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.

Better than Xmas for Apple longs

Kids can have Christmas. Apple longs are having theirs right ... about ... now!

Shares of AAPL have blown up bears in after-hours trading. Since Apple announced typical world-beating numbers today, the stock bottomed at $129 on silly fears over iPhone numbers, then made a sprint to $150.

The move gives AAPL its all-time high and a very similar performance to Amazon's stock yesterday, which ran from $69 at the close to $84 at the end of extended hours.

Today, AAPL still has more than 2 more hours to make noise, kill bears and stomp out remaining doubters. Not that I'm a genius by any means. I sold at $92. Ouch.

Crocs are also putting a bite on bears. The polarizing stock and Co is trading at $49.90 in after hours, up from yesterday's close of $47.85. With earnings out tomorrow, the run-up from last week's low of $44 isn't entirely surprising. All the fears relating to insider selling in the past quarter have been worked in, and then out of the stock, apparently.

Amazon continued to trade up today after yesterday's eye-popping performance. The stock is up to $87.03 in after hours. For the day, more than 59 million shares traded in AMZN, nearly surpassed only by AAPL's 54 million.

SanDisk bumped up again and is at $58.70 in extended hours. And Nintendo? SuperMario is hopping with joy. Shares of NTDOY.PK closed at $60.40, a gain of 7.8% thanks to a robust earnings report before the market. Were there any doubters? When grandma and auntie are buying their first-ever console, you know it's a Wii.

If all our grandmas and aunties buy Wiis and I buy more NTDOY, it's a win-win and we're all gonna be happy.

Disclaimer: Pupule Paul is long AAPL and NTDOY.PK in miniscule fashion.

SNDA, CMG bumped down; SNDK a growth monster

Some minor changes and a nice addition to my lists of stock picks.

Shanda Interactive down from B+ to B due to government restrictions on online game "addicts". This nut has been getting screwed for awhile now, and last week, the hammer came down. Shanda (SNDA) will still thrive, but at a slower rate, particularly with intense competition from NetEase.

Chipotle Mexican Grill also down from B+ to B due to increased costs in cheese and avocados. Nothing more.

Spartan Motors? Great company, but the stock was priced for perfect execution. That didn't happen recently, when a key contract fell by the wayside. Down from A- to B+.

SanDisk is clearly in strength now with worldwide demand for flash memory growing. SNDK is a B+ here, and very close to an A-. P/E is 74, but growth will be monstrous.

Also like Starbucks as expansion into a robust Chinese economy continues. China's economy was up 11.9% in Q2 over '06 Q2, which means more spending money and more tea at SBUX. Moved SBUX up from B- to B.

Kudos to the real Baron

Ten years ago, maybe 11, a friend and co-worker named Baron Sekiya recommended a stock to me, and I regret that I didn't follow through.

As a photographer, Baron knows the world of camera equipment and technology quite well. He gave a big thumbs up to SanDisk, which blew out earnings last week and is poised to go on a major run thanks to the infusion of "smart phones" like Apple's iPhone. Copycat phones are bound to challenge the leader, which means plenty of business for SanDisk in the coming years.

The stock, which bottomed out on March 1 at $35, is trading this morning at nearly $57.

As for Baron, who I haven't seen in a long time, SNDK is just a company whose products he knows well. I assume still has those shares from a decade ago, and probably added to his position along the way. A decade ago, SNDK traded below a split-adjusteed $3, which makes Baron a very wise investor.