We have compiled previews using Thomson Reuters consensus data and have added color on each if applicable.
 
Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is going to be closely watched by the dividend investors because of that 13% implied dividend yield.  The mortgage REIT is expected to report $0.56 per share.

Bp Plc (NYSE: BP) has recovered handily from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.  This is an ADR so its earnings will be converted from U.K. Pounds… The estimate is $1.57 per share and the stock is up well over 50% from when its shares sold off so much in 2010.  Keep in mind that this was a $60 stock before the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) is not so hot after the Super Bowl and we are six weeks from the next mega-event in sports.  Estimates are $0.67 EPS and $210.25 million.  This one remains expensive at almost 22-times full 2012 earnings expectations and it is only about $2.00 shy of a 52-week and all-time high.

Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) is expected to report $0.53 EPS and $586.86 million in sales.  At $63.20, the 52-week trading range for the healthcare information technology and support company is $53.93 to $74.39.

Church & Dwight Co. (NYSE: CHD) is expected to report $0.51 EPS and $694.32 million.  At $45.50, the 52-week range is $33.83 to $47.00.  This consumer products company remains at a large valuation premium to its larger consumer products rivals and it also has a much lower dividend yield.

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. fell -3.4%, from $38.78 to $37.45. The consensus price target for the stock is $42.00. The drinks maker posted solid earnings in the third quarter, and it pays a high 3.3% dividend yield. The downturn could just be a loss of confidence in sugary soft drinks.

Bemis Company Inc. (NYSE: BMS) fell -4.1%, from $29.31 to $28.11. The consensus price target for the stock is $34.00. The company makes flexible packaging for food and pharmaceuticals and last week announced that it would close “several” small plants around the world.

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) fell -6.7%, from $19.60 to $18.28. The consensus price target is $29.00. The cosmetics maker got another downgrade this morning from Jefferies, and is also the subject of a federal investigation into bribery charges.

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) fell -7.4%, from $68.52 to $63.43. The consensus price target is $71.00. The company develops software for health care providers and, though it reported good earnings for the previous quarter, an announced acquisition is likely weighing on the share price.

Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) fell -8%, from $15.73 to $14.47. The consensus price target is $22.00. The cable TV provider reported lower profits in the third quarter and a subsidiary just sold $1 billion in senior unsecured notes. Investors are also concerned at the company’s rising costs.

BMC Software Inc. (NASDAQ: BMC) fell -9.9%, from $38.56 to $34.76. The consensus price target is $49.50. The business software maker said last week that its bookings are weak through the end of the year, and the share price got crushed.

Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP) fell -15%, from $37.00 to $31.45. The consensus price target is $36.50. The pharmaceutical and medicine company could feel the impact of a recent executive order signed by President Obama related to the distribution of generic drugs.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) fell -15.5%, from $3.04 to $2.57. The consensus price target is $3.70. The wireless carrier has essentially bet the company on the iPhone, and there is plenty of skepticism on Sprint’s ability to win the bet.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) fell -21.3%, from $63.21 to $49.77.  The consensus price target is $100.00. First Solar’s  share price topped $175 in the past 12 months, but falling module prices and lower government support is killing the whole solar sector. As the largest company by market cap in the sector, First Solar has taken a vicious beating.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) fell -27.5%, from $113.27 to $82.08. The consensus price target is $185.00. The stock’s 52-week high is over $300 and it is trading today at around $80. Shares were pummeled following an announced price increase, vehement opposition from subscribers, and the loss of 800,000 of those subscribers. Things could get worse here before they get better.

Paul Ausick

S&P 500 YTD TOP 10 (31Dec10 – 29Sep11)

Ticker

YTD Price Change (%)

Close Price 29Sep11

Close Price 31Dec10

Market Cap($Mil)

Short Interest as % of Shares

69.4

64.13

37.85

6700.9

0.40%

48.8

70.49

47.37

11916.5

9.50%

47.2

313.14

212.66

9815.7

8.70%

46.5

328.37

224.11

39630.3

1.20%

45.7

125.56

86.18

13775.7

3.00%

44.8

373.22

257.75

14586.6

3.50%

40.9

94.46

67.05

22910.9

0.30%

37.5

121.08

88.07

15135.6

1.10%

37.3

70.91

51.65

9511.1

2.10%

37.1

75.07

54.74

12523.9

0.50%

AEGON N.V. (NYSE: AEG) maintained “Buy” but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) Started as Outperform with $20 target at Credit Suisse.
Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Ardea Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: RDEA) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) Added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX) Started as Outperform with $62 target at Credit Suisse.
Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) Started as Buy at BofA/ML; Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Reinstated as Buy at Needham; Reiterated Buy with $800 target at Canaccord Genuity.
ICICI Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) Started as Neutral with $65 target at Credit Suisse.
Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE: BTU) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE: SWC) Started as Outperform with $24 target on Focus List at Credit Suisse.
STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Vical Inc. (NASDAQ: VICL) Reiterated Buy with $8 target at Canaccord Genuity.

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JON C. OGG

No money was injured while filming

Stock splits usually bring back memories of the old tech bubble and dot-com bubble.  Fundamentally, nothing changes at the company other than that smaller investors get to invest in shares at a lower nominal share price.  Now that the markets have recovered so much, with the recent weeks as an exception, we are seeing many companies with higher share prices starting to announce stock splits. There may even be more current stock splits pending and freshly affected than we can remember seeing in years.

We have seen major stock split announcements from the likes of many companies.  Some of the larger splits are from the following: Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH); Oneok Partners LP (NYSE: OKS); Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN); Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN); Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM); California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT); Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII); CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX); Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: SIX); II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ: IIVI); Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO); and Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD).  We even have a fresh reverse stock split from Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIXD).  You might think it learned from Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) but Pacific Ethanol did not have a choice if it wanted to keep its listing.

There is also no way to have an article about stock splits without pondering when or what it would take for great companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) or Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) to consider splitting their shares.

The road to stock splits has really become more common.  We have not seen this many pending splits in years.  These are not presented in any significant order.

Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH) announced a two-for-one stock split in the form of a dividend payable on July 26, 2011 to holders of record at the close on July 6, 2011.

On Tuesday came word from Oneok Partners LP (NYSE: OKS) that it planned to conduct a two-for-one split of its common and class-B units.  This was its first split and you rarely see “units” split.  It is 43% owned by its general partner, Oneok Inc. (NYSE: OKE).

In May came a biotech stock split from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN).  It previously approved a 2-for-1 stock split and shares began trading on a split-adjusted basis on May 23.  Shares went from almost $100 to under $50…

Also in May came word from Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) that its board of directors had approved a 2-for-1 stock split in the form of a dividend for holders of record on June 15, 2011. The distribution date for the new shares is June 24, 2011.

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) announced last month after its pact with H-P that its board of directors approved a two-for-one split of its stock in the form of a stock dividend for holders of record at the close of business on June 15.

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Raised target to $85 from $80 at Canaccord.
BCE Inc. (NYSE: BCE) Cut to Sector Perform at National Bank.
Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) Started as Buy at Morgan Joseph.
Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) Started as Hold at Needham.

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JON C. OGG

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Concur Technologies (NASDAQ: CNQR) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Dr Reddy’s (NYSE: RDY) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley
Eaton Corp (NYSE: ETN) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Global Cash Access Holdings (NYSE: GCA) Cut to Neutral at Sterne Agee.
Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Linear Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: LLTC) Reiterated Buy but Raised target to $40 at Gleacher.
Owens-Illinois (NYSE: OI) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Pepco Holdings (NYSE: POM) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
SolarWinds (NYSE: SWI) Cut to Hold at Needham; Cut to Hold at Jefferies; Goldman Sachs cut to Neutral.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $33 at Gleacher.

JON C. OGG

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
American Capital, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS) Cut to Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.
Athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ: BCSI) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) Started as Market Perform at Avondale.
Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) Started as Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) Cut to Hold at Roth.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) Raised to Outperform at FBR.

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Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
J. Crew Group, Inc. (NYSE: JCG) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: D) Raised to Buy at Longbow.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) Raised to Buy at Longbow.
Meru Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: MERU) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Salary.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLRY) Cut to Market-Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) Raised to Outperform at Macquarie.
Waddell & Reed Financial (NYSE: WDR) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.

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Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) Raised to Buy at SunTrust.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo (late Thursday).
Cerner (NASDAQ: CERN) Started as Neutral at UBS.
Check Point Software (NASDAQ: CHKP) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
Pharmacyclics (NASDAQ: PCYC) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Potash Corp (NYSE: POT) has seen target cuts at TD, Canaccord, Genuity, and BMO.
SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) Raised to Buy at Morgan Joseph.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) Raised to Buy and $60 target at Goldman Sachs.

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