Beanieville bulls update

One of my favorite blogs, Beanieville, was bullish on several stocks on April 3. Here's a look at how they've fared since.

AAPL +7.3%
AMZN even
AKAM +2.3%
AZO +4.6%
BIDU +12.3%
CRM +3.6%
FSLR +7.3%
GOOG +6.3%
MA -5.7%
NTES +11.6%
SNDA +13.7%
SPWRA +10.2%
STP +5.4%
V -3.3%
VMW +9.6%

Overall, on a weighted scale, these stocks are up 5.7%. Not bad for just two weeks! I like most of these, too, especially AAPL, BIDU, FSLR, GOOG, SPWRA, V and VMW. Not holding any of these yet, though. The risk/reward in these stocks is pretty favorable, held down only by the credit card guys (MA, V), and they'll recover eventually.

Le Beanieville Index*

Last week, one of my favorite bloggers, Beanieville, went bullish with his favorite stocks for the next run up. Here's a look at those stocks, their closing price that day, Friday's price and the percentage move since.

Beanieville's Bulls
AAPL 115, 119.57 +4%
GOOG 369, 372.50 +1%
VMW 28, 30.01 +7.2%
AMZN 78, 79.77 +2.3%
CRM 37, 37.40 +1.1%
AKAM 20, 20.20 +1%
BIDU 187, 190.32 +1.8%
SNDA 42, 46.41 +10.5%
NTES 27, 28.45 +5.4%
AZO 159, 161.72 +1.7%
V 60, 58.79 -2%
MA 173, 172.46 -0.3%
FSLR 134, 142.05 +6%
SPWRA 24, 26.04 +8.5%
STP 14, 14.40 +2.9%

Average: +3.4%

Why do I keep track? I like Beanieville's picks, for the most part. I've traded in and out of STP and will probably continue to do so later. I like just about all the stocks on his bull list, particularly AAPL, GOOG, VMW, BIDU, AMZN and FSLR (along with STP). This is one of the gauges I can use to see where the better entry points were, or have yet to come.

A question about Amazon & Akamai

An old friend asked the other day about Amazon and Akamai, two stocks I haven't studied in some time. For my friend, entering the turbulent waters of the market is a source of thought and stress. I don't blame him.

Amazon has been an A- pick of mine for months, not just because of the numbers. The numbers. Oh baby. The Co's first-quarter report was scintillating. A rehash: up 32% on quarterly revenue, 117% in earnings growth, a return on equity of nearly 80%, as well as reinvigorated EPS.

That's the good stuff. The reality right now is that AMZN has the choir singing its praises, and at $73.84, the stock is in Cloud 9 territory. A far cry from three months ago, before the explosive Q1 numbers were released.

Jeff Bezos has few peers among CEOs, but even he cautions that the Co's investments sometimes take a few years to bear fruit. Such is the case with Amazon's voyage into China. The payoff is coming in time, but it won't show in the next report, or even the one after that.

That's why I've cautioned my old friend to be careful. Though I love the Co, a healthy entry point is tough to find today, or immediately after next week Tuesday's earnings report is out since Q2 numbers are historically Amazon's weakest of the year.

Akamai is a B+ pick. Earnings growth (66%) and quarterly revs (53%) are astronomical. EPS have soared from $.30 in 2004 to 52 cents in '05, 88 cents in '06 and projects out at $1.28 in '07.

Still, I'm not as high on AKAM ($49.14) as I am on AMZN because of a forgettable ROE (7%). Unlike Amazon, Akamai's chart isn't as overextended. With Akamai's earnings report due next week Wednesday, it's another stock worth watching from a distance.

That's why I expressed no resistance when my old friend said he's not going to bother with stocks. Instead, he'll just spend his hard-earned money on women.

I'd rather spend the money on shares of Amazon, Akamai and Apple, but that's just me.

Disclaimer: Pupule Paul is not long in AMZN or AKAM, but has a small slice of AAPL.