24/7 Wall St. » CMVT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, ESRX, GG, NFLX, SLB, CMVT, ISCA, FRS, TISI, MIND, MON, AYI, HEAT, FSLR, VRNG, AONE, MRGE, CONN)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:06:50 +0000

Markets opened flat to lower this morning and stayed right around the break-even line most of the morning. The report on factory orders was weaker than expected(our coverage here), although new car sales are up sharply (our coverage here). The minutes of the FOMC’s March meeting quelled for now any thoughts of additional easing, and sent all three major indexes sharply lower (our coverage here). The US dollar index rose sharply today, now up 0.81% at 79.460. Commodities were mixed on the stronger dollar, with cocoa falling the most and cotton also down (our coverage here). WTI crude oil closed down -1.2% at $104.01/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -0.48% at $124.83/barrel. Gold settled down -0.5% today, at $1,672.00/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 65 points to 13,199.55 (-0,49%), the NASDAQ fell more than 6 points (-0.20%) to 3,113.57, and the S&P 500 fell -0.41% or nearly 6 points to 1,413.29.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) started as buy at Auriga and target raised to $715 at Morgan Stanley; Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) started as ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) started as ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) cut to ‘equal weight’ at Barclays; and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Comverse Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) is down -6.4% at $6.41; International Speedway Corp (NASDAQ: ISCA) is down -0.14% at $28.31; and Frisch’s Restaurants Inc. (AMEX: FRS) is down -0.04% at $27.29. After markets close today we get earnings from Team Inc. (NYSE: TISI) and Mitcham Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: MIND) markets. Before markets open tomorrow we’ll get earnings from Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) and Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

SmartHeat Inc. (NASDAQ: HEAT) is up 93% at $5.29. The Chinese maker of heat exchangers reported weak earnings, but promised to cut costs and do better. More coverage here.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down about -8% at $22.56 after posting a new 52-week low of $22.42 earlier today. The solar panel maker is simply dying a slow death. More coverage here.

Vringo Inc. (AMEX: VRNG) is up 5.8% at $3.28 after posting a new 52-week high of $4.05 earlier today. The ringtone company is merging with a patent protection firm and this is the second day in a row that shares have posted a new high. Here’s our story from yesterday.

A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is down more than -16% at $0.85, the second consecutive day for the shares to put up a new 52-week low. The battery maker is still getting walloped over a recall and its relationship with Fisker Automotive. Here’s our story from yesterday.

Merge Healthcare Inc. (NASDAQ: MRGE) is down more than -16% at $4.95. The healthcare kiosk provider has agreed to sell $2.75 million worth of kiosks to a company controlled by Merge’s chairman.

Conn’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) is up about 14.5% at $18.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $19.75. The regional electronics retailer busted through earnings expectations.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. San Francisco Fed President John Williams is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers’ Association purchase applications
7:30 a.m. – Challenger Gray & Christmas layoff report
8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, AONE, AYI, CMVT, CONN, ESRX, FRS, FSLR, GG, HEAT, ISCA, MIND, MON, MRGE, NFLX, SLB, TISI, VRNG

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AMZN, GRPN, RIO, TXN, GM, DDMG, CLRO, GPN, CMVT, ISCA, VRNG, WG, KERX, PNCL)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:05:23 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning but managed to recover fairly quickly following a report on robust manufacturing growth (our coverage here). The report on construction spending came in weaker than expected (our coverage here). The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.22% at 78.831. Commodities were mixed on the weaker dollar, with corn and soybeans rising and wheat falling. WTI crude oil closed up about 2.2% at $105.23/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 2.08% at $125.44/barrel. Gold settled up 0.5% today, at $1,679.70/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 52 points to 13,264.49 (0.40%), the NASDAQ rose more than 28 points (0.91%) to 3,119.70, and the S&P 500 rose 0.74% or more than 10 points to 1,418.89.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) cut to ‘sell’ at Stifel Nicolaus and cut to ‘neutral’ with a $20 target price at BofA/ML; Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) cut to ‘neutral’ at UBS; and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) started as ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Digital Domain Media Group Inc. (NYSE: DDMG) is down -1.6% at $5.60; ClearOne Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRO) is down -5.4% at $4.26; and Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is down -4.2% at $45.49. Before markets open tomorrow we’ll get earnings from Comverse Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) and International Speedway Corp (NASDAQ: ISCA).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Groupon is down more than -16% at $15.31. The internet coupon company is restating earnings again. More coverage here and here.

Vringo Inc. (AMEX: VRNG) is up more than 84% at $3.04 after posting a new 52-week high of $3.09 earlier today. The ringtone company is merging with a patent protection firm. More coverage here.

Willbros Group Inc. (NYSE: WG) is up nearly 23% at $3.98. The oil & gas construction company had good news and bad news this morning. More coverage here.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX) is down more than -64% at $1.78 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.63 earlier. The drug company’s colorectal cancer treatment failed a trial. More coverage here.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) is down nearly 51% at $0.67 after posting a new 52-week low of $0.50 earlier. The US air carrier has filed for bankruptcy protection. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Automakers will be reporting March sales throughout the day. San Francisco Fed President John Williams is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week bill auctions
4:30 – FOMC minutes released

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Analyst Calls, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMZN, CLRO, CMVT, DDMG, GM, GPN, GRPN, ISCA, KERX, PNCL, RIO, TXN, VRNG, WG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BRCM, EAT, CMVT, CTCT, NLST, NVDA, CRM)

Administrator — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:29:17 +0000

Analysts have very selective calls this Friday the 13th. Some of this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls are as follows:

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late Thursday call).
Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Comverse Technology (CMVT) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Constant Contact, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT) Started as Buy at Needham.
Netlist Inc. (NASDAQ: NLST) Started as Buy at Roth Capital.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) maintained Hold at Needham; maintained Neutral at Gleacher.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Started as Hold at Needham.

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: BRCM, CMVT, CRM, CTCT, EAT, NLST, NVDA

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (ACAS, BSX, CMVT, FSS, HPY, MRT, NENG, OTEX, RRI, RUTH)

247wallst — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 06:50:10 +0000

These are some of the downgrades and cautious analyst calls we are seeing this Wednesday morning:

American Capital (ACAS) Cut To Underweight from Neutral By JP Morgan.
Boston Scientific (BSX) Cut to Underperform at Merrill Lynch.
Comverse Tech (CMVT) Cut to Sell at Canaccord.
Federal Signal Corp. (FSS) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Heartland Payment Systems (HPY) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Morton’s Restaurant (MRT) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Network Engines (NENG) Cut Hold at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Open Text (OTEX) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
Reliant Energy (RRI) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Ruth’s Hospitality (RUTH) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.

Jon C. Ogg
October 1, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ACAS, BSX, CMVT, FSS, HPY, MRT, NENG, OTEX, RRI, RUTH

Early-Bird Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CDNS, BEAT, CMVT, HSY, IM, LMNX, MAN, RHI, TWGP, WDFC)

247wallst — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:20:22 +0000

These are not all of the early calls from analysts out there, but these are some of the calls that may impact the prices of these shares this summer Monday morning:

Cadence Design (CDNS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
CardioNet (BEAT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.

Comverse Tech (CMVT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Hershey Co. (HSY) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Imgram Micro (IM) Cut to Neutral at B of A.
Luminex (LMNX) Cut to Market Perform at Thomas Weisel.
Manpower (MAN) Cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
Robert Half (RHI) Cut to Underweight at Lehman.
Tower Group (TWGP) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
WD-40 Co. (WDFC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
August 18, 2008

Early-Bird Analyst Downgrades (CMVT, CTRP, GET, DNA, HAR, JNJ, PTRY, WDFC)

247wallst — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:13:09 +0000

These are some of the early analyst calls we are seeing early this Friday morning:

Comverse Technology (CMVT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Ctrip.com (CTRP) Cut estimates and maintained Buy but target cut 1/3 to $53 by Citigroup.
Gaylord Entertainment (GET) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Genentech (DNA) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Harman (HAR) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
J&J (JNJ) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Pantry (PTRY) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
WD-40 (WDFC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
August 15, 2008

Comverse Tech (CMVT) Shares No Longer Care About the Kobi Alexander Nimibia Scandal

247wallst — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:33:27 +0000

As pressure remains on Comverse Tech’s (CMVT) ex-CEO and current fugitive Kobi Alexander to be extradited from Nimibia, you might wonder why shares of the ex-high-flyer have stayed toward the higher-end of a trading band. Shares have spent most of the last year bumping back and forth between an $18.00 to $23.00 range with brief time periods outside of it (including today with a $23.05 high). This looks like the past is staying a press scandal rather than shareholders feeling there will be more corporate scandals ahead.

The company has been very delinquent filings that it trades on the pink sheets. But what is amazing is that while the press scandal is being touted in the media with much more fervor this week, shares are still up more than 10% in the last 3-months and up 35% from the 52-week lows. Law firms are suing Kobi Alexander and the company, and the government wants Kobi Alexander back. Yet mysteriously shares are holding up. Sure, shares are down from the highs of the last two-years, but are up more than 200% from the 5-year lows. Compared to the tech bubble days, you don’t even want to know how far down the shares are.

Inside the company, it just completed a smaller merger. It is expected that there will be layoffs. The company is still signing contracts. It brought in new management with a new CEO (former AT&T Wireless multimedia head) and appointed outside directors. Its former senior general counsel was sentenced to a year and a day in jail last month. Some even think the company could be broken up after the issues are resolved.

But even when a ‘real’ financial position cannot be easily evaluated, it’s hard not to think that the company will easily survive and move on, and that at least some feel there is value inside the vortex. Otherwise shares would be putting in new lows day after day instead of hanging up here. While compiling this earlier, it looks like Mr. Alexander’s hearing has been further delayed until June 25th. It looks like many investors are able to discern the difference between a past scandal and a perceived crisis. At least that is what the tape is saying.

Jon C. Ogg
June 8, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.