Yahoo (YHOO), Platinum Underwriters (PTP) Among Favorites of Doug Kass

Market timer Doug Kass, who is also president of Seabreeze, said two of his favorite picks at this time are Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Platinum Underwriters (NYSE:PTP).

Yahoo he likes in what he calls a "sum-of-the-parts story and takeout candidate." Platinum Underwriters is attractive to Kass because he believes it has been oversold because of earthquakes and floods. "It trades at a 15% discount to book. And the company is embarking on a repurchasing strategy.”

Kass told CNBC the best way he sees investors profiting at this time: ”I believe investors should no longer chase strength nor should they short weakness. They have to buy the dips and sell the rips.”

In other words, Kass thinks those who buy and hold will struggle going forward. “Opportunistic traders will likely outperform the buy and hold crowd.” Of course that's how a market timer thinks, so it's not surprising that's his take on the matter, he said.

Adding to his advice, Kass said investors need to look for specific catalysts to take advantage of the current economic and market conditions.

Yahoo closed Wednesday at $17.65, gaining $0.71, or 4.19 percent. Platinum Underwriters closed at $39.97, up $0.08, or 0.20 percent.

Alterra Capital (Nasdaq:ALTE), Aspen Insurance (NYSE:AHL), Allied World (NYSE:AWH), AXIS (NYSE:AXS), Employers (NYSE:EIG), Platinum Underwriters (NYSE:PTP) All Downgraded by Macquarie

The insurance industry has been getting pounded by analysts, with a majority of them getting downgraded, like Alterra Capital (Nasdaq:ALTE), Aspen Insurance (NYSE:AHL), Allied World (NYSE:AWH), AXIS (NYSE:AXS), Employers (NYSE:EIG) and Platinum Underwriters (NYSE:PTP).

There have been some exceptions, for example, with Macquarie, they did upgrade Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) and CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA), both from "Neutral" to "Outperform."

All of those downgraded above were lowered from "Outperform" to "Neutral."

Alterra Capital (ALTE) closed Friday at $21.77, down $0.13, or 0.58 percent. Aspen Insurance Holdings (AHL) closed at $29.92, gaining $0.80, or 2.75 percent. Allied World Assurance (AWH) closed at $59.50, losing $1.16, or 1.91 percent. AXIS Capital (AXS) ended Friday's session at $35.06, falling $0.10, or 0.28 percent.
Employers Holdings (EIG) closed at $16.62, down $0.41, or 2.41 percent. Platinum Underwriters Holdings (PTP) closed at $44.71, falling $44.71, down $0.78, or 1.71 percent.