Daily Archives: January 18, 2007

Cramer’s “SELL BLOCK” (Jan 18, 2007)

On CNBC’s MAD MONEY tonight, Cramer had another "Sell Block" where he reviewed stocks that should maybe be sold.  This is where he follows up on his wins and losses.

On Coldwater Creek (CWTR) he slapped it and said he needs to eat crow on it.  Here was his original tout on it.

On Guess? (GES) he thinks this stock deserved a triple-buy before, but it’s time to take profits.  At $53.95 on October 9, 2006 is where he first started calling it.  If you own it, ring the register.

On XM Satellite (XMSR), the analyst upped it at $30 and cut it at $11; Cramer thought it was a buy before, but it’s time to ring the register….he thinks that there isn’t upside here and the FCC flip-flop means it’s time to ring the register.  Here is what I posted today aboutthe FCC position.

On Interpublic (IPG); Cramer said they barely skipped a beat on losin Wal-Mart but it’s time to sell it and take the 30% gain even if it can go up.

On Deere (DE) Cramer said it was a buy in September, but he thinks it’s time to sell.  It’s been looking secular and deserves the multiple, but they have to beat big-time to go up much over $108.00.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 6:52 pm in Cramer

Cramer Backs Genentech

After Cramer sort of touted WCI Communities (WCI) and told you to put it on a watch list, he discussed a stock that is acting like a winner. 

Cramer noted that Genentech (DNA) was around $100 a year ago, but the company had the best business in 2006.  The growth was more than double and it beat estimates and raised guidance and kept finding new uses for its drugs, but the stock is lower than it was 14 months ago.  If you look at it another way you can use earnings and multiples to determine price.  So the multiple is coming in and the market wasn’t willing to pay as big of a multiple for its growth.  Cramer said multiple contractions are about to change to expansion: he noted a Congressman could hurt growth because of legislation, but the company has self imposed caps and is considered immune to politics; it has no inflation risk; Cramer thinks it is going back to where it was and may even go higher.  Cramer has discussed this numerous times before.  He thinks it can go to $104.00 and could be worth 40 times earnings, which if that happened it would be at $140.00 if that were to happen.  The bearish case is $104.00 to Cramer and the bullish case is $140.00.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 6:25 pm in Biotech, Cramer

Cramer Discusses Icahn in WCI

On tonight’s MAD MONEY show on CNBC, Cramer is discussing a winner, some piggy back plays, and the "Sell Block."

The first thing you want to do is follow the leader.  He said Carl Icahn a leader and did well of Lear (LEA) and Time Warner (TWX).  Cramer touted Stockpickr.com to track these big name managers.  He noted WCI Communities (WCI) as one that Icahn has been buying, and he sees that SAC (Steve A Cohen hedge fund) has been buying it too.  He said you can’t buy WCI just because they own it, so you have to think about what they see and why they bought it.  He said it’s a homebuilder but is a landbank because it owns tons of property in Florida and elsewhere.  WCI is trading below its book value, so you have to think it is a buy since it is worth more than its market cap.  Cramer thinks he’ll get them to do something with their real estate portfolio.  The $2 Billion in debt is being trimmed down.  How do you piggy back off WCI & Icahn? Cramer said Icahn bought likely between $18 to $20 instead of today’s stock price around $22.  So you have to wait for the Icahn hype to die down and then buy it when it sinks to a more reasonable price.

So what Cramer is telling you to do is to put this on a WATCH LIST and then buy if and when it pulls back.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 6:12 pm in Cramer

JDSU Pulls A Feather Out of Its Hat

JDSU (JDSU-NASDAQ) is perhaps one of the largest thorns out there are far as tech blow-ups that survived the tech bubble in 2000. The company just announced that it expects revenue for its fiscal 2007 second quarter to exceed the Company’s previously issued revenue guidance of $332 to $352 million to be within a new range of $360 to $365 million.  Consensus estimates were roughly $342 million.

The company said that its Communications Test and Measurement segment performed particularly well during the quarter from seasonal strength associated with customer spending patterns and improved execution relative to the previous quarter. Strong revenue growth in Communications Test and Measurement more than offset a small sequential revenue decline in the Optical Communications segment, associated with customer supply chain and inventory rationalization.

Shares closed down 2.6% at $15.79, and shares are up over 12% at $17.80 in after-hours trading.  Its adjusted 52-week trading after the reverse split is $13.93 to $34.40.  Maybe not all of the tech companies are being treated poorly after all.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 4:48 pm in Earnings, Technology Companies, Telecom

E*TRADE Marches Past Estimates; Shareholders March Away

E*Trade (ETFC) posted record fourth-quarter Net Income of $177 million, or $0.40 per share; Estimate was $0.39; it posted a record fourth-quarter Total Net Revenue of $629 million; Estimate was just under $627 million.  Operating Margins were 43 percent; and it posted a record quarterly growth in Total Customer Cash and Deposits of $2.0 billion.

Its record full-year earnings were $1.44 EPS, or $1.49 excluding previously announced acquisition-related integration expenses and posted record full-year net Revenue of $2.4 billion.  It also had a record Total Retail Client Assets of $195 billion  Unfortunately the company hasn’t offered any guidance, but for a trading firm to offer guidance at the beginning of a quarter is difficult since so much of the trading and decisions are out of their control and so much is depending on the stock market.

Wall Street isn’t happy enough with these numbers either.  Shares closed down 1.25% at $24.71 in regular trading, and shares are down 1.5% to $24.35.  Its 52-week trading range is $18.81 to $27.76.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 4:40 pm in Banking, Earnings, Financial Stocks

What’s in Capital One’s Wallet?

Capital One (COF) reported EPS $1.14 versus consensus estimate of $1.24 EPS.  It sees 2007 EPS $7.40 to $7.80, under consensus estimates of $8.10, but the number includes $430 Million of costs and charges.

INTERNAL METRICS:  Managed loans held for investment at December 31, 2006 were $146.2 billion, up $40.6 billion, or 38 percent, from December 31, 2005. Excluding the impact of $31.7 billion of loans acquired through North Fork, managed loans grew 8.4 percent in 2006, in line with expectations.  The managed charge-off rate for the company decreased to 2.99 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 from 4.53 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005, but rose from 2.92 percent in the previous quarter. The company increased its allowance for loan losses by $114.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.  The managed delinquency rate (30+ days) decreased to 3.02 percent as of December 31, 2006 driven largely by the addition of North Fork loans to the portfolio. The delinquency rate decreased from 3.24 percent as of the end of December 31, 2005 and decreased from 3.29 percent as of September 30, 2006. Without the addition of the North Fork loans, the charge-off and delinquency rates would have increased in the fourth quarter of 2006 to 3.25 percent and 3.68 percent.

COF closed down 0.9% at $75.82 in regular trading, but shares are down 1.9% at $74.40 in initial after-hours trading.  The 52-week range is $69.30 to $90.04, so it is much closer to a year low.  The company plans on buying back $2.25B worth of shares starting this year, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  The company said it plans to focus on the integration of the North Fork and Hibernia acquisition.

What’s in Their Wallet? I guess not enough.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 4:28 pm in Banking, Earnings, Financial Stocks

IBM Beats Expectations, Initial Reaction Led By Sellers

IBM (IBM) posted earnings of $2.26 EPS on revenues of $26.3 Billion, above both estimates of $2.19 EPS and $25.65 Billion revenues.

Revenues from the Software segment were $5.6 billion, an increase of 14 percent from 2005;  For the Global Services business, segment revenues from Global Technology Services increased 7 percent (4 percent, adjusting for currency) to $8.6 billion, and segment revenues from Global Business Services increased 6 percent (3 percent, adjusting for currency) to $4.2 billion.

IBM signed services contracts totaling $17.8 billion, up 55 percent year over year, and ended the full year with an estimated services backlog of $116 billion, an increase of $5 billion from the prior-year period and roughly up $7 Billion sequentially.

As of last quarter, IBM’s diluted EPS were $1.45 and total revenues were $22.6 Billion.  last quarter IBM signed services contracts totaling $10.5 billion and ended the quarter with an estimated services backlog, including Strategic Outsourcing, Business Transformation Outsourcing, Global Business Services, Integrated Technology Services and Maintenance, of $109 billion.

In the services sector IBM competes against EDS (EDS), Accenture (ACN), Infosys (INFY), Wipro (WIT).  Cramer recently named his favorite IT services names, so you can go back here to see what he said on these names Tuesday.

IBM is often thought of as more of a services and software name now, so it didn’t fare as poorly as many other chip and tech companies.  IBM closed down 0.55% at $99.45 on the normal day, and the 52-week trading range is $72.73 to $100.90.  Wall Street must be wanting too much and they must be wanting to sell everything, because the initial reaction to the report shows shares down 2.5% to $97.00 in after-hours activity.  It looks like the reaction may be to the service revenues.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 4:18 pm in Earnings, Large Cap Stocks, Software, Technology Companies

Tyco, The Break-Up Is Almost Certain……Finally

Tyco International (TYC) is finally seeing itself being split into three groups.  This isn’t new, because we have already received a formal intent from the company and the street has been preparing for this break-up for quite some time.

But today we have finally gotten the SEC filings from the company for the break-up.  The filings were made for Tyco Healthcare, Tyco Electronics, and Topaz International under Tyco International. These filings with the SEC are for debt and stock.

So, after a couple decades of Koslowski gobbling smaller companies up you get to see it come back in pieces.  You can probably expect to see the plans from each of these to all be independent companies by the end of the month or shortly thereafter, with an expected timeframe in the second quarter.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 3:38 pm in Consumer Goods, Exchange, IPOs, Insider Activity, Large Cap Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs

FCC Lightens Its Stance on a XM & Sirius Potential Merger

Just yesterday there were comments out of Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC, panning the would-be could-be speculated and pondered potential merger between XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) and Sirius (SIRI).  His comments were taken on an as-is basis yesterday, but today the media reports note him saying the rules barring a merger could be altered if a change was requested.

Here is what we said yesterday:
Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC, has said that FCC rules would prohibit a marger in satellite radio.  Could this be changed?  Sure, with some serious lobbying and petitioning, long-term concessions, and likely a costly uphill battle.  Satellite radio is not deemed a critical media support mechanism out there yet, so this makes little sense that the FCC would be out there crashing any merger hopes.

What is amazing to me is that analysts and media don’t do more work to think past an obstacle like this.  The US hasn’t blocked a merger in 7 years, not even the ones that should have been blocked.  This hurdle is not huge, and they could make concessions and long-term price agreements to satisfy concerns. 

Current reports say no request has been made.  You can still smell something here if you think about it.  And you already know Wall Street is telling the companies to merge.  This story is getting very long in the tooth, so if they are or aren’t going to merge it would be nice if the companies would just say yes or no.  Enough on that.

It is without surprise that XM Satellite (XMSR) and Sirius (SIRI) are trading up: XMSR up 4% at $16.07 and SIRI up 4% at $4.012.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 3:11 pm in Uncategorized

Cramer Down on PPG & Down on Tech

On Today’s STOP TRADING segment on CNBC:  Cramer asked if the economy is so strong why do industrials post so-so numbers? 

Cramer said PPG Industries (PPG) could fall to $60.00, currently at $66.00+.  If the economy is so strong then why is that not doing well?  Cramer thinks it isn’t out of the woods and he doesn’t want to own.

Cramer maintained the technology is still a sell, just like last night.  Last night he gave his 5 tech stocks you can still own after he said virtually all other technology companies could be sold until August.

He said that Apple’s (AAPL) drop is because the guidance was insulting but he likes it.

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 2:48 pm in Uncategorized

Entrenched Corporate Leader: Sumner Redstone

Sumner Redstone, Chairman
Viacom (VIA), and throw in CBS (CBS)

How do you rank Sumner Redstone?  The split of CBS (CBS) and Viacom (VIA) is perceived so far as unsuccessful.  Sumner did get rid of Blockbuster and is still almost the entire owner of Midway Games (MWY).  Do we even discuss National Amusements?

He was born in May of 1923, so he is soon to be 84 years old.  He is still very active and very vocal in the company, and many that have left or forced out would say "too active and too vocal."  Does it matter?  Redstone controls the majority of both Viacom and CBS.  He has been very vocal in the company not doing enough web deals and has taken out the hatchet on those who wouldn’t do deals.  This is even though VIA and CBS don’t have the currency to compete on many huge deals.  He fired Tom Cruise and has effectively gone out attacking the underprivileged and defenseless Scientologists out there, yet no one can touch him.

His daughter is the heir apparent, and has been in legal battles with a son.  None of it may matter.  When the voting for shares and for directions come up the votes are for technical reference only in both Viacome and at CBS.  The votes are essentially all locked up.  Shareholders in both companies might as well like him whether they want to or not.  There are only two ways this emperor leaves the throne: 1) feet first; 2) declared mentally incompetent.   Almost everyone agrees that he won’t retire, not willfully anyway.

I don’t want to sound like I am picking on anyone, so please don’t miscontrue this.  He may be one of the most entrenched corporate heads out there.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 2:35 pm in Management Change, Media, Old Media, Press Digest, Shareholder Issues

UnitedHealth Looking Better Internally

UnitedHealth (UNH) is an easy company to hate, after all they are the largest public health insurer.  Their ex-CEO William McGuire took a ridiculous $1.6 Billion in exercisable options at the end of 2005, and that was perhaps the largest case of corporate greed and alleged options backdating and larceny from a non-founder that one could imagine.  The company can’t even signal an exact EPS number because of the ongoing options review.  Yes I know this all sounds negative, but the internal metrics are improving in the company.  Since we are supposed to only be here for Wall Street views to pass down to main Street, the focus has to be on the financial aspects.

The revenues and net earnings were generally in-line with estimates, but the underlying aspects of how insurers look at themselves are looking better.  The company posted earnings of $1.2 Billion ($1.18 Billion was a quasi-consensus). Based on a 1.4 billion share count you would derive roughly $0.86 EPS, just above an $0.85 consensus.  Revenues were $18.1 Billion, and estimates were $18.2 Billion.

The company posted operating margins of 11.0% in the quarter, higher then the total margin average for 2006 of 9.7%.  Outside of merger activities, its revenues were for the full year showed a 21% gain.  That high revenue growth rate won’t likely be the case in 2007, but the street already assumes this and current estimates are looking for just under 10% revenue growth in 2007.  The options issue is carrying over into 2007 as far as adding on to operating costs; and while this isn’t good it actually should be somewhat factored in by now for such a large comapny.  They will have to pay, but the street is learning to deal with this ongoing options issue from company to company.

The key ratio is usually called the medical loss ratio (called medical care ratio by UNH) and theirs was 79.9% for the quarter, down 120 basis points from the 81.1% in Q3.  The full year was higher at 81.2%, but part of that is from the PacifiCare acquisition and conversion to Medicare D.  Medical costs were up 13% year over year on a raw basis and days payable were 53 days.

It reaffirmed the net income range of $4.7 to $4.75 Billion for the year and $980 million to $1 Billion in the first quarter.  The company has not provided an estimated time frame for a resolution to its option issues.  I can see both sides of the coin here for the reaction today, but as far as how insurance companies measure their internal goals the company is looking better on a retroactive basis.  That means the execution is there. 

UNH shares are down 2.5% at $54.23 after the mid-point of the day, and that is still in the middle of the $41.44 to $62.10 trading range over the last 52-weeks.  UNH has grown so large from acquisitions that it may face trouble making acquisitions of companies now on a state to state basis since insurers are regulated in each state they operate in.  Wall Street is taking "a glass half empty" stance, but the insurers would be looking at today with a "glass half full" stance.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 1:22 pm in Earnings, Financial Stocks, Medical

BAIT SHOP Update on Western Digital (WDC)

24/7 Wall St. has a BAIT SHOP report of potential buyout candidates, and this morning we sent out an email update to our free email subscriber list regarding Western Digital (WDC).

Current market action suggests removing HALF of a position off the table in Western Digital (WDC) is worth merit and the prudent thing to do.  I admit that there is really no way around calling this a "chicken-bull" strategy and may be a cheap way to still lock in on part of a 12.6% gain.  What has changed is that the market reaction to tech earnings is poor (at best) out of the gate and the basic guidance ahead and margin pressure is causing what may be overreactions on the downside.

WDC reports earnings next week and they are obviously not the leader in the disk drive space like Seagate (STX), so using the Intel-AMD and other PC-Chip-Storage news reactions is a safer call for the near-term.  Ultimately a deal for this company could come, so there is no huge call or major change here on a longer-term basis.  But taking half of the gain off the table won’t hurt with the 12.6% gain since the first call and the likely scenario is a chance to back in at a lower price than today.  The chart has actually held up for longer-term views, but the feel out there gives this more merit than the exact trading in the stock.

I have no issue at all with the valuations on WDC.  The stock still trades at roughly 11-times forward earnings, the balance sheet is still healthy, and there is still a substantial amount of cash and cash flows that could be used to fund a hefty dividend to a private equity buyer.

This will be revisited and almost certainly added back to a full position in the fairly near-future, and as noted this is merely noting that taking half of the position off the table is the prudent thing to do.  It is very possible that the company will prove the initial calls correct and prove today’s decision wrong.  That is part of the great game.

We’ll revisit this shortly, so keep it on your watch lists and watch out for updates here.  There are a couple of links below showing the reasoning and rationale for the original calls.  We recently sent an email noting that it was still ok after a brief drop and gave a note back in November that the position was still ok, but this time doesn’t feel the same as far as the grandiose stance.  Call it a "chicken-bull" stance if you want, but it is what it is.  I still feel that unless there is a pure unforseen technology spending evaporation that WDC could easily fetch $24.00 to $25.00 or even more in a potential acquisition, but that doesn’t mean anything is anywhere close to imminent nor is there any knowledge of anything in the works. 

If you would like further updates to our free private email list regarding BAIT SHOP candidates and other special situation investing please send an email to jonogg@247wallst.com and title the email SUBSCRIBE.  We value privacy and do not share our email lists with any third parties.  If you already signed up and did not get an email this morning it is possible that filters screened it out and some email addresses are not immediately added to the list.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

NOVEMBER Update:
Western Digital (WDC):  We added Western Digital as a full BAIT SHOP member at $18.20 on September 29, 2006.  Right now, we see no reason to make any change to this stance that it should be acquired.  The price appreciation from $18.20 up to today’s $21.00 is more symptomatic of the PC-related and tech/storage environment than it is a buyout, and this can still be acquired by private equity firms or by a myriad of foreign players that could go after Seagate’s (STX) sharp dominance.

DISCLAIMER: Information has been taken from sources deemed reliable, but no assurances can be made to the accuracy of any figures, claims, or opinions. This is for informational purposes only and is not to be interpreted as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell securities. It is the sole responsibility of each individual to do their own research and form their own opinions. Neither 24/7 Wall St., LLC nor its officers assume any responsibility or liability for investor gains or losses, and neither holds any material knowledge that any merger in any form will occur. The writer of this does not hold any securities in the companies mentioned, and has not been compensated by outside parties to portray this situation in any particular manner.

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 11:18 am in Bait Shop, Consumer Electronics, Earnings, Mergers and Buy Outs, Semiconductor, Technology Companies

Is Amazon’s Luck Running Out?

Surveys of online e-commerce have started to come in. Sales appear to have been up about 25% for the holiday season, but their were areas of weakness including PCs, books, and music. Luxury goods appear to have done well.

All of this news is troubling the people at Prudential. They sent out a cautionary not on Amazon (AMZN), indicating that data on slow book sales at other online retailers might lead to a downer for the largest online superstore.

Amazon has been something of an internet Lazarus. The shares collapsed below $26 in July. They now change hands at over $37, a nice run of over 40% in a short time.

Amazon’s problem is simple. If it misses estimates in its strongest quarter which includes the holidays, the faithful may flee the stock for a year or more.

Unless of course, Mr. Bezos come up with another idea like selling movie downloads.

Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 10:28 am in Internet

Two Quarter Could Make Or Break Newspapers

McClatchy (MNI), the newspaper chain famous for breaking up Knight-Ridder, was downgraded today. Prudential cut it to "underweight" with a price target of $37. The stock closed at $41.14 yesterday.

Newspaper stocks may have made a bottom. Maybe. They are admired for their cash flow and their stocks are sold as their core businesses shrink. MNI, at $40, is down from a two-year high of almost $75.

There is speculation in the press that The Tribune Company (TRB) may not be able to auction the pieces of the company for prices that would add to the current value of the stock. The New York Times Company (NYT) is under siege by Morgan Stanley and other institutions. Its stock is down by almost half over two years.

The fourth quarter reports from these companies will be a benchmark for two things going into 2007. The first is to what extent cost cuts have improved margins at core newspaper properties. Total revenue from advertising and circulation is almost certain to be flat to down.

The second, more important issue is whether the online businesses that have grown out of the papers are beginning to make a meaningful contribution to total revenue. Some of the audiences for these companies are now very large. The New York Times Company now has an online audience of over 44 million unique visitors. But, there is little proof that the money from that audience yields enough dollars to fill the whole that the company’s newspapers produce.

Most of the large newspaper chain stocks bottomed in late summer and have moved up a modest amount since then.

But, the first and second quarters of 2007 should show if the internet businesses of these companies are finally having a major impact. If so, these stocks may have seen their bottoms. If not, watch out below.

Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 10:17 am in Media

Investors Betting Hard Against Fidel Castro’s Health

When you see diversified investment plays that are regional special situation investments going parabolic, you have to wonder how high it can go and how long it can last.

Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund Inc. (CUBA-NASDAQ) is doing just that.  This is one of the few ways that investors can try to bet on the eventual reopening of Cuba, and for that to happen the world’s longest ruling leader (Castro) has to pass away.  Even then, it is unknown if his brother will open it up and try to normalize US-relations.

We noted this just on Tuesday as a backdoor play into Cuba as one of the only legal ways that US investors could even try to invest this scenario.  It was at $14.71 then, and now it sits at $17.90.  We first pointed this out back in August when shares were around $7.05 or so.

You should visit the website at http://www.herzfeld.com/ to get more information.  The fund recently gave a $1.00 dividend of long-term capital gains payable on January 12, 2007 and Thomas Herzfeld sold almost 30,000 shares at the end of December.

The new annual report is not yet out, but investors should know that the semi-annual report with a peg-date of June 30, 2006 from the company listed the net asset value at $8.08.  That was up from $7.33 in the prior report.

If you would like to subscribe to our free email reports that are notalways posted on the web site for other SPECIAL SITUATIONS, BAIT SHOPREPORTS, Backdoor Investment Plays, IPO’s and more please send in anemail to jonogg@247wallst.comand title it SUBSCRIBE.  We value privacy and do not share our email lists with any third parties.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 9:54 am in Uncategorized

IPO Filing: Cellcom Israel

Cellcom Israel has filed this week to debut its shares in the US via an IPO under the NYSE ticker "CEL." Cellcom Israel is one of four providers of cellular phone service in Israel. Its shareholders will offer nearly 19 million shares at a range of $16.00 to $18.00 per ADS.  This will give the company an implied market cap of roughly $1.7 billion.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank will serve as the joint book running managers; although timing is still open.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 9:04 am in IPOs

IPO Filing: JA Solar

JA Solar Holdings has filed for an IPO this week.  It wants to come public on NASDAQ under the "JASO" ticker.  This is yet another Chinese manufacturer of high-performance solar cells, which isn’t a surprise after the successful solar IPO’s that came out of China at the end of 2006.  At some point these have to stop, but as long as these are operational companies that look better on revenues and profits than the US-based solar plays then you can expect the Chinese players to keep trying to come public.

The company plans to offer 15 million ADS’s at a range of $12.50-$14.50, giving it a proposed market cap of $590 million. CIBC World Markets and Piper Jaffray are set to manage the underwriting and the timing has yet to be announced.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 8:59 am in IPOs

Pre-Market Stock Notes (JAN 18, 2007)

(AAPL) Apple beat estimates again by far, but Mac sales were soft and then guidance was light as usual; stock down 1.25% pre-market.
(ABT) Abbott Labs reportedly in talks to sell its diagnostics unitto GE.
(ANSV) Anesiva announced data from Phase I Trial of 1207 failed to show noticeable improvement although it was safe and well tolerated.
(BK) Bank of New York $0.58 EPS vs $0.55e.
(CAI) CACI lowered guidance.
(CAL) Continental -$0.04 EPS vs -$0.11e; was -$0.29 after charges and items.
(CHRS) Charming Shoppes lowered guidance marginally; stock down 1.5%.
(CLC) Clarcor $0.52 EPS vs $0.46e.
(ECLG) eCollege.com lowered 2007 guidance.
(ETR) Entergy $0.77 EPS vs $0.74e.
(FITB) Fifth Third EPS $0.12 vs $0.08e; but down from $0.60 last year.
(GSF) GlobalSantaFe trading up 1.5% after a Cramer interview and disclosure of $11B in backlog.
(HBAN) Huntington Bancshares $0.38 EPS vs $0.44e; unsure if charges in number.
(HOG) Harley Davidson $0.97 EPS vs $0.98e.
(HOKU) Hoku signed supply pact worth potential $370 million with Sanyo.
(IGT) International Game Tech $0.34 EPS vs $0.35e.
(IMMC) Immunicon says Prostate Trial meets primary endpoint.
(IN) Intermec said the Social Security Administration is using its RFID tech.
(LOGI) Logitech $0.49 EPS vs $0.47e.
(LRCX) Lam Research trading down 8%afterbeating numbers, but margin fell and guidance.
(MACE) Mace has disclosed it has a firm interested in acquiring the company.
(MER) Merrill Lynch $2.41 EPS vs $1.95e.
(MSFT) Microsoft’s Vista will also be for sale online via download.
(MNST) Monster’s option investigation is intensifying according to WSJ.
(NDAQ) NASDAQ’s offer again refused by London Stock Exchange.
(NICFX) NicOx received a $5 million milestone payment from Merck.
(NITE) Knight Capital $0.33 EPS vs $0.26e.
(SBUX) Starbucks raised prices paid for coffee to secure long-term supplies.
(SKY) Sky Financial $0.47 EPS vs $0.44e.
(SLM) SLM Corp $0.74 EPS vs $0.75e.
(SMOD) mart Modular 14M share secondary priced at $12.50.
(SVVS) Savvis 7.6 million share secondary offering priced at $39.00.
(TELK) Telik has a larger stake taken by Carl Icahn.
(TRB) Tribune gets roughly $31.70 buyout offer after bids were due from Chandler Trust.
(TTWO) Take-Two Interactive delayed its annual report filing because of ongoing option probe.
(UNH) United Health revenues $18.1 Billion and posted $1.2 Billion net income, but can’t give EPS number based on option probe.
(ZVUE) Handheld Entertainment raised $3.8 million in private placement.

Jon C. Ogg
January 18, 2007

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 8:19 am in Analyst Calls, Banking, Consumer Electronics, Cramer, Financial Stocks, Media, Mergers and Buy Outs, Pre-Market Activity, Semiconductor, Technology Companies

Analyst Calls (JAN 18, 2007)

AAPL target raised to $124 at Piper Jaffray, reitr Outperform at Credit Suisse; cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; reitr Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
ACE raised to Outperform at FBR.
AMZN maintained underweight at Prudential.
AV cut to Neutral at UBS.
EMC maintained Buy at AGEdwards.
ERTS raised to Buy at Citigroup with $64 target.
INTU raised to Buy at Citigroup.
JCP raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
KDN started as Outperform at FBR.
LEN reitr Sell at AGEdwards.
LRCX cut to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
MNI cut to Underweight at Prudential.
MTG started as Underweight at Prudential.
NFLX reitr Buy at Jefferies.
NTRS reitr Outperform at Piper Jaffray.
OTEX raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
PMI started as Overweight at Prudential.
PTV cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
RARE cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
RDN started as Neutral at Prudential.
SAF cut to Underperform at FBR.
SIRI raised to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
SOV cut to Sell at Merrill Lynch.
TEVA raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
TRB cut to Underweight at Prudential.
TRMP started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
TSCM started as Buy at Merriman Curhan.
WBMD raised to Hold at Citigroup.
WEBM raised to Hold at Citigroup.
WLL cut to Underperform at RBC.
YHOO maintained long-term buy at Jefferies.
ZOLL cut to Underperform at Piper Jaffray.

AGEdwards Reiterated Buy on major oils BP, CVX, OXY and XOM.

Cramer’s 5 tech stocks you can hold are MSFT, CSCO, AAPL, HPQ, GOOG.

Posted on: January 18, 2007 – 8:14 am in Analyst Calls