Dreamworks Animation is Relative Safety in Media

There seems to be no place in media to hide as estimates continue to fall and no signs of recovery in advertising or other key revenue drivers is apparent. One stock that largely avoids the potholes in media is Dreamworks Animation. The company is vulnerable on DVD sales but has no advertising exposure. In the […]

Apple Exits MacWorld

I believe the reporting of Apple’s withdrawal form MacWorld after 2009 and Jobs lack of appearance this year was misreported. There is little doubt that it had a major negative impact on Apple shares, however. Here is my take on the situation. The stock reacted very negatively to the MacWorld announcement, immediately falling about $4 […]

The Dark Knight Can Sell DVDs

The Dark Knight debuted strongly on DVD selling 3 million units on its first day. This should be good news for Time Warner although that is mostly because it was not a disappointment. The very top DVD titles continue to sell reasonably well. It is the group just beyond the top ten and the catalog […]

CETV Presents at UBS Media Conference

Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) presented on Monday morning at the 36th Annual UBS Media and Telecom Conference in New York City. The presentation appears to be contributing to a rebound in the shares which are up 13% today to their highest price since mid-November. Also contributing to the rally has been modest strength in […]

Why You Should Own Time Warner

Time Warner (TWX) is one of the world’s leading entertainment companies. The company owns AOL, 84% of Time Warner Cable (TWC) , Warner Brothers, HBO and a leading stable of cable networks including TNT, TBS and CNN. Time Warner also still owns its iconic magazine titles including Time, People and Sports Illustrated. In early 2009, […]

Why You Should Own Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (DISCA) is one of the world’s largest providers of cable networks, with projected 2008 revenue in excess of $3.4 billion. The company operates over 100 channels around the world in more than 170 countries reaching 1.5 billion subscribers. In the U.S., its best-known networks are Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet. DISCA is […]

Why You Should Own Dreamworks Animation

This will be the first in a new series of columns I will write titled “Why You Should Own…” The first stock is Dreamworks Animation (DWA) . DWA is currently trading at $21, a new 52-week low. The 52-week high was $32.73 on Sept. 2. The market cap is $1.9 billion. At the end of […]

Trying to Explain Why I still Like CETV

It is embarrassing to write about Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) given that I have owned it for Northlake clients and bought more and spoke positively about it all the way down, but I am not one to hide my screw-ups. This column is a bit long, but I owe clients and readers a detailed […]

Update on DWA Trade

After sharp sell-off earlier this week, Dreamworks Animation shares reversed hard yesterday and are up again today even as the market trades to its daily lows. I got long DWA recently because of my confidence that (1) Madagascar 2 will exceed analyst estimates for domestic box office, and (2) Kung Fu Panda DVD sales will […]

Dreaming of Gains. Again.

The weak action yesterday in Dreamworks Animation (DWA) following the better than expected opening of Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa led me to buy DWA shares again for a trade. I am looking to for a move north of $30 assuming the film continues to track toward greater than $200 million domestically. The prior trade […]