My Top 10 Stocks for 2009

Since my blog is less than one year old this will be the first annual Top Ten Stocks for the new year list.

The list has a wide range of sectors and includes some beaten down stocks and out of favor stocks.

The prices for the stocks are the closes on December 31st 2008.

I will revisit these picks throughout the year and ultimately at the end of 2009.

IMAX $4.48

Imax is a stock I own in real life with Sogotrade. I have had the shares for about a year and a half and wait patiently for the stock to take off. Shares have traded in the $2-$8 range since i have owned them and currently sit in the middle. The company had one of its best movie releases last year with The Dark Knight. The lineup this year continues to push away from documentaries into subsequent movie releases. Movies on Imax in 2009 include A Christmas Carol (Jim Carrey), Watchmen, Star Trek., Transformers 2, Avatar (James Cameron first directed movie since Titanic), Under the Sea, and a re-release of The Dark Knight (in time for Oscar season). The companies digital projections should be sent to many of the contracted theaters this year.

JNJ $59.83

Johnson and Johnson is a great blue chip stock that has been beaten down. The stock right now has a 3% yield and is down from a 52 week high of $72. The company recently aquired Mentor (a company specializing in plastic surgery), which was one of my favorite out of love stocks. The company owns brands like Tylenol, Band-Aid, Listerine, Neutrogena, and Splenda. The stock should rebound nicely and the dividend will be increased.

HANS $33.53

Hansen Natural is a beverage company best known for ts Monster Energy drink. The energy drink is number two in the still growing market behind Red Bull. Monster and Monster Java sell extremely well in grocery stores, convenience stores, and big warehouses. The company recently announced a new partnership with Coca Cola (KO) to distribute Monster with its Coca Cola products. This partnership was signed as a long term deal which I think will eventually lead to a buyout by the larger corporation.

ATVI $8.64

This stock that I own in real life traded as high as $19 in the past 52 weeks. The company merged with Blizzard (World of Warcraft). Activision also makes Call of Duty and Guitar Hero. It may have been a softer Christmas than past but when results come out from the Christmas quarter, shares should rebound slightly. The company also has a new Starfox game, which will be huge in South Korea.

MO $15.03

Altria, the domestic smoking company that makes Basic and Marlboro, is all thats left since it split off its international business (PM-Philip Morris International). The company also owns John Middleton cigars and around a quarter of SABmiller (Miller, Coors). The stock trades at 5x trailing earnings and yields over eight percent.

DNDN $4.58

Denderon is my speculative stock that will either blow up or blow up in my face. The company is a biotech with a promising prostate cancer drug. The drug is called Provenge and should be approved this year with supporting results from Phase III trials.

GLW $9.53

Corning is a leader in glass making, fiber optics, and LCDs. The company continues to ride the flat screen television boom. The company should also gain from the need for more fiber optics for internet data being transferred from one place to another.

DE $38.32

Deere is my one pick to ride out Obama's presidency. The stock yields around three percent. The stock has traded from around $28-$95. This stock should bounce back and ride the infrastructure boom that Obama is going to support with cash. This stock is a great play on Obama and agriculture.

MPEL $3.17

Melco Crown is my foreign company that I picked. They currently have one casino in Macau called Crown Macau. The company will be opening City of Dreams in Macau this year which will significantly help them gain market share of the most expensive gambling place on earth. The new casino will help them further dominate the VIP market that they have slowly led in. Shares have been trading down from their $15 fifty two week high.

RIG $47.25

Trading at nearly a third of its fifty two week high of $163, shares of Transocean scream bargain. Just because oil prices are down doesn't mean people will quit looking for oil. Transocean is the leader in offshore exploration. The company has a market cap of 16 billion and has a listed enterprise value of over thirty billion. The company trades at just over three times 2009 earnings currently. The companys book value is over $50.00 per share. A company like this should not trade below book value. The hunt for oil will continue to help this stock grow.






*Disclaimer- I own shares of IMAX, ATVI, an MO as of time of writing this article.