Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is recently up $1.49 to $31.72. UA is scheduled to report Q2 EPS on July 29. Wedbush Morgan says "Expect in line Q2 results; checks suggest brand continues to perform despite challenging retail environment."

UA August call option implied volatility is at 75, puts are at 86, above its 26-week average of 54 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement. UA put volatility is higher than call volatility because UA is difficult to borrow.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

This post is part of my series featuring established companies and the smaller, more aggressive or innovative rivals that may eventually succeed them.

"From sea to shining sea" aptly describes the distance between Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA). Nike is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, while Under Armour calls Baltimore, Maryland, home. Nike splashed onto the scene locally in Oregon in 1964 and has developed a true international brand. With the likes of Michael Jordan, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Tiger Woods serving as spokesmen for the company, Nike has transcended virtually every sport and every demographic group.

Under Armour, founded in 1995, at first appealed to the serious athlete with its moisture-wicking synthetic fibers that help keep sweat and moisture from the skin and help regulate body temperature during strenuous exercise. Under Armour then discovered it was unwittingly creating a fashion statement. Like Nike, Under Armour is also crossing over to various demographic groups and weekend warriors as well.

Nike has the famous Swish as its corporate logo, while Under Armour has branded the bold U over A insignia. Nike has established its brand globally with a dual strategy of major retailers selling its apparel and shoes and its own distribution system. Nike has over 250 NikeTown stores in the United States and over 230 internationally. With the retail store system Nike can control the entire purchase from apparel to shoes to socks to sweatbands. Under Armour has just begun its own retail stores with two prototypes, one in Maryland and one in Illinois. It sells its various products through multiple channels, including its own user-friendly e-commerce web site.

Nike will hit about $20 billion of revenues this year while Under Armour should approach $765 million. Nike has a market capitalization of $32.8 billion, which dwarfs Under Armour's $1.4 billion market cap. The opportunity for Under Armour is a faster, more sustainable growth rate of 20%+ for the next 3-5 years, as Nike should hold a steady 10% growth rate.

Under Armour has a global opportunity in front of it. Currently Under Armour sells in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Nike has enjoyed a 31-year head start on Under Armour, but the world is ready for this emerging, strong second player.

Georges Yared is editor of GameOn Investing, a free service devoted to helping investors spot game-changing stocks before they breakout.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Under Armour (NYSE: UA) closed at $33.75 Tuesday.

UA is hosting an investor meeting on May 29.

UA June call option implied volatility is at 53, puts are at 64; above its 26-week average of 52 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement. UA puts volatility is higher than call volatility because UA is difficult to borrow.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) is trading up about 7% on better-than-expected earnings.

Cardiome Pharma (NASDAQ: CRME) is up 9% on a good quarter.

Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) is selling off 9% on weak quarterly numbers.

Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is up 3% on news that S&P MidCap 400.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) Q3 profits soared, beating analysts' expectations.
• Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) strong Q1 results met analysts' expectations.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) reported solid Q3 results that beat Wall Street estimates.
• Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) beat expectations for the first quarter, sending shares up.
• Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) posted better-than-expected Q1 results on the weak dollar.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) beat earnings expectations and raised its guidance.
• Corn Products International (NYSE: CPO) posted record sales for the ninth consecutive quarter.
• Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) Q1 profits met expectations but revenues beat them.
• ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) missed Q1 expectations due to narrower margins.
• Garmin Ltd. (NYSE: GRMN) reported lower-than-expected earnings due to slowed demand.
• General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) posted a smaller-than-expected loss for the first quarter.
• Herbalife Ltd. (NASDAQ: HLF) posted Q1 results and announced the resignation of the president and COO.
• Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) beat Q1 expectations and announced a 10% dividend increase.
• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) Q1 profits declined but beat analysts' expectations.
• Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) reported better-than-expected Q1 results and raised its 2008 outlook.

• Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) posted weak Q2 earnings in line with Wall Street expectations.
• Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) beat Q1 expectations and reaffirmed its guidance.
• Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) posted solid Q1 results and announced a spin-off of TWC.
• Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) beat Q1 expectations but lowered its full-year outlook.
• Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) blew past Q1 EPS expectations despite despite profits plunging 77%.

Also, Jim Cramer lauds Procter & Gamble for its success in these tough times and Colgate-Palmolive for bouncing back after taking a hit. And Time Warner investors may have been looking for more than they got in the quarterly report.

Upcoming results to watch for include Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP), Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), and American International Group (NYSE: AIG).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

After hitting a one-year high of $73.40 in August, the stock hit a one-year low of $25.32 in January. This morning, UA opened at $34.54. So far today the stock has hit a low of $33.80 and a high of $36.87. As of 11:55, UA is trading at $34.89, down $3.69 (-9.6%). The chart for UA looks neutral and deteriorating, while S&P gives the stock its highest 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a June bear-call credit spread above the $45 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 4.2% return in seven weeks as long as UA is below $45 at June expiration. Under Armour would have to rise by more than 29% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

UA hasn't been above $45 by more than a few cents since December and has shown resistance around $37 recently. This trade could be risky if the overall economy turns around soon, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance UA might find around $45, where the stock topped out in January and February.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in UA.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

The story of Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is just one more David and Goliath scenario. Just like in the biblical story, David's battle (UA) was more one of survival against the odds, while Goliath (NKE) truly did want to vanquish the diminutive challenger. Under Armour is capitalized at $1.28 billion while the long-established and legendary Nike has a capitalization more than 20 times the size at $26.38 billion.

NIKE, the world's #1 shoemaker, does more dominating than assisting, to capture more than 20% of the U.S. athletic shoe market. It designs and sells shoes for a variety of sports, including baseball, cheer-leading, golf, volleyball, hiking, tennis, and football. Under Armour is proving its mettle as an apparel warrior. Since its foray into the sporting goods market, the maker of performance athletic undies and apparel has risen to the top of the industry pack, boasting a big portion of the compression garment market.

In addition to playing a dominant role in the shoe market, Nike has retail and wholesale outlets that sell a broad range of branded sports gear, including clothes, watches, balls, hats, and an expanding array of accessories. Under Armour is expanding as well, trying to get a foot-hold (could not resist) in the shoe market starting with a series of cross-trainers. They hope to capture perhaps 10% of the market as they promote their up-and-coming brand.

There are so many manufacturers in the market, or arena if you prefer, that Under Armour can grow for quite some time before posing a threat to Nike; although to be sure, Nike will not be underestimating its smaller rival and is expanding into UA's niche as well. Both companies spend significantly on advertising and promotion and seek to tie their products to major sports figures.

UA has traded from a 52-week low of $25.52 to a high of $73.40, most recently trading in the mid 30s with an optimistic P/E ratio over 41 and, like most small start-up, pays no dividend. However, this company has plenty of room to run and has successfully produced a ROE and ROIC of over 20%, which is better than most companies that are not pedaling something exotic.

Nike, the larger and more conservative investment for those so inclined, has traded in a tighter range this past year from $51.50 to $70.60 and currently is testing the top end in the high 60s per share. Nike is producing similar ROE and ROIC of 25% and 20% respectively. It also is paying a dividend of 1.35%, which is a nice bonus. It too has a P/E higher than average of 19, but given that it is still expanding and is trading near a high perhaps this is to be expected.

I like both companies from an investment perspective in terms of adding to my watch list, but I would be more inclined to watch Under Armour than Nike just because it has so much more room to grow. I also think that at its current capitalization it could be acquired by any number of bigger companies.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I do not own shares of NKE or UA.

Vote in our poll for Nike or Under Armour as your preferred brand, and let us know in the comments why you love it.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

"Under Armour (NYSE: UA) and VMware (NYSE: VMW) both have the potential for a short squeeze in coming months," says Paul Tracy in StreetAuthority Market Advisor.

"VMware is a market leader in software virtualization. Companies typically do not use the full computing power of their servers, and when not in use, that server sits idle.

"Virtualization technology allows IT managers to use that underutilized capacity -- running software across the organization's entire base of servers. Thus, virtualization is a key cost-cutting technology.

"VMware has a short interest ratio of 11.7 and a freely traded float of just 50 million shares. If all those shorts try to cover, the stock looks likely to be in short supply. Meanwhile, trading at 36 times 2009 earnings estimates with a long-term growth rate of 45%, VMW doesn't look overpriced.

"Under Armour (NYSE: UA) makes clothing (along with sports equipment) targeting the athletic and outdoor-oriented market. Specifically, the company makes clothes designed to wick moisture away from the skin and keep the wearer at a comfortable temperature, regardless of weather conditions.

"Meanwhile, the stock has seen strong earnings growth despite the slowdown in consumer spending -- earnings surged 42% in the fourth quarter. And management recently announced its looking for revenues to reach $765-775 million in 2008, representing around a 27% increase over 2007 levels.

"With a forward P/E of 23 and a long-term growth rate of 25%, UA looks inexpensive. With a float of less than 32 million shares and a short interest ratio approaching 12, Under Armour looks like a prime short-squeeze candidate."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

The currency of our realm, the US Dollar, has been losing value for many years, but lately the results of this sad state of affairs have become increasingly more evident. Concerns are mounting on a global basis not just in the United States. The euro, once pegged at a buck, is now trading at $1.55, while gold has passed $1,000 and oil has continued its charge, breaking through the $110 per barrel mark.

While a good deal of this problem is home grown, the pain is being felt all around the world. We have read many stories about how the American economy is a smaller part of the global economy and becoming somewhat detached. This is nonsense. What has happened is that the global economy has become infinitely more integrated and like any integrated structure (the architect speaking), what occurs in one place is felt everywhere.

The Federal Reserve Board, led by Chairman Ben Bernanke, has been watching the economy in an extremely measured fashion, bordering on casual. To those who see beyond Bernanke's calm demeanor, one should imagine a stock trader of old, holding the ticker tape up to his eyes and monitoring every change, every blip in the market as the ticker tape machine clicks away, spewing out the latest market activity.

Last Friday the market tanked capping off a bad week and prompting me to post Dow below 12,000 -- do I hear 11,000? Yes I do!. Then, Monday, it tanked again. The Fed had seen enough and juiced up the market on Tuesday by providing a burst of liquidity in the form of $200 billion in credit swaps so that financial institutions would have more capital to lend. This was like taking a hit on a super caffeinated energy drink -- Wall Street got all excited for a day and the market jumped: Dow up +416: The Fed is not dead.

The Fed's action was fun for a day, but by Wednesday, traders were already whining 'what have you done for me lately' and when the sugar and caffeine had burned off, the market fizzled out quickly like some cheap fire works.

We all view the world from our own vantage point and have a hard time seeing the perspective of others, but they feel the pain also, becasue when the dollar goes down in value, it hurts our buying power. And what about the Chinese who are holding over a trillion dollars in US Treasury notes?

Then there are the European farmers and manufacturers crying foul because the relative cost of their goods on the open market has escalated. What about the pain of many of our dollar pegged neighbors, like Costa Rica, whose citizens were already far behind us on the economic curve, and now they also have to deal in dollars that have lost so much value. Oil , too, has gone up in price not just because OPEC won't increase production, but because they are "petro dollars" and correlate to our currency.

Every time our federal government prints more money (or issues digital currency) to cover the federal deficit, trade deficit, Iraq war, which is only off-budget in the imaginations of our government officials (elected and not), lowers interest rates (making Treasury notes less desirable) issues credit swaps or sneezes, the US, AND the Global economy STILL catches a cold! Right now, some are concerned it might be more than a cold -- the world economy might have caught pneumonia.

All of these popular companies must continue to operate under these sickly economic conditions. There is no day off, no place to hide, no running from the competition for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Anglo Amer ADR (NASDAQ: AAUK), Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG), Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO), eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), Reliance Steel and Aluminum (NYSE: RS), Tiffany and Co (NYSE: TIF) and Under Armour'A' (NYSE: UA).

The only way to reduce inflation is to have a balance between the amount of currency in circulation and the goods and services available to purchase with said currency. Every action by the Fed to create liquidity in the economy, generates a phantom value, and if not met with an increase in productivity, is devaluing the dollar and enslaving us to a future of working more for less benefit. That is why I so strongly believe we should fund roads & bridges NOT mad money stimulus. For more discussion you can also read Serious Money: Stimulate productivity not consumption, which I believe is an imperative. That is the gravity of the situation.

In Part Two, I will expand further on these topics and delve into how there actually were and are weapons of mass destruction right under our noses -- economic weapons of mass destruction.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I currently own shares in AAUK, EBAY and TIF.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Earlier in the week I posted about finding the market bottom using that age-old handheld calculator, a white paper napkin. So, unfortunately it looks like I may be right again. Not exactly something I was hoping for, but if it has to be, it has to be. I wonder if my old napkin can outperform Wall Street super computers?

Is this an auction to the bottom? Are investors bidding things down instead of up? Looks like it from all the negative sentiment. Consumer sentiment is down, and short sellers are all excited, increasing their negative positions to new highs every day.

And here is the all-telling sign of capitulation: the ever-lying overly optimistic government is starting to admit how bad things are and throwing hundreds of billions of dollars at the problem. When does the turnaround come?

That's easy: when President Bush reverses his position from last week and states that yes, we may be in recession; followed by the least experienced investors stomachs churning while they bail out totally.

So let's look on the good side. This means all you true value investors should have your watch lists in hand as "my pal Warren" and I do (and Dan and Greg and Mr. Noital) because the bargains are going to come fast and furious as we approach the Dow at 11,000. Let's also not forget about stimulating production, as I've already written about in Serious Money.

Oh, by the way, this morning's short-lived uptick was just a few bottom fishers getting excited...but there is more to come.

A few things from my watch list:

• Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC)
• Anglo Amer ADR (NASDAQ: AAUK)
• Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG)
• Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO)
• General Electric (NYSE: GE)
• Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG)
• Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN)
• Reliance Steel and Aluminum (NYSE: RS)
• Tiffany and Co (NYSE: TIF)
• Under Armour'A' (NYSE: UA)
• Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO)
• Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)

Many of these are already bargains, but they will go lower. There are many more quality companies out there, and the lower the market drops, the easier it is to find them. Surprising as it may seem, when the market gets oversold, almost everything is a bargain. That being the case, load up on companies that pay dividends with quality products, good cash flow, low debt and of course...quality management.

Final Update: the DJIA closed at 11,893.69 -146.70 (-1.22%)

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I currently own shares in APC, AAUK, ISRG, MRK, and VLO.

...and for a special treat: Ode to TECH-bubbles: YouTube at its best!

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

• Baird is positive on K-12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN)'s leadership position and growing market opportunity for expansion. The firm started shares with an Outperform rating and $26 target. Shares were also initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal Weight rating and at Credit Suisse with an Outperform rating.
• Bear initiated ChinaEdu (NASDAQ: CEDU) with an Outperform rating and $11.20 target and said demand for post-secondary education in is outstripping the capacity of land based universities and that CEDU will benefit from the governments strategy to raise education levels. Piper, which started shares with a Buy rating and $10 target, believes the online higher education market is still in the relatively early stages as online student enrollments represent less than one-fourth of total university enrollments.
• William Blair believes Cardtronics (NASDAQ: CATM) has a highly attractive opportunity to increase the number of ATM sites it operates. The firm assumed coverage with an Outperform rating.

• MedAssets (NASDAQ: MDAS) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $24 target at Lehman, at Deutsche Bank with a Buy rating and $25 target and at Wachovia with a Market Perform rating.
• Jefferies initiated VanceInfo (NYSE: VIT) with a Buy rating and $11 target.
• Susquehanna initiated Under Armour (NYSE: UA) with a Neutral rating.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

American Express (NSYE: AXP) was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at Citigroup. According to MarketWatch the bank is concerned about the AXP earnings in 2008 and 2009.

Susquehanna initiated Under Armour (NYSE: UA) with a "neutral" rating according to Briefing.com.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is recently trading at $29.90 in pre-open trading, below its close of $37.06.

UA anticipates full year 2007 net revenues to increase approximately 40% to an estimated $605 million.

Stephens Inc says: "Despite UA's pre-announced out-performance in 4Q07, the now anticipated weight of the 1H08 marketing spend to launch the new UA footwear line is obviously putting additional discount on the stock."

UA February option implied volatility of 100 is above its 26-week average of 55 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

• Wrigley (NYSE: WWY) was upgraded by JP Morgan to Overweight from Neutral due growing international business.
• Phillips (NYSE: PHG) was downgraded at Merrill from Overweight to Underweight due to softer macro environment. Lehman Brothers also downgraded the company from Overweight to Underweight.
• Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) and Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) were upgraded by UBS from Neutral to Buy
• Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded by Oppenheimer from Perform to Outperform. Shares are up 3.75% in premarket trading.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Ambac (NYSE: ABK) is trading off almost 9% on a brokerage downgrade.

GE (NYSE: GE) is up over 3% on earnings and its 2008 forecast.

Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is moving off over 18% on a weak forecast for the first half of this year.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) is moving up almost 6% on strong earnings.

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) is up over 8% on news of a sweetened bid by BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP).

Shares may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bear upgraded the trucking sector to Market Weight from Underweight and continues to expect weak pricing but believes valuations are near a bottom. The firm raised Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW) and Knight Transportation (NYSE: KNX) to Peer Perform from Underperform.
  
• WestLB upgraded shares of Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) to Buy from Add as they believe the company's diversified business would shield it from an economic slowdown in Spain.
  
• StatoilHydro (NYSE: STO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Societe Generale on valuation, as they believe the company has one of the most risk/reward profiles in the industry.

• Under Armour (NYSE: UA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  
• B. Riley upgraded Actuate (NASDAQ: ACTU) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Deutsche Bank raised RF Micro (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Hold from Sell.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments