If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.
1. Two wrongs can make a right
Shares of Amarin (Nasdaq: AMRN ) soared 95% Monday, after a promising clinical trial of its fish-oil-based drug showed patients checking in with lower triglycerides. The tests also showed slight improvements in bad cholesterol levels -- an impressive feat since the trial cases were already on popular statins.
A potential blockbuster for a common malady is always welcome, but the impact is huge when we're talking about a small company. Amarin's been nearly a 10-bagger over the past year.
2. You say you want a TiVo-lution
Patent rich but profitability poor, TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO ) shares jumped 30% higher yesterday after a courtroom victory against Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH ) . A federal appeals court stood by an earlier ruling that finds Dish trampling all over TiVo's DVR patents.
Investors need to be realistic, though. This legal tussle has been going on for about six years. TiVo has emerged victorious in several previous rulings, but has anything really changed? Dish still isn't paying a settlement that could reach nine figures, yet its DVR customers continue to time warp away.
Regardless of who is right, it's ridiculous that a resolution has taken this long. TiVo could have used the windfall a few years ago, when it was profitable and growing. TiVo has now spent the past few years shedding subscribers. It has posted nine consecutive quarterly deficits.
TiVo's win gets the nod, even as the legal system gets a big thumbs-down.
3. Country strong
Tim McGraw Radio made its Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI ) debut Wednesday. The commercial-free channel will air tracks from McGraw's deep catalog of music as well as some of his favorite songs by other artists. There will also be live concert broadcasts from his new tour.
Sirius XM is also hosting a McGraw concert in New York City for its subscribers next week.
It doesn't matter if you're a fan of country music or not. This move rocks because it finds the satellite radio provider once again flexing its premium radio muscle. Do you think Pandora or some renegade online radio station will ever be able to bankroll something like this? I doubt it.
4. The TASE that pays
It was a good week for TASER Systems (Nasdaq: TASR ) ahead of this morning's quarterly report.
The week kicked off with the stun gun maker announcing two significant orders for its X26 weaponry. Yesterday it introduced the X2, a compact stun gun that features improved accuracy and an enhanced power magazine. It will ship by the second quarter of next year at a price point below $1,000.
TASER's financials and iffy media coverage have kept TASER's stock in the single digits for three years, but it's hard to argue when the large orders continue to trickle in.
5. Indexing barbacoa
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG ) certainly knows how to take the sting out of a merely mortal quarter.
Shares of the burrito roller initially fell after posting disappointing margins last night, but investors may be changing their tune after they absorb news about its inclusion in the popular S&P 500.
Chipotle is replacing meandering networking dinosaur Novell now that it's being taken private.
The switch makes sense, and not just because it would be the S&P 499 if it didn't act on Novell's buyout. Chipotle has its foil-wrapped fingers on the pulse of what consumers want in quick-service these days. The "food with integrity" chain has been growing its chain, and comps remained positive even during the darkest recessionary stretches.
A lot of index fund managers aping the S&P 500 will now have to buy into Chipotle, regardless of how they feel about its rich valuation.
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