Funny Business
- Topless Business Is Taking Off
- Gambling Drunk, Texting to Live And America's On Sale - Your Emails
- The Lloyd's Prayer, Leggo My Eggo, Plate Hate & Your Emails
- Help Wanted—Please Run $4 Billion University
- Madoff—The Holiday Drink
- Drugs, Booze and Vegas
- Happy World Toilet Day
- Coffee, Tea or My Ad?
- Elvis Has Left The Building, But His Scent Remains
- I Have to Leggo My Eggo
MOST SHARED
- Ritz-Carlton ?Struggling? in the US: President
- The 'Real' Jobless Rate: 17.5% Of Workers Are Unemployed
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- Oil Price to Average $75.40 in 2010: Poll
- Obama Reiterates Commitment to Boost US-India Ties
- Half of Banks' Losses May Still Be Hidden: IMF Head
- New-Home Sales Jump 6.2% To Highest Level in Over Year
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- Americans Ditch Planes for Trains this Thanksgiving
- Blue Jeans Expected to See Another Green Christmas
- Investors Thankful for Gains This Year
- Thanksgiving & the Markets
- Art Cashin: Caution 'Growing' in Financials, Dividend Moves
- Topless Business Is Taking Off
- 3 Software Stock Picks from Lazard's Senior Analyst
- Schork Oil Outlook: Gas Bulls Pinning Hopes on Mother Nature
- Toyota Makes Recall Fix And So Long Saab
- Investors Bet on a New Year's Rally For eBay
- New-Home Sales Jump to Highest Level in Over Year
- Consumer Mood Improves, But Anxiety Over Finances
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- For Many Americans, a Scaled-Down Holiday Season
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- Judge Erases Couple's $525,000 Mortgage Payment
- Black Friday: Can Banks Tap the Frenzy, Too?
- Half of Banks' Losses May Still Be Hidden: IMF Head
- Seeking Deals, Holiday Fliers Get Early Start
RSS FEED
Text Size 
Correspondent
Goldman Sachs today removed Northrop Grumman [NOC
Loading...
()
] from its Conviction Sell list and upgraded it to...Sell.
What is THAT supposed to mean?
One reader suggested it means "Sell!" instead of "Sell!!!" Another said it means "sell", sotto voce, uttered very quietly.
Technically it's not an upgrade, just a, well, feeling(?), that analysts still don't like the stock, but they're less passionate in their hatred.
- Slideshow: 20 Stocks with the Potential to Pop
The Goldman report explains it this way: "While we remove Northrop from the CL-Sell List, it remains Sell rated and our thesis is unchanged. However, it likely has less of a pension issue in 2010 than peers, and a sale of its TASC business is possible near-term, as has been widely reported. Since NOC was added to the CL-Sell List on May 18, 2009, shares have risen 6% vs a 16% gain in the S&P 500. Over the last 12 months, shares have fallen 7% vs a 6% rise in the S&P 500."
So...sell...if you feel like it...it's no biggie...there are bigger fish to fry/sell.
Meantime, Goldman downgraded L-3 [LLL
Loading...
()
] to Sell from Neutral, saying it is more negative on L-3 than Northrop, but apparently not soooo negative to have any conviction about it.
Overall, the report is bearish on the defense sector, which may not surprise most of you who've noticed we've an administration in place for ten months now which was elected, in part, on promises to wind down the war.
Goldman, however, also adds that "valuation (of defense stocks) is not as inexpensive as it appears." The report is "incrementally negative" (as opposed to negative by leaps and bounds?) on the fourth quarter, saying it is seasonally weak historically. Also we should expect more "unfavorable rhetoric".
So sell. Incrementally.
Questions? Comments? Funny Stories? Email
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes