Is the market overpriced? Maybe it is cheap, or perhaps it is fairly valued. This is the third in a series examining the issue. Still, it has been my contention that it does not make any difference because no matter how the market is valued as a whole, there are plenty of cheap stocks out there to accommodate a large amount of capital allocation even this deep into a bull run.

If you would like to follow along from the beginning, the initial post screened stocks for lower than market average P/E ratios: Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks. In the second installment, I looked at yield and PEG ratios: Serious Money: Still Cheap Market -- 35 Stocks + Yields & Growth.

Let's try and reduce the gambling by examining the facts and ignoring what the bulls and bears are chatting up at the moment. We started the process by screening for lower than market average P/E ratios, see: Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks.

Two more important criteria influence today's review: the yield, a favorite of "my pal Warren"; and the price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) a focus of Peter Lynch, the retired fund manager extraordinaire of Fidelity's Magellan Fund.

Microsoft (MSFT), the tech giant behind the Windows operating system, whose colleagues include Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM), and Yahoo! (YHOO), issued Q2 numbers after the bell on Thursday. Revenues increased 14%, and diluted earnings per share went up well over 50% to 74 cents.

In terms of expectations, Earnings.com says 59 cents was the number to beat. Obviously, the company had no problem doing that. As the news outlets have been reporting, Windows 7 was the big driver of the quarter's success.

We frequently receive comments that the market is overpriced. Recently one of our active readers commented that the market P/E was 30, which it's not. The actual rate (S&P forecast) has been even higher at times due to the volatile market.

The average should trend closer to the long term P/E of 15.7 in the next few years. However, I have reviewed companies often covered on our site and come up with a list of 35 stocks that have price-to-earning ratios below the long-term average already. I think there are dozens of bargains regardless of the status of the overall market.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• American Express Co. (AXP) doubled its bottom line in Q4 while its provisions for losses fell.
• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) warned of weakness in Q4 and lowered its guidance, sending shares lower.
• Coach Inc. (COH) better-than-expected Q2 earnings were accompanied by sales growth, but shares fell.
• Comerica Inc. (CMA) posted a smaller-than-expected Q4 loss, sending shares to a 52-week high.
• CSX Corp. (CSX) posted Q4 earnings that topped estimates but its revenue fell short of expectations.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord upgraded IBM (IBM) to buy from hold, citing the better-than-expected Q4 report, an ongoing economic recovery and higher IT budgets. The firm raised its target to $150 from $130.
• Citigroup upgraded Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to buy from hold to reflect strength in the oilseed processing market and a positive inflection in ethanol profitability. The firm raised its target on shares to $37 from $33.
• FBR Capital upgraded Tesco (TESO) to outperform from market perform on expectations the company's top drive orders will accelerate in the coming quarters. The firm raised its target price on shares to $18.
• CBS (CBS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• HSBC Holdings (HBC) was upgraded to buy from hold at RBS.
• Essex Property Trust (ESS) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

International Business Machines (IBM) nailed another quarter. Going into the report, it was difficult to believe that Big Blue's fundamentals were going to suddenly collapse. Although they didn't, yesterday's after-hours crowd wasn't kind to the company's shares, which slid by almost 2%.

Who cares? The stats from the Q4 release should dissuade anyone from feeling bearish. Earnings per share increased 10% to $3.59. Expectations were for $3.47 per share, so congratulations are in order for another solid beat. Furthermore, gross margin experienced a nice expansion.

U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday, indicating Wall Street is poised for a lower open, after Bank of America reported a big loss. Other concerns weighing on the market include Chinese clampdown on lending and the change in the balance of power in Washington. Meanwhile, investors will continue to focus on the many earnings and economic indicators coming out this morning.

U.S. stocks hit a new 15-month high Tuesday as IBM led tech stocks higher ahead of its earnings report late Tuesday, and health-care shares rose as the health care and insurance reforms hung in the balance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115 points, or 1.1%, the S&P 500 rose 14 points, or 1.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 32 points, or 1.4%.

I am looking forward to International Business Machine's (IBM) Q4 earnings report, which is scheduled to be released after the close of today's session. No, I don't have a trade going on with the shares, but I have a feeling the numbers are going to be pretty good for Big Blue. When I covered the company's Q3 data back in October, I found myself impressed. I firmly believe the fundamental strength is set to continue.

According to Earnings.com, IBM, whose colleagues include Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Microsoft (MSFT), is expected to deliver around $3.47 per share for the bottom line. Last year at this time, the company made $3.28 per share. So, investors might see an increase of around 6% in the metric.

U.S. stock futures were slightly lower Tuesday morning as investors returned from a long weekend ready for earnings season to get in full swing with Citigroup (C) and IBM (IBM) reporting Tuesday. Also, several mergers greeted traders, including, finally a $19.5 billion offer for Cadbury by Kraft Foods.

On Friday, U.S. stocks fell after JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) reported better-than-expected results, that included, however, deep fourth-quarter loan losses. Also, a consumer sentiment survey was weaker-than-expected as consumers were increasingly concerned about income and employment.

Computer storage concern Xyratex (XRTX) reported Q4 results Tuesday after the bell. The tech company had a lot of pressure on its back going into the release. As Trey Thoelcke observed in his earnings preview, there were high expectations in terms of the bottom line. The market was looking for 38 cents per share.

Unfortunately, management wasn't able to deliver on those expectations, posting instead an adjusted per-share profit of 26 cents. The top line also had a tough time, decreasing roughly 15%.

The investment philosophy here typical shuns stocks that are already above $80 -- too many institutional investors will avoid the stock because it's already been 'bid-up.' But there are exceptions, International Business Machines Inc. (IBM) is one, and I'm reiterating my buy rating for the company's shares, first recommended on February 18, 2009, at a price of $91.51. If you bought IBM in February 2009, you're up about 40%.

Big Blue rings true: gross margins should increase to 46.5% to 47% in 2010 from 45.8% in 2009 on an improved sales mix and prudent cost reductions.

Formally International Business Machines, IBM (IBM) develops and manufactures information technology products and services worldwide. From PCs to servers to software to semiconductors, this stock is a true global tech player.

While many tech firms are chasing the next big personal gadgets, IBM is content to continue its dominance of the mainframe and server market. The bottom line is that other tech companies have ceded this part of the computer market to IBM -- and it is thriving as a result.

When it comes to cutting edge technology, sometimes it's more important to focus on value than it is to focus on cost. Yeah, you can get a cell phone for $9.99, but don't expect it to play digital music or let you check your email. You can get a flat screen for under $500, but it will only be a tiny 32-incher.

Well, the same is true for tech stocks. There are some companies out there with shares trading for peanuts, but investors get what they pay for. On the other hand, stocks like Google (GOOG) are trading around $600 a share for a reason.

Today was a low volume trading day without much economic fanfare as many market participants were out or were talking about the Christmas holiday rather than the markets. The manufacturing output was reported for the Dallas and Chicago Fed Districts, but this in and of itself is rarely enough to heavily influence the markets. There will be more traders around on Tuesday and Wednesday most likely, but then it is likely to peter out again on Thursday ahead of the New Year's Day holiday this Friday. The markets were mixed throughout the trading day, and the real position for an up-close or down-close was something not known until the very end of the trading day.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,547.30 +27.20 (0.26%)
S&P 500 1,127.78 +1.30 (0.12%)
Nasdaq 2,291.08 +5.39 (0.24%)

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