24/7 Wall St. » FSYS

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, ARMH, QCOM, ZNGA, HALO, CWTR, FTK, HOTT, KFY, AONE, ACHN, FSYS, JKS, NAV, NGSX, SFD, SMRT, STP, VRS, STLY, MWA, SSH, ZLTQ)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:05:38 +0000

The three major US equities indexes opened higher this morning on the news from Europe that the Greek debt swap deal would be a success. That prediction turned out to be solid, as about 80% of Greek bondholders agreed to the swap, taking pressure of the Greeks at least for the time being. The US new jobless claims number came in a bit higher than expected this morning, but traders hardly noticed. Tomorrow’s non-farm payrolls report is the one everyone’s waiting for, with a consensus estimate of 210,000 new jobs. The dollar opened weaker today, and has continued to trickle down with the dollar index down -0.74% at 79.123. Crude oil was higher today, with WTI crude settling up 0.4% at $106.58/barrel and Brent crude up 1.17% at $125.57/barrel. Gold settled higher by 0.9% at $1,698.70/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 70 points to 12,907.87 (0.55%), the NASDAQ rose more than 34 points (1.18%) to 2,970.42, and the S&P 500 rose 0.98% or more than 13 points to 1,365.91.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reiterated as ‘buy’ with target price raised from $600 to $660 at Goldman Sachs; ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) raised to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $72 target price at Argus; Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) started as ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity; and Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) started as ‘overweight’ at Barclays.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR) is up 0.9% at $1.02; Flotek Industries Inc. (NYSE: FTK) is up 9.7% at $12.11; Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOTT) is up 13.4% at $9.97 after posting a new 52-week high of $10.11; Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) is up 0.3% at $15.33; A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is down -2.5% at $1.56; Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) is up 5.2% at $10.76; Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) is down -2.2% at $25.74; JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) is down -6.9% at $5.54 (more coverage here); Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) is down -2% at $39.25 (more coverage here); NeurogesX Inc. (NASDAQ: NGSX) is down -20% at $0.53 (more coverage here); Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) is down -2.2% at $22.31 (more coverage here); Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) is down -8.6% at $6.38 (more coverage here); and Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is down -1.4% at $2.89.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Verso Paper Corp. (NYSE: VRS) is up 77% at $2.16. The paper maker will issue new debt of $345 in senior secured notes and has issued a tender offer for $315 million in 11.5% senior unsecured notes outstanding.

Stanley Furniture Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: STLY) is up about 20% at $4.29. The wood furniture maker has announced that it expects to receive a payment of about $40 million as a result of an anti-dumping ruling against Chinese furniture makers.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE: MWA) is up more than 21% at $3.46. The maker of water transmission, distribution, and measurement products is selling its pipe and foundry business for about $100 million in cash and other considerations. More coverage here.

Sunshine Heart Inc. (NASDAQ: SSH) is down more than -8% at $11.00. The medical device maker came public on February 16th, and is nearing the dreaded busted IPO line.

Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) is down more than -13% at $5.65 after posting a new 52-week low of $5.60 earlier. The medical technology company posted a dismal fourth-quarter earnings report earlier this week and has just set its second record-low of the week as well.

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

8:30 a.m. – Non-farm employment report
8:30 a.m. – International trade report
10.00 a.m. – Wholesale trade report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AAPL, ACHN, AONE, ARMH, CWTR, FSYS, FTK, HALO, HOTT, JKS, KFY, MWA, NAV, NGSX, QCOM, SFD, SMRT, SSH, STLY, STP, VRS, ZLTQ, ZNGA

Fuel Systems Acquisition, Deeper Into Compressed Natural Gas Tech (FSYS, CLNE, WPRT, CHK, GM)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:40:22 +0000

Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) has acquired the compressor business and the right to use certain trademarks from Dresser Italia S.r.l. in an all-cash transaction. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Fuel Systems, along with competitors Clean Energy Fuels Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNE) and Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: WPRT), are driving growth in the use of natural gas in the transportation business. Natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) has started a $1 billion venture fund to promote natural gas as an alternative to petroleum-based transportation fuels, and Clean Energy was among the first beneficiaries of that fund.

Fuel Systems, with a market cap of around $550 million, is the smallest of the three and is trying to beef up its offerings to stay in the game. And it may be doing better than that.

The Dresser purchase includes compressed natural gas (CNG) compressor equipment, the acquisition of the CUBOGAS trademark, and a license to use the Dresser name on equipment now to be manufactured by Fuel Systems.

In the past 12 months, Westport’s share price has more than doubled, Clean Energy’s share price has risen 40%, and Fuel Systems’ price has fallen -1.2%. The story is somewhat different since the beginning of 2012. Fuel Systems’ share price has jumped 60% since January 1st, compared with rises of about 37% at both of its competitors.

Partly that’s due to a contract with General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) to supply the automaker with 1,200 CNG systems, and part was due to the purchase last week of 375,000 additional shares of the company’s stock by major shareholder Kevin Douglas. Douglas now owns nearly 940,000 shares of Fuel Systems’ 20 million or so shares outstanding. Douglas is also a major holder of Westport, with a reported 2.99 million shares of about 48 million outstanding.

Fuel Systems’ consensus target price is $23.00, and shares are trading today at $27.50. Westport’s target price is $33.50 and shares are trading today at $44.88. Clean Energy trades at $16.93 today, compared with a target price of $15/share. One might conclude that these three companies are more than fully valued.

But neither Westport nor Clean Energy has a positive forward P/E ratio and neither is expected to post a profit in the December or the March quarter.

Fuel Systems is expected to post a profit in both its December and March quarters, and a full year EPS of $0.30 for its fiscal year ended in December. For the current fiscal year, the consensus EPS is $0.89. The company’s forward P/E ratio is a very rich 31.

Westport has garnered most of the attention — and money — in this space for the past year or so. Fuel Systems may be on track to change that.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: CHK, CLNE, FSYS, GM, WPRT

Alternative Energy Watch: Google Invests in More Wind; Another Federal Loan Guarantee; Clean Energy Acquisitions (GOOG, EIX, GE, FSYS, RTK, AMRS, CDXS, FTFL, AMAT, LCRX)

Administrator — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:01:47 +0000

Today’s wrap-up of alt energy news includes a look at the latest investment by Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) in wind energy, another federal loan guarantee for a solar farm, and two acquisitions in alternative transportation fuels. Even the semiconductor equipment players are getting in on the action.

Google has announced a $100 million investment in the $2 billion Shepherds Flat wind farm project in Oregon. This follows an earlier investment of $168 million in a concentrated thermal solar project being built by BrightSource Energy in southern California and two other projects, one wind and one solar. Altogether, Google has invested more than $350 million in renewable power generation.

The Shepherds Flat project, the world’s largest wind farm at 845 megawatts, has signed a power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison, a division of Edison International (NYSE: EIX). The developer, Caithness Energy, will use a total of 338 2.5-megawatt turbines supplied by General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).

Google’s investments are intended to provide a financial return to the internet search giant. The investments are not a feel-good gesture. A wind farm can generate electricity at a cost as low as $0.06/kWh. That same kilowatt-hour sold in southern California can fetch $0.15 or more. That’s a pretty nice return, and that return is what Google is after. At some point, Google may be able to buy power from one of the plants it has invested in, driving down the company’s cost of electricity, which is its second highest expense after staff.

The US Department of Energy has approved a $2.1 billion loan guarantee for Solar Trust of America LLC, which is building the world’s largest solar thermal plant in the southern California desert near the city of Blythe. The plant will eventually generate 1,000 megawatts and Solar Trust has already signed a power purchase agreement Southern California Edison.

The loan guarantee will help build the first two of four planned units at the Blythe project, and is the largest loan made by the DoE. The department has guaranteed more than $21 billion in loans to clean energy projects, and is trying to speed through more applications before the end of the current federal fiscal year, when federal budget cuts threaten to end the program.

Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) has completed its $6 million acquisition of NaturalDrive Partners LLC, which was announced earlier this month. Fuel Systems designs, makes, and sells components and systems for gas-powered vehicles. NaturalDrive worked with Fuel Systems on a gas-powered van based on General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) vehicle, and the acquisition should help Fuel Systems take advantage of the growing interest in natural-gas powered vehicles. Fuel Systems stock is down about -2% today, at $27.41, near the low end of its 52-week range of $23.10-$42.65.

Another clean-tech fuel company, Rentech, Inc. (AMEX: RTK) has acquired a majority stake in ClearFuels Technology Inc., a company in which Rentech already owned a 25% stake. ClearFuels is developing biomass-to-energy projects that would convert sugar cane bagasse to biodiesel. The company also hopes to convert biomass, including cellulosic, feedstock into synthetic jet fuel.

Rentech and ClearFuels already jointly operated a bio-refinery project that received a $23 million federal grant to fund part of a demonstration-scale gasifier. The biofuels business has not been kind to companies trying to get to commercial scale. Many, like Amyris Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRS), Codexis Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS), and FutureFuel Corp. (NASDAQ: FTFL) have had to diversify into cosmetics and other products to stay afloat.

Rentech shares are up about 0.5% at around noon today, to $1.16, within the 52-week range of $0.69-$1.48.

Finally, in a story related to yesterday’s look at solar equipment makers, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has just purchased about $100 million worth of equipment from three suppliers, including Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) and Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX). Applied Materials took about half the total.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Green Biz, Semiconductor Tagged: AMAT, AMRS, CDXS, EIX, FSYS, FTFL, GE, GOOG, LCRX, RTK

BofA Changes Stance on Many Cleantech Stocks (WPRT, CLNE, FSYS, AMSC, CREE, ITRI, ENOC, AONE, HEV)

Administrator — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:36:43 +0000

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has its quarterly summary and outlook our for the cleantech sector via wind, solar, and other alternative energy plays. While there was a 5% S&P 500 Index move, BofA’s solar sector was up 25% and wind was up 21%. The moves were surprising and the firm noted that high short interest ratios contributed along with the woes of Japan and its nuclear situation.

Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: WPRT) was first on the overbought list with 88 RSI and 39% from its 200 day moving average.

Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (NASDAQ: CLNE) was in the middle of the overbought list with a 77.5 RSI and 18% from its 200 day moving average. Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) was also noted as one that won’t benefit that much from legislative gains in fuels.

What is interesting is that BofA said it was increasing its Wind sector to equal-weight but continues to avoid the turbine makers. After what we saw with American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) this week (AMSC-Sinovel pact noted as huge concern) it is hard to wonder how wind was positive at all.

SmartGrid stocks were lowered to equal-weight with a 13% decline in the first quarter. Companies like Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), and even EnerNOC, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENOC) were all noted as seeing most of the damage being done but with no quick snapback for most. LED and meter-demand is called “lumpy, but rising through time.”

Storage is actually looked at somewhat favorably. A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) and Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV) are both being called oversold and it was noted as surprising that higher oil prices have not helped.

BofA is one of many firms which have mixed views on CleanTech ahead. The moves in March from Japan have likely contributed to even more of the confusion on top of the recent gains in oil due to Middle East turmoil and supply disruptions.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Analyst Calls, Green Biz Tagged: AMSC, AONE, CLNE, CREE, ENOC, FSYS, HEV, ITRI, WPRT

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALEX, BIDU, CNP, DPM, FSYS, GS, LVS, MS, MOS, RHT, SRE, SFG, STRI, TSCO, URBN, WFMI)

Administrator — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:27:52 +0000

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

Alexander & Baldwin (NASDAQ: ALEX) Raised to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Cut to Neutral at Mizuho (overseas).
CenterPoint Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNP) Reiterated Buy with $20 target at Argus.
DCP Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: DPM) Started as Outperform and $45 target at Credit Suisse.
Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) Reiterated Underperform at BofA/ML.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) lowered estimates but maintained $190 price target by Credit Suisse.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Added to Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Cut to Sector Perform at Scotia.
Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) Reiterated Buy and target raised to $57 at BofA/ML.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) Reiterated Buy with $61 target at Argus.
StanCorp Financial (NYSE: SFG) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
STR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRI) Cut to Sell at Auriga.
Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $65 at BofA/ML.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Maintained Buy with $40 target at BofA/ML.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALEX, BIDU, CNP, DPM, FSYS, GS, LVS, MOS, MS, RHT, SFG, SRE, STRI, TSCO, URBN, WFMI

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (DRYS, FSYS, NFLX, PACB)

247wallst — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:52:33 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Friday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS), Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), and Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ: PACB).

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) is up 6% premarket to $6.34 on heavy volume, relative to a 52-week range of $3.28-$6.95. The stock was raised to outperform at Credit Suisse.

Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) is down 5.6% to $29.90 after announcing the offering of 2 million shares of public stock. FSYS is trading within a range of $24.50-$51.94.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up 4% premarket to $198, relative to a 52-week range of $48.52-$29.24. The company was picked to join the S&P 500.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ: PACB) is up nearly 14% to $14.80, relative to a 52-week range of $11.25-$17.47. The company recently decoded the cholera pathogen.

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity Tagged: DRYS, FSYS, NFLX, PACB

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ABB, AEIS, CROX, FSYS, MELI, PCS, PMI, RDN, GOLD, SQNM, UHS)

Administrator — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:08:37 +0000

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

ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) Started as Buy at ING.
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: AEIS) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) Reiterated Overweight but target raised to $13 from $9 at Piper Jaffray.
Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
Mercadolibre, Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Reiterated Buy and Target raised to $11 from $9 at Auriga; Raised to Strong Buy at S&P.
PMI Group Inc. (NYSE: PMI) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) Reiterated HOLD and $4 target at Auriga.
Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.

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

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ABB, AEIS, CROX, FSYS, gold, MELI, PCS, PMI, RDN, SQNM, UHS

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

247wallst — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:25:35 +0000

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 in Analyst Calls Tagged: ADS, ADTN, BA, DB, EMC, FCX, FSYS, LFC, RVBD, WFR

AmTech Issues Best Fundamental Alternative Energy Picks (ENER, FSLR, FSYS)

247wallst — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:43:17 +0000

The research team over at American Technology Research has issued a report called "Our Best Dozen Fundamental Picks" going into earnings season. The research firm notes that investors are already prepared for a disaster in the earnings reports, but it seems that the current business climate isn’t as bad as what investors are expecting. While the firm believes that many companies will guide expectations lower or will be very cautious, this is their list of companies it expects to outperform peers. As you will see below with some brief analyst commentary from the firm, they have highlighted Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), and Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS).

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) is touted as the"Low-Cost Commercial Roof Application Targeting Inflection Point InManufacturing Ramp"

a differentiated play on solar growth… we believe it will continue toenjoy margin improvement and strong revenue growth ahead of solar peers.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) has also seen a brutal year, butAmTech calls it "Cost-Leader with Pricing Cushion, Large EconomicMarkets, and Potential Capacity Expansion"

the premier PV company given its cost leadership, strategicpositioning, and history of execution… large addressable marketwithout subsidy, we view FSLR as a core solar holding poised for top-and bottom-line growth ahead of solar peers

Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSYS) is "Leadership Position, Strong Fundamentals, Beat and Raise Earnings Outlook"

Its leading position in systems for gaseous fuel engines (natural gas and propane) is augmented by several competitive advantages and a supportive macro backdrop…revenue guidance once again appears conservative, which supports ourbeat and raise earnings outlook.

Again, these comments are out of American Technology Research and are only partial quotes from in-depth research reports. You can also see the summaries of the calls we broke out into TECHNOLOGY STOCKS and in INFRASTRUCTURE & DEFENSE.

Jon C. Ogg
October 13, 2008

Posted in Alternative Energy, Analyst Calls Tagged: ENER, FSLR, FSYS

Oil & Gas Top Analyst Calls (CPX, FSYS, KEG, PXD, STO)

247wallst — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:15:28 +0000

These are some of the analyst calls impacting oil and gas related shares so far this morning from Wall Street research firms:

Complete Production Services (NYSE: CPX) Raised To Overweight By JP Morgan; shares indicated up 0.5% on thin volume.
Fuel Systems Solutions (NASDAQ: FSYS) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Broadpoint (alternative fuel for transportation and power generation); shares down 3.5% on downgrade.
Key Energy Services (NYSE: KEG) Raised ot Outperform at RBC Capital; shares up over 3% so far.
Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital; shares up 1.8%.
Statoil Hydro (NYSE: STO) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Cramer just panned this one as "running out of oil" last night on CNBC’s MAD MONEY; shares up 1.3%.

Jon C. Ogg
June 24, 2008