Classic Jim Cramer - yesterday afternoon he was pumping
Titan Machinery (TITN) (it's "sizzlin"), after a nice 11% pop for the day, and 70% increase in 7 weeks. You just have to love him for his momentum chasing ways...
This is a name one of our readers had brought up in a comment last week, and John over at
Real Deal blog, has been high on since February (this was a recent IPO). This is basically a tangental play on the global agriculture boom - they are basically the retail end for selling agriculture equipment. Not necessarily my cup of tea but the stock performance speaks for itself - but unlike Cramer who is now pumping it at 35 x FORWARD estimates (for a retailer mind you), I'd rather listen to people like John who climbed aboard at 20 x estimates. It appears from my cursory glances at the company that it deals with
CNH Global (CNH) product, but the stock of
Agco (AG) was flying today, perhaps due to this news but also
a positive analyst report on the group, which has been lagging severely of late. If one were to play this space,
Agco (AG) is definitely my favorite. (
Apr 29: Agco Unfairly Hit on its Guidance)
- Meanwhile, farm equipment companies got a boost on Monday after Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Andrew Casey said long-term demand for agricultural equipment remains strong. He said North American demand for the machines continues to outpace supply and most manufactures are sold out for this year. This is because of soaring corn prices, which currently sit at about $7.32 per bushel.
- At the same time, the companies have been able to pass along rising steel and shipping costs to their customers and used equipment prices remain strong.
- Casey upgraded Duluth, Ga.-based Agco (nyse: AG) to “outperform” from “market perform” and boosted his valuation range to $63 to $66 from $60 to $63, citing a recent pull back in the company's share price and the long-term crop price outlook.
The line I highlighted above is key, because one concern for me - and why I've been focusing on the fertilizer over equipment is the rising input costs causing potential margin squeezes.
