My latest column is up at RealMoney as part of my series on wallflowers - stocks that have little or no analyst coverage. In this column I look at Innospec (IOSP), which makes fuel additives and other specialty chemicals that are sold primarily to oil refineries and other chemical and industrial companies. The company operates in three segments: fuel specialties, active chemicals and octane additives. Innospec has a monopoly position in the rapidly declining business of tetraethyl lead additives for gasoline. In the past, declines in that business have overshadowed growth in the remainder of the firm. Now accounting for just 16% of total revenue, I think the lead weight is becoming less burdensome. Innospec scores well in my models: Earnings momentum: Positive Earnings quality: Neutral Price momentum: Positive Free cash flow: Neutral Return potential: Positive Disclosure: At time of publication, William Trent has no position in the companies mentioned in this article. Sponsor: Financial Education Everything ...

I began expressing concerns about Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) a year ago. Even when earnings were stronger than expected in February, I stuck to my guns, saying “Cognizant executed so well on so many different metrics this quarter that anything less than perfection in the future is likely to disappoint.” It didn’t take long. The company’s expectations for the coming quarter are below street estimates, which is very unusual for a company whose typical guidance is for “at least (insert consensus estimate here).” Chief Executive Francisco D’Souza said the company has adopted a more cautious view for the remainder of the year “to reflect the heightened economic challenges over the past two months.” Since my November RealMoney piece, the stock has lost 6.8%, compared to ...