24/7 Wall St. » CZR

Top Analyst Downgrades and Stocks to Sell: Coke, Carnival, Soda, UBS and More

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:35:47 +0000

Investors often see the analyst upgrades and big buy ratings from Wall Street firms, but they do not always get to see when these firms say to sell or avoid a stock. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls each and every day to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks, and we have broken out the negative analyst calls today. These are this Wednesday’s top analyst downgrades and cautious research notes from Wall Street.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) was cut to Neutral from Buy at HSBC.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was cut to Perform from outperform at Oppenheimer.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.

iGATE Corp. (NASDAQ: IGTE) was cut to Perform from outperform at Oppenheimer.

Joy Global Inc. (NYSE: JOY) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Privatebancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB) was cut to Perform from outperform at Oppenheimer.

Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSE) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Cowen.

SodaStream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) was cut to Perform from outperform at Oppenheimer.

UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) was cut to Underperform from Market Perform at KBW.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on both Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS) with Market Perform ratings.

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls Tagged: CCL, CMA, CZR, DKS, DPS, IGTE, JOY, KO, PVTB, ROSE, SODA, STI, UBS

You Can Play Real-Money Poker Online Again — If You Live in Nevada

Paul Ausick — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:11:30 +0000

The first legal online gambling site in the U.S. launched today, ultimatepoker.com, a majority-owned subsidiary of Station Casinos LLC. In order to play, though, you must be able to prove that you at least 21 years old and live in Nevada. Only Nevada and New Jersey have so far passed legislation allowing real-money gambling online to residents of their respective states.

Online gambling for real money was banned in 2011 in the U.S. but a U.S. appeals court overturned the federal law that banned states from offering online gambling within state borders to residents. Since then, the race has been on.

Real-money gambling went live in the U.K. earlier this month as Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) and partner Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, which is owned by Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD), launched two real-money games.

The real money in the U.S., of course, is not in Nevada or even more populous New Jersey, but in being able to offer real-money gambling across the country. But Nevada, and its 3 million people, could be a proving ground for other online casino games from Boyd, International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI), and Shuffle Master Inc. (NASDAQ: SHFL), all of which already have been granted Nevada licenses to offer real-money online games and Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) and MGM Resorts International Inc. (NYSE: MGM), both of which have also applied.

Of the other contenders, Ceasars is thought to have the inside track with its widely recognized “World Series of Poker” franchise.

Filed under: Casinos, Internet Tagged: BYD, BYI, CZR, featured, IGT, MGM, SHFL, ZNGA

Market Close: Big Winners & Losers for April 23, 2013

Paul Ausick — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:29:51 +0000

Here are today’s five biggest gaining stocks at closing:

Superconductor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SCON) is up 134.9% at $5.45.

MEMSIC Inc. (NASDAQ: MEMS) is up 50.8% at $4.07.

Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) is up 27.3% at $15.90.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up 24.4% at $216.99.

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SCMP) is up 24.1% at $8.46.

And here are today’s five biggest losing stocks at closing:

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: CPRX) is down 13.2% at $0.92.

II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ: IIVI) is down 12% at $14.85.

Universal Business Payment Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: UBPS) is down 11.9% at $3.17.

ARCA Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ABIO) is down 11% at $2.58.

Mecox Lane Ltd. (NASDAQ: MCOX) is down 10.7% at $5.32.

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABIO, CPRX, CZR, IIVI, MCOX, MEMS, NFLX, SCMP, SCON, UBPS

Real-Money Gambling Goes Live

Paul Ausick — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:10:48 +0000

Today’s launch of real-money gambling in the United Kingdom has sent shares of Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) soaring this morning. The anticipated launch in a partnership with Bwin.party Digital Entertainment is viewed as the first step toward a new revenue stream for the social gaming company that has had trouble coming out from under the shadow of its connection to Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB).

Two real betting games, ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino, are being launched as desktop applications today.

The recent adoption of online gambling in Nevada and New Jersey have bolstered hopes that the U.S. Congress will move to legalize real-money games across the United States. Analysts believe that Zynga will wait until online gambling is legalized nationwide before launching any games in the United States.

International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI), Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) and Shuffle Master Inc. (NASDAQ: SHFL) already have received licenses to offer real-money games in Nevada, and Zynga has applied for a Nevada license as well.

Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) and MGM Resorts International Inc. (NYSE: MGM) also applied for Nevada online gambling licenses. Ceasars owns the “World Series of Poker” brand.

Shares of Zynga are up 11% in the first half-hour of trading today, at $3.41 in a 52-week range of $2.09 to $12.90.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Casinos & Hotels, International Markets Tagged: BYD, BYI, CZR, FB, featured, IGT, MGM, SHFL, ZNGA

Companies Paying the Least in Taxes

Douglas A. McIntyre — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:32:37 +0000

As Washington tries to find its way out of increasing debt, the debate continues over whether American companies should pay more or less in taxes. Meanwhile, some of the largest U.S. public corporations paid no taxes at all for 2012. As a matter of fact, several of America’s biggest companies received tax credits that rose into the hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars. Losing money or taking write-downs has become a sort of benefit for several well-known corporations.

There are several ways a company can avoid paying taxes. One is simple: The corporation loses large sums of money, and as a by-product it pays no taxes or even gets tax credits. Battered retailer J.C. Penney managed to do that last year.

Click here to see the companies paying the least in taxes

Click here to see the companies paying the most in taxes

Another way to get federal tax benefits is through huge fines, mostly for illegal behavior, or behavior the government claims is illegal. Bank of America was able to do that as it paid billions of dollars in penalties for its misdeeds, particularly in its mortgage divisions.

Yet another set of circumstance that can get a company tax benefits and prevent the payment of taxes entirely might be called “acts of god.” Financial results of both Verizon and Caesars were badly hurt by Hurricane Sandy. As a result, accounting rules allowed them to take write-offs or losses.

The debate over whether American companies should be able to pay less than the 35% corporate tax has gone on for years, and may continue in the years ahead. High tax rates, some experts argue, help lower the national debt. Other experts believe that low tax rates free up capital, which allows companies to invest in plants and equipment and to add jobs.

The debate aside, several huge U.S. companies managed to dodge the tax man completely.

To identify the companies that pay the least in taxes, that is those with the lowest taxes and the largest tax provision from the government, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed corporate tax payments for the top 150 companies by revenue. Included in our analysis were company financials, including income, employee count and earnings before taxes. These were either provided by Capital IQ, or obtained by 24/7 Wall St. reviews of SEC filings or financial statements. All data, including taxes paid, are for 2012, or the most recent complete fiscal year.

These are the companies paying no taxes.

Filed under: Special Report Tagged: AAPL, AEE, ANR, BAC, CZR, DHI, featured, GM, JCP, LCC, LEA, MGM, VOD, VZ, WYNN

Nevada Online Gambling Law Juices Stocks (ZNGA, FB, IGT, BYI, BYD, WMS, SHFL, CZR, MGM, MPEL)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:15:07 +0000

We noted last Friday the impact on some stocks following Nevada’s enactment of legislation permitting online gambling in the state. Now a state with just 3 million people is not likely to pile up the profits for companies lining up to get into the game, but part of the state’s law allows state regulators to enter compacts with other states, essentially opening gambling to the rest of the country.

One notable beneficiary of the bill signing is Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA), which rose about 7.5% on Friday and is up another 13% so far today. Zynga’s for-fun casino games attract millions of daily users at Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). Other firms that have put a stake in the ground on online gambling, including International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI), Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD), WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE: WMS) and Shuffle Master Inc. (NASDAQ: SHFL), are missing today’s run-up so far. Bally, IGT and Shuffle Master already have received licenses to operate online gambling in Nevada and Zynga applied for a license in February.

Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) is up about 4% so far today, likely on the strength of its “World Series of Poker” brand. The casino operator and MGM Resorts International Inc. (NYSE: MGM) have already applied for online gaming licenses in Nevada. IGT acquired game developer Double Down Interactive in January of 2012, and Boyd has invested in another game maker, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) has paired up with Poker Stars to open a live poker room in Melco’s City of Dreams casino in Macau. Extending that relationship to an online venture in the U.S. would not be a big stretch.

Zynga sucks most of the air out of any move that appears to extend real-money gambling to the Internet in the United States. But there are other ponies in the race too.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Casinos & Hotels Tagged: BYD, BYI, CZR, FB, featured, IGT, MGM, MPEL, SHFL, WMS, ZNGA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 8, 2013: Markets Start Higher, Hold on to Gains (DIS, CS, ARMH, BIIB, DFS, ATVI, CSTR, LNKD, RVBD, SPWR, AOL, APO, MCO, CCJ, L, NAT, WPP, ZNGA, ONCY, CZR)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:03:41 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning boosted by higher-than-expected trade balances in China (more coverage here) and in the U.S. (more coverage here). In Europe the big news came later in the morning, with an agreement on the smaller European Union budget supported by U.K. Prime Minister Cameron (more coverage here). In Asia, the Chinese trade data was skewed by an extra five working days in January due to a later lunar New Year. U.S. equities posted early gains and held on to those gains through the day.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.09% today, now at 80.264. The GSCI commodity index is down about 0.3% at 674.01, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed down 0.1% today, at $95.72 a barrel, and post a drop of 2.1% for the week. Brent crude trades up 1.5% at $118.79 a barrel, opening spread of $22 between WTI and Brent prices. Natural gas is down 0.3% today at about $3.28 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.3% today at $1,666.90 an ounce, finishing the week down 0.2%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 48 points to 13,992.13 (0.34%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 29 points (0.91%) to 3,193.87, and the S&P 500 rose 0.56% or more than 8 points to 1,517.88.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $65 at Argus; Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) raised to ‘buy’ with a target price of $167 at Citigroup; and Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) raised to ‘outperform’ and target price raised to $47 at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is up 11.3% at $13.42 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.94 earlier today; Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is down 6.8% at $48.54 (more coverage here); LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) is up 21.7% at $151.05, a new all-time high (more coverage here); Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is down 18% at $16.48; SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) is down 6.1% at $7.89 (more coverage here); AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is up 7.8% at $33.86 (more coverage here); Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO) is up 3.3% at $22.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $23.88 earlier today; and Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) is down 8.6% at $42.97 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear from Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ), Loews Corp. (NYSE: L), Nordic American Tankder Ltd. (NYSE: NAT), and Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE: WPP).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is up 12.3% at $3.47. The social game company continues to rise after pounding estimates earlier this week. The key for long-term growth remains Internet gambling, and that might be getting a bit closer.

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) is up 21.9% at $4.35. The Canada-based biotech firm got a positive result in a Phase II study of its lung cancer drug. More coverage here.

Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) is up 38.4% at $13.94. The casino operator will get a significant share price boost if New Jersey approves online gambling. The governor vetoed an online gambling bill today, but asked for changes that would be acceptable to him.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AOL, APO, ARMH, ATVI, BIIB, CCJ, CS, CSTR, CZR, DFS, DIS, featured, L, LNKD, MCO, NAT, ONCY, RVBD, SPWR, WPP, ZNGA

Nevada Gambling Revenues Rise Slightly in October

Paul Ausick — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:02:39 +0000

In its latest report on gambling revenues in the state, the Nevada Gaming Commission said that total revenue for October 2012 came in at $979 million, up 1.9% compared with October 2011. The Las Vegas Strip accounted for more than half of the state’s revenue, with an October total of $581 million, up 3.6% from October 2011.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN), and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) have posted either a modest loss for the past month or, in the case of MGM, an 8% gain. Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) is up 37% in the same month, even though the company still labors under a mountain ($20 billion) of debt.

Over the past 12 months, the story is significantly differ, at least for Ceasar’s, which is down 53%. MGM shows a share price gain of about 4% for the past 12 months, while Wynn is down about 3% and Las Vegas Sands is down about 4%.

Revenue to the state of Nevada has dropped from $1 billion in July, and is up 4.6% statewide. Revenue from the Strip was up 7.4% in October, comparable to a rise of 7.9% in Macau.The revenue base from Macau, however, is expected to be six times larger than 2012 revenue in Las Vegas.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Casinos & Hotels Tagged: CZR, featured, LVS, MGM, WYNN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — November 1, 2012: Markets Pick Up Some Steam Today (NFLX, TWX, JCP, RVBD, CMVT, ALL, CZR, HTZ, MUR, APA, EXC, XOM, HCA, RGLD, RATE, CHK, FLR, GDOT, LVS, PCLN, SBUX, YELP, CVX, HES, MHP, OZM, RL, KSWS, ZUMZ, RIMM)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:04:41 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher following a spate of moderately good news on U.S. employment. The ADP report showed job gains (more coverage here), and the report on new claims for unemployment benefits came in a bit lower than expected (more coverage here). Tomorrow’s non-farm payroll report is probably the most eagerly anticipated data point in some time, given its potential impact on next week’s presidential election. In Asia, Chinese PMI ticked up for the first time in three months (more coverage here), lifting Asian markets. In Europe, the U.K.’s PMI reading was lower than expected, but Britain’s housing prices have strengthened slightly.

The U.S. dollar index rose today, now up 0.18% at 80.059. The GSCI commodity index is up less than 0.1% at 637.74, with commodities prices mixed again today. WTI crude oil is up about 1% today, at $87.09 a barrel, following a decline in U.S. crude stocks (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 0.6% at $108.05 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.2% today at about $3.70 per thousand cubic feet, following an inline inventory build (more coverage here). Gold closed at $1,715.50 an ounce, down about 0.2% for the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 135 points to 13,231.39 (1.03%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 43 points (1.44%) to 3,020.06, and the S&P 500 rose 1.09% or about 15 points to 1,427.59.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) cut to ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer; Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) reiterated as ‘outperform’ and target price raised to $53 at Credit Suisse; J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) maintained as ‘buy’ with a target price of $35 at Argus; Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) raised to ‘buy’ at Cantor Fitzgerald; and Comverse Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) cut to ‘sector perform’ at RBC.

Earnings reports since last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) is down 3% at $38.79; Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) is up 0.7% at $5.83; Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) is up 1.7% at $13.50; Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE: MUR) is down less than 0.1% at $59.95; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is down 1.1% at $81.82 (more coverage here); Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) is down 5.9% at $33.66 (more coverage here); Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is up 0.3% at $91.41 (more coverage here); HCA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HCA) is up 5.8% at $30.06; and Royal Gold Inc. (NYSE: RGLD) is up less than 0.1% at $88.18.

Before markets open tomorrow we are scheduled to hear from Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR), Green Dot Corp. (NYSE: GDOT), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN), Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX), Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES), McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. (NYSE: MHP), Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE: OZM), and Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

K-Swiss Inc. (NASDAQ: KSWS) is up 34.7% at $3.07. The footwear company beat EPS estimates this morning and raised its fourth quarter outlook for revenues.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is down 16% at $21.27. The clothing retailer posted weak earnings last night and lowered guidance. We have more coverage of October retail sales here.

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is up 9.8% at $8.70. The mobile device maker has been rising for two days on what could be just short covering. More coverage here.

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

8:30 a.m. – Employment report
10:00 a.m. – Factory orders

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ALL, APA, CHK, CMVT, CVX, CZR, EXC, FLR, GDOT, HCA, HES, HTZ, JCP, KSWS, LVS, MHP, MUR, NFLX, OZM, PCLN, RATE, RGLD, RIMM, RL, RVBD, SBUX, TWX, XOM, Yelp, ZUMZ

Ceasars’ Huge Loss Doesn’t Hit Shares After-Hours

Paul Ausick — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:56:53 +0000

Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) reported third-quarter 2012 results after markets closed today. For the quarter, the casino and resort owner posted a diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $4.03 on revenues of $2.2 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported an EPS loss of $1.31 on revenues of $2.2 billion. Third-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for an EPS loss of $1.12 and $2.25 billion in revenues.

The company took intangible and tangible non-cash asset impairment charges of $419 million in the quarter, which the company said resulted primarily “from changes in the business outlook in light of economic conditions.” Yesterday the company said it planned to abandon its plans to build a new casino and resort on the Chinese island of Macau.

The company’s CEO said:

As we enter the fourth quarter, we remain focused on increasing revenues, strengthening our capital structure, investing in growth opportunities in new markets, increasing our brand recognition and controlling expenses.

The company did not offer any guidance, but the consensus estimates for the fourth quarter call for an EPS loss of $1.43 on revenues of $2.15 billion. For the full-year the consensus estimates call for an EPS loss of $5.76 on revenues of $8.86 billion.

Ceasars plans to complete the sale of its St. Louis property for $610 million and will use the proceeds to “reinvest in our core properties and invest in growth opportunities.”

It’s difficult to find a bright spot in today’s results. About the only good news is that property EBITDA rose 3% compared with the year-ago quarter.

Ceasars’ shares are trading flat after hours, at $5.79 in a 52-week range of $5.69 to $17.90. The low was set before markets closed today. The consensus target price for the shares was around $9.20 before today’s report.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Casinos & Hotels, China, Earnings Tagged: CZR