New Constructs
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For Ask Matt readers:Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) — Dangerous Rating

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) gets our Dangerous Rating. This means CAT’s quality-of-earnings are not attractive and the stock’s valuation is very expensive. For example, the valuation of the current stock price ($112.16) implies the company will grow its profits at 16% compounded annually for 20 years. The takeaway: there are better stocks to choose from. See details in our free report.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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Buy Eli Lilly & Company (LLY) – Attractive and Safe Enough To Take Home To Mom

The risk/reward of this stock is quite compelling. Downside risk is low as the valuation already implies a permanent 54% decline in profits. How much worse can the valuation get? Upside reward potential is strong as the stock has to go over $77/share to trade at a value that implies the company’s profits will experience a 0% decline, still a no-growth scenario.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
5Comments

Dead Company Walking: Sell Eastman Kodak (EK)

What I bet very few people, outside the company itself, know is that EK’s pension liabilities could torpedo the company into bankruptcy and send the stock to significantly lower levels. In the company’s recently published 10K, we found that EK’s pension obligations are underfunded by $2.6 billion, about 3 times the company’s market value.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
4Comments

Red Flag Report: Hidden Expenses/Income: What You Don’t Know Can Cost You

Most investors are not aware that companies hide one-time and unusual charges and income inside normal, operating line items (e.g. “Cost of sales”) on their income statement. These hidden items can mislead investors by artificially decreasing/increasing GAAP earnings. We found 13,000+ one-time items buried in normal line items like “Cost of Sales” by studying the Footnotes of 10-K filings from 1998 thru 2/15/2011. This research revealed that companies have concealed over $41 billion in one-time items.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
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The Ride Is Over: Sell Ariba Inc. (ARBA)

Over the past 10 years, ARBA appears as quite a success story and one of the few ‘internet bubble’ companies to survive and reach profitability, on a GAAP accounting basis at least. Looking beyond the reported accounting results, however, reveals that ARBA is not quite as profitable a company as it seems, and its valuation has out-grown its profits by a wide margin – the required combination of factors for making February’s list of most dan­ger­ous stocks.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO
New Constructs
3Comments

Stock Pick of the Week: Buy Discover Financial Services (DFS)- Very Attractive Rating

HIDDEN GEMS: 1. Our dis­counted cash flow analy­sis shows that DFS’s cur­rent val­u­a­tion (stock price of $21.80) implies that the company’s prof­its will decline by 40% and never grow again. 2. Eco­nomic earn­ings are growing faster that reported accounting earnings. 3. Free cash flow of $2.8bn or 24% of its enterprise value during the last fiscal year.
by David Trainer, Founder & CEO