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Andrew Dillard

  • It's Wedding Season – 4 Companies that Benefit from Nuptials

    By Andrew Dillard - April 11, 2012 | Tickers: BBBY, KSS, M, TGT, XOXO

    Every year in the Spring, animals awake from their winter slumber, vegetation once again turns green and lush, and weddings are held by the millions. From drive through chapels in Sin City, to gothic cathedrals with hundreds of guests, no two weddings are the exact same.  However, what all weddings do share is money.   The wedding industry is a huge business and is only getting bigger.  Basic cable television shows more »

  • Is Gamestop About to Lag Out?

    By Andrew Dillard - April 2, 2012 | Tickers: ATVI, EA, GME, MSFT, SNE

    I’ll be the first to admit that I probably spend more time than I should playing video games.  The allure of 'pwning noobs', or guiding Aaron Rogers to 17 straight Super Bowl victories is compelling and rather entertaining, and you can bet your left controller stick that I am not the only one that feels this way.  In 2012 alone, the video game industry as a whole is poised more »

  • Can Harley Keep Rumbling?

    By Andrew Dillard - March 28, 2012 | Tickers: HOG, HMC

    For years Harley Davidson (NYSE: HOG) has been the gold standard for motorcycle production. The roaring of the V-Twin engine has long been the theme song for many motorcycle enthusiasts. Despite a loyal and hardcore consumer base, HOG hasn’t always fared well with investors, until recently.

    As the US fell into recession in 2008, one of the front line casualties was luxury products. Harley lists their new motorcycles from more »

  • Aim Low, Shoot High

    By Andrew Dillard - March 23, 2012 | Tickers: SWHC, RGR

    On a day when the market seems to be depressed, gun investors are getting trigger happy.  Shares of firearm manufacturers Smith and Wesson (NASDAQ: SWHC) and Sturm, Ruger & Company (NYSE: RGR) are both up 13.19% and 13.43% respectively.  Smith and Wesson and Ruger are both experiencing stock price surges, and will likely to continue the current trend.  Over the past 12 month, Smith and Wesson’s stock price more »

  • Nike: Made in the U.S.A?

    By Andrew Dillard - March 21, 2012 | Tickers: NKE, UA

    Anybody who has owned a Nike (NYSE: NKE) athletic shoe has probably noticed a tag associated with their shoes that says “Made in Indonesia” or “Made in Vietnam.”  A quarter of a century has passed since Nike began moving their shoe production out of the United States to countries that have more lenient wage rules in an effort to curb rising costs and increase profitability. Today, 96% of all Nike more »

  • Apple Leans Heavily on Brand Loyalty In "New" iPad Reveal

    By Andrew Dillard - March 8, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, T, VZ

    Amidst much speculation and hoopla Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) finally showcased its ‘new’est innovation, the new iPad.  Prior to the announcement of the newest device, speculation was running rampant around the internet about possible features the new iPad would have, how much it would cost, even how much Apple’s stock price would be impacted.  In the end, there really was no “new” iPad released, just an upgraded iPad 2 more »

  • Are Pharmacy Benefit Management Companies Really Evil?

    By Andrew Dillard - March 5, 2012 | Tickers: CVS, ESRX, MHS

    This morning I was reading a colorful article by CNBC’s Senior Stock Commentator Herb Greenberg about the problems with the pharmacy benefit management industry.  In his article Herb egregiously attacks PBMs such as Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX), Medco (NYSE: MHS) and CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) arguing that PBMs are “one step removed from a legal drug cartel” and “the inner-workings of PBMs and the mechanics of the deals they more »

  • Please do not Read if Superstitious

    By Andrew Dillard - March 2, 2012 | Tickers: CCO, GPS, MWW

    Superstition is an intriguing topic.  There are countless beliefs that people hold that all have varying degree of meaning and interpretation. Superstitions such as a bird in the house is a sign of death, a horseshoe hung in the bedroom will keep bad dreams away and never light three cigarettes with the same match are beliefs that may be a bit extreme, but there are other superstitions that are so more »

  • Hold your Pitchforks, BoA may be on to Something

    By Andrew Dillard - March 1, 2012 | Tickers: BAC, JPM, PNC

    Here we go again.  Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is on the public relations ropes again.  This time the latest news is that BoA is exploring possible options to eliminate simple checking accounts and introduce a monthly fee for users of their basic checking services.  The last time BoA dabbled in increasing fees, it was around a $5 monthly debit fee that caused the masses to swarm with their pitchforks more »

  • Forget About Google+

    By Andrew Dillard - February 29, 2012 | Tickers: GOOG, LNKD, SFLY, ZNGA

    One of the smartest persons to ever live, Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Yet, the executives of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) expect us as consumers to believe differently.

    Since 2004, Facebook has transformed the way that the world connected and communicates. Nearly 1 in every 7 people worldwide has a Facebook account.  Our global connectedness more »

  • What Companies are Profiting from Doomsday?

    By Andrew Dillard - February 24, 2012 | Tickers: COST, SWHC, WMT

    Haven’t you heard?  The world is going to end, or so the participants in the National Geographic Channel’s new show Doomsday Preppers are concerned.  According to these individuals chronicled in this new show, there are various ways that civilization will grind to a halt, with the sunbursts that destroy the electrical grid, nuclear war, earthquakes, or even hyper-inflation.  One way or another, these people believe their world will more »

  • Are These Companies the Next Big Thing?

    By Andrew Dillard - February 22, 2012 | Tickers: EXPE, PCLN

    My next statement shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody.  Domestic travel in the United States was hit hard by the recession.  In 2008 US travelers took 654.3 million flights, 4.05% less than the previous year and in 2009 the news was even worse, with US flyers logging only 620.8 million flights.  Those two years alone made the five year annual growth rate from 2007 to more »

  • Four Stocks Bloggers Can’t Write Poorly About

    By Andrew Dillard - February 17, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, NFLX, SHLD, TSLA

    Welcome to the world of blogging, the place where individuals can make educated (and sometimes not) opinions and theories about topics of their desire.  Spread across thousands of miles, writers and readers alike come together to discuss their thoughts and interact as a global community.  I have been following the Motley Fool Blog Network from the beginning, and found that when it comes to certain stocks and opinions, bloggers sometimes more »

  • For Whom the Dell Tolls

    By Andrew Dillard - February 16, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, AAPL, DELL, HPQ

    The 1940 novel by Ernest Hemingway titled, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is a book about the Spanish Civil war that married fiction and non-fiction.  Although the phrase was not originally intended to describe war and fascism, the phrase “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was originally first used by English poet John Donne in his quest to explain the interconnectedness of humanity. Donne was rather vague in the structure of more »

  • Once You Pop, the Fun Can Stop

    By Andrew Dillard - February 15, 2012 | Tickers: DMND, K, PG

    Poor, poor Diamond Foods (NASDAQ: DMND). It has been an especially tough several months for them. Diamond’s hard times started late last year with the apparent suicide of one of their long-time board members.  A string of bad news followed, culminating with the release of Diamond’s CEO and CFO over their handling of an accounting error that resulted in Diamond Foods having to restate their financials.  While all more »

  • Not Buying Tesla

    By Andrew Dillard - February 14, 2012 | Tickers: TSLA

    Tomorrow is a big day for Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), they are announcing their Q4 earnings, and if all goes as expected, Tesla will report their sixth consecutive quarter with negative earnings.  You read that right - six straight quarters with negative earnings.  The consensus amongst the analysts that cover Tesla is loss of $0.61 per share, or $.06 less than their Q3 2011 loss of $0.55 per share.  Despite more »

  • Are the Kardashians Hurting Sears?

    By Andrew Dillard - February 10, 2012 | Tickers: M, SHLD

    Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD) is well known for carrying top brands such as Craftsman, GE, Kenmore and Whirlpool.  In an interesting move to increase focus on Sears' apparel, last year the retailer introduced the Kardashian Kollection.  If you are unfamiliar with the Kardashians, you either don’t have a TV or only watch Mad Money.  Either way, the Kardashians are famous for…well…I’m not really sure, but their TV more »

  • Don't Count Sprint Out

    By Andrew Dillard - February 8, 2012 | Tickers: T, S, VZ

    Sprint (NYSE: S) is the third largest wireless provider in the US based on total customers, behind Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T). For years, Sprint has been viewed as the runt of the litter, or allowed to exist only because the others allowed them to. Now, Sprint is starting to show that they are going to become a major powerhouse in the wireless communications industry.

    Sprint released more »

  • Where Sears Fails, Walgreen Prospers

    By Andrew Dillard - February 6, 2012 | Tickers: SHLD, WAG

    At the end of last year, after the holiday madness had subsided, Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD) announced that it would be closing a combination of 120 Kmart and Sears retail locations.  Amidst these changes, the mouthpiece for Sears claimed the company was not in financial trouble, or on the verge of extinction.

    Around the same time period, Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) was involved in their own corporate PR war, battling to retain more »

  • Can This Company Take On Verizon?

    By Andrew Dillard - February 3, 2012 | Tickers: T, S, TCX, VZ

    Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is America’s largest mobile phone provider.  With over 110 million subscribers, Verizon surpasses the entire competition when it comes to customer satisfaction.  However, one company could put a squeeze on Verizon and the rest of the mobile phone provider industry.

    Meet the newest mobile phone provider, Ting, owned by the Tucows Inc (AMEX: TCX).  This provider is likely to make some major waves when it comes more »

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