Fast Money Stock Picks – July 29, 2008 – Coal, Biotech, and Financials

Adami:
MER – Merrill Lynch – Buy
X – US Steel – Buy
CELG – Celgene – Buy
USB – US Bancorp – Buy – “Final Trade”
GLW – Corning – Buy
MA – Mastercard – Buy
V – Visa – Sell

Finerman:
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR – Short
British Pound – Short
IYR – iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate – Short – “Final Trade”
SBUX – Starbucks – Sell

Najarian:
WYE – Wyeth – Buy if it pulls back to $30
ANR – Alpha Natural Resources – Buy
BUCY – Bucyrus – Buy
WLT – Walter Industries – Buy
XLY – Consumer Discretionary SPDR – Watch, it’s a great indicator of consumer discretionary space
GILD – Gilead – Buy
AAPL – Apple – Buy
WFC – Wells Fargo – Buy – “Final Trade”
Oil – Sell

Macke:
HAS – Hasbro – Buy
COST – Costco – Buy
WMT – Wal-Mart – Buy
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDF – Take profits
CMCSA – Comcast – Short

Jeffrey Harte, Sandler O’Neill securities analyst:
MER – Merrill Lynch – Buy for short term, not long term

Dennis Gartman:
*Short crude oil a little, but not aggressively, and buy the US Dollar

Christopher Raymond, Robert W. Baird analyst:
GENZ – Genzyme – Buy

Pops (stocks that jumped higher):
CL – Colgate-Palmolive (8%) – Announced strong second quarter profit and higher prices
MAS – Masco (8%) – Adami: I’d sell any more upside
ENER – Energy Conversion Devices (5%) – Najarian: I like this stock
LEN – Lennar (11%) – Finerman: I think we have to wait and see
UA – Under Armour (7%) – Beat Street estimates due partly to the launch of their performance training footwear

Drops (stocks that slid lower):
SNE – Sony (6%) – Macke: Go away CEO Howard Stringer
FDP – Fresh Del Monte (14%) – Macke: They keep missing
MTW – Manitowoc (5%) – Dropped despite higher earnings on strong demand for cranes and shipbuilding equipment overseas
DIN – Dineequity (3%) – Finerman: Applebee’s is weighing them down
RCII – Rent-A-Center (8%) – Macke: It’s a bad business, I’d short it
CR – Crane (4%) – Warned of a lower full-year earnings despite higher second quarter profits