24/7 Wall St. » ANF

After the Fall: Retail Stocks Upside Potential Remains (COST, WMT, TGT, M, KSS, JCP, GPS, LTD, AEO, ANF, TJX, DG)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:22:09 +0000

Retailers have fared better than many other sectors over the past year, with the majority of share prices having risen although price to book values remain negative. Thus, either the sector is undervalued or there is something amiss.

When the stores reported first quarter earnings, the preponderance of guidance pointed to slower sales in the second quarter likely based on sales pulled forward into the first quarter due to warm weather. But it could be the case that falling gasoline prices are giving sales a lift in May that could continue through June. According to the latest report from Retail Metrics, retailers are on track to post a comparable store sales gain of 3.6% in May, excluding the negative effect of lost sales at Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) due to its being dropped by pharmacy benefits management firm Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX).

We looked at a dozen retailers with an eye toward discerning value opportunities for investors: Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), J.C. Penney Company Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO), Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. (NYSE: ANF), The TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX), and Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG).

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) traded at $84.14 and has a market value of around $37 billion. The consensus target price from Thomson Reuters is $86.83 and the 52-week range is $70.22-$92.10. Costco has a dividend yield of 1.3%. The implied upside to the consensus target is just 3%, and we would note that the target is below the 52-week high.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) traded at $64.65 and has a market value of around $220 billion. The consensus target price from Thomson Reuters is $65.28 and the 52-week range is $48.31-$64.88 (new high set today). Walmart has a dividend yield of 2.5%. The implied upside to the consensus target is barely 1%, but we would note that the target is still above the 52-week high.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) traded at $56.84 and has a market value of around $38 billion. The consensus target price from Thomson Reuters is $63.65 and the 52-week range is $45.28-$58.95. Target has a dividend yield of 2.1%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 12%, and we note again that the target is above the 52-week high.

Filed under: Dividend, Economy, Retail, Value Investing Tagged: AEO, ANF, COST, DG, GPS, JCP, KSS, LTD, M, TGT, TJX, WMT

Retailer Earnings Up Most in Two Years (WMT, DKS, HIBB, BBBY, WSM, BWS, FL, BBY, GME, WTSLA, GPS, ANF)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:36:11 +0000

With 80% of the 120 companies it tracks having reported first quarter 2012 results, research firm Retail Metrics says that retailers who beat earnings estimates are up 5% year-over-year for the period, considerably higher than the 12-year average gain of 3.2%. Of 97 retailers reporting to date, 71% have beat expectations, 14% have met expectations, and 15% have missed.

Earnings growth for the reporting retailers is up too, by 11.8%. Excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) due to its size, Retail Metrics reckons that its 120 retailers will show profit growth of 12.2% in the first quarter. Including Walmart, profits will rise 13.8%.

The best profit growth is expected in the recreational sector, with Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) and Hibbett Sports Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) leading the way a 40%+ earnings gain. Home furnishing retailers are expected to post 40% gains, led by Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) and Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM). Footwear retailers are tabbed to grow profits 31%, following huge gains at Brown Shoe Co. (NYSE: BWS) and Footlocker Inc. (NYSE: FL).

The worst performing sector is projected to be consumer electronics, with teen apparel stores the only other retailing sector expected to post overall losses. Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) are the big players here. Teen apparel retailers like Wet Seal Inc. (NASDAQ: WTSLA), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) have struggled with same-store sales and revenues, as well as earnings.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Apparel, Consumer Goods, Economy, Research, Retail Tagged: ANF, BBBY, BBY, BWS, DKS, FL, GME, GPS, HIBB, WMT, WSM, WTSLA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ANF, A, BBVA, CME, CROX, DE, DELL, DKS, HLF, HP, HBAN, ICE, LM, SINA, V, WAT)

Administrator — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:23:52 +0000

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

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas.

CME Group Icc. (NASDAQ: CME) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) Started as Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Reiterated Buy with $96 target at Argus.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Raised to Neutral at Stern Agee.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $58 at Argus.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Raised to Buy at Caris; David Einhorn did not discuss the issue at the Value Investing Congress on Wednesday; Reiterated Buy with $76 target at Canaccord Genuity.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) Raised to Buy with $55 target at Argus.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) Maintained Outperform but cut 2012/2013 estimates and maintained $8 target at Credit Suisse.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) Raised to Strong Buy at Raymond James.

Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Maintained Buy but removed from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

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: A, ANF, BBVA, CME, CROX, DE, DELL, DKS, HBAN, HLF, HP, ICE, LM, SINA, V, WAT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 16, 2012

Paul Ausick — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:05:52 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened higher this morning as investors appeared to be reacting to a temporarily stronger euro, which indicated some confidence in the Eurozone generally. But the dollar regained its lost ground by mid-morning and looks to be continuing a run of 12 straight stronger showings, something last seen more than a quarter century ago. US housing data was not encouraging either (more coverage here). The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.14% at 81.336. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 636.10, with commodities mostly higher today, defying the stronger dollar. Wheat was today’s big gainer. WTI crude oil closed down -1.2% at $92.81/barrel, it’s lowest close since November, and Brent crude trades down at -1.66% at $109.60/barrel. Gold settled down -1.3% today, at $1,536.60/ounce, the yellow metal’s lowest close since last July.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 33 points to 12,598.63 (-0.26%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 20 points (-0.68%) to 2,874.04, and the S&P 500 fell -0.44% or nearly 6 points to 1,324.81.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) cut to ‘market perform’ at FBR; Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; and SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) raised to ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: 8×8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) is down -1.5% at $3.86; Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) is up 4.2% at $15.28; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) is down -3.1% at $74.23 (more coverage here); Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE: EXP) is down -5.2% at $33.13; LiveDeal Inc. (NASDAQ: LIVE) is up 5.9% at $6.14; and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is up 0.7% at $55.49 (more coverage here).

On Thursday we are scheduled to get earnings from Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT), Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NASDAQ: DANG), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), Teekay Corp. (NYSE: TK), and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down -19.2% at $26.92. The retailer absolutely failed on quarterly results. More coverage here.

Rosetta Genomics Ltd. (NASDAQ: ROSG) is up 263% at $5.88. The medical test making firm will have one of its tests covered by Medicare. There was also a 1-for-15 reverse stock split. More coverage here.

Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. (NYSE: ANF) is down -13.7% at $39.21 after posting a new 52-week low of $38.26 earlier today. The teen retailer badly missed estimates last night.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey
10:00 a.m. – E-commerce retail sales
10:00 a.m. – Leading indicators
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AET, ANF, BHI, BONT, CHS, CSCO, DANG, DE, DLTR, EGHT, EXP, GME, JCP, JKS, LIVE, PCX, ROSG, ROST, SD, SHLD, TGT, TK, WMT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 15, 2012

Paul Ausick — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:05:44 +0000

Two of the three major US stock indexes opened higher this morning as investors reacted to the news from Greece that no government could be formed and that a second election will be held next month. The news on German manufacturing was good (more coverage here) and US data was also mostly better, but not enough to deflect a weak opening. Equities moved higher later in the day, but overall the market looks set to close half a point lower than where it opened. The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.75% at 81.211. The GSCI commodity index is down about 1% at 639.40, with commodities mostly higher today, defying the stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed down -0.8% at $93.98/barrel and Brent crude trades up 0.65% at $112.30/barrel. Gold settled down -0.3% today, at $1,557.10/ounce, the yellow metal’s lowest close of the year to date (more coverage here).

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 63 points to 12,632.08 (-0.50%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 9 points (-0.30%) to 2,893.76, and the S&P 500 fell -0.57% or nearly 8 points to 1,330.66.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) cut to ‘hold’ at Needham; Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) raised to ‘buy’ at Argus; McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) cut to ‘neutral’ at Cowen; and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) 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: Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) is up 5.5% at $5.79; Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is up XX% at $XX; A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is up 4.5% at $40.63; Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT) is down -10.6% at $37.84; Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is up 6.8% at $50.45 after posting a new 52-week high of $51.65 earlier today; Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) is down -0.5% at $10.00; TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) is up 7.1% at $42.50; Valspar Corp. (NYSE: VAL) is down -6.7% at $46.45, and The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) is down -2.6% at $48.61 (more coverage here).

On Wednesday we are scheduled to get earnings from 8×8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Facebook Inc. (soon to be NASDAQ: FB) raised its IPO price range from from $28-$35 to $34-$38. It is possible the world will regain its balance following the company’s IPO, expected for Friday. But maybe not.

Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is down -18.8% at $3.92 after posting a new 52-week low of $3.91 earlier today. The coal miner lowered shipment and price expectations this morning. More coverage here.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is up 1.7% at $36.39. CEO Jamie Dimon dodged a bullet at today’s shareholder meeting and kept both his jobs.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
2:00 p.m. – FOMC minutes released

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: A, ACAT, AMAT, AMZN, ANF, AONE, CHS, CL, DE, DKS, EGHT, FB, JACK, JPM, MCD, PCX, PSX, RENN, SKS, TGT, TJX, VAL

Sears, Overstock, And Gilt Hammered In New E-Commerce Study

247wallst — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:12:08 +0000

Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), Overstock (NASDAQ: OSTK), and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) are not particularly well-regarded as brands or particularly well-liked by Wall St. Perhaps coincidentally, each shows up near the bottom of the e-retailer satisfaction list published by research firm Foresee. All are in the bottom 15% of the 100 companies rated.

The FORESEE E-RETAIL SATISFACTION INDEX (SPRING TOP 100 EDITION 2012) is the result of approximately 21,000 responses from visitors to the top 100 retail sites. The data posts year-over-year comparisons of both industry average satisfaction and satisfaction with individual retailers.

The bottom ten sites in the survey, based on a total best score of 100 were:

Nutrisystem.com (NASDAQ: NTRI) 74

PCConnection.com 74

PCMall.com 754

Safeway.com (NYSE: SWY) 74

Abercrombie.com 73

Build.com 73

Gilt.com 71

Peapod.com 70

Ancestry.com (NASDAQ: ACOM) 69

efollett.com 69

The presence of Gilt at the bottom is somewhat of a surprise given that it caters to high end customers.

At the top of the list, are several companies which would be expected. The first among them is the world’s largest e-commerce company–Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Fortunately for Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) which is in a battle with Amazon in the e-reader business, its site scored well. The company recently took an investment from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to expand its Nook e-reader division. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), which is generally well-regarded for customer service across its online and bricks and mortar retail operations, also did well. The one surprise on the list is Avon (NYSE: AVP), which has struggled with its image.

Amazon.com 89

QVC.com 85

Store.Apple.com 85

Keurig.com 84

Avon.com 83

LLBean.com 83

1800Contacts.com 82

BN.com 82

Newegg.com 82

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Research, Retail Tagged: AAPL, ACOM, AMZN, ANF, AVP, BKS, featured, MSFT, NTRI, OSTK, SHLD, SWY

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (WPI, AZN, ANF, SPWR, YGE, COST, MERU, ACI, VECO, PBY, ADM, CPO, AVP, DPZ, PFE, VLO, ABX, JDSU, MRO, FSLR, V, PFCB, DAL, CHK)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:03:50 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened flat this morning but started to move higher following the better-than-expected ISM report on manufacturing (our coverage here). Construction spending in the US was a bit lower, but not enough to quell the enthusiasm over the manufacturing report. The US dollar index rose slightly today, now up 0.056% at 78.820. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 684.88, with commodities mostly lower on the rising dollar. Cocoa put up a big gain today, while orange juice posted another sharp decline. WTI crude oil closed up 1.2% at $106.16/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 0.17% at $119.67/barrel. Gold settled up 0.1% today, at $1,662.40/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 67 points to 13,280.31 (0.5%), the NASDAQ rose about 4 points (0.13%) to 3,050.44, and the S&P 500 rose 0.57% or nearly 8 points to 1,405.89.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: WPI) reiterated as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity; AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) raised to ‘neutral’ at BofA; Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS; SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; and Meru Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: MERU) cut to ‘neutral’ at RW Baird.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is down -3.8% at $9.39 (more coverage here); Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) is up 14.8% at $34.67 (more coverage here); Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) is down -21.8% at $11.67 (more coverage here); Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is up 7.9% at $33.25; Corn Products International Inc. (NYSE: CPO) is down -0.14% at $56.98; Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is down -7.6% at $19.95; Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) is down -9.6% at $34.18; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down -0.14% at $22.87; and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is up 0.9% at $24.92.

Tomorrow we get earnings from Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU), Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) is up 29.7% at $51.46. The company is being taken private in a deal worth $1.1 billion. More coverage here.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is up 0.8% at $11.05. The airlines bought an oil refinery from newly-public Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX). More coverage here.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is up 6.3% at $19.60. The company’s chairman will be replaced and the company reports earnings after markets close today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker are giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
7:30 a.m. – Challenger job cut report
8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABX, ACI, ADM, ANF, AVP, AZN, CHK, COST, CPO, DAL, DPZ, featured, FSLR, JDSU, MERU, MRO, PBY, PFCB, PFE, SPWR, V, VECO, VLO, WPI, YGE

J.C. Penney CFO Forced Out (JCP, AAPL, ANF)

Administrator — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:01:58 +0000

The new CEO of J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) has been making many changes at the retail giant. Ron Johnson is trying to bring in some of his magic from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and the company announced today that Michael Dastugue will be leaving the company, effective April 13. That is THIS FRIDAY by the way. Dastugue is the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

Some may consider a 20-year career end as a retirement, but it is obvious what is going on here. While this is not being considered a firing or a shove-out in the press release, it is rare to have a CFO departure take place with just a 48-hour notice. If it was an orderly retirement the announcement would have been made at the end of the year.

The company even noted that Chief Operating Officer Michael Kramer will assume the Chief Financial Officer duties in an interim capacity while a search for a new CFO is conducted.

Ron Johnson thanked Dastugue “for his many years of service over his 20-year career” and wished him “all the best in his future endeavors.”

Mr. Kramer recently joined jcpenney in December 2011, after previously serving for three years as president and chief executive officer of Kellwood Company and he had previously served as chief financial officer at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) and had ‘coincidentally’ previously served as the chief financial officer of Apple Retail. It would seem a natural fit that Kramer could have been CFO on his own merits and background.

It is obvious that Ron Johnson wants his own handpicked team from top to bottom here. This was a rapid departure, or a situation where Dastugue was pushed out. Either way, we consider this a force-out move. There is just no way around that argument from where we stand.

J.C. Penney shares are up 2.4% at $34.00 so far today but shares have not moved on the news.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Accounting, Apparel, Management Change, Retail Tagged: AAPL, ANF, JCP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DELL, KMB, SWY, RAX, BAC, ANF, CMCSA, XEC, DE, DVN, INCY, NOR, TEVA, ZNGA, BPAX, CSKI, IPSU, ALNY, CYBI)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:07:27 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened slightly higher this morning, but the DJIA almost immediately turned south and remained in negative territory all session. The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 turned south in the early afternoon. China’s central bank said that it would continue to buy European sovereign debt and do its part to help the Eurozone recover. But nothing much has happened on the continent today to build up hopes for avoiding a Greek default. The afternoon release of the FOMC minutes cooled markets even more as the minutes showed little enthusiasm for another round of quantitative easing. Crude oil is higher today following Iran’s announcement that it was cutting off supplies to six European countries (see our coverage here). WTI is up 1.05% at $101.80/barrel and Brent is up 1.34% at $118.92. Gold rose 0.6% to settle at $1,728.10/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 97 points to 12,780.95 (-0.76%), the NASDAQ fell 16 points (-0.55%) to 2,915.83, and the S&P 500 fell -0.54% or more than 7 points to 1,343.23.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) cut to ‘underperform’ at Sterne Agee; Kimberley-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) cut to ‘neutral’ at Janney; Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) cut to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James; and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is up 8.2% at $48.25; Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is up 4.5% at $28.48 after posting a new 52-week high of $29.05 earlier today; Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC) is up nearly 19% at $81.66; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) is down -5.4% at $84.21; Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) is up about 7% at $71.64 (more coverage here); Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY) is down -5.9% at $17.19; Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) is down -2% at $10.63; Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: TEVA) is up 3.4% at $45.01; and Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is down nearly -15% at $12.21.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSE: TAN) completed a 1:10 reverse split this morning. We have more coverage here.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is up more than 30% at $0.99. The company’s testosterone replacement drug for men has been approved by the FDA and will be co-marketed with Teva.

China Sky One Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: CSKI) China Sky One is down more than -28% at $1.10. Volume is nearly 10x the daily average of about 285,000 shares traded. The nutritional supplement company’s shares were stopped following an announcement of the resignations of 26 managers and the reported illness of the CEO.

Imperial Sugar Co. (NASDAQ: IPSU) is down nearly -14% at $5.75. Investors are likely taking profits today, following a week-long run-up in the share price.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) is up nearly 15% at $12.59. The biopharmaceutical company priced a secondary share offering at $10.75. More coverage here.

Cybex International Inc. (NASDAQ: CYBI) is up more than 19% at $1.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $2.01 earlier this morning. The sporting goods maker posted better-than-expected earnings this morning.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year TIPS auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: ALNY, ANF, BAC, BPAX, CMCSA, CSKI, CYBI, DE, DELL, DVN, INCY, IPSU, KMB, NOR, RAX, SWY, TEVA, XEC, ZNGA

Top Earnings & Economic Previews For The Day Ahead (ANF, A, NILE, CLWR, CMCSA, NVDA, PCG, DVN, DE, GG, WFR, NTAP, TEVA)

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:28:53 +0000

Wednesday is a fairly busy day for earnings expectations. We are expecting the following reports: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF); Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A); Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE); Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR); Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG); Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN); Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE); Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG); MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR); NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP); and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA). We have used the consensus estimate data from Thomson Reuters and compiled additional data on each.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is expected to report $1.12 EPS on $1.33 billion in sales; shares are very close to 52-week lows and the downward channel in the chart continues.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) $0.69 EPS and $1.65 billion in sales. Interestingly enough, this one was one of the stocks outperforming Apple so far in 2012.

Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) $0.42 EPS on $123.17 million.

Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) -$0.35 EPS and $356.72 million in sales; we will be watching closely for any discussions about funding its business plan.

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) $0.41 EPS on $14.87 billion in sales; shares are very close to a 52-week high at $27.20 versus a high of $27.52.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) $0.19 EPS on $950.44 million in sales; expected 7% sales growth and a drop in earnings. The most recent Rambus pact details may become more clear as those patent agreements were not disclosed.

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) $0.85 EPS on $3.49 billion in sales. PG&E shares are off of highs more than other utilities in general and room for the 4.4% dividend to be discussed.

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) $1.48 EPS

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) $1.23 EPS on $6.49 billion in sales; watch currency discussions for guidance ahead.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is one of the top gold companies with a $36.5 billion market value. Estimates are $0.60 EPS and $1.49 billion in revenue.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is now down big again due to Energy Conversion Devices bankruptcy on fears that the solar sector is again going to crumble. This has moved from a value stock to a value trap now that it is expected to lose money. Estimates are -$0.06 EPS and $769.49 million in sales.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) $0.58 EPS on $1.56 billion in sales; next quarter $0.63 EPS on $1.68 billion in sales; under $40 it is way under its 52-week high and now valued at only about 16.5-times fiscal April-2012 earnings estimates.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) is going to show whether or not generic ambitions can trump branded drugs. The turnaround in the share price has just not materialized. Estimates are $1.58 EPS and $5.63 billion in sales.

ECONOMIC DATA FOR WEDNESDAY:

8:30 AM EST Empire Manufacturing (Feb.)
9:15 AM EST January Industrial Production expected +0.6%
9:15 AM EST January Capacity Utilization expected 78.6%
10:00 AM EST NAHB optimism (Feb.)
10:00 Treasury’s Geithner testifies to House Ways & Means on 2013 budget
10:30 AM EST EIA Weekly Petroleum Inventory
2:00 PM EST FOMC Minutes

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings, Economy Tagged: A, ANF, CLWR, CMCSA, DE, DVN, GG, NILE, NTAP, NVDA, PCG, TEVA, WFR