Daily Archives: August 4, 2008

Cisco’s Fiscal Year Earnings on Deck (CSCO)

Cisco_logo_2Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reports after the close on Tuesday and you can count on technology investors and traders alike to pay attention to the comments of CEO John Chambers more than they pay attention to what Ben Bernanke and friends said at the FOMC decision on rates. 

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 4:57 pm in Earnings, Technology Companies,

Alnylam Cancels Conference… What’s Brewing? (ALNY)

Alnylam_logoWe just saw a report out of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) that may get traders moving on both sides of the stock.  The company has just announced that management will not be presenting at the Bank of America 2008 Specialty Pharmaceuticals Conference on August 8, 2008, as previously scheduled. The company’s planned update on its scientific platform and delivery approaches will be presented at another investor conference in the near future.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 4:15 pm in Biotech,

Insider Buying: Mel Karmazin of SIRIUS (SIRI)

Sirius_logoMel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI), has added to his position of company stock.  In a show of force to show that he doesn’t want further share erosion or that he believes shares are undervalued, Mel Karmazin made direct market stock purchases today.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 3:55 pm in Insider Activity, Satellite,

Bankrate Earnings: Half Empty & Half Full (RATE)

Bankrate_logoBankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) has just posted non-GAAP EPS of $0.33 on a 70% gain in revenues to $40.2 million.  First Call estimates were $0.33 EPS on $40.22 million.  The trick to judging this is by interpolating the data versus the environment.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 3:20 pm in Earnings, Financial Stocks, Internet,

The 52-Week Low Club (NR)(KBR)(MTW)(TIE)(CHIC)(SIRI)(CIEN)

Sad_clown_2Western Refining (WNR) Snag at one of the company’s units and falling oil prices gang up. Drops to $6.47 from 52-week high of $58.95.

KBR (KBR) Rough earnings numbers. Down to $22.94 from 52-week high of $45.24.

The Manitowoc Company (MTW) Sells a unit and that could hurt earnings. Sell off to $23 from 52-week high of $51.49.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 2:52 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , , ,

Blowhard Greenspan Writes School-Boy Essay On Recession

AngrybearIn the event that investors do not understand that banks are in trouble and that the global economy faces a deep recession, Alan Greenspan has written it all out. The former Fed boss is good enough to explain the obvious as his primary thesis: "The insolvency crisis will come to an end only as home prices in the US begin to stabilise and clarify the level of equity in homes, the ultimate collateral support for much of the financial world’s mortgage-backed securities." The balance of the self-satisfied essay is at FT.com.

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 2:18 pm in Economy

Lehman (LEH) May Raise Cash, Dilute Shareholders

Lehman_brothersLehman (LEH) may have to raise several billion dollars. With its market cap below $13 billion, that could be painful for current holders of its common shares. According to Reuters, "Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is expected to follow in Merrill Lynch & Co Inc’s footsteps and sell a lot of risky assets at a loss."

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 1:34 pm in Brokerage Firms, ,

M/I Homes Files To Raise Cash (MHO)

Mi_homes_logoM/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) has just filed for a mixed shelf registration statement with the SEC that will give it the right to sell up to $250 million in securities.  The company can sell debt, common stock, preferred stock, depository shares, and/or warrants in any combination accepted. 

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 1:26 pm in Housing, Secondary Offering,

As Oil Breaks $120, Traders Looking Lower

Oil_well_logo_2Does it seem odd that oil prices have continued to fall despite a fairly rapid tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico developed over the weekend, while a Valero plant had a minimal outage because of a small contained explosion at a 130,000 barrel per day facility?  What if you added in the Iranian saber rattling about retaliatory threats that infer the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz?

Wasn’t it just a couple of weeks ago when we were all being prepared to stomach the thought of $150 or even much higher oil prices?

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 11:01 am in Economy, Oil & Gas

WCI Raises Black Flag, Skull & Crossbones (WCI)

Wci_logo_2We have yet to see public homebuilders file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  WCI Communities Inc. (NYSE: WCI) is the first of the former large homebuilders to file for bankruptcy protection.  The homebuilder has noted that some 130 of its subsidiaries have filed petitions to restructure their debt and capital.  Guess who its Chairman is… CARL ICAHN.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 9:06 am in Housing,

Icahn & ImClone Merger Game with Bristol-Myers: Bluff vs. Chicken (IMCL, BMY)

Erbitux_logo_2Carl Icahn and friends at ImClone Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: IMCL) have now formally responded to Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) regarding the cash buyout of the company.  The company’s board of directors has formed a committee to study the matter and to retain advisors to advise it in determining the appropriate course of action, but the  preliminary view is that the offer "substantially undervalues ImClone."

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 8:21 am in Biotech, Drug companies, Mergers and Buy Outs, ,

The Stagflation Kid Rides Again

UnemplyToday’s inflation and employment numbers had the putrid scent of the recent past on them along with a whiff of a decaying future. Prices rose .8%, which takes the economy back to inflation rates from the 1980s. Challenger said corporate job cuts rose 33%. If the entire economy is not in a fairly deep recession, many industries and geographic areas are.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 8:11 am in Economy

Rackspace Gets Ready For IPO (RAX)

Rackspace_logoThis week will mark another somewhat unusual mark for IPO’s as a technology and communications player with an established name is set to come public.  Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) is coming public at a strange time, yet it has shown growth, has a solid name, and is profitable. 

As a reminder, this is coming under the auction format and bidding can be completed at rackspaceipo.com. Underwriters in the group are Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, and WRHambrecht. 

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 7:54 am in IPOs, Internet, Technology Companies,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AKAM, AIV, AMGN, CNX, KND, MCO, NEU, PH, SE)

These are some of the key analyst upgrades and positive calls we have seen early this Monday morning with over 2 hours to open:

  • Akamai Tech (AKAM) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Amgen (AMGN) Started as Buy at Banc of America.
  • Apartment Investment & Management (AIV) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
  • CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Kindred Healthcare (KND) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Moody’s (MCO) Raised to Overweight at Lehman.
  • NewMarket (NEU) Raised to Outperform at Oppenhemer.
  • Parker Hannifen (PH) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Spectra Energy (SE) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.

Jon C. Ogg
August 4, 2008

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 6:30 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (BIIB, CBEY, EHTH, NT, OSK, PAET, RYAAY, SVNT)

These are some of the key analyst downgrades and negative analyst calls we have seen early this Monday morning with over 2 hours to open:

  • Biogen Idec (BIIB) Cut to Sell at Banc of America.
  • Cbeyond Communications (CBEY) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
  • EHealth (EHTH) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
  • Nortel (NT) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Oshkosh (OSK) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • PAETEC (PAET) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia; Cut to Sell at Citigroup..
  • Ryanair (RYAAY) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Savient Pharma (SVNT) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

Jon C. Ogg
August 4, 2008

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 6:28 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Intel (INTC) Goes For The Kill With AMD (AMD) And Nvidia (NVDA)

AmdIntel (INTC) is about to hit the market with a new set of graphics chips and they are aimed directly at the hearts of Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD) which both count of the expensive products for large portions of their sales.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 5:40 am in Semiconductor, , ,

HSBC (HBC) Earnings: Storm Flags Go Up For US Banks

Citi_logoHSBC (HBC) is the latest money center bank to be clobbered by more write-downs. For the most recently reported quarter net profit fell to $7.72 billion from $10.9 billion a year earlier and that was in line with market expectations. Loan impairment charges and other provisions jumped 58% to $10 billion.

The bank’s chairman commented, "Ultimately, the real economy will recover from this crisis, although it may get worse before it gets better."

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 5:29 am in Uncategorized, ,

How Slow Will Video Game Sales Get? (SNE)(MSFT)

WiiNintendo owns so much of the video game console market that it may be coming up against market share problems. But, the entire industry could be facing the issue of whether it has picked the low-hanging sales fruit and is faced with a prolonged slowdown in revenue growth.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 5:10 am in Video Games, ,

GM (GM) And Ford (F) Can See The Future In Chrysler Financing Troubles

Gm20jpeg20imageChrysler had a fair amount of trouble re-financing a relatively large portion of its debt. The company’s finance division was only able to raise $24 billion to replace a $30 billion facility. The money did not come cheap, According to The Wall Street Journal, "The $24 billion it raised came in at 1.1 to 2.25 percentage points above Libor, making it harder for Chrysler to offer cars to consumers at attractive terms."

Ford (F) and GM (GM) can step into H.G. Wells time machine and travel forward a year. They are likely to find that raising money will be be as hard as it has been for Chrysler, if not harder.

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 4:50 am in Autos, ,

What The 2009 Recession Looks Like Today

UnemplyOrchard Lake, Michigan, August 3rd, 2008. A modest-sized office building with room for twenty tenants just north of this town of well-to-do homeowners does not have a single tenant. It is not unusual for homes here to sit on the market for two years. Large supermarkets have simply closed, a sign here that even Kroger did not have enough customers to cover the overhead. Some of the strip malls do not have a single tenant. 

Read More »

Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 4:32 am in Economy