Week in Review – Thanksgiving Edition Stocks were gobbling up good news today as investors seemed sanguine about the increase in new home sales, better-than-expected unemployment numbers, and a slight rise in the consumer sentiment figure. While the large number of jobless Americans remains a serious concern to economists and the powers that be in Washington, market participants appear to be heading into the holiday season with a positive outlook. May we be thankful for our blessings and hopeful for our fellow citizens that are still struggling through this tough economy.
In this season of tradition, the Stock Market Game has a tradition of it’s own to observe and that is to let you know about some of the top stocks that are fueling the leading student portfolios. The list is compiled from the states with the largest number of SMG teams, so it’s not exhaustive, but it’s designed to give you a peek at some of the best performing companies this semester. The list of the top five stocks and brief descriptions follow.
Top Five Stock Market Game Stocks – Fall 2009
| Company | Ticker | 9/8/2009 | 11/24/2009 | % Increase |
| 5. A-Power Energy Generation Systems | APWR | 10.16 | 14.59 | 43 |
| 4. Diedrich Coffee Inc. | DDRX | 21.5 | 33.91 | 58 |
| 3. Amazon.com | AMZN | 80.9 | 132.94 | 64 |
| 2. Bon-Ton Stores Inc | BONT | 7.88 | 13.43 | 70 |
| 1. Revlon | REV | 5 | 17.91 | 258 |
5. A-Power Energy Generation Systems – This Chinese company’s main business is building onsite distributed power generation systems and micro power grids for industrial companies. They also build wind turbines, proving the green energy play is still popular with SMG students.
4. Diedrich Coffee Inc. – Company brands include Diedrich Coffee, Gloria Jean's, and Coffee People. Its business includes wholesale, franchise, and retail operations. Watch out Starbuck’s, someone might be gaining on you.
3. Amazon.com – Fueled by expectations of strong holiday sales and increasing revenue from the Kindle, the online retailer has been popular with both investors and SMG students this semester. It’s had a nice run, but is now trading at 78 times earnings, so caveat emptor.
2. Bon-Ton Stores Inc. – This company runs independent retail department stores in the US, offering an assortment of brand-name fashion apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings and other goods. Its stores include Bon-Ton, Bergners, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers. The company recently re-negotiated credit agreements earning it a boost from the ratings agencies.
And the winner is...
Revlon Incorporated – Rising 258% since September 8, 2009 is quite a spike. What did our savvy SMG students see in this cosmetics company? Well, it wasn’t lipstick on a pig. Revlon in recent quarters has greatly improved its finances by cutting costs and increasing market share in the lipstick market, regaining its position as number one in this category. It also conducted a swap of preferred shares for common shares, thus reducing the number of common shares available – always good for the common share price. Congrats to the SMG students who recognized Revlon’s inner beauty.