Schaeffer's Street Chatter Highlights the Following Stocks: 3M, Aeropostale, Hot Topic, and Telesystem International.

CINCINNATI -- Today's "Street Chatter" from Schaeffer's Investment Research focuses on: 3M (NYSE:MMM), Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), Hot Topic (NASDAQ:HOTT), and Telesystem International (NASDAQ:TIWI). Street Chatter" is a report that analyzes three newsworthy stocks that are generating a lot of attention on Internet message boards. "Street Chatter" is published on www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research.

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Street Chatter:

1. Dow component and consumer products giant 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) is trading slightly lower today despite new coverage from Credit Suisse First Boston. The financial services firm debuted MMM with an "outperform" rating before today's opening bell. Yesterday, MMM was the subject of debate at Prudential, as the broker said MMM could boost its dividend yield (currently at 1.8 percent) to help spread the wealth of its robust cash growth.

Even with various votes of confidence emerging from Wall Street (with today's new rating, MMM holds nine "buy" ratings and only five "holds,"), MMM has provided little in the way of technical strength to earn this commendation. Since last December, the shares have treaded along a rocky path, with very little sense of direction. At the current juncture, MMM is contained beneath its descending 10-week and 20-week moving averages, while being buoyed above the 74 level, a potential layer of support.

Checking on sentiment indicators, Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for MMM has been sashaying gradually higher since October 11, when the indicator registered an annual low of 0.65. The SOIR, which has rallied as high as the 81st annual percentile, now stands at 1.13, with total put open interest outweighing total call open interest by a fairly decent margin (at least among options with less than three months until expiration).

While the stock's SOIR has advanced, the number of shorted MMM has declined, dropping 16 percent during the last reporting period to 6.3 million. Less than one percent of the equity's available float has been sold on the short side, for a paltry short-interest ratio of about two days to cover. If the stock were able to adopt an uptrend of sorts, the chance of a short-covering rally would not be there to contribute to the advance.

Click the following link to see the Monthly Chart of MMM Since March 2003 With 10-Month Moving Average: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=11877

2. Depressed and disheartened after Monday's poor-sales declaration from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) , the retail sector dipped into the red yesterday and is bringing up the rear again today, as one of the worst-performing groups among all 80-plus Dow Jones industry sectors. Not helping matters is teen apparel retailing name Hot Topic's (NASDAQ: HOTT) news that fourth-quarter earnings will fall up to 20 percent shy of original projections, as same-store sales dropped 20 percent in November.

All of these variables are having a pronounced effect on Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), which suffered a brokerage downgrade at the hands of Prudential today. The brokerage firm lowered its rating of the formerly outperforming equity to a "neutral" from an "overweight." Prior to this setback, ARO boasted seven "buy" ratings compared to six "holds" and zero "sells."

According to Yahoo! Finance, ARO has rallied almost 50 percent so far this calendar year, outperforming the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1176.69) to the tune of 32 percent. The stock reached a new annual high on November 15 but has since slumped lower. The shares remain committed to their long-term uptrend, however, clinging to trendline support at their 10-month and 40-week moving averages. The former of these long-term trendlines contained pullbacks in the shares during January, August, and September.

Options players have slowly turned more optimistic toward ARO, as the stock's SOIR has dropped since early September to its current weighting of 0.25, thanks to around 9,000 open calls compared to just over 2,000 open puts. This reading is lower than 74 percent of the past year's worth of SOIR data. In today's action, almost 700 contracts have swapped hands on the December 30 call, which was heretofore home to 666 open call contracts. On the short-interest front, the number of shorted ARO shares dropped six percent last month to 4.3 million, which constitutes nine percent of the equity's available float. It would take just over three days of short-covering activity to eliminate all of these bearish bets.

Click the following link to see the Weekly Chart of ARO Since June 2003 With 10-Week and 20-Week Moving Averages: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=11877

3. Telesystem International (NASDAQ: TIWI) , according to Hoover's, establishes and maintains mobile telephone systems in Central and Eastern Europe. Spurred by reports that Romanian wireless concern Cosmorom could be re-entering the market, UBS downgraded its rating on TIWI today to a "neutral" from a "buy," saying Cosmorom could create a competitive environment in the region, in which TIWI currently controls the number-one cellular company name. UBS was TIWI's lone ally, as the only brokerage firm covering the stock, according to Yahoo! Finance.

TIWI dropped solidly lower this morning on heavy volume but has since advanced to within striking distance of the break-even mark. The shares, which notched a new seven-month high on Monday, have benefited from the 11 level over the past five months.

The security only became optionable in late May and is currently home to just about 550 open options positions in the front three months - 505 calls and 40 puts. Short interest has recently become more popular, as a 28-percent increase last month brought shorted TIWI shares to 0.69 million, or about 2.6 times the equity's average daily volume.

Click the following link to see the Daily Chart of TIWI Since June 2004 With 10-Day and 20-Day Moving Averages:: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=11877

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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.