1-800-FLOWERS.COM Inc. (NDAQ:FLWS) has been a strong performer recently with shares nearly doubling since the middle of last year. The gift retailer announced strong earnings in April and shareholders are starting to take notice. RLR Capital disclosed a 5.1% stake and praised the company's acquisition of Fanny May's candy business last May.

The activist hedge fund believes that the company's acquisition of Fanny May's candy business was truly a transformative deal and they are excited by the strength of the brand, management team and the manufacturing footprint that come with it. Further, they see Fanny May as a strong compliment to the company's existing Gourmet Food and Gift Basket brands as the company looks to build an online strategy for these segments that will mimic their success in the flowers segment. RLR Capital also expressed their satisfaction with the company's broad cost-cutting measures and prospects for growth in margins as a result. And finally, the activist hedge fund supported the company's plans to re-examine the Home and Children's Group segment given its lower growth and margins.

Overall, it appears as if this company is on the right track with its business and plans for the future. All of their business segments are performing very well with the exception of its Home and Children's Group segments - and the company is looking into ways of solving this problem. It's hard to ignore a company posting 18% quarterly earnings growth and such strong performance across the board! This makes FLWS a stock worth following!

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Sonesta International Hotels (NDAQ:SNSTA) received some advice from Mercury Partners today in a letter to the company's board. The advice comes after the company decided to hire Goldman Sachs to explore strategic alternatives, which could include a potential sale of the company.

Mercury Partners announced their support of this decision to explore strategic alternatives, arguing that a company with only $115 million in equity is simply too small to be a public company due to the costs of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. The hedge fund went on to say that the modest net debt associated with the well-located 400 room Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston and the significant value embedded in the unique Key Biscayne property (with land conservatively valued at $160mm) equate to a significantly higher value than reflected in the company's shares. Mix that with a strong M&A market for hotel real estate (see recent WSJ article "Hotel Buying Frenzy Intensifies") and it's easy to see why a sale right now makes sense.

A sale does not necessarily mean a good value for shareholders, especially in a company that is controlled by one family. Knowing this, Sonesta issued three recommendations to the company to help ensure a fair sale process with a healthy premium for shareholders. First, they asked the controlling family to consider taking the company private. Secondly, they asked any proposals received to be put past non-family shareholders to evaluate. And finally, they asked for the company to resist any breakup fees or other measures that may inhibit future bidding. Combined, these efforts would lead to a fair sale of the company with a potentially very healthy premium. This makes SNSTA a stock worth watching!

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BioFuel Energy (NDAQ:BIOF) is a development-stage company formed to build and operate a series of ethanol production facilities in the Midwest United States. The company went public on June 20th of this year and has drew the attention of investors today after Daniel Loeb's Third Point hedge fund disclosed a massive 30 percent stake in the company.

The billion dollar hedge fund manager has built up an impressive trackrecord through not only his activist investments but also his passive ones. In fact, his annual return since his fund's inception in 1995 stands at around 28 percent. Therefore, any investment made by this man is one that is definitely worth watching - particularly when it is a big bet in an emerging industry!

So, what other clues do we have from Daniel Loeb with regards to this investment? Well, all of their shares were obtained in a private placement that closed in conjunction with the initial public offering on June 19th. Notably, this placement included a $1.2 million investment from Loeb's personal funds. We also know that Loeb has sat on the company's board since May 2006, meaning this shouldn't be a fly-by-night investment. Combined, these factors make BIOF a stock worth keeping an eye on over the next few months!

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