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Top Stock #1 – Amazon (AMZN)
Amazon (AMZN) started as Earth’s biggest bookstore, but has rapidly become the planet’s biggest
anything store. Relentless expansion has propelled Amazon in countless directions in the quest of bigger sales and profits. The company’s main Web
site offers anything from books to auto parts to groceries! Shoppers can also download digital content such as games, MP3s and movies to their computers
or handheld devices — including Amazon’s innovative portable reader, the widely successful Kindle.A recent report in The Wall Street Journal indicated Sony is going to go up against the Kindle with two low-priced offerings of its own.
But I’m not worried — the e-readers will be priced at $199 and $299. The fact is, you can get an entry-level Kindle for the same price of $299
and get the scale of Amazon’s website that contains a massive library of books and music.Besides, some pundits are already expressing their doubts that Sony can maintain its competitive pricing without putting its bottom line at risk.
Even if Sony cuts into sales, it could actually take a loss for a few quarters on this effort in a quest to get some of the market share — a
very risky proposition right now.As a result, I remain confident the Kindle will stay the industry standard in e-readers and will continue to give AMZN a competitive edge.
In fact, Amazon is faring much better than just about any retailer out there. The company earned 32 cents per share in the second-quarter, which
was a penny higher than Wall Street’s estimates. Additionally, the company was able to grow its revenue 14% and expects its 3Q sales to range between
$4.75 billion to $5.25 billion in the third quarter — an 11% to 23% increase compared with the same period in 2008, and above the consensus
estimate of $4.9 billion.AMZN is a great buy.
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Top Stock #2 – C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW)
A leading third-party logistics provider, C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) arranges freight transportation
on trucks, trains, ships and airplanes that belong to other companies. This allows the company to handle about 6.5 million shipments per year without
the massive overhead a fleet of trucks and deliverymen would create. As a result of this streamlined business model, the stock has been able to stay
firm even during lean times.Due to the weak global economy, the company’s services are now more important than ever since it can often provide a better deal than Federal Express,
UPS and other more established carriers. Other shippers are eager to fill the extra space on their trucks or planes, and CHRW is happy to oblige.Shipping and freight companies are quite accurate indicators of economic growth. As businesses rebuild inventories and consumers start buying more,
goods move around the world faster and shipping traffic ramps up. CHRW will be one of the very first companies to break out when the recovery takes
shape because of its unique position at the top of the food chain — or rather, freight chain.Our total return in CHRW since adding it to our Blue Chip Growth Buy List is over 29%.
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Top Stock #3 – Enersis (ENI)
Enersis (ENI) is the largest utility in Latin America. Based in Chile, the company distributes power
to almost 12 million customers (approximately 45 million people) in regions of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru. Enersis also owns a 60%
of Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (known as Endesa Chile), which is Chile’s largest power generator, with 13,700 megawatts of generating capacity.
This emerging market is seeing booming demand for energy right now — and additionally, has fewer pollution controls and regulations that cut
into profitability.ENI posted a 50% increase in earnings in the first quarter, proving that even in a recession this stock is booming due to strong energy demand in
the region. This jump is only the beginning, since like China, Latin America’s economy has been much stronger than developed nations. Consider that
while U.S. GDP declined nearly 6% in the second quarter, Brazil’s economy grew 2%! Just imagine how much electricity demand will spike once the worldwide
recovery takes hold.
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Top Stock #4 – Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM)
Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) is one of my favorite stocks right now and is perfect for just about
any portfolio.Based in Chile, this company provides a host of chemicals for agricultural, health care and industrial applications. SQM is also a world leader
in lithium
— the material that is used in batteries for hybrid cars. Lithium batteries charge much faster than alternative power cells, and that makes
this material crucial to any low-emission vehicle.Fuel efficiency is now one of the most important aspects of any vehicle, and demand for fast-charging lithium batteries will soar in the automotive
market over the next 12 months. Chevy’s Volt will debut late next year with lithium cells under the hood, and Toyota is racing to bring a lithium-powered
electric car to the market soon after. This will add up to big profits for SQM.SQM reported second-quarter profits of 32 cents per share in mid-August and revenues of $344.8 million. While these numbers are down a bit over
last year, the company continues to strongly outperform its competitors thanks to its 30% share of the global lithium market.While the company’s lithium shipments fell 35% the first half of this year, the first wave of hybrid electric vehicles that use lithium-ion batteries
are starting to hit showroom floors. That means as auto sales recover thanks to the "cash for clunkers" program, lithium demand will only
firm up in the coming months as more hybrids hit the road. And don’t think lithium is solely used in hybrid vehicle power cells — portable electronic
devices like laptops and smartphones also frequently use lithium batteries.It’s also important to note that compared with its competitors, SQM is in a financially better position long-term due to its low debt position.
The stock is up about 30% since I first recommended it in the March issue of Blue Chip Growth, and I still
rate it a good buy.
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Top Stock #5 – AutoZone (AZO)
Americans are as dependent on automobiles as they ever have been, and that means more older cars are on the road, and demand for parts is up dramatically.
With 4,100 stores, AutoZone (AZO) is the #1 auto-parts chain in the U.S. and is the best stock to capitalize from this trend.Though the "cash for clunkers" program has caused a brief uptick in new car sales, I remain convinced that this is temporary. With the
rebates for old cars now gone, new vehicle sales will stay soft and AutoZone will remain a great retail play.I still believe that this stock is a great buy right now and will deliver big profits in the final months of 2009 and beyond, even though AZO has
had a tough go of it lately. First, the Census Bureau indicated that sales at auto-parts and tire stores fell 4% in May from a year earlier, despite
rising significantly across most of the preceding months. Then Wedbush Morgan initiated coverage on AutoZone as "neutral," on fears that
the company’s margins are plateauing. Lastly, new auto sales have seen a brief uptick thanks to the government’s "Cash for Clunkers" program,
and some think that pent up demand for new cars is going to spark a return to the showroom very soon for many Americans.That’s a bunch of gloomy news to digest all at once, and the stock was held back recently. But this stock is still firmly rated a solid B in Portfolio
Grader and has seen continued success. The stock’s is a bit of a laggard to the earnings party, since its last quarterly numbers were released at
the end of May, but I fully expect this company to show its powerful sales and profits once it sets a date for its next earnings report.Stick with AZO for now because I fully expect it to bounce back quickly.
Get Louis Navellier’s latest updates and Buy Below prices on his Top 5 Stocks for September by accepting a six-month, risk-free trial to Blue
Chip Growth. Click here for details on how to join at half-price.Here now are 20 stocks you can’t trust. If you own these losers, sell them now. If you don’t — avoid them at all costs.
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Top 20 Stocks to Sell Now
The following stocks are rated F in my exclusive PortfolioGrader stock rating tool. It’s a great way to rank your
current or future investments, and it’s completely free!Sell these stocks immediately.
- JAKKS Pacific (JAKK)
- Synutra International (SYUT)
- Valero Energy (VLO)
- McMoRan Exploration (MMR)
- Superior Well Services (SWSI)
- Basic Energy Services (BAS)
- Old Second Bancorp (OSBC)
- United Western Bancorp (UWBK)
- Center Financial (CLFC)
- CoBiz Financial Inc. (COBZ)
- City Bank (Washington) (CTBK)
- Cadence Financial (CADE)
- Popular Inc. (BPOP)
- Cascade Financial (CASB)
- Integra Bank Corp. (INBK)
- Pacific State Bancorp (PSBC)
- Dearborn Bancorp Inc. (DEAR)
- Adolor Corp. (ADLR)
- Anchor Bancorp Wisconsin (ABCW)
- Kelly Services Inc. (KELYA)
Altogether Portfolio Grader contains some 5,000 stock reports that are updated daily. So, how do the stocks in your portfolio measure up? Click
here now to put the power of Portfolio Grader to work for you!Related Articles:
