INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $197 - New York symbol IBM

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $197 (New York symbol IBM, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $216.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ibm.com) is paying an undisclosed sum for Texas Memory Systems. The deal should close by the end of 2012.

Privately held Texas Memory specializes in solid-state computer storage drives. Unlike regular hard drives, these are flash-memory drives with no moving parts. As a result, they use less energy and let computers access data quicker. This technology should speed up IBM’s mainframes and enhance its analytics software, which helps businesses and governments quickly gather and analyze huge amounts of data.

IBM is our #1 buy for 2012.

A professional investment analyst for more than 30 years, Pat has developed a stock-selection technique that has proven reliable in both bull and bear markets. His proprietary ValuVesting System™ focuses on stocks that provide exceptional quality at relatively low prices. Many savvy investors and industry leaders consider it the most powerful stock-picking method ever created.