24/7 Wall St. » AMSC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 25, 2012 (EBAY, LULU, SI, CRM, FSLR, CRMT, MENT, POST, FRO, AMSC, DRYS, KUTV, SAFM, SHIP, GAME, TLB, PAY, FB)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:04:01 +0000

Today’s edition of the Closing Bell is being published shortly after 2:00 p.m. US markets are closed Monday to observe the Memorial Day holiday. We’ll resume our normal schedule next Tuesday.

The three major US stock indexes opened marginally higher this morning as more European countries come out in support of a eurobond, a proposal Germany has flatly declined to discuss. The impasse weighed on European markets and the weight crossed the Atlantic when US markets opened today. The only new data point in the US today was better-than-expected reading on Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index (our coverage here). The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.07% at 82.406. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 618.78, with commodities prices mixed. WTI crude oil is trading up 0.12% at $90.77/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 0.31% at $106.88/barrel. Natural gas fell -4.4% today to $2.53/thousand cubic feet. Gold is trading up 0.52% today, at $1,567.90/ounce.

At 2:00 p.m. ET, the DJIA is down about 45 points at 12,484.68 (-0.36%), the NASDAQ is up more than 3 points (0.12%) at 2,842.72, and the S&P 500 is down -0.02% or less than 1 point at 1,320.43.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ebay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) maintained as ‘buy’ with a target price of $44 at BofA/ML; Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) cut to ‘hold’ at KeyBanc; Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; and First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) maintained as ‘buy’ with a target price of $30 at BofA/ML.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: America’s Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) is down -7.8% at $41.52; Mentor Graphics Inc. (NASDAQ: MENT) is down -12.7% at $13.28; Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST) is up 6.8% at $29.89; and Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) is up 8.8% at $5.42.

On Tuesday, we are scheduled to get earnings reports from American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC), DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Ku6 Media Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: KUTV), Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM), Seanergy Maritime Holdings Group Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP), and Shanda Games Ltd. (NASDAQ: GAME).

We’ve also reviewed this week some potential value stocks among major oil companies, gold & silver miners, conglomerates, industrials, retail, semiconductor, and solar stocks.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) is down -38.9% at $1.57. The clothing retailer failed to reach a deal with a potential private equity buyer.

Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) is down -15% at $38.27. The electronic payment systems company forecast a weaker-than-expected third quarter.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is down -3.8% at $31.78. The social network company continues to seek a floor for its stock price.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. US markets are closed Monday to observe the Memorial Day holiday. We have also noted the following events on the schedule for Tuesday (all times Eastern):

9:00 a.m. – S&P Case-Schiller housing price index
10:00 a.m. – Conference Board consumer confidence survey
10:00 a.m. – State Street investor confidence index
10:30 a.m. – Dallas Fed manufacturing survey
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auction

Have a great long weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMSC, CRM, CRMT, DRYS, EBAY, FB, FRO, FSLR, GAME, KUTV, LULU, MENT, PAY, POST, SAFM, SHIP, SI, TLB

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (JCP, AMSC, EGO, NVDA, M, HCSG, PGR, ADTN, MSW, FAST, RAD, MFRM, TITN, DVR, NOK)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:03:36 +0000

Markets opened higher this morning following the pleasant surprise earnings report from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) after markets closed yesterday (our coverage here). The report on US crude oil inventories showed a relatively modest gain this week, boosting crude prices (our coverage here). Based on better expectations for quarterly earnings and mildly better news on the global economy, investors took on more risk today, driving up Treasury yields in the bargain. The US dollar index fell slightly today, now down -0.09% at 79.788. The GSCI commodity index is down about -1.5% at 674.42, with orange juice again leading the decliners. WTI crude oil closed up 1.7% at $102.70/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 0.12% at $120.02/barrel. Gold settled down just -$0.40 today, at $1,660.30/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 90 points to 12,806.15 (0.71%), the NASDAQ rose more than 25 points (0.84%) to 3,016.46, and the S&P 500 rose 0.75% or more than 10 points to 1,368.79.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including J.C. Penney & Co. (NYSE: JCP) started as ‘neutral’ at UBS; American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC) started as ‘buy’ at Maxim Group; Eldorado Gold Corp. (NYSE: EGO) raised to ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity; Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) started as ‘outperform’ at RBC; and Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) started as ‘neutral’ at UBS.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Alcoa is up 6.2% at $9.90; Health Care Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HCSG) is up 7.2% at $21.47; Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) is down -0.6% at $22.61; and Adtran Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) is up 7.5% at $30.61. After the markets close today we will hear from Mission West Properties Inc. (NASDAQ: MSW) among others. Before the markets open tomorrow morning we get earnings from Fastenal Corp. (NASDAQ: FAST) and Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Mattress Firm Holding Co. (NASDAQ: MFRM) is up more than 17% at $43.89 after posting a new 52-week high of $45.42 earlier today. The retailing company posted good earnings and announced an acquisition. More coverage here.

Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN) is up more than 17% at $32.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $33.35. The farm machinery company shattered earnings expectations.

Cal Div International Inc. (NYSE: DVR) is up more than 13% at 3.71. The offshore oil field services firm has announced that it will be a 40% partner in the Cape Wind project offshore of Massachusetts.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is down more than -16% at $4.21, a new 52-week low. The cell phone maker warned on earnings this morning and is fixing a glitch in its new Lumia 900 phone. Even more coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. New York Fed President William Dudley, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, Minneapolis Fed President Naryana Kocherlakota, and Federal Reserve governor Sarah Bloom Raskin are all giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – International trade statistics
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
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

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ADTN, AMSC, DVR, EGO, FAST, HCSG, JCP, M, MFRM, MSW, NOK, NVDA, PGR, RAD, TITN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMSC, CPHD, EGO, GME, HBAN, JCP, M, NVDA, PLCM, SAP, SVU, UAL, YELP)

Administrator — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:17:35 +0000

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

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) Started as Buy at Maxim Group.

Cepheid, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPHD) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE: EGO) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) Cut to Hold at Needham.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) Started as Neutral at UBS.

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) Started as Neutral at UBS.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Started as Outperform at RBC.

Polycom Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) Cut estimates but maintained Buy at Argus.

SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Cut to Hold at ThinkEquity.

SuperValu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) maintained Neutral but cut target to $6 at Credit Suisse.

United Continental (NYSE: UAL) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Neutral at Citigroup; Started as Perform at Oppenheimer; Started as Hold at Jefferies.

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: AMSC, CPHD, EGO, GME, HBAN, JCP, M, NVDA, PLCM, SAP, SVU, UAL, Yelp

Much Needed Capital Infusion For American Superconductor (AMSC)

Administrator — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:41:14 +0000

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) has entered into a securities purchase agreement with an institutional investor whereby the company will raise about $25 million in gross funds. This compares to a pre-funding market capitalization rate of almost $206 million. The company is selling convertible notes and warrants which are said to be 7% senior convertible notes in a first tranche of the placement with a conversion price of $4.85 per share.

AMSC listed its ‘use of proceeds’ as being for working capital and general corporate purposes as an added backstop for its business as it moves to grow and diversify its business strategy while reducing its cash usage.

Today’s notes are scheduled to amortize in monthly installments beginning four months from issuance and ending on October 4, 2014 and the investor received has warrants to purchase approximately 3.1 million additional shares of common stock at a $5.45 strike price until October 4, 2017.

What is interesting is that AMSC could actually be raising $40 million rather than $25 million. The company has the right, subject to certain conditions, to require the investor to purchase up to an additional $15 million of convertible notes and additional warrants from AMSC.

Shares closed Tuesday at $4.00 and the 52-week trading range is $3.21 to $25.06.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Green Biz, Secondary Offering Tagged: AMSC

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (AONE, ALU, AMSC, NLY, AAPL, CSCO, COH, CSTR, COP, DLR, IBM, LF, MMM, M, OPEN, POST, SIRI, SOHU, TRLG, ZOLT)

Administrator — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:53:52 +0000

This last week was very busy, and Friday’s disappointing trading day skewed many research reports. Each morning we track analyst upgrades and downgrades and over the weekend we review each to see which stood out as highly insightful, or which were great money-makers for investors. Of course, there are some really bad calls that come about too. For better or worse, these make up the 24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week.

This last weeks most featured reports were in shares of the following: A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE); Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU); American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC); Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Coach, Inc. (NYSE: COH); Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR); ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP); Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR); International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM); Leapfrog Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LF); 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN); Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU); True Religion Apparel, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG); and Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT).

We have summarized each call and either added in trading color or provided a link to more data on each.

A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) was a highly influential call from a firm not very well known. The battery maker was downgraded on fears that Fiskar will not be able to keep buying from them. This fell 23% after it was cut to Sell at Wunderlich, but the price target was the real kicker: $0.50. Ouch.

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) was sure a wrong-way call of the week. The perpetually turning-around communications equipment maker was downgraded to ‘Sell’ at S&P Equity Research ahead of earnings and the stock closed up almost 13% at $2.19 on Friday.

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) was inadvertently a really bad call because it got caught up in a weak stock market day and got caught on a day when alternative energy players took it on the chin. This one was raised to ‘Buy’ at Citigroup on Friday and closed don over 8% at $5.11 after opening at $5.36 on the day. Oops.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) had a rough week based in part on a mortgage foreclosure settlement. We expect the debate to continue over the real impact, but this high dividend yield mortgage REIT was downgraded to ‘Market Perform’ and the price target was cut to $16.00 from $17.50 by Friedman, Billings & Ramsey this last week.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) keeps hitting new all-time highs each day. Apparently it is going to keep doing that for quite some time if Canaccord Genuity gets its way. That firm listed many reasons to raise it price target to $665 this last week.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was better than what we feel the street gave it credit for on earnings. Credit Suisse only reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating ahead of earnings, but what stood out was the $26.00 price target because that is about $4.50 higher than the consensus price target and that is also close to where the stock petered out in 2010.

Coach, Inc. (NYSE: COH) may be gutsy and may be an afterthought. It was recently given a strong tout by CNBC’s Jim Cramer as his luxury stock of choice, but on Friday it was raised started as ‘Buy’ with a target of $85 at Citigroup. This came on a day when the stock hit an all time high and closed at $74.54.

Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is already up big over the last week, but we have never really considered it just as a value stock. Don’t tell that Zacks… On Friday it was named as Zacks’ Value Stock of the Day.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, The Week Tagged: AAPL, ALU, AMSC, AONE, COH, COP, CSCO, CSTR, DLR, IBM, LF, M, MMM, NLY, OPEN, POST, SIRI, SOHU, TRLG, ZOLT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (COP, GILD, AMSC, MA, COH, LNKD, ATVI, CPST, GPRE, KONA, TRLG, LGF, MOVE, NBL, PCYC, ALU, FLIR, RUTH, FSLR, CIE, TBAC, RPXC, AMRS)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:07:37 +0000

All three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning and the day was mostly a gentle slide for the rest of the trading session. The failed Greek debt deal weighed on futures this morning and nothing came along during the day to lift anyone’s spirits. US consumer sentiment fell slightly in January, the US trade deficit grew, and the federal budget deficit shrank, but now by enough to ignite buyers. Remarks by Fed chairman Bernanke on how to fix the housing mess didn’t offer anything new either. With equities and commodities all lower, the dollar index rose 0.523% today to 79.140. Crude oil is down today, with WTI down -1.04% at $98.80/barrel and Brent down -1.05% at $117.35/barrel. Gold settled down -0.9% at $1,725.30/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 89 points to 12,801.23 (-0.69%), the NASDAQ fell more than 23 points (-0.8%) to 2,903.88, and the S&P 500 fell -0.69% or more than 9 points to 1,342.64.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) started as ‘overweight’ at both Barclays and Morgan Stanley; American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC) raised to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $450 at Argus; and Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) started as ‘buy’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: LinkedIn Corp. (NASDAQ: LNKD) is up more than 18% at $90.44 (more coverage here); Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is down -2.84% at $12.30; Capstone Turbine Corp. (NASDAQ: CPST) is down -9.8% at $1.26; Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) is down -3.5% at $11.20; Kona Grill Inc. (NASDAQ: KONA) is down -3.8% at $6.05; True Religion Apparel Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG) is down more than -27% at $26.75; Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) is up 6.5% at $11.73 after posting a new 52-week high of $12.24 earlier today; Move Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE) is up 14% at $8.65; Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) is down -2.7% at $100.70; Pharmacyclics Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) is up more than 14% at $22.65 after posting a new 52-week high of $23.57 earlier today; Alcatel Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is up more than 13% at $2.2 (more coverage here); FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) is down -3.3% at $24.90; and Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. (NASDAQ: RUTH) is up 3.2% at $6.19.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down more than -10% at $43.94. The thin-film solar panel maker is having trouble meeting a financing requirement related to the sale of one of its solar farms to Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC). More coverage here.

Tandy Brands Accessories Inc. (NASDAQ: TBAC) is up nearly 71% at $1.77. The clothing accessories maker announced strong earnings and two new brand licensing agreements today.

Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) is up 35% at $32.27 after posting a new 52-week high of $36.51 earlier today. The independent oil & gas producer reported significantly better-than-expected flows from a test well offshore of Angola.

RPX Corp. (NASDAQ: RPXC) is up more than 11% at $19.21. The patent risk management company has a contract with Alcatel Lucent that could be very valuable as the larger company begins more aggressively to license its 29,000 patents.

Amyris Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRS) is down more than -28% at $6.95 after posting a new 52-week low of $6.85 earlier today. The biofuel maker’s stock was downgraded following a negative outlook from the company for 2012.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auctions

Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: ALU, AMRS, AMSC, ATVI, CIE, COH, COP, CPST, FLIR, FSLR, GILD, GPRE, KONA, LGF, LNKD, MA, MOVE, NBL, PCYC, RPXC, RUTH, TBAC, TRLG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALTR, AMSC, BIIB, CELG, COH, CSTR, COP, FSLR, GILD, HAIN, MA, RF, TRLG)

Administrator — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:23:06 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Friday morning.

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Coach, Inc. (NYSE: COH) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral at Collins Stewart.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Started as Overweight at Barclays; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN) maintained Outperform and named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $450 at Argus.
Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
True Religion Apparel, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG) Cut to Hold at Brean Murray.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ALTR, AMSC, BIIB, CELG, COH, COP, CSTR, FSLR, GILD, HAIN, MA, RF, TRLG

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AONE, EXPE, RIMM, AMGN, MMM, AAPL, CSCO, AMSC, BG, DNKN, LO, PEP, PM, SIRI, TDC, IPSU, TSL, DMND, GRPN, TLEO, CZR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:07:40 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened a bit higher this morning, and after some volatility have managed to get to the final half hour of trading with a modest gain. Some news is leaking out about the Greek debt swap deal being done, but what’s being reported is not likely to be welcomed in by ordinary Greeks. The dollar has been down most of the day as everyone seemed to believe an announcement on the Greek debt deal was imminent. The dollar index is down -0.187% — a slight uptick from its lower level this morning — at 78.591. Crude oil is up strongly, with WTI crude up 1.15% at $99.85/barrel and Brent crude up 1.16% at $118.56/barrel. Gold settled up 0.6% at $1,741.20/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 7 points to 12,890.61 (0.05%), the NASDAQ rose more than 11 points (0.39%) to 2,927.23, and the S&P 500 rose 0.15% or 2 points to 1,351.96.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) cut to ‘sell’ at Wunderlich; Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) cut to ‘hold’ at S&P Capital IQ; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) reiterated as ‘hold’ with $15 target price at Cannacord Genuity; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) cut to ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer and named ‘Bull of the Day’ at Zacks; and 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) got a lift from a target price increase to $665, which we cover here. We’ve also got a story on how Apple gets 80% of the operating profit among all the phone makers.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is down -2.1% at $20.00 (here’s our coverage); American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC) is down -8.74% at $5.50; Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) is up 5.9% at $63.25; Dunkin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) is down -2.35% at $28.33; Lorillard Inc. (NYSE: LO) is up 9.8% at $124.46 after posting a new 52-week high of $127.68 earlier today; Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is down -3.6% at $64.37 (our coverage here); Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) is up 2.8% at $80.08 after setting a new 52-week high of $80.99 earlier today; Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is nearly flat at $2.19 (additional coverage here); and Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC) is up 10% at $63.85 after posting a new 52-week high earlier today of $64.97.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Imperial Sugar Co. (NASDAQ: IPSU) is up more than 79% at $6.02. The sugar refiner and marketer said it is nearing a sale of one of its divisions.

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is up 20% at $11.08. The solar panel maker is getting a big boost from a report that China will add about 3,000 megawatts of solar PV generation this year, although some analysts think the total will be double that. Other Chinese solar panel makers are also getting a nice bump from the news. We have another view of the sudden rise here.

Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) is down more than -36% at $23.36 after posting a new 52-week low of $21.44 earlier today. The snack food maker will re-state accounting and that jeopardizes the deal to purchase the Pringles brand from Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG). See our coverage here.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is down more than -15% at $20.82. The Internet coupon company posted weak earnings last night. See our coverage here.

Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ: TLEO) is up more than 17% at $45.62 after posting a new 52-week high of $45.71. The maker of cloud-based software is being acquired by Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL). More coverage here and here.

Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) is down about -3.8% at $14.80. The share price nearly doubled at yesterday’s IPO, to a high of $17.90, but the stock is coming back to earth today.

Stay tuned for Friday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Cleveland Fed president Sandra Pianalto are speakingWe have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – International trade report
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment report
2:00 p.m. – US Treasury budget report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AAPL, AMGN, AMSC, AONE, BG, CSCO, CZR, DMND, DNKN, EXPE, GRPN, IPSU, LO, MMM, PEP, PM, RIMM, SIRI, TDC, TLEO, TSL

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DWA, HRB, PCLN, RAD, WAG, ADSK, GM, AONE, IL, NILE, HNR, NP, ENER, PRTS, ORLY, AMSC, NOR, C, BZH)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:07:49 +0000

Pre-market signals were weak today, and once trading opened, the signals got stronger. The DJIA has traded down more than -200 points for most of the day, with financial and energy stocks the hardest hit. Rates on Italian bonds topped 7% this morning, sending traders running away from equities and commodities alike. The only gainer for the day appears to be the dollar, which is stronger against the euro and the yen in the mid-afternoon. Crude prices fell below $95/barrel before recovering to near $98/barrel, and gold is down at $1,789.30. About an hour before closing, nearly 99% of the S&P 500 stocks were down on the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than -389 points to 11,780.94 (-3.2%), the NASDAQ fell nearly -106 points (-3.88%) to 2,621.65, and the S&P 500 fell -3.67% or nearly -47 points to 1,229.10.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) cut to ‘sell’ at Janney; H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) cut to ‘hold’ at S&P Capital IQ; Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; and Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up down about -10%, at $22.48; A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is down less than -1%, at $3.09; IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IL) is down more than -37%, at $5.50, after posting a new 52-week low of $5.44 earlier today; Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) is down nearly -16%, at $33.24; Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down more than -19%, at $8.80; and Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE: NP) is up more than 12%, at $18.84.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) is down more than -32%, to $0.41. The company has said that it will suspend manufacturing and cut 500 jobs. Excess inventory of solar panels gets the blame.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) is down more than -22%, at $3.94, after posting a new 52-week low of $3.66 earlier in the day. The company received a waiver from one of its lenders for failing to meet coverage ratio requirements.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) is down about -1.1%, at $76.44, after posting a new 52-week high of $77.95 earlier today. We noted the company’s performance earlier today in an article on auto sector implied gains.

American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC)) is up nearly 10%, to $4.49. The company reported earnings today, and its growing order backlog indicates a possible turnaround following the loss of its biggest customer earlier this year.

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) is down more than -16%, at $8.51. The company will pay a special dividend of $1/share to shareholders of record as of yesterday’s close. That pushed the shares down a buck this morning, and the rest is due to the overall market decline today.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) is down more than -8%, at $28.78. The bank claimed the largest decline among the big US banks today.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is down nearly -8%, at $2.17. There was no special news from Beazer today, but the threatened burst of new foreclosures soon to hit the housing market have had a nasty effect on this lower-priced builder.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Dennis Lockhart is giving a speech in the morning and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a town hall meeting with soldiers and their families at Fort Bliss, Texas, at 11:45 a.m. We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – International trade balance report
8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims
8:30 a.m. – Monthly import/export price report
9:45 a.m. – Bloomberg consumer comfort index
10:30 a.m. – EIA natural gas inventory report
2:00 p.m. – Monthly US Treasury budget report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ADSK, AMSC, AONE, BZH, C, DWA, ENER, GM, HNR, HRB, IL, NILE, NOR, NP, ORLY, PCLN, PRTS, RAD, WAG

The Worst Performing Stocks of 2011 (ARO, BAC, RIMM, TLB, AMSC, CIS, FRO, MOTR, LEDS, MTG)

Administrator — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:38:39 +0000

2011 has been an incredibly choppy year, the economy is flirting between snail-paced growth and recession, and many companies and entire sectors are experiencing some severe business pressures or their management teams have made severe missteps. We wanted to identify the worst of stocks of 2011 based upon year-to-date performance that fit within liquidity and size parameters.

Many investors might have guessed that Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM), and The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) are among the worst performers. Their performance has been atrocious, but the Finviz screener showed many companies which have performed far worse.

There are many companies under $100 million in value or which are illiquid which have fallen even more. This group was focused on companies that trade with a market capitalization of more than $100 million and we screened out the companies which are either not liquid of roughly 200,000 shares a day. We also screened out the Chinese companies and their accounting woes, with one exception. This list of doozies here also had one critical threshold: the stocks are all down by 75% or more from the start of 2011.

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) has become the boulevard of broken dreams for investors. The trouble goes even beyond alternative energy woes. It is suing the Chinese customer who refused to pay, but the ongoing issue is that the customer was just too large of ASC’s customer base for it to adequately hedge against. At $5.22, the 52-week trading range is $5.10 to $38.88. That might make some people cry. Shares are down more than 82% from the start of 2011 and the performance has been only red. The market cap is still amazingly about $265 million and it usually trades more than 1.2 million shares each day.

Camelot Information Systems Inc. (NYSE: CIS) came public last year in October and investors probably wished they never heard of the enterprise application services and financial industry information technology services player in China. A slowing bank spending climate hurt there even before Americans had to throw almost anything related to China in “the accounting soup” during this last summer and before. Camelot trades close to $4.65 and the 52-week trading range is $4.00 to $28.18. The stock is still worth more than $210 million and the shares are down right at 80% so far in 2011. Camelot trades close to 800,000 shares a day.

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) is a Bermuda-based shipper that transports crude in very large crude containers and it also transports coal and iron ore in vessels that its owns or leases. Its business model is such that analysts expect losses in 2011 and in 2012. It has slashed its dividend and shrunk the operation’s footprint. Frontline trades at $6.02, its 52-week trading range is $5.72 to $29.47, and its market cap is $468 million. Frontline also trades more than 2 million shares a day on average. Unfortunately, this one is down about 76% year to date.

Motricity, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOTR) has technically fallen out of the $100 million market capitalization rate, but only since yesterday. What is so sad here is that this was a mid-2010 IPO that rallied handily toward the end of 2010 when shares briefly hit $30.00. That was then for the mobile ad solutions provider aimed at allowing ad agencies to better focus on the mobile market. You hate to see a stock come public, ramp higher, and then fall to $2.00 the following year. The company is expected to lose money this year and next year. At $2.12, the 52-week trading range is $1.85 to $31.95, and its market cap is $96 million after a 4% drop on Monday. The stock’s average volume is about 2 million shares per day. This one leads the pack of post-IPO losers as it is down 89% year-to-date in 2011.

SemiLEDs Corporation (NASDAQ: LEDS) designs and manufactures light emitting diodes chips and components used in many lighting settings. Unfortunately, the promise of growth in lighting efficiency peaked and 2011 has so far been a very rough year for this company and its peers as even the industry leaders have had many warnings on their revenues and earnings. At $4.51, the 52-week trading range is $4.16 to $32.12. It also trades about 200,000 shares per day and the market cap is roughly $123 million. You could joke that SemiLEDS went dark in 2011 because the stock is down 84% year-to-date.

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) should be called “Black Magic” rather than “Magic” these days. With new mortgage applications so low and with the private mortgage insurance sales being so soft in home mortgage lending, what is there to love here? The question is whether or not it can get to profitability before the business erodes out from under it. That this used to be a $70 stock no longer matters as no one expects that to ever be the case again and finding any great prospects in this housing market is more than difficult. Shares are now down to $2.36 after another 5% drop on Monday, but the 52-week trading range is $1.59 to $11.79. MGIC still trades more than 7 million shares a day on average and the market capitalization is almost $475 million. Shares are down more than 76% year-to-date.

Before you get too far down on stocks over poor performance, we have noted time after time that many value fund managers review the list of 52-week lows as one of the first tasks in their value screens. Not all losing stocks die, but finding value in highly troubled businesses is often more than challenging. As you have guessed, none of these stocks fit in as value stocks as they have underlying trouble in their businesses. Sometimes “cheap stocks” are not really cheap.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Shareholder Issues, Turnarounds, Value Investing Tagged: AMSC, ARO, BAC, CIS, FRO, LEDS, MOTR, MTG, RIMM, TLB