Posts for Ticker ‘EL’

The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World

hersheyThere are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.

24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed  by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.

24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?

Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”.  Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless.  How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business.  Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.

24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?

Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets.  A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value.  If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.

The list: Read More »

Top Analyst Downgrades (BRCD, DPS, DWA, EL, NOK, SNDK, VE)

These are the early-bird analyst downgrades and cautious research calls we have seen from Wall Street this Monday morning:

Brocade Communications (BRCD) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPS) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Dreamworks (DWA) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Estee Lauder (EL) Cut to Conviction Sell List, but was already Sell, at Goldman Sachs.
Nokia (NOK) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
SanDisk (SNDK) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Veolia Environment (VE) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.

JON C. OGG

Top Analyst Downgrades (ANSS, CBT, ED, CFR, DUK, LLY, EL, GGP, HW, ISRG, OMTR, RBS)

These are some of the top analyst downgrades and cautious research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Tuesday morning:

Ansys (ANSS) Cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
Cabot (CBT) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Consolidated Edison (ED) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
Duke Energy (DUK) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Eli Lilly (LLY) Cut to Underperform at Leerink Swann.
Estee Lauder (EL) Cut to Sell at UBS.
General Growth Properties (GGP) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Headwater (HW) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Adams.
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Cut to Market Perform at Leerink Swann.
Omniture (OMTR) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

JON C. OGG

Cosmetics Companies Down The Recession Drain (EL, RDEN, AVP, BARE, REV)

Witch_burningHusbands have long joked that certain segments in their households, such as cosmetics and personal beauty care products, were largely immune from recessions.  Many will still joke about this, but the numbers reported by Estee Lauder Companies Inc.(NYSE: EL) and Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDEN) show this is not quite the case.  The good news is that they are at least still very profitable.  Both companies cut their earnings forecast and this is taking its toll on other major players in the sector today.  Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP), Bare Escentuals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BARE), and Revlon Inc. (NYSE: REV) are all trading as though they are next in line to join the warnings parade.

Read More »

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (ACC, CLS, CHS, EL, JBLU, SLGN, TRMB)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades we are seeing this Friday-crash morning:

  • American Campus (ACC) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
  • Celestica (CLS) Raised to Outperform at CIBC.
  • Chico’s FAS (CHS) Raised to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  • Estee Lauder (EL) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Piper Jaffray.
  • Jetblue (JBLU) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Silgan Holdings (SLGN) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • Trimble Navigation (TRMB) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Jon C. Ogg
October 24, 2008

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ATHN, BBBY, CNQ, CCU, COCO, EL, ESI, CRM, PCU, URBN)

Below are the top analyst calls we are focusing on this Wednesday morning in pre-market trading:

  • AthenaHealth (NASDAQ: ATHN) started as Outperform at JMP Securities.
  • Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) cut to Sell at Piper Jaffray.
  • Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ) raised to overweight at Lehman Brothers.
  • Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) cut to Hold at Stanford Research.
  • Corinthian Colleges (NASDAQ: COCO) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray
  • Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) cut to Sell at Piper Jaffray.
  • ITT Educational (NYSE: ESI) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • Salesforce.com     (NYSE: CRM) cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
  • Southern Copper (NYSE: PCU) started as Sell at Citigroup.
  • Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Jon C. Ogg
April 9, 2008

Jon Ogg produces the Special Situation Investing Newsletter.  He can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (CLX, EL, LAMR, RF, TMA, AMT, CCI, EXPE, OWW, PCLN, F, GM)

Here are some of the top individual analyst calls in pre-market trading:

  • Clorox (NYSE: CLX) downgraded to Underweight at Lehman.
  • Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) raised to Equal-weight at Lehman.
  • Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR) started as Buy at Jefferies.
  • Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

Below are some sector calls:

  • COMM. TOWERS: American Tower (NYSE: AMT) & Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • ONLINE TRAVEL DOWNGRADES: Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.  Priceline.com (NASDA: PCLN) and Orbitz Worldwide (NYSE: OWW) downgraded to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.  There was an upgrade though, as Credit Suisse raised its Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) raised to Outperform from Neutral.
  • US AUTO’s: Ford (NYSE: F) downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns. General Motors (NYSE: GM) downgraded to Underperform at Bear Stearns.

Jon C. Ogg
February 6, 2008

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADCT, ARRS, EL, FLML, GERN, HD, LOW, MCD, MEDX, NOVL, NMX, DIS)

These are not the only pre-market analyst calls that are moving stocks, but these are the calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on:

  • ADC Telecom (NASDAQ: ADCT) and Arris (NASDAQ: ARRS) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Flamel (NASDAQ: FLML) raised to But at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Geron (NASDAQ: GERN) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) started as Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
  • McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) downgraded to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
  • Medarex (NASDAQ: MEDX) started as Buy at UBS.
  • Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • NYMEX (NYSE: NMX) downgraded to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) downgraded to Sell at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
January 29, 2008

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADCT, ADSK, BSX, EL, FFIV, PCZ, TLAB, GTS, VRTX)

These are not at all the only analyst calls that 247WallSt.com is looking at today in an active negative market, but these are 10 of the more influential calls that may stand out in an otherwise cautious or negative market:

  • ADC Telecom (NASDAQ: ADCT) raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
  • Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.
  • Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) raised to BUY from Neutral at Banc of America.
  • Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  • F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.
  • Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley; estimates lowered at Goldman Sachs (and likely many more).
  • Petro Canada (NYSE: PCZ) downgraded to Neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS (large call option buying recently).
  • Triple S management (NYSE: GTS) started after quiet period: Outperform at Credit Suisse, Outperform at Oppenheimer, and Neutral at UBS.
  • Vertex (NASDAQ: VRTX) raised to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America.

Jon C. Ogg
January 16, 2008

Pre-Market Stock News (November 9, 2007)

  • Allscripts (MDRX) traded down 25% after missing earnings estimates and after lower guidance for 2007 and 2008.
  • American Tower (AMT) replacing Alltel (AT) in S&P.
  • ARM Holdings plc (ARMHY) trading down about 4% pre-market.
  • Barclays (BCS) trading down 4% over rumors of credit losses and rumors of excutive departures.
  • Clearwire’s (CLWR) WiMAX offering with Sprint is being called off; shares down 15%.
  • Estee Lauder (EL) named new head from P&G; raised dividend and announced a share buyback.
  • IMAX (IMAX) -$0.19 EPS vs -$0.07 est.
  • JA Solar (JASO) traded up 5% after earnings.
  • Jones Soda (JSDA) traded down 15% after earnings
  • Manitowoc (MTW) being added to S&P.
  • Merck (MRK) settling about 1/3 of outstanding lawsuits on Vioxx for some $4.5 Billion.
  • Mirants (MIR) $1.14 EPS vs $0.84 est.; announced a $1 Billion share buyback.
  • NVIDIA (NVDA) traded up 6% after earnings and guidance, but shares were initially down in after-hours trading.
  • Priceline (PCLN) trading up over 10% after beating earnings.
  • Qualcomm (QCOM) trading down 7% after guidance disappointed.
  • Siemens (SI) announced a multi-billion Euro buyback in shares.
  • Starwood (HOT) raised dividend to rate of $0.90/year and added $1 Billion to share buybacks.
  • Wachovia (WB) taking a $1.1 Billion writedown on CDO’s; stock down 3%.

Jon C. Ogg
November 9, 2007

Pre-Market Stock News (August 16, 2007)

(AMGN) Amgen announced 12-14% layoffs and lowered guidance for 2007.
(ANX) ADVENTRX Pharma announces fast track designation granted by the FDA for CoFactor for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.
(AUXL) Auxilium Pharma receivef FDA clearance to resume clincal trials for XIAFLEX for the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture.
(BAX) Baxter awarded pandemic advanced supply contract from Deptartment of Health.
(CFC) Countrywide Financial tapped an $11 Billion line of credit.
(CPHD) Cepheid entered into a 5 year agreement with Northrop Grumman for the purchase of anthrax test cartridges.
(CRM) Salesforce.com trading down 1% today after posting $0.03 EPS vs $0.01 est.
(EL) Estee Lauder $0.45 EPS vs $0.50 est.
(FCTR) First Charter to be acquired by Fifth Third Bancorp for $31.00 per share.
(FLO) Flowers Foods $0.24 EPS vs $0.23 est.
(FLR) Fluor won a contract from Toshiba International for engineering, procurement and construction-related services for two nuclear power plants.
(FTD) FTD Group $0.36 EPS vs $0.28 est.
(GGBM) GigaBeam received an order for four WiFiber links from a new partner that is establishing a metro ethernet network in Los Angeles.
(GRMN) Garmin noted as an immune growth stock in a crummy market.
(JCP) J.C.Penney $0.78 EPS vs $0.78 est.; sees Q3 $1.28 EPS vs $1.43 est.
(KFT) Kraft Foods is considering selling off its cereals unit according to WSJ.
(LMS) Lamson & Sessions enters into $27.00 merger and a $0.30 special dividend as it will become part of TNB-Thomas & Betts.
(MCO) Moody’s may be in trouble with Congress over failures to warn over CDO ratings and risk activities.
(MGPI) MGP Ingredients $0.10 EPS vs $0.14 est.
(NAPS) Napster in marketing pact with Maxfield’s MP3 player in Germany.
(NBF) Nova Biosource Fuels will acquire a biodiesel refinery in Iowa with a 10 million gallon per year capacity.
(QCOM) Qualcomm’s ex-CEO noted that the suits could cost the company over $2 Billion in revenues if all the terms stand.
(SPAR) Spartan Motors chassis unit received a $53 million subcontract order from BAE Systems.
(SUNW) Sun Micro in free download of StarOffice suite at the Google Pack site.
(TTWO) Take-Two Interactive has received a Wells Notice from the SEC.
(WFMI) Whole Foods announced it is extending its offer for Wild Oats.
(WW) Watson Wyatt $0.71 EPS vs $0.67 est.

Jon C. Ogg
August 16, 2007

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