Yes, B+ picks can be bargains too

Here's my shopping list for Monday, when the market could resume the Big Dipper, then turn around at mid-day.

I never cared for roller coasters, but that's what we're on for awhile. My wish list, current prices and target buy prices (highly adjustable):

[B+] China Medical Parts (CMED), now 32, target 30
[B+] CNOOC Ltd. (CEO), now 113, target 111
[B+] Darden Intl. (DAR), now 8.03, target 7.50
[B+] Flowserve (FLS), now 68, target 65
[B+] Focus Media (FMCN), now 39, target 35
[B+] Gmarket (GMKT), now 22, target 21
[B+] HDFC Bank (HDB), now 81, target 73
[B+] Intercontinental Exch. (ICE), now 153, target 140
[B+] Opsware (OPSW), sold to HPQ at 14.25
[B+] Potash Corp. (POT), now 85, target 77
[B+] Precision Castparts (PCP), now 137, target 125
[B+] Salesforce.com (CRM), now 39, target 27
[B+] SanDisk (SNDK), now 53, target 49
[B+] Sina Corp. (SINA), now 42, target 40

Dammit, where's the barf bag?

Going, going, gone! HP to buy Opsware

Oh well, it was a nice thought.

A few months ago, I studied the numbers of Opsware and was stumped. A solid company with savvy management (Marc Andreessen) that trades below $10 per share. A relatively small market cap. By mid-June, I gave OPSW a B+ rating, but did nothing more. Didn't buy a share though the stock was cheap at $8.22.

This morning, Hewlett Packard jumped all over OPSW with an offer of $14.25 per share. That's worth $1.6 billion, a $500 million premium on OPSW's market cap last week of $1.1 billion.

OPSW, which closed at $10.28 on Friday, is up to $14.05 in pre-market trading. HPQ is trading just 4 cents below it's Friday close of $48.54.

The ride has been swift in the past week for Opsware, which had pushed up after a partnership deal with Solidcore. Opsware shareholders can't help but be happy with the 38% premium, but how many of them will be content to hold HP shares? HP is a Co gaining a lot of momentum with shrewd moves, so it might not be bad at all.

Pupule Paul has no position in OPSW and HPQ.

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.