On an otherwise flat day for the markets, the NASDAQ Composite is seeing some action. After breaking through to an all-time high on Friday, the tech-heavy index has continued to rally today.
The main driver is Apple Inc. (AAPL), which has cracked the top 10 of the Fortune 500 list for the first time ever. In 2012, Apple was ranked at No. 17—this year, it has jumped all the way to sixth place. Meanwhile, PC maker Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) has been booted off the top 10 list—down to No. 15—as profits have eroded. And newcomer Facebook.com Inc. (FB) just managed to squeeze onto the list at No. 482.
But while AAPL shareholders have responded favorably to the tech shuffle, I don’t want you to buy into it. Just a quick scan through Portfolio Grader tells you that it’s going to take more than a Fortune 10 spot to get a buy recommendation for me. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, the company is struggling to accelerate sales and earnings due to the increasing competition. And since then, institutional buying pressure has fallen even further so I have downgraded the stock to an F-rated “strong sell.”
So it just goes to show that as certain stocks fall in and out of public favor each week, you should also monitor how these stocks are ranking in Portfolio Grader. Let’s start here by looking at the 55 big blue chips that have been upgraded and downgraded this weekend. After taking a close look at the latest data on institutional buying pressure and each company’s fundamental health, I decided to revise my Portfolio Grader recommendations for each of the stocks listed below.
Upgrades
Last Week’s Holds, Now Buys
| Symbol | Company Name | Quantitative Grade | Fundamental Grade |
| BEN | Franklin Resources Inc. | B | B |
| ETN | Eaton Corporation PLC | B | C |
| ICE | IntercontinentalExchange Inc. | B | C |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin Corp. | B | B |
| RTN | Raytheon Co. | B | B |
| TRP | TransCanada Corp. | B | C |
| VRX | Valeant Pharmaceuticals | B | C |
Last Week’s Sells, Now Holds
| Symbol | Company Name | Quantitative Grade | Fundamental Grade |
| ABV | Ambev | D | C |
| BHI | Baker Hughes Inc. | C | D |
| CIE | Cobalt International Energy Inc. | C | C |
| ENI | Enersis S.A. ADS | D | C |
| ESRX | Express Scripts Holding Co | D | B |
| ESV | Ensco PLC Cl A | D | C |
| HUM | Humana Inc. | D | B |
| INFY | Infosys Ltd. ADR | D | C |
| MRO | Marathon Oil Corp. | C | D |
| NUE | Nucor Corp. | C | C |
Downgrades
Last Week’s Buys, Now Holds
| Symbol | Company Name | Quantitative Grade | Fundamental Grade |
| ACE | ACE Ltd. | C | B |
| AGNC | American Capital Agency Corp. | C | C |
| BAC | Bank of America Corp. | B | D |
| BAP | Credicorp Ltd. | C | B |
| C | Citigroup Inc. | C | B |
| CERN | Cerner Corp. | C | B |
| CTRX | Catamaran Corp | C | C |
| DG | Dollar General Corp. | C | B |
| EPD | Enterprise Products Partners L.P. | C | C |
| HES | Hess Corp. | C | B |
| MO | Altria Group Inc. | C | B |
| NKE | Nike Inc. Cl B | C | B |
| NLSN | Nielsen Holdings N.V. | C | C |
| NVO | Novo Nordisk A/S ADS | C | B |
| PCG | PG&E Corp. | C | C |
| SNDK | SanDisk Corp. | C | B |
| SO | Southern Co. | C | C |
| SPG | Simon Property Group Inc. | C | B |
Last Week’s Holds, Now Sells
| Symbol | Company Name | Quantitative Grade | Fundamental Grade |
| ADM | Archer Daniels Midland Co. | D | C |
| BG | Bunge Ltd. | D | D |
| CHK | Chesapeake Energy Corp. | D | C |
| FDX | FedEx Corp. | D | C |
| FE | FirstEnergy Corp. | D | D |
| GD | General Dynamics Corp. | D | C |
| HOG | Harley-Davidson Inc. | D | B |
| KSS | Kohl’s Corp. | D | C |
| LTD | L Brands Inc. | D | C |
| LULU | lululemon athletica inc. | D | B |
| NLY | Annaly Capital Management Inc. | D | C |
| NSC | Norfolk Southern Corp. | D | C |
| OKS | ONEOK Partners L.P. | D | D |
| PM | Philip Morris International Inc. | D | C |
| RBS | Royal Bank of Scotland Group | D | C |
| SCCO | Southern Copper Corp. | D | C |
| VNO | Vornado Realty Trust | D | C |
| WFM | Whole Foods Market Inc. | D | C |
| WMB | Williams Companies Inc | D | C |
| XRX | Xerox Corp. | D | B |
Sincerely,
Louis Navellier