24/7 Wall St. » APD

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (NFLX, PAAS, HAL, HD, KORS, APD, BHI, CLWR, APD, BHI, CLWR, EMC, WDC, CSX, ZION, AAPL, BLRX, LEE, BONT, IDCC, ACHN)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:11:04 +0000

All three major equity indexes opened lower this morning and while all have tracked back to last night’s close, only the Nasdaq Composite has managed to wobble to a small gain for the day. The stalled negotiations between Greece and its bondholders are weighing down European markets and the effects are felt on this side of the Atlantic. Earnings reports haven’t boosted the market at all today, even though some have been quite good. The euro has hit $1.30 again. In commodities, WTI crude oil is down -0.51% at $99.07/barrel and Brent crude is down -0.36% at $110.18/barrel. Gold closed off -0.77% at $1,665.30/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 33 points to12,675.75 (-0.26%), the NASDAQ rose just 2 points (0.09%) to 2,786.64, and the S&P 500 fell -0.10% or just more than 1 point to 1,314.63.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) maintained as ‘outperform’ with a $100 target price at Credit Suisse; Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) maintained as ‘outperform’ but estimates lowered at Credit Suisse; Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) maintained as ‘buy’ but target price lowered to $54 at Argus; Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $51 at Argus; ;and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) started as ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley, as ‘outperform’ at Baird, and as ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) is down nearly -3% at $87.29; Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) is down -0.57% at $47.46; Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is up 2% at $1.79; EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) is up 6.7% at $25.01; Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) is up 6.2% at $36.85; CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) is down -3.5% at $21.89; and Zions Bancorp. (NYSE: ZION) is down -7.6% at $17.15. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reports earnings after markets close today. See our coverage here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX) is up nearly 79% at $5.88 after posting a new 52-week high today of $6.87. The biopharmaceutical company has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with a French company to develop and market its hepatitis C drug.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LEE) is up more than 26% at $1.39. The newspaper company has been granted permission to exit bankruptcy protection.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) is up nearly 18% at $3.81. The department store operator has hired a new CEO who was previously the CEO at Lord & Taylor, before that chain was acquired by a Canadian company.

InterDigital Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC) is down nearly -20% at $35.68. The wireless technology developed has shut down its “strategic review” without finding a buyer and will continue to seek additional patent sales and licensing agreements.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) is up more than 17% at $10.79. The drug company, which is developing its own hepatitis C drug, is enjoying a halo effect from BioLineRx’s announcement.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. President Barack Obama delivers his state of the union address at 9:00 P.M ET tonight. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:00 a.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
10:30 a.m. – 5-year Treasury note auction
2:15 p.m. – Fed chairman Ben Bernanke press conference

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: AAPL, ACHN, APD, BHI, BLRX, BONT, CLWR, CSX, EMC, HAL, HD, IDCC, KORS, LEE, NFLX, PAAS, WDC, ZION

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (V, MA, C, CVX, APD, EBAY, ZZ, BLK, BAC, FCS, FCX, MS, LUV, EGHT, TSL, JASO, STP)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:04:43 +0000

Stocks opened higher this morning and have mostly remained in positive territory throughout the day. Reports that China was considering lowering its banks’ capital reserve requirements boosted both Asian and European markets this morning, while early morning earnings reports put more air under the opening. Morning reports from the federal government on natural gas, crude oil, and refined products inventories weighed on both commodity prices and energy stocks. Crude is mixed today, with WTI down -0.28% at $100.31/barrel and Brent up 0.7% at $111.44. Gold fell about -0.45% today to $1,652.50.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 46 points to 12,625.19 (0.37%), the NASDAQ rose more than 18 points (0.67%) to 2,788.33, and the S&P 500 rose 0.5% or more than 6 points to 1,314.52.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) started as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) started as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) maintained ‘sell’ at Argus; Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) maintained as ‘buy’ with target price of $130 but lowered estimates at Argus; and Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed yesterday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Ebay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is up nearly 4% at $31.55; Sealy Corp. Inc. (NYSE: ZZ) is down nearly -18% at $1.51; Blackrock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) is down -0.75% at $186.39; Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is up 2.65% at $6.98; Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (NYSE: FCS) is down -3.51% at $14.02; Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) is down -0.22% at $44.37; Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is up 5.42% at $18.29; and Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is up 3.33% at $9.32.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

8×8 Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT) is up more than 26% at $4.30. The telecom services company reported much better-than-expected earnings for its third fiscal quarter.

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is down more than -15% at $8.32. The solar panel maker is falling following Germany’s announcement that it will begin lowering its solar subsidies.

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is down nearly -15% at $$1.80. This Chinese solar panel maker is suffering from the German subsidy cut as well.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is down -14% at $3.18. Another Chinese solar maker hit by the cuts to German subsidies. The list could go on, but you get the idea.

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

10:00 a.m. – Existing home sales

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: APD, BAC, BLK, C, CVX, EBAY, EGHT, FCS, FCX, JASO, LUV, MA, MS, STP, TSL, V, ZZ

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADTN, AAP, APD, MT, ADP, BKU, BA, CATM, CSH, CVX, C, HGSI, LAMR, MA, RSH, SMG, UBS, VE, V, WFT, BRCM)

Administrator — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:14:47 +0000

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

ADTRAN, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) Cut to Hold at Needham Research.
Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Air Products and Chemical, Inc. (NYSE: APD) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Automatic Data Processing. Inc. (NYSE: ADP) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Cut to Sell at Societe Generale.
Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CATM) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Cash America International (NYSE: CSH) Raised to Buy at Sterne Agee.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) maintained Buy with $130 target but cut estimates at Argus.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) Maintained Sell at Argus.
Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Started as Buy with $14 price target at Maxim.
Lamar Advertising Co. (NASDAQ: LAMR) maintained as Outperform and named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks.
MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) Cut to Underperform at BMO Capital.
UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Weatherford International Inc. (NYSE: WFT) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.

Read Also: Jim Cramer touts Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) as a cheap catch-up semiconductor stock. This creates a chart versus fundamental event in price.

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: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAP, ADP,, ADTN, APD, BA, BKU, BRCM, C, CATM, CSH, CVX, HGSI, LAMR, MA, MT, RSH, SMG, UBS, V, VE, WFT

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ATVI, APD, CIM, DELL, DKS, GTIV, GERN, PAA, RIMM, SXL, TIBX)

Administrator — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:01:54 +0000

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

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) Reiterated Buy with $18 target at Argus.
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) Reiterated Buy at BofA/ML.
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) Cut to Sell at Wunderlich.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Maintained Underperform at Credit Suisse; Reiterated Buy with $22 target at Argus.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Gentiva Health Services (NASDAQ: GTIV) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Sunoco Logistics, LP (NYSE: SXL) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX) Started as Market Perform at BMO Capital; Started as Market Outperform at JMP Securities.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: APD, ATVI, CIM, DELL, DKS, GERN, GTIV, PAA, RIMM, SXL, TIBX

Interview: Haverford Shares 8-Pack of Dividends (WHR, HD, UNP, UTX, APD, COP, PEP, JNJ, INTC, MSFT, HAVGX)

Administrator — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:07:48 +0000

Investors love dividends, particularly from companies which are raising dividends or which have a history of raising dividends. There is a new diversified sample dividend portfolio for investors called the “8-Pack of Dividends” for A-rated high-quality stocks with dividends. The sampling of stocks was compiled in a cross-section of managed equity holdings by Radnor, Pennsylvania-based Haverford Investments, which manages more than $6.5 billion in assets for investors and has a history of more than thirty years. 24/7 Wall St. just had a brief opportunity to speak with Hank Smith, the Chief Investment Officer of Equities at Haverford, to hear about these picks and some other key dividend observations about dividends, the market, and the economy.

The new “8-Pack of Dividends” includes Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) and The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) as having pent-up U.S. demand & global consumer growth. Two dividend picks for the U.S. industrial renaissance are Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) and United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX). Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) are two dividend picks for the run in commodities. Lastly, the “Safe & Steady” picks were in Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) and in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).

While these two tech giants were not a part of this “8-Pack,” Hank Smith gave some interesting insight when it comes to Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) versus Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT). As you have likely read, Intel just raised its dividend yet again last week and is now among the highest dividend yields in technology. He called this very shareholder friendly. Smith maintains that the acquisition of Skype is not as much of a shareholder-friendly move as it would have been to see a significant boost to Microsoft’s dividend. Smith noted, “If Microsoft would have opted to double its dividend and commit to a 10% to 12% dividend growth strategy rather than making a large acquisition of a questionable company, then Microsoft’s share price would be significantly higher.”

Haverford mostly handles managed accounts but a smaller Large-Cap fund it manages is Haverford Quality Growth Stock (HAVGX) fund, and its returns have been solid during the recovery when you consider the dividend aspect of this growth. Since the early-2009 lows, this fund has jumped up nearly 85% from the bottom.

When you look at the “8-Pack of Dividends,” these all have relatively high payouts and have all increased those payouts recently. We included the company, the approximate dividend yield, and by how much the dividend hike was in each:

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) yields 2.4% and its recent payout was raised by 16%.
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) yields 2.7% and its recent payout was raised by 6%.
Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) yields 1.8% and its recent payout was raised by 25%.
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) yields 2.1% and its recent payout was raised by 11%.
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) yields 2.5% and its recent payout was raised by 18%.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) yields 3.5% and its recent payout was raised by 20%.
Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) yields 2.9% and its recent payout was raised by 7%.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) yields 3.5% and its recent payout was raised by 6%.

Mr. Smith also noted that today’s environment offers dividend investors a tremendous opportunity in dividend-growing stocks. After 18 months to 24 months of a recovery, now companies are really moving to return more capital to shareholders.

One additional point was made as far as which companies are strong… Smith said, “About three-quarters of dividend portfolio companies actually managed to raise dividends during the recession.” The current dividend yield for most managed accounts at Haverford today is 2.5%, but they also have a dividend value strategy that includes utilities and other dividend-paying companies with a combined portfolio yield that is closer to 3.8% today.

When we are given a large group of picks in this manner, it is almost impossible not to ask for which of the lot is the best of the best. Haverford Investments’ Hank Smith believes that the giant recovery is becoming the mature stage of the recovery period now. In this stage, he is more inclined to look at some of the more defensive names which have lagged many of the others in their performance. Those two names were Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Corporate Governance, Defensive Stocks, Dividend, Editor's Picks, Interview, Mutual Funds, Research, Shareholder Issues, Stock Buybacks, Value Investing Tagged: APD, COP, HAVGX, HD, INTC, JNJ, MSFT, PEP, UNP, UTX, WHR

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APD, MO, ARMH, ATHN, BRCD, CPO, GE, HON, IR, MGM, MS, NFLX, OXY, PAAS, CODE, VICL, WYNN, YUM)

Administrator — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:09:57 +0000

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

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) Reiterated Buy and $108 target at Argus.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Cut to Hold at Argus.
ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) Raised target and estimates at Citigroup.
Athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) Started as Underperform at Oppenheimer.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Corn Products International Inc. (NYSE: CPO) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Monday call).
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Buy with $26 target at Argus.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $70 at Argus.
Ingersoll-Rand Plc (NYSE: IR) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) Cut to Underperform with $11 target at Credit Suisse.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut to Sell with $170 target at Janney; reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Spansion Inc. (NASDAQ: CODE) Reiterated Buy and $28 target at Gleacher & Co.
Vical Inc. (NASDAQ: VICL) Started as Buy at Canaccord.
Wynn Resorts, Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
YUM! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $61 at Credit Suisse.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: APD, ARMH, ATHN, BRCD, CODE, CPO, GE, HON, IR, MGM, MO, MS, NFLX, OXY, PAAS, VICL, WYNN, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APD, AEP, AMAT, EBAY, EL, EXPD, HON, JASO, LLL, NFLX, UFPI, YOKU)

Administrator — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:03:42 +0000

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

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Reiterated Outperform and target raised to $40 at Credit Suisse.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Raised to Buy and $66 target at Argus.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) Cut to Strong Sell at S&P Equity Research (late Tuesday call).
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: LLL) Raised to Hold at Argus.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut to Underperform at Needham.
Universal Forest Products Inc. (NASDAQ: UFPI) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Youku.com Inc. (NYSE: YOKU) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEP, AMAT, APD, EBAY, EL, EXPD, HON, JASO, LLL, NFLX, UFPI, YOKU

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APD, AIXG, BRCD, CLF, JDSU, MCO, PEP, SPWRA, VOD, WTW)

Administrator — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:24:55 +0000

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

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Aixtron AG (NASDAQ: AIXG) Started as Sell at Citigroup.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Raised to Buy at Wunderlich; Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research (late-Thursday call).
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) Raised to Outperform at the Bull of the Day at Zacks.
PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) Cut to Neutral with $69 target at Credit Suisse.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Raised to Buy at Jefferies; Maintained Neutral but Raised target to $20 at Credit Suisse.
Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) Raised to Hold at RBS.
Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) Raised to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIXG, APD, BRCD, CLF, JDSU, MCO, PEP, SPWRA, VOD, WTW

Top Earnings Previews For The Rest Of The Week (AMD, F, FFIV, UNH, UNP, GOOG, APD, ARG, BAC, GE, SLB)

Administrator — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:20:40 +0000

Earnings season is well under way now and we wanted to offer previews for the biggest impact stocks which have earnings on Thursday and Friday. The remaining most important earnings we are tracking will be from Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD), Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB). We have added updated all consensus estimates and share price action that we have seen, and we have added in extra color if appropriate.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is due to report after the close of trading on Thursday and we’ll get to likely find out a lot more about Dirk Meyer’s sudden “amicable and mutual departure” from the company. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.11 EPS and $1.63 billion in revenues, and next quarter estimates are $$0.07 EPS and $1.54 billion in revenues. Even with shares under $8.00, shares were under $6.00 back in September and shares were under $7.50 as recently as the start of December. After the CEO departure, it is safe to assume that the whispers and unofficial estimates have been lowered rather than raised.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is due Thursday morning as the poster-child of the turnaround in the U.S. auto sector. It is safe to assume that Alan Mulally will be in his normal great mood. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.48 EPS and $30.57 billion in revenues. What is interesting is that investors have lightened up on Wednesday as Ford is down close to 4% and back just under $18.00. Analysts have a median price target of about $20.00 and it is going to take stellar earnings and guidance to appease some concerns over how much shares should have run up.

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) was one we had expected Thursday but it reported earnings after the close on Wednesday and let’s just say that the drop in the after-hours on mixed guidance is awful due to it being such a high-flying stock with gains of about 200% over the last year. Its $11.1 billion market cap and index-adds will have F5 and its network optimization technology under a larger focus now. Thomson Reuters had estimates of $0.83 EPS and $270.34 million in revenues.

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: AMD, APD, ARG, BAC, F, FFIV, GE, GOOG, SLB, UNH, UNP

Top Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (AAPL, IBM, GS, WFC, UNH, UNP, GOOG, APD, ARG, BAC, GE, SLB)

Administrator — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:46:21 +0000

Earnings season is upon us and this week will mark the beginning of the flood of earnings reports. The most important earnings we are tracking will be from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD), Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reports after the close on Tuesday and unfortunately the entire scenario has changed now that Steve Jobs is on a medical leave of absence again. Analysts have defended the stock this morning and estimates are $5.38 EPS and $24.38 billion in revenues. Estimates for the next quarter are $4.43 EPS and $20.62 billion in revenues. Before the Jobs news took a bite out of the Apple, shares hit a high on Friday of $348.48 versus $322.56 at the end of December. The 2010 gain was more than 50% but the stock had effectively been stuck in a range of $310 to $325 for most of the last quarter before the 2011 run came back.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is due after the close on Tuesday. Big Blue’s expectations are $4.08 EPS and $28.26 billion in revenues. For the Q1-2011 the estimates are $2.23 EPS and $23.66 billion in revenues. In case Apple offer’s long-term guidance, the consensus estimates for all of 2011 are $12.58 EPS and $103.14 billion in revenues. Shares hit yet another all-time high of $150.95 today versus under $140 per share back in October. We always track the services backlog to judge future revenues and that figure stood at $134 billion at the end of its third quarter. We’ll also be paying attention to what IBM says about currency adjustments and how much is being allocated for shares buybacks.

Filed under: Banking, Calendar, Earnings, Technology Companies, The Week Tagged: AAPL, APD, ARG, BAC, GE, GOOG, GS, IBM, SLB, UNH, UNP, WFC