Barron's Picks And Pans: Yahoo, B/E Aerospace And More

• Feature stories in this weekend's Barron's offer a look at the prospects for Yahoo! Inc. YHOO, B/E Aerospace Inc BEAV and Colfax Corp CFX.
• Also, the report card for Barron's stock picks of 2015, as well as what to expect from Davos.
• The cover story presents the first part of the Barron's 2016 Roundtable.

"Yahoo's Last Roundup Could Lasso a 35% Gain" by Andrew Bary makes the case that investors could realize impressive gains if Yahoo yields to pressure to sell its Internet business and its stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo! Japan. "Investors are telling us that the current strategy under the CEO isn't working, and that it's time for an alternative," said an analyst quoted in the article.

In "B/E Aerospace: Cleared for Takeoff," Jack Hough takes a look at how B/E Aerospace, the top supplier of seating, oxygen systems and other aircraft equipment, could be just the ticket for investors. See why an expected rebound could boost the stock up to 30 percent. And the cash the company is generating could attract a buyer. It is buying back its own stock, too.

David Englander's "Deflated Pump Maker Colfax Will Revive" suggests that, despite likely weakness in the company's business in 2016, shares of Colfax look tempting long term. Colfax caters to the energy industry and is an attractive bet on the eventual recovery in oil prices. The company initiated a stock repurchase plan last year, suggesting that it considers its own stock a good investment.

Related Link: Barron's 2016 Roundtable, Part 1: A World of Possibilities

Despite some big gains in Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG and others last year, "our bullish picks disappointed, but bearish picks shone" said Avi Salzman in an article titled the quote. Overall, Barron's 146 bullish stock recommendations trailed their benchmarks for the second year in a row after two years of outperformance. Yet, the 18 bearish picks, led by Linn Energy LLC LINE, fared much better.

In Jonathan Buck's "What to Expect From Davos," find out how world leaders, corporate chiefs and academics plan to tackle thorny economic, environmental and political issues when they meet this week at the 46th annual World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland. The theme of this year's meeting: mastering the fourth industrial revolution. "When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace," said the forum's chairman. "Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country."

In addition, the cover story in this weekend's Barron's offers the first part of the Barron's 2016 Roundtable, in which nine investment pros see lots of cheap stocks, but little chance that the market will rally sharply in 2016. Quoted one panelist, "There are times to make money, and times not to lose money. This is a time not to lose money." And some stock picks for the year are named.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.