24/7 Wall St. » EBAY

UBS Issues List of Stocks to Buy: Growth at a Reasonable Price

Lee Jackson — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:20:24 +0000

The research team at UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) has released what Wall Street calls a Q-GARP list, which is simply “quality growth at a reasonable price.” Most investors will know this by GARP, growth at a reasonable price. The UBS list is constructed using an initial quantitative screen of stocks based on: 1) quality metrics — high and stable profitability, 2) growth — high expected earnings growth, and 3) valuation — low valuation relative to peers. The final list is a compilation of quality growth stocks that the analysts at UBS believe are trading at attractive valuations.

In a recently released report, the Q-GARP team adds three new names to the list and presented some updates and price targets on others already there.

Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) receives an invitation to the UBS list. The company is focused on the development of therapeutics for glaucoma and chronic pain. The UBS price target for this top pharmaceutical name is $115. The Thomson/First Call estimate is also at $115. Investors receive a miniscule 0.2% dividend.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is also a new name to the Q-GARP list of stocks to buy. It is no secret that eBay has one of the most capital-efficient business models in e-commerce. The company has an operating margin of 20.9%. Plus, with the stock essentially flat over the past six months, now may be a great time for investors to take a long look at owning some. The UBS price target is $64, the same as the consensus target.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) wraps up the new names on the list. The company has the advantage of not only selling chips into the smartphone market, it receives extensive royalty payments each year that act to annuitize earnings. The UBS price target for the stock is $76, and the consensus stands at $76.50. Investors also receive a 2.3% dividend.

We screened the Q-GARP list for stocks that had the right metrics and attributes to be on the list, but had not participated as much in the 2013 bull market rally. Here are those top five names to buy.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) has moved recently, but lagged much of the year. The company recently announced that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet will use the Clover tail+ processor from Intel. This is one of the flagship tablets from Samsung and bodes well for Intel’s push into the tablet market. The UBS target is low at $22.50, and looks to be revised soon. The consensus price target for the stock is at $23.25, and investors receive a 3.8% dividend.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) also has traded flat for most of this year. Middle East tensions are pushing up oil prices, and the oil services giant stands to benefit. The UBS price target for the stock is $92, and the consensus is at $91.50. A trade to the UBS target is a move of almost 30% from current trading levels. Shareholders are paid a 1.7% dividend.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) is one of the top generic drug manufacturers in the world. With many popular branded drugs coming off patent in the next few years, the company stands to really benefit. The UBS price target for the stock is $41 dollars, while the consensus stands at $43.50. Investors are paid a 2.8% dividend.

Rockwell Collins Inc. (NYSE: COL) has had muted price movement over fears of reduced government spending. However, the company is also a major manufacturer for the new Airbus A350. They provide a new airborne hosting platform for flight operations, aircraft maintenance and airline applications. Monitoring all the systems of the aircraft, it assists maintenance crews by providing secure, detailed information and trends on the health of each component. In addition, it hosts data to the electronic flight bag, helping pilots get easy and instant access to flight plans, aircraft manuals and maps. The UBS price target for the stock is $70, and the consensus is at $65. Investors receive a 1.9% dividend.

Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX) earnings per share are expected to come in at $4.30 this year, which would place the pharmacy benefit management company at a current-year P/E of 14. Wall Street analysts expect small increases in earnings after that, so Express Scripts could be a value play. It also is popular with big hedge funds. Leon Cooperman’s Omega fund holds 2.7 millions share, while Bain Capitals long/short fund Brookside Capital owns 3.9 million shares. UBS has a $69 price target, and the consensus target is $67.

Some of the names on the UBS Q-GARP list are actually becoming value plays. With the primary focus on earnings growth and low valuation compared to the competition, these stocks may hold tremendous upside for patient investors.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AGN, COL, EBAY, ESRX, INTC, QCOM, SLB, TEVA, UBS

Media Digest: Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

Douglas A. McIntyre — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:43:41 +0000

The European Central Bank may begin to identify weak banks and deny them aid. (Reuters)

Foxconn, once one of Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) largest suppliers, says it needs additional time to cut back worker overtime. (Reuters)

Dell Inc.’s (NASDAQ: DELL) profits fall, but that may not stop the fight over its future ownership. (Reuters)

Samsung runs out of some key parts for its smartphones and may have to turn to competitors for more inventory. (Reuters)

J.C. Penney Co. Inc.’s (NYSE: JCP) new CEO says it will take several quarters to salvage the company. (Reuters)

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) will press the FCC to look at the Softbank bid for Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S). (Reuters)

EBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) could create apps for Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Glass product. (Reuters)

Northrup Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) will try to buy back 25% of its shares by 2015. (Reuters)

The Securities and Exchange Commission to charge Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) with a record fine for failing to keep track of trouble in its own markets. (WSJ)

The stock market is not hurt by an earnings season with many poor results. (WSJ)

Shareholders of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) are sent a letter supporting Jamie Dimon’s attempt to remain as both chief executive officer and chairman. (WSJ)

Wages in China rise sharply in the past year. (WSJ)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) says that consumers are “stretched” due to an uneven economy. (WSJ)

A new way to account for leases may increase the amount of debt some companies carry on their balance sheets. (WSJ)

Google says several companies, including CNN, Twitter and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), have made apps for Google Glass. (NYT)

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) traders will not longer use the chat feature on Bloomberg terminals as the scandal over journalist access to data grows. (FT)

U.S. farm land prices grow sharply despite weak demand for wheat. (FT)

Monthly car sales in Europe rise for the first time in 19 months, mostly on strength in Germany. (Bloomberg)

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AAPL, C, DELL, DISH, EBAY, FB, GOOG, JCP, NDAQ, NOC, S, WMT

UBS Internet Stocks to Buy: Google, AOL and More

Lee Jackson — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:30:16 +0000

If there is one group of stocks that typically responds with volatility to first-quarter earnings reports, it is the Internet stocks. History held true during this past reporting season. Almost uniformly, reactions to earnings demonstrated increased volatility based on even the slightest positive or negative result. The advantage for investors looking to add these stocks to their portfolio is that often a quick downdraft can give a buyer just the opportunity they seek to pounce on the top names.

In a report out today, the analysts at UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) point out that the biggest positive takeaways from first-quarter earnings were that end demand, in terms of revenue, remains universally strong across their coverage universe, as top-line results were mostly in line, with a few exceptions. In particular, demand in both advertising and online ravel was notably strong. From mega-cap to small-cap, here are the stocks to buy from UBS.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is absolutely dominating everything Internet. The new Google glasses, which may revolutionize Internet use and computer interaction, got lots of media play last week. The UBS price target for the industry behemoth is $945. The Thomson/First Call estimate is $920.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) continues to dominate online auctions as earnings skyrocket. PayPal’s role in eBay’s future growth cannot be overlooked. In the past quarter, sales from the PayPal unit grew 18% to $1.5 billion. The UBS price target is $64 and the consensus target is $64 as well.

Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) delivered a profit, beat Wall Street’s expectations and beat the consensus revenue estimate. The travel giant has benefitted from the rebound in the economy. The UBS price target is $860 and the consensus estimate is $827.50.

Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) also has seen its travel business thrive with the improved economy. Expedia traded an unusually high volume Friday, with 4.8 million shares changing hands. The UBS target for the stock is $77. The consensus is lower at $71.

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) offers a suite of online content, products and services to consumers, advertisers, publishers and subscribers worldwide. The UBS target for the old dial-up leader turned content provider is $44, versus a consensus target of $42.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) rounds out the UBS list of Internet stocks to buy. Yelp operates Yelp.com, an online urban city guide that helps people find places to eat, shop, drink, relax and play based on the informed opinions of a community of locals in the know. UBS has a $32 price objective for the stock and the consensus target is at $30.

While UBS points out that the risks in online advertising and e-commerce include a potential inability for the industry to grow due to weakness in consumer discretionary spending, as well as a lack of execution. The overall state of the Internet industry and related areas remains extremely strong. As most of us would agree, it seems our personal time on the Internet just seems to grow each year.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AOL, EBAY, EXPE, GOOG, PCLN, UBS, Yelp

Media Digest (4/30/2013) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

Douglas A. McIntyre — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:21:07 +0000

Softbank signals it will not increase its bid for Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S). (Reuters)

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) will dump its Europe presence via selling its stake in Carphone. (Reuters)

Trading profits help UBS A.G.’s (NYSE: UBS) first-quarter numbers. (Reuters)

EBay Inc.’s (NASDAQ: EBAY) PayPal is unable to get Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) to be a client. (Reuters)

Eastman Kodak to give its camera film business to U.K. pensions to cover its obligations to them. (WSJ)

Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) will raise $3.65 billion in new capital. (WSJ)

Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) to start to research online TV viewership. (WSJ)

Chrysler profits fall by two-thirds on falling sales and work to introduce new models. (WSJ)

After a board and investor battle, Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) will keep CEO Steve Chazen through 2014. (WSJ)

S&P, Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) agree to a $225 million settlement about misstating the value of certain mortgage instruments. (WSJ)

Corn prices rise 6.2% on fear that planting in the Midwest could be delayed or cancelled. (WSJ)

A sharp drop in sales in Volkwagen’s core market — Europe — damages its fortunes. (NYT)

BP PLC’s (NYSE: BP) earnings forecast exceeds Wall Street estimates. (FT)

A research firm says the Samsung Galaxy S4 breaks more easily than the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 5. (Bloomberg)

Tech upgrades of telecom infrastructure in Europe could force 300,000 workers out of jobs. (Bloomberg)

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AAPL, BP, DB, EBAY, MCO, MS, NLSN, OXY, S, UBS, WMT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — Friday: Markets Open Low, Close Mixed

Paul Ausick — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:06:13 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning after hearing that U.S. GDP growth in the first quarter came in at 2.5%, well below the expected 3.1% (more coverage here). U.S. consumer sentiment also fell, but not by as much as expected (more coverage here). In Europe, French consumer confidence was unchanged and a few other data points came in pretty much as expected. In Asia, the Bank of Japan maintained both its interest rate and asset purchase program at previous levels and its core CPI fell 0.5%. Industrial production fell in Singapore by 4.1% following a 16.3% decline last month.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.30% today, now at 82.492. The GSCI commodity index is up 1.7% at 625.15. WTI crude oil closed down 0.7%, at $93.00 a barrel, but closed the week up 5.4%. Brent crude trades down 0.5% at $102.88 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.4% today at about $4.17 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.6% today at $1,453.60 an ounce, but held a gain of 4.2% for the week.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 13 points to 14,713.85 (0.09%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 11 points (-0.33%) to 3,279.26, and the S&P 500 fell -0.18% or about 3 points to 1,582.25.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) raised to ‘buy’ at BB&T; SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) raised to ‘outperform’ at Baird (more coverage here); Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (NYSE: BUD) cut to ‘conviction sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) raised to ‘strong buy’ at Raymond James; and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $65 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is down 6.7% at $256.32 (more coverage here); Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is down 7.8% at $85.12; Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is up 3.8% at $3.44; Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is down fractionally at $55.00; HealthSouth Corp. (NYSE: HLS) is up 2.2% at $27.13 after posting a new 52-week high of $27.99 earlier today; Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN) is down 5.6% at $24.53; Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) is down 4.3% at $74.16; Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is down 0.8% at $60.03; Wynn Resorts, Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) is up 0.8% at $136.02; Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is down 4.3% at $1.34; Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW) is up 1.1% at $18.26; Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is up 1.5% at $120.23 (more coverage here); National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) is down 1.3% at $66.34 (more coverage here); and VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) is down 2.2% at $174.83.

Before markets open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN), Loews Corp. (NYSE: L), Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH), and Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is up 13.8% at $17.34. The retailing giant got a major investment yesterday from George Soros. More coverage here.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is up 7% at $3.35. The social games company is gaining back its loss following a poor earnings report on Wednesday night that weighed on the stock yesterday.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down 2.7% at $18.55. The gold miner is getting hit by today’s drop in gold prices.

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

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and outlays
10:00 a.m. – Pending home sales index
10:30 a.m. – Dallas Fed manufacturing survey
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ABX, ALU, AMZN, BA, BIDU, BKW, BUD, CLWR, CSTR, CVX, EBAY, ETN, FB, JCP, L, NOV, OLN, RRC, SBUX, SNH, SOHU, SPWR, VFC, WYNN, ZNGA

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Amazon, Boeing, eBay, SunPower and More

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:35:08 +0000

Investors and traders are usually on the lookout for new research ideas that will generate higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many analyst research calls from Wall St. and from boutique firms to find great ideas in value stocks, growth stocks and dividend stocks. Some are stocks to buy, while some ideas are even stocks to sell.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations we have seen from select Wall St. research calls this Friday.

Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) raised to Buy from Neutral at Stern Agee.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was maintained as Outperform but its target cut to $320 from $334 at Credit Suisse.

Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. (NYSE: BUD) was cut to a Conviction Sell from a normal Sell rating at Goldman Sachs.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) was raised to Buy from Hold at BB&T.

Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) raised to Outperform from Neutral and target price raised to $8.75 from $8.50 at Credit Suisse.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) reiterated Buy with $20 price target at Argus.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) reiterated Buy with $65 target as pullback brings favorable entry point according to Argus.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was raised to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.

National Instruments Corp. (NASDAQ: NATI) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) was raised to Outperform at KBW.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated Buy with $80 target, and the sell-off viewed as an opportunity to initiate or add to positions according to Argus.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

Unisys Corp. (NYSE: UIS) raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna.

USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) was removed from the Top Pick List at RBC Capital Markets and was given a new Outperform rating.

Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

Credit Suisse on MLPs: DCP Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: DPM) and Exterran Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: EXLP) were both downgraded to Neutral from Outperform as growth is priced in. EQT Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: EQM) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and target raised to $47 from $41 after strong results.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AFL, AMZN, BA, BSX, BUD, DPM, EBAY, EQM, EXLP, FB, GLW, NATI, PMT, QCOM, RF, RJF, SPWR, UIS, USG, WIN

Major Companies That Refuse to Pay Dividends

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:55:22 +0000

Investors love dividends. This one investing component has comprised a major portion of total returns through time. The trend in recent years has been for companies to pay dividends and keep raising it. At the same time, many companies that have been around for sometime may have grown past their major growth phase. Some of these companies have started paying dividends, while others have chosen not to.

24/7 Wall St. praises dividends. We also want to call out the myriad of great companies that need to realize that times demand investor payouts. A few companies are still buying growth, and we have identified some of these players as well. The thesis behind offering a solid dividend is that it instills confidence in investors that the company has earnings visibility for years even when the business cycle slows.

Having a real dividend policy may also be the key to keeping nervous investors from fleeing and going into cash or Treasury bonds, which pay almost nothing these days. There are just still too many companies in denial that they are still growth companies when they need to start directly rewarding shareholders. Some companies can get away without paying out a single cent to owners because the value of growth is so strong. That list is shrinking these days. Most companies we identified are in what we would call the “Dividend Sinners” category.

Our review focuses on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A), Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG), Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), Teradyne Inc. (NYSE: TER), United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Zebra Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: ZBRA). We have handicapped whether investors might expect a dividend in the near-term or long-term from each of these as well.

The first order of business is to identify some of the great companies that have started paying a dividend since we (and others) have called for them to act with dividend payments in the past year or two. A few would include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) and NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ).

Filed under: Retail Tagged: AAPL, AMGN, AMZN, BBBY, BRK-A, CSCO, DG, DLTR, EA, EBAY, EMC, ESRX, GME, JACK, LUV, MCD, SYMC, TER, UAL, VMW, VZ, WEN, YHOO, ZBRA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — April 24, 2013: Markets Mixed at Open, Mixed at Close

Paul Ausick — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:10:43 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning as investors and traders tried to make sense of more than 150 earnings reports that were released between last night’s closing bell and this morning’s opening. The most attention was paid to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), where results were not altogether pleasing and the stock has zigged and zagged all day today. There was relatively little economic data released today. In Germany, the IFO business climate index fell sharply (more coverage here) and retail sales were weaker than expected in Italy. In Shanghai, bargain hunters pushed the market up 1.6%. In the U.S., the report on durable goods orders was worse than expected and indicates a weak GDP report coming later this week (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.16% today, now at 82.912. The GSCI commodity index is flat at 607.11. WTI crude oil closed up 2.5%, at $91.43 a barrel after today’s report from the EIA on petroleum inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 1.1% at $101.44 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.4% today at about $4.18 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.1% today at $1,423.70 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 43 points to 14,676.30 (-0.29%), the NASDAQ rose less than 1 point (0.01%) to 3,269.65, and the S&P 500 was flat at 1,578.79.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including EBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) raised to ‘buy’ at SocGen; CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) raised to ‘outperform’ with a price target of $54 at Oppenheimer; Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) cut to ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley and ‘neutral’ at Citigroup (more coverage here).

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is up 0.4% at $407.67 (more coverage here); Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) is up 7.1% at $35.33; Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) is down 22.4% at $64.24 after posting a new 52-week low of $63.50 earlier today; Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) is down 9.7% at $15.67; Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) is up 7.2% at $68.74; Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is up 7.5% at $18.90 (more coverage here); Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) is up 6% at $13.91 (more coverage here); Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is down 0.1% at $13.35 (more coverage here); Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is down 5.5% at $77.46 (more coverage here); and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) is up 0.4% at $7.13 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI), Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI), Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO), O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), Vale SA (NYSE: VALE), Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC), Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA), 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), HealthSouth Corp. (NYSE: HLS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT), Proto Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: PRLB), and Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

SuperValu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) is up 11% at $5.95. The supermarket chain reported a wider loss this morning, but investors apparently like what the company had to say about the next few quarters.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is down 5.2% at $36.97. The telecom giant is just too big to expect growth. More coverage here.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) is up 4.2% at $14.93. The smartphone maker is adding Skype to its app lineup, and combined with some analysts’ concerns about Apple, that appears to be enough to boost the shares.

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

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
1:00 p.m. – 7-year note auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AAPL, ABX, ANGI, BBRY, BG, BHI, BRCM, BYI, CIT, EBAY, EW, F, FIO, GLW, HAL, HLS, JNPR, MMM, MO, ORLY, PG, POT, PRLB, QCOM, S, SVU, SWY, T, VALE, WDC, XOM, YUM, ZNGA

Top Wall Street Analyst Upgrades Include eBay, CIT and Oil Services

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:40:17 +0000

Investors and traders are always on the lookout for fresh research ideas from Wall St. that will lead to higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks. We are breaking out the positive analyst calls as far as stocks to buy and positive research calls today.

These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, initiations and positive analyst research calls seen from Wall St. today.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was raised to Outperform with a $54 price target at Oppenheimer.

EBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was raised to Buy from Hold at Soc-Gen.

ITT Educational Services Inc. (NYSE: ESI) raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.

Ryder System Inc. (NYSE: R) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) was named Bull of the Day with a Strong Buy rating due to strong revenue growth potential and excellent cost management, according to Zacks Investment Research.

We would also direct you to the best of the best large corporate earnings reports so far this earnings season from the large sector leaders.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: BHI, CIT, EBAY, ESI, HAL, R, WY

Media Digest (4/22/2013) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

Douglas A. McIntyre — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:55:51 +0000

The Nikkei is close to a five-year high. (Reuters)

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) begins to fix Dreamliners, now that the FAA has approved its battery repair. (Reuters)

LG Display Co. Ltd.’s (NYSE: LPL) first quarter numbers are hurt by slowdowns in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) sales. (Reuters)

Canalys reports that app store revenue reached $2.3 billion in the first quarter, with Apple sales far outdistancing those of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). (Reuters)

ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) will buy Power-One Inc. (NASDAQ: PWER) for $1 billion. (Reuters)

A large investors try to stop the Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) buyout of Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR). (WSJ)

The habits of Chinese car buyers shift to more expensive mid-sized vehicles. (NYT)

The inclusions of intangible assets like royalties will lift U.S. GDP growth rates. (FT)

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) says its possible deal with Sprint Nextel will allow it to better target ads to consumers. (FT)

EBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) rallies its sellers to resist payment of local taxes. (FT)

Apple’s profit is expected to have dropped for the first time since 2003. (Bloomberg)

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