24/7 Wall St. » EL

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (MRO, PEET, RIMM, URBN, CHK, GILD, GNW, PCCC, NVLS, PKI, BEAM, EL, WY, THLD, TUDO, ZOLT, STRI, MNKD)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:09:33 +0000

Major indexes reacted positively to this morning’s non-farm payrolls report and the drop in the US unemployment rate from 8.5% to 8.3%. Expectations for the unemployment rate had been no better than flat, and jobs growth of 243,000 was also a big surprise. The report ISM service jobs was also higher than expected this morning, although data on new factory orders was lower than expected. The Nasdaq composite posted an 11-year high today, and yields on US Treasuries also rose as investors headed into equities. Crude oil rose sharply today on the good economic news. WTI crude is up 1.32% at $97.63/barrel and Brent crude is up 2.10% at $114.42/barrel. Gold, as might be expected, dropped -1.64% today to $1,730.50/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 157 points to 12,862.23 (1.23%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 46 points (1.61%) to 2,905.66, and the S&P 500 rose 1.46% or more than 19 points to 1,344.90.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) raised to ‘outperform’ at Baird; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) cut to ‘underperform’ at Jefferies; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) raised to ‘buy’ at Janney Capital; and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) started as ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is up more than 11% at $54.83 after posting a new 52-week high of $54.90 earlier (see our coverage here); Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is up more than 13% at $9.12; PC Connection Inc. (NASDAQ: PCCC) is down nearly -20% at $10.22; Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is down -0.73% at $48.98, but posted a new 52-week high of $49.92 earlier in the day; PerkinElmer Inc. (NYSE: PKI) is up more than 6% at $26.21; Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) is up 2.4% at $54.28; Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. (NYSE: EL) is down -3.64% at $56.71 (more coverage here); and Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) is up more than 5% at $21.19.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD) is up nearly 115% at $2.77. The pharmaceuticals firm has announced a global development deal with Germany’s Merck.

Tudou Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: TUDO) is up nearly 19% at $16.66. The Chinese online video company has signed a deal with Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) to provide a video platform for Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like social site.

Zoltek Cos. Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) is up nearly 39% at $13.14. The specialty fibers maker posted good earnings number and forecast continued growth in the market for wind turbines which use its carbon fibers in blade construction.

STR Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: STRI) is down nearly -20% at $9.08. The company manufactures materials used in solar PV modules, and lowered its fourth-quarter guidance this morning.

Mannkind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) is down nearly -13% at $2.15 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.14 earlier. The biotech company has priced its public offering of units containing one share of stock and warrant to purchase another 0.6 shares. More coverage here.

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

11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auction
3:00 p.m. – Treasury STRIPS

Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: BEAM, CHK, EL, GILD, GNW, MNKD, MRO, NVLS, PCCC, PEET, PKI, RIMM, STRI, THLD, TUDO, URBN, WY, ZOLT

Earnings Previews For Friday (BEAM, CLX, EL, SPG, TSN)

Administrator — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:44:26 +0000

We have noted that this week should be the climax of the companies reporting earnings which have a calendar or quarterly year-end in December. Still, some reports are still coming this week and next week and we have a few earnings that investors and speculators will want to watch out for on Friday.

We are tracking and previewing earnings reports due in shares of Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM); Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX); Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL); Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG); and Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN). We have included estimates from Thomson Reuters and added color in on each.

Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) is set to report Friday morning and estimates are $0.67 EPS and $653.36 million in sales. This one has been a bit difficult for many investors to predict since the reorganization last year but shares have recovered some 15% since October.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) is due to report and estimates are $0.69 EPS and $1.2 billion in sales. For just how relevant this one is, it is not even 10% of the size of P&G when it comes to revenues. This one remains expensive in valuation and its dividend yield is about 3.3%.

Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) is still close to a 52-week high, so investors need to watch closely here. Estimates are $1.01 EPS and $2.75 billion in sales. That is a lot of beauty products. Unfortunately, this one has a dividend yield of less than 1%.

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG) Is expected to report $1.90 EPS on $1.16 billion in sales. Keep in mind that REITs are FFO rather than EPS. The stock trades at a premium to peers for its premium shopping mall properties. The dividend yield here is only about 2.6% and shares hit a new year and all-time high on Thursday.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is expected to report $0.34 EPS on $8.3 billion in sales. Next quarter estimates are $0.45 EPS and $8.5 billion in sales. At $18.60, its 52-week range is $15.60 to $21.06 and its dividend yield does not even hit 1% currently.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Consumer Goods, Earnings Tagged: BEAM, CLX, EL, SPG, TSN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CF, DLPH, EA, EL, MCK, RSH, SRE, SNE, TDC, VMW, YHOO)

Administrator — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:29:02 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning. It is generally light in analyst coverage the week between Christmas and New Years, but there are also some great hidden gems during this time.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) named as value stock of the day by Zacks Investment Research.
Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) Initiated as Outperform at Credit Suisse; Started as Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan; Started as Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) Maintained Neutral with $28.00 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) Reiterated Buy with $61 price target objective at Argus.
Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) target cut in Japan by Barclays.
Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) added to US 1 focus list at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Maintained Buy with $18.00 price target objective at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: CF, DLPH, EA, EL, MCK, RSH, SNE, SRE, TDC, VMW, YHOO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AFFX, AMCX, BRCM, CSIQ, CSCO, DECK, DANG, ELN, EL, FSLR, IVR, IPG, JNPR, OMC, OVTI, ONXX, PTR, RENN, RVBD, SI, YOKU)

Administrator — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:28:50 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Thursday morning.

Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) Raised to Neutral from Sell with a $4.50 price target at Goldman Sachs.
AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) Started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Canadian Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) named as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Started as Buy at Nomura.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) Cut to Underperform from Buy at Stern Agee.
E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.
Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Estee Lauder Companies (NASDAQ: EL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral from Buy at R.W. Baird.
Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. (NYSE: IVR) Cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.
OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI) lowered estimates again but maintained as Buy with $12.00 price target at Canaccord Genuity.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) Raised to the Conviction Buy List with a $47.00 price target objective at Goldman Sachs.
PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE: PTR) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.
Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.
Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Youku.com Inc (NYSE: YOKU) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AFFX, AMCX, BRCM, CSCO, CSIQ, DANG, DECK, EL, ELN, FSLR, IPG, IVR, JNPR, OMC, ONXX, OVTI, PTR, RENN, RVBD, SI, YOKU

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MO, AVP, CE, LFC, EL, FITB, GE, MIND, VRTX, YHOO, YUM, GRPN)

Administrator — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:05:27 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Wednesday morning.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) maintained as Underperform but named the Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) Added to Strong Buy List at Zacks Investment Research.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Outperform and raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Mitcham Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIND) named as value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) Raised to Outperform but cut the price target to $37 from $39 by Credit Suisse.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) resumed with a “Sell” rating at Goldman Sachs.
YUM! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Reiterated Buy and raised price target to $66.00 by Argus.

The big move in the land of stock research and analyst calls is the expiration of the Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) quiet period. The online social couponing site was initiated in coverage as follows by some of the syndicate firms:

Overweight and $27.00 price target at Barclays;
Buy with $28.00 price target by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch;
Neutral and $24.00 price target at Citigroup;
Neutral with a $25.00 price target at Credit Suisse;
Buy with a $29.00 price target by Goldman Sachs;
Neutral and $24.00 price target at JPMorgan;
Sector Perform with $25.00 price target at RBC Capital Markets.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AVP, CE, EL, FITB, GE, GRPN, LFC, MIND, MO, VRTX, YHOO, YUM

24/7 Wall St. Top 10 Analyst Calls of the Week (ACTV, AAPL, EL, GERN, GOOG, NFLX, SZYM, TLAB, WNR, YUM)

Administrator — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 15:26:55 +0000

24/7 Wall St. usually covers ten to fifteen analyst calls each morning that are having an impact on shares. After going through these research calls at the end of the week (and during the week), there are always some key analyst calls which standout above and beyond the others. What is interesting is that some calls end up being rather awful while others offer keen insight. This week’s top analyst calls were in shares of The Active Network, Inc. (NYSE: ACTV), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL), Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), Solazyme, Inc. (NASDAQ: SZYM), Tellabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB), Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR), and Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM).

We included the research summaries, included price action data, and added in color if applicable. At the end we also have three macro-calls which are bonus calls that are not really equity calls but which need to be considered by investors.

The Active Network, Inc. (NYSE: ACTV) is a strange company and one which we figured would be given ratings like Neutral, Hold, Market Perform, and the like as it is an online community that offers application services technology and marketing access to community service and sports organizations. It has a $1 billion market cap as well. Shares closed at $18.89 on Friday, up from $18.01 the week before and versus a $15.00 IPO price which has never been breached. Still, the analyst community was entirely positive as the post-IPO quiet period came to an end:

Citigroup- Buy
RBC- Outperform
Stifel Nicolaus- Buy
ThinkEquity- Buy

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may not seem like much on the surface because it was a reiterated Buy and the target was raised only $15 to $500 for the stock, but this call from Canaccord Genuity did actually move the meter. Apple shares closed up 0.7% at $359.71 on a day that the NASDAQ closed down 0.45%. What is amazing is that this was actually the highest closing price since the $360.00 close on March 4 and it was about ten days ahead of the earnings report.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) is being dubbed “The Misnomer Call of the Week” after Credit Suisse started coverage with a “Neutral” rating and gave a $95.00 price target objective. By our take, Neutral implies no direction or no real value for the stock to move either way. What makes this one dubious is that the price was already just above $105 going into the call. This was really a “Stealth Sell Rating” by our take. The Thomson Reuters consensus price target is $105.29 now, which implies that the rest of the analysts on average are “Neutral.”

Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) was given a key analyst call and shares were up almost 10% at $4.39 on Friday. J.P.Morgan started coverage with an “Overweight” rating for the stem cell leader and assigned a $6.00 price target. The call was timed almost perfectly as all stem cell shares rallied on reports that Swedish doctors were able to use stem cells to replace the trachea of a patient suffering from advanced cancer. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, but the call had to impact the overall group as well.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) took a downgrade on Friday from Morgan Stanley, where the rating was cut to Equal-Weight from Overweight and the target was cut to $600 from $645 in the call. With this being 4 trading days before earnings, we could not help but notice the impact. Google was started with a Buy rating at Collins Stewart earlier in the week and it was given that street-high $800 target from Canaccord Genuity just the week before.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) saw a major jump after the entertainment research team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy rating. What mattered was that it was a street-high price target objective at $325.00 as the bogey. We already opined that calling a top or predicting when this major run ends is nearly impossible, but we would caution one thing: that is only 10% left in implied upside to the highest analyst target. After the run this one has seen, its earnings or another event could easily take out 10% of the share price.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, The Week Tagged: AAPL, ACTV, EL, GERN, GOOG, NFLX, SZYM, TLAB, WNR, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAPL, ACP, STD, EL, GERN, GOOG, HCBK, IART, RIMM, SMP, TJX, TSCO, V, WNR)

Administrator — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:27:33 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Friday morning.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $500 at Canaccord Genuity.
Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Started as Neutral with $30 target at Credit Suisse.
Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: STD) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.
Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) Started as Neutral with $95 target at Credit Suisse.
Geron Corporation (NASDAQ: GERN) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Hudson City Bancorp (NASDAQ: HCBK) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) Started as Neutral at BofA/ML.
Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Maintained Hold and $35 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Standard Motor Products (NYSE: SMP) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $80 at BofA/ML.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $100 at Argus.
Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, ACP, EL, GERN, GOOG, HCBK, IART, RIMM, SMP, STD, TJX, TSCO, V, WNR

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APD, AEP, AMAT, EBAY, EL, EXPD, HON, JASO, LLL, NFLX, UFPI, YOKU)

Administrator — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:03:42 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Wednesday morning.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Reiterated Outperform and target raised to $40 at Credit Suisse.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Raised to Buy and $66 target at Argus.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) Cut to Strong Sell at S&P Equity Research (late Tuesday call).
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: LLL) Raised to Hold at Argus.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut to Underperform at Needham.
Universal Forest Products Inc. (NASDAQ: UFPI) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Youku.com Inc. (NYSE: YOKU) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEP, AMAT, APD, EBAY, EL, EXPD, HON, JASO, LLL, NFLX, UFPI, YOKU

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALU, ADI, BKS, DLTR, EIX, EL, FDO, GMCR, INTC, LLTC, NFLX, CRM, THOR, X)

Administrator — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:27:09 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Edison International (NYSE: EIX) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) Raised to Outperform as the Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Monday call).
Linear Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: LLTC) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut To Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ: THOR) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADI, ALU, BKS, CRM, DLTR, EIX, EL, FDO, GMCR, INTC, LLTC, NFLX, THOR, X

The Stock Market Last Week–Top Gainers

247wallst — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 12:14:55 +0000

S&P 500 WEEK TOP 10 (28 JAN -03 FEB)	Ticker	Weekly Price Change (%)	Close Price 03Feb11	Close Price 28Jan11	Market Cap($Mil)
MEMC Electronic Materials Inc	WFR	21.9	13.41	11.00	3049.8
Electronic Arts Inc.	ERTS	20.7	18.11	15.00	6009.5
Estee Lauder Companies Inc.	EL	14.8	91.94	80.08	10945.2
Harman International Industries Inc.	HAR	14.2	48.79	42.74	3394.3
Time Warner Inc	TWX	13.6	36.03	31.72	39968.0
News Corp	NWSA	12.5	16.96	15.08	30975.6
Chesapeake Energy Corp	CHK	11.5	30.47	27.33	19924.8
Lexmark International Inc.	LXK	11.3	39.25	35.27	3083.6
Advanced Micro Devices Inc	AMD	11.2	8.33	7.49	5679.1
Pall Corp	PLL	11.2	54.09	48.66	6245.9

Filed under: Market Close Tagged: AMDCALL, CK\HKLXK, EL, ERTS, HAR, NWSA, TWX, WFR