Among the biggest winners in Monday's early trading are
Icahn Enterprises (
IEP
)
,
PetroBras (
PBR
)
and
Ryanair (Nasdaq: RYAAY)
.
|
Top Percentage Gainers -- Tuesday, June 1,
2010
|
|
Company Name (Ticker)
|
Intra-Day Price
|
Intra-Day
% Gain
|
52-Week High
|
52-Week Low
|
Icahn Enterprises
(
IEP
) |
$38.50 |
+12.2%
|
$51.65 |
$27.50 |
| Ryanair (Nasdaq:
RYAAY) |
$25.25 |
+7.3%
|
$31.92 |
$21.55 |
| PetroBras (
PBR
) |
$36.85 |
+3.5%
|
$53.46 |
$31.21 |
|
*Table includes companies with minimum market
capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading
volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns
are listed as of 11:52AM Eastern Standard Time . Click on
ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and
percentage gain data.
|
Barron's Boosts Icahn
Shares of
Icahn Enterprises (
IEP
)
, the publicly-traded investment arm of uber-investor Carl Icahn,
are up more than +12% today after a flattering profile in Barron's
during the weekend. Even after this morning's spike, shares still
trade at a nearly -15% discount to the underlying $44 per share net
asset value (
NAV
) of its holdings.
Investors have had a hard time making heads or tails of this
investment vehicle. Icahn offers little insight as to the health of
his holdings, offering terse quarterly earnings releases and scant
commentary. And that helps explain why analysts don't bother to
follow the company or publish estimates. Only recently, the Icahn
portfolio generated a quarterly loss -- for the third straight
quarter. So it's unclear if the current $44 NAV will be sustained
if losses continue. The lack of clarity helps explain why shares
fell from $50 to $30 in recent months before a recent rebound.
Action to Take -->
Even with the lack of clarity and recent losses, it's hard to argue
with the notion that shares trade at such a discount to NAV , and
it's also foolish to underestimate this legendary investor. If you
are comfortable with the lack of solid information emanating from
management, and can handle a high degree of volatility, this does
look like a solid long-term play at a reasonable price.
-------------------------------------
RyanAir Defies Skeptics
Contending with both a local economic plunge and a
business-disrupting volcano, you would have thought that
Ireland-based
Ryanair (Nasdaq: RYAAY)
, a low-fare airline, would have posted a dismal first quarter.
Indeed analysts expected the air carrier, which is akin to the
JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU)
of Europe, to lose $0.30 a share. Well, a surprise profit, an
unexpected large one-time dividend, and a reasonably bullish
outlook have a way of converting skeptics into the bull camp.
Shares are up more than +7% today.
Part of the strength is attributable to an improved pricing scheme
for air carriers in both the United States and Europe. Anyone who
traveled by air this past holiday weekend can tell you that
airfares are no longer the bargain they once were.
Ryanair mainly focuses on European travelers, but it is
increasingly partnering with U.S. carriers to handle
intra-Continent routes. To the extent that the cheaper euro spurs
more Americans to fly around Europe, Ryanair could be a clear
beneficiary. The carrier may also benefit from the financial
distress seen by rival Aer Lingus. Ryanair is sitting on roughly $3
billion in net cash, which could be used for investments that could
steal more market share from beleaguered rivals.
Action to Take -->
Ryanair is experiencing the kind of growth seen by
Southwest Airlines (
LUV
)
in the 1990s. And that carrier turned out to be a great long-term
investment. Despite today's pop, this stock looks like a solid play
in the fragmented European airline market.
-------------------------------------
PetroBras: the Safer Energy Play
While shares of domestic energy drillers come under pressure,
PetroBras (
PBR
)
is bucking the trend today, rising roughly +3.5%. Brazil's national
oil company had fallen in sympathy with the group, but would
clearly be immune from any increased industry scrutiny and
regulation in the United States. PetroBras is in the early stages
of tapping into a massive offshore energy field, which should yield
sharply rising sales and profits in the years to come.
Action to Take -->
Pegging precise profit estimates for this oil giant is difficult,
as most of the analysts that follow it write in Portuguese. But
this has always been considered a great proxy play for either
Brazil or for the energy sector. And with shares down from the low
$50s in December 2009 to a recent $37, investors can buy in while
shares are on sale.
-- David Sterman
Staff Writer
StreetAuthority
Disclosure: David Sterman does not own shares of any security
mentioned in this article.