Posts for Ticker ‘FCX’

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (CHK, EOG, FFIV, FCX, MOT, NVLS, SAP, STJ, STM, TSCO)

These are this Thursday morning’s top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street research calls:

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) Raised to Neutral at UBS; Raised to Buy at Canaccord Adams.
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Novellus Systems (NASDAQ: NVLS) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) Raised to Buy at UBS.
STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) Cut to Sell at RBS.
Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) Cut to Underweight at Piper Jaffray.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 22, 2009

Posted on: October 22, 2009 – 8:13 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Next Week’s Top 10 Earnings on Deck (AAPL, UNH, YHOO, FCX, WFC, T, MCD, POT, MSFT, SLB)

NYSE Floor ImageWe have almost an endless wave of corporate earnings for the calendar Q3-2009 coming out next week.  We have what looks to be over 100 of the S&P 500 Index members reporting and what appears to be 12 current or ex-DJIA components reporting earnings as well.  Coming up with a Top 10 is almost unfair, but this coming week’s top ten earnings we will be focusing on are as follows: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD), Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB).

We screened out the companies whose destiny has already been set by competitor earnings from this last week and screened out the ones which will have no real broad impact but are still widely held and actively traded. Lastly, we screened out the drug and medical companies as we are featuring those in their own group at BioHealthInvestor.com.  A more detailed estimate count from Thomson Reuters has been provided, along with data showing performance from the March 9 close and the June 30 closing date along with other pertinent information on each stock.
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Posted on: October 16, 2009 – 1:12 pm in Calendar, Earnings, Editor's Picks, Internet, Large Cap Stocks, Technology Companies, , , , , , , , , ,

Unusual Options Trading Screens (EK, ETFC, ODP, ARNA, FCX, S, FORM, POT)

It is the weekend, and that means that our end-of-week screen for unusual options trading activity is complete.  Of course expiration date throws a wrench in any screens, but we found some very unusual options trading in others not tied to options expiration and roll-out trades.  We have provided a link through to each for more color and analysis on the specific options and stock moves at VSInvestor.com:

Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) tanked on high stock volume from the KKR deal this week. But the real impressive area was the unusual options trading.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) is under $2.00, yet options trading is looking very active.  Here we gave price triggers to watch out for as possible resistance, if you can use such a thing on a $2.00 stock.

Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP) is very rare to see on the unusual stock options list, yet there it was. The big trade was out to January.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) was not just impressive.  It was a huge winner since it was down and then closed up and saw high options and stock trading.  This will be a key watch-list stock for traders this coming week. The options trading may have been a roll-out.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) very active compared to normal volume in options trading, yet not in the stock volume… $1,000 gold is the likely trigger.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) was very active in stocks and in options, probably a continued bet that management and operations may need to learn to speak German….

FormFactor Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM) may be a hedge or income trade of some sort, but this is a very odd pattern by any measure.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) saw a bullish bias in the options roll as September-2009 contracts expired.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for top day trader alerts, options screens, analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 19, 2009 – 10:33 am in Options, Trading Alert, , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (APD, CHTT, CTXS, FCX, PLAB, QCOM, SAP, PCU, STM, HOT)

These are the top ten pre-market analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street analysts this Wednesday morning with about two and a half hours until the market opens:

  • Air Products (APD) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
  • Chattem (CHTT) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Citrix Systems (CTXS) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
  • Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • Photronics (PLAB) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Qualcomm (QCOM) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
  • SAP (SAP) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Southern Copper (PCU) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
  • STMicro (STM) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.
  • Starwood Hotels (HOT) Cut to Underperform at Baird.

JON C. OGG
JULY 8, 2009

Posted on: July 8, 2009 – 6:16 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ADTN, ADS, BA, LFC, DB, EMC, FCX, FSYS, WFR, RVBD)

These are the top ten analyst calls of upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street early this Wednesday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

  • ADTRAN (ADTN) Started as Buy at Auriga.
  • Alliance Data (ADS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Boeing (BA) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  • China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (LFC) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Deutsche Bank (DB) Raised to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.
  • EMC Corp. (EMC) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
  • Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
  • Fuel Systems Solutions (FSYS) Raised to Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott.
  • MEMC (WFR) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • Riverbed Technology (RVBD) Started as Market Perform at FBR.

Jon C. Ogg
June 24, 2009

Posted on: June 24, 2009 – 6:25 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (CSIQ, EXPE, FCX, JNPR, K, LNC, OWW, TLEO, THS)

These are some of the top analyst upgrades and positive research calls which we have seen from Wall Street early this Thursday morning:

Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Expedia (EXPE) Started as Buy at Soleil.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Juniper Networks (JNPR) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Kellogg (K) Started as Outperform at RBC.
Lincoln National (LNC) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Orbitz Worldwide (OWW) Started as Buy at Soleil.
Taleo (TLEO) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Treehouse Foods (THS) Started as Outperform at William Blair.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: May 21, 2009 – 6:42 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Mining Earnings Plummet (FCX, ABX, GG)

burning-money-pic21Now this is what really bad news looks like. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE:FCX) reported first quarter 2009 EPS of $0.11 on net income of $43 million, compared with EPS of $2.64 and net income of $1.1 billion in the first quarter a year ago. Revenue was $2.6 billion, compared with $5.67 billion in 2008.

Analysts weren’t expecting much, and they got even less. Thomson Reuters’ estimates averaged $0.13, and revenue estimates averaged $2.69 billion. Operating income for the quarter totaled $672 million, against $2.4 billion a year ago. Expectations for Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE:ABX), which reports next week, and Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG), which reports the week after that, are not much better.
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Posted on: April 22, 2009 – 8:09 am in Commodities, Earnings, Metals, , ,

Newmont Divesting Indonesian Mining Interest (NEM, FCX, CVX)

gold-image3A ruling by an international arbitration court will lead to the divestiture by Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) of a portion of the company’s stake in an Indonesian mining firm. Newmont has 180 days to transfer the shares to the Indonesian government. Newmont owns 45% of the Indonesian firm, called Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT).
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Posted on: April 1, 2009 – 9:53 am in Mergers and Buy Outs, Metals, , ,

Top Analyst Downgrades (ACN, FCX, MBRX, NXY, PFG, RBA)

These are some of the top analyst downgrades or cautious research calls we have seen this Tuesday morning before the market opens:

Accenture (ACN) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
Metabasis (MBRX) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Nexen (NXY) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.
Principal Financial (PFG) Cut to Underperform at FBR.
Ritchie Brothers (RBA) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 31, 2009 – 7:12 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (BBY, CB, DVA, DFT, FCX, FMS, MWE, MCHP, WFT)

Money_stack_picThese are some of the top per-market analyst upgrades and positive calls we are seeing from Wall Street this Thursday morning:

  • Best Buy (BBY) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
  • Chubb (CB) Raised to Buy at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch.
  • DaVita (DVA) Started as Outperform at RBC.
  • Dupont Fabros Tech (DFT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Freeport McMorRan (FCX) Raised to Hold at Canccord.
  • Fresenius Medical (FMS) Started as Outperform at RBC.
  • MarkWest Energy (MWE) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
  • Microchip Tech (MCHP) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
  • Weatherford (WFT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
January 29, 2009

Posted on: January 29, 2009 – 7:48 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Freeport-McMoRan Wins By Losing (FCX)

Copper and gold miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. (NYSE:FCX) reported a net loss of $13.9 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008, a whopping -$36.78 EPS. But wait, there’s more: the company’s net income after special items totaling $14 billion, is actually $23 million, or a positive EPS of $0.06. Analysts had been expecting an EPS loss of -$1.16, so depending on your perspective, Freeport’s report was either very bad news or surprisingly good news.

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Posted on: January 27, 2009 – 9:22 am in Earnings, Metals,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (APD, AA, CENX, CERN, BOOM, ECLP, EE, FCX, K, LOGI, WYE)

Burning_money_picThese are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades we have seen this Thursday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

  • Air Products (APD) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
  • Alcoa (AA) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Century Aluminum (CENX) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Cerner (CERN) Cut to Hold at Jefferies; Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
  • Dynamic Materials (BOOM) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
  • Eclipsys (ECLP) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
  • El Paso Electric (EE) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley; Cut to Underperform at FBR.
  • Kellogg (K) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Logitech (LOGI) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
  • Wyeth (WYE) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

Jon C. Ogg
January 22, 2009

Posted on: January 22, 2009 – 7:34 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

Cramer’s Week of Shotgun Merger Proposals (RTP, AA, BHP, FCX, ITW, MTW, NKE, UA, PFE, AGN)

Cramer_imageJim Cramer came on CNBC’s MAD MONEY this week with several ideas for shotgun  marriage merger proposals he wanted to throw out there where he was calling for more mergers from the cash rich companies. 

Cramer’s Friday evening picks may have gotten some interest last year or even earlier this year, but these involve two companies which have already had their fair share of merger issues and non-events this year on top of the commodity bubble bursting.  Cramer believes that Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) should buy Alcoa (NYSE: AA) before the antitrust powers are able to actually block mergers.  Cramer also thinks BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) should go buy Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) now that the forced selling has taken the stock down to $16.00 to take over the copper and minerals mining giant.

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Posted on: December 5, 2008 – 6:52 pm in Cramer, Mergers and Buy Outs, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (ANF, ATVI, AA, CB, DELL, ERTS, FCX, MTL, STP)

These are the top research downgrades and negative analyst calls we are seeing this Monday morning with more than two hours to the open:

  • Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
  • Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  • Alcoa (AA) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
  • Chubb (CB) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
  • Dell (DELL) Cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  • Electronic Arts (ERTS) Cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  • Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Mechel Steel (MTL) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
  • Suntech Power (STP) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
November 17, 2008

Posted on: November 17, 2008 – 7:35 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Early Bird Analyst Downgrades (ADCT, ACL, AMMD, BGH, CNB, CNW, ERTS, FCX, NAT, OSG, PCU, STM)

Down_arrow_redThese are some of the top analyst downgrades we are seeing from Wall Street firms this Thursday morning with more than two hours to the open:

  • ADC Telecommunications (ADCT) Cut to Underweight from Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Alcon (ACL) Cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • American Medical Systems (AMMD) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  • Buckeye Group Holdings LP (BGH) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Colonial Bancgroup Inc. (CNB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Con-Way,Iinc (CNW) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
  • Electronic Arts (ERTS) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research.
  • Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Nordic American Tanker (NAT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Overseas Shipholding (OSG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Souhern Copper (PCU) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • STMicroelectronics (STM) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research.

Jon C. Ogg
October 23, 2008

Posted on: October 23, 2008 – 6:30 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (AMP, AAPL, DVAX, FCX, GMT, LNC, PCX, X)

Down_arrow_redThese are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades from Wall Street this Wednesday morning:

  • Ameriprise Financial (AMP) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
  • Apple (AAPL) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
  • Dynavax (DVAX) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
  • Freeport-McMoran (FCX) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
  • GATX (GMT) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • Lincoln National (LNC) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
  • Patriot Coal (PCX) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
  • US Steel (X) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Jon C. Ogg
October 22, 2008

Posted on: October 22, 2008 – 6:52 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (FCX, INCY, JEF, LPX, TU, WBS)

Below are some of the top early bird analyst upgrades we have seen early this morning with more than two hours to the open:

  • Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
  • Incyte (INCY) Started as Buy at Stanford Group.
  • Jefferies (JEF) Raised to Market Perform at Wachovia.
  • Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) Raised to Sector Perform at RBC.
  • TELUS Corp. (TU) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Webster Financial (WBS) Raised to Buy at Sander O’Neill.

Jon C. Ogg
October 7, 2008

Posted on: October 7, 2008 – 6:40 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , ,

Ken Heebner & CGM Stick With Commodities (CNX, BTU, FCX, PBR, HES, SLB, WFT, X, CGMFX)

While many funds and money managers are under watch, Ken Heebner and the investments in his CGM FOCUS FUND (CGMFX) are perhaps more closely watched than any other in today’s current market.  Some may love Warren Buffett and his no non-sense approach, but Ken Heebner actually has a better track record since inception and he is known for blowing out of sectors when he feels he should or can.  In fact, you could almost think of the FOCUS FUND as being run more and more like a hedge fund with very loose guidelines on which stocks he can or can’t pick from.  The fund also noted about 14% of the total assest that were sold short, so he does make bets against sectors as well.  As of June 30, Heebner was still extremely focused on the commodity and global growth stories.

We went through to look for his positions in the Focus Fund that are worth more than $500 Million.  Keep in mind that several other positions were just shy of the mark, so the overall values and holdings are better compared down further on at the full list.  Here were his top holdings in the CGM FOCUS FUND:  CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX), Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU), Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES), Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB), Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT), and United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X).

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Posted on: August 15, 2008 – 10:19 am in Financial Stocks, Mutual Funds, , , , , , , , ,

Top Upgrades & Downgrades (AA, RDY, FCX, GLBL, LIFC, MKTX, MDT, PRTS)

These are some of the top analyst calls this morning:

  • Alcoa (NYSE: AA) cut to Market Perform at FBR.
  • Dr. Reddy’s (NYSE: RDY) cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) cut to Market Perform at FBR.
  • Global Industries (NASDAQ: GLBL) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • LifeCell (NASDAQ: LIFC) started as Outperform at FBR.
  • Marketaxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) started as Market Perform at FBR.
  • US Auto Parts (NASDAQ: PRTS) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Jon C. Ogg
March 7, 2008

Posted on: March 7, 2008 – 8:39 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List Changes In Gold Sector (ABX, FCX)

Goldman Sachs is making a key change in the gold sector this morning.  The investment banking giant is adding Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) to the Americas Conviction Buy List.  This stock is replacing Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) on the Americas Conviction Buy List.

FCX is noted as being down over 15% year to date and being inexpensive based on a 49% upside from current prices to Goldman’s 12-month $129.00 price target.  Its leverage in copper is perhaps one of the more favorable issues according to the note, and Goldman notes that it believes copper consumption will be least affected of the base metals in a Western economic slowdown.

Barrick’s removal from the Americas Conviction Buy List comes on the heels of strong performance, which is actually up 29% since being added to the list on November 27, 2007.  Barrick is also up some 90% since April 2006 when it was first given a Buy rating.  Goldman Sachs is still maintaining its official Buy rating on Barrick along with a $66 price target.  The firm believes this was the beneficiary of higher gold prices over $900/ounce as the stock outperformed mining and metals peers.  It also believes this is a top gold investment vehicle.

This call looks more like a relative value call based upon performance and value, and it could even be an implied pairs trade in the sector to some.

Jon C. Ogg
January 31, 2008

Posted on: January 31, 2008 – 7:56 am in Analyst Calls, Metals, , , , ,