24/7 Wall St. » BPI

Closing Bell for Monday on Wall Street: Markets Mixed at Open, Mixed at Close

Paul Ausick — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:06:49 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning after most of the day’s economic data was delivered in Europe. Eurozone PMI rose slightly more than expected (more coverage here) and Spain reported that it added more than 17,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) as the country’s tourist season ramps up (more coverage here). Markets were closed in London and Japan today for a holiday. In Asia, China’s PMI came in weaker than expected. There was no significant data released in the U.S. today, so corporate earnings pushed investors along. The S&P 500 posted another new high today, as did the DJ Transportation index.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 23% today, now at 82.313. The GSCI commodity index is up 1.4% at 631.08. WTI crude oil closed up 0.6%, at $96.16 a barrel, although we continue to look for prices to fall (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 1.2% at $105.40 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.7% today at about $4.01 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 0.3% today at $1,468.00.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 4 points to 14,969.50 (-0.03%), the NASDAQ rose more than 14 points (0.42%) to 3,392.97, and the S&P 500 rose 0.19% or about 3 points to 1,617.51.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Banco Santander (NYSE: SAN) cut to ‘sell’ at Citigroup;
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) cut to ‘sell’ at Citigroup;
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) raised to ‘outperform’ at FBR Capital Markets;
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) raised to ‘overweight’ at J.P. Morgan; and
YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) raised to ‘hold’ at BB&T Capital.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading:

Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO) is up 0.8% at $26.80 after posting a new 52-week high of $28.14 earlier today;
Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE: BPi) is down 0.9% at $10.91;
Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) is down 0.9% at $34.34; and
Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK) is up 7.9% at $88.97 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Plains All American Pipeline LP (NYSE: PAA) (more pipelines coverage here), Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO), Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO), Checkpoint Systems Inc. (NYSE: CKP), DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV), and Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) is up 42.3% at $13.99. The insurer reached a settlement with Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) related to mortgage securities that went bad during the financial crisis.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is down 6.3% at $5.47. The daily deals company is expected to miss estimates by at least one broker when it reports results on Wednesday .

Linn Energy LLC (NASDAQ: LINE) is down 6% at $35.45 after posting a new 52-week low of $34.27 earlier today. The independent oil & gas producer got a poor write-up in Barron’s magazine over the weekend.

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

11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
1:00 p.m. – 3-year note auction
3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: APC, APO, BAC, BBVA, BPI, CKP, CLF, CRZO, DTV, FOSL, FSLR, GRPN, HUM, LINE, MBI, PAA, SAN, SYY, VNO, WLK, YRCW

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — November 5, 2012: Markets Make Last Minute Drive to Gain (DD, QCOM, TGT, WDAY, EXC, AWR, BPI, ETR, ROK, SLW, SO, SYY, TSLA, TWC, RIG, TRLG, CF, ESRX, PAA, WLT, Z, AMSC, AOL, CVC, CVS, FOSL, LPX, VVUS, VRNG, GOOG, EBIX, RDN)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:04:19 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning as investors appear to be cautious as tomorrow’s elections get closer. Coupled with possible changes in the U.S., China will replace its leadership at its 18th National Communist Party Congress which convenes on Thursday. China’s non-manufacturing PMI came in better than expected. In Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the eurozone crisis could last for another 5 years, and bond yields for some of the peripheral nations of the eurozone rose a few basis points. In the U.S., the ISM non-manufacturing index came in lower than expected (more coverage here). Services continued growing in October, but at a slower pace than in September.

The U.S. dollar index rose today, now up 0.19% at 80.750. The GSCI commodity index is down 2% at 626.07, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed up XX% today, at $85.65 a barrel, as demand continues weak in the wake of Hurricane Sandy (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 1.1% at $108.08 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.2% today at about $3.56 per thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,683.20 an ounce, up less 0.5% for the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 20 points to 13,113.05 (0.15%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 18 points (0.59%) to 2,999.66, and the S&P 500 rose 0.22% or about 3 points to 1,417.25.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) cut to ‘neutral’ at Piper Jaffray; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) started as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity and as ‘outperform’ at William Blair; and Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus.

Earnings reports since U.S. markets closed last Friday resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR) is up 3.2% at $44.89 after posting a new 52-week high of $45.75; Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE: BPI) is down 4.1% at $9.69; Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) is down 4.8% at $67.79; Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) is up 3.1% at $77.87; Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) is down 1.3% at $38.98; Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) is down 2.5% at $44.64; Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) is down 1.7% at $30.80; Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is up 8.7% at $31.44 (more coverage here); Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is down 6.3% at $91.97 (more coverage here); Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) is up 5.3% at $48.49; and True Religion Apparel Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG) is down 1.4% at $26.20.

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF), Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX), Plains All American Pipeline LP (NYSE: PAA), Walter Energy Co. (NYSE: WLT), Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ: Z), American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC), AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC), CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS), Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL), Louisiana Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX), and Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Vringo Inc. (NYSEMKT: VRNG) is up 26.3% at $3.50. The intellectual property company got a boost when the jury in the company’s suit against Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) asked the judge a question related to appropriate damages.

Ebix Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX) is down 12.6% at $19.59 after posting a new 52-week low of $15.26 earlier today. The software provider has been reported to be under investigation by the SEC, a report the company has denied.

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) is down 11% at $4.79. The mortgage insurer plunged following a story at Barron’s saying the company may incur costs for claims it has already denied.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. It’s Election Day! We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:45 a.m. – ICSC-Goldman Store Sales
8:55 a.m. – Redbook
11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
1:00 p.m. – 3-year note auction
3:00 p.m. – Treasury STRIPS

Don’t forget to vote!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMSC, AOL, AWR, BPI, CF, CVC, CVS, DD, EBIX, ESRX, ETR, EXC, FOSL, GOOG, LPX, PAA, QCOM, RDN, RIG, ROK, SLW, SO, SYY, TGT, TRLG, TSLA, TWC, VRNG, VVUS, WDAY, WLT, Z

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — November 2, 2012: Markets Open Higher, Sink Later (UBS, GM, GES, EXC, DF, RATE, CHK, FLR, GDOT, LVS, PCLN, SBUX, YELP, CVX, HES, MHP, OZM, RL, AWR, BPI, ETR, ROK, SLW, SO, SYY, TSLA, TWC, RIG, TRLG, BGFV, RH)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:03:13 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning following the report on U.S. non-farm payrolls and the U.S. unemployment rate. Payrolls rose by 171,000, better than expected, and the unemployment rate came in at 7.9% (more coverage here). In Asia, markets closed up slightly mostly on the strength of yesterday’s close in the U.S. In Europe, markets rose on the U.S. employment data and upwardly revised PMI data for Germany and France didn’t have much impact on investors. Dollar strength pushed down commodities prices and stocks in the materials sector fell sharply, with gold miners leading the march downward (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index rose today, now up 0.6% at 80.527. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.2% at 63640.04, with commodities prices mostly lower today. WTI crude oil closed down 2.6% today, at $84.86 a barrel, as demand continues weak in the wake of Hurricane Sandy (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 2.6% at $105.62 a barrel. Natural gas is down 4.2% today at about $3.54 per thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,675.20 an ounce, down 2.4% for the day, and down 2.1% for the week for the yellow metal’s fourth straight weekly loss.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 140 points to 13,092.93 (-1.06%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 38 points (-1.26%) to 2,982.13, and the S&P 500 fell -0.94% or more than 13 points to 1,414.20.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) raised to ‘buy’ at SocGen; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) maintained as ‘outperform’ but target price cut to $35 at Credit Suisse; Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) cut to ‘hold’ at Jefferies; Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) cut to ‘hold’ at Jefferies; and Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) started as ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since U.S. markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) is down 1% at $10.94; Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR) is down 9.6% at $52.13; Green Dot Corp. (NYSE: GDOT) is up 1.6% at $10.67; Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is down 0.5% at $46.24; Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) is up 9% at $638.74; Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is up 9.5% at $51.06 (more coverage here); Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) is down 14.8% at $20.49; First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down 9.3% at $22.44 (more coverage here); Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is down 3.1% at $108.01 (more coverage here); Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) is up 1.5% at $53.42; McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. (NYSE: MHP) is down 3.9% at $54.31 after posting a new 52-week high of $56.75 earlier today; Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE: OZM) is down 0.1% at $10.01; and Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) is up 0.9% at $160.42 (more coverage here).

Before markets open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear from American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR), Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE: BPI), Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR), Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK), Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW), Southern Co. (NYSE: SO), Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY), Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), and True Religion Apparel Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (NASDAQ: BGFV) is up 35.5% at $12.09 after posting a new 52-week high of #12.74 earlier today. The sporting goods retailer beat earnings estimates last night and the stock was upgraded to a ‘strong buy’ at Needham this morning.

Restoration Hardware Holdings (NYSE: RH) is up 30.2% at $31.25. The furniture and fixture dealer held its IPO today. More coverage here.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is down 8.4% at $18.38. The natural gas and oil producer met or beat estimates last night, but possible delays in asset sales into next year have given investors pause.

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

10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AWR, BGFV, BPI, CHK, CVX, DF, ETR, EXC, FLR, GDOT, GES, GM, HES, LVS, MHP, OZM, PCLN, RATE, RH, RIG, RL, ROK, SBUX, SLW, SO, SYY, TRLG, TSLA, TWC, UBS, Yelp

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — July 13, 2012: Market Jumps on Financials, Hopes for China

Paul Ausick — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:08:23 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened higher this morning following the release of Chinese GDP and other data. The Middle Kingdom’s GDP grew at a rate of 7.6% in the second quarter, down from 8.1% growth last year, kindling hopes that the government would take further action to stimulate the economy (our coverage here). The ratings cut on Italian debt had less impact on investors as the data from China pushed the cut to one side. Solid quarterly earnings reports from Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) also drove the market higher at opening and the financial sector buoyed stock prices all day.

The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.34% at 83.377. The GSCI commodity index rose about 0.4% to 614.91, with commodities prices mostly higher today. WTI crude oil rose 1.2% today, closing at $87.10/barrel, up 3.1% for the week. Brent crude trades up 1.5% at $102.58/barrel. Natural gas is up 0.1% today to $2.877/thousand cubic feet. Gold settled at $1,592.00/ounce, up 0.8% for the week.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 203 points to 12,777.09 (1.62%), the NASDAQ rose more than 42 points (1.48%) to 2,908.47, and the S&P 500 rose 1.65% or about 22 points to 1,356.77.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML; Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) started as ‘buy’ at ThinkEquity; Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) started as ‘neutral’ at Wedbush.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: JPMorgan is up 5.8% at $36.00; Wells Fargo is up 3% at $33.83; Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) is down -16.1% at $20.40 after posting a new 52-week low of $20.26 earlier today; and Ocean Power Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTT) is down -11% at $2.66.

On Monday we are scheduled to get earnings results from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT), Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI), and Joe’s Jeans Inc. (NASDAQ: JOEZ).

Take a look at our preview of tech company earnings due next week, including heavyweights Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Google.

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Bridgepoint Educations Inc. (NYSE: BPI) is down -24.1% at $9.85 after posting a new 52-week low of $9.39 earlier today. The for-profit education company is in jeopardy of losing its accreditation. More coverage here.

Presidential Life Corp. (NASDAQ: PLFE) is up 36.6% at $13.$13.94 earlier today. The insurer is being acquired for $14/share, or $415 million.

Box Ships Inc. (NYSE: TEU) is down -17.8% at $6.67. The container shipping company priced a secondary offering of 30 million shares at $7/share, a discount of -14% to last night’s closing price.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) is up 8.9% at $2.81. The homebuilder has reached a $125 million land-bank agreement with The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX).

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

8:30 a.m. – Retail sales
8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
10:00 a.m. – Business inventories
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, BPI, BX, C, CRM, DF, GCI, GOOG, HOV, INTC, JBHT, JOEZ, JPM, KMI, LXK, MSFT, OPTT, PLFE, RHI, SKS, TEU, WFC

Today’s Market Winners and Losers

247sam — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:44:58 +0000

The stock markets losing streak may soon be snapped. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1.21%, the Nasdaq is up 0.98% and the S&P 500 is up 1.13%. Today’s big winner was a life insurance company getting bought out. One big loser was a for-profit education firm struggling with accredidation, while a shipping company is selling off more of its common stock.

Here are today’s market winners and losers.

Biggest Winner

Shares of Presidential Life (NASDAQ: PLFE) are up 36.88% to $13.88 on trading volume of 1.5 million shares. Athene Holding will acquire the life insurance holding company for about $415 million, or $14 a share, the companies announced Friday. Before Friday, the 52-week high was $12.21.

Biggest Losers

Shares of Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) are down 24.06% to $9.85 on trading volume of 2.8 million shares. The Higher Learning Commission, which is responsible for accrediting universities such as Bridepoint’s Ashford Univerisity, has requested a report from the company showing it is complying with the commission’s standards. The report is due in August. Before Friday, the 52-week low was $12.80.

Shares of Box Ships (NYSE: TEU) are down 17.90% to $6.66 on trading volume of 2.7 million shares. The shipping company plans to sell $30 million of its shares in a public offering, the company announced Thursday. The 52-week low is $6.44.

Samuel Weigley

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, General Tagged: BPI, PLFE, TEU

Bridgepoint Tanks on Accreditation Review

Paul Ausick — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:33:08 +0000

Shares of Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE: BPI) are collapsing today following the company’s disclosure that the for-profit school’s accrediting agency has asked for a report from Bridgepoint’s Ashford University, which has been placed under the agency’s ‘special monitoring’ status. Ashford, which enrolls about 90,000 students, must also host an ‘advisory visit’ from the agency, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (HLC), within 60 days of the filing the report, which is due by August 10th.

Ashford was denied accreditation earlier this week by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), to which the school had applied because its accreditation by HLC is being reviewed for compliance with HLC’s requirement that a school have a “substantial presence” in the agency’s region. Much of Ashford’s activity has moved to the Northwest, in WASC’s jurisdiction, and out of HLC’s region.

At stake is Ashford’s eligibility for federal student aid, which accounts for the bulk of the school’s revenue. WASC denied accreditation to the school because the agency said it spent more money on recruiting students than educating them. Now HLC wants to review Ashford’s operations for the same reasons.

Bridgepoint’s shares are down -24% at $9.83 after posting a new 52-week low of $9.53 earlier this morning. The previous 52-week range was $12.80-$30.62.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: BPI

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMD, AXP, APO, BPI, COF, LNG, CQP, JCP, LTD, LNKD, MM, NWSA, NCT, NTRS, LUV, STT, AMTD, TIVO, TROW, TSN, AAPL, PCX, ANR, CNX)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 12:23:24 +0000

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

Advanced Micro Devices. Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Maintained Neutral and cut target to $6 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Buy but cut estimates at Canaccord Genuity.

American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) Raised to Buy at Nomura.

Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO) Started as Buy and $16 target at Argus.

Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) Cut to Neutral at Nomura.

Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG) Started as Equal-weight at Barclays.

Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSEMKT: CQP) Started as Underweight at Barclays.

JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) Maintained Neutral and Cut estimates at Credit Suisse.

Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) Cut to Hold at Argus.

LinkedIn Corporation (NASDAQ: LNKD) Maintained Buy with $135 target at Canaccord Genuity.

Millennial Media Inc. (NYSE: MM) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) Maintained Hold at Argus.

Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE: NCT) Started as Outperform with $7.50 target at Credit Suisse.

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) Raised to Buy at Stern Agee.

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NYSE: AMTD) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Started as Overweight at Barclays.

T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

David Einhorn on CNBC called Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) an extremely undervalued company which could be worth $1 trillion.

Nomura changes to Coal Sector: Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) maintained as Reduce with $5 target on bankruptcy; beneficiary companies include Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) and CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CNX).

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: AAPL, AMD, AMTD, ANR, APO, AXP, BPI, CNX, COF, CQP, JCP, LNG, LNKD, LTD, LUV, MM, NCT, NTRS, NWSA, PCX, STT, TIVO, TROW, TSN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — July 6, 2012: Equities Soft on China Slowdown, European Debt

Paul Ausick — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:09:13 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning following report from China that it has cut inflation to an annualized rate of 2.2% in June (our coverage here). Lower inflation, however, brings with it lower production, with China particularly weighed down by lack of export demand from Europe. And in Europe, Spanish 10-year bond yields moved back to 7% (our coverage here). The Federal Reserve’s report on consumer credit showed that revolving credit rose 11.25% in May, about double the expected increase, with non-revolving debt up $9.1billion and revolving debt up $8 billion (more coverage here).

The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.2% at 83.151. The GSCI commodity index also fell, down -2.5% at 605.15, with commodities prices all higher today. WTI crude oil rose 1.8% today, closing at $85.99/barrel. Brent crude trades up 1.77% at $99.93/barrel, as a lockout appears imminent in Norway’s North Sea fields (our coverage here). Natural gas is up 3.9% today to $2.884/thousand cubic feet. Gold settled up 0.7%, at $1,589.10/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 36 points to 12,736.29 (-0.28%), the NASDAQ fell more than 5 points (-0.19%) to 2,931.77, and the S&P 500 fell -0.16% or more than 2 points to 1,352.46.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including an unusual number of ‘sell’ ratings: Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) cut to ‘sell’ at Visa Inc.; TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; and State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

There were no earnings reports of note today, but a new earnings season kicks off with Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) reporting after the markets close this afternoon. Other companies reporting on Monday include Healthcare Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HCSG) and WD-40 Co. (NASDAQ: WDFC).

Tomorrow we are scheduled to get earnings results from SemiLEDS Corp. (NASDAQ: LEDS) Wolverine World Wide Inc. (NYSE: WWW), Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW), Helen of Troy Ltd. (NASDAQ: HELE). And here’s a look at some key earnings to watch this week.

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Amerigroup Corp. (NYSE: AGP) is up XX% at $XX after posting a new 52-week high of $XX earlier today. The health care services company is being acquired by Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP). More coverage here and here.

FX Alliance Inc. (NYSE: FX) is up XX% at $XX. The foreign exchange platform supplier is being acquired by Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI).

Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE: BPI) is down -XX% at $XX. The for-profit education company was denied accreditation and faces a December deadline to renew its existing accreditation. More coverage here.

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

7:30 a.m. – National Federation of Independent Business optimism index
11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
1:00 p.m. – 3-year note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: AA, AGP, AMTD, BPI, featured, FX, HCSG, HELE, LEDS, MA, SAM, STT, TRI, V, WDFC, WLP, WWW

For-profit College Denied Accreditation

Paul Ausick — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 16:34:47 +0000

Ashford University, a unit of Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE: BPI), has been denied its initial accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an action that could force the school to close. A closure is a fair distance away, given that the school plans both to appeal the decision and to re-apply for accreditation.

And while the decision is specific to Bridgepoint’s Ashford University, other for-profit schools are seeing shares fall as well today. Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ: CECO) is off the most, down -6.4% at $6.43 in a 52-week range of $5.32-$25.26.

Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) is off -3% at $35.21, Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO) is down -2.7% at $3.05, and DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV) is off -2.4% at $30.74.

ITT Educational Services Inc. (NYSE: ESI) is off -2% and Strayer Education Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) is down -1.4%.

In order to qualify for federal funds, colleges must be accredited. For-profit schools depend on student fees — some 90% of which are paid with federal grants and guaranteed student loans — for the lion’s share of their revenues. The loss or denial of accreditation could well be a death knell for a for-profit institution.

Ashford is currently accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges through the 2014-2015 school year. But this accrediting body is also bearing down on Ashford, telling the school that “it has until December 1, 2012, to demonstrate compliance with HLC’s ‘substantial presence’ requirement.” Ashford had intended to gain accreditation from WASC because a substantial portion of the school’s activities to support its online programs are based in the WASC accrediting region.

Bridgepoint’s stock is down -23% at $16.57 after posting a new 52-week low this morning of $14.25. The previous 52-week range was $16.01-$30.62.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: APOL, BPI, CECO, COCO, DV, ESI, STRA

Today’s Market Winners and Losers

247sam — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:00:15 +0000

Monday’s stock market opened slightly lower Monday based on weak economic data in Asia, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.32%, Nasdaq down 0.21% and the S&P 500 down 0.20%. Today’s winners were both the result of buyouts, while a for-profit education firm took a hit by not receiving accredidation for its university.

Here are Monday’s biggest winners and losers.

Biggest Winners

Shares of FX Alliance (NYSE: FX) are up 39.68% to $21.93 on trading volume of 1.8 million shares. Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) has agreed to purchase the currency trading platform firm for $625 million. Before Monday, the 52-week high was $18.72.

Shares of Amerigroup (NYSE: AGP) are up 37.86% to $88.70 on trading volume of 9.4 million shares. Health insurance giant WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) announced Monday it was buying the Medicaid coverage provider for $4.46 billion. Before Monday, the 52-week high of the stock was $75.18.

Biggest Loser

Shares of Bridgeport Education (NYSE: BPI) are down 18.88% to $17.44 based on trading volume of 2.7 million shares. The for-profit higher education firm was denied accredidation for its Ashford University by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and is in danger of having its accredidation revoked by the Higher Learning Commission. The 52-week low of the stock is $16.01.

Samuel Weigley

Filed under: General Tagged: AGP, BPI, FX, TRI, WLP