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Top Earnings Previews For Thursday (ATVI, BG, CBOE, DNKN, EXPE, LNKD, MPEL, NUAN, PEP, PBR, PM, RSG, SIRI, SON, TDC)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:20:47 +0000

This week should be the last waves of the normalized quarterly earnings reports for companies with December 31 quarter-end dates. We are also starting to get a few of the first waves of the earnings reports from companies with off-normal quarter-ends. Wednesday is going to be another busy day with many earnings. The earnings previews are for the following: Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG); Carbonite Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB); CBOE Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE); Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN); Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE); LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD); Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL); Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN); PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP); Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR); Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM); Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE: SON); and Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC).

We have compiled earnings preview on each company using Thomson Reuters consensus estimates and added color on each if applicable. Some of these are market moving, some are sector moving, and some are just interesting for traders to watch around the earnings reports.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) estimates are $0.56 EPS and $2.2 billion in revenues. At $12.55, the maker of World of Warcraft has been very range bound.

Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) estimates are $1.57 EPS and $13.73 billion in revenues.

Carbonite Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB) estimates are -$0.23 EPS and $16.78 million in revenues. This will be a first real look of a full quarter and unfortunately this one has been cut in half as investors have tempered expectations for the personal data backup service provider.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: ATVI, BG, CBOE, DNKN, EXPE, LNKD, MPEL, NUAN, PBR, PEP, PM, RSG, SIRI, SON, TDC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DELL, DKS, RIMM, ATVI, TIBX, ZOOM, ANF, TGT, SPB, VLO, WNR, MPC, NG, PEIX, ASYS, UNIS)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:08:49 +0000

The markets opened lower this morning and not until mid-afternoon were equities able to put a mark above yesterday’s close. European stocks traded mixed all day, and that coupled with rising crude prices could have held the markets in check. Crude prices are upmore than 3% so far today, at about $102.55 for WTI crude. The good news is that the spread between WTI and Brent has narrowed to $9/barrel. Because US gasoline prices are now pegged to Brent, pump prices could rise only moderately as WTI continues to close the gap. The dollar is a bit stronger today as well, leading to lower prices among commodities, with wheat off by about -2.5%.The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 190 points to 11,905.19 (-1.57%), the NASDAQ fell more than 46 points (-1.73%) to 2,639.61, and the S&P 500 fell about -1.66% or nearly 21 points to 1,236.92.There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), which was maintained at ‘underperform’ at Credit Suisse and reiterated at ‘buy’ with a $22 price target at Argus. Other action included Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS) added to the Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) raised to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) reiterated as ‘buy’ with an $18 price target at Argus; and TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX) started with ‘market perform’ by BMO Capital and as ‘outperform’ at JMP Securities.Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Dell Inc. is down about -3%, at $15.16; Zoom Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOOM) is down about -19%, at $1.39; Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is down about -14.7%, at $47.50; Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is down about -0.1%, at $53.11; and Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPB) is down -7.8%, at $23.39. We covered Target, Spectrum, and A&F earnings earlier today.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is down nearly -9%, at $22.67. Valero and other refiners’ stocks got hit with a narrowing of the gap between WTI and Brent crudes, as well as an announcement by Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) that it is buying a 50% stake in the Seaway pipeline from ConocoPhillips Corp. (NYSE: COP) and reversing the pipeline’s flow to carry 150,000 barrels/day of crude from Cushing, Oklahoma, to the Gulf Coast.

Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) is down more than -13%, at $13.47, and Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) is down about -11%, at $32.91.

Novagold Resources Inc. (AMEX: NG) is up more than 23.5%, at $10-.89. The company has appointed a new CEO to start in January and also announced that it would spin-off a subsidiary, NovaCopper, to current NovaGold shareholders.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is up more than 3%, at $1.37. The company announced that it has fully retired $35 million in senior convertible notes.

Amtech Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYS) is down more than -17%, at $8.59. The company issued a statement that it expects to post $21-$23 million in sales for the third quarter, where analysts had been expecting revenue of $50 million.

Unilife Corp. (NASDAQ: UNIS) is down about -12.5%, at $4.17. The company priced a secondary stock offering of 8.25 million shares at $4.35, well below yesterday’s closing price of $4.76.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank president Sandra Pianalto and New York Fed president William Dudley are giving speeches tomorrow afternoon. Here’s a list of other noteworthy events (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims
10.00 a.m. – Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s October business outlook survey
10:00 a.m. – E-commerce retail sales
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas status report
1:00 p.m. – 10-year TIPS auction
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ANF, ASYS, ATVI, DELL, DKS, MPC, NG, PEIX, RIMM, SPB, TGT, TIBX, UNIS, VLO, WNR, ZOOM

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

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (ATVI, NLTS, SAKS)

Mike Sauter — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:03:45 +0000

Crude oil is at $98.0, down 0.14%

Gold is at $1,772, down 0.34%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 0.82% to 19,348.

Japan’s Nikkei closed lower by 0.72% to 8,542.

The U.S. 10-year is at 2.05%, down 0.o1%.

The FTSE is up .95% to $5,497.

The DAX is down 1.15% to $5,916.

Netlist, Inc. (NASDAQ: NLST) is up more than 40% before market open to $3.30, relative to a 52-week range of $1.04 – $3.04.

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is down more than 5% premarket to $12.18, relative to a 52-week range of $10.40 – $14.40.

Saks Incorporated (NYSE: SAKS) is up 2% before market open to $10.40, relative to a 52-week range of $7.67 – $12.97.

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: ATVI, NLTS, SAKS

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (ATVI, ALLT, DRYS, MSSR, TRGT)

Mike Sauter — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:53:10 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Tuesday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), Allot Communications, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALLT), DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant (NASDAQ: MSSR), and Targacept, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT).

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is up nearly 3% premarket to $14.15, relative to a 52-week range of $10.40 – $13.75.

Allot Communications, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALLT) is down 6.5% before market open to $14.29, relative to a 52-week range of $6.86-$19.15.

DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is up 6.25% before market open to $2.89, relative to a 52-week range of $1.75 – $6.44. The company posted slightly better earnings per share than expected.

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant (NASDAQ: MSSR) is up 28% premarket to $8.68, relative to a 52-week range of $5.43 – $10.47. Landry’s has announced it would buy the company for $136 million.

Targacept, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT) is down more than 55% before market open to $8.45, within a 52-week range of $14.42 – $30.47.

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: ALLT, ATVI, DRYS, MSSR, TRGT

Top Earnings & Economic Events In The Week Ahead (PCLN, AONE, ATVI, PAAS, TM, CSCO, CSC, GM, GMCR, M, SLW, MCP, JWN, NVDA, DIS)

Administrator — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:51:33 +0000

Earnings season has peaked, but we still have many key earnings reports and economic events coming in the week ahead. 24/7 Wall St. has featured a calendar with events scheduled all-week on the earnings and economic front.

The earnings previews are as follows: priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN); A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE); Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS); Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC); General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW); Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP); Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS). Earnings estimates are from Thomson Reuters.

For each day of the week we have also added in the key economic events to watch for as well.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7

priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) is expected to report $9.30 EPS and $1.42 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $5.14 EPS and $996.75 million in revenues.

10:00 AM EST Employment Trends Index (October)

3:00 PM EST Consumer Credit (September)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8

A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is expected to report -$0.38 EPS and $66.3 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.35 EPS and $84.2 million in revenues.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is expected to report $0.02 EPS and $558.4 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.53 EPS and $2.1 billion in revenues.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is expected to report $0.78 EPS and $260.8 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.66 EPS and $247.58 million in revenues.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) is expected to report $0.41 EPS and $52 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.03 EPS and $66.47 billion in revenues. As a reminder, this will originally be in Yen and the Yen has been at record highs and it could impact the figures.

7:30 AM EST NFIB Small Business Sentiment (October)

4:30 PM EST API Weekly Oil Inventories

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, Economy, The Week Tagged: AONE, ATVI, CSC, CSCO, DIS, GM, GMCR, JWN, M, MCP, NVDA, PAAS, PCLN, SLW, TM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ATVI, AMR, AMD, AWK, CAH, DISCA, GME, HRBN, IVZ, JBLU, PHG, LM, MA, OXY, RCL, V, DIS, WWW, WYNN)

Administrator — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:26:17 +0000

These are some of this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) Started as Outperform at Baird.
AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Perform at Oppenheimer.
American Water Works Co. (NYSE: AWK) Started as Neutral with $32 target at Credit Suisse.
Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) Started as Outperform at Baird.
Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN) Cut to Neutral at Roth Capital.
Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
Koninklijke Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) Cut to Underperform at Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) Maintained Buy but cut estimates and target at Argus.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research.
Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW) named Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMD, AMR, ATVI, AWK, CAH, DIS, DISCA, GME, HRBN, IVZ, JBLU, LM, MA, OXY, PHG, RCL, V, WWW, WYNN

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (ATVI, AAPL, AMAT, CSCO, GLW, DNKN, LEN, LULU, MSI, NDAQ, SODA, TLB, TEA, TSO, TIVO)

Administrator — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:31:45 +0000

Each morning we review our top upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street research notes. We then look back over these at the end of the week to more closely review calls which highlight underlying catalysts or developments that go far beyond just a one-day impact. Many calls turn out to offer keen insight, but some get a failing grade.

This last week’s top analyst calls of the week were in the following: Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW); Dunkin’ Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN); Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN); Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU); Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI); NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ); SodaStream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA); The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB); Teavana Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TEA); Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO); and TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO).

Just a week ago we evaluated the myth of The Curse of September, and so far that myth is not bucking the trend seen in the two years before this one. We saw Credit Suisse trim GDP and the S&P 500 for 2011 and 2012, via the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY). We even saw hedge fund bearish sentiment reach an extreme high, something which usually is a calling card for a reversal by contrarian investors. There were quite a few analyst calls with big impacts this last week.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was initiated with coverage this last Tuesday with a BUY rating and a $16.00 target at Citigroup. What makes this call so interesting is not just that the pullback this week brought it back down to $11.42 for 40$ upside to the new target. The consensus price target is $14.35. What is interesting here is that the $16 target is close to the cycle highs back in 2008 before the meltdown started. With a great game line-up and with a steady revenue stream from monthly subscriptions, it makes you wonder if there is really that much upside. That is a “Street High” target.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week Tagged: AAPL, AMAT, ATVI, CSCO, DNKN, GLW, LEN, LULU, MSI, NDAQ, SODA, SPY, TEA, TIVO, TLB, TSO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ATVI, BEAV, CF, DDS, DNKN, ERTS, LDK, MRGE, NOV, PHM, SODA, TEA, X, WAIR)

Administrator — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:15:57 +0000

These are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
BE Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAV) Started as Buy at BofA/ML.
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) called Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Dunkin’ Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN) Started as Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Neutral at BofA/ML.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Cut to Sell at Argus.
Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ: MRGE) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) Raised to Buy at Argus.
PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) maintained Buy but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
SodaStream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Teavana Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TEA) started as Outperform at William Blair; Started as Neutral at BofA/ML.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc. C (NYSE: WAIR) Started as Buy at BofA/ML.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ATVI, BEAV, CF, DDS, DNKN, ERTS, LDK, MRGE, NOV, PHM, SODA, TEA, WAIR, X

Sony Playstation Soon to be Free? (SNE, MSFT, ATVI, TTWO, GME, AAPL, NOK, MMI, GOOG, NTDOY, SSNLF)

247wallst — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:58:04 +0000

Game consoles and handheld game players took another shot to the chin today as Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) dropped the price of its Playstation 3 console by $50 on both the $299 160-Gbyte and $349 320-Gbyte versions. The new price becomes effective on Thursday.

Competition from other console makers like Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nintendo Corp. (OTC: NTDOY) and a huge hacking scandal have combined to weigh on Sony’s sales of the Playstation. This could be more bad news for game designers like Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), both of which have seen customers move from packaged software to downloadable games. Game makers are selling more downloadable games, but revenue is lower than for packaged games although margins are higher.

The real culprits are smartphones from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI) soon to be a division of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Samsung Electronics (OTC: SSNLF), and HTC Corp. We noted the continuing shift to smartphone games in our review of earnings from Activision’s earnings earlier this month.

Nintendo has already dropped the price of its 3DS handheld console from $249.99 to $169.99 in an effort to attract more buyers. After one week of sales in Japan, Nintendo’s efforts appear to have paid off with sales jumping to more than 214,000 from just over 32,000 in the week before the price cut.

Nintendo’s latest earnings were down by about 50% from the previous quarter and the company has lowered its sales target for its Wii console and lowered its profit target by more than 80%.

Sony would like to avoid that, but the debacle over the hacking attack and the lack of enthusiasm for the Playstation 3 from the beginning are going to be too much to overcome.

Combined with the continuing incursion from the smartphone makers, Sony may have waited too long to get on the latest train to leave the station. Sort of reminds us of how the company and its Walkman were blindsided by MP3 players. This won’t be the last price drop for the Playstation 3.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Video Games Tagged: AAPL, ATVI, GME, GOOG, MMI, MSFT, NOK, NTDOY, SNE, SSNLF, TTWO