24/7 Wall St. » CHTR

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (F, WYNN, COF, BP, SYNC, CHTR, HL, OMX, THC, WEN, RST, PDC, AOL, CTL, AGU, DTG, M, MPEL, NWS, CSCO, TSLA, TM, PCLN, FOSL, DNDN, AVL)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:07:27 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened sharply lower this morning as weak performance in the European markets as traders try to figure out what last weekend’s elections mean. Crude oil was also sharply lower this morning. The three major indexes have all come back from losses greater than -1% in the afternoon, but still look set to finish the day down at least -0.5%. The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.14% at 79.716. The GSCI commodity index is down fractionally at 652.27, with commodities mixed on the slightly stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed down -1% at $97.01/barrel and Brent crude trades down -0.23% at $112.90/barrel. Gold settled down -2.1% today, at $1,604.5/ounce, after briefly falling below $1,600/ounce earlier in the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 76 points to 12,932.01 (-0.59%), the NASDAQ fell more than 11 points (-0.39%) to 2,946.27, and the S&P 500 fell -0.43% or nearly 6 points to 1,363.71.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) maintained as ‘buy’ with a target price of $19 at Argus; Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) maintained ‘outperform’ with a target price of $166 at Credit Suisse; Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) raised to ‘hold’ at Argus; BP plc (NYSE: BP) cut to ‘underweight’ at Barclays; and Synacor Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNC) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) is down up 5.5% at $65.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $66.18 earlier today (more coverage here); Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL) is up 4.1% at $4.04 (more coverage here); OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) is up 10.5% at $4.85; Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) is up 1.4% at $5.11; The Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) is down -4.3% at $4.66 (more coverage here); Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST) is up 18.4% at $12.64; and Pioneer Drilling Co. (NYSE: PDC) is up 5.5% at $8.03.

On Wednesday we are scheduled to get earnings from AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL), Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: DTG), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), and priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) is down -36.8% at $79.50. The fashion accessories company revealed a weak forecast today. More coverage here.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is down -24.6% at $8.81. The drug maker’s earnings were not as strong as expected. More coverage here.

Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (AMEX: AVL) is down -24% at $1.67 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.58 earlier today. The rare earths miner is delaying a feasibility study. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser are giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade report
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 10-year note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AGU, AOL, AVL, BP, CHTR, COF, CSCO, CTL, DNDN, DTG, F, FOSL, HL, M, MPEL, NWS, OMX, PCLN, PDC, RST, SYNC, THC, TM, TSLA, WEN, WYNN

Cable Companies’ Future is Online (CHTR, CMCSA, TWC, DIS, VZ, T, PCS, LEAP, FTR, NFLX, AAPL)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:08:54 +0000

The line between mobile wireless carriers and cable and satellite TV providers has been blurring for a couple of years and may be on the way to disappearing entirely before too long. The short version of the story is that wireless broadband, heralded by speedy 4G networks, is showing fast subscriber growth, while cable and satellite subscribers are staying away if not actually “cutting the cord.”

We get more evidence of the switchover today from Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR), which reported results this morning including miss on an already awful estimated EPS loss of -$0.57. Charter’s EPS loss came in at -$0.95. The company added a scant 20,000 customers for video in the first quarter compared with 141,000 new customers for Internet service.

As we noted last week in our look at earnings from Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), bundling of services and content is becoming the new way of doing business in the space once dominated by cable providers. For example, Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) and Comcast both have long-term deals with Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) to offer WatchESPN, the online and mobile version of Disney’s ESPN network. The cable providers are hoping that the offer of free mobile content will stem the flow of unsubscribers.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: V) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) also offer high-speed digital content and are working on deals to offer new bundles to customers. Verizon’s attempt to acquire more wireless spectrum in its $3.6 billion deal for SpectrumCo gives the company’s wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless, the opportunity to bundle programming from Comcast and Time Warner Cable along with access to mobile broadband.

The cable providers, in turn, are able to offer a bundle to their customers that now includes Verizon’s high-speed mobile broadband. It should be no surprise that smaller carriers like MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS), Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), and Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) are struggling.

Research firm Convergence Consulting recently released studies on broadcast and cable TV and bundling. Between 2000 and 2009, cable TV subscriber additions averaged 2 million a year. In 2010 additions totaled 272,000 and in 2011 additions totaled just 112,000. The firm estimates that 2.65 million cable subscribers “cut the cord” between 2008 and 2011, choosing instead to rely on “over-the-top” services from Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and others. By the end of this year, the firm estimates there will be 3.58 million cord cutters.

Convergence Consulting estimates that the audience for free online/mobile viewing has plateaued at 19% of all TV viewing. But that seems low, especially in light of the cross-licensing deals between the wireless carriers and the content providers like Disney and the cable networks.

The other thing that could raise that plateau is another technological wonder from Cupertino. Rumors of an “insanely great” Internet TV box from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) have been rampant for months, if not years. There are already several options available for these ‘over-the-top’ boxes, but if Apple were to come up with a killer piece of hardware, the ground could shift in a hurry.

Of course the TV and movie industries have learned from the music industry that Apple drives a hard bargain, and they can’t let themselves give up currently large broadcast revenues in exchange for much smaller online sales. What Apple should hope for is that a game-changing device with one or two significant content partners will convince consumers to force the rest of the media moguls to toe the line.

The transition from wired high-speed broadband connections to wireless connections is just starting. There are lots of different companies involved and the one or two with the deepest pockets or that are able to discern what the future holds will prosper. As for the rest, who knows?

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Cable Companies, Earnings, Entertainment, Internet, Telecom, TV, Wireless Tagged: AAPL, cable and wireless bundling, CHTR, CMCSA, DIS, featured, FTR, LEAP, NFLX, over the top programming, PCS, T, TWC, VZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (FSLR, PEP, PG, ILMN, CCL, ANV, AWR, BBEP, CDE, DISH, LPX, TSN, HFC, CHTR, DMD, HL, OMX, THC, WEN, DIS, VRTX, CTSH, BSFT)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:08:20 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened lower this morning following a weekend of elections in Europe. A new Socialist party president in France and a still very cloudy future in Greece have left investors in a quandry. We have more coverage here on the French election and here on the election in Greece. By the last hour of trading, shares had recovered nearly all of the early losses and the three major indexes are either slightly positive or on the way to positive territory. The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.09% at 79.573. The GSCI commodity index is down about -2.3% at 653.60, with commodities mixed on the slightly stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed down -0.6% at $97.94/barrel and Brent crude trades down -0.08% at $113.09/barrel. Gold settled down -0.4% today, at $1,639.10/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 30 points to 13,008.53 (-0.23%), the NASDAQ rose less than 2 points (0.05%) to 2,957.76, and the S&P 500 rose 0.48% or less than 1 point to 1,369.58.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) cut to ‘neutral’ at Argus; Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP) raised to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley; Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) raised to ‘outperform’ with a price target of $55 at Credit Suisse; and Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Allied Nevada Gold Corp. (AMEX: ANV) is down about -10% at $25.59 after posting a new 52-week low of $25.37 earlier today; American States Water Co. (NYSE: AWR) is up 3.6% at $37.09; Breitburn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: BBEP) is down -2.4% at $17.54; Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE) is down -4.1% at $18.99 after posting a new 52-week low of $18.71; Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) is down -0.93% at $31.02; Louisiana Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX) is up 5.9% at $9.49; Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is up 3.4% at $18.65; and HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC) is down -2.4% at $28.82 (more coverage here).

On Tuesday we are scheduled to get earnings from Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR), Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD), Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL), OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX), Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC), The Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN), and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) is up about 55% at $58.05. The company’s cystic fibrosis drug study showed significant positive results. More coverage here.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH) is down more than -XX% at $XX. The IT-outsourcing firm showed good results, but guidance was weak. More coverage here.

BroadSoft Inc. (NASDAQ: BSFT) is down -17.6% at $33.68. The communications software maker posted good earnings, but followed that with soft guidance for the second quarter.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher are giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:30 a.m. – NFIB Small 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: ANV, AWR, BBEP, BSFT, CCL, CDE, CHTR, CTSH, DIS, DISH, DMD, FSLR, HFC, HL, ILMN, LPX, OMX, PEP, PG, THC, TSN, VRTX, WEN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, NEM, DNDN, CHTR, APOL, COST, PCLN, HFC, AZO, CRZO, DPZ, ODP, SAFM, RDC, TECD, YRCW, ALIM, TBET, SUMR, PEIX, CECO)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:14:49 +0000

Stocks started the day nearly flat before turning down on a poor report on US durable goods orders (more coverage here) and a slide in the Case-Shiller home price index (more coverage here). The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index came in much stronger than expected, however, and all the indexes had turned positive by mid-morning (more coverage here). The tech sector, led by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which posted a new 52-week high over $543/share, carried the rest of the market higher. Crude oil was lower today, with WTI crude lower by -1.9% at $106.55/barrel and Brent crude down -1.92% at $121.79/barrel. Gold settled up 0.8% at $1,788.40/ounce, the yellow metal’s highest close since more than three months.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 24 points to 13,005.12 (0.18%), the NASDAQ rose more than 20 points (0.69%) to 2,986.76, and the S&P 500 rose 0.34% or nearly 5 points to 1,372.18.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) cut to ‘hold’ at TD; Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) maintained as ‘neutral’ but target price cut to $13 at Credit Suisse; Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) maintained as ‘outperform’ and target price raised from $60 to $74 at Credit Suisse; Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; and Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) started as ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) is up nearly 7% at $632.78 after posting a new 52-week high of $637.88 earlier today (more coverage here); HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC) is down -3.7% at $31.91 (more coverage here); Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) is up 2.7% at $375.94 after posting a new 52-week high of $377.78; Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) is down -0.5% at $27.47; Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) is up nearly 16% at $38.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $38.90 earlier today (more coverage here); Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) is up nearly 19% at $3.58; Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) is down -1.5% at $48.72; Rowan Companies Inc. (NYSE: RDC) is down -6% at $36.20; TechData Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD) is down -6.7% at $53.62; and YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is down -13% at $10.31.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Alimera Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ALIM) is up about 76% at $4.06. The eyecare drug maker received a positive outcome from a European regulatory body for its ILUVIEN treatment.

Tibet Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: TBET) is up 14% at $1.71. The drug maker is being taken private by its CEO and chairman for $3/share.

Summer Infant Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMR) is up nearly 25% at $5.98. The maker of branded juvenile products announced better than expected earnings this morning.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is down more than -26% at $1.19. The ethanol maker’s reported earnings fell short of expectations. More coverage here.

Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ: CECO) is down more than -18% at $9.17. The for-profit education company posted a weak earnings report this morning.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher, and Philadelphia Fed president Charles Plosser are giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
8:30 a.m. – US GDP
9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
2:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Beige Book
3:00 p.m. – Farm prices

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AAPL, ALIM, APOL, AZO, CECO, CHTR, COST, CRZO, DNDN, DPZ, HFC, NEM, ODP, PCLN, PEIX, RDC, SAFM, SUMR, TBET, TECD, YRCW

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APOL, CHTR, COST, DNDN, RAIL, GPC, GMCR, HST, INFY, NEM, NOK, PCLN, TTM, USG, WSH)

Administrator — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:15:06 +0000

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

Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) Maintained Outperform but raised target to $74 from $60 at Credit Suisse.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) Started as Perform at Oppenheimer.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Maintained Neutral but cut target to $13 at Credit Suisse.
FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Infosys Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) Cut to Neutral at Janney.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) Cut to Hold at TD.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $790 from $710 at Credit Suisse.
Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
USG Corporation (NYSE: USG) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Willis Group Holdings, Plc (NYSE: WSH) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls of the week, 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: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: APOL, CHTR, COST, DNDN, GMCR, GPC, HST, INFY, NEM, NOK, PCLN, RAIL, TTM, USG, WSH

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (SHLD, IPG, DNKN, AEP, URI, AES, BCPC, CHTR, CTB, EP, LOW, KWK, RIG, VRX, ATPG, CQP, DNDN, IMI, MVIS)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:07:45 +0000

Stocks opened down this morning following on weakness in Europe following the G20’s refusal to provide additional funding to the IMF. But at the end of the first hour of trading, a good report on pending US home sales seemed to tip traders to the buy side. With about half an hour to go today, all major indexes are higher and the DJIA looks set to close above 13,000. Crude oil was lower today with WTI crude finished lower by -1.1% at $108.56/barrel, and Brent crude is trading down -1.06% at $124.14/barrel. Gold settled down -0.1% at $1,774.90/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 1.5 points to 12,981.51 (-0.01%), the NASDAQ rose more than 2 points (0.08%) to 2,966.16 and the S&P 500 rose 0.14% or nearly 2 points to 1,367.59.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Sears Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) maintained as ‘underperform’ at Credit Suisse; Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) started as ‘buy’ at Citgroup; American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) raised to ‘buy’ at Jefferies; and United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) started as ‘buy’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: The AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) is down -0.51% at $13.73; Balchem Corp. (NASDAQ: BCPC) is down about -17% at $29.52 after posting a new 52-week low of $29.35 earlier; Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) is up 0.2% at $63.55 after posting a new 52-week high of $64.39 earlier this morning; Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: CTB) is up nearly 14% at $17.81; El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) is up 1.8% at $27.65, a new 52-week high; Lowes Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is up 0.83% at $27.39; Quicksilver Resources Inc. (NYSE: KWK) is down -5.8% at $5.73; Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) is up 5.34% at $53.44; and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) is up 5.6% at $50.62.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. (NASDAQ: ATPG) is up nearly 20% at $8.63. The independent oil & gas company reported a fourth successful well at its Telemark Hub project.

Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (AMEX: CQP) is up about 14% at $23.80 after posting a new 52-week high of $24.21 earlier. The liquefied natural gas company announced an investment from Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX). More coverage here.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is down more than -20% at $11.83. The drug maker reported lower-than-expected revenues this morning. More coverage here.

Intermolecular Inc. (NASDAQ: IMI) is down more than -15% at $6.31 after posting a new 52-week low of $6.02. The semiconductor equipment and materials company’s stock is likely reacting to the bankruptcy filing by Japanese chipmaker Elpida.

Microvision Inc. (NASDAQ: MVIS) is down more than -16% at $3.28. The laser display company reported very poor earnings this morning.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve governor Elizabeth Duke and Cleveland Fed president Sandra Pianalto are giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
9:00 a.m. – S&P Case-Shiller housing price index
10:00 a.m. – Conference Board consumer confidence index
10:00 a.m. – Richmond Fed manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – State Street investor confidence index
11:30 a.m. – 4-week Treasury bill auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AEP, AES, ATPG, BCPC, CHTR, CQP, CTB, DNDN, DNKN, EP, IMI, IPG, KWK, LOW, MVIS, RIG, SHLD, URI, VRX

Top 10 Earnings Previews For Early This Coming Week (CHTR, DNDN, LOW, PCLN, AZO, EP, FSLR, TECD, RIG, VSI)

Administrator — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:20:17 +0000

Earnings season is mostly behind us, but we do have some sector-moving earnings next week. For Monday, the top earnings are from Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR), Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN), Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), and priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN). Tuesday’s top earnings for traders will be from the following: AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO), El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), and Vitamin Shoppe Inc. (NYSE: VSI).

We have compiled earnings estimates using Thomson Reuters consensus targets and have added color if applicable.

Monday, February 27

Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) has estimates of -$0.32 EPS and $1.83 billion in revenue. Shares hit a new post-restructuring high on Friday and are up over 50% from the 52-week lows.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) has estimates of -$0.23 EPS and $119.8 million in revenue. Shares are back up around $15.00, still above the mean consensus target of $12.82 from analysts but still down less than half from its 52-week high and up over 100% from its 52-week low. This is all about the adoption of PROVENGE from doctors and it is expected to be getting back on track. Watch guidance closely. 2102 estimates are -$1.61 EPS on $392.6 million in sales.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) has estimates of $0.24 EPS and $11.34 billion in revenue. Home Depot already laid the path here with earnings. Shares are within 5% or so of a 52-week high after pulling back about $1.00 this last week after Home Depot’s earnings.

priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) has estimates of $5.05 EPS and $968.3 million in revenue. Next quarter estimates are $3.73 EPS and $1.02 billion in sales. This company is now entering the area of its business cycle that analysts are going to be expecting $1 billion in sales per quarter.

Tuesday, February 28

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) has estimates of $4.04 EPS and $1.78 billion in revenue. Another high-priced $300+ stock challenging all-time highs.

El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP) has estimates of $0.29 EPS and $1.35 billion in revenue.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) has estimates of $1.55 EPS and $782.22 million in revenue. For the following quarter the estimates are $0.77 EPS and $789.3 million in sales. For 2012, estimates are for earnings top drop on sales growth of 31% to $3.78 billion. Can you say ‘endless margin compression’ fast enough? Shares are down about 75% or more from the 52-week high.

Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD) has estimates of $1.66 EPS and $7.16 billion in revenue. All technology companies who ship out products to retail and wholesale channels will watching.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) has estimates of $0.21 EPS and $2.32 billion in revenue.

Vitamin Shoppe Inc. (NYSE: VSI) has estimates of $212.67 million in revenue. This one might not sound like much with a $1.26 billion value, but many downstream and upstream companies will be watching.

More previews will be coming for those reports coming Wednesday through Friday after the week gets underway.

As a reminder, some estimates and dates may change or may have already changed.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: AZO, CHTR, DNDN, EP, FSLR, LOW, PCLN, RIG, TECD, VSI

Media Digest (12/20/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT

247wallst — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:20:21 +0000

AT&T (NYSE: T) gives up on its effort to buy T-Mobile. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) wins a patent case over HTC in the smartphone wars. (Reuters)

Olympus will sell shares to Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Fuji Film to help its battered balance sheet. (Reuters)

A new set of loans to the IMF will be set to help struggling EU nations, but the UK did not contribute to the 150 billion euro fund. (Reuters)

In a sign of worsening trouble for the financial firm, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) shares trade below $5. (Reuters)

LightSquared, Falcone’s wireless company, is nearly out of money. (Reuters)

Sony sold 321,000 PlayStation Vitas in its first two days on sale. (Reuters)

A tax increase in the U.S. for 2012 is more likely as Congress wrangles over a budget. (WSJ)

An ITC ruling against HTC may hurt the efforts of Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android. (WSJ)

Google and KKR (NYSE: KKR) will invest in a new solar venture. (WSJ)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) permission to drill in northern Alaska. (WSJ)

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) says its sales growth has improved. (WSJ)

FBI reports show crime dropped for the fourth straight year. (WSJ)

Spain will try to cut its deficit by more than $21 billion next year. (WSJ)

The number two executive at Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Tom Rutledge, leaves for Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR). (WSJ)

Winn-Dixie is taken private by BI-LO for $560 million. (WSJ)

The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) may sell 16 local newspapers. (WSJ)

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) has set plans for online coupons. (WSJ)

China may allow its citizens to invest more overseas. (WSJ)

A new UK plan will make banks and investment houses legally different entities by 2019. (NYT)

Japan will buy a new F-35 fighter jet from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). (FT)

The European Central Bank says contagion remains the greatest risk of the EU financial crisis. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, BAC, CAT, CHTR, COP, CVC, GOOG, KKR, LMT, NYT, PG, SNE, T

Cablevision Remains Too Oversold and a Bargain (CVC, TWC, CMCSA, DTV, CHTR, MSG, AMCX)

Administrator — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:11:24 +0000

Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) is still trading just above the $15.00 mark and its 52-week range is $14.18 to $38.08. The long-term stock chart is a bit misleading because of spin-offs, but the shares remain oversold. Because of its sell-off, Cablevision currently looks cheaper on many metrics compared to Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA), DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) and Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR).

If you just watched the Cablevision stock chart, it would seem as though cable was dying. It is not. Cablevision has been cleaning its books up and it has parted ways with Madison Square Garden and AMC Networks for the most part. Again, those changes skew the stock charts.

We no longer have any serious hope of takeover ambitions resurfacing, but the Dolan family did try to buy it before at much higher prices and that deal was rejected. The current market cap is only $4.3 billion and that does make it capable of a deal if another player wanted to make an offer. A sum-of-the-parts analysis remains “oversold” and this value is solely on the merits of the company on a standalone basis. This one can still slide if the market softens, but this remains underpriced and we think higher prices will be reflected when things normalize.

Dividend and income investors now have an accidentally high-yield of almost 4%. Even after the AMC spin-off, shares fell from $25 to under $15 and the selling was just too harsh for a company that trades at close to 11.5-times 2012 earnings estimates.
Our take is that Cablevision should easily be a $20.00 stock after the dust settles, and that opinion has nothing to do with what Barron’s touted as being worth $30.00 per share in a buyout.

The current $15.00 share price compares to a Thomson Reuters consensus price target of $22.14. Our projection calls for close to 33% gains due to mispricing right now, and our projection is even less than the consensus target and far less than what Barron’s recently published.

This was one of seven oversold picks poised for a comeback which was offered recently to our readers who sign up for our free daily newsletter service. Each morning’s free newsletter is sent by email and includes the top news headlines, shows the top 15 or so analyst upgrades and downgrades, covers activist investor and insider trading, and offer key trading alerts for investors. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Cable Companies, Media, Value Investing Tagged: AMCX, CHTR, CMCSA, CVC, DTV, MSG, TWC

Expected Price Gains for Network and Cable TV Operators (CBS, DIS, CMCSA, TWC, DISH, DTV, VIA, LSTZA, DISCA, CHTR)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:12:27 +0000

There are plenty of challenges facing the network and cable TV industry these day, not the least of which is the growth in streaming video. The well-known troubles of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) to one side for a moment, the market for streaming is growing, while some cable operators are losing subscribers. Broadcast networks with content to license are better placed to profit, while cable operators with their own spectrum might be in the best position of all, at least in the near term.We’re looking today at 10 companies with broadcast or satellite/cable businesses (or both): CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH), DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV), Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA), Liberty Starz Group (NASDAQ: LSTZA), Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA), and Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR).

All data from Yahoo! Finance and current stock prices were gathered about noon today.

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) has a median target price of $31.00 from 22 brokers. Shares are trading today at $25.66, for an implied gain of $5.34, or 21%. CBS’s forward P/E is 11.62 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.6%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $15.99-$29.68, and at today’s price that’s about 60% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 14% below the 52-week high. CBS is scheduled to release third-quarter earnings on Thursday. The consensus EPS estimate is $0.46 on revenue of $3.43 billion. A year ago the company posted sales of about $3.3 billion and last quarter revenue totaled nearly $3.6 billion. There’s room for the share price to rise, but neither the 52-week high nor the target price are endangered in the near term.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) has a median target price of $40.00 from 24 brokers. Shares are trading today at $35.34, for an implied gain of $4.66, or 13%. Disney’s forward P/E is 12.28 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.1%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $28.19-$44.34, and at today’s price that’s about 25% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 20% below the 52-week high. Disney is much more than a distribution channel. Its ability to create compelling content and then license it for further distribution is practically equal to a license to print money. Analysts expect EPS of $0.54 on revenue of $10.36 billion when Disney reports third-quarter earnings next week.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) has a median target price of $30.00 from 24 brokers. Shares are trading today at $23.60, for an implied gain of $6.40, or 27%. Comcast’s forward P/E is 12.35 and the company pays a dividend yield of 1.9%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $19.19-$27.16, and at today’s price that’s about 23% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 13% below the 52-week high. Comcast owns both content and the fat pipes to distribute that content. Because distribution of streaming content is fast becoming a commodity, it’s Comcast’s NBCUniversal media business that will carry Comcast forward. The $30 target price is probably safe for a while, but the company’s 52-week high could be in the sights.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) has a median target price of $85.00 from 22 brokers. Shares are trading today at $62.91, for an implied gain of $22.09, or 35%. Time Warner’s forward P/E is 11.25 and the company pays a dividend yield of 3.1%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $47.89-$79.21, and at today’s price that’s about 31% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 21% below the 52-week high. In its last quarter, Time Warner lost subscribers and posted lower profits. The company believes it will make its forecast annual profit, but warned that advertising was falling. It’s easy for subscribers to drop cable subscriptions in a tight economy, and as the holidays come round, dropping cable service to have a few more bucks to spend on gifts will occur to a lot of viewers.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Cable Companies, Entertainment Tagged: CBS, CHTR, CMCSA, DIS, DISCA, DISH, DTV, LSTZA, TWC, VIA