cover the stock. After merging the operations of Kmart and Sears, analysts have yet to give their opinion on the company. Prior to the merger, Sears usually had 10-12 analysts following it and Kmart had but a few analysts covering it.

10:26 AM Ford Motor Jumps on Price Target Change

Deutsche Bank upgraded Ford Motor (NYSE:F) from a "sell" to a "hold" this morning and raised its price target from eight dollars to ten dollars. The stock is trading at $11.34 this morning, meaning that they are telling you to hold a stock that they feel is going to decline 12 percent. You have to love that logic. Looking at the overall analyst ratings, there are two "buy" ratings, nine "hold" ratings, and five "sell" ratings. The short-interest ratio is at 4.40, but it has been declining of late. F has been able to rally of late on the heels of General Motor's (GM) performance, rising 25 percent from its April lows.

10:41 AM Elan Combats Parkinson's

A few days ago I wrote a piece called Trading with Elan for our Options Update column at schaeffersresearch.com that examined Elan's (NYSE:ELN) upside potential. Though the stock is still in deep distress, there has been some recovery and I noted that: "Anyone who bought at the March 31 low of 3.00 is sitting on a hefty gain of 142 percent, with the stock at 7.25 at last check."

It is clear that ELN's recovery will be driven by news, and today the London Bureau of Dow Jones Newswires carried a story that originally appeared in the Financial Times. A Parkinson's disease vaccine being developed by ELN works well in mice, according to research conducted at University of California, San Diego. The researchers said the vaccine might also help combat Alzheimer's.

Inexpensive stocks like ELN, which is currently priced less than $10, can provide great profit opportunities for investors with limited capital to employ. This is exactly the type of opportunity we look for in Schaeffer's Low-Dollar Stock Alert."

12:05 PM Winnebago Industries Trades Higher After Positive Earnings Surprise

This morning before the market open, Winnebago Industries (NYSE:WGO) topped earnings estimates by two cents. Furthermore, the company also raised its quarterly dividend by 29-percent and authorized a stock repurchase plan of up to $30 million.

Technically speaking, the stock has been trending higher since bottoming at $28.32 on April 29th. WGO is now trading above its short- and intermediate-term moving averages, a positive sign from a technical perspective. One factor that could be contributing to the stock's gains today is short-covering. WGO sports a hefty short-interest ratio of 12.5 days, which accounts for more than 27-percent of its float. With the positive earnings surprise this morning, some short players could be scrambling to buy back their bearish bets, thus putting additional upward pressure on the shares.

12:24 PM Lehman Brothers Upgrades Bed Bath & Beyond

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) are trading higher today after Lehman Brothers upgraded the stock from "equal-weight" to "overweight." A look at the equity's weekly price chart reveals that it has been mired in a long-term trading range, with most of its price action contained within the 36.00 and 43.00 price levels. This morning's gap higher on the analyst upgrade has taken the stock right up to the upper end of this range. With earnings on the horizon next week, a positive catalyst could help the shares break out of their long-term trading range and move higher. Today BBBY is trading $1.41 higher to $43.40.