B+ picks slide, but Potash still rising

The B+ gang of picks is holding up fairly well, but that's like saying there were survivors of the Titanic. Fortunately, no lives are being lost in today's market, no matter how bloody.

With Dow Jones down 281 points (2.1%) and Nasdaq off 64 points (2.5%), five of the B+ picks were down more than 3%. Flowserve (FLS) sank 4.7% to $68.87 after announcing that it would sell its Swiss manufacturing facility.

HDFC Bank (HDB) of India was down 4.5% to $81.71. No bad news. Just a big bank being hit hard like all the financials. Whether the credit issue pertains to India is another question.

Darling International (DAR) got an upgrade on Monday, but sold down with the rest of the market. DAR closed at $8.03, down 4%.

China Medical Parts (CMED) and CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) were hit by U.S. volatility, as well. No bad news for either company, which could make CNOOC extremely attractive. With a P/E of 11 and return on equity of 34%, I admit it. I'm tempted.

Of the 13 B+ picks, five are in the green. Potash (POT) continues to trade like an internet bubble stock. The fertilizer company is up another 1.9% to $85,35. When I took notice of Potash a few months back, it was at $210 (pre-3 for 1 split) and it look overpriced. Wrong. I was wrong. As long as agriculture is hot, so it will be with the big POT.

SanDisk (SNDK), Focus Media (FMCN) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) are also up. SNDK had a great earnings report a couple of weeks ago, but has pulled back from its recent high of $62. SNDK is trading at $53.43, up 1.6% for the day.

FMCN is up on no news, but the stock has been hammered in the past month since the Co asked Nasdaq for a hearing regarding two letters from a short seller. FMCN traded up 1.1% to $39.82, well off its high of $52.

Opsware rising to new heights

Opsware, formerly LoudCloud, is making some noise today.

With more than an hour left in the session, the stock is up 4.7 percent to $10.46, an all-time high. Monday's sales and marketing partnership deal with Solidcore boosted the stock, which had been trading sideways since hitting its previous high on June 18.

With a $1.1 billion market cap, OPSW has been alluring but I haven't put my toes in the water yet. With Marc Andreessen and a bunch of his former charges at Netscape still alongside, Opsware has an interesting chemistry and leadership that separates it from the average small or mid-cap. It's one of my favorite B+ rated stocks.

Other B+ picks doing well today: Precision Castparts (PCP) is up 3.5 percent, Infosys (INFY) is up 3.4 percent and HDFC Bank (HDB) is up 3.5 percent after raising $698 million in American Depositary Shares.

Among Pupule's A- picks, RIMM continues to soar into the stratosphere, up 2 percent to $234.97. AAPL is also at a new high, trading at $140.21 with no bad news in sight and earnings less than a week away. Spartan Motors (SPAR) is also up, but I'm leaning toward pushing it to a B or B+ level. The fundamentals of the company haven't changed, but the market perception has. Short-term traders took SPAR to great heights in recent months before taking their gains.

At $16.51, it's a relative bargain, but probably not an A- stock until it can raise the bar and convince more investors to hold on for the long haul.

Baidu is still tumbling, now down to $194. A typical pullback for a small float, but earnings could spark another major run. BIDU has its own set of trading rules, re: giant Internet stocks of the late 1990s.

One of the B grade stocks, Seaspan Corp. (SSW), is up 5.6 percent after a healthy Q2 earnings report. In addition, Credit Suisse initiated coverage of Seaspan today.

Pupule Paul is a tiny bit long AAPL and BIDU.