At The Motley Fool, we poke plenty of fun at Wall Street
analysts and their endless cycle of upgrades, downgrades, and
"initiating coverage at neutral." So you might think we'd be
the last people to give virtual ink to such "news." And we
would be -- if that were all we were doing.
But in "This Just In," we don't simply tell you what the
analysts said. We'll also show you whether they know what
they're talking about. To help, we've enlisted
Motley Fool CAPS, our tool for rating stocks and analysts
alike. With CAPS, we track the long-term performance of Wall
Street's best and brightest -- and its worst and sorriest,
too.
And speaking of the best ...
Would you travel to China for good pizza? Is your first
thought upon landing in Shanghai ... now, where can I get
some tasty fried chicken?
If your answer is "no," then chances are, you're not an
analyst for
Janney
Montgomery Scott. Ask Janney what it likes best about
China, and it can answer in two words:
Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM). Janney initiated
coverage on Yum! with a "buy" rating yesterday, you see,
arguing the stock "offers investors meaningful growth
opportunities outside of the United States, most notably so
in mainland China. We look for 40% or more of the company's
operating profits to be generated in the fast-growing market
by 2013."
And while Yum! isn't the tastiest morsel on Janney's plate
(Janney actually named
Burger King (NYSE: BKC) its "top pick" in the
sector), it does prefer Yum! over such brand names as
burghermeister
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), the always-delicious
Cheesecake Factory (Nasdaq: CAKE), and yes --
even a Chinese joint,
P.F. Chang's . But should you make a run for
the border at Yum!?
Let's go to the tape
It's hard to say. This being Janney's first foray into
the restaurant sector, the analyst doesn't yet have a record
here against which we can measure this week's eatery
recommendations. Elsewhere in the stock market, of course,
Janney
doeshave a record. Problem is, with an accuracy
rating of only 50%, Janney's recs are split almost precisely
down the middle, with winners...
Stock
JMS Says:
CAPS says:
JMS's Picks Beating S&P By:
McCormick & Co. (NYSE: MKC)
Outperform
****
18 points
Green Mountain
Coffee (Nasdaq: GMCR)
Outperform
*
230 points
... just barely outnumbering losers:
Stock
JMS Says:
CAPS says:
JMS's Picks Lagging S&P By:
MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM)
Underperform Continued... |