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Brand-Name Stocks Uner $10: Buyer Beware
These well-known names in the bargain bin may look appealing, but experts advise laying off until their earnings picture is clear. Among the stocks to be weary of are Sprint Nextel, Motorola, Ford Motor, Qwest, Washington Mutual, Northwest Airlines, Del Monte, Rite Aid, Chico's, Crocs, United Airlines, Palm, Sealy, Blockbuster, Circuit City and Orbitz.
Brand-Name Stocks Under $10: Buyer Beware

How to Play the Market in the Second Half of 2008
Market pro Todd Harrison discusses the top 10 themes for the rest of the year.
Where we are and where we're going: 10 market themes - MarketWatch

Finding Safety in a Bear Market
Here are five ways to protect your portfolio.
Keeping Your Balance in a Scary Market - Kiplinger.com

With its stock in the toilet as the hype surrounding its ugly, clog-like, sandal shoes subsides, Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) has taken to putting out daily press releases announcing pretty much anything. From May 13th through the 16th, the company actually managed to announce something every single day.

First the company announced that it had won a $56 million judgment against a company that had the audacity to produce charms for its footwear, violating the intellectual property of its Jibbitz company. But the stock failed to budge and the company didn't comment on the collectability of that judgment.

Then on the 14th, the company announced that it had launched "www.CitiesByFoot.com, a comprehensive website with guides to more than 70 shops, restaurants, boutiques and historic destinations in six U.S. cities." Just what we need: another travel site.

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

• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) beat Q2 expectations but offered a weak outlook.
• Clear Channel Communications Inc. (NYSE: CCU) higher Q1 profits failed to beat expectations.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) just missed EPS estimates but raised its full-year guidance.
• CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) strong Q1 results only met Wall Street expectations.
• eResearch Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ERES) beat Q1 expectations and offered Q2 and full-year guidance.
• Foster Wheeler Ltd. (NASDAQ: FWLT) beat estimates due to a boost in its power plant segment.
• Internet Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: INET) reported strong Q1 results on ongoing M&A.
• Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY) widened its loss in Q1 but beat expectations.
• News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) Q3 earnings jumped on a one-time transaction with Liberty Media.
• NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) missed Q1 estimates but was upgraded by analysts anyway.
• NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) reported a first-quarter profit above analysts' estimates.
• Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) Q3 profits surged but fell short of analysts' expectations.
• World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) posted strong results but couldn't cover its dividend.

Upcoming results to watch for include Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR), Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), JC Penney (NYSE: JCP), Macy's (NYSE: M), Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

If you haven't noticed the surging price of oil at the pump or the surging prices of your electric bills, maybe oil at $124.00 and higher per barrel will catch your eyes. Maybe proposing higher margin limits on oil futures trading isn't such a bad idea after all.

Despite this, retail sales managed to come in better than most were expecting... even if you can chalk that up to an extra day because of Easter in March. Jobless claims also fell by 18,000 from last week to about 365,000. Below are the unofficial closing levels for the major US index levels:

• DJIA 12,867.27 (+52.92; +0.41%)
• S&P500 1,397.60 (+5.03; +0.36%)
• NASDAQ 2,451.49 (+13.00; +0.53%)
• 10YR-TBond 3.805% (-0.062%)
• 52-WEEK LOWS
• Top Analyst Calls

Barr Phrarmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BRL) was the drug company blow-up today. The company missed earnings estimates and lowered guidance. As the company is a generic drug giant, does this mean people are going off their meds? Shares tanked by 22% to $38.28 in the final minutes today.

Before the bell: Stocks could bounce back; retail sales, TM, BBY on tap

Unilever (NYSE: UL) is the world's second-largest maker of food and detergent, so you would expect the company to hurt with rising commodity prices. But Unilever has been proactive and has raised prices 4.8% in the quarter to offset its rising costs. In fact, the company said revenue will beat its forecast for the first time in six years on increased prices and sales of Dove soap, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Lipton tea. First-quarter net income climbed 33%, exceeding analysts' estimates.

As expected, April retail sales have so far indeed been strong, although there are some ares weakness is seen.

• Costco (NASDAQ: COST) shares are up 1.2% in premarket trading after the warehouse club retailer said April same-store sales increased 8%, beating analysts' expectations of 6.1%.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) shares are also higher in premarket trading, up 1.8%, after the world's largest retailer, said same-store sales climbed 3.2%, beating the 2.1% forecast by analysts. Staying with Wal-Mart for a moment, it said it plans to invest millions in Canada and open more supercenters.
• The more luxurious items, though, such as lingerie sold at Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) have seen a slowdown as the company said that April same-store sales fell 5%, falling short of the 2.3% sales decline analysts had anticipated.

Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) is up 16% on word of good earnings.

Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ: ENER) is up over 15% on a strong quarter.

Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) is off almost 19% on poor quarterly numbers.

Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) is off about 3% on weak same-store sales figures.

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

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 letter.

This afternoon Crocs, Inc (NASDAQ: CROX) reported its first quarter numbers, and the stock is soaring in after-hours trading -- despite missing Wall Street estimates by a penny.

Going into this afternoon's report, analysts were expecting to see the company show earnings of 10 cents a share, but the company failed to miss that estimate, by posting 9 cents a share for its most recent quarter. Despite missing by a penny, the stock has been moving up strongly in after-hours trading, with investors so far pushing shares up a bit over 14%?

Doesn't sound right, does it? The recent market has been punishing stocks that have missed estimates, so why is CROX shooting to the upside?

It wasn't that long ago that Wall Street was in love with Crocs, Inc (NASDAQ: CROX), the maker of the trendy slippers that took the world by storm last year. After going on a tear for most of 2007, the stock started to break down last November, and has been in a tail spin for the past 5 months.

The company is going to be reporting its first quarter numbers tomorrow after the market close, and all signs are pointing to yet another troublesome quarter for the company. Earnings.com is showing Wall Street estimates of 10 cents a share, but that number does not really hold too much water after the company announced a much weaker forecast last month in its preliminary release.

Last month, CROX shocked Wall Street when it said that it expected to see a 5 cent per share loss in the quarter, and revenues falling somewhere between $195 and $200 million. After that news came out, the already troubled stock took a serious nose dive, and gave up around 40% of its value.

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.

Crocs, those ubiquitous colorful rubber clogs you either love or hate, are perhaps on the road out as a fad. But don't blame the fashion police: blame company shenanigans and a spate of bad PR.

Recent news reports about their safety (Japanese children have reportedly been hurt riding on escalators in their rubber shoes) have only added to the company's woes.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) has seen its share price plummet in recent months, reaching an all-time 52-week low after announcing it would adjust its first quarter guidance sharply downward. The company recently shut down its rubber plant in Quebec City due to the slowdown in U.S. retail orders. The guidance adjustment shocked analysts, and the stock began to melt like, well, like rubber. Indeed, this once darling of Wall Street has been brought low from all sides. My colleague Zac Bissonnette follows the company closely, (although I doubt he owns a pair himself) and recently wondered why the company wasn't addressing its safety concerns in its 10K.

Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) pre-announced disappointing Q1 results and lowered Q2 revenue guidance growth guidance on April 14.

CROX is expected to announce full Q1 EPS on May 7. CROX closed at $10.11 Monday, near record low.

CROX May 10 straddle is priced at $1.50, June 10 straddle is at $2.50. CROX over all option implied volatility of 86 is above its 26-week average of 82 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

A few days before reports surfaced of topless photos of the teen star set to appear in Vanity Fair, struggling clog-maker Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) signed a licensing deal to market "an all new collection of footwear and accessories inspired by the smash hits, Hannah Montana and High School Musical, and the upcoming Disney*Pixar film Wall-E."

Disney spokesman Patti McTeague lashed out at the magazine for the spread: "Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."

Cyrus took responsibility herself in a prepared statement: "I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."

Whether she'll be able to recover remains to be seen. It immediately reminds me of the Rolling Stone cover featuring David Cassidy, and the interview that portrayed him as less family-friendly than he was thought to be. I'm no expert on Partridge Family lore, but I understand that the group's popularity waned following that incident.

If that happens with Ms. Cyrus too, Crocs will need to find a new savior.

I know the title of this post seems cheeky, but I'm actually serious: if you lost money on Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX), you should thank the aggressive short sellers who may have helped you avoid losing a lot more money.

Nearly two years, Mad Money host Jim Cramer called the short sellers in Crocs "way too aggressive." While those shorts got burned in the short-run, the longer-term decline in the company's fundamentals has proven they were right. Renowned short seller Manuel Asensio was a vocal critic of the company, raising questions about its valuation and prospects back when it was the hottest company on Wall Street.

With a short interest of over 38% when it was a high-flier, it seems likely that short selling kept a lid on the company's run-up.

And who did that hurt? The insiders who were dumping shares like they were going out of style the way that Crocs subsequently have! The aggressive short selling capped the transfer of wealth from small investors to insider in the low hundred millions. Had the stock been allowed to soar over $100, the damage might have been much worse.

So if you lost a few thousand on Crocs, go hug a short seller! They saved you from yourself.

Yesterday, I wrote about Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) and the problems the company is having in Japan. The government there has asked the company to consider changing the design of its footwear after reports that children were getting hurt wearing its rubber sandals on escalators.

What's interesting is that the reports about Crocs' safety issues have all come from the media, not the company's SEC filings. Back in 2006, ABC reported that Crocs can pose a danger on escalators. Some hospitals have even banned the shoes citing safety concerns.

But Crocs' latest 10-K is devoid of any references to the concerns about the safety of the shoes.

A similarly struggling fad shoe company, Heelys (NASDAQ: HLYS), has also dealt with issues surrounding the safety of its footwear. From the risk factors section of the company's latest 10-K:

After losing about 40% of its value last week, Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) has another headache.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that "Japan has asked the maker of Crocs to look into changing the design of its footwear after complaints that children wearing the colorful plastic clogs have had their feet injured on escalators."

The company has faced similar accusations in the United States and Crocs is reportedly working with the Elevator/Escalator Safety Foundation (I can't believe that even exists) on public education initiatives.

What does all this mean for Crocs? Probably not much beyond the company's already dismal financial results, although the posters warning about the dangers of Crocs near escalators in Japan probably won't do much to spur sales.

Crocs' dramatic fall from grace has been an interesting story to watch, and the company just doesn't seem to be able to catch a break.

The safety concerns are not disclosed as risk factors in Crocs' latest 10-K, indicating that the company's management may not see them as a material threat to sales.

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

• Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BSC) reported a profit that missed expectations by a penny.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) posted higher profits in the first quarter, boosted by global gains.
• Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) first-quarter earnings were in line with expectations.
• Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) posted a bigger-than-expected loss on further write-downs.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) lowered first-quarter guidance led the stock to a new 52-week low.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) beat first-quarter estimates due to strong demand overseas.
• Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
• ITT Corp. (NYSE: ITT) raised its first-quarter and full-year earnings guidance.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) beat expectations though first-quarter profits fell
• Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) posted a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss due to write-downs.
• TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD) second-quarter EPS rose 35%, but revenue fell.
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) beat first-quarter earnings expectations thought profits slipped.
• Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) posted its first quarterly loss since 2001 and cut its dividend.
• Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM) swung to a first-quarter loss of more than $1 billion.
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) beat expectations though first-quarter profits fell.