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Cheniere Energy votes to replace the founding the CEO after Carl Icahn upped his stake last week. The exact same scenario played out on another Icahn position that hasn't rewarded shareholders. The recommendation is for investors to pay attention to the industry problems and not the executive shuffle.  Over the weekend, Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG ) replaced founding CEO and Chairman Charif Souki. The move follows the path of another Carl Icahn position that hasn't worked out very well this year. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Summary Though Icahn has overly aggressive forecasts for Apple, he has one point that appears very accurate. Icahn suggests mutual funds are under invested in Apple, but he has not made the case for funds actually having more cash to invest in the stock. Apple's PE continues to inversely relate to the market cap. After some very bullish media reports regarding demand for the new iPhone 6/6+, Apple ( AAPL ) has gone nowhere. Sure the overall volatility in the stock market hasn't helped since the much anticipated release of the new phones back in September, but it appears that Apple faces larger problems to obtaining a higher earnings multiple. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AAPL. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Apparently Apple ( AAPL ) has somewhat taken the advice of Carl Icahn by accelerating the stock buyback after the stock slumped following reporting holiday sales. According to the Wall Street Journal, CEO Tim Cook revealed during an interview that the company had purchased a whopping $14 billion worth of stock in the two weeks since the earnings results sent the stock plummeting below $500. Remember that the number is impressive in size alone considering Apple generated $22.7 billion in operating cash flow during the December quarter. The company has previously spent over $40 billion on returning capital to investors, but the $14 billion spent in a couple of weeks is a major step up in spending. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AAPL. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

The confluence of the startup of the China Mobile ( CHL ) relationship, Carl Icahn pushing for corporate moves, and the December quarterly earnings report places Apple ( AAPL ) stock on a high alert for Monday. Investors appear reluctant to give the stock a market multiple on fears that it is losing its technological lead though it appears to have several catalysts to propel it forward in the next few years. In fact, it's very possible that the Icahn proposal would solve the major issue of large numbers that might be holding the stock back as much as anything. China Mobile The pre-order sales for China Mobile weren't nearly as many as expected, but the recent speculation that Apple is preparing larger display phones combined with news from the Apple CEO that it maintains a 57% mobile browser market share sets it up for a large ramp in China by fiscal year 2015. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AAPL. Please review the disclaimer page...

After another weak quarter, Nuance Communications ( NASDAQ: NUAN     ) continues to hammer away on the current theme that the shift to on-demand and subscription services is hurting short-term revenues while increasing development costs. The shift is occurring due to customers moving toward cloud services and per use charges for health care and mobile transactions instead of one-time perpetual licenses. This move shifts revenue from up-front payments toward receiving the revenue over periods of two to three years. The maker of voice-recognition software most fondly known for Siri used in Apple products continues to underwhelm investors expecting better results and a quicker shift.The stock continues to plow toward new lows even with an exciting sector of developments for voice-recognition and natural-language software in the medical field and enterprise virtual assistants. The disruptive shift toward on-demand and subscription services isn't new, having alre...

Over the last couple of weeks, activist investor Carl Icahn has made a couple of attention grabbing bets in very beaten down stocks. First, he made a significant investment in the much-maligned Chesapeake Energy (CHK). Second, he added to his position in Navistar International (NAV) after the company's stock plunged following a weak quarterly report. Should investors follow Icahn into these two stocks trading around the bottom for the last couple of years? Considering that both stocks have been on our list of stocks to follow, the moves caught our attention. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.