Monthly Archives: March 2007

Unusual Options Activity (MAR 31, 2007)

Stock Tickers: DNDN, SIRI, XMSR, BRCD, MSFT, F, TRLG, BJS, HAL

Dendreon (DNDN) saw much options activity, but that would be expected because of the FDA panel review.  There were some fortunes made and lost on this one.  Of the top 15 options contracts in total trading volume Friday, 10 of the various strike and expiration months of DNDN were there.  This one was so aqctive after the reopen and subsequent 92.5 million shares that it masked some of the other usual options screens.

Brocade (BRCD) saw 22,150 contracts trade in the APR07 $9 Puts.  With the stock still close to its year highs someone is either hedging for 2.2 million shares or they are making a leveraged bet that the good news won’t last.

Traders have some pretty large long-term bets that Vista will be a winner for Microsoft (MSFT) as the open interest in the JAN08 $30 CALLS 337,000 contracts. That represents 33.7 million shares on a fully leveraged basis.  The open interest in the JAN08 PUTS is pretty high as well: $27.50 142,580 contracts; $25.00 156,273 contracts; $22.50 101,299 contracts; and $20.00 222,258 contracts.

Ford (F) has quite a few hedgers and speculators in the options as well.  Out of the 20 largest open interest contracts, 6 of the 20 belong to Ford.

True Religion (TRLG) had much higher than normal options activity as the stock traded 4-times normal volume on buyout rumors.  The company has been a potential “buyout name” for some time, but oddly enough the street wasn’t impresses with its last earnings.  There is also a split in the design area as the CEO and VP of women’s design are calling it splitsville.  Acquiring this company better include the full design team that has made it such a success story since this was as low as under $1.00 in 2004 and now sits at $16.24.

This one may not be the Most Unusual, but BJ Services (BJS) saw 5,648 contracts trade in the JULY07 $30 CALLS.  The open interest in the near-month APRIL07 contracts is more than 50,000 contracts if you combine the $27.50, $30.00, and $32.50 CALLS.  There is still speculation of more mergers being considered in the drillers and service companies in oil and gas, so who knows on this one.

Halliburton (HAL) still has some strange open interest in ARIL07 $40 PUTS/CALLS and it is possible these were either left from the KBR or a trade based on the self-tender.  It is listed as more than 430,000 contracts in each.  With the stock at $31.74 this may have been a large capture trade based on the old KBR spin-out or on the self tender.

Oddly enough, Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) is seeing less and less options trading and the LEAPS are much more vacant in open interest than one would guess for such a widely followed and speculated upon stock.  Its merger partner XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) is seeing the same thing.  That is a bit baffling for such a widely followed merger and for such a controversial situation.  The short interest was mostly steady in SIRI in March (123.6M vs. 125.1M in FEB) and grew in XMSR saw its short interest grow (31.2M vs. 28.9M in FEB).  Go figure.

Jon C. Ogg
March 31, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: March 31, 2007 – 12:42 pm in Options, , , , , , , , ,

This Week on StockHouse March 26 to 30

Fresh worries about inflation and U.S. economic growth gave markets a pause mid-week. At the same time, oil prices continued to escalate along with tensions between Britain and Iran, as the latter country continued to hold 15 British sailors and marines captive after saying it had captured them in Iranian waters.

This week on StockHouse, Danny Deadlock covered a small exploration company with big joint venture partners (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19499 ). Motapa (TSX: V.MTP), which explores for diamonds and uranium in southern Africa, counts both DeBeers and Cameco (TSX: T.CCO) as investors.

The Resource Report interviewed alternative power company NaiKun Wind Energy (TSX: V.NKW) CEO Michael Burns about the company’s proposed wind farm (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19501 ) in the Haida Energy Field off the coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands. The CEO answered questions about the project’s scale, time frame, profitability and environmental impact.

Technologies to give Internet users the ability to better share ideas and collaborate more easily are springing up as quickly as media articles about Web 2.0 (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19500 ). Katherine Young profiled a company called Rocketinfo (OTC: BB: RKTI).

Gold prices rallied sharply this week before paring gains on profit taking. The latest report from Casey Research maintained that gold stocks (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19504 ) can be an investor’s best friend in a volatile market.

The rising price of gold has made reprocessing more economic. Luke Burgess looked at how the low-cost operation (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19518 ) can boost revenue for gold miners.

And a special column from the Gold Report examined the supply/demand crunch that’s put uranium prices (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19505 ) into a sharp uptrend.

Canadian investors have another free resource for market information (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19507 ) at their fingertips. StockHouse Executive Editor Publish Darin Diehl spoke with Investor Education Fund president Tom Hamza to find out more.

Micro-cap Spotlight profiled the first of two technical analysis features this week, which detailed a few tools for investors looking for profitable Small Float Stocks (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19508), while George Leong’s Technical Thursday column focused on finding potential break out stocks (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19517 ) using the High Relative Strength indicator.

A list of lists captured the pulse on the site this week. Sean Mason and Keri Korteling compiled the StockHouse Top Five (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19512).

A new study released this week at the American College of Cardiology Meeting in New Orleans showed that drugs (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19513 ) could offer potentially greater survival benefits for patients with heart disease than coronary stents, according to Bio Check authors Leon Hamerling and J. Paul.

Turning to the broader market, Steven Saville forecast a widespread liquidity correction (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19511), and the Securities Sleuth Mark McNair delved into the Beazer Homes (NSYE: BZH) investigation (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19516).

U.S. consumer discretionary stocks (http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19519 ) are ending its period of season strength earlier this year, said Don Vialoux in the ETF Check.

Financially Fit staff writes about how the Fed’s decisions about interest rates influences the value of your equities. http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19525 

Reporter Sean Mason, meanwhile, looks at the discussion surrounding takeover speculation with a nice ring to it on Buzz on the BullBoards. http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19523 

This as Editor Keri Korteling profiles a blogger offering tips for moly stock speculation in Best of the Blogs. http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/article.asp?edtID=19524

And, in STANDUP Advice, John De Goey says advice evaluation is just a click away. http://www.stockhouse.ca/shfn/editorial.asp?edtID=19522 

Posted on: March 31, 2007 – 8:46 am in International Markets

Cramer’s TOP 9 CEO’s This Week

Stock Tickers: COST, KSS, FD, JCP, RL, RSH, SHLD, SKS, VFC
This entire week Jim Cramer featured a list of CEO’s that Cramer feels deserve "the benefit of the doubt," even if they have bad news and if the stock gets hit.  These names were all in the retail sector instead of in multiple categories.  Here is a summary of his list with a link to the full summary of what Cramer said:

The firstest, bestest, and baddest CEO (yep, dat’s mint too b badd inglish) is Cramer’s beloved Eddie Lampert of Sears Holdings (SHLD), and his second most favorite CEO right now was Julian Day of RadioShack (RSH-NYSE),  Here’s why he thinks both of these are still a Buy.

On Thursday, Cramer noted that Ralph Lauren of Ralph Lauren (RL-NYSE) is a star as long as he has Roger Farah as the COO.  He also noted that Steve Sadove of Saks (SKS-NYSE) has done extremely well because of Ronald Frasch.  Here’s the details of what Cramer said.

On Wednesday, Cramer’s two CEO’s deserving the benefit of the doubt are Jim Sinegal of CostCo (COST-NASDAQ) and Lawrence Montgomery of Kohl’s (KSS-NYSE).  Here was what he liked about them.

On Tuesday, Cramer said he likes Mike Ullman of JC Penney Corp. (JCP-NYSE) and likes Terry Ludgren of Federated (FD-NYSE).  Here’s why.

Cramer started the week out with the CEO of VF Corp (VFC-NYSE), Mackey McDonald, as a winner.  He liked the unit sale and more.

So this was Cramer’s list.  We are actually in the midst of showing some great CEO’s ourselves again called "Entrenched Corporate Leaders" and at least one of these men (did you notice these were all men, does Jimbo discriminate? just kidding of course) is on our list. Stay tuned next week.  By the way, being an "entrenched leader" isn’t a bad thing (although shareholders probably don’t like some of them).  Here was our first list of "Entrenched Corporate Leaders" from earlier in the year.

Jon C. Ogg
March 31, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: March 31, 2007 – 8:31 am in Cramer, Retail

Cramer: 2 More Great CEO’s (SHLD, RSH)

Stock Tickers: SHLD, RSH
Cramer also noted on MAD MONEY that he has two more retailers that he thinks their CEO’s deserve the benefit of the doubt, the end of this week’s series.  He noted JC Penney as one that just upped their dividend and their share buybacks, and Cramer said he thanked the CEO.  He thinks that some CEO’s don’t get respect from Wall Street if they won’t grow territory and grow store count.

Read More »

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 5:26 pm in Cramer, Retail

Cramer: Jones Soda Is the Next Hansen

Stock Tickers: JSDA, HANS, KO, PEP
On tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC, Cramer said he wanted to find the next speculative stock that ends up with exponential growth similar to what a Hansen Natural (HNSN-NASDAQ) did.  Cramer thinks that Jones Soda Co. (JSDA-NASDAQ) is the next big player.  This one has gone from $0.81 to $20.00, but it pulled back today.  Cramer thinks that the story is far from over (now has a $519 million market cap).  He thinks that JSDA is under-followed and only handful of analysts.  Its profits and revenue growth hasn’t reached the peak because it hasn’t gone across all of the distribution channel.  It may get a larger channel by Memorial Day.  This one was up 7% in after-hours after Cramer touted it, and with a $500+ million market cap he even wonders why a Coca-Cola (KO-NYSE) or Pepsi (PEP-NYSE) hasn’t bought it for the growth engin.  HANS is now $3.4 Billion in market cap, so it’s now too large to buy.

Jon C. Ogg
March 30, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 5:14 pm in Cramer

The 52-Week Low Club

Sirius (SIRI) Still concerns about merger and balance sheet. Hits low of $3.18 compared to 52-week high of $5.57.

Global Payments (GPN) Electronic payment processing company lowers forecasts. Down to $30 from 52-week high of $53.85.

ICT Group (ITCG) Customer management company give out weak forecast. Falls to $16.42 against 52-week high of $36.88.

TransMeta (TMTA) Semiconductor tech company gets delist notice from Nasdaq. Drops to $.55 from 52-week high of $2.37.

China BAK Battery (CBAK) Chinese company got onto US exchanges through reverse merger. Makes rechargeable batteries. Drops to $3.08 from 52-week high of $13.78.

Douglas A McIntyre

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 3:09 pm in HI/LOW

Cramer on Ethanol

On today’s STOP TRADING segment on CNBC, Jim Cramer talked about some of his ethanol plays. 
As far as the crop report, Cramer thinks they aren’t focusing on the secular trends.  He likes these regardless of the crop acreage report:

Read More »

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 1:48 pm in Cramer

As Sirius Launches Video, Stock Hits 52-Week Low

The S&P is flat for the year. Sirius (SIRI) is not. Down about 7%, it hit a 52-week low today at $3.18. The stock actually has not been that low since 2004.

Sirius announced live rear-seat video with Chrysler (DCX). It would appear to be a popular service. Rear-seat DVD players sell well. After paying for the SIRI hardware, the first year of service is free.

Wall St. does not seem to care. The focus continues to be on the slow progress that the company is making on its proposed merger with XM (XMSR) and concerns that the company could run low on money if subscription growth slows at all. SIRI already has $1 billion in debt.

Maybe if the stock keeps falling, Chrysler can just buy the company. That is, one Chrysler is sold.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 11:53 am in Consumer Electronics

Chip Analysts Tripping Over Themselves To Be First

Everyone seems to be trying to call the bottom in the chip sector these days.  We’ve already seen sector upgrades from Goldman and others in the past 2 weeks; today upgrades came from Stifel Nicolaus on the semiconductor group as a whole, as well as individual nods to Broadcom (BRCM), Intersil (ISIL), and NVIDIA (NVDA).  While we don’t take to calling troughs over here, we did take a look at NVIDIA’s valuation yesterday. 

Analysts are scratching their heads over some signs that trends are improving while the overall economy’s growth could be stalling.  Spot prices on flash memory have improved nicely in the past few weeks, inventory levels have been dropping since January and global markets appear strong. 

Yet a look at Intel shows nothing but downgrades since the beginning of the year.  Agere’s (AGR) recent sales warning shows a whole lot of weakness in the cell phone and network provider markets.  And as for the “commoditized” chip companies, has anyone been happy with Micron stock (MU) over the past few years, or even TSC and TXN for that matter? And look at Marvel Technology Group (MRVL) where the past 3 months have brought 3 upgrades (to “buy” or better) but also 6 downgrades.  Jim Cramer is also out reiterating his "Sell Tech" and specifically in almost everything chip related.

Read More »

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 11:37 am in Semiconductor

StreetInsider.com Unusual 11 Mid-Day Movers 03/30/2007

Dendreon (Nasdaq: DNDN) 159% HIGHER; FDA panel backs PROVENGE for prostate cancer.

All American Semiconductor (NASDAQ: SEMI) 44.9% LOWER;

Read More »

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 11:10 am in Research

MLF Investments Raises Stake in La-Z-Boy (LZB) to 7%

From 13D Tracker

In an amended 13D filing on La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE: LZB),
MLF Investments disclosed a 7% stake (3.6 million shares) in the
company. This is up from the 5.9% stake the firm disclosed in their
original 13D filing in February.

The firm said the aggregate cost of is 3,618,218 shares is
approximately $45,076,717 (about $12.46/share – stock currently at
$12.72).

In the original filing, MLF Investments said they support the
company’s management and their plans and programs of focusing on the
La-Z-Boy brand, improving manufacturing efficiency and maximizing the
potential of its distribution network, the La-Z-Boy Furniture
Galleries. The firm also said it is their intention to offer to help
the company strategically if such opportunities present themselves.

http://13dtracker.blogspot.com/

Read More »

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 11:08 am in SEC

Another Large eSpeed (ESPD) Holder Calls for a Sale or Other Measures to Increase Shareholder Value

From 13D Tracker

In a 13D filing after the close on eSpeed Inc. (Nasdaq: ESPD),
WC Capital disclosed a 6.4% stake (1.92 million shares) in the company.
The firm also disclosed a letter send to ESPD Chiarman, Howard W.
Lutnick.

In the letter the firm said the shares are currently very
undervalued. The firm also requested the board review certain options.
1: Sale of the Company, 2. Convert Class B shares to Class A, 3. Return
of Capital to Shareholders (one-time dividend, share repurchases ), 4.
Initiate Procedures and Structures Increasing eSpeed Autonomy.

Commenting on eSpeed’s valuation the firm said, “Our analysis has led us to believe that the range of the company’s theoretical valuation could be considerably higher than the current share price which could result in a value 28% to 70% greater ($12 to $16 per share) than the current valuation of $9.40 per share.”

NOTE: eSpeed is also an activist target of Chapman Capital. Link to ESPD/Chapman reports.
A Copy of the Letter:
Dear Mr. Lutnick:
Thank you for the recent opportunities to discuss eSpeed’s current business strategy and longer term opportunities.
As long-term shareholders of eSpeed we have performed our own analysis of the value of the company and have concluded that the shares are currently very undervalued. Specifically, we believe that the current valuation does not accurately reflect: 1) the company’s strong cash positions of $187 million ($3.72 per share) as of December 31, 2006; 2) the company’s strong duopoly position in the electronic trading of debt securities and related instruments; 3) the potential cash flow from the “core” trading business, which has been and continues to be masked by the large continuing investments in unprofitable new business initiative, and 4) the intellectual property inherent in the company’s proprietary trading technology.
While our tone and sentiments may differ from those of other shareholders, we do nonetheless agree with several issues they have raised. Given the company’s dramatic undervaluation relative to other “exchanges”, we believe that steps to ensure a fair return for eSpeed shareholders are appropriate. Specifically, we request that the Board of Directors reviews the following options (many of which we have inquired about on past conference calls):
1) Sale of the Company: We believe the value of eSpeed’s existing core business and assets could be significantly higher than the current enterprise value of the company which is approximately $475 million, based on the recent trading of $9.40 per share. We request that management actively engage industry and/or “financial” buyers (i.e. private equity) to ascertain values at which a transaction for all outstanding eSpeed’s shares may be feasible.

2) Convert Class B shares to Class A: As allowed by Delaware law, we believe that in the “post-Enron” era of corporate governance, the company should convert the “super voting” Class B shares to Class A shares. This would allow an equitable “one share, one vote” structure and also give Class A shareholders the opportunity to have a greater say in important corporate matters. At the same time, it would allow Cantor Fitzgerald to maintain a dominant position in matters requiring shareholder voting.
3) Return of Capital to Shareholders: Given the significant liquid resources (cash and equivalents) of the Company, which were $187 million on December 31, 2006, we request the Board of Directors strongly consider options for returning capital to equity shareholders. We believe that a special one-time dividend of a meaningful size, a “Dutch” tender for the Company’s shares or an aggressive “open market” share repurchase would enhance the value of the shares for all remaining shareholders. While the Company is authorized to repurchase shares in the open market, the Company has not done so to a meaningful degree.
4) Initiate Procedures and Structures Increasing eSpeed Autonomy: Given the complex three-way relationship between Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC and the company, we believe that segregating various business practices and initiating independent controls would protect the company’s shareholders and potentially enhance returns. Specifically, with the pending public offering of BGC shares, we believe that the two public entities should have different accountants and independent Board Members. This will lessen the likelihood that one party is treated inequitably and that appropriate allocation of resources and expenses occurs.
We believe eSpeed is a valuable business enterprise that is significantly undervalued based on its current equity valuation. Our analysis has led us to believe that the range of the company’s theoretical valuation could be considerably higher than the current share price which could result in a value 28% to 70% greater ($12 to $16 per share) than the current valuation of $9.40 per share. This analysis is based on reasonable multiples of revenues and/or cash flows and the significant cash position of the company. We request that the Board of Directors aggressively and expediously explore all options that could result in this type of outcome for the benefit of all eSpeed shareholders.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Aaron H. Braun
Manager of WC Capital Management LLC (also known as Willow Creek)

Read More »

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 11:07 am in SEC

Undressing the Window Dressers

From Ticker Sense

Earlier in the week we sent our subscribers a report, which was later picked up by CNBC, on end of the quarter window dressing.  The report concluded that the stocks which do best from the start of the quarter up until the start of the last week, will also outperform the market in the final five trading days of the quarter.

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Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 11:04 am in Research

The Chinese Come For Motorola

Motorola’s (MOT) problems with its huge cell phone unit are well chronicled. The hot RAZR phone is not hot any more and both unit sales and margins are dropping. Carl Icahn has bought a piece of the company and new management has been promoted to try to solve the problems.

Almost everyone on Wall St. knows that the issues at MOT will not be fixed soon. The product cycle is too long and finding another "hit" like the RAZR could be very difficult..

To add to MOT’s woes, two Chinese handset manufacturers are bringing phones to the US. Haier Group, which sells a lot of phones outside the US, is introducing handsets that can be bought at retail and used on either the T-Mobile (DT) or AT&T (T) networks. Alcatel Mobile Phone, a Chinese company that licenses the Alcatel name, is bring in a fancy multimedia phone.

There is obviously no guarantee that either of these companies will capture a large part of the US market, but Motorola does not need any extra competition.

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

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 9:28 am in Wireless

Ford’s Drying Up And Blowing Away

One of Ford’s senior executives said that is sales in the US would be off by double digits again in March. That is probably a sign that a turnaround is not around the corner.

The company’s stock is stuck around $8 and has not been above $12 in over two years. At a market cap of $15 billion, it trades at only 9% of sales.

Wall St. has to be asking why Ford (F) still owns loser units like Jaguar while it North American operations are bleeding. Investors are looking for a smoke signal to indicate that management has something other than the plan to get new models to market as soon as possible.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 9:17 am in Autos

Other Biotech Stocks Chasing Dendreon Pre-Market

This shouldn’t be any shocker now, but the small-cap biotech stocks are getting attention this morning.  Of particular interest are the ones with clinical development programs for prostate and other cancers.  When you get a stock like Dendreon (DNDN) with such a massive short interest and with such a large open interest in the options that just happens. 

Here is a small sample of some pre-market biotech movers:

Read More »

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 8:24 am in Biotech

iPhone Coming June 11? (AAPL)

Is June 11, 2007 the REAL release date for the Apple (AAPL-NASDAQ) iPhone via AT&T’s (T-NYSE) Cingular?  CNet is reporting that June 11 is the confirmed date for this highly anticipated release.  There have been speculated dates, rumors, guesses, and whatever else you want to call them for a June release date for anywhere from the 5th to the 20th of the month.  There are many articles appearing online showing this date as gospel, but they are just about all pointing back to CNet (including Macworld UK).

This date coincides with the start of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, so this may make sense.  We still don’t have any hard numbers on how many phones will be available for the launch date.  If this number is true it will give Apple approximately 20 days of iPhone sales for the quarter that analysts have to ad into their "older estimates."  The older estimates is "…" because some on the street have added some numbers into their model for the quarter, and some have not really added the numbers into the mix until the following quarter.

We’ll see if this date end up being the real deal or not.  Many of these "confirmed" dates end up being as real as snake oil, so treat this date as hearsay until the companies issue a press release.  Also keep in mind that any product release date can be pushed up or delayed for a myriad of reasons. 

Jon C. Ogg
March 30, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 7:53 am in Consumer Electronics, Telecom, Wireless

Full Analyst Research Summary (MAR 30, 2007)

ANAD started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
ASCA cut to Underweight at Prudential.
AU cut to Neutral at HSBC.
BELM cut to Neutral at Baird.
BRCM raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

Read More »

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 7:12 am in Analyst Calls

Will Vodafone’s Troubles Hit US Cell Companies?

Vodafone (VOD) mostly operates in the mature European markets. It holds a big stake in Verizon (VZ) Wireless. Today is announced competitive pressures, dropping prices and regulatory issues were hurting its financial margins. As the competition for a customer base that is no longer growing sets in, market share is likely to be picked up by cutting prices. Never a good sign.

Moving to the US, the market dynamics are in the process of becoming like those in Europe. Something like three-quarters of the people in the US have cell phones. Some portion of the population can’t afford them. And, some don’t want a phone that follows them everywhere incessantly ringing.

A good deal of the increases in the shares of AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) have come from their ability to replace falling land-line revenue with income from their cellular businesses. That time may be ending.

That leaves the big US phone companies with the challenge of taking back voice customers from the cable companies who took them in the first place and competing for TV and broadband consumers.

It was a nice run while it lasted.

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

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 6:57 am in Wireless

Pre-Market Stock News (MAR 30, 2007)

(ACOR) Acorda positive in MS treatments in Business Week.
(BGP) Borders is reportedly in talks tyo sell its book store operations in the UK to Richard Branson’s Virgin.
(DELL) Dell fell 5% on 10-K delay over accounting errors and finding misconduct.
(DNDN) Dendreon received FDA Panel Review backing over safety and efficacy for Provenge as a treatment for advanced prostate cancer patients; stock indicated up more than 200% initially.
(EXPO) Exponent noted positively over consulting in Business Week.
(GOOG) Google has a Business Week top story “IS Google Too Pwerful?” this morning.
(PMCS) PMC-Sierra is cutting 175 jobs and sees $20 to $24 million in annual savings.
(RHT) Red Hat traded up 4% after an initial drop as the company said that it was not losing out to Oracle and after saying it was not seeing any doom and gloom out there; company was $1 million light on revenues.
(TRB) Tribune may have a higher bid from billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle than from Sam Zell.
(UTX) United Tech offered $1.17 Billion to buy a electronic security unit of Rentokil; WSJ said it will sell its UK & Australian security guard unit soon.
(VOD) Vodafone trading lower after forecasting lower margins.

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: March 30, 2007 – 6:54 am in Pre-Market Activity