24/7 Wall St. » FIO

Closing Bell for Tuesday on Wall Street: Markets Open Up, Finish Strong

Paul Ausick — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:07:17 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning an inline report from the U.S. Department of Labor on export and import prices. In Europe, eurozone industrial production rose 1%, above the expected gain of 0.4%. A survey on economic sentiment also came in higher than expected. In Asia, markets closed lower in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo following limited data releases. In the U.S., equities rose steadily in morning trading although prices leveled off in the afternoon.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.38% today, now at 83.5910. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.2% at 627.87. WTI crude oil closed down 1%, at $95.1794.21 a barrel following the release of the International Energy Agency’s mid-term outlook predicting that growing U.S. crude oil will set off a “supply shock” that will drive down the price of crude. Brent crude trades down 0.2% at $102.61 a barrel. Natural gas is up 2.3% today at about $4.02 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.7% today at $1,424.50.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 123 points to 15,215.25 (0.82%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 24 points (0.69%) to 3,462.61, and the S&P 500 rose 1.01% or nearly 17 points to 1,650.34.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) cut to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James;
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) cut to ‘hold’ at Jefferies;
Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS;
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) maintained on ‘Conviction Buy’ list and price target raised to $30 at Goldman Sachs; and
AllScripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today:

Copa Holdings SA (NYSE: CPA) is up 8.2% at $135.25 after posting a new 52-week high of $138.99 earlier today;
Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) is up 0.2% at $3.00;
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) is up 1.3% at $16.60 after posting a new 52-week high of $17.54;
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is down 1.4% at $12.43; and
SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) is down 12.2% at $31.50, and we’ve noted something to watch for that could help this company and probably many other alt energy players.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Primo Water Corp. (NASDAQ: PRMW), Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE: AG), and Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) is up 9.6% at $20.70, after posting a new 52-week high of $22.22 earlier today. The consumer electronics firm is being encouraged by activist investor Daniel Loeb to break into pieces, which may not be the best idea he’s ever had.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is down 5.5% at $3.63. The mobile phone maker introduced a new phone today. Investors apparently were not impressed.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is up 7.8% at $6.86. The daily deals company had no news today, but heavier than normal volume indicates demand was good for the stock.

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

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
9:00 a.m. – Treasury International Capital (TIC) data
9:15 a.m. – Industrial production
10:00 a.m. – Housing market index
10:00 a.m. – E-commerce retail sales
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: A, AG, CPA, CREE, CSC, DDS, DE, FIO, GRPN, KBH, M, MDRX, NOK, PAAS, PRMW, RENN, SCTY, SNE, TTWO, YHOO

Top Analyst Upgrades and Stocks to Buy: Dean Foods, Fusion-io, Kroger, Yahoo! and More

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:30:15 +0000

Investors and traders are often looking for fresh research ideas that will lead to higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks. We have broken out the positive analyst calls as far as stocks to buy and positive research calls, and these are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, initiations and positive analyst research calls seen from Wall Street.

AllScripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.

Copa Holdings S.A. (NYSE: CPA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney.

Emulex Corp. (NYSE: ELX) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) was raised to Buy from Neutral by UBS.

Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) was maintained Outperform and the target price was raised to $38 from $33 by Credit Suisse.

Merrill Lynch issued its top list of high dividend large cap pharma stocks to buy.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. (NYSE: NSM) was named Bull of the Day with solid growth potential and appropriate for all portfolios by Zacks Investment Research.

UBS has issued its list of semiconductor stocks to buy.

WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) was maintained on the Conviction Buy List and the price target was raised to $30 from $27 by Goldman Sachs.

Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: HAWK) saw its quiet period come to an end and brokerage firms from the underwriting syndicate have initiated coverage: started as Buy at Deutsche Bank started as Buy at Goldman Sachs started as Outperform at Wells Fargo, started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray, started as Outperform at Raymond James and started as Neutral at Citigroup and at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

Oppenheimer strategist raised the firm’s 2013 year-end price S&P 500 targets on Monday to 1,730 for the index and $109.00 for the total earnings per share estimate.

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls, Value Investing Tagged: CPA, ELX, FIO, HAWK, KR, MDRX, NSM, WLP, YHOO

Closing Bell for Wednesday on Wall Street: Markets Open Lower, Stock Prices Rise All Day

Paul Ausick — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:05:50 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning on relatively little economic data. In Europe, Germany reported that industrial production rose 1.2%, while a house price index in the U.K.rose 1.1% month-over-month. In Asia, China reported a stronger-than-expected trade surplus of $18.16 billion in April (more coverage here). In the U.S., demand for home mortgages rose, primarily on rising demand for refinancing (more coverage here). Share prices turned higher shortly after trading opened this morning, and indexes remained positive all day, with all three major indexes posting a decent gain by the closing bell.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.43% today, now at 81.897. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.4% at 630.47. WTI crude oil closed up 1.1%, at $96.62 a barrel, following today’s report on inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 0.2% at $104.21 a barrel, creating the lowest spread between WTI and Brent in recent memory. Natural gas is up 1.4% today at about $3.98 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.7% today at $1,473.70.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 48 points to 15,104.97 (0.32%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 17 points (0.49%) to 3,413.27, and the S&P 500 rose 0.41% or nearly 7 points to 1,632.68.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) cut to ‘cautiousl’ at ISI group;
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee;
U.S. Auto Parts Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) raised to ‘buy’ at Roth Capital;
Plains All American Pipeline LP (NYSE: PAA) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; and
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) cut to ‘underperform at Baird.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading:

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is down 0.9% at $41.61;
Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD) is up 2.9% at $8.83;
Fuel Tech Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK) is down 10.3% at $3.59;
Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) is up 6.3% at $5.62;
Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) is up 0.9% at $34.65;
SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) is down 3.5% at $5.20;
Zillow Inc. (NYSE: Z) is down 9.9% at $56.70;
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is down 9.8% at $37.36 (more coverage here);
Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) is up fractionally at $47.34;
The Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN) is down 5.7% at $5.77; and
Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is up 10.5% at $13.30.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR), Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST), Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX), Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX), Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC), Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE), and Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Affymax Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFY) is up 18.9% at $1.37. The biopharmaceutical firm had no news today, but seemed to catch a wave from Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN).

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is up 17.3% at $21.59, a new 52-week high. The video game company posted good results and forecast a strong current quarter.

Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) is down 19.4% at $14.51. The storage company’s CEO and founder resigned today.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year bond auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AFFY, AGU, AMGN, AOL, AWK, BBBY, CDE, CLR, CMA, CVC, DISH, DMD, EA, ENB, FIO, FTEK, GRPN, KGC, LULU, MNST, MRO, PAA, PARTS, PEIX, RAX, RIG, SD, TSLA, VVUS, WEN, Z

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — Thursday: Markets Open Higher, Maintain Positive Trend Today

Paul Ausick — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:04:34 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning following a report on U.S. unemployment that was better than analysts expected (more coverage here). There were literally hundreds of U.S. companies reporting earnings between last night’s close and today’s open, and equities were pushing the market higher most of the day as well. In Europe, the U.K. reported positive GDP growth in the first quarter (more coverage here), while Spain’s unemployment rate rose to 27.16% (more coverage here). In Asia, South Korea reported higher-than-expected GDP growth, but there was little other data. Before U.S. markets open tomorrow morning, first quarter GDP will be announced (more coverage here). The consensus estimate calls for growth of 3.1% compared with the fourth quarter of 2012.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.38% today, now at 82.733. The GSCI commodity index is up 1.2% at 614.65. WTI crude oil closed up 2.4%, at $93.64 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 1.6% at $103.40 a barrel. Natural gas is up fractionally today at about $4.17 per million BTUs after an in-line storage report (more coverage here). Gold settled up 2.7% today at $1,462.00 an ounce, chalking up its largest one-day gain so far this year.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 35 points to 14,711.82 (0.24%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 23 points (0.70%) to 3,292.48, and the S&P 500 rose 0.47% or more than 6 points to 1,585.17.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; Federal-Mogul Corp. (NASDAQ: FDML) raised to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup and J.P. Morgan; Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) raised to ‘buy’ at Hilliard Lyons; and McGraw Hill Companies Inc. (NYSE: MHP) cut to ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) is up 30.1% at $26.16 after posting a new 52-week high of $26.72 earlier today; Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI) is up 11.4% at $54.67 after posting a new 52-week high of $54.74 earlier today; Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) is up 18.4% at $19.70; O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) is up 4.7% at $105.86 after posting a new 52-week high of $108.98 earlier today; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is down 5.4% at $62.42 (more coverage here); Vale SA (NYSE: VALE) is up 1.8% at $17.05; Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) is down 0.1% at $52.86 after posting a new 52-week high of $57.95 earlier today; 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) is down 2.7% at $105.00; Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is up 1.1% at $35.92; Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) is up 6.9% at $72.99; Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is down 1.3% at $88.25 (more coverage here); Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) is up 3.1% at $40.85 (more coverage here); Proto Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: PRLB) is down 1.3% at $48.10 (more 3D printing coverage here); and Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) is down 14.1% at $24.28 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR), Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR), HealthSouth Corp. (NYSE: HLS), Olin Corp. (NYSE: OLN), Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC), Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX), Wynn Resorts, Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN), Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), and VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

MPG Office Trust Inc. (NYSE: MPG) is up 20.6% at $3.14. The office and real-estate development REIT is being acquired by Brookfield Office Properties Inc. (NYSE: BPO) for $3.15 a share..

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) is up 16.1% at $21.15. The steelmaker and iron ore miner posted better-than-expected results this morning.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is down 7.1% at $3.11. The social games company posted poor results last night and expectations are not encouraging. More coverage here.

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

8:30 a.m. – GDP
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, ALU, AMZN, ANGI, BG, BIDU, BKW, BYI, CLWR, CSTR, CVX, FDML, FFIV, FIO, HLS, INTU, MHP, MMM, MO, NOV, OLN, ORLY, POT, PRLB, QCOM, RRC, SBUX, SWY, VALE, VFC, WDC, WYNN, XOM, ZNGA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — April 24, 2013: Markets Mixed at Open, Mixed at Close

Paul Ausick — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:10:43 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning as investors and traders tried to make sense of more than 150 earnings reports that were released between last night’s closing bell and this morning’s opening. The most attention was paid to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), where results were not altogether pleasing and the stock has zigged and zagged all day today. There was relatively little economic data released today. In Germany, the IFO business climate index fell sharply (more coverage here) and retail sales were weaker than expected in Italy. In Shanghai, bargain hunters pushed the market up 1.6%. In the U.S., the report on durable goods orders was worse than expected and indicates a weak GDP report coming later this week (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.16% today, now at 82.912. The GSCI commodity index is flat at 607.11. WTI crude oil closed up 2.5%, at $91.43 a barrel after today’s report from the EIA on petroleum inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades up 1.1% at $101.44 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.4% today at about $4.18 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.1% today at $1,423.70 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 43 points to 14,676.30 (-0.29%), the NASDAQ rose less than 1 point (0.01%) to 3,269.65, and the S&P 500 was flat at 1,578.79.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including EBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) raised to ‘buy’ at SocGen; CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) raised to ‘outperform’ with a price target of $54 at Oppenheimer; Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) cut to ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley and ‘neutral’ at Citigroup (more coverage here).

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is up 0.4% at $407.67 (more coverage here); Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) is up 7.1% at $35.33; Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) is down 22.4% at $64.24 after posting a new 52-week low of $63.50 earlier today; Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) is down 9.7% at $15.67; Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) is up 7.2% at $68.74; Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is up 7.5% at $18.90 (more coverage here); Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) is up 6% at $13.91 (more coverage here); Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is down 0.1% at $13.35 (more coverage here); Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is down 5.5% at $77.46 (more coverage here); and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) is up 0.4% at $7.13 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI), Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI), Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO), O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), Vale SA (NYSE: VALE), Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC), Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA), 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), HealthSouth Corp. (NYSE: HLS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT), Proto Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: PRLB), and Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

SuperValu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) is up 11% at $5.95. The supermarket chain reported a wider loss this morning, but investors apparently like what the company had to say about the next few quarters.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is down 5.2% at $36.97. The telecom giant is just too big to expect growth. More coverage here.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) is up 4.2% at $14.93. The smartphone maker is adding Skype to its app lineup, and combined with some analysts’ concerns about Apple, that appears to be enough to boost the shares.

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

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
1:00 p.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: AAPL, ABX, ANGI, BBRY, BG, BHI, BRCM, BYI, CIT, EBAY, EW, F, FIO, GLW, HAL, HLS, JNPR, MMM, MO, ORLY, PG, POT, PRLB, QCOM, S, SVU, SWY, T, VALE, WDC, XOM, YUM, ZNGA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — March 26, 2013: Markets Push Equities Higher Today (BTU, AAPL, FIO, CAT, EA, FMCN, SONC, PRTS, MFRM, SAI, ZIOP, HPQ, DELL, AMX)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:06:14 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning and a spate of decent news on U.S. housing kept markets in the green all day. The S&P 500 index finished the day’s session within sight of it’s all-time high close of 1,565.15. In the U.S., the S&P Case-Shiller house price index sharply in January, at a rate last seen before the housing crash in 2008 (more coverage here). Orders for durable goods rose (more coverage here), but consumer confidence took a dive (more coverage here and here). In France, consumer confidence slipped, and the resolution of the Cyprus banking crisis appears to have calmed some fears. There was no data out of Asia either, but China’s official newspaper has taken a swipe at another major U.S. company (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.08% today, now at 82.894. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.4% at 649.03, with commodities prices mostly higher today. WTI crude oil closed up 1.6% today, at $96.34 a barrel, the highest close in more than a month. Brent crude trades up 1.1% at $109.33 a barrel. Natural gas is up 2.9% today at about $3.98 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.6% today at $1,595.70 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 112 points to 14,559.65 (0.77%), the NASDAQ rose more than 17 points (0.53%) to 3,252.48, and the S&P 500 rose 0.78% or about 12 points to 1,563.77.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) raised to ‘outperform’ at Raymond James; Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) maintained as ‘outperform’ but price target cut to $550 at Oppenheimer; Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) started as ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer; Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) maintained as ‘positive’ but price target cut to $109 at Susquehanna; and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) raised to ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) is up 0.7% at $26.86; Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) is up 9.3% at $12.82 after posting a new 52-week high of $12.93 earlier today; and U.S. Auto Parts Network Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) is down 9.4% at $1.06 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.01 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MFRM) and SAIC Inc. (NYSE: SAI).

Short interest will be reported after markets close today. We’ll have our round-up of selected sectors tomorrow morning.

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: ZIOP) is down 62.4% at $1.93. The drugmaker has cancelled its late-stage trial for a cancer drug.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is up 2.3% at $23.64. The high-tech firm got an upgrade today and is likely getting some benefit from the uncertainty surrounding a possible buyout of competitor Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL).

America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: AMX) is up 2% at $21.15. The mobile phone carrier has obtained the Latin American broadcast rights the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and the 2016 Summer Games.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto, and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota are giving speeches. We have (also) noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:00 a.m. – Pending home sales
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 5-year note auction
3:00 p.m. – Farm Prices

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, AMX, BTU, CAT, DELL, EA, FIO, FMCN, HPQ, MFRM, PRTS, SAI, SONC, ZIOP

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (APC, AAPL, BSFT, CAT, EA, FIO, GMAN, BTU, RFMD, TI)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:40:32 +0000

Investors and traders are constantly looking for new ideas that will generate profits. 24/7 Wall St. looks over research calls from all over to find great ideas, from value stocks to dividends to growth stocks. Many research-driven ideas for stocks to buy and stocks to sell come from independent research firms. Some also come from the large sell-side investment banking firms on Wall St.

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

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) reiterated Outperform and target raised to $109 from $99 at Credit Suisse.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) maintained Outperform but target price cut to $550 from $600 at Oppenheimer.

BroadSoft Inc. (NASDAQ: BSFT) raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Raymond James.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) maintained Positive but target cut by $9 to $109 and estimates were lowered at Susquehanna.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) started as Perform at Oppenheimer.

Gordmans Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: GMAN) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray and cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) raised to Outperform at Raymond James.

RF Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Telecom Italia S.p.A. (NYSE: TI) cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.

Deutsche Bank came up with a list of the next winners for the secular bull market. This list is great and includes themes for global growth, capital expenditure, dividend growth, debt capacity and economic profit growth. Also, here are that firm’s top picks in the regional and money center banks.

Filed under: Active Trader, Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, APC, BSFT, BTU, CAT, EA, FIO, GMAN, RFMD, TI

Using Black Swan and Antifragile Analysis for Tech Stocks (UBS, VMW, CRM, AAPL, FB, LNKD, HPQ, NTAP, FIO, IBM, EMC)

Lee Jackson — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:50:43 +0000

Nassim Taleb is well known for his work as a trader and professor, as well as the author of the book “ Black Swan.” He often concentrates his work on market volatility and the likelihood of extreme situations or occurrences that can radically move stock prices. The 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center were a black swan event, devastating and totally unpredicted. His new book “Antifragile” focuses on things that gain from disorder. Are there tech stocks that can gain from disorder as well?

The tech analysts at UBS A.G. (NYSE: UBS) decided it would be interesting to apply some of the principles of Taleb’s book to tech stocks they cover. They point out in their report released today that Taleb advises using optionality to your advantage in finding situations with limited downside but undetermined upside. What matters is not the frequency of being right but the magnitude when you are correct. Also, to favor a barbell approach, both in specific companies that avoid the mushy middle of markets and in your portfolio by mixing low and high-risk assets.

Fragile things hate volatility and uncertainty, while the antifragile thrives on it. The UBS team believes that technology stocks, especially large caps, are inherently fragile, given that the industry structure changes every 15 years or so. They looked for companies riding emerging trends, and point to VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) and Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) as examples.

Vendors creating new product categories also scored high as antifragile. This category included names like tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), social media leader Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and business networking site operator LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD).

One area that the spectrum of fragility did not favor as well was information technology (IT). The UBS analysts pointed out that computing as a service may present more risk than upside for many of the names that they cover. In their coverage universe, they consider Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) particularly fragile, given its size and share losses. They also see NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) as caught in the middle as it remains concerned about Fusion-io Inc.’s (NYSE: FIO) niche status. However, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) scored much better and are well-positioned large vendors.

At the end of the day, technology in always changing and evolving. Companies that look to past successes and not to future growth often can find themselves in the stock graveyard. Antifragile tech stocks might be the way to protect a portfolio from rapid technology and consumer shifts.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, Technology, Technology Companies, Telecom & Wireless Tagged: AAPL, CRM, EMC, FB, FIO, HPQ, IBM, LNKD, NTAP, UBS, VMW

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — January 31, 2013: Markets Slip Again (HES, STX, QCOMM, FIO, CMA, CTXS, COP, EA, FB, JDSU, LVS, AET, MO, AN, CL, DNKN, MA, PHM, TWC, UPS, BYI, GDOT, WYNN, CVX, XOM, MAT, MRK, NOV, TSN, RIMM, WMS, SGMS, STZ)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:17:51 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a mixed bag of data on the U.S. economy and mixed earnings results out this morning. In Europe, Germany’s retail sales fell sharply this month, but the unemployment rate improved to 6.8% (more coverage here). U.K. housing prices rose 0.5% in the month, while French consumer spending was unchanged and the country’s producer price index fell. In Asia, Japanese PMI rose. In the U.S., new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected, as did personal income and employment costs (more coverage here). Yesterday’s sell-off really got global markets off on the wrong today.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.1% today, now at 79.208. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.8% at 675.95, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed down 0.5% today, at $97.49 a barrel, but up 6.1% for the best January since 2006 (if you’re an oil trader). Brent crude trades up 0.5% at $115.52 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.2% today at about $3.34 per million BTUs following a smaller-than-expected draw on stocks (more coverage here). Gold settled down 1.2% today at $1,662.00 an ounce, down 0.8% for the month of January and the fourth consecutive monthly loss for the yellow metal (more gold coverage here).

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 50 points to 13,860.58 (-0.36%), the NASDAQ fell less than 1 point (-0.01%) to 3,142.13, and the S&P 500 fel -0.26% or nearly 4 points to 1,498.11.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) cut to ‘neutral’ at UBS and cut to ‘hold’ at SocGen; Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) cut to ‘underweight’ at Barclays; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $83 at Canaccord Genuity; Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) raised to ‘buy’ at Lazard, cut to ‘neutral’ at J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse; and Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) cut to ‘underperform’ at Bernstein.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) is up 9.8% at $73.54; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is down 4.7% at $58.21 (more oil company coverage here); Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is up 4.3% at $15.74; Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up 0.4% at $31.37 (more coverage here); JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) is up 17.7% at $14.59; Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is up 6.7% at $54.99 (more coverage here); Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) is down 1.3% at $48.31; Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is up 0.1% at $33.72 (more coverage here); AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) is up 8.3% at $48.46; Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is down 2.9% at $107.63; Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) is up 2% at $36.51 after posting a new 52-week high of $40.00 earlier today; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is up 0.3% at $517.41 after posting a new 52-week high of $535.35 earlier today; PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) is down 1.9% at $20.66 (more coverage here); Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is down 12.1% at $88.55; and United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is down 2% at $79.57 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI), Green Dot Corp. (NASDAQ: GDOT), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), and Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down 5.1% at $13.08. The smartphone maker changed its name to BlackBerry and launched two new smartphones yesterday, and got a slew of analysts’ downgrades this morning. More coverage here.

WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE: WMS) is up 51.3% at $24.77 after posting a new 52-week high of $25.30 earlier today. The gambling machine maker is being acquired by Scientific Games Corp. (NASDAQ: SGMS) for about $1.5 billion, or $26 a share, in cash.

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) is down 19.1% at $31.68. The alcoholic beverage maker is collateral damage in a DoJ decision to axe Anheuser-Busch InBev SA’s (NYSE: BUD) acquisition of Mexico’s Grupo Modelo. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Auto sales will be reported throughout the day. New York Fed President William Dudley is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Employment situation
8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AET, AN, BYI, CL, CMA, COP, CTXS, CVX, DNKN, EA, FB, featured, FIO, GDOT, HES, JDSU, LVS, MA, MAT, MO, MRK, NOV, PHM, QCOMM, RIMM, SGMS, STX, STZ, TSN, TWC, UPS, WMS, WYNN, XOM

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (CMA, FB, FIO, HES, JDSU, KMB, LOGI, QCOM, RIMM, RF, STX, SFD, UTX)

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:38:48 +0000

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

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) cut to Underperform at Bernstein.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has taken three analyst downgrades this morning, and one boutique upgrade (FULL NOTE).

Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) is down handily after earnings but was raised to Buy from Hold at Lazard. J.P. Morgan cut the rating to Neutral from Overweight and Credit Suisse cut the rating to Neutral from Outperform.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) cut to Neutral at UBS and cut to Hold at Soc-Gen.

JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) raised to Buy at Needham.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) reiterated Buy and raised target by $6 to $98 at Argus.

Logitech International S.A. (NASDAQ: LOGI) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated Buy and raised target price to $83 at Canaccord Genuity.

Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse; S&P Equity Research cut RIM to Sell late Wednesday afternoon after the BB10 release.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) cut to Underperform at Bernstein and cut to Neutral at Baird.

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) cut to Underweight at Barclays.

Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) reiterated Buy and raised target by $8 to $100 at Argus.

Deutsche Bank has raised its targets and estimates on many health care facility and hospital stocks around Obamacare now.

Well-known analyst Dick Bove is at a new firm and he has called this week for 30% upside in the major bank stocks.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: CMA, FB, FIO, HES, JDSU, KMB, LOGI, QCOM, RF, RIMM, SFD, STX, UTX