Top Takes: Amazon, Gannett

Here's what some of our market pros are saying and playing.
By RealMoney Staff ,

The RealMoney contributors are in the business of trading and investing all day on the basis of ongoing news flow. Below, we offer the top five ideas that RealMoney contributors posted today and how they played those ideas.

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1. MOS and VPRT

By Timothy Collins

10:05 a.m. EST

I have closed the rest of my

VistaPrint

(VPRT)

spread for a small profit, and closed my

Mosaic

(MOS) - Get Report

spread for a loss. I am looking at raising some cash here, even though my trading positions are still more limited. Finding better opportunities elsewhere, and one of those is cash (puts and InterETFs are the other two).

No positions.

2. Amazon

By Alan Farley

10:56 a.m. EST

Amazon's

(AMZN) - Get Report

price action Friday and today points to rejection at the 50-day exponential moving average. This significantly raises the odds of a selloff into the big October breakout gap between $95 and $110.

This is a huge price zone, so it's hard to pick the most likely spot for a turnaround. "Round number" $100 and the 200-day EMA (at $105) are obvious levels to watch.

No positions.

3. Shore Quarter

By Tim Melvin

11:45 a.m. EST

A lot of readers have asked what I thought of the quarter from recent addition

Shore Bancshares

(SHBI) - Get Report

. My answer is that it was about what I expected. Net chargeoffs rose but remain fairly low compared with many institutions at just 1.51% of loans. I would have liked to see a little bit more of an increase in loan loss reserves, but management is confident they are adequate. Credit loss provisions remain higher than net chargeoffs, so I can live with the current levels. Earnings were hit by FDIC expenses and TARP costs like a lot of other banks, and those are not permanent increases.

I think the stocks can still be bought as it trades for less than tangible book, is adequately capitalized and is a well-run local bank.

Long SHBI.

4. AMZN

By Timothy Collins

12:16 p.m. EST

Taking some profits from the

Amazon

(AMZN) - Get Report

earnings trade (that was slightly bearish) at $15.50 (paid $14.67). I see $110 as a possible bouncing point on this one.

Short AMZN.

5. Gannett Reports, Down 8%

By Jonathan Heller

3:03 p.m. EST

Gannett

(GCI) - Get Report

, my favorite "back from the dead" media play, reported pretty decent fourth-quarter earnings of 72 cents a share excluding one-time charges, well above consensus estimates of 64 cents a share. Revenue fell 14.4% from the fourth quarter last year; the company bottom-lined $133.6 million. Debt reportedly reduced another $250 million, and leverage ratio has fallen to 2.6; ceiling is 3.5. Ad revenue is still hurting, down 17.9% for the quarter.

Conditions are still not great in the industry, but just months ago this company was written off for dead, trading in the $3 range. I've been out of the name since my shares were stopped out in the $9.50 range on a very volatile trading day. I left a lot on the table, but now I'm looking for a re-entry point.

No positions.

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