24/7 Wall St. » FINL

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — March 28, 2013: Markets Higher, S&P 500 Sets Record (NKE, BIIB, RYAAY, VHS, LULU, XONE, PAYX, SNX, TXI, END, FINL, GME, MOS, BBRY, WGO, CALM, DQ, PF, MTG, S, CLWR, DISH)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:06:58 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning even following a larger than expected rise in new claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. The final revision to fourth quarter 2012 GDP growth came in at 0.4%, a bit higher than expected (more coverage here). In Europe, Cypriot banks reopened without much excitement (more coverage here), retail sales fell in the eurozone and the Bank of Italy said the country’s GDP contraction in 2013 may be larger than expected. In Asia, China is expected to impose constraints on property sales in some cities and already has imposed more regulation on wealth management firms. Japanese retail sales also fell more than expected. The S&P 500 index closed at a new all-time high today.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.35% today, now at 82.928. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.5% at 657.78, with commodities prices mostly lower today on a USDA report that corn plantings will outpace last year (more coverage here). WTI crude oil closed up 0.7% today, at $97.23 a barrel, and closed out the month up 5.6% and the first quarter of the year up 5.9%. Brent crude trades up 0.3% at $109.98 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.5% today at about $4.01 per million BTUs after a larger than expected storage withdrawal (more coverage here). Gold settled down 0.7% today at $1,595.70 an ounce, up 1.1% for the month, but down 4.8% for the first quarter.

Note the U.S. markets are closed tomorrow in observance of Good Friday.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 49 points to 14,575.85 (0.34%), the NASDAQ rose 11 points (0.34%) to 3,267.52, and the S&P 500 rose 0.40% or more than 6 points to 1,569.06.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) started as ‘buy’ with a price target of $70 at Goldman Sachs; Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) started as ‘outperform’ at JMP Securities; Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: RYAAY) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Vanguard Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: VHS) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; and Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) started as ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) is up 7.7% at $32.94 after posting a new 52-week high of $34.27 earlier today (more coverage here); Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) is up 0.6% at $34.97 after posting a new 52-week high of $35.18 earlier today; Synnex Corp. (NYSE: SNX) is down 9.6% at $36.96; Texas Industries Inc. (NYSE: TXI) is down 5.9% at $62.12; Endeavor Mining Corp. (NYSE: END) is down 4.8% at $2.95; Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) is up 6.6% at $19.49; GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) is up 5.4% at $27.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $28.67 earlier today; Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) is up 1.6% at $59.61 (more coverage here); BlackBerry (NYSE: BBRY) is down 1.4% at $14.37 (more coverage here); and Winnebago Industries Inc. (NYSE: WGO) is down 5.5% at $20.67.

Before markets open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear from Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) and Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE: DQ).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Pinnacle Foods Inc. (NYSE: PF) is up 12.6% at $22.53. The frozen food processor held its IPO today. More coverage here.

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG) is up 5.7% at $4.86. The mortgage loan insurer had no news today, but new data indicates that foreclosures continue to fall (more coverage here).

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) is up 2.4% at $6.19. The mobile carrier paid out another $80 million to Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR), a clear sign that a counter-offer from Dish Network Corp (NASDAQ: DISH) is likely to either disappear or be rejected.

Stay tuned for Monday. U.S. markets are closed tomorrow, but two planned data releases are on the schedule. On Monday, carmakers will report new vehicle sales for March. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

Friday

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and spending
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index

Monday

8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great, long weekend!

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: BBRY, BIIB, CALM, CLWR, DISH, DQ, END, FINL, GME, LULU, MOS, MTG, NKE, PAYX, PF, RYAAY, S, SNX, TXI, VHS, WGO, XONE

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — March 27, 2013: Markets Close Mixed After Low Start (VMW, GOOG, AOL, GIS, ORCL, MFRM, SAI, XONE, PAYX, SNX, TXI, END, FINL, GME, MOS, BBRY, WGO, CLF, FB, GILD)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:06:27 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a stack of poor reports on the Italian economy. New industrial orders were down, industrial sales were down, and retail sales were down. To top it off, the newly elected prime minister has failed to form a new coalition government. There was no data from Asia today, but markets there were higher following yesterday’s gains in the U.S. Data on U.S. pending home sales was not as weak as it appeared (more coverage here) and expectations for an upwardly revised U.S. GDP growth figure due out tomorrow (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.43% today, now at 83.231. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.9% at 654.54, with commodities prices mostly higher today on a stronger dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.1% today, at $96.38 a barrel, after a sharp rise in inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 0.3% at $109.87 a barrel. Natural gas is up 1.8% today at about $4.07 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 0.7% today at $1,606.20 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 33 points to 14,526.16 (-0.23%), the NASDAQ rose about 4 points (0.12%) to 3,256.52, and the S&P 500 fell 0.06% or about 1 point to 1,562.86.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) raised to ‘strong buy’ although price target lowered to $115 at ISI; Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) reiterated as ‘outperform’ and target price raised to $982 at Credit Suisse; AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) raised to ‘overweight’ with a price target of $44 at Barclays; General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $57 at Argus; and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a target price of $38 at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MFRM) is up 12.6% at $34.93 and SAIC Inc. (NYSE: SAI) is up 3.9% at $13.33 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.65 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) (more coverage here), Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX), Synnex Corp. (NYSE: SNX), Texas Industries Inc. (NYSE: TXI), Endeavor Mining Corp. (NYSE: END), Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY), and Winnebago Industries Inc. (NYSE: WGO).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) is down 14.6% at $18.30 after posting a new 52-week low of $17.95 earlier today. The iron ore and coal miner took a number of analysts’ downgrades today.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up 3.5% at $26.09. The social media company is working on a new advertising plan and investors are looking for a boost to revenues.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is up 4.4% at $47.76 after posting a new 52-week high of $47.83 earlier today. The drugmaker got a boost from an approval to proceed with testing of its hepatitis-C drug.

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

8:30 a.m. – GDP
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Corporate profits
9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
11:30 a.m. – 7-year note auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AOL, BBRY, CLF, END, FB, FINL, GILD, GIS, GME, GOOG, MFRM, MOS, ORCL, PAYX, SAI, SNX, TXI, VMW, WGO, XONE

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ARG, ALL, BBRY, CEO, CMCSA, FINL, HSP, JCP, LIFE, RBS, SYW, SIAL, SPW, WFM)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:45:59 +0000

Investors and active traders are always on the lookout for new ideas to generate profits. 24/7 Wall St. looks over research calls from all over to find great ideas. Many research-driven ideas for stocks to buy and for stocks to sell come from independent research firms. Some also come from the large sell-side investment banking firms on Wall St. The goal is often to find good value stocks and growth stocks, or to avoid the value traps and those where the growth has stalled.

These are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from select Wall St. research calls.

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) cut to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE: CEO) raised to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch and raised to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) started as Overweight at J.P. Morgan and started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) cut to Underperform at Stern Agee.

Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) cut to Underperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFE) cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Safeway Co. (NYSE: SWY) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (NASDAQ: SIAL) cut to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

SPX Corp. (NYSE: SPW) downgraded to Neutral at J.P. Morgan and downgraded to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) cut to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Deutsche Bank not only is calling for a secular bull market and not only raised its GDP forecast for the United States. The firm gave a huge list of companies it expects to win in the next leg of the bull market over the coming years.

BofA/Merrill Lynch identified many top leveraged buyout candidates.

Canaccord Genuity aggressively raised LED stocks.

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls, Value Investing Tagged: ALL, ARG, BBRY, CEO, CMCSA, FINL, HSP, JCP, LIFE, RBS, SIAL, SPW, SYW, WFM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — January 4, 2013: Markets Improve on Early Gains (AAPL, SKT, URBN, FSLR, JNJ, LULU, SONC, MOS, FINL, PSX, ALU, SVU, EGLE)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:04:03 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning following the report that nonfarm payrolls had grown by 155,000, better than the expected growth of 150,000 (more coverage here). The December unemployment rate came in a 7.8%, flat with the revised figure for November, but below the expected rate of 7.7%. In Europe, non-manufacturing PMI data was release for the eurozone, and the reading for the entire group came in a 47.8, in line with expectations, but still indicating contraction. Retail sales were down year-over-year in Germany, but not by as much as estimated. In Asia, China’s non-manufacturing PMI fell slightly month-over-month and Australia’s reading fell from 47.1 to 42.3. U.S. equities rose early and remained in positive territory most of the day. The Nasdaq has posted the smallest gain following a report from Deutsche Bank that it does not expect Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to meet quarterly sales estimates.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.13% today, now at 80.484. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.4% at 650.05, with commodities prices mostly lower today. WTI crude oil closed up 0.2% today, at $93.09 a barrel, following a sharp decline in crude inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 1% at $111.18 a barrel. Natural gas is up 2.6% today at about $3.28 per million BTUs, following a slightly larger-than-expected draw on inventories (more coverage here). Gold settled down 1.5% today at $1,648.90 an ounce, and closed the week down 0.4%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 44 points to 13,434.98 (0.33%), the NASDAQ rose about 1 point (0.04%) to 3,101.66, and the S&P 500 rose 0.48% or about 7 points to 1,466.41.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (NYSE: SKT) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) cut to ‘underperform’ at Raymond James; Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; and Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in these price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today: Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) is down 1.2% at $10.61; The Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) is up 3.8% at $58.93 (more coverage here); and Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) is down 10% at $17.14 after posting a new 52-week low of $17.12 earlier today (more coverage here).

Before markets open on Monday we are scheduled to get an earnings report from Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Supervalu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) is up 15.1% at $2.97. The supermarket chain is getting a bounce from a report that the company is nearing a deal with private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP to buy parts of the company.

Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ: EGLE) is up 27.2% at $2.29. The dry bulk shipper is leading a pack of competitors higher on expectations of an increase in iron ore shipments to China. More coverage here.

Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) is up 11.5% at $1.63. The network technology company got an upgrade yesterday and the company is expected to benefit from the increased demand for network capacity due to the rise of tablets and smartphone sales.

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, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, ALU, EGLE, FINL, FSLR, JNJ, LULU, MOS, PSX, SKT, SONC, SVU, URBN

Finish Line Misses, Offers Weak Guidance

Paul Ausick — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:56:34 +0000

Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) reported third-quarter fiscal 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The athletic shoe and apparel retailer reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) at breakeven on revenues of $296.6 million. In the same period a year ago, Finish Line reported EPS of $0.11 on revenue of $282 million. Today’s results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.11 and $296.1 million in revenue.

The company’s CEO said:

The third quarter was clearly more challenging than we anticipated. Sales came in below plan due primarily to a shift within athletic footwear trends and a less than favorable consumer response to the new ecommerce site we launched in mid November. Our top-line performance forced us to get more promotional to improve the composition of our inventory ahead of the important Holiday season. At the same time, we did not adjust our cost structure quickly enough in response to slowing sales trends.

Finish Line guided EPS at $0.74 to $0.78 for the fourth quarter, well below the consensus estimate of $0.82. For the full fiscal year ending on March 2, the company forecast EPS of $1.47 to $1.51, again, well below the current consensus estimate of $1.64.

Shares are down about 5% in premarket trading this morning, at $18.04 in a 52-week range of $17.41 to $26.16. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $24.25 before today’s results were announced.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Consumer Goods, Earnings, Retail Tagged: FINL

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AAPL, BHI, BDX, CPHD, CERN, FINL, MCP, QGEN, SD, SAP, TXN, TRV, UN, USNA, USG, YY)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:47:54 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall St. research calls this Monday.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) cut to Neutral and target cut to $575 from $675 at Citi, and maintained Buy but cut price target to $750 from $800 at Canaccord Genuity.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE: BDX) started as Underperform at BofA/ML.

Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) started as Buy with $40 target at BoA/ML.

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) started as Buy with $89 target at Argus.

Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Qiagen N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN) started as Neutral at BofA/ML.

SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) cut to Sell with $4 target at Canaccord Genuity.

SAP A.G. (NYSE: SAP) raised to Market Perform at JMP Securities.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) cut to Underperform at Stern Agee.

Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) raised to Top Pick with $87 target at RBC.

Unilever N.V. (NYSE: UN) raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

USANA Health Sciences Inc. (NYSE: USNA) cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) raised to Top Pick at RBC.

YY Inc. (NASDAQ: YY) started as Sector Perform at Pac-Crest, started as Buy at Citi and started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Here are some other outside (and internal) outlook pieces for the end of 2012 and 2013:

Coal could be a top performer in 2013 after two really bad years.
Fortune’s Top 10 Stocks to Buy for 2013
BofA’s 10 Defensive and Yield Stock Picks for 2013
The Big Gold Trade: 2013 Pairing Gold Versus Miners
S&P 500 Upside Targets for 2013, from Everyone
Our own Alternative Energy and Cleantech Outlook for 2013

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, BDX, BHI, CERN, CPHD, FINL, MCP, QGEN, SAP, SD, TRV, TXN, UN, USG, USNA, YY

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMRN, BSX, BRCD, CVC, CFNL, CROX, FINL, FL, GMO, HMA, LAZ, NOV, OTEX, PCG, RH, SHOO, VPHM, YELP)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:28:37 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall St. research calls this Tuesday.

Amarin Corp. (NASDAQ: AMRN) started as Buy with $20 target at Citigroup.

Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) maintained Hold at Argus.

Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Cardinal Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CFNL) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) started as Buy with $17 target at Goldman Sachs.

Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) started as Buy with $39 target Goldman Sachs.

General Moly Inc. (NYSEMKT: GMO) cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Health Management Associates Inc. (NYSE: HMA) cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) started as Outperform with $34 target at Raymond James.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Open Text Corp. (NASDAQ: OTEX) raised to Outperform at RBC.

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) maintained Buy rating but cut target to $45 at Argus.

Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RH) started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs and started as Outperform at Baird.

Steven Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) started as Sell with $35 target at Goldman Sachs.

ViroPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: VPHM) raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) raised to Buy with $24 target at Cantor Fitzgerald.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AMRN, BRCD, BSX, CFNL, CROX, CVC, FINL, FL, GMO, HMA, LAZ, NOV, OTEX, PCG, RH, SHOO, VPHM, Yelp

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — October 1, 2012: Markets Struggle to Hold Early Gains (ALU, NOW, FINL, IACI, BIDU, CALM, FGP, SURG, TISI, ZNGA, AYI, MOS, CRDN, MMM, FONR, NOK, ORCL)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:04:56 +0000

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher this morning as the eurozone PMI numbers came in slightly better than expected, but still with a contractionary direction (more coverage here). China’s manufacturing PMI number also indicated continued contraction. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong are closed for the week to observe the Golden Week holiday. The September ISM manufacturing index came in higher than expected in the U.S. (more coverage here), but construction spending fell in August (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.13% at 79.832. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.8% at 665.73, with commodities prices mixed. WTI crude oil closed up 0.3% today, at $92.48 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 0.17% at $112.20 a barrel. Natural gas is up 4.8% today to $3.48 per thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,783.30 an ounce, up 0.5%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 78 points to 13,515.04 (0.58%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 3 points (-0.09%) to 3,113.53, and the S&P 500 rose 0.26% or nearly 4 points to 1,444.47.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Alcatel Lucent (NYSE: ALU) cut to ‘sell’ with a target price of $0.78 at UBS; ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) cut to ‘sell’ with a target price of $28 at UBS; The Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) raised to ‘neutral’ at Sterne Agee; IAC/InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) raised to ‘buy’ with a target price of $65 at Needham; and Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) cut to ‘hold’ with a target price of $125 at Jefferies.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) is up 1.5% at $45.59 after posting a new 52-week high of $47.00 earlier today; Ferrellgas Partners LP (NYSE: FGP) is flat at $19.40 (more coverage here); and Synergetics USA Inc. (NASDAQ: SURG) is down 2.8% at $4.80.

Before markets open on Tuesday we are scheduled to hear from Team Inc. (NYSE: TISI), Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA), Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI), and Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Ceradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDN)) is up 43.3% at $34.99. The ceramic products maker is being acquired by 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) for $860 million, or $35/share. More coverage here.

Fonar Corp. (NASDAQ: FONR) is up 30.4% at $4.89. The maker of upright and stand-up MRI machines reported much better than expected earnings this morning.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is up 6.8% at $2.75. The handset maker will supply its mapping and location services software to Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL). More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Motor vehicles sales reports start coming out. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:45 a.m. – ICSC-Goldman Sachs Store Sales
8.55 a.m. – Redbook
11.30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ALU, AYI, BIDU, CALM, CRDN, FGP, FINL, FONR, IACI, MMM, MOS, NOK, NOW, ORCL, SURG, TISI, ZNGA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — September 28, 2012: Markets Sag as Quarter Ends (CAT, MCD, QCOM, APA, PFE, RIMM, NKE, ACN, AM, FINL, WAG, CALM, FGP, SURG, MDRX, ADTN, FB)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:05:39 +0000

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower this morning following a weaker-than-expected report on U.S. personal income and inline personal consumption spending (more coverage here). U.S. markets followed Europe, where today’s data releases were not particularly poor, but not upbeat at all. Eurozone inflation ticked higher (more coverage here) and concerns over Spanish banks’ stress test results kept equities in the red (more coverage here). In Asia, a weak report on industrial production in Japan offset speculation about more stimulus in China. U.S. consumer sentiment continues low (more coverage here) and Chicago PMI posted a surprising reading that fell on the contraction side of the line (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index rose today, now up 0.41% at 79.876. The GSCI commodity index is up 1.3% at 660.26, with commodities prices mostly higher. WTI crude oil closed up 0.5% today, at $92.23 a barrel, to close the quarter up 7%. Brent crude trades up 0.24% at $112.28 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.7% today to $3.32 per thousand cubic feet. Gold closed at $1,773.90 an ounce, down 0.4%, but up 11% on the quarter (more coverage here).

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 50 points to 13,435.97 (-0.37%), the NASDAQ fell more than 20 points (-0.65%) to 3,116.23, and the S&P 500 fell -0.45% or more than 6 points to 1,440.65.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML; McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) cut to ‘neutral’ at Janney; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) started as ‘buy’ at Brean Murray; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) maintained as ‘hold’ but estimates lowered at Argus; and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) started as ‘outperform’ at BMO.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is up 7.1% at $7.65 (more coverage here); Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is down 1.1% at $94.93 (more coverage here); Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is up 7% at $69.95 after posting a new 52-week high of $70.64 earlier today; American Greetings Corp. (NYSE: AM) is down 1% at $16.84; Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) is down 0.1% at $22.72 (more coverage here); and Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) is down 0.8% at $36.31 after posting a new 52-week high of $36.90 earlier today (more coverage here).

Before markets open on Monday we are scheduled to hear from Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM), Ferrellgas Partners LP (NYSE: FGP), and Synergetics USA Inc. (NASDAQ: SURG).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) is up 13% at $12.31. The electronic health records provider has been reported to be looking to sell the company.

ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) is down 9.8% at $17.27. The network equipment maker revised quarterly revenues and earnings downward. The news hit other network equipment makers as well.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up 6.6% at $21.65. The social network announced a new retail feature yesterday, giving rise to hopes that the company will pump up its revenues and profits.

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

9:00 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
11.30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ACN, ADTN, AM, APA, CALM, CAT, FB, FGP, FINL, MCD, MDRX, NKE, PFE, QCOM, RIMM, SURG, WAG

Finish Line Sprints to Win

Paul Ausick — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:34:33 +0000

The Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) reported fiscal second-quarter 2013 diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.39 on revenue of $385 million. In the same period a year ago, the athletic gear retailer reported diluted EPS of $1.36 on revenue of $331.5 million. Second-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.44 and $358.3 million in revenue.

The company also said same-store sales for the quarter rose 12.3% year-over-year, higher than the 11% in 2011 compared with 2010.

Finish Line’s chairman and CEO said:

Second quarter sales were driven by market share gains in running and basketball as we have been able to capitalize on recent trends in each category enabled by our strong relationships with both vendors and consumers. Importantly, we translated a 16% top-line increase into 26% earnings growth even as we make the necessary investments in order to successfully execute our omni-channel vision.

The company guided full-year EPS to a range of 6% to 9% higher than last year’s total of $1.53. That translates to a range of $1.62 to $1.68. The consensus estimate calls for EPS of $1.66. The company also expects full-year same store sales to rise by 6% to 8%.

Another highlight for the quarter was the jump in comparable sales for Finish Line’s online store. Comparable online sales rose 29.6%. Gross margins came in at 35%, slightly below the 35.1% gross margin posted a year ago.

The company has no long-term debt and more than $250 million in cash and equivalents. If there is one cautionary note in today’s report, it is that inventory is up 9% compared with the same period of last year.

Finish Line’s shares are up about 4% in premarket trading, at $23.76. The 52-week range is $17.87 to $26.16. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of $25.82 before today’s report.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Consumer Goods, Earnings, Retail Tagged: FINL