Schaeffer's Street Chatter Highlights the Following Stocks: Aeropostale, ImClone Systems, and Starbucks.

CINCINNATI -- Today's "Street Chatter" from Schaeffer's Investment Research focuses on: Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), ImClone Systems (Nasdaq:IMCL), and Starbucks (Nasdaq:SBUX). "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. Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) is an apparel retailer catering to the adolescent and young-adult demographic. This morning, Deutsche Banc boosted its rating on the stock to a "buy" from a "hold." Prior to this upgrade, ARO boasted just six "buy" ratings compared to five "holds."

Technically speaking, ARO was in need of a boost, but this upgrade may have been just too little, too late. Despite a rally of more than one percent today, the equity remains poised to close beneath its 20-week trendline for the first time since January 2. The shares have been digesting their gains of late after spending the bulk of 2004 in uptrending territory.

Options players have been growing steadily skeptical of ARO. This is evidenced by the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR), which has gradually increased since late May and currently weighs in at 0.61. This ranks in the top 17 percent of the past 12 months' worth of SOIR readings. Pessimism is also suggested by the 60-percent surge in ARO short interest last month. There are now 4.6 million ARO shares sold short, amounting to almost 10 percent of the equity's total float.

Click the following link to see the Weekly Chart of ARO Since January 2004 With 10-Week and 20-Week Moving Averages:

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=11223 .

2. ImClone Systems (NASDAQ:IMCL) is in the red today after an S.G. Cowen analyst reported that sales growth for the biotech firm's Erbitux treatment for colon cancer is "hitting a wall." Citing a survey of 27 oncologists who trip 2,500 colon cancer patients each year, the brokerage firm said Erbitux usage slipped seven percent in August compared to July numbers.

IMCL shares are currently reaching a breaking point from a technical perspective. After a second-quarter earnings disappointment sent the stock plunging lower, the equity has been consolidating sideways atop support from the 50 level. This consolidation has morphed into the stock's descending 10-week moving average, which is perched overhead around the 55 mark. Over the near term, IMCL will either triumph over this intermediate-term trendline or it will breach the 50 level to the downside.

Turning to the sentiment page, the equity's SOIR shot higher following August options expiration and has continued upward ever since. The indicator currently stands at 0.97, just three percent shy of an annual peak. In today's activity, call speculators are scooping up positions at the in-the-money November 50 call, perhaps trusting that this will continue to hold as support for the shares. Meanwhile, the number of IMCL shares sold short accounts for over 11.5 percent of the equity's total float available for trading but could be covered in just over one session's worth of trading. As far as Wall Street is concerned, analysts have given IMCL four "buy" ratings, three "holds," and one "sell," according to Zacks (www.Zacks.com).

Click the following link to see the Weekly Chart of IMCL Since August 2003 With 10-Week Moving Average:

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=11223 .

3. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) released some encouraging news late Thursday, as its board authorized the additional repurchase of nine million common shares. Through the end of June, the coffee company had already repurchased 11.5 million shares (for $260 million) under existing buyback arrangements. SBUX currently has almost 400 shares outstanding.

SBUX has been a proven trender for more than a year, gaining nearly 90 percent since late-June 2003. Since reaching a new annual peak on July 29, the shares have been consolidating sideways and digesting recent gains, but they are fresh from a successful retest of support from their 20-week trendline.

There remains a hefty amount of pessimistic sentiment toward SBUX, which is encouraging from our contrarian perspective given the equity's proven technical (and fundamental) performance. Although the stock's SOIR has been shuffling lower since logging a new annual peak in early August, it remains in the top 15 percent of all annual readings at 0.93. What's more, research from Schaeffer's Sentiment PowerTools (http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/powertoolsobs) reveals that SBUX is prone to outperformance following SOIR readings between 0.88 and 0.98. Wall Street could also stand to alter its view on the stock. At the current juncture, there are only four "buy" ratings on SBUX compared to seven "holds."

Click the following link to see the Weekly Chart of SBUX Since June 2003 With 10-Week and 20-Week Moving Averages:

http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=11223 .

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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 .