Do Investors Have Their Heads in the Clouds?

A year ago when I wrote my book The Green Light on Green Stocks: A Quick Guide to Green Investing and Making Money in Alternative Energy Stocks, I started touting cloud computing as a green industry, not to mention a way of providing money saving services to many corporations. Cloud computing as a growing industry is finally being recognized. Look at Salesforce.com (CRM), which is up 633% since it started trading in 2004. Last week, Isilon (ISLN) shares jumped 28.5% in one day, after EMC announced it would take over the company at $33.85 a share.

So what is cloud computing? It is having your programs and data stored remotely, 'in the clouds,' instead of on individual computers. As long as you have Internet connection, you can have a fairly dumb computer ans still utilize cloud computing. So where are these so-called clouds? They are basically, in very simple terms, the servers of companies that provide this service, and those servers can be located anywhere.

Do you have Yahoo (YHOO) mail, Google (GOOG) gmail, or hotmail? Then you are using cloud computing in a small way. You don't have the email servers in your office or home, you use the Yahoo or Google servers. As a matter of fact, many public universities are turning over their student email services to Google, giving students a type of gmail account. It saves them money on servers and saves on staffing for support.

These same benefits apply to the private sector, especially when you extend it to data storage and computer software. You don't need a technician to come out an install new software to each employees' station. You don't need a bunch of network administrators monitoring the company's servers. You don't need to periodically upgrade computers. You don't need to own a bunch of servers. You cut down on the costs and issues relating to the disposal of old computers and servers. You don't need to deal with data security, as that is the job of the cloud computing company. The benefits of clouds are extensive, and there are over 25 stocks in the cloud industry to choose from, according to the Cloud Computer Stock list at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, including companies involved in server farms and outsourced storage systems.

Salesforce.com is a provider of customer-relationship management services that has promoted 'the end of software'. Salesforce has customers of all sizes, including Corporate Express division of Staples (SPLS), Daiwa Securities (DSECY.PK), Expedia (EXPE), Dow Jones Newswires subsidiary of News Corp. (NWS-A), SunTrust Banks (STI), and Kaiser Permanente. Salesforce trades at a lofty 76 times forward earnings, debt in the amount of $476 million, with over $742 million in cash. The company just reported a quarterly sales increase of 30% year over year, with a one cent drop in earnings per share.

VMware (VMW) is another major cloud and virtualization player. Its product VMware vSphere is a cloud computing data center platform. It sports a forward PE ratio of 45. The company has $450 million in debt with $2.9 billion in cash. The company reported that latest earnings increased an incredible 121.4% in earnings on a 45.8% increase in revenues.

Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS) provides on demand applications and online services, including GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, GoToTraining, GoToAssist, and GoToMyPC. This debt free company has $902 million in cash and carries a forward PE of 29. The latest quarterly earnings were up 64.3% on a revenue increase of 17.8%.

To access a free Excel spreadsheet database of numerous companies involved in cloud computing in some way, that can be downloaded, sorted, and updated, go to wsnn.com.

Disclosure: Author owns YHOO.

By Stockerblog.com

Microsoft Founder Paul Allen Suing a Bunch of Tech Companies

Paul Allen, one of the co-founders of Microsoft (MSFT), is suing Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL), Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo (YHOO), eBay (EBAY), Netflix (NFLX), AOL (AOL), Office Depot (ODP), OfficeMax (OMX), and Staples (SPLS). He is claiming that the companies are infringing on the patents held by Interval Licensing LLC, another company he founded.

Top Stocks of Massachusetts

Massachusetts is the third most densely populated state with a per capita personal income that is the third highest in the country. The state economy is diversified and encompasses the financial, higher education, and high tech industries.

Some interesting facts about Massachusetts follow:

1. Massachusetts imposes a 5.3% personal income tax on earned wages, salaries unemployment compensation, alimony, rents and royalties and certain other income.
2. Clay, lime, marble, and sand and gravel are mined in Massachusetts.
3. Milk, nursery and greenhouse, eggs and vegetables are the state’s major farm products.
4. Massachusetts has a per capita personal income of $49,875 and it ranks third nationally.
5. More than 178,000 people worked for foreign owned companies in 2007.
6. Massachusetts is a major exporter of computers and electronic products. Its main market is the United Kingdom.
7. Massachusetts ranks number one for percent of adults with a Master’s, Professional or Doctorate Degree.
8. Massachusetts workers are the nation’s fourth most productive employees, producing a per capita gross state product of $61,742.
9. 92.9% of the state population has access to primary health care.
10. The finance and insurance industry employ 7% of the population.

The following companies are headquartered in Massachusetts:

EMC Corporation (EMC) is a technology company. It develops information infrastructure, information storage systems and software. The stock has a market cap of $37.7 billion, a PE of 21, and a PEG of 1.41.

State Street Corp. (STT) is in the financial sector and its services include administration, master trust and master custody, recordkeeping, shareholder services, brokerage, and trading services among many others. The stock has a market cap of $22.9 billion, a PE of 13, and a PEG of 1.21.

Raytheon Co. (RTN) is an aerospace company that develops and sells command, control, communication and intelligence systems. The stock has a market cap of $21.5 billion, a PE of 11, a PEG of 1.36, and it pays a yield of 2.6%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (TMO) distributes software and analytical instruments, laboratory information management systems and security applications (among other services and products). The stock has a market cap of $21 billion, a PE of 15, and a PEG OF 1.27.

The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX) is a retailer that offers merchandise at discounted prices in the United States and abroad. The company sells apparel, shoes, accessories, and home fashions. The stock has a market cap of $18.3 billion, a PE of 0.98, and it pays a yield of 1.3%.

Staples Inc. (SPLS) is a retailer of office products. The company sells office supply, equipment, furniture and provides services such as copying and scanning. The stock has a market cap of $17.6 billion, a PE of 18, a PEG of 1.25 and it pays a yield of 1.5%.

American Tower Corp. (AMT) is a diversified wireless and broadcast communications company. The stock has a market cap of $16.9 billion, a PE of 50, and a PEG of 2.78.

Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) is a biotechnology company in the business of developing and selling neurologic, oncologic, immunologic, and cardiopulmonary drugs. The stock has a market cap of $15.2 billion, a PE of 12, and a PEG of 1.38.

Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) is a biotechnology company that designs and markets drugs for treating genetic disorders, cancers, and immune diseases. The stock has a market cap of $13.9 billion, a PE of 25, and a PEG of 1.58.

Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) is a real estate investment trust that invests in office properties located in Boston, Washington D.C., New York City, and San Francisco, among other select cities. The stock has a market cap of $10.7 billion, a PE of 18, a PEG of 2.63, and it pays a yield of 2.6%.

For stocks from other states check out Alaska stocks, Hawaii stocks and South Carolina stocks. For stocks from other countries, check out WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

Bloom Box (Bloom Energy) IPO?

Bloom Energy is the Sunnyvale, California manufacturer of solid oxide fuel cells that was featured on 60 minutes last month. Reportedly, the company's small fuel cells are as efficient as and as much as doubly efficient as a conventional power plant.

Questions have been coming in to me about investing in the Bloom Box, or more technically, How do I invest in Bloom Energy, When is the Bloom Energy IPO, What is the Bloom Energy stock symbol, What is the Bloom Box stock ticker. I have seen several supposed Bloom web sites which appear to be unauthorized sites, and maybe even worse, talking about the upcoming IPO of Bloom Energy or the initial public offering of the Bloom Box company. One site had a posting about a month ago that said that Bloom Energy was going public in two days. It hasn't gone public and hasn't even filed an IPO with the SEC to go public.

But investors still want in on the action. Investing in the company's customers would be futile from a fuel cell standpoint, as the effect on the bottom line would be negligible. Bloom's major customers include Google (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO), eBay (EBAY), FedEx (FDX), Staples (SPLS), and Wal-Mart (WMT).

Investors could also look at Bloom's competitors that are involved in the development and manufacture of fuel cells, such as Ballard Power Systems (BLDP), United Technologies (UTX), Plug Power (PLUG), Westinghouse Electric division of Siemens (SI), and General Electric (GE).

Last but not least, you can take a look at the companies that Bloom does business with. The most significant example is Modine Manufacturing Company (MOD), a manufacturer of thermal management products. Modine, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, has a forward price to earnings ratio of 90. Bloom Energy licensed Modine's thermal management technology for an up-front fee of $12.0 million last year. In addition, Modine provided transition services to Bloom Energy, including the sale of products, for an additional fee. Modine is currently selling for less than $12 per share.

If you like fuel cell stocks and other green companies, you should check out the lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.



Author owns EBAY, FDX, and SI.

By Stockerblog.com

Cloud Computing Stocks: A Growing Green Sector

You may have heard about cloud computing but never knew what it was, or how it can make businesses more green and cost efficient. Cloud computing means that instead of running software applications on your computer, you run the apps in the "clouds" in cyberspace, in other words through the Internet. All your programs and files are stored on an outsourced computer network residing on remote servers. Sometimes, certain aspects of cloud computing are referred to as platform as a service [PaaS] and software as a service [SaaS]. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has just updated a downloadable Excel database of 16 different publicly traded companies with some connection to cloud computing.

Do you use Yahoo (YHOO) mail or Google's (GOOG) gmail? Then in a small way, you are using cloud computing. In other words, you don't have an email server in your home or office, you're taking advantage of the cloud offered by Yahoo or Google. As a matter of fact, many companies, organizations, and universities have turned their email system over to gmail. If you have ever used Google (GOOG) Docs or Google Calendar, you have experienced another example of cloud computing. Google will be one of the major players in this field. The stock has a PE of 26, is debt free, and has over $24 billion in cash.

Here are a dozen of the economic and green advantages of clouds:
1. Server equipment cost reduction due to elimination of the necessity of on-site servers.
2. Staffing cost savings, since there is little or no need for on-site network administration.
3. Potential for lower software licensing costs.
4. Elimination of server maintenance costs.
5. Small initial upfront investment.
6. Built-in computer disaster recovery services & back-up sites.
7. Reduction in client station costs. In other words, no need to buy new computers for staff as long as existing computers can connect to the Internet.
8. If additional staff computers need to be purchased, they can be cheap 'dumb' terminals.
9. Clouds provide scalability; can easily grow as the company grows.
10. The ease of the sharing of resources.
11. Services can be automated.
12. Speed of access of data.

As for disadvantages, the one major concern is security of the data. So it is a matter of which is more trustworthy, your own company or a company that specialized in data security. Another option is the utilization of cloud computing within a large corporation. Everything stays 'in-house'.

One major company in this currently narrow industry is Salesforce.com (CRM), a provider of customer-relationship management services. They have been promoting 'the end of software'. Salesforce doesn't just market to the small and medium size-companies, they have major users of their services, including Corporate Express division of Staples (SPLS), Daiwa Securities (DSECY.PK), Expedia (EXPE), Dow Jones Newswires subsidiary of News Corp. (NWS-A), SunTrust Banks (STI), and Kaiser Permanente. Salesforce has a very high PE ratio of 117, a small amount of debt amounting to about $18 million, with almost $445 million in cash.

To access a free Excel spreadsheet database of many companies which are involved in cloud computing that can be sorted, added to, and changed, go to wsnn.com.

Author owns YHOO.

By Stockerblog.com