Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features Lehman Brothers Holdings, TiVo, Comcast, Best Buy and Station Casino

Business Wire, March 15, 2005

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the March 15 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Lehman Brothers Holdings (NYSE:LEH), TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and Station Casino (NYSE:STN). Schaeffer's Market Blog are just one of the many free market commentaries written everyday 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=PRMOU1M&PAGE=1

Schaeffer's Market Blog for Tuesday, March 15, 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

9:50 AM Lehman Easily Tops Forecast

Brokerage house Lehman Brothers Holdings (NYSE: LEH) reported first-quarter earnings of $2.91 per share earlier this morning, easily beating the average estimate of $2.20 per share. LEH has been a strong performer over the last nine months, rising from $68 to close yesterday at $93.32. Pessimism has been rising along with the stock, at least in the options camp. Over the last month and a half, the Schaeffer's Put/Call Open Interest Ratio has jumped from 0.73 to 1.11. The current reading is higher than 79 percent of the readings for the past year. The brokerage industry as a whole has been performing fairly well of late, part of which can be attributed to the proposed changes to the Social Security system allowing individual accounts. This move, if approved, is seen as a huge windfall for brokerage houses.

10:21 AM TiVo in Advanced Talks to Form Alliance with Comcast

TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the manufacturer of digital video recorders, announced that it is in advanced talks to form a partnership with cable operator Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA). TiVo has been seeking a partnership like this for years. The company has been very successful at branding, becoming synonymous with recording television programs, so much so that the phrase "TiVo It" has made its way into pop jargon. Despite these efforts, the stock has faired very poorly over the last five years, and one of the reasons was the lack of a partnership with a major cable company. Not anymore, with this announcement the shares have surged 58 percent higher this morning.

11:20 AM Best Buy Downgraded

One stock that has drawn my attention recently as a potential short play is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). While price action since mid-November has been very weak, the financial analyst community holds the security in very high regard. However, this morning before the market open, shares of BBY were downgraded from "neutral" to "sell" at FTN Midwest. The firm also put a $42 price target on the stock. Before this downgrade, there were 15 "buy" ratings, seven "hold" ratings, and no "sell" ratings on the stock. Adding to the stock's woes, it recently broke below long-term support at its 10- and 20-unit monthly moving averages. Should more of the very optimistic analyst community change their views of BBY, this could put additional selling pressure on the shares. At last check, BBY was trading $1.08 lower to $51.83 today.

11:55 AM Good News for Casino Stocks

This morning before the market open, Station Casino (NYSE: STN) guided its earnings outlook for the first quarter higher, stating that a strong economic environment in Las Vegas is driving same-store sales. This positive news is benefiting many casino stocks today. One casino stock that looks particularly attractive from an Expectational Analysis(R) perspective is Ameristar Casinos (ASCA). The equity has been in a pronounced uptrend since May 2003. What's more, its relative-strength versus the broad market (as measured by the S&P 500 Index) has also been in a distinct uptrend since mid-2003. Despite its strength, the stock has not attracted much attention from option players or financial analysts. Short sellers have made decent bets against ASCA, as short interest accounts for more than five percent of its float. ASCA receives a strong Equity Scorecard rating of 9.0, with 1.0 being the worst possible score and 10 being the best possible score. At last check, ASCA was trading $2.41 higher to $53.09 today.

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

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