Howard Cranford

All Posts

• Apple: A SWOT Analysis

  By Howard Cranford - April 17, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, BBRY, GOOG

  One of the most talked-about stories of 2013 is the “fall” of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Falling from its 52-week high of $705 down to $400 has made people wonder about the future of Apple. You can't read or watch investing news without hearing about where Apple’s stock price could eventually end up; estimates range from below $400 to $1000. One of the best ways to cut through the more »

• A SWOT Analysis of Apple

  By Howard Cranford - April 6, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, BBRY, GOOG

  One of the most talked about stories of 2013 is the “fall” of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Falling from their 52 week high of $705 down to $419 has got everyone talking about the future of Apple. You cannot read or watch investing news without hearing about where Apple’s stock price could eventually end up; estimates range from to below $400 to $1000. One of the best ways to cut more »

• Best Company to Work for, Best Company to Invest in?

  By Howard Cranford - March 15, 2013 | Tickers: FB, GOOG, NATI, RVBD

  In December of 2012 Forbes released The Best Companies to Work for in 2013, which lists the companies they believe are most beneficial to their employees. The ranking was determined by surveying employees within the company based on key workplace factors. Personally, I believe that investing in a stock is investing in the company behind the ticker, and only the best companies should be in your portfolio. So I set more »

• Three Estimate-Beating Stocks That Have Not Appreciated Yet

  By Howard Cranford - February 21, 2013 | Tickers: DE, XOM, QCOM

  With earnings season in full swing, investors are waiting every day to see how companies were able to round out the end of the year. Like most years surprises in earnings reports fill the news. This year we have seen surprises like Apple beating estimates but still slipping in stock price and losing its throne of the largest market cap for a short period of time. Apple is not alone more »

• Should You Buy Into 3D Printing?

  By Howard Cranford - February 19, 2013 | Tickers: DDD, SSYS, XONE

  Beginning in the late 1980’s, 3D printing has been around much longer than most people think. Over the past few years advances in technology, decreased costs, and larger demand has brought 3D into the eyes of investors. 3D printing is providing lots of hype, with potential uses in many industries including aerospace, automobile, construction, and maybe even medicine. With only a handful of public companies now is a good more »

• Three Dividend Plays for 2013

  By Howard Cranford - February 14, 2013 | Tickers: MO, AAPL, TNH

  For income investors a stable dividend paying stock is their bread and butter. These stocks, however, are not always the easiest to spot. Too small of dividends and it might not be worth investors' time, too big and investors have rights to be skeptical of the longevity of the company. These three stocks offer plays in stability, good value, and in a high-paying stock with speculation of the future.
  
  Altria more »

• Is Coinstar Still a Buy?

  By Howard Cranford - February 11, 2013 | Tickers: CSTR, DISH, NFLX

  Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR), founded in 1991, started off with kiosk machines that would exchange coins for either cash or gift cards for various companies. They quickly gained the graces of the Federal Reserve for bringing coins back into the economy, and through coordination with the Fed and the US Mint more and more Coinstar machines started showing up in local grocery stores. In 2009 Coinstar purchased the remaining shares of more »

• Will IMAX Be Able to Beat the Market?

  By Howard Cranford - February 1, 2013 | Tickers: IMAX, RGC

  In 2002, movie tickets sold reached a record breaking 1.58 billion tickets. Fast forward to 2011, and ticket sales are down to 1.30 billion, the worst year in recent movie history. 2012, however, looked to be a hopeful year in an industry that in the past decade only saw tickets sales rise twice. IMAX (NYSE: IMAX) has been able to turn a profit during this time and is more »

• Four Dow Jones Companies to Add to Your Portfolio

  By Howard Cranford - January 31, 2013 | Tickers: AA, MO, KO, GE

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a collection of 30 of the “best” stocks throughout the market. These companies are usually well known for being large cap stock that consistently put up large revenues. Following the Dow 30 can provide good stability for your portfolio by investing in companies that have been proven to be able to withstand whatever the economy goes through. These four stocks are stable stocks that more »

• Can Netflix Reach $300 Again?

  By Howard Cranford - January 24, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, CSTR, NFLX

  Back in the summer of 2011 Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) was king, and the stock was trading above a peak of $300.  But in July Netflix announced they were going to unbundle their streaming and DVD rental service charging and would charge more to rent DVD’s. Customers responded by dropping the service in droves with over 800,000 customers unsubscribing. The story of the downfall of Netflix continued as they more »

• Why Facebook Deserves a Spot in Your Portfolio

  By Howard Cranford - January 24, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, FB, GOOG, LNKD

  Not many stocks have divided investors as much as Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has. Those with bearish outlooks quickly point out the current limited money-making model, overvaluation, or that the EPS has declined ever since the IPO. Yet there are still strong believers in Facebook, and have been since day one. On Tuesday Facebook announced their new search engine, Graph Search, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg says is “the third pillar more »

• Is This the End of Apple?

  By Howard Cranford - January 18, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, CMGE

  Monday's news of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) cutting production of their flagship product the iPhone 5 by half has investors concerned that the “end of Apple” is starting to rear its head. While there are maybe a few reasons to be bearish on this stock, there are far many more reasons to be bullish.
  
  Reasons to be bearish
  Reportedly Apple notified suppliers last month that it was cutting orders of more »

• Why Zip Makes Avis a Good Buy

  By Howard Cranford - January 18, 2013 | Tickers: CAR, HTZ, ZIP

  As many of you Foolish investors may know, the car-sharing service Zipcar (NASDAQ: ZIP) was bought for $511 million ($12.25 per share) by Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ: CAR) in a Dec. 21 acquisition. With this acquisition Avis is gaining more control of the car-sharing service, but can the company continue to compete in the car-rental industry?
  
  How the Car Rental Industry Looks.
  

  The acquisition of Zipcar is just the more »