The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 16 points to 13,194.10(0.12%), the NASDAQ rose less than 1 point (0.03%) to 3,040.73, and the S&P 500 fell -0.12% or about 2 points to 1,394.28.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) maintained as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) cut to ‘market perform’ at BMO; Vodafone Group plc (NASDAQ: VOD) cut to ‘underperform’ at BNP Paribus; Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) maintained as ‘outperform’ but estimates lowered at Credit Suisse; and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) raised to ‘buy’ at Stifel Nicolaus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE: ES) is up 2% at $4.54; FXCM Inc. (NYSE: FXCM) is up 10% at $11.55; Global Ship Lease Inc. (NYSE: GSL) is down -7.3% at $3.18; Marcus Corp. (NYSE: MCS) is down -1.5% at $12.31; and Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAC) is up 2.5% at $5.73.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Helios & Matheson Information Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: HMNY) is up more than 87% at $5.33 after posting a new 52-week high of $7.00 earlier today. The business software company posted a surprise profit for fiscal 2011.

Endocyte Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) is up nearly 58% at $5.87. The drug maker posted better-than-expected quarterly and annual results last night.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) is up about 22% at $6.39 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.97 earlier. The biopharmaceutical company beat estimates and provided a strong outlook for 2012.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) is down nearly -18% at $2.06. The apparel maker posted a larger than expected loss last night. More coverage here.

Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE: GWRE) is up more than 17% at $30.09 after posting a new 52-week high of $32.79 earlier today. The business software company announced a new contract this morning.

NuPathe Inc. (NASDAQ: PATH) is up nearly 20% at $3.91. The biotechnology company’s transdermal patch for migraine sufferers got a strong review from a financial web site today.

Federal Signal Corp. (NYSE: FSS) is up more than 22% at $5.61. The specialty truck maker posted better-than-expected revenues this morning.

Sterling Construction Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: STRL) is down more than -16% at $8.58 after posting a new 52-week low of $8.57 earlier today. The construction firm posted an unexpectedly weak earnings report this morning.

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

• 8:30 a.m. – New US unemployment benefits claims
• 8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
• 8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing index
• 9:00 a.m. – Treasury International Capital (TIC) report
• 10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
• 4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply

Your email address

subscribe

terms and conditions

Paul Ausick

Shaw also lowered its revenue estimates for the full year from analysts’ expectations of $6.55 billion to $6.3 billion, while raising full-year EPS estimates from expectations of $1.77 to $1.86-$1.91, excluding its stake in Westinghouse. Shaw’s P/E ratio for the trailing twelve months is around 31, while its forward P/E for the fiscal year ending in August 2012 is 13.50. The company is the first of its sector to report, and this downward trend could put some weight on competitors URS Corp. (NYSE: URS), The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (NYSE: BWC), Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR), EnergySolutions Inc. (NYSE: ES).  The big fear remains what happens to nuclear policy in many nations going forward.

URS Corp. reports quarterly earnings on May 9th, and analysts are expecting EPS of $0.85 on revenue of $2.43 billion. A year ago, URS posted EPS of $1.17 on revenue of $2.21 billion. For the full year, analysts expect EPS of $3.67 on $9.93 billion, a rise of about 4% in EPS while revenue rises from $9.18 billion to $9.93 billion. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is 12.79, and its forward P/E is 11.31, for the year ending December 2012.

Babcock & Wilcox is scheduled to release quarterly earnings on June 10th, and analysts are expecting EPS of $0.39 on revenue of $731.3 million. For the full year, EPS is expected to be $1.67 on $2.99 billon in revenue. In 2010, Babcock & Wilcox posted EPS of $1.30 on revenue of $2.69 billion. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is 24.49 and its forward P/E is 16 for the year ending in December 2012.

Fluor is set to announce quarterly earnings on May 5th, with analysts expecting EPS of $0.76 on revenue of $5.59 billion. EPS expectations are flat with the same period a year ago, but revenue is projected to be 14% higher. That’s not a good sign for margins. For the full year, EPS  is forecast at $3.28 on $23.9 billion in revenue, substantially better than a year ago’s EPS of $2.30 on $20.9 billion in revenue. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is 35.63 and its forward P/E is 18.09 for the year ending in December 2012.

EnergySolutions reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings about 10 days ago, and the company posted a quarterly EPS loss of -$0.25 on revenue of $1.75 billion. For 2010, the company posted EPS of $0.07 on revenue of $450 million. For the first quarter of 2011, the company is expected to post EPS of $0.04 on revenue of $483.43 million, both lower than the same period last year. The company’s trailing P/E ratio is non-existent, and its forward P/E is 16.

Of the five companies, Fluor and EnergySolutions have the highest P/E ratios going forward. Fluor’s trailing P/E is the highest in the group as well, probably indicating that investors think that Fluor is doing something right and will continue to do so. EnergySolutions, given its tepid performance, could be valued the same as Fluor going forward because investors believe that it is a likely takeover target. There’s certainly not much else for the company to look forward to.

In it’s outlook for 2011, EnergySolutions noted that it expects EBITDA in the range of $130-$140 million. For 2010, the company reported EBITDA of $153 million, and EBITDA in 2009 was $143.5 million. A potential buyout is about the only thing investors can be looking forward to.

Shaw stock is down more than -2%, to $34.64, after opening down more than -5%. The 52-week range is $27.61-$41.62.

Paul Ausick

Twitter has, by most estimates, 100 million members, which makes it one of the largest social networks in the world. All major media companies are on Twitter and some have more than one million Twitter users. It raises the question of whether there is wisdom in crowds.

24/7 Wall St. will look at the Twitter posts at Reuters Biz, WSJ, Financial Times, CNN Money, MarketWatch, CNBC, and 24/7 Wall St. each day to see which stocks are most frequently mentioned. It is clear that in this area of social media these tweet are a sign of which companies the Twitter universe is interested in. These financial sites are followed by a combined 625,000 Twitter users which makes them a sizeable sample of Wall St.’s interests. In some cases, we will publish the actual tweets from the sites.

Among the daily top trending  symbols on stock twitter aggregator StockTwits include Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON), Energy Solutions (NYSE: ES), FirstFed Financial Corp. (NYSE: FED), and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average.

CNN Money: Fannie Mae seeks $8.4 billion in additional government aid after reporting a $13.1 billion loss in the first quarter.

MarketWatch: Oil rallies 4% in wake of EU aid plan http://on.mktw.net/cT7s9d

MarketWatch: Stock futures rise sharply in wake of EU plan to protect euro; Dow futures up 400 points http://on.mktw.net/clFJIn

FT: Investors welcome €720bn EU bail-out: Global Markets Overview: Euro claws back last week’s losses as fears over so… http://bit.ly/cvgA9f

Reuters Biz: Goldman warns of more litigation, investigations http://link.reuters.com/wer43k

Reuters Biz: McDonald’s April same-store sales up 4.9 percent http://link.reuters.com/ver43k

Douglas A. McIntyre

Lear Corporation (LEA) Another victim of lower guidance. Falls to $3.77 from 52-week high of $36.99.

Pier 1 Imports (PIR) Retailer gets downgraded. Falls to $.96 from 52-week high of $8.25.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Casino business still being hit by economy. Drops to $12 from 52-week high of $148.76.

Douglas A. McIntyre

• American Tower (AMT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
• Energy Solutions (ES) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
• International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
• Research in Motion (RIMM) Started as Outperform at National Bank.

Jon C. Ogg
October 1, 2008