TheStreet Picks: CGV, Chesapeake

Every day on TheStreet.com, TheStreet Picks section rounds up the best stock ideas, with a focus on the clearest bullish and bearish takes.

Here is a snapshot of several recent investment ideas on TheStreet Picks.

Floods Won't Soak Monsanto (Video):

Simon Constable explains how damage to corn and soybean crops in the Midwest will help Monsanto (MON Quote) with sales of genetically modified seeds and weed killer.

To watch the video, click the player below:

From Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: June 23:

[Jim] Cramer supported the push for off-shore drilling to tap the estimated 18 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in areas that are currently off limits. "This could make a lot of money and put a lot of people to work," he said.

He said he will be spending the rest of week on companies that are involved in clean offshore drilling.

Cramer recommended French seismic surveyor Compagnie Generale de Geophysique-Veritas (CGV Quote) as his first recommendation for clean off-shore drilling.

CGV, as its known on Wall Street, is the only pure-play on offshore seismic technology, he said. The company's revenue is currently split between seismic imaging services and seismic equipment sales, with services accounting for 66% of its revenue.

According to Cramer, CGV controls 60% of the market for this type of seismic equipment, making it a market leader worldwide. The company is expecting strong growth, with increased demand from Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico. CGV's services are currently sold out for 2008 and its currently taking bids for its resources for 2009.

He called CGV "the cheapest stock left in the group," and recommended it as a buy on growth alone.

To read the full article, click here.

From 'Fast Money' Recap: UPS Lowers:

[Jeff] Macke said, "The trend is your friend" within this [oil] sector.

[Pete] Najarian is more impressed in the natural gas sector with stocks such as Chesapeake (CHK Quote) and BJ Services (BJS Quote), in which he thinks both are going to prosper and recommends to buy.

To read the full article, click here.

For more stock ideas, don't miss the daily TheStreet Picks articles here.

Wall Street Watch: Earnings and M&A

In addition to bullish and bearish takes on individual stocks, TheStreet Picks is also your go-to source for the latest Wall Street news via Earnings Watch and Merger & Acquisitions. Here are two recent highlights.

From Merrill Slashes Outlook for Banks:

Large and regional bank stocks took an initial nosedive [on Friday, June 20] after Merrill Lynch (MER Quote)cut earnings estimates for 12 companies including Bank of America(BAC Quote), BB&T (BBT Quote), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB Quote), National City (NCC Quote), Regions Financial (RF Quote), SunTrust Banks (STI Quote), Wachovia and Wells Fargo (WFC Quote).

To read the full article, click here.

From NYSE Euronext Partners with Qatar:

In a quest to continue its global expansion, NYSE Euronext (NYX Quote) on Tuesday [June 24] said it will acquire a 25% stake in Qatar's Doha Stock Market for $250 million.

The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, will provide the Big Board with a business hub in the Middle East. NYSE will get three of the 11 seats on the Doha board, while Qatar retains a 75% stake in the market. The trading currency will be the Qatari Riyal, although it is expected that there will be capabilities to list multicurrency instruments.

A relative newcomer, the Doha Securities Market began operations in May 1997 and is up 26% year to date. Its market capitalization has jumped from $5.2 billion in 2000 to $136 billion.

To read the full article, click here.

Other Tools and Idea Sources

On TheStreet Picks, under "Calendars," you'll find a link labeled "Conference Calls." This link will take you to TheStreet.com's dynamic page of quarterly company reports. This page includes archived Webcasts of real earnings conference calls that you can listen to at anytime.

TheStreet Picks also features constantly updated lists of EPS (earnings per share) estimates, a dividend stock watch list and two highlight stories from Stockpickr.

To stay up to date on TheStreet Picks, bookmark and visit www.thestreet.com/thestreet-picks/.