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Daily Archives: August 13, 2008
52-Week Low Club (CCJ, CPN, CECE, CROX, GGP, TWB)
As the markets went back to triple-digit losses, there were many more new stocks (and repeat performers) on the 52-week low club today. Many of these look just like an explosion in a city at night. Not all of these closed on 52-week lows, but these did hit new intra-day lows of consequence:
Cameco (NYSE: CCJ)… Cigar Lake update showed more water entering the uranium mine hole.
Calpine (NYSE: CPN)… rose back above old $15.00 low, but shares down by one-third since July 1.
CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ: CECE)… on added earnings concern; with a name like that you’d think they would do better as shares are down 70% from highs.
IPO FILING: Changing World Technologies
Changing World Technologies Inc. filed yesterday for an initial public offering. While a share count and price range are not indicated, the filing is for up to $100 million in securities.
A ticker signal was not shown, but the company does plan to list on the NYSE Arca. This is also listed under the OpenIPO process with WR Hambrecht & Co. acting as the sole manager.
Insurers Sell Risk Management Via Verisk IPO (HIG, TRV, CNA, AFG, AIG, ACE)
A company called Verisk Analytics Inc. has filed to come public via an initial public offering in a securities sale of up to $750 million worth of class A common stock. The company did not provide any reference on the shares being offered nor any price indications. This is an amalgamated risk management company that is actually owned by many insurance and financial companies as follows:
- Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG)
- The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV)
- CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA)
- American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: AFG)
- American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG)
- ACE Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ACE)
Cramer with Google’s Eric Schmidt… $750 (GOOG, MSFT
On today’s Olympic-shortened MAD MONEY break now at 1:30 PM on CNBC, Jim Cramer interviewed Eric Schmidt, Chairman & CEO of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). Cramer said that in July it got hit over Wall Street took its quarter as bad. Cramer said he’s calling it..."Google is a steal at $500" at what he said is 20-times his forward earnings estimates. He had many questions but said he is asking questions today to find out what he needs in an in-person interview live on CNBC…. As you read the comments below, please be advised that these are merely paraphrased comments from the CNBC VIDEO interview rather than formal quotes…..
GM and the Moody’s Gorilla, Round 16 (GM, F)
If you believe that the bond rating agencies either matter or still offer any relevance in the post-meltdown (or is it mid-meltdown?) world, then you can see they are at it again. Moody’s has downgraded General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) this morning on the corporate debt credit ratings. The corporate family rating has been taken down another notch in various forms in yet another version of "And or, Duh!" coverage from the ratings agency.
Energy Watch Part I: Alternative Energy’s Biggest Losers (HYDG, NBF, BIOF, PEIX, XNL)
We have been reviewing which publicly traded energy companies have lost the most value in the past year, and we are breaking these down by sector and by sub-sector. While composing this list is not particularly amusing, it does give an us an idea of what’s happening in the energy business. The days of throwing darts at a group of energy stocks are seeming to be farther and farther in the past as investors seem to be looking at quality more than evvery after turbulent times. Today’s installment looks at alternative energy.
Wednesday’s Day Trader Alerts (NVDA, LVLT, CSIQ, CREE)
This morning over at VSinvestor we identified several key stocks that the more active and day trading crowds will want to watch.
- Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) under major pressure after earnings
- Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) is major short squeeze candidate
- Level 3 Communications (LVLT) is under analyst downgrade pressure
- NVIDIA (NVDA) earnings stank but shares rising on buyback and short squeeze as the most active stock pre-market
There are many other focal stocks, but these were the four major stand out stocks.
Douglas A. McIntyre
August 13, 2008
Can Longs Buyout Save Drug Store Sector? (LDG, CVS, RAD, WAG)
Longs Drug Stores Corporation (NYSE: LDG) is trading way up this morning after last night’s announcement that CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) will acquire the company. In a definitive agreement reached, Longs will receive $71.50 per share in cash in the buyout. After the assumption of debt and items, this buyout is valued at roughly $2.9 Billion.
Early-Bird Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (PHM, TOL, CCOI, LVLT, PCZ, TWB, TWT, WCN, WW)
These are not all of the analyst calls out there but these are some of the calls we see having an impact on trading this Wednesday morning with more than two hours to the market open:
- Pulte Homes (PHM) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
- Toll Brothers (TOL) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Downgrades or negative calls as follows:
- Cogent Communications (CCOI) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
- Level 3 Communications (LVLT) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
- Petro-Canada (PCZ) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
- Tween Brands (TWB) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
- TW Telecom (TWT) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
- Waste Connections (WCN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
- Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. (WW) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Jon C. Ogg
August 13, 2008
24/7 Wall St. Most Overpaid CEO Of The Day: Insulet Corp (PODD) CEO Duane DeSisto
Insulet (PODD) reported earnings well below Wall St. expectations and revised its forecast for the rest of the year down. The stock is set to open off today.
According to the AP, "Insulet Corp. lowered its 2008 revenue outlook Tuesday to a range mostly below Wall Street’s expectations, citing slower-than-expected conversion of referrals to patient shipments."
24/7 Wall St. Biotech Report: Short-Selling And Splits (AMGN)(CELG)
Short sellers moved out of biotech stocks in the latest period according to Biohealth Investor.
The short interest in Amgen (AMGN) dropped 22% and Calgene (CELG) fell 20%.
Banks: Selling Debt To Lose More Money
Banks that claim they are off-loading risk may be making a case which is a bit overblown.
Recently, Citigroup (C) and RBS (RBS) dumped loans to private equity firms including Blackstone (BX). The LBO debt went for about $.85 for each dollar.
What is baffling about the deals is that the banks loaned most of the money for the private equity firms to pick up the assets.
The Foreclosure Problem: Death By A Thousand Cuts
The rate of foreclosures continues to accelerate. That generally means that banks are dumping them as fast as they can. Banks don’t want to own houses. And, why should they? The value of the asset class is still falling.
The federal government is probably going about trying to steady the economy in the wrong way. Tax rebates last a month or two. Money from the Fed goes onto bank balance sheets, but it is not being passed to consumers and businesses in the form of lower-priced lending.
The Dangers Of Overreacting To The Current Economic Environment: Whole Foods Market (WFMI) And Tween Brands (TWB)
Subprime lenders like New Century Financial, Novastar, and, to a large extent, Countrywide Financial, learned a hard lesson in the dangers of operating businesses as though the then-current good economic times would last forever.
Now the economy has taken a turn for the worse, and companies are struggling to react to new realities. Whole Foods Market (WFMI) is trying to convince shoppers that it actually can be a good place for value-conscious consumers, as its results disappoint Wall Street.
Japan Moves Into A Recession Ahead Of The US
By the clock, Japan is twelve hours ahead of the US, By the numbers, it is entering a recession. By most estimates, Japan still has the No. 2 economy in the world based on GDP, and that economy is going to hell in a hand basket.
According to Reuters, "The Japanese economy shrank in the second quarter at its fastest pace since the last recession in 2001." To a very large extent, consumer confidence is to blame.
Nvidia (NVDA): The Buy-Back Makes A Comeback
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) defiled itself with earnings which should undercut investor faith in the company for many quarters to come. The graphics chip firm took a charge of nearly $200 million for releasing a faulty chip. It posted a loss of $120 million and revenue dropped slightly. Nvidia also says it underestimated competition from rival AMD (AMD), one of the worst run technical companies on the planet.
Goldman Sachs (GS) Bets Big On Buyouts Of Yesteryear
While the mainstream media reminisces about the heady days of the private equity bubble with all the fondness of a first-date discussion of past romances, Goldman Sachs is betting big that the unwanted, unloved deals of the past few years are still valuable.
The Wall Street Journal reports that "A Goldman Sachs-led group has agreed to pay about $1.5 billion for a portfolio of existing private-equity investments divested as part of the $101 billion carve-up of Dutch bank ABN Amro by Banco Santander SA, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Fortis NV."
Media Digest 8/13/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, Goldman Sachs (GS) will buy $1.5 billlion in assets from ABN.
Reuters reports that Ford’s (F) new plans will not change because of the fall in gas prices.
Reuters writes that GM (GM) will crack down on healthcare coverage.
Reuters reports that Yahoo! (YHOO) has added new board members to complete a deal with Icahn.
Asia Markets 8/13/2008 (LFC)
Markets in Asia fell
The Nikkei was down 2.1% to 13,023. Konica Minolta fell 4.3% to 1504. Mitsubishi Electic fell 4.2% to 939.
The Hang Seng fell .9% to 21,447. China Life (LFC) fell 2.1% to 27.40. CNOOC rose 4.6% to 10.46.
The Shanghai Composite dropped .4% to 2,446.
Data from Reuters.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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