William Wrigley Jr., Co. manufactures and sells chewing gum under the Wrigley%s Spearmint, Doublemint, JuicyFruit, Big Red, Winterfresh, Freedent and Extra brand names.For the fiscal year ended 12/31/00, revenues rose 4% to $2.15B. Net income rose 8% to $479.3M. Revenues reflect higher worldwide shipments, a favorable mix and selected selling price increases in all regions. Net income reflectshigher gross margins.

February 4, 2001

William Wrigley Jr. (NYSE:WWY) isn't just blowing bubbles when it says that it owns 50% of the U.S. chewing gum market. The company is the world’s largest manufacturer and seller of chewing gum and specialty gums. Wrigley's principal products include Wrigley's Spearmint, Doublemint, Juicy Fruit, Big Red, and Extra. Aside from WWY’s steady earnings history, we feel that the chart may have just completed a rounded bottom formation off good support. What’s more, the company announced a 2:1 stock split on January 23rd, which could help to generate extra buying ahead of the payable date of February 28th. Is this sounding familiar yet? It certainly does to us, so lets point out a few of the important support and resistance levels for entry timing. First, for resistance we’ll look for a close above Friday’s intraday high of $88.45 to set the stage for a breakout. Should this occur, we will expect the next challenge to arise just higher at the 20-dma of $88.75. A much more difficult test will occur at the 50-dma of $89.82, which has been confirmed as an important level from the stocks recent history. Look for entry points when WWY can exceed resistance on good daily volume of 295,954 shares or better. Next, for support we’ll anticipate the convergence of the 5 and 10-dma’s at $87.61 and $87.48 to hold the initial support base. Secondary support should crop up at $86, bolstered by previous lows. Look for entries to develop from support when WWY bounces sharply off these levels on mid-day volume of 150,000 or more. We recommend placing stops at $85 to protect our backside. We ill plan our exit strategies ahead of the February 28th payable date, as per our normal policy.

Picked on February 4th @ $88.12
Change since picked 0.00
Stop Loss @ $85.00

February 22, 2001

Despite the recent weakness in the market, Wrigley shares have shown resilience and remain poised for higher levels. A strong uptrend on the chart, not to mention a rising MACD, tell us that momentum players could re-surface at any time. To get us started, a break above near-term resistance at $92.50 could be the catalyst that starts off the rally. A second challenge should come at Tuesday’s intra-day high of $93.40, which is bound to present us a stiffer challenge. Entry points may be signaled if WWY re-tests support at either the 5-day or 10-day moving averages ($91.44 and $91.14) and then reverses sharply higher on mid-day volume of at least 125,000. As for resistance, the all-time high of $96.88 will be the toughest test. We’ll retain our stops at $91 and plan our exit strategies ahead of the February 28th payable date.

Picked on February 4th @ $88.11
Change since picked +3.69
Stop Loss @ $91.00

February 20, 2001

Defensive play WWY continued an ascent to higher levels on Tuesday, gaining 0.81% to a close of $92.35. More importantly, the stock was able to advance through last week’s consolidation and could now be ready for its next leg up. Bolstering the possibility of this scenario are positive readings in both the MACD and the stochastic indicators. What we’d like to see now is for momentum players to start picking up shares and lift trading volume above its 3-month average of 280,000 shares. This will add strength to the run and could potentially attract more attention to the stock as we near the February 28th payable date. With that said, we’ll continue to look for the next key resistance point to challenge shares at the $95 mark. A more difficult challenge could come at the all time high of $96.88. Again, we’ll look for entry points to come when WWY shares move through these points on good daily volume of at least 280,000 shares. On the flipside, additional entries may unfold if WWY falls to support at $92 (previous highs) and follows with a hard reversal from it on mid-day volume of at least 125,000 shares. We’re recommending that stops be lifted to $91, which will help to protect more of our gains.

Picked on February 4th @ $88.11
Change since picked +4.24
Stop Loss @ $91.00

February 18, 2001

Given Wrigley’s relatively high operating profitability, strong balance sheet and dominant worldwide market share (over 50%), we feel that WWY offers investors a safe alternative to the volatile technology market. What’s more, the stock seems to be gaining upside momentum as we head toward the February 28th payable date. On Friday, WWY shares rallied above their weeklong consolidation range with a 1.80 point or 2% advance. The leg up came on fairly good volume of 254,500 shares and could mean that buyers are starting to re-accumulate shares. A Positive MACD and a strong uptrend in the OBV indicator also help to confirm the potential for a breakout. So, with that said, we’ll expect to see the next key level of resistance appear at the $95 mark. Offering a potentially tougher barrier will be the all time high of $96.88. Should WWY shares rally through either of these levels, we’ll look for potential entry points to arise. However, you may want to incorporate a trailing stop strategy, should the stock reverse sharply from resistance. We recommend this to protect against the possibility of a double top formation. On the other hand, additional entry points can arise if WWY hits support at $90 and follows with a quick reversal from it on mid-day volume of at least 125,000 shares. Our stop has now been lifted to $89, which still gives the stock some room to maneuver and also allows us to lock in gains.

Picked on February 4th @ $88.11
Change since picked +3.50
Stop Loss @ $89.00