Street Justice: Got Your Ducks in a Row?

You know, sometimes the excitement of the markets and the knowledge I am gaining can be just as rewarding as the money I am making(or have the potential to make) from investing. Good or bad you can't deny this is a very exciting time for investors. That being said, I've got 6 exciting companies for you to check out today.
I had some extra time on my hands this weekend so I was able to research 6 stocks instead of just 3. Pick 1 or 2 that will work for your portfolio and research them some more. O.k. first up is PRGO/Perrigio Co. They manufacture store brand OTC pharmaceutical and nutritional products. These products include cough/cold/sinus, gastrointestinal, smoking cessation, first aid, vitamins and nutritional supplements. PRGO was up(price) 69% over the past 52 weeks and 5% last week. They have a forecasted earnings growth rate of 31% and a P/E ratio of 19.41. Relative value, timing and safety are all very good(each above 1.00 of 2.00). Perrigio pays a dividend of $.20 per share with a 12% dividend growth rate. They have also manged to increase sales 16% over the quarter. Next is KG/ King Pharmaceuticals. KG manufactures branded pharmaceutical products marketed in 6 major therapeutic areas. These areas are cardiovascular, endocrinology, neuroscience, critical care, anti-infection and respiratory therapy. They also sell auto-injector pharmaceutical products to both the commercial and government markets. KG is down over the past 52 weeks by 48%(I tell it like it is, they're gonna do fine), but they are up 8% over the past month and 3% over 1 week. Relative value and safety are fair at best, but the relative timing is excellent(1.47 of 2.00). KG had an annual sales growth of 2% and their P/E ratio is 12.28. All but one of my picks today have something to do with health-care and this ain't it. NUVA/Nuvasive designs, develops and markets products for the surgical treatment of spine disorders. They offer a minimally invasive surgical platform called Maximum Access Surgery as well as classic fusion products, software and tools used in minimally invasive surgery. These guys are up(price) 62% over the past 52 weeks and 4% last week. NUVA has seen a sales growth of 54% for the past year and 9% for the quarter. The relative value, timing and safety for NUVA are all excellent and they have a P/E ratio of 189.29. Their forecasted earnings growth rate is 46%. Number 4 is CPHD/Cepheid. They develop and market fully integrated systems that help in rapid sophisticated genetic testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases. CPHD's systems automate otherwise complex manual laboratory procedures. They have customers in the US, UK, Japan and other countries. CPHD has doubled in price over the past 52 weeks and seen a 6% gain this week. They show less than impressive numbers in relative value and safety categories(under 1.00 of 2.00), but their relative timing is excellent(1.66 of 2.00). CPHD has a forecasted earnings growth of 37% and an annual sales growth of 60%. Sales for Cepheid were up 11% for the quarter. Let's get the last health-care related company out of the way. It's AMED/Amedisys. They provide home health-care nursing services. AMED operates 325 medicare certified home-health agencies in 30 states including Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Virginia, Arkansas and Texas. AMED has excellent relative value, safety and timing. They have seen a price increase of 44% over the past 52 weeks and an 8% increase for last week. AMED's net income is up 70% for fiscal 2008 and their sales were up 10% for the quarter. They have a P/E ratio of 17.15 with a forecasted earnings growth of 22%. One of these things is not like the others, one of these things does not belong. It's HCBK/Hudson City Bank Corp. It does belong however if we look at the numbers(I think we all know they are a bank). HCBK operates over 200 locations in New York and New Jersey. They are up(price) 44% over 52 weeks and 5% last week. Not bad for a bank. HCBK has excellent relative value, timing and safety. They have a P/E ratio of 17.81 with a forecasted earnings growth of 25%. HCBK pays a dividend of $.44 per share and has a dividend growth of 16%. Annual sales were up 11% for fiscal 2008.
We will find out this week, but I think investors and the media overreacted in regards to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I know a lot of their losses were justified but the hits they took Friday, in my opinion were caused by panicked investors not fundamentals. I actually bought some FRE/Freddie Mac in real life(Friday afternoon) and in my practice portfolio. I don't think it'll fall much more if at all. This is just my humble opinion...BUY FREDDIE!!
There is going to be a lot of economic news announced this week(earnings) and with the way things were left last week it could go either way. What do you expect? Are companies gonna announce bad numbers and drag us lower? Are we at the bottom? Let me know.
I love Forex. I can start trading again at 5pm Sunday night! The dollar hasn't dropped of a cliff yet and I am planning to see how my short EUR/USD holds out for me. If I get hit too hard I might add to my short(it's a long-term investment). In my practice account Monday will let me know if I should abandon the dollar and get long the EUR/USD for the short-term. I am still using a long AUD/USD position and CAD?USD for cushion.
I hope everyone has all their ducks in a row. Good or bad, this week is gonna be a wild one. The 6 companies I went over today should serve you well in a good or bad market. I hope so, cause we're all in this together. Thanks for reading.