24/7 Wall St. » CVLT

Unusual Stocks At All-Time Highs (CLB, CLH, CVLT, INTU, LGF, LO, MA, MJN, FIRE)

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:30:34 +0000

We are seeing some surprise moves for all-time high stocks this Wednesday. Some are even moving without the benefit of fresh news.

Core Laboratories NV (NYSE: CLB) almost made it to $125.00 today and shares are still up about 2% as the company is a production enhancer for the petroleum industry.

Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH) is up 6.5% at $69.90 after earnings beat yet again. This one has had a serious run over the last decade and is now a $3.7 billion stock in environmental remediation.

Commvault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) went north of $55.20 today on strength of its data and information management software applications. So much for considering this a buyout candidate at an all-time high trading at about 50-times earnings.

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) is up almost 7% after earnings ahead of tax season as more and more ‘do-it-yourselfers’ are doing their own taxes. The market value here is now $18.2 billion.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: LGF) briefly hit a new all-time high of $12.75 on the day and shares are still positive. This is ahead of the trilogy for The Hunger Games. It looks like Jim Cramer was right here about ultimately heading to $15.00 per share, at least so far.

Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO) was a surprise all-time high above $130 today. It is a tobacco stock worth $17 billion and its dividend is now counted as bout 4.9%.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) continues to win from just being the swipe merchant who wins off of each and every time a consumer has his card swiped at the register. Shares are now over $400.00 and the dividend has a long way to go before drawing in big dividend chasers.

Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) is shocking to see on the list considering that its false alarm over Enfamil being mistakenly put as the cause for infant deaths. The company was cleared of this and it remains a strong player. Shares went over $78.00 today.

Sourcefire, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIRE) is up 22% after a great earnings forecast based upon strong cyber security demand. Shares went over $44.00 today, ap almost 100% from its 52-week low and up from a brief low of $5.00 or so back at the peak of the end of 2008 selling.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Active Trader, Calendar, The Day, Trading Alert Tagged: CLB, CLH, CVLT, FIRE, INTU, LGF, LO, MA, MJN

Rumor Mill Moves Back To Brocade (BRCD, DELL, HPQ, IBM, CVLT, CSCO)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:16:07 +0000

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is running higher on buyout speculation. The move is only about 18 months too late if it is even true. Reuters reported that Brocade has hired Frank Quattrone’s outfit called Qatalyst Partners in November to explore alternatives and that it has several first rounds of interest. The report is of course one of the “people familiar with the situation” and these have a very spotty history between rumor and truth.

If Brocade is in play, investors may want to consider that CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) might be another candidate. As far as who the buyers would be or could be, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) were two such names speculated in the past. Perhaps International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) could be another.

The aim and value is that Brocade is often “The Poor Man’s Version” of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO). With Cisco now going after the data center revenue segment, many of these and other technology outfits could be buyers.

For now, just count this as a rumor. Brocade shares hit the 10% limit halt for a circuit breaker and shares are currently up 8.7% at $5.89. CommVault shares are up 1.2% at $45.97 on the day.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Mergers & Acquisitions, Mergers and Buy Outs, Rumors, Technology, Technology Companies Tagged: BRCD, CSCO, CVLT, DELL, HPQ, IBM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (F, GS, RIMM, HON, ORCL, NKE, ATU, KMX, KBH, SHAW, WAG, DFG, CMFB, WWAY, AMPE, VMW, CVLT)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:11:35 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning on mixed reaction to the $641 billion borrowing spree from the European Central Bank. Technology stocks were weighed down by poor earnings report and uninspired guidance from one of the industry’s biggest players. The DJIA and the S&P 500 finally reached positive territory about half an hour before closing, but the Nasdaq never touched the line. A very large drawdown on US crude oil inventories helped energy stocks post some gains. One hour before trading closes for the day only a half billion shares have traded hands on the NYSE today. The US dollar is slightly stronger against the euro and the Japanese yen, but down slightly against the British pound. WTI crude oil is up more than 1.5% at $98.79/barrel, and Brent crude is up about 1% at $107.78. Gold was down -0.25% at $1,613.50.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 4 points to 12,107.74 (0.03%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 26 points (-0.99%) to 2,577.97, and the S&P 500 rose 0.19% or more than 2 points to 1,243.72.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) started as ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee. Other ratings actions today include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) started as ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) raised from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ with a $16 target price at ThinkEquity; Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $70 target price at Argus; and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity and maintained as ‘buy’ with a lowered target price of $40 at Credit Suisse.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Oracle Corp. is down nearly -11% at $25.98; Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is up nearly 3% at $96.40; Actuant Corp. (NYSE: ATU) is up nearly 9% at $22.61; CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) is down nearly -6% at $29.22; KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is down more than -5% at $7.33; Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is up nearly 17% at $26.45; and Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) is down about -0.5% at $33.34. For more on the ripple effects of Oracle’s weak earnings, see our coverage here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Delphi Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: DFG) is up almost 73% at $43.99 after posting a new 52-week high of $44.00. The insurance and financial services company has agreed to be acquired by Japan’s Tokio Marine for $2.66 billion.

Commercefirst Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: CMFB) is up nearly 71% at $13.25 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.99 earlier today. The Maryland bank holding company is being acquired by Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: SASR) for $24.5 million in stock and cash, or about $13.50/share.

Westway Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWAY) is up nearly 23% at $5.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.60 earlier today. The bulk liquid storage provider has rejected a $6/share unsolicited takeover offer from an unidentified infrastructure investment fund.

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMPE) is down more than -17% at $4.38. The drug company announced the sale of 2.2 million shares in private sale to investors at $4.25/share.

VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is down more than -10% at $76.65. The virtual software company is suffering from Oracle’s weak earnings and guidance.

CommVault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) is down more than -15% at $39.22. The software company is another of Oracle’s victims.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Here are other noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – US Commerce Department GDP report
8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims report
8:30 a.m. – Chicago Federal Reserve national activity index
8:30 a.m. – Bureaus of Economic Analysis corporate profits report
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index
10:00 a.m. – Conference Board leading economic indicators
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas inventory report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply reports

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMPE, ATU, CMFB, CVLT, DFG, F, GS, HON, KBH, KMX, NKE, ORCL, RIMM, SHAW, VMW, WAG, WWAY

Which is a Better M&A Target for Dell: CommVault or Brocade? (DELL, CVLT, BRCD, NTAP)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:31:18 +0000

Are analysts on Wall Street becoming fortune tellers? Or are they trying to force deals for their investment banking departments? Actually, the answer may be “yes” to both questions. It is not that often that we see two research reports from financial analysts calling for one company to make two different acquisitions in a very short period of time. That is exactly what we are seeing in Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). One analyst has recently urged Dell to acquire Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) and then just today came another call for Dell to acquire CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT).

This morning’s call was from ThinkEquity noting that Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) should acquire CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT). The report argues that CommVault’s storage software value is headed north and that Dell is one of its top partners. One key issue is the recent NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) partnership. With Dell’s recent hardware and services focus, CommVault would fit into the former category. It would also bring all of those revenues in-house rather than in partnerships. For whatever it is worth, many investors and analysts have considered CommVault as a takeover candidate. The caveat is that the same logic was there in 2009.

Today’s CommVault speculation came on the same day that Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) was maintained with a “Buy” rating and with a $7.50 objective price target at Canaccord Genuity. Paul Mansky’s report noted, “Although the near-term case for M&A appears less likely (if only due to recent insider trades), we continue to view Brocade as the most viable solution to fill major holes in the product line-up, most notably at Dell.” Mansky’s comments today were more on the fundamental strengths at Brocade today.

It was just two weeks ago that we made odds on a deal discussed by Canaccord Genuity and the reaction was very similar in Brocade at the time. Brocade had been up more than 5% mid-day on that call, and CommVault is up 6.6% at $39.76 mid-day today. The difference is that Brocade shares are now close to 10% lower at $6.41. CommVault shares are down less than 4% from the same period, but that is only because of today’s competing research call.

Unfortunately this is a tie in impact and what would have otherwise been a tie in performance. Maybe Dell should just acquire both companies. CommVault has a $1.75 billion market cap and Brocade has a $3 billion market cap.

Dell has plenty of capital to acquire both companies without issuing a single new share that would add to its $30 billion market cap today. There would even still be enough for Michael Dell to institute a dividend after buying both companies.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Consumer Electronics, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mergers and Buy Outs, PC Companies, Rumors, Technology, Technology Companies Tagged: BRCD, CVLT, DELL, NTAP

Dell M&A: A Take-Under in Data Storage (DELL, CML, HPQ, CVLT, ISLN, EMC, IBM, SAP, ORCL, CSCO)

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:14:47 +0000

How many ways are there to cause a company’s share price to fall -15%? PC maker Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and storage provider Compellent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: CML) may have found a new one. The companies revealed this morning that they were “entered an exclusive agreement” that would allow Dell to acquire Compellent for $27.50/share, or about $900 million. Okay, but Compellent shares closed at $33.65 last night. So, who’s zooming who?

Since August, when Dell made an offer of $18/share to acquire 3Par, shares in data storage companies have taken off. Dell eventually lost 3Par to Hewlett Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), which acquired 3Par for $30/share. Storage companies Compellent, Commvault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT), and Isilon Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLN) saw shares rise dramatically as a result. In mid-November, storage giant EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) then offered to buy Isilon for about $2.5 billion, or $33.85/share. Dell had to do something if it wanted to stay in the game with IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM), SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL), and Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), all of which had made acquisitions in the storage sector to give them the ability to offer complete solutions to business buyers.

Before EMC’s offer, Isilon closed at $26.29. Compellent shares closed at $23.22 that same day. After the EMC announcement, Isilon shares shot up and shares of Compellent continued their steady march upward, making their biggest move earlier this week, jumping more than $5/share on Tuesday on speculation that an offer was forthcoming. Traders could be forgiven for thinking that something north of $33/share was in the offing, given the EMC offer for Isilon.

Wrong. Dell’s offer is based on Compellent’s 30-day moving average, which discounts the $5/share jump after news leaked out that a deal was in the works. Compellent’s shareholders are no doubt already lining up attorneys to file suit in the event the deal goes down at the current offer price.

Dell’s offer may be justified by the flurry of activity surrounding the storage stocks following the bidding war for 3Par. The company does not want to overpay, that’s clear. And there has been no rumor of a competing offer, so if Compellent does in fact want or need to be acquired, this may be their only chance.

Compellent’s most recent balance sheet shows no long-term debt and $26 million in cash. That’s not much cash to grow on, even though operating cash flow topped $8 million in the third quarter. A tie-up with Dell, which has more than $12 billion in cash, could be a good deal for Compellent’s growth plans.

But shareholders are not going to be happy with this initial offer, that’s for sure. Like Dell’s first offer for 3Par, today’s announcement just signals the beginning of the beginning.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Mergers & Acquisitions, Mergers and Buy Outs, Technology, Technology Companies Tagged: CML, CSCO, CVLT, DELL, EMC, HPQ, IBM, ISLN, ORCL, SAP

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALTR, ABFS, CVLT, GDOT, JKS, LYV, MICC, MCP, OXY, PT, SNV, WAT, WERN)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:31:15 +0000

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

Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) Maintained Neutral and $32 target at Gleacher.
Arkansas Best Corp. (NASDAQ: ABFS) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Neutral at UBS.
JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) Cut to Hold at Auriga.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: LYV) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Millicom International Cellular SA (NASDAQ: MICC) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.
Portgual Telecom SA (NYSE: PT) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Synovus Financial Corporation (NYSE: SNV) Raised to Buy at Wunderlich.
Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT) Started as Buy at Auriga.
Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

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: ABFS, ALTR, CVLT, GDOT, JKS, LYV, MCP, MICC, OXY, PT, SNV, WAT, WERN

This Month’s Biggest Index Gains: Dotcom Travel Stocks, Chinese Solar Stocks, and IT Security Stocks

Douglas A. McIntyre — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:43:16 +0000

Three Tickerspy indexes posted substantial gains over the last 30-day period. This month’s biggest index gainers are Dotcom Travel Stocks, Chinese Solar Stocks, and IT Security Stocks.

Dotcom Travel Stocks have gained 22.7% in the past month. The best performing stocks in the sector are priceline.com Incorporated, (NASDAQ: PCLN) up 32.2%, eLong Inc., (NASDAQ: LONG) up 26.9%, and Travelzoo Inc., (NASDAQ: TZOO) up 18.9%.

Chinese Solar Stocks have gained 19.8% in the past month. The best performing stocks in the sector are JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd., (NYSE: JKS) up 75.8%, Trina Solar Ltd., (TSL) up 16.5%, and ReneSola Ltd., (NYSE: SOL) up 15.4%.

IT Security Stocks have gained 15.9% in the past month. The best performing stocks in the sector are ArcSight Inc., (NASDAQ: ARST) up 55.5%, McAfee Inc., (NYSE: MFE) up 42.5%, and CommVault Systems Inc., (NASDAQ: CVLT) up 35.6%.

Filed under: Active Trader, General, HI/LOW Tagged: ARST, CVLT, JKS, LONG, MFE, PCLN, SOL, TSL, TZOO

Over $8 Billion in New Stock Buyback Plans (RL, APEI, DTV, EMN, SWKS, WBMD, ATML, GD, OC, PCL, AUTC, DISCA, FMCN, CVLT, WRB, WMS, VRSN)

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:36:25 +0000

2010 has been called the year of dividend by us, but it seems that share buybacks in earnings season are still alive and well. Of the buybacks we have tracked in various earnings releases or new authorizations this week, we found more than $8 billion had been earmarked for buybacks. That does not even include some smaller plans.

The big buybacks we tracker were as follows, mostly from more recent to earlier in the week: Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL), American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI), DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV), Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN), Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS), WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD), Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML), General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD), Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL), AutoChina International Ltd. (NASDAQ: AUTC), Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA), Focus Media Holding Limited (NASDAQ: FMCN), CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT), W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB), WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE: WMS), and VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN).

There are some of these that were new plans. Some were in addition to existing plans. Some appear to have been voted on earlier and were included in earnings announcements. We have a few of the standout plan announcements listed out below, and then we have a table showing the big plans and the total amount.

American Public Education (NASDAQ: APEI) got crushed after earnings and the amount thrown forward into a buyback may seem insignificant to a market cap north of $550 million. It announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a program to repurchase up to $20 million worth of shares of common stock.

Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL): “The program permits the Company to repurchase $250 million of its shares of Class A Common Stock, subject to market conditions. This amount is in addition to the $319 million available at the end of the first quarter of Fiscal 2011 as part of previously authorized stock repurchase programs, bringing the Company’s total current authorizations to $569 million.”

VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) was included in the earnings report and the company said the Board approved it last week: “the Board of Directors approved an additional authorization for share repurchases of approximately $1.1 billion, which brings the total amount authorized and remaining under the plan to $1.5 billion.”

DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) repurchased $1.72 Billion of company stock in the second quarter and its Board approved an additional $2.0 Billion stock repurchase program.

Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) said its board of directors has approved a stock repurchase program and is authorized to purchase up to $1 billion of its common stock.

General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) authorized management to repurchase up to 10 million shares of the issued and outstanding common stock on the open market, which comes to roughly $635 million in today’s price.

Company	Buyback
Ralph Lauren (RL)	$569,000,000
American Public Education (APEI)	$20,000,000
DIRECTV (DTV)	$2,000,000,000
Eastman Chemical (EMN)	$300,000,000
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS)	$200,000,000
WebMD Health Corp. (WBMD)	$150,000,000
Atmel Corporation (ATML)	$200,000,000
General Dynamics (GD)	$635,000,000
Owens Corning (OC)	$285,000,000
Plum Creek Timber Co. (PCL)	$200,000,000
AutoChina International Ltd. (AUTC)	$55,000,000
Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA)	$1,000,000,000
Focus Media Holding Limited (FMCN)	$300,000,000
CommVault Systems (CVLT)	$66,900,000
W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRB)	$260,000,000
WMS Industries Inc. (WMS)	$300,000,000
VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN)	$1,500,000,000
TOTAL BUYBACK DOLLARS	$8,040,900,000

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Corporate Governance, Dividend, Dividends & Buybacks, Shareholder Issues, Stock Buybacks Tagged: APEI, ATML, AUTC, CVLT, DISCA, DTV, EMN, FMCN, GD, OC, PCL, RL, SWKS, VRSN, WBMD, WMS, WRB

Market Recovery: The Return of M&A in Tech and Telecom (ADCT, TEL, HPQ, ORCL, CIEN, Q, CTL, BRCD, CBB, CVLT, DELL, JDSU, LEAP, PCS, WFR, NOVL, PGI, RSH, TLAB, TDC, OVTI, SYNA)

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:10:13 +0000

The latest and M&A deal in the world of technology and communications came to ADC Telecommunications Inc. (NASDAQ: ADCT) this week, where Tyco Electronics, Ltd. (NYSE: TEL) is paying $12.75 per share in cash for a net price of roughly $1.25 billion. After you have seen small and mid-sized deals come from Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) for 3Com and Palm, Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) for Sun and for Phase Forward, deals from Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) for Nortel’s metro ethernet operations, and even the proposed Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) merger with CenturyTel Inc. (NYSE: CTL), you have to wonder if more and more mergers are coming down the pipe now that the market has stabilized. We wanted to consider some of the routine go-to stocks that keep coming up through time as technology, communications, and telecom merger candidates.

Some names under consideration that have either been rumored to be in deals or which could potentially be in future M&A deals are Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD), Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB), CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU), Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS), MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR), Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL), Premiere Global Services, Inc. (NYSE: PGI), RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH), Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB), Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC), OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), and Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA).

For starters, most of the companies listed as targets here are possible bolt-on mergers rather than super-mergers. Closing a mega-deal by the end of the year that has not been announced is going to be tough, and that likely means that the capital gains and the effects of the old Bush tax rates on capital gains will be either gone or muted in 2011. Businesses today are willing to spend cash for companies that can be easily integrated or that open up new and untapped markets for them. As far as a giant taking on another giant and then having to make divestitures and many layoffs, those deals are far less attractive for companies right now. Then there is the notion of a tougher regulatory approval environment for large mergers that has to be considered.

The list of companies we have provided falls into at least two of three distinct categories. The first category is that the company has been either a target or acquirer and a deal fell through. The second category is that the company has either been rumored to be in a merger or it is a company that is one we have viewed as a shoe-in target for the right acquirer. Lastly, there is the bolt-on deal or at a minimum a tool-box deal to make these easy for a buyer to gobble up.

We have compiled a list of predators and prey here for your review in the technology, telecom, and communications sectors. This list is displayed alphabetically to avoid any ranking issues or any more pointed issues over size and the real chances of a deal coming into play.

One name which used to come up routinely is Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD). This was one of our picks for stocks which could still double, and the buyout thesis for a low-cost provider in networking and storage was a part of why we thought the stock could double. The short-term moves are not working in favor of holders, so it would seem no deal is imminent even if shares are at $5.15.

Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB) is one of the last of the “anything remotely tied to the Bells” stocks, although it has always been its own boss. It is the main telecom player for Cincinnati and its nearby areas located in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, making this a potential bolt-on acquisition for a larger telecom player. It has almost the same exact operational area as its license back to the end of the 1800′s with a 25 mile radius around Cincinnati. The small $615 million market cap would make this a line-item for a buyer, but it is worth noting that both AT&T and Verizon are going to have a harder and harder time under regulatory review in making acquisitions. With shares at $3.06, the 52-week trading range is $2.50 to $3.74.

CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) is on sale due to its disappointing guidance this week. The 21% drop to $18.50 would not likely make any lower-premium buyout more likely to be approved as the 52-week range is $15.60 to $24.51. That recent high is an all-time high though and a Goldman Sachs strategist had this as a potential buyout candidate earlier this year. Its Simpana platform aims to help enterprises manage data growth while cutting costs and adding security via cloud integration, deduplication, recovery, efficiency, virtualization, remote and branch office integration, and more. Valuations are an issue, although the 21% drop leaves a market cap at just about $800 million.

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls, Banking & Finance, Cult Stock, Editor's Picks, Industrials, Industry, Internet, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, Rumors, Semiconductor, Semiconductors, Software, Technology, Technology Companies, Telecom, Telecom & Wireless, Wireless Tagged: ADCT, BRCD, CBB, CIEN, CTL, CVLT, DELL, HPQ, JDSU, LEAP, NOVL, ORCL, OVTI, PCS, PGI, Q, RSH, SYNA, TDC, TEL, TLAB, WFR

Top Day Trader Alerts (AA, CENX, BP, CVLT, MBI, ABK, OREX, SQNM, VVUS)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:58:01 +0000

There are many stocks on the move for day traders and active traders this Tuesday morning now that earnings season has launched. Today’s top alerts are in Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA), Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX), BP plc (NYSE: BP), CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT), MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI), Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK), Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX), Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM), and VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS).

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) is up after beating earnings last night and on a demand increase of 12% versus a earlier expectations of a 10% gain offsetting the price drop in tonnage. Alcoa is up 3.7% at $11.28 on now more than 500,000 shares. Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is on the move as well and up even more because it is NASDAQ and it is deemed more leveraged by some traders. Shares are up 4.9% at $10.06 on light trading volume; average volume on CENX is about 4 million shares per day.

BP plc (NYSE: BP) is up after it installed a new cap over the Gulf well disaster, which still has to be tested. Shares are up almost 3% at $37.84 on strong volume this pre-market session.

CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) is getting crushed this morning after its preliminary earnings report failed to make the grade. Shares are down about 24% at $17.85 on well over 200,000 pre-market shares. The 52-week range is $15.60 to $24.51 and the average volume is about 535,000 shares.

MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) is after Bruce Berkowitz’ Fairholme disclosed a new stake of 11% in the financial guaranty company. This makes a new largest single holder of MBIA. Shares are up a sharp 10.5% at $7.11 on almost 400,000 shares. Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) is the surprise as this was not a Berkowitz pick but is just a troubled competitor rising with the tide (on a leveraged basis). Shares are up over 13% at $0.74 on over 100,000 shares.

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) is up in sympathy with VIVUS, although it does not have any fresh news of its own. Its weight loss pill is expected to be reviewed later in the year. Shares are up almost 10% at $4.55, but volume is much less at under 50,000 shares so far in the pre-market.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is one of the larger drops this morning. Shares are down 5% at $5.37 on over 50,000 shares.

VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is trading higher and will be one to watch for stock and options today and this week on its Qnexa FDA panel review. Options are calling for a huge move in the stock. The company is up on word that its data shows that the pill works, and the counter-measure is that the FDA is asking about its side-effects. Shares are up 16% at $12.40 already on almost 2 million shares.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Active Trader, Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AA, ABK, BP, CENX, CVLT, MBI, OREX, SQNM, VVUS