The Unusual Suspects for the Week Ahead (BRK-A, BRK-B, CLDA, GOOG, HUGH, MOS, NVDA, PBY, CRM, SWKS, SBIB, WMG, WWE)

There are many new characters in this week’s installment of “The Unusual Suspects” for the week ahead.  We have tracked news and added color on each where applicable.  The cast of characters in “The Unusual Suspects” includes Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) (NYSE: BRK-A), Clinical Data Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Hughes Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: HUGH), The Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS), Sterling Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB), Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG), and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE).

We have given a breakdown of what has come about on each and what to expect during the week ahead  if applicable.  You will notice that we did not include any earnings previews this week.  This is the crest of earnings season and we gave a full earnings preview on about 25 major companies reporting this coming week, 11 of which are DJIA components.  We have a separate issue on The Top 5 Analyst Calls of the Week that we released independently over the weekend as well.  There was also enough in research calls specific to biotech and drug companies that we released a Top BioHealth Research Calls of the Week.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) (NYSE: BRK-A) was given the “Mr. Moneybags” cover article in Barron’s over the weekend.  The report calls that the billions and billions in new cash coming in from debt repayments and the huge increase in cash flow from operations could lead to a dividend in the next 12 to 18 months if Buffett doesn’t find another elephant of a deal.

Clinical Data Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA) is back on the radar after the FDA approved its antidepressant drug Viibyrd.  Analysts already see potential peak sales above $2 billion as this antidepressant is believed to not interfere with sexual desire as much as in some rival drugs.  Shares closed at $15.03 on Friday and rose almost 15% to $17.24 in the Friday after-hours session.  The 52-week trading range is $10.87 to $22.39 and the consensus price target is already $29.67 per Thomson Reuters data.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) closed down on Friday after having been up originally after huge blowout earnings.  The ongoing problem is that of the lack of adult supervision.  Some say that making Larry Page CEO is good and that it is time, but with close to a $200 billion market cap there were at least some concerns that Google needs more.  If Apple is a model based upon the Steve Jobs news, something hard to exactly compare on a Apples-to-Googles basis, then the same 6.2% drop from after the news would come to another slide of close to 2% on a static basis.

Hughes Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: HUGH) soared Friday and hit a new 52-week high of $62.87 and closed up 18.2% at $60.86 on reports that the satellite network and systems provider is up for sale. This appears to be 5-year highs on the stock and the market cap is listed as $1.33 billion after the run-up.

The Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) lost over $10.00 last week after Cargill is set to unload its majority stake in the potash and fertilizer company.  The thought is that the sale may be viewed by management as a near-peak of the trend, but many still think Mosaic could be acquired.  Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) said recently that rumors of its interest in broad fertilizer companies were unfounded, but that leaves many others.  At $73.20, the 52-week range is $37.68 to $85.45 and the stock is now down for 2011 versus the $76.36 close out price of 2010.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) has already surged this year on its Intel settlement.  After closing out 2010 at $15.40, shares closed Friday at $22.22 and the new recent high is $23.98.  Barron’s blew more hot air in it this weekend and noted, “NVIDIA…. now gunning for the tablet and smartphone markets. Why its stock could practically double.”  Keep in mind that its market cap is already approaching $13 billion, but unless any new negative data or negative research hits between now and Monday this could propel shares higher by at least 3% early Monday.

Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) is back in play if the company has its way.  The reports that it was putting itself up for sale on Friday sent shares up by almost 15% to $14.15 against a 52-week range of $7.86 to $15.96.  With a market cap of just under $750 million, it is well within the range of a buyer if anyone wants it.  The problem boils down to price, and this is not the first time investors have bet on a buyout here.

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) was given a reality check by Barron’s this weekend.  Barron’s noted, “Salesforce.com has good growth prospects, but not good enough to justify its sky-high stock price.”  Salesforce.com has good growth prospects, but not good enough to justify its sky-high stock price.  At $132.24 it has a 52-week trading range of $60.30 to $151.26 and it trades at close to 100-times the $1.38 EPS estimate from Thomson Reuters for fiscal JAN-2012.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) was given the pole position as the #1 stock in the Investors Business Daily 100.  The #1 position on the IBD 100 replaced Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD which is now #2, followed by #3 LULU, #4 PCLN, #5 CXO, #6 NFLX, #7 APKT, and #8 BIDU.

Sterling Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) is one we will want to watch as a research call came out with an upgrade after the acquisition from Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was announced.  It was featured in our Top 5 Analyst Calls of the Week and it makes us wonder if a higher bid is possible.

Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) is supposedly up for sale too.  I am not going to add anything more than what we reported about the concerns of this deal on Friday.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) was down 2.4% at $13.50 on Friday but a forecast of lower than expected earnings took another 8% out of the shares down to $12.42 in the after-hours session.  What is important here is that this marks a 52-week low as the 52-week trading range is $12.86 to $18.95.

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JON C. OGG