CNBC Stock Blog

Shaw Wu, tech analyst at Sterne Agee, says his firm's recent downgrade of Dell is "because of the disconnect between the stock and the fundamentals."

Dell shares

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[DELL  Loading...      ()   ] were down slightly after the PC maker on Wednesday announced earnings that were 1 penny short of the Street's expectations, and a 7 percent drop in first quarter revenue.

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AP

On the heels of Comcast’s announcement that it will launch a video-streaming service, one analyst thinks Netflix could face a “difficult future” from additional rivals unless it scales back its spending.

“Well, the issue for Netflix

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[NFLX  Loading...      ()   ] is their spend,” said Barton Crockett, an Internet analyst with Lazard Capital Markets. “They’re spending so much money that you have to have most Americans with broadband subscribing to Netflix for the stock to work.”

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To hear Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie of Research In Motion tell it, their departures as co-chairs and co-CEOs at RIM were well thought out and their own decisions.

They deny being pushed out by an anxious board or disgruntled shareholders.  » Read More

Today is Ash Wednesday, and the official kick start of Lent — a religious period of 40 days where people are expected to sacrifice a particular indulgence as a prelude to Easter.

In light of this event, Barry Dixon, Head of Davy Research, has given CNBC his top stocks to “give up for Lent.”

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Yuri Arcurs | Photographer's Choice RF | Getty Images

Consumers want value and they'll go to stores like TJX that offer them the best deal, Morgan Stanley retail analyst Kimberly Greenberger told CNBC Wednesday.

“We just came out of the holiday season with a very, very competitive mindset among retailers, and consumers really waited for those best deals,” she said. “The message from consumers is, ‘If you don’t have a great deal we’re not coming to your store.’ So we see 2012 as a year that will continue that theme.”

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Simply taking a snapshot of 2011 doesn’t tell you much. The S&P 500 began the year around 1250 and finished the year at 1250, yet it was actually wild year, with an early surge, a deep summer swoon, and a fall rally.

For companies that chose to come public during such a rollercoaster year, timing is everything. Many 2011 IPOs firmly established themselves and are now trading well above their offering price. Yet many other companies were brought public at a time of high volatility, and they've never found their footing.

Here's a closer look at several 2011 IPOs that look undervalued.

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L-3 Communications Holdings has been steadily climbing, and now the bulls are stepping in.

Some large blocks in the March 75 calls lit up OptionMonster's real-time systems yesterday, with buyers paying $0.15. More than 2,800 of those called traded against previous positioning of just 121 contracts.

These calls lock in the entry price that investors must pay to buy a stock, so they can offer major leverage if it moves in the right direction, but they will expire worthless if no rally occurs.

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Asian consumers, and especially the Chinese, are driving the growth in the luxury sector, which has continued unabated despite the woes of the economy elsewhere.

Maurits Sillem Model at the Burberry fashion show

Ana Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Investment Management, told CNBC that the trend is an important one for the luxury sector.

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With the iShares emerging markets

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[EEM  Loading...      ()   ] exchange-traded fund up 15 percent, one analyst said his outlook remains bullish for the space — at least for now.

“I’m certainly bullish for the first half of the year” on emerging markets, said David Riedel, president of Riedel Research Group. “I think you’ve got expansionary policies in Brazil, Russia, and China, and I think that really sets the stage for emerging market outperformance in the first half of the year.”

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Home Depot's sturdy fourth-quarter profits have analysts forecasting a bright Spring season for the home improvement market.

Same store sales, or stores open for at least one year, beat expectations with a 5.7 percent rise globally, and 6.1 percent in the U.S. It was the biggest jump in sales since 2004 for the world's largest home improvement retailer.

Brian Nagel, analyst at Oppenheimer, thinks this bodes well for the U.S. housing market.

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"We believe this is the beginning of improving trends in housing and home improvement. No doubt unseasonably warm weather across the country helped. But behind that you have a strengthening housing environment," he said.

Everyone loves triumph in the face of adversity (as evidenced by the “Lin-sanity” currently gripping the nation) so it’s hardly surprising that investors are enjoying the tech sector’s rebound after a moribund 2011.

In particular, the turnarounds at NetApp, Microsoft, and Seagate Technology are worthy of investor attention as the companies gear up for a much improved 2012.  » Read More

As long as Wal-Mart Stores can keep drawing customers in with low prices while cutting expenses in other areas it is worth holding for the long term, Morgan Keegan retail analyst John Lawrence told CNBC Tuesday.

While disappointed the company reported earnings that missed analyst expectations, Lawrence said he was still “quite pleased” by what he saw. Wal-Mart shares

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[WMT  Loading...      ()   ] fell on the earnings report, and Lawrence admitted there were “a couple of things” that might drive others to take some profits now.

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