Friday, October 30, 2009
Rick Aristotle Munarriz :: Townhall.com Columnist
This Week's 5 Smartest Stock Moves
by Rick Aristotle Munarriz
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If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.

1. The PS3 time is the charm for Netflix
It's about time, Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX). The flick flicker is finally going to be streaming movies through Web-enabled PS3 video game consoles. It shunned other systems last year, when it went exclusively with Microsoft 's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox.

I understand why Netflix made that choice. After all, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sits on Microsoft's board. However, it never made sense for Netflix to ignore the PS3. It's the only console that plays Blu-ray discs, so it's a logical home-theater platform for film junkies who pay Netflix a premium for Blu-ray access.

So what's it going to take for Netflix to appease the typically younger Wii families? Surely there's an argument to be made about for supporting the homes that game together. How else is Netflix going to move copies of those Air Budsequels?

2. Good things come in small packages
There's no such thing as an acquisition so small that it will never move the needle. BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BMRN) is paying a mere $15 million for Huxley, a company whose sole product is a promising treatment for Lambert Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease.

If things go well, BioMarin will have to pay an additional $7.5 million on approval of the treatment in Europe and up to $36 million more in future payments if certain sales and development milestones are met.

If successful, BioMarin sees peak sales in Europe alone of $100 million annually. If the treatment flops, BioMarin is out only the $15 million. This isn't an acquisition! It's either a call option or a buyout on a contingency basis. Well played, BioMarin.

3. How to praise Steve Jobs in Mandarin
It finally happened. Apple 's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone officially landed in China this week. I realize this isn't going to be a slam dunk, though. The vast majority of China's 1.3 billion citizens can't afford the fancy smartphone and the costly data plans.

Fellow Fool Tim Beyers is also concernedabout the quality of the new 3G network in China and about regulators who are stripping the device of its Wi-Fi charm.

I see the speed bumps, but I still think this is a great move by Apple. The company's computing and portable media players aren't as popular overseas as they are domestically. Any success that Apple achieves with its iPhone will help it win over MacBook and iPod users, too.

4. Don't look back, WiMAX
Connectivity may never be the same. WiMAX, the broadband-enabling platform championed by heavies including Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), took a major step when it successfully tested roamingin Taiwan this week. Continued...

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