Investopedia: Ciena On A Roll With Carrier Spending Picking Up

It looks like the good times have arrived for Ciena (Nasdaq:CIEN), as this optical telecom equipment company delivered another beat-and-raise quarter with its fiscal third quarter results. Although carrier spending is not uniformly strong, Ciena shares could move higher as telcos loosen up their purse strings and move forward with badly needed capacity upgrades.

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Investopedia: Gerdau Seeing Brazil Get Better, But U.S. Ops Are Struggling

The wait for the turnaround in the steel industry has been a challenging one for shareholders. While some companies, including U.S. minimill operators Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq:STLD) and Nucor (NYSE:NUE) and foreign producers like Ternium (NYSE:TX) have seen their shares turn around, other steelmakers like ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT), U.S. Steel (NYSE:X), and Gerdau (NYSE:GGB) have had a rougher go of it.

Sentiment seems to be turning around for Brazil-based Gerdau. Steel companies there are having more success in pushing through higher prices and demand has been pretty solid from customers in autos, aviation, and other types of heavy industry. What's interesting, though, is that sell-side enthusiasm isn't really reflected in their estimates, and Gerdau doesn't look all that cheap on a near-term numbers basis. While improving conditions in Brazil and a pick-up in the U.S. could definitely lead to upward estimate revisions, the bull case does require investors to look out beyond just the next 12 to 18 months of EBITDA.

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Investopedia: Arch Capital Is Excellent, But No Bargain

It feels as though it was a very long time ago when Arch Capital (Nasdaq:ACGL) last traded at a meaningful discount to fair value. But then, that's the price of excellence – there are few insurance management teams I'd rather invest with and the market is not shy about rewarding the shares for the skill of the team here. While there's always a chance that an active storm season could create an investment opportunity in Arch Capital, investors shouldn't this stock to offer many opportunities to buy at significant discounts to fair value.

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Investopedia: Coca-Cola FEMSA Adds More Volume In Brazil

Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE:KOF), the second-largest Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) bottler in the world and owned by both Coca-Cola and FEMSA (NYSE: FMX), continues to show a willingness to invest for future growth and margin leverage. KOF has spent roughly $6 billion over the last two years, including nearly $700 million to expanding into the Philippines. Now KOF has added some significant assets in Brazil with the $1.9 billion acquisition of Spaipa, the second-largest private Coca-Cola bottler in Brazil.

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Investopedia: Nokia Sells Its Handset Business To Microsoft And Remakes Its Future

From virtually the day that Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) began working together on mobile handsets and smartphones investors have speculated whether Microsoft would acquire Nokia's handset business. Not only had Nokia continued to struggle with the transition to smartphones, some argued that Microsoft would want to “control its ecosystem” in the same way that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) do through their software and hardware operations.

That all came home to roost on Tuesday, as the two companies announced a transformative deal that will see Microsoft acquire Nokia's phone business and license significant intellectual property (IP). After the deal, Nokia will be a cash-rich wireless infrastructure company, while Microsoft will be much more geared towards handsets and consumer devices.

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Investopedia: Tata Motors - A Tale Of Two Businesses

Tata Motors (NYSE:TTM) is arguably one of the best-known Indian companies, due in no small part to the fact that it is was among the first Indian companies to list on a U.S. exchange. What's more, analysts and investors have long been excited by the potential of selling cars and trucks to such a large and growing economy.

While that all sounds good, the year-to-year reality has been more challenging. Due in part to poor designs, questionable customer experiences, and inefficient infrastructure, Tata has had considerable challenges in its domestic passenger vehicle business, while the commercial vehicle business has struggled in the face of tougher economic conditions. That leaves the company even more dependent upon Jaguar Land Rover – a growing luxury brand with good exposure to China as well as recovering markets in North America and Europe. Many of the metrics for Tata Motors suggest undervaluation, but a long-term cash flow analysis suggests that investors may still be expecting more than this company can deliver for the long term.

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Investopedia: A Great Model And Growing Markets Powering Copa Holdings

This year has turned into a challenging one for emerging market investors, as China remains weak (at least relatively so), Brazil and Mexico seem to be turning in the wrong direction, and multiple Southeast Asian markets sell off on macroeconomic worries. Even so, business continues on at Copa Holdings (NYSE:CPA), where a strong and savvy business plan has led this Latin American airline to not only strong margins and good growth, but solid prospects for the coming years.

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Investopedia: Has Santander Made It Through The Worst?

Like so many other banks in Europe, Santander (NYSE:SAN) has been through the wringer. Its home market of Spain has seen devastating economic decline, and relatively healthier operations in faster-growing areas like Brazil and Mexico haven't made up the difference. The bank's shares have dropped more than 50% over the past five years.

Bad as things have been, investors in the U.S. have seen plenty of examples of how bank stocks can recover significantly once credit costs begin to stabilize and then improve. On one hand, then, is the possibility of a Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) or Citigroup-like (NYSE:C) rise from the ashes. But on the other hand is the truly scary state of affairs in Spain and the risk that Latin America is starting to slow to a significant degree. Although Santander shares may be a little cheap today and would certainly have significant upside if/when the market believes Spain has stabilized (and with it, Santander's credit costs), the risk/reward tradeoff does not seem appealing enough to me when considering the options available to investors in other European and Latin American banking stocks.

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Investopedia: For BBVA, Does More Spain Mean More Pain?

Spain is a bigger mess than most Americans can appreciate, as the 26% unemployment rate in Spain (which was a quarter-over-quarter improvement) is higher than has ever been seen in the U.S., including during the Great Depression. Likewise, major Spanish banks like Santander (NYSE:SAN) and BBVA (Nasdaq:BBVA) continue to see bad credit levels that would be hard to imagine at major U.S. banks.

Still, U.S. banks such as Bank Of America-like (NYSE:BAC) have seen prices spike once credit costs bottom out. While BBVA is unlikely to see a BAC-type return in the next few quarters, BBVA's management of its Spanish business and the quality of its Latin American operations will ultimately lead to improved results and a better valuation.

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Investopedia: It's No Accident That Drugs Are Expensive

The cost of prescription drugs is a perennial subject of heated debate, as advocates on one side argue that drug companies make windfall profits and overcharge health care systems and advocates on the other side argue that higher drug prices simply reflect a higher cost of doing business and a need for companies to make a return commensurate with the risks they take on. Although I have no delusions that I'll change the minds of those who believe drugs are too expensive and that drug companies are abusing patients and insurance companies, the impact of rising costs of drug development can't be ignored.

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Investopedia: OmniVision Technologies - The Beat(ing) Goes On

I've followed OmniVision Technologies (Nasdaq:OVTI) for quite a while now, but I've never owned the shares. In a nutshell, OmniVision seems to fit into that “it's more trouble than it's worth” category of stocks where severe operational volatility (that I don't believe the company really can or could do much to control) leads to big swings in the price. That may be fine for investors/traders who like active names that produce multiple trading opportunities for buy/sell moves within a year, but it is much less attractive to those of us who pursue an investment path of “enlightened torpor”.

With that, OmniVision's fiscal first quarter (and guidance for the second quarter) was really just more of what I've learned to expect from this company. While I do believe OmniVision has good technology and a solid market position relative to the likes of Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Samsung, it's just such a difficult market to prosper in, particularly with the turbulence in the handset market right now.

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http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/083013/omnivision-technologies-beating-goes-ovti-sne-atml-avgo-brcm-aapl.aspx

Investopedia: Apache Makes Nother Move To Reduce Business Risk

Investors are getting even more of what they say they want from Apache (NYSE:APA), as this large independent oil and gas producer has reached an agreement to sell down its stake in Egypt. Due in no small part to the significant increase in political/operating risk in Egypt, many shareholders and analysts had been vocal in calling for Apache to reduce its exposure to the country. Although it sounds like Apache got a reasonable deal, I am skeptical that it's really going to change opinions on this company as it goes through a restructuring of its operations.

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Investopedia: Vodafone, Verizon (And AT&T?) Go Once More Unto The Breach

Good ideas have a way of hanging around and figuring out a way to unwind the split ownership of Verizon Wireless is a good idea. With that, Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE:VOD) are back at work on a way to forge a mutually beneficial arrangement to bring Verizon Wireless fully under the ownership and control of Verizon. If reports of Verizon being more flexible on price and Vodafone being more flexible on deal structure are true, there's a good chance this deal gets done, but I still wouldn't rule out the possibility of AT&T (NYSE:T) having a role to play before it's all said and done.

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Investopedia: Salesforce.com Shows Some Reacceleration

I seriously doubt anything will ever quell the heated arguments over Salesfore.com (NYSE:CRM), it's future prospects, and its valuation, but the company's fiscal second quarter earnings are likely to give the bulls a little extra ammo for the time being. Salesforce.com remains an expensive stock with questionable operating leverage, but it also remains a share gainer in a large market. Moreover, while stocks like Salesforce.com and Workday (Nasdaq: WDAY) aren't my cup of tea at all as an investor, I know better than to play chicken with a freight train.

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Investopedia: Can LEDs Brighten Investor Portfolios?

Goldman Sachs recently highlighted LED lighting as a top “disruptive” theme over the next decade. While I'm often inclined to believe that these sell-side "theme pieces" are designed more towards generating attention during stretches of slow company news, I have little doubt that the penetration rate of LEDs in the lighting market is going to increase significantly over the next decade. That is going to fuel significant demand for LED-making equipment, LED packaging, and finished lighting fixtures for companies like Aixtron (Nasdaq:AIXG), Cree (Nasdaq:CREE), Philips (NYSE:PHG), and Osram What is less clear to me is the extent to which investors can expect to see huge gains at this point – the “LED revolution” has been long in coming and while there are certainly going to be trading opportunities come and go, the idea of “buy and hold” in this sector seems optimistic at best.

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http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/082913/can-leds-brighten-investor-portfolios-cree-aixg-ge-phg.aspx

Investopedia: Pall Always Gets The Benefit Of The Doubt

I'd hate to be short Pall (NYSE:PLL), as large companies in the filtration space often seem as close to bulletproof as you can find in the market. So even though sell-side analysts chronically overestimate Pall's free cash flow, investors remain happy with a company that admittedly enjoys strong share and a very lucrative channel of repeat business. While I think Pall's shares remain overvalued, I don't have any particular reason to believe that the shares will sell off dramatically, as the life sciences business should be stable and the industrial business should start improving next year.

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Investopedia: The Fresh Market Can't Put Margin Worries To Bed

As I wrote a quarter ago, The Fresh Market (NYSE:TFM) is a highly-valued growth stock in the food retail space, and one where the company is starting to see some real pushback from the market as to the company's margin structure and competitiveness. I didn't expect all of the concerns to get resolved in one quarter, but the company's willingness to increase promotions and accelerate store builds seems to be exactly what the Street does not want to hear right now. As I suspect there's a good chance of these shares getting even cheaper, investors may want to keep on eye on this name as a growth stock increasingly trading at a reasonable valuation.

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http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/082913/fresh-market-cant-put-margin-worries-bed-tfm-wfm-wmt-ngvc.aspx

Investopedia: Campbell Soup Doesn't Seem To Be Prioritizing The Right Things

It's hard to run too hot or cold on Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB). It has typically been a pretty conservatively-run company and many of its brands are virtually iconic. That said, management has been making some unusual decisions of late – promotional spend has seemed erratic, the company does not appear to be supporting Pepperidge Farms enough, and acquisitions of organic baby food and retail carrots are head-scratchers. Campbell Soup isn't unusual in being a somewhat expensive-looking packaged food stock, but this isn't a stock I'd pay up to own.

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Investopedia: Vertex Building A Fortress In Cystic Fibrosis

It's not too often that you see a biotech company establish a truly differentiated product portfolio with multi-billion dollar potential and minimal competition, but Vertex (Nasdaq:VRTX) seems to be doing exactly that. This one-time specialist in virology is already well on the way to more than $5 billion in potential revenue, and could ultimately see nearly double that amount if clinical trials go the right way. This may ultimately put the company in the “nice problem to have” category of figuring out how to reinvest the proceeds and determining whether or not further investments in the hepatitis C program are worthwhile.

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Investopedia: Winter Still Coming For Joy Global

Cyclical industries have a habit of answering the question “How much worse/better can things get?” in pretty dramatic fashion. With mining companies slashing capex budgets left and right, winter is definitely coming for leading mining equipment company Joy Global (NYSE:JOY). While management's success in streamlining operations, improving manufacturing yield, and reducing fixed costs should keep the company's head attached firmly to its body, there's a risk to shareholders that the market hasn't fully digested what weak orders today will mean for tomorrow's revenue. So although I believe Joy Global is undervalued on a long-term basis, investors buying or holding today have to be able to tolerate the thought that the shares could have further to fall before stabilizing.

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