24/7 Wall St. » CHKP

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALSN, AZO, BIG, CHKP, CMG, CTRN, DWRE, GE, ILMN, LNKD, PBY, RMBS, TXN, UNH, XRX)

Administrator — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:04:35 +0000

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

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ALSN) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Neutral at Citigroup.

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) Maintained Hold at Argus.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) Cut to Neutral on valuation at Credit Suisse; Reiterated Buy with $480 target at Argus.

Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Demandware, Inc. (NYSE: DWRE) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank; Started as Outperform at William Blair; Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Buy with $22 target at Argus.

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) Reiterated Buy with $54 target at BofA/ML.

LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack Inc. (NYSE: PBY) Cut to Sell at Argus.

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) Reiterated Buy with $36 target at BofA/ML.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) Reiterated Buy with $13 target at Argus.

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: ALSN, AZO, BIG, CHKP, CMG, CTRN, DWRE, GE, ILMN, LNKD, PBY, RMBS, TXN, UNH, XRX

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GE, FFIV, GRPN, PGR, REGN, CHKP, COP, DHI, ETN, HAS, PCH, XRX, AMLN, LSI)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:04:36 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning following some reversals in Europe, not the least of which is the coming French presidential election. PMI readings from Europe and China were also weak. Asian and European markets were lower across the board today as well. The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.27% at 79.409. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.05% at 676.38, with commodities mixed, though orange juice is down more than -5%. WTI crude oil closed down -1.3% at $102.49/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -0.12% at $118.62/barrel. Gold settled down -0.06% today, at $1,632.60/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA fell more than 102 points to 12,926.86 (-0.79%), the NASDAQ fell 30 points (-1%) to 2,970.45, and the S&P 500 fell -0.84% or more than 11 points to 1,366.94.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reiterated ‘outperform’ with a $22 target price at Credit Suisse; F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) started as ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley; Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) raised to ‘overweight’ at Evercore; Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $146 at BofA/ML.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) is down -5.1% at $60.77; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is down -0.6% at $72.44; D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is down -2.1% at $15.06 (our coverage here); Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) is down -0.15% at $47.37; Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) is down -5% at $34.11; Potlach Corp. (NYSE: PCH) is down -1.7% at $30.53; and Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) is up 0.32% at $7.90.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) is up 14.2% at $26.17 after posting a new 52-week high this morning of $26.25. The company has hired advisers for a possible sale of the company. More coverage here and here.

LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) is up 1% at $8.01. The semiconductor maker got a boost from a story in Barron’s magazine over the weekend. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

9:00 a.m. – S&P Case-Shiller housing price index
10:00 a.m. – New home sales
10:00 a.m. – Conference board consumer confidence
10:00 a.m. – FHFA house price index
10:00 a.m. – Richmond Fed manufacturing index
11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
1:00 p.m. – 2-year note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMLN, CHKP, COP, DHI, ETN, FFIV, GE, GRPN, HAS, LSI, PCH, PGR, REGN, XRX

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (FDX, BHP, INTC, TSLA, PNRA, MMR, AMTD, WFC, C, CHKP, KUTV, CNVO, VQ, RRD, CCL)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:09:27 +0000

The markets opened higher this morning and all three major indexes have managed to hold onto most of their gains of the early morning. The S&P 500 index topped 1,300 for the first time since last summer, but hasn’t been able to remain at that level. The US dollar is trading weaker against the euro, but stronger against both the British pound and the Japanese yen. The dollar index is down a bit more than -0.5% at 81.071. Energy companies have done well today, even though natural gas prices have fallen below $2.50/thousand cubic feet. WTI crude oil is up nearly 2% at $100.62/barrel, while Brent crude is up only fractionally at $111.38/barrel. Gold is up more than 1% at $1,650.70.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 60 points to 12,482.22 (0.48%), the NASDAQ rose more than 17 points (0.64%) to 2,728.08, and the S&P 500 rose 0.35% or nearly 5 points to 1,293.66.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) cut to ‘hold’ at Jefferies; BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) started as ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) raised to ‘buy’ at Wunderlich; and Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) raised to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: McMoRan Exploration Co. (NYSE: MMR) is up 4.55% at $13.32; TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD) is down -1.72% at $16.02; Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is up 0.67% at $29.81; Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) is down nearly -8% at $28.29; and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) is up nearly 8% at $54.93.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Ku6 Media Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: KUTV) is up nearly 154% at $3.50. The Chinese online video company has signed an agreement with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) to offer international viewers a Chinese video channel on YouTube.

Convio Inc. (NASDAQ: CNVO) is up nearly 48% at $15.89, after setting a new 52-week high earlier. The provider of software to non-profit organizations has agreed to be acquired by Blackbaud Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB) for $16/share, or about $312 million.

Venoco Inc. (NYSE: VQ) is up nearly 31% at $10.05. The independent oil and gas company is being taken private by its CEO. We have more coverage here.

R.R. Donnelly & Sons Co. (NYSE: RRD) is down nearly -16% at $12.12 after posting a new 52-week low of $12.08 earlier. The business services company said revenues for 2011 are going to be lower than expected.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) is down nearly -14% at $29.57. The cruise ship operator is sinking following the disaster off the Italian coast that has left 11 dead and 29 missing. We have more coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Federal Reserve Bank governor Daniel Tarullo is giving a speech. We have the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association mortgage applications
8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
9:15 a.m. – Federal Reserve report on industrial production
10:00 a.m. – Housing market index

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: AMTD, BHP, C, CCL, CHKP, CNVO, FDX, INTC, KUTV, MMR, PNRA, RRD, TSLA, VQ, WFC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CECO, CHKP, CHL, CSCO, CVI, DELL, FITB, GNW, GOOG, HOG, HCA, MPEL, NEM, PCLN, TM, URBN)

Administrator — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:43:25 +0000

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

Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CECO) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Cut to Hold with $19 target at Auriga.
CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CVI) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late Thursday call).
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) noted as Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Cut to Hold at Citigroup; Maintained Buy at Gabelli; Maintained Outperform but cut target to $700 at Credit Suisse.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
HCA Holdings, inc. (NYSE: HCA) Started as Buy at Gleacher & Co.
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) maintained Neutral but raised target to $70 at BofA/ML.
Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) noted as Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) Started as Equal-weight at Barclays.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.

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: CECO, CHKP, CHL, CSCO, CVI, DELL, FITB, GNW, GOOG, HCA, HOG, MPEL, NEM, PCLN, TM, URBN

Earnings Calendar: Top Earnings To Watch Next Week (AA, JPM, DRWI, CHKP, FCS, HAS, MAT, SVU, CBST, GOOG, JBHT, BAC, SCHW)

Administrator — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:10:25 +0000

Next week is supposed to mark the launch of earnings season. It will still be a tad light compared the two weeks that follow, but there are some market-movers and some sector-movers to watch in the coming week. The following reports are the ones we are previewing: Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA); J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM); DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI); Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP); Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (NYSE: FCS); Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS); Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT); SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE: SVU); Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); and The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW).

We have included some color on each if applicable and included Thomson Reuters estimates and price performance metrics.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) is out with earnings Monday after the close, and it is the first DJIA component and the one company that investors, traders, and speculators often try to use as a bogey for determining the strength of earnings season. At a minimum, the company may be used as a tool to judge how other metals companies are doing. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.27 EPS and $6.30 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.35 EPS and $6.29 billion in revenues. Shares are around $18.00 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $16.49 about 90-days ago.

Wednesday morning we get to see financial powerhouse JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM). Jamie Dimon and friends will set the tone of how banking and financial firms are doing and how they see the current environment. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $1.16 EPS and $25.6 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.17 EPS and $25.22 billion in revenues. Shares are around $47.00 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading around $44.00 about 90-days ago.

DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI) is after the close of trading on Wednesday, and this one is sometimes used as a proxy for how Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) and Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) are doing. That being said, we’ll leave it there for you to decide how tied these are. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates for DragonWave of -$0.16 EPS and $15.14 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.07 EPS and $23.88 million in revenues. Shares are around $8.37 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $8.06 about 90-days ago.

Thursday morning comes data-security leader Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP). Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.62 EPS and $276.71 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.65 EPS and $293.17 million in revenues. Shares are around $51.70 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading around $47.00 about 90-days ago.

Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (NYSE: FCS) reports Thursday morning. After the TI-NSM merger, investors will be paying closer attention than before. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.36 EPS and $413.25 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.39 EPS and $422.76 million in revenues. Shares are around $19.00 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $16.00 about 90-days ago.

Hasbro Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is due Thursday morning and it is probably safe to assume that investors will of course bet watching Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) on the news ahead of its earnings due Friday… Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.17 EPS and $661.69 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.38 EPS and $842.07 million in revenues. Shares are around $47.35 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $46.00 about 90-days ago.

SUPERVALU Inc. (NYSE: SVU) is no market mover, but it has been cut in half over the last year and remains a giant turnaround stock for many investors. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.34 EPS and $8.75 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.32 EPS and $11.35 billion in revenues. Shares are around $9.33 in Friday afternoon trading and shares were trading at $8.91 about 90-days ago before challenging the $7.00 mark thereafter.

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, Metals, Technology Companies, The Week Tagged: AA, BAC, CBST, CHKP, DRWI, FCS, GOOG, HAS, JBHT, JPM, MAT, SCHW, SVU

Over $40 Billion in Share Buyback Announcements in February (KSS, DOX, DDS, TJX, WLP, WAT, LEA, PLXS, ARG, CVC, KLAC, VAR, COP, MMM, CHKP, ISRG, ALL, CMI, GME, GD, ROST, MHS, ERTS, PFE, TUP)

Administrator — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:51:54 +0000

Many shareholders argue that share repurchase and stock buyback plans are generally a waste of shareholder capital aimed solely as a short-term share price targeting mechanism. Many would prefer to see dividends. Still, share buyback plans remain a top method of ‘returning capital to shareholders’ and the share buybacks in February have come at a feverish pace.

The feverish buyback pace we are showing does not even include the many buyback plans of under $200 million. The companies leading the buyback charge with new announcements so far in February are as follows: Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS); Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX); Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS); The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX); Wellpoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP); Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT); Lear Corp. (NYSE: LEA); Plexus Corporation (NASDAQ: PLXS); Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG); Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC); KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC); Varian Medical System Inc. (NYSE: VAR); ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP); 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM); Check Point Software Tecnologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP); Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG); Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL); Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI); Gamestop Corporation (NYSE: GME); General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD); Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST); Medco Health Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS); Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS); Pfizer, inc. (NYSE: PFE); and Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP).

The tally here in just these plans comes to about $41 billion in new buyback announcements so far just in February, and that is after a whopping $34 billion identified in January. We did not break these out by date and these are most recent to farthest back in February.

Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) increased its share repurchase authorization under its existing share repurchase program by $2.6 billion to $3.5 billion. That added 2.6 billion compares to a market cap of $15.7 billion today.

Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) declared $1 billion over 2 years against a market cap of $5.5 billion.

Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) added some $250 million to its prior buyback plan and its market cap is $2.6 billion .

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) allocated some $1.2 billion this year and that compares to a market cap of $19.5 billion.

Wellpoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) expanded its prior plan by $1.6 billion and that is against a market cap of close to $25 billion.

Filed under: Corporate Governance, Dividend, Editor's Picks, Shareholder Issues, Stock Buybacks Tagged: ALL, ARG, CHKP, CMI, COP, CVC, DDS, DOX, ERTS, GD, GME, ISRG, KLAC, KSS, LEA, MHS, MMM, PFE, PLXS, ROST, TJX, TUP, VAR, WAT, WLP

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ANF, ARO, AKS, AEO, AEP, AMLN, CHKP, COH, GPS, JKS, KKR, LTD, TLAB, UBS)

Administrator — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:58:54 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) Started as Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late Tuesday call).
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Started as Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (NYSE: KKR) Started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

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

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEO, AEP, AKS, AMLN, ANF, ARO, CHKP, COH, GPS, JKS, KKR, LTD, TLAB, UBS

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALU, ALL, AMZN, AU, CA, CHKP, COST, GE, HON, KEY, MYGN, PCLN, SIX, SFD, MMM, TYC, UTX)

Administrator — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:19:28 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) Started as Outperform at RBC.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASAQ: AMZN) Cut to Hold at Benchmark.
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
CA Inc. (NYSE: CA) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Started as Buy at Nomura.
Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) Started as Buy at Nomura.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Myriad Genetics inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE: SIX) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) Raised to Outperform at BMO.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Started as Reduce at Nomura.
Tyco International (NYSE: TYC) Started as Reduce at Nomura.
United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) Started as Buy at Nomura.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALL, ALU, AMZN, AU, CA, CHKP, COST, GE, HON, KEY, MMM, MYGN, PCLN, SFD, SIX, TYC, UTX

Top Day Trader Alerts (SYMC, CHKP, BRCD, BSDM, MNKD, NTAP, PETM, STEM)

Administrator — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:03:34 +0000

Day traders and active traders have many movers this Wednesday morning to choose from. The top alerts were seen in Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC), Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD), BSD Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: BSDM), MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM), and StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM).

The Intel-McAfee deal already has the primary move taken care of, but the data-security peers are the ones to watch. Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) is a very troubled company with data security and storage, and its shares are now up 12% at $14.18 in the pre-market trading. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) is also up 5.4% at $36.14 in pre-market trading.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is getting squeezed this morning and shares are down 6.8% at $4.79 on more than 600,000 shares. This is worse than last night when Brocade went out in the after-hours session down 4.67% at $4.90 on 874,644 shares.

BSD Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: BSDM) is seeing a second day win after yesterday’s news of an FDA Approval that sent shares up about 100%. Shares are up another 6% at $3.15 on over 400,000 shares.

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD) is trading up almost 4% at $6.20 on about 200,000 shares after pricing $100 million in senior convertible notes amd entering into a share sale and share lending agreement. The secondary sale was at $5.55 versus a close of $5.97 yesterday.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) is down 3.1% this morning from $39.32 to $38.09 in pre-market trading on active volume after earnings disappointed.

PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) is trading up after earnings and strong guidance and after Goldman maintained a neutral rating but raised the price target. Shares are seeing thin volume but the first indication was up almost 7% at $32.23. This one went out in the after-hours session last night up 7.2% at $32.33 on 144,000 shares.

StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) is on the move after positive stem cell data in paralysis. Shares are up 24% at $1.08 on over 550,000 shares. Average volume is only 723,000 shares and a 52-week range of $0.84 to $1.79.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: BRCD, BSDM, CHKP, MNKD, NTAP, PETM, STEM, SYMC

Intel Changes The Game With McAfee Buyout (INTC, MFE, SYMC, CHKP)

Administrator — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:31:16 +0000

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) has made a game changing event. It announced that it is acquiring McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE) via a Business Wire press release. The $7.68 billion deal comes to $48.00 per share, which isn’t too bad considering that McAfee shares traded at $29.93 yesterday.

The release noted that both boards of directors have unanimously approved the deal. It is subject to McAfee shareholder approval, regulatory clearances and other customary conditions.

Intel noted that today’s security approach does not fully address the billions of new Internet-ready devices connecting, including mobile and wireless devices, TVs, cars, medical devices and ATM machines as well as the accompanying surge in cyber threats. Intel also noted that it has elevated the priority of security to be on par with its strategic focus areas in energy-efficient performance and Internet connectivity.

McAfee has seen double-digit growth and nearly 80% gross margins last year. , will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel, reporting into Intel’s Software and Services Group. The group is managed by Renée James, Intel senior vice president, and general manager of the group.

McAfee’s 52-week trading range is $29.53 to $45.68.

This is a game-changing deal considering that a hardware company is getting into the security via a software company. It will also highlight a few data security players. Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) is a very troubled company with data security and storage, and its shares are now up 12% at $14.18 in the pre-market trading. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) is also up 5.4% at $36.14 in pre-market trading.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Mergers and Buy Outs, Semiconductor, Software Tagged: CHKP, INTC, MFE, SYMC