52-Week Low Club (AXP, COF, NILE, CLX, RDEN, FDX, HOG, ISRG, KF, MSCC, PII, RAX, RNWK, STX)

Today’s market looked more like an advanced yo-yo session rather than a regular stock market trading day.  Since stocks gapped down so much, there were many new names on the list of 52-week lows.  What is interesting is that many other stocks hit 52-week lows but bounced back to being positive on the day.

• American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Capital One (NYSE: COF) both graced the list of lows as GE’s consumer losses only added fuel to the fire.
• Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) tankola, again.  Forget Valentine’s Day this year.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) burns investors’ eyes as bad as it burns its client’s eyes.
• Elizabeth Arden (NASDAQ: RDEN) keeps falling after the bad news from it and its peers over the last week and a half.  Brittney Spears can’t help.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) keeps dropping. 
• Harley Davidson (NYSE: HOG) caught another case of HAGS and is believed to be in trouble all year after earnings.
• Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) keeps getting pounded.  Down close to 70% from highs now.  Leonardo DaVinci would now sue over the use of his name.
• The Korea Fund (NYSE: KF) was down almost 7%.  We don’t like to put country funds or ETF’s today, but that Kim Chee from last night just didn’t sit well today.
• Microsemi (NASDAQ: MSCC) on earnings warning.
• Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII)… weak HOG sales from Harley, weak motorcycle and snowmobile relative?  Works every time.
• Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX)… Racking the Rackers, in the server room….
• RealNetworks (NASDAQ: RNWK), a surprise but think of peers.  And when was the last time you bought anything from them?
• Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) again… with the earnings it put up this week, you can call it Floodgate.

Jon C. Ogg
January 23, 2009