Then came 2007-08, when every strategy, it seems, struggled - including those that involved use of analyst recommendations and/or earnings estimates.

Q4 2009 Earnings Call

March 5, 2009 8:30 am ET

F3Q09 Earnings Call

November 25, 2008 8:30 am ET

F2Q09 Earnings Call

August 28, 2008 8:30 am ET

The good old days

Genesco Inc. (GCO)

F1Q09 Earnings Call

Genesco Inc. (GCO)

F4Q08 Earnings Call

1. MannKind Corp. (MNKD) CEO Alfred E. Mann appeared on CNBC Monday, telling viewers the company is investing in inhalable insulin, aiming to gain market share Pfizer (PFE) didn't. Mann says PFE didn't focus on the right areas to succeed in the inhaled insulin market. He also believes MNKD will prevail over Eli Lilly (LLY). Mann epects to file for approval at the end of 2008 for its inhalable insulin product. Shares shot up 11%.
2. Toronto Dominion (TD) fell suddenly Monday morning on rumors of writedown concerns. Earlier, the Globe and Mail reported TD and Commerce Bancorp (CBH) are amending their $8.5B takeover deal in order to appease shareholders that have filed lawsuits, alleging TD was not paying enough for Commerce.
3. Rio Tinto (RTP) may be considering an offer for Xemplar Energy after Xemplar revealed what is believed to be one of the world's largest uranium deposits.
4. Kaufman Bros. says Warner Brothers (TWX) Friday move to use Blu-Ray as its exclusive high definition format is a positive for DTS (DTSI) and Dolby (DLB), which receive royalties on every Blu-Ray player sold.
5. Some analysts expect Apple's (AAPL) Steve Jobs to throw his support behind Sony's Blu-ray disc format at Jan. 15 MacWorld.
6. U.S. wireless carrier customers of Samsung saw slowing cellphone sales at the end of Q4. CEO Bill Ogle isn't sure if the slowdown was due to customer contract expirations or economic concerns. U.S. carrier customers include AT&T (T), Verizon Wireless (VZ, VOD) and Sprint Nextel (S).
7. Business Standard reports that Daimler AG (DAI) is set to buy 26% of bus body builder Sutleg Motors. Daimler denies the reports.
8. Answers (ANSW) is working with Nokia (NOK) to give Nokia Series 40 and S60 device users access to Answers' collection of over 4 million answers.
9. Amazon.com (AMZN) has quietly launched a new software download service that allows customers to purchase and download software directly from its site.
10. Reliance Communications [RCom] gave Symantec (SYMC) a multi-million dollar deal to overhaul its existing IT systems.
11. The FCC appears to be close to approving the $19.5B private-equity takeover of Clear Channel (CCU). Consent has been given by three FCC commissioners; others are expected to follow. High-level discussions are underway between CCU’s private equity buyers and their financiers as to whether room exists to change financing terms.
12. Southwest Airlines (LUV) will boost revenue by charging customers an additional $25 for a third piece of luggage, and even higher fees for each piece above three.
13. Smith & Nephew (SNN) is under investigation over allegations it was involved in a kickback scheme in Iraq.
14. Finish Line (FINL) may have to shut stores or even divisions if forced to complete its $1.5B takeover of Genesco (GCO). CEO Alan Cohen says he's taking a "wait and see" approach as to whether UBS (UBS) will be forced to finance the buyout.
15. Seagate (STX) will produce one terabyte drives aimed at the digital video recorder market.
16. Sybase (SY) could see further pressure from its largest shareholder, Sandell Asset Management, as the firm is likely moving too slowly in its review of strategic alternatives.

F3Q08 Earnings Call

November 29, 2007 8:30 am ET

TierOne (TONE) shareholders approved the sale of the company to CapitalSource (CSE) for $423.4 million. The deal still needs regulatory approvals.

Finish Line (FINL) said that they have recieved a subpoena asking for documents related to its proposed merger with Genesco (GCO_|, and that they are complying with the request. Finish Line has attempted to back out of the merger, and Genesco has filed suit to attempt to force the merger to close.

Lighting maker Genlyte (GLYT) agreed to a buyout offer of $95.50 per share from Philips (PHG), in a $2.7 billion deal that is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

Genesco (GCO) received a federal subpoena for records related to buyout negotiations with The Finish Line (FINL) due to a lawsuit filed by UBS (UBS) attempting to nullify an agreement to finance the buyout of Genesco. Genesco stated that they will continue to attempt to force Finish Line to complete the merger.

First, GCO sent a strongly-worded and direct letter to FINL Thursday demanding that FINL quickly complete the transaction under the terms of the merger agreement. The most compelling passage in the letters the following:

Clearly, UBS' most recent request comes within neither the spirit nor letter of our agreement. It is clear from their own statements that they are looking for a way out of their commitment -- in our view, not because of Genesco's results but because the upheaval in the credit markets makes this deal less profitable for them. We are not going to allow the litigation consulting firm they have hired to go on a fishing expedition.

Genesco’s (GCO) poor second quarter results triggered a panicked reaction from Finish Line (FINL), which is “evaluating its options regarding” the merger of the two firms. Predictably, in the current jittery market, nervous investors sold off the stock temporarily to a record spread of almost 25% below the purchase price.

A detailed analysis of the situation shows that Finish Line stands little chance of either getting out of the agreement or re-negotiating a lower price as long as Genesco’s management remains committed to seeking the highest price.

As with virtually every transaction in this industry - retail or manufacturing of athletic apparel/footwear - there will be no interest from the FTC. The combination of these two entities will essentially establish a diversified retailer, with a strong presence in both brick mortar and online distribution. HSR consent can be expected in 30-days or less in this case.

The Finish Line announced Monday it would acquire footwear and accessory retailer Genesco for $1.5 billion, creating a $2.8 billion footware and sportsware retailer. Finish line said it will acquire all outstanding Genesco shares for $54.50 -- a 10% premium to Friday's close, and 37.7% higher than its three-month average. The announcement comes after Genesco rejected two offers to be acquired by Foot Locker Inc., including a $1.37B bid in May, after which Genesco said it would explore strategic options, and Foot Locker said it would no longer pursue the company. Recently, Genesco reported Q1 net earnings dropped 79%, and said it would close as many as 57 underperforming stores. In the press release, Finish Line said benefits of the merger include increased scale ($2.8B revenue), new growth opportunities (Genesco's Journeys, Hat World and Johnston and Murphy lines), and cost savings/operational efficiencies ($15-20 million in annual cost savings). The companies will have 2,870 retail stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Finish Line is financing the merger with $11 million cash and $1.6 billion in financing from UBS. The deal is expected to close in the fall. Genesco shares are up 9.2% to $54.15 in pre-market trading.

Foot Locker announced Thursday it will cease its efforts to purchase footwear retailer Genesco Inc. The decision is based on Genesco's rejection of Foot Locker's sweetened buyout offer of $51 per share. Genesco, the operator of the Journeys, Johnston & Murphy, Hatworld and Lids chains, has elected to pursue other strategic alternatives. Foot Locker shares closed up 4% at $21.94, while Genesco shares dipped 1.8% to $51.36 before recovering to close at $52.35.

The analysis behind these stocks isn't entirely fundamental and a fair number of them were based on more visible, psychological trends that I saw.

Ansoft Corp. (ANST) - AMC
FQ1 2007 Revenue Estimate: $14.79M
FQ1 2007 EPS Estimate: $0.06
FQ2 2007 Revenue Estimate: $18.03M
FQ2 2007 EPS Estimate: $0.17
Last Quarter FQ4 2006 reported on 05/23/06 AMC
EPS Estimate: $0.23 ¦ EPS Actual: $0.35
05/23/06 Close: $18.53 Change($): ($0.42) Change(%): -2.3%
05/24/06 Close: $20.57 Change($): $2.04 Change(%): 9.9%

I have always preferred companies such as NIKE (NKE) or Reebok (mistakenly) or K-Swiss (KSWS.) Wolverine Worldwide (WWW) has also been an interesting stock at times and if I was particularly venturesome, Genesco (GCO.)