Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features National-Oilwell, Amazon.com, Biogen Idec, Elan and Johnson & Johnson.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the March 1 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are National-Oilwell (NYSE:NOI), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:BIIB), Elan (NYSE:ELN) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Schaeffer's Market Blog are 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=PRMOU1M&PAGE=1

Schaeffer's Market Blog for Tuesday, March 1, 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

9:02 AM National-Oilwell Update

On Friday of last week, I chose National-Oilwell (NYSE: NOI) as a stock to watch, and I wrote it up in "Black Gold and Black Ink." NOI was challenging a historical high established in 1997, and I wondered whether the new high would hold. It did - Friday was good to NOI and yesterday was even better. I noticed after the close that the shares even got a mention in our Market Recap page, hitting a new high of $46.49 before closing at $45.34. Brokerage firm, Raymond James, reiterated it at a "strong buy."

9:59 AM The Screen is Green

Following yesterday's 75-point plunge, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up about 42 points right now at 10,808, and the mass of red that covered my screen has turned to green. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) continues to buck the trend. Yesterday it rose even though Circuit City Direct (CC) announced that it would operate through its own website, dropping its relationship with Amazon. Today, AMZN is easing down again, on no discernable news. It just won't go with the flow.

11:29 AM Biogen Idec and Elan Trade Well Before the Bell

Pharmaceutical concern Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and its business partner Elan (NYSE: ELN) dropped sharply yesterday after announcing the voluntary marketing suspension of their jointly developed multiple sclerosis treatment, Tysarbi. According to reports from the companies, Tysarbi was pulled due to two rather serious events; one, we are sorry to learn, included a death.

Traders were eager to get started this morning. Both stocks began changing hands early and rose gently, taking off more sharply once the bell rang, with ELN peaking at a 6.25-percent gain and BIIB managing a 3.70-percent gain. But both stocks have eased back despite trading volumes that already measure in the tens of millions.

A whole barful of brokers have issued ratings this morning. For BIIB, we're seeing four firms reiterating: two at "neutral," one "overweight," and one "buy." But there were three downgrades prior to market open. For ELN, there were two reiterations: one at "hold" and one at "overweight." But there were two bold upgrades.

11:57 AM Johnson & Johnson Upgraded at Merrill Lynch

This morning before the market open, Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) to "buy" from "neutral," on its belief that JNJ should experience less EPS dilution tied to the Guidant acquisition in 2005. I have been following JNJ shares since mid-July. What first attracted me to the equity was that it had been producing positive earnings surprises without much positive attention on the sentiment front. In fact, at the time, JNJ was one of the very few mega-cap companies that was underloved by financial analysts and investors. Since mid-July, JNJ is up more than 20 percent. Technically speaking, the equity appears to have broken above prior resistance at the 65 level and now faces little overhead resistance. While analysts have warmed up to JNJ a bit, as evidenced by this morning's upgrade, option players remain skeptical. There are 62,400 JNJ calls compared with 55,600 puts in the near term. The resultant Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.89 is higher than 83 percent of all readings taken over the past year. At last check, JNJ was trading $1.17 higher to $66.77 today.

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.