Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features Circuit City, Merrill Lynch, VCA Antech, American Pharmaceutical Partners, and Wal-Mart Stores.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the November 28 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Circuit City (NYSE:CC), Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER), VCA Antech (NASDAQ:WOOF), American Pharmaceutical Partners (NASDAQ:APPX), and Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT). Schaeffer's Market Blog is just one of the many free market commentaries written everyday at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. The Market Blog is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. They are quick insights to the day's most notable market activity from an options perspective. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB11M&PAGE=1 .

Schaeffer's Market Blog for Monday, November 28, 2005:

Below are just a few of today's Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Market Blog.

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1 .

10:03 AM Circuit City Higher on Strong Retail Sales

On Friday, I examined both the highest-rated and lowest-rated retail stocks in honor of Black Friday. Two securities shared the titled of highest-rated, J.C. Penney (JCP) and Circuit City (NYSE:CC). On Friday, I took a closer look at JCP, and today I am going to closer scrutinize CC. Shares of CC are trading higher this morning on news of a strong start to the holiday retail season for the company. Technically speaking, CC has been a remarkable performer, gaining 29 percent over the past year. As the chart below shows, the stock has been in a pronounced uptrend since mid-2003.

Despite its convincing price action, investors still are not big fans of CC stock. Option players have made hefty bets against the security, as the current Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.59 is higher than all readings taken during the past year. Financial analysts do not seem to like the stock either. According to Zacks, there are currently four "buy" ratings, 14 "hold" ratings, and five "sell" ratings on CC. As contrarians, we view this skepticism in the face of strong price performance as an indication the stock will continue to outpace the broad market. Furthermore, CC also garners a strong rating of 7.5 out of 10 on our proprietary Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard, indicating future gains are likely.

10:20 AM NYSE & NASDAQ New Highs/New Lows With Equity Scorecard

During the abbreviated post-Thanksgiving Holiday session, the bulls were able to continue their winning ways with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite making gains. This bullish session was not only reflected in the major benchmarks, but also in the number of new annual highs which outpaced the number of new annual lows by a four-to-one margin.

Below are the tables with those stocks that achieved either new annual highs or lows while sporting an "extreme" Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard rating. Because the number of new annual lows are too few and are made up of smaller cap names, we do not have Scorecard figures on all of these names.

Two of the companies on our tables are Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) and VCA Antech (NASDAQ:WOOF), click the link below to find the complete tables at our website.

10:46 AM Will American Pharmaceutical Hold Gap Support?

Shares of American Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:APPX) are trading 11 percent lower today on the news that the company will acquire its largest shareholder, privately-held American BioScience, in a deal valued at more than four billion dollars. A check on the equity's weekly price chart reveals that APPX moved lower on the market open today and held gap support near the 40 level. The stock has since bounced higher off this support area. Market players should keep a close eye on this level to see if APPX is able to hold above this support level. At last check, APPX was trading $5.14 lower to $42.50.

11:08 AM Wal-Mart Posts Same-Store Sale Increase

On Saturday, Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) announced that it expects sales for November, including Black Friday, to increase 4.3 percent. WMT did not issue specific comments on Friday's sales volume, but noted that its "Blitz" promotion in its Sam's and Wal-Mart divisions outpaced expectations in November. Previously, WMT had forecast November same-store sales to fall between three and five percent, which happened. Analysts had forecast same-store sales to increase by 3.9 percent. The retailer noted that the South and Southeast saw the strongest sales, with some of the most popular items including computers, dolls, portable DVD players, and video games.

Investors have not applauded the world's largest retailer for this news, in fact, the shares have dropped nearly a full percentage point. Calling up a monthly chart for the equity, I notice that it has been able to advance through its 10-month moving average, but it has been capped by its 20-month moving average. The latter has served as resistance for the shares throughout the past 18 months, watch for this trend to continue.

On a completely unrelated, yet interesting note, CNN/Money posted the results of an annual survey by PNC Advisors. For the past 21 years, this group has charted the cost of the gifts in the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas." This year it will cost $18,348 if you would like to shower your loved ones with partridges, pear trees, French hens, turtle doves, leaping Lords, milking maids, and piping pipers. This year's price tag represents a 6.1-percent increase over last year. The culprits for the higher costs are increased delivery costs and higher energy prices. I hope that your true love doesn't have his/her heart set on the French hens, as restrictions on the international shipment of birds thanks to the avian flu nullify the chance to buy the hens straight from France.

The above are just a few of today's Daily Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Daily Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1 .

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About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .