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24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 14, 2013: Markets Punt Again Today (CL, NVDA, LMT, DELL, VZ, AMAT, CAR, CTL, CSCO, CLD, IPI, KGC, MET, NTAP, PXD, TRIP, Z, ANR, ABX, DTV, GM, PEP, CBS, GG, AEP, BKW, CPB, SJM, TOWR, HNZ, ANGI)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:59:26 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning, dragged down by weak economic data from Europe. Germany, France, Italy, and Greece all reported worse-than-expected GDP contraction for the fourth quarter of 2012, and the eurozone as whole experienced GDP contraction of 0.6% (more coverage here). In Asia, Japan reported a second consecutive quarter of GDP contraction, officially placing the country in recession (more coverage here). In the U.S., new jobless claims fell more than expected, but the data is suspect because two large states — Illinois and Connecticut — provided only estimates (more coverage here). Revisions will almost certainly affect next week’s report. The good news is that continuing claims fell by 130,000. Indexes drifted around the break-even line most of the day before finishing mixed.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.47% today, now at 80.462. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 679.20, with commodities prices mixed again today. WTI crude oil closed up 0.3% today, at $97.31. Brent crude trades up 0.1% at $117.94 a barrel. Natural gas is down 4.1% today at about $3.17 per million BTUs following a smaller-than-expected draw on inventories (more coverage here). Gold settled down 0.6% today at $1,635.50 an ounce, its lowest settlement since August 20th.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 9 points to13,974.31 (-0.06%), the NASDAQ rose about 2 points (0.06%) to 3,198.67, and the S&P 500 rose 0.07% or about 1 point to 1,521.41.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) started as ‘sell’ at Canaccord Genuity; Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) cut to ‘hold’ at Needham; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) cut to ‘neutral’ at Cowen; Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) cut to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James; and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) raised to ‘outperform’ at Raymond James.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is up 1.1% at $13.93 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.99 earlier today (more coverage here); Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) is up 5.8% at $24.39 after posting a new 52-week high of $24.90 earlier today; Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is down 0.9% at $20.96 (more coverage here); Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE: CLD) is down 1.4% at $16.72; Intrepid Potash Inc. (NYSE: IPI) is down 6% at $22.10; Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) is up 6.2% at $8.38; Metlife Inc. (NYSE: MET) is down 1.8% at $36.84 (more coverage here); NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) is down 0.3% at $35.72; Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) is up 2.8% at $130.26 after posting a new 52-week high of $133.68 earlier today; TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) is down 7.3% at $43.50; Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) is up 9.3% at $42.59 after posting a new 52-week high of $47.85 earlier today; Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) is up 13.8% at $9.66 (more coal coverage here); Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is up 3% at $32.54 (more coverage here); DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is down 3.2% at $50.00; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is 3.4% at $27.71 (more coverage here); and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is up 1.2% at $72.34 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP), Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW), Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM), and Tower International Inc. (NYSE: TOWR).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

H.J. Heinz Co.(NYSE: HNZ) is up 19.7% at $72.39 after posting a new 52-week high of $72.61 earlier today. The food products maker is being acquired by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) and a private equity firm for $28 billion. More coverage here.

CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) is down 22.6% at $32.26 after posting a new 52-week low of $32.05 earlier today. The communications company cut its dividend after a poor quarter. More coverage here.

Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) is up 24.6% at $16.97. The Internet firm soared on results and guidance. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
9:00 a.m. – Treasury International Capital (TIC) data
9:15 a.m. – Industrial production
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – E-commerce retail sales

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABX, AEP, AMAT, ANGI, ANR, BKW, CAR, CBS, CL, CLD, CPB, CSCO, CTL, DELL, DTV, featured, GG, GM, HNZ, IPI, KGC, LMT, MET, NTAP, NVDA, PEP, PXD, SJM, TOWR, TRIP, VZ, Z

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 13, 2013: Markets Get No Direction Today (CLWR, GE, GRPN, CLF, PM, RATE, BWLD, CLWR, RAX, CMCSA, DF, DE, TOT, AMAT, CAR, CTL, CSCO, CLD, IPI, KGC, MET, NTAP, PXD, TRIP, Z, ANR, ABX, DTV, PEP, RSOL, BBRY, PPHM)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:06:06 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning following a closely watched report on U.S. retail sales came in about as expected (more coverage here). U.S. business inventories rose less than expected in December (more coverage here), but the difference was not enough to move the markets. In Asia, the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges remain closed for the new year holiday and there was no news or data of note from the region. In Europe, the head of the Bank of England said he expects U.K. inflation to rise to 3% by summer, which caused the pound to sell off and hit a six-month low versus the dollar. Overall, though, today’s economic news had little impact on trading.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.01% today, now at 80.115. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.2% at 678.90, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed down 0.5% today, at $97.01 a barrel after the U.S. EIA released its weekly inventory report (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 0.1% at $117.90 a barrel. Natural gas is up 2.4% today at about $3.31 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.3% today at $1,645.10 an ounce, its lowest settlement since August.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 36 points to 13,982.60 (-0.26%), the NASDAQ rose more than 10 points (0.33%) to 3,196.88, and the S&P 500 rose 0.06% or less than 1 point to 1,520.32.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) cut to ‘underperform’ at Raymond James; General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reiterated as ‘outperform’ and price target raised to $25 at Credit Suisse; Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee; Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; and Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) raised to ‘neutral’ at Nomura.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) is down 16.9% at $10.29 after posting a new 52-week low of $9.90 earlier today (more coverage here); Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) is down 5.7% at $76.44; Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is down 0.2% at $3.18 (more coverage here); Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) is down 20.1% at $59.91; Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is up 2.4% at $39.91 after posting a new 52-week high of $42.00 earlier today (more coverage here); Dean Foods Inc. (NYSE: DF) is down 8.9% at $16.75 (more coverage here); Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) is down 3.3% at $90.88 (more coverage here); and Total SA (NYSE: TOT) is up 1% at $51.93 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR), CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE: CLD), Intrepid Potash Inc. (NYSE: IPI), Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC), Metlife Inc. (NYSE: MET), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD), TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP), Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ: Z), Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR), Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV), and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Real Goods Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: RSOL) is up 58.9% at $2.40 after posting a new 52-week high of $2.83 earlier today. The solar installer has been selected by an unnamed homebuilder to install residential solar systems at new communities in California.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) is down 8.1% at $13.97. The smartphone maker said today that it would not release a low-cost phone this year.

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PPHM) is down 18.5% at $1.72. The biopharmaceuticals maker announced “modest” results from a Phase II trial of its pancreatic cancer treatment.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year bond auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABX, AMAT, ANR, BBRY, BWLD, CAR, CLD, CLF, CLWR, CMCSA, CSCO, CTL, DE, DF, DTV, featured, GE, GRPN, IPI, KGC, MET, NTAP, PEP, PM, PPHM, PXD, RATE, RAX, RSOL, TOT, TRIP, Z

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMGN, ARMH, BBVA, CHTR, CMCSA, GLW, DTV, DO, DISH, ET, FE, JCP, LRCX, LIFE, LNKD, PBF, SCHS, SLB, SYMC, TIF, TWC, WCC)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:14:34 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls this Tuesday.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) cut to Hold at Benchmark.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) started as Outperform with $90 target at Credit Suisse.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) maintained Buy with $15 target but cautious earnings comments from BofA/Merrill Lynch.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) at Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) started as Outperform with $43 target at Credit Suisse.

Exact Target Inc. (NYSE: ET) started as Outperform with $30 target at Credit Suisse.

First Energy (NYSE: FE) cut to Underperform at Jefferies.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) maintained Buy with $35 target at Argus.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) reiterated Underperform with $32 target at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFE) cut to Market Perform at William Blair.

LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) started as Neutral at Stern Agee.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF) started as Outperform with $35 target at Credit Suisse.

School Specialty Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHS) raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) reiterated Buy and raised target from $85 to $90 at Argus.

Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) maintained Neutral but raised target to $21.50 from $20 at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) maintained Underperform and named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) started as Outperform with $114 target at Credit Suisse.

Wesco International Inc. (NYSE: WCC) raised to Outperform with target moving up to $84 at Credit Suisse.

Goldman Sachs has issued a very favorable 2013 outlook for major media stocks.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AMGN, ARMH, BBVA, CHTR, CMCSA, DISH, DO, DTV, ET, FE, GLW, JCP, LIFE, LNKD, LRCX, PBF, SCHS, SLB, SYMC, TIF, TWC, WCC

Cable TV Costs Too Much (TWC, DISH, DTV, LMCA, DIS, NWS, NFLX)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:41:29 +0000

The CEO of Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) today told an investor conference that programming is “just starting to cost too much,” and that his company will be taking a “hard look” at their programming contracts and likely would drop channels that are too costly relative to their attractiveness to customers.

His remarks dovetail rather well with a report in the Los Angeles Times that focuses on sports programming, which now accounts for about half the cost of an average $90 per month cable or satellite contract. Time Warner Cable, Dish Network Inc. (NASDAQ: DISH), and DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV), among other cable and satellite providers, are getting whipsawed by national and regional sports programming contracts that are approaching half a customer’s total monthly bill.

John Malone, who is chairman of cable company Liberty Media Corp. (NASDAQ: LMCA), told the LA Times:

We’ve got runaway sports rights, runaway sports salaries and what is essentially a high tax on a lot of households that don’t have a lot of interest in sports. The consumer is really getting squeezed, as is the cable operator.

And an executive at DirecTV said:

There are not new pro and college games being created. You are getting the same product being reshuffled into smaller slices at higher prices. That’s not a model consumers can continue to support.

For consumers who watch a lot of sports, that’s not altogether a bad thing because a lot more games are available. But for consumers who don’t watch sports regularly, the cost of these sports stations is a subsidy they pay for the other cable and satellite subscribers who do watch all those games.

The answer might be so-called “a la carte” programming, an option that cable and satellite providers have resisted for years. The sports networks, like The Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE: DIS) ESPN and News Corp.’s (NASDAQ: NWS) Fox Sports would clearly prefer to keep the current bundling system because it values their product so highly.

Sports programming is valuable because most fans watch the events live, soaking up all those ad minutes along with the game. No fast-forwarding through commercials means those eyeballs are locked-in for at least two or three hours. Just like the good old days.

From point of view of non-sports watchers, there’s no reason they should subsidize sports programming. If cable and satellite operators put their weight behind the a la carte approach, there could be a significant change in the TV programming landscape.

Aside from technology that allows viewers to record TV programming to watch (without commercials) later, cable and satellite operators are seeing their subscriber numbers fall off as customers “cut the cord.” Here’s something we wrote earlier this year:

Research firm Convergence Consulting recently released studies on broadcast and cable TV and bundling. Between 2000 and 2009, cable TV subscriber additions averaged 2 million a year. In 2010 additions totaled 272,000 and in 2011 additions totaled just 112,000. The firm estimates that 2.65 million cable subscribers “cut the cord” between 2008 and 2011, choosing instead to rely on “over-the-top” services from Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and others. By the end of this year, the firm estimates there will be 3.58 million cord cutters.

That’s the big reason cable and satellite providers are trying to get into the wireless carrier business. It gives them a revenue stream to replace the one they’re losing to Internet streaming.

The sports programmers are wary because if the cable and satellite packages are slimmed down, then they will have to cut their demands of consumers. If that happens, sports teams will have to cut their demands of sports programmers, and players will have to lower their salary demands. There could be a sea change in the works.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Cable Companies, Entertainment, Satellite, TV Tagged: DIS, DISH, DTV, LMCA, NFLX, NWS, TWC

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AAPL, BIDU, DTV, LLY, EPD, EVER, FB, ITW, JNJ, INTC, IPG, LAZ, NFLX, OPTR, PIR, RSH, TSM, VRTX)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:07:50 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls this Tuesday.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reiterated Outperform with $750 target at Credit Suisse.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.

DirecTV Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV) cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs and maintained Neutral but raised target to $59 at Credit Suisse.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) reiterated Buy with $61 target at Argus.

EverBank Financial Corp. (NYSE: EVER) started as Buy with $16 target at Goldman Sachs.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) maintained Hold and said that its discounted cash flow model points to a price in the high $20s according to Argus.

Illinois Tools Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) cut to Underperform at Bernstein.

The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG) raised to Buy at Citigroup.

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) started as Sell at UBS and cut to Market Perform at KBW.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) cut to Underperform with $72 target at BofA/ML.

Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTR) reiterated Underperform and lowered target to $11 from $15 at BofA/ML.

Pier One Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.

RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. ADR (NYSE: TSM) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, BIDU, DTV, EPD, EVER, FB, INTC, IPG, ITW, JNJ, LAZ, LLY, NFLX, OPTR, PIR, RSH, TSM, VRTX

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALU, BLK, BBVA, CMCSA, DTV, DISH, TWC, HMC, KEY, LNKD, MXIM, ONXX, PNRA, PSX, RUSHA, TYC)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:54:42 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls this Monday. Today’s calls are light perhaps due to the Columbus Day holiday.

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) raised to Buy at Citigroup.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) maintained Buy but was added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) reiterated Buy with $80 target at BofA/ML.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV), Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) were all started with Sector Perform ratings at Pac-Crest.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) maintained Hold but lowered 2012 earnings target by about 20% by Argus.

Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM) raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) reiterated Buy and raised target to $101 at BofA/ML.

Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) cut to Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) reiterated Buy and target raised to $54 at Argus.

Rush Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: RUSHA) started as Outperform with $22 target at Credit Suisse.

Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) reiterated Buy with $34 target at Argus.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ALU, BBVA, BLK, CMCSA, DISH, DTV, HMC, KEY, LNKD, MXIM, ONXX, PNRA, PSX, RUSHA, TWC, TYC

Netflix Threatened with Another Loss of Content (NFLX, DIS, CMCSA, LMCB, AMZN, TWC, DTV)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:34:53 +0000

Streaming and rental video provider Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is currently involved in a negotiation with A&E Networks for a license to distribute the network’s content. The existing license expires Friday. A&E is owned by Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and Hearst Corp. following last year’s divestment by Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to the two remaining partners.

Netflix currently distributes popular A&E channel programming like “Storage Wars,” “Ice Road Truckers,” and “Pawn Stars,” as well as the network-owned History channel. According to a report in industry magazine Variety, Netflix has already decided to let go of the 40 or so shows it gets from the network, which total some 800 hours of programming “because the viewership [doesn’t] justify the licensing cost.”

The magazine also cites Netflix’s chief content officer:

While we do not comment on our deals and partnerships, expect some of the A&E and History programming to drop and some to remain on Netflix.

Last February, Netflix lost its license to distribute programming from the Starz network, which is majority owned by Liberty Media Corp. (NASDAQ: LMCA).

One sticking point could be a Netflix demand for exclusive distribution rights to some or even all of the network’s programming. But given the options available to A&E, Netflix is not in a particularly strong bargaining position here. Netflix has demonstrated that having a vault full of back episodes of the popular shows can generate viewer interest in the new season’s shows, but A&E could get similar interest from streaming competitors like Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Hulu Plus, and Comcast’s Streampix, as well as cable competitors like Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV).

Even if Netflix is able to retain rights to some or all of A&E’s programming, the cost will be high and will continue to eat away at the company’s bottom line. Content owners now have several offers to choose from and are finally developing their own streaming distribution channels. That will only make Netflix’s position harder to maintain going forward.

Shares of Netflix are down 4.6% at $57.74 this morning, in a 52-week range of $52.81 to $162.99.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Cable Companies, Entertainment, Media, TV Tagged: AMZN, CMCSA, DIS, DTV, LMCB, NFLX, TWC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIG, APOL, MT, AV, BHI, BBEP, DTV, FB, LDK, NWSA, SBAC, YNDX)

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:30:43 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls this Wednesday.

American International Group (NYSE: AIG) Reiterated Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) Maintained Hold at Argus.

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) target cut at Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan.

Aviva plc (NYSE: AV) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Maintained Hold but cut 2012-2013 earnings estimates (2012 from $4.60 to $3.55; 2013 from $5.50 to $4.40) at Argus.

Breitburn Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ: BBEP) Started as Neutral with $16 target at Credit Suisse.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reiterated Buy and Raised target to $100 at Argus.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) Reiterated BUy with $68 target.

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) full analyst summary

LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Cut to Sell from Hold at S&P Capital IQ (late Tuesday call); maintained Sell at Argus.

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) Raised to Buy at Needham.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ: SBAC) Reiterated Buy and raised price target to $67 at Canaccord Genuity.

Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Raised to Buy at UBS.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIG, APOL, AV, BBEP, BHI, DTV, FB, LDK, MT, NWSA, SBAC, YNDX

Most Likely Stock Purchases By Warren Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B, CVS, DVA, DTV, DG, GD, INTC, IBM, LMCA, V, WFC)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:04:26 +0000

Warren Buffett hosted the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) over the weekend and this Monday morning he gave a long interview to CNBC. In the interview Mr. Buffett noted how he still thinks stocks are cheap. More importantly, Buffett said he was using any weakness to buy stocks right now.

When Team Buffett adds to a position, it is often in the new or relatively new positions already in the Buffett portfolio. 24/7 Wall St. has taken a look at the recent additional stake or new stake positions to see which shares that Mr. Buffett and his team of portfolio managers has likely added to along with some color and logic behind the move.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) was a larger position as of the end of 2011 at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter. This was worth about $280 million at the start of 2012 and it is up more than 10% since then and the market cap here is $58 billion.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was previously listed as a new position of 2.684 million shares worth $203 million at the end of 2011 but that position is worth about 12% more. This is the leader as a kidney dialysis provider. If the health trends remain then this one is right up Buffett’s alley.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was most recently listed as a larger position which was listed as 20.348 million shares worth $870 million at the end of 2011. In a prior report we had it as a new position of 4.249 million shares one quarter earlier. The share price alone is up over 13% from the value at the end of 2011.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is one of the stocks which we think Team Buffett would have liked to own much more of. The rapid rise in the value of the dollar store trends as a secular theme was even noticed at Berkshire. This was the same size at the end of 2011 at 4.497 million shares but this was a new position and a larger position and it seems that the price just appreciated too fast for Buffett and friends to add many shares. Perhaps they participated in the most recent secondary offering, but that might not appear based on the cut-off dates.

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) was most recently a larger stake of 3.877 million shares worth $257 million after being listed as a new position just one quarter earlier before of 3.064 million shares. These shares are hardly higher than the end of 2011, so perhaps Buffett and team have added to the stake on weakness.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) was a larger of 11.495 million shares worth $278 million at the end of 2011; this was a new position of 9.333 million shares last quarter. Shares are up 16% so far in 2012, so Buffett’s stake here may have grown in size and in value.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) is one that Buffett already hinted at owning more of, but perhaps that is due to IBM’s share float shrinking from its buybacks. The most recent filing showed some 63.905 million shares worth some $11.75 billion now after having been a new position with an average cost of about $170 per share. Buffett’s bet has been worth more than a 10% unrealized gain ($1 billion or so) on what is now one of his largest positions.

Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LMCA) was a new position of 1.7 million shares worth some $132.7 million. If Buffett is involved much here, it is under his new portfolio managers. Shares are up about 6% this year so far but it is unknown what the real goal or strategy is here when you consider the DirecTV angle.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was most recently listed as a larger position of 2.865 million shares worth $291 million at the end of 2011. This was listed as 2.291 million shares in the previous quarter. The company has a near-duopoly and market strength and history that it seems just like a Buffett dream. He likes banks, but owning the toll road providers for the theme of consumers using less cash and more card swipes in the years ahead.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is almost certainly a larger stake. The reason for believing that is that Wells Fargo seems to be a position which grows in size infinitely and it was raised during the prior filing period to more than 383 million shares. As of Friday’s closing bell, that stake (assuming no share count growth at all) would be worth a shopping $12.65 billion.

It is unlikely that Buffett would have added to each and every position. He just doesn’t do that and his new team may be more interested in adding on other new targeted stocks on the books.

Again, here is the FULL BUFFETT STOCK HOLDINGS.

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Filed under: Active Trader, Activist Investor, Banking & Finance, Buffett, Conglomerates, ETFs & Mutual Funds, Industrials, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Private Equity Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, CVS, DG, DTV, DVA, GD, IBM, INTC, LMCA, V, WFC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DTV, KMI, VZ, WTW, NVDA, CBK, SNX, FDO, JOSB, MOS, RHT, SN, BBY, SHAW, CMC, AMLN, VRML)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:04:46 +0000

Markets opened nearly flat this morning but took a dive early and have muddled along the rest of the day in negative territory. This morning’s report on falling durable goods orders got things off on the wrong foot (our coverage here). The US crude oil commercial inventory grew by a larger-than-expected amount, pushing crude prices down significantly (our coverage here). The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.12% at 79.140. Commodities were mostly lower on the stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed down about -1.9% at $105.41/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.09% at $124.17/barrel. Gold settled down -1.6% today, at $1,657.90/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 72 points to 13,126.06 (-0.54%), the NASDAQ fell more than 15 points (-0.49%) to 3,104.96, and the S&P 500 fell -0.49% or nearly 7 points to 1,405.54.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including DirecTV Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup and reiterated as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity; Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) started as ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley; Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) cut to ‘sector perform’ at RBC; Weight Watchers International Inc. (NYSE: WTW) started as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) raised to ‘market perform’ at JMP Securities.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Christopher & Banks Corp. (NYSE: CBK) is down -13% at $2.05 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.85 earlier today; Synnex Corp. (NYSE: SNX) is down -13% at $37.94 (more coverage here); Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) is up 0.6% at $58.58 (more coverage here); and Jos. A. Banks Clothiers Inc. (NASDAQ: JOSB) is down -8.7% at $49.77 (more coverage here). After markets close today the Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT), and Sanchez Energy Corp. (NYSE: SN) will report earnings. Before the markets open in the morning, we’ll get earnings from Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Commercial Metals Corp. (NYSE: CMC) is up 0.49%. The steel and metal fabricator posted better-than-expected earnings this morning. More coverage here.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) is up more than 53%. The drug maker rejected a takeover bid. More coverage here.

Vermillion Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML) is up 19%. The drug maker received a patent approval today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New unemployment benefits claims
8:30 a.m. – Corporate profits
10:30 a.m. – EIA natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMLN, BBY, CBK, CMC, DTV, FDO, JOSB, KMI, MOS, NVDA, RHT, SHAW, SN, SNX, VRML, VZ, WTW