Analyst: Polaris stock dip an 'overreaction'

Wedbush analyst James Hardiman called the broad sell-off in the stock market over the past six weeks indiscriminate. To him, the sell-off has been far from uniform and has created situations where some fundamentally sound companies in his coverage universe — power sports, cruise lines and amusement park industries — have been bid down too much, making them attractive to pick up.

According to Hardiman's research note he put out last week: "Brunswick Corp. and Polaris Industries Inc. are the second- and third-cheapest names in our coverage, which are glaring overreactions in our view, and we believe they represent excellent ideas as investors take inventory of the recent carnage and look to buy."

Patrick Kennedy

Medtronic has options for using freed up cash

Medtronic PLC has freed up $9.3 billion in cash as part of an internal restructuring, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week.

Leerink analyst Danielle Antalffy wrote in a research note that Medtronic could put that extra cash to work by paying down long-term debt or rewarding shareholders through increased dividends and stock repurchases.

With the additional cash freed up, Medtronic has $12.5 billion in total cash that also could be used for acquisitions. "We would expect Medtronic to be more active in M&A over the next 12 to 18 months now with access to significantly more cash on hand," Antalffy noted.

Patrick Kennedy

Analyst takes cautious position about Imation

Oakdale-based Imation Corp. announced an aggressive restructuring plan last week that will leave them focused on their tiered storage and security business. Lake Street Capital Markets analyst Eric Martinuzzi seems willing to wait on the sidelines a bit as the company's latest plan plays out.

He issued a quick report after the announcement and lowered his recommendation to a "hold."

"Our issue is less with the breadth of the reorganization and more with our skepticism the retooled Imation can achieve a run-rate break-even in 2016," wrote Martinuzzi.

Patrick Kennedy

Expert: Buyers in better position than sellers

Martha Pomerantz, a co-founder of Minneapolis-based Evercore Wealth Management, believes the September pullback in markets has created opportunities for investors. "We believe a lot of the bad news is out," she writes in a presentation to clients. "This is a better time to be an owner and a buyer than a seller."

Patrick Kennedy