Benzinga's Barron's Weekly Roundup: PGR, VFC, Canadian Banks, Hyatt, SAP, NVTL, AAPL, CSCO, GOOG and NTDOY

Barron’s seems to be optimistic on the future of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE: PGR). The shares of Progressive Corporation are trading at “a historically low valuation”, and revenues and profits are “poised to expand”. Progressive’s stock trades at 11 times its projected earnings for 2009. Progressive’s expected Earnings Per Share (EPS) is $$1.47 and is currently trading at $ 16 a share. To read more, please click here

A survey by Barron’s indicates that until next June, most of the money managers are quite bullish about the stock market. The major stock indexes will make steady progress. Of the participants, 54% felt that they are bullish and a further 5% felt “very bullish” about the market. Most stock market "Honchos" felt that market is in a “oversold” position. To read more, please click here

According to Barron’s garment producer VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC) is a safe long term investment. VF Corporation owns a string of high profile brands like North Face, Nautica and Wrangler. In the current year, the stock was up only by 29% while the shares of its competitors registered an average growth of 44%. Besides that, there are many positives in the stock. To read more, please click here

Barron’s also suggested that investors can have a look at the Canadian banking industry. As it is better regulated and has strong balance sheets and a conservative approach in functioning, the Canadian Banking industry represents an attractive investment. The Canadian Banking industry is sounder than the Swiss, US and English Banking industries. To read more, please click here

As Hyatt’s gets ready to go public, Barron’s wants long term investors to have a look at its shares. Hyatt’s strong balance sheet, under exploited brand and potential for growth make’s it an ideal stock to own for the long term. Hyatt’s is expected to go public this week, offering 38 million shares priced between $ 23 and $ 26 a share. To read more, please click here

SAP AG’s (NYSE: SAP) earnings numbers are depressing. A grim 31% fall in software revenue pulled down SAP’s revenues by 9 % in the 3rd quarter. SAP also cut its full year guidance. Its shares dived as it happened for its other rivals in the software sector. Don’t dump your IT stock yet. Forrester expects things to be better next year. To read more, please click here

Barron’s says that Novatel could achieve sales of $ 38 million (much less than the $ 50 million expected by the market) from its new MiFi wireless router; bright thing in this gloomy scenario is that its sales could ramp up in future. Besides that, there are many positives. Novatel Wireless is debt free and has $5.55 per share in cash. While these limit the downside, the upside potential is good. To read more, please click here

Nintendo expects a sale of only 20 million units for Wii – a game console. In its last guidance, it expected a sale of 26 million units. Weak consumer spending and proliferation of low - cost casual games on the Apple’s iPhone are hurting sales of all companies including Nintendo’s in the video game industry. Besides that, there are no new next - generation game consoles in on the horizon. To read more, please click here

As Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) gets ready to announce its 1st quarter earnings for the fiscal 2010 earnings on Wednesday, here is a strategy for earning. Barron’s Steven M Sears did some back ground research and found that Cisco’s 1 month implied volatility is at a premium to its historical volatility. Sears infers that the options market is anticipating a substantial rise in Cisco’s stock after it declares its earnings. To read more, please click here

Is Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) finally getting it right? With its two new releases it seems to be wrenching back some lost ground. Barron’s quoted Ed Snyder, an analyst at Charter Equity Research, who feels that profit margins from its new releases will aid in improving the working of Motorola’s money losing handset division. The division could break even by the 2nd quarter of 2010. To read more, please click here

Although Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has nothing to beat it in the “search advertising” in the near and medium terms, a new book provides how the company can be a long term bet. The author of the book feels that its forays into video, mobile, cloud computing, books and clean energy will not cause sleepless nights for its investors. To read more, please click here

According to Barron’s, in the current situation, raising money can be tricky for hedge funds. Barron’s spoke with three hedge fund managers – all of whom have achieved fantastic results in the recent times. All of them acknowledge that mopping up funds is a long slow process. They also discuss their favorite picks. To read more, please click here

Barron’s lays bare Fred Alger Management’s Inc’s money making strategies. Supported by extensive experience of its analyst team and based on its strategy that targets companies that are on the verge of achieving volume or margin growth, Fred Alger Management, Inc., is finding that its investments are paying off. Speaking with the company’s CEO, Barron’s also finds out his favorite picks. To read more, please click here