24/7 Wall St. » GD

Most Likely Stock Purchases By Warren Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B, CVS, DVA, DTV, DG, GD, INTC, IBM, LMCA, V, WFC)

Administrator — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:04:26 +0000

Warren Buffett hosted the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) over the weekend and this Monday morning he gave a long interview to CNBC. In the interview Mr. Buffett noted how he still thinks stocks are cheap. More importantly, Buffett said he was using any weakness to buy stocks right now.

When Team Buffett adds to a position, it is often in the new or relatively new positions already in the Buffett portfolio. 24/7 Wall St. has taken a look at the recent additional stake or new stake positions to see which shares that Mr. Buffett and his team of portfolio managers has likely added to along with some color and logic behind the move.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) was a larger position as of the end of 2011 at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter. This was worth about $280 million at the start of 2012 and it is up more than 10% since then and the market cap here is $58 billion.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was previously listed as a new position of 2.684 million shares worth $203 million at the end of 2011 but that position is worth about 12% more. This is the leader as a kidney dialysis provider. If the health trends remain then this one is right up Buffett’s alley.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was most recently listed as a larger position which was listed as 20.348 million shares worth $870 million at the end of 2011. In a prior report we had it as a new position of 4.249 million shares one quarter earlier. The share price alone is up over 13% from the value at the end of 2011.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is one of the stocks which we think Team Buffett would have liked to own much more of. The rapid rise in the value of the dollar store trends as a secular theme was even noticed at Berkshire. This was the same size at the end of 2011 at 4.497 million shares but this was a new position and a larger position and it seems that the price just appreciated too fast for Buffett and friends to add many shares. Perhaps they participated in the most recent secondary offering, but that might not appear based on the cut-off dates.

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) was most recently a larger stake of 3.877 million shares worth $257 million after being listed as a new position just one quarter earlier before of 3.064 million shares. These shares are hardly higher than the end of 2011, so perhaps Buffett and team have added to the stake on weakness.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) was a larger of 11.495 million shares worth $278 million at the end of 2011; this was a new position of 9.333 million shares last quarter. Shares are up 16% so far in 2012, so Buffett’s stake here may have grown in size and in value.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) is one that Buffett already hinted at owning more of, but perhaps that is due to IBM’s share float shrinking from its buybacks. The most recent filing showed some 63.905 million shares worth some $11.75 billion now after having been a new position with an average cost of about $170 per share. Buffett’s bet has been worth more than a 10% unrealized gain ($1 billion or so) on what is now one of his largest positions.

Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LMCA) was a new position of 1.7 million shares worth some $132.7 million. If Buffett is involved much here, it is under his new portfolio managers. Shares are up about 6% this year so far but it is unknown what the real goal or strategy is here when you consider the DirecTV angle.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was most recently listed as a larger position of 2.865 million shares worth $291 million at the end of 2011. This was listed as 2.291 million shares in the previous quarter. The company has a near-duopoly and market strength and history that it seems just like a Buffett dream. He likes banks, but owning the toll road providers for the theme of consumers using less cash and more card swipes in the years ahead.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is almost certainly a larger stake. The reason for believing that is that Wells Fargo seems to be a position which grows in size infinitely and it was raised during the prior filing period to more than 383 million shares. As of Friday’s closing bell, that stake (assuming no share count growth at all) would be worth a shopping $12.65 billion.

It is unlikely that Buffett would have added to each and every position. He just doesn’t do that and his new team may be more interested in adding on other new targeted stocks on the books.

Again, here is the FULL BUFFETT STOCK HOLDINGS.

If you enjoyed the top Buffett picks, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers, Warren Buffett and guru tracking, and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Activist Investor, Buffett, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Private Equity Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, CVS, DG, DTV, DVA, GD, IBM, INTC, LMCA, V, WFC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GD, ABB, HOG, COP, S, ALU, MO, PEP, TLAB, XOM, AET, BMY, BG, JBLU, LIZ, MJN, REGN, SWY, SWC, TASR, UPS, YNDX, NRGY, SPH, LEAP, AKAM)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:06:31 +0000

Markets opened a few ticks lower this morning after a poor report on new claims for unemployment benefits in the US (our coverage here). The report that pending home sales jumped 4.1% lit a fire under investors and pushed equities higher (our coverage here). The EIA report on natural gas supplies held gas prices higher although they’ve dropped back by late afternoon (our coverage here). Yields on 7-year US Treasury notes were at a record low following Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s clarification of what “exceptionally low” interest rates mean (our coverage here). The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.17% at 78.932. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.04% at 677.57, with commodities mixed on the slightly weaker dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.4% at $104.55/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 0.65% at $119.89/barrel. Gold settled up 1.1% today, at $1,660.50/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 114 points to 13,204.70 (0.87%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 21 points (0.69%) to 3,050.61, and the S&P 500 rose 0.67% or more than 9 points to 1,399.99.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) cut to ‘equal-weight’ at Morgan Stanley; ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) raised to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie; and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) maintained as ‘hold’ at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) is down -16.9% at $19.71 (our coverage here); Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is up 0.9% at $31.96 (our story here); Pepsico (NYSE: PEP) is down -0.3% at $66.44 (our story here); Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) is down -5.1% at $3.83 (our coverage here); Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is down -0.8% at $86.13 (our coverage here); Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) is down -8.4% at $45.22; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is down -1.7% at $33.72; Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) is down -2.6% at $65.69; JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) is down -0.1% at $4.64; Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) is up 9.4% at $13.87; Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (NYSE: MJN) is up XX% at $XX; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) is up 4% at $86.38 after posting a new 52-week high of $87.26n earlier today; Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) is down -2.8% at $21.00; Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) is down -4.6% at $10.69; TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) is up 5.7% at $4.39; United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is down -1.8% at $78.25; and Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) is down -5% at $23.31.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Inergy L.P. (NYSE: NRGY) is up 17% at $19.71. The company is being acquired by Suburban Propane Partners LP (NYSE: SPH). More coverage here.

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) is down -20.2% at $6.16. The wireless carrier fell sharply on disappointing quarterly results. More coverage here.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) is down -14.8% at $33.03. The technology provider beat estimates but issued weak guidance.

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

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

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABB, AET, AKAM, ALU, BG, BMY, COP, GD, HOG, JBLU, LEAP, LIZ, MJN, MO, NRGY, PEP, REGN, S, SPH, SWC, SWY, TASR, TLAB, UPS, XOM, YNDX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ABB, APD, AKAM, COP, GD, HOG, HES, INFY, MAN, MAR, SAP, S, TRV, WPI)

Administrator — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:20:54 +0000

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

ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) Raised to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Raised to Buy on weakness at UBS.

ConcoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Raised to Neutral at Macquarie.

General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays; Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Infosys Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) Raised to Buy at Argus.

SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) maintained Hold at Argus.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ABB, AKAM, APD, COP, GD, HES, HOG, INFY, MAN, MAR, S, SAP, TRV, WPI

Boeing Earnings Surge, Forecast Rises (BA, GD, NOC, LMT, RTN)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:02:45 +0000

Aircraft maker Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reported first quarter earnings this morning that handily beat expectations for EPS and revenues. EPS came in at $1.22 on revenue of $19.4 billion, compared with consensus estimates for EPS of $0.94 on revenue of $18.37.

The company’s revenues from commercial aircraft sales jumped 54% to $10.94 billion and sales of military aircraft rose 27% to $4.3 billion. It’s interesting to contrast Boeing’s military business with other military contractors like General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC), both of which also reported earnings today. Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) and Raytheon Corp. (NYSE: RTN) are scheduled to report earnings tomorrow.

Boeing’s defense and space business posted an operating margin of 9% in the first quarter, about 10% lower than its operating margin in the company’s commercial aircraft business. But the margin growth was only 0.2% year-over-year in defense, compared with margin growth of 2.7% in the commercial business.

Boeing also lifted its full-year EPS forecast from $4.05-$4.25 to a new range of $4.15-$4.35.

General Dynamics, which makes tanks and combat vehicles, reported that sales in its combat systems group fell -2.3%. Northrop reported that sales in its aerospace group, which manufactures drones, fell -8% and profits fell -2.7%. Northrop’s electronics group posted a gain in profits even as sales fell.

The proposed cut of $490 billion in US defense spending over the next 10 years will certainly have a larger impact on General Dynamics and Northrop than it will on Boeing. Still today’s report from the US Census Bureau on durable goods orders is not too encouraging for Boeing either. Of a decline of $7.7 billion in new orders for aircraft and parts, some $7.1 billion of the drop came in non-defense orders (our coverage here).

The backlog of orders for non-defense aircraft is up 15.6% compared with March 2011 and the defense backlog is up 5.6%. But those backlogs are likely to shrink as new orders, especially for non-commercial aircraft, are filled.

Lockheed is expected to post EPS of $1.70 on revenue of $10.56 billion tomorrow. Raytheon, also scheduled to report earnings tomorrow, is slated to post EPS of $1.16 on revenue of $5.77 billion. For both the EPS estimate is lower than year-ago actuals, while the revenue estimates are higher.

Boeing’s shares are up 4.3% in the first half-hour of trading this morning at $76.36 in a 52-week range of $56.01-$80.65.

General Dynamics’ shares are down -1.3% at $69.12 in a 52-week range of $53.95-$75.93.

Northrop’s shares are up 2.3% at $64.18 in a 52-week range of $49.20-$70.61.
Shares of Lockheed are up 0.5% at $91.60 after posting a new 52-week high of $91.79, and shares of Raytheon are up 0.9% at $53.47 after another new 52-week high of $53.56.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Aerospace, Defense, Earnings, HI/LOW, Transports Tagged: BA, GD, LMT, NOC, RTN

Ten Companies Profiting Most from War

247wallst — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:41:48 +0000

Global sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest defense contractors increased in 2010 to $411.1 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The increase reflects a decade-long trend of growing military spending. Since 2002, total arms sales among the 100 largest arms manufacturers have increased 60%.

Read The Ten Companies Profiting Most from War

The institute recently published its annual report on the leading arms producing companies in the world — SIPRI Top 100. The report identifies the largest companies in the sector and provides each company’s arms sales as a percentage of its total sales. Based on the report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 companies with the highest revenue from arms sales. These companies alone account for $230 billion — over half of all arms sales that year.

While many industries continued to suffer in 2010 as a result of the financial crisis, leaders in the arms and military services were largely unaffected. According to SIPRI arms industry expert Dr. Susan Jackson, when sales dropped, it was not because of the financial crisis. Instead, Dr. Jackson notes that loss in sales was due to “the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq and the subsequent expected decrease in related equipment sales.”

The composition of the 10 largest manufacturers reflects the state of modern warfare. More and more, battles are fought remotely through air surveillance and strikes rather than on-the-ground combat. As a consequence, seven of the 10 largest companies are among the leading aerospace companies. Surveillance and battlefield communications also are increasingly important in modern warfare. All of the companies in the top 10 have significant electronics divisions.

Of the 100 companies on the list, 44 are based in the U.S., including Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. The American companies account for more than 60% of arms sales revenue of the 100 manufacturers. Seven of SIPRI’s top 10 are American, one is British, one is Italian and one is a multinational EU conglomerate. The U.S. federal government has contract deals with all seven American companies. These seven are among the top 10 U.S. federal contractors by amount procured, according to the government’s Federal Procurement Data System.

24/7 Wall St.’s analysis of the SIPRI 100 includes revenue for arms sales for 2007, 2009 and 2010, as well as percentage of company revenue from arms sales, employees, industry and applicable military division. 24/7 Wall St. also included history of each company and notable weapons systems manufactured.

These are the 10 companies profiting most from war.

Filed under: Special Report Tagged: BA, GD, LLL, LMT, NOC, RTN, UTX

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GD, VALE, GMCR, GLW, CHK, ARG, ACAT, T, BMY, CAT, CY, LMT, MKC, MWW, POT, RTN, VIST, RNWK, MNTA, NFLX, EFSC)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:08:29 +0000

All three major US indexes opened higher this morning, but enthusiasm tapered off quickly and steadily, if not sharply. A drop in the number of new home sales and a smaller-than-expected rise in the leading economic indicators index. Hope that talks between Greece and its creditors would yield an agreement also pushed markets higher. But the weak housing report and no further news from Europe kept share prices moving down. WTI crude gained 0.35% at $99.75/barrel and Brent crude is up 1.02% at $110.93. Gold is higher by 1.27% at $1,724.60.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 22 points to 12,734.63 (-0.18%), the NASDAQ fell about 13 points (-0.46%) to 2,805.28, and the S&P 500 fell -0.57% or nearly 7 points to 1,318.45.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) cut to ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer; Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) started as ‘perform’ at Williams Capital; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) cut to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley; and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘underweight’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) is down -3.66% at $77.29; Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT) is up more than 19% at $28.40 after posting a new 52-week high of $29.20 earlier today; AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is down -2.65% at $29.41; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is down -0.92% at $32.40; Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is up 1.95% at $111.18; Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) is down more than -11% at $17.03; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) is up 0.95% at $82.51; McCormick & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MKC) is up 0.90% at $78.55; Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) is down more than -20% at $7.18; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) is up 1.61% at $45.96; and Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) is up 0.34% at $49.88.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

VIST Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: VIST) is up more than 62% at $11.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $11.50 earlier today. The bank holding company has agreed to be acquired by Tompkins Financial Corp. (AMEX: TMP) in an all-stock deal at an 86% premium to last night’s closing price, or about $85 million.

RealNetworks Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK) is up more than 35% at $9.98. The digital media company has sold a video codec and a number of patents to Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) for $120 million.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) is down nearly -21% at $15.13. The biotechnology company lost its bid for an injunction against certain competitors.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up about 22% at $116.01. The digital video streaming and rental company reported a better-than-expected number of new subscribers after markets closed last night.

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ: EFSC) is down more than -19% at $12.51. The bank holding company will restate earnings for 2010 and the first three quarters of 2011 and expects to dilute 2010 earnings by half as a result.

Stay tuned for Friday. New York Fed President William Dudley is giving a speech in the morning. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

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

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: ACAT, ARG, BMY, CAT, CHK, CY, EFSC, GD, GLW, GMCR, LMT, MKC, MNTA, MWW, NFLX, POT, RNWK, RTN, T, VALE, VIST

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADP, CHK, SCHW, GLW, ETFC, GD, GE, GMCR, NRGM, ITW, LRCX, LIFE, NFLX, NVDA, RYAAY, VALE)

Administrator — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:04:39 +0000

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

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup; Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Buy with $22 Target at Argus.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Started as Perform at Williams Capital.
Inergy Midstream, L.P. (NYSE: NRGM) Started as Outperform with $26 target at Credit Suisse.
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) Maintained Outperform with $56 target price at Credit Suisse.
Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) Raised To Outperform From Market Perform By Leerink Swann
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup; Maintained Outperform and raised target to $125 at Credit Suisse.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) Cut to Neutral at Nomura.
Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADP,, CHK, ETFC, GD, GE, GLW, GMCR, ITW, LIFE, LRCX, NFLX, NRGM, NVDA, RYAAY, SCHW, VALE

The 10 Most Expensive Weapons in the World

Douglas A. McIntyre — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:49:11 +0000

The 10 most expensive weapons systems in the world total $868 billion in research and development and manufacturing costs. The Department of Defense has commissioned each of the weapons. The White House recently released its strategic guidance, “Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense,” to address the upcoming $1 trillion defense budget cuts over the next decade. The costs of these expensive weapons systems illustrates the difficulty in cutting so much from the federal defense budget.

Read: The 10 Most Expensive Weapons in the World

To understand the magnitude of these weapons’ budgets, one only needs to look at the recent government initiatives aimed to save the economy. The $868 billion cost of the most expensive weapons in the world is much more than the $700 billion set aside by Congress as part of the TARP to salvage the nation’s massive financial system. It is also more than President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package approved by Congress in February 2009.

The Pentagon breaks the costs of weapons into two categories. The first is research and development. The second is the actual costs to buy the weapons. Together, the two figures can be staggering. The total cost of the Virginia Class Submarine, for example, surpasses $83 billion. That entire amount has been and will be invested to launch only 30 of the weapons. All told, it is an extraordinary expense base to maintain America’s defense.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the figures from the Department of Defense budget and provided by the General Accounting Office to find the 10 Most Expensive Weapons in the World.”

Filed under: Defense, Special Report Tagged: BA, GD, LMT, NOC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (F, GM, TM, EMC, GD, GMCR, POT, TIVO, UNF, PRGS, STZ, MON, FDO, LCAV, REE, NFLX, APKT, LPHI)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:04:24 +0000

Markets opened lower today and stayed in negative territory until mid-afternoon. Car makers reported December sales throughout the day, with Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) both showing gains in the morning. Toyota Motor Co. (NYSE: TM) posted lower sales in the afternoon. Developments in Europe did nothing to boost shares today, with a new rights issue coming from Italy’s UniCredit and a requirement for additional reserves against bad loans coming in Spain. Crude oil gained on word that Europe is nearing a decision to stop crude imports from Iran, possibly sparking a confrontation in the Persian Gulf. WTI crude is up 0.25% at $103.22/barrel and Brent crude is up 1.34% at 113.63/barrel. Gold is up about 0.8% at $1,613.20.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 21 points to 12,418.57 (0.17%), the NASDAQ fell less than 1 point (-0.01%) to 2,648.36, and the S&P 500 rose 0.02% or less than 1 point to 1,277.31.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) added to ‘US Focus List’ at Credit Suisse; General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) reiterated ‘buy’ with $94 target price at Canaccord Genuity; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) started as ‘underperform’ at National Bank; and Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) raised to ‘overweight’ at Evercore Partners.

Earnings reports of note since markets closed yesterday include: Unifirst Corp. (NYSE: UNF) is up more than 3% at $59.83; and Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ: PRGS) is down more than -11% at $17.55. Tomorrow sees earnings from Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) among others.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

LCA-Vision Inc. (NASDAQ: LCAV) is up more than 40% at $4.33. The laser vision correction system provider said that it performed more than 14,000 procedures in the fourth quarter, up 30% year-over-year.

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (AMEX: REE) is up more than 27% at $4.53. The rare earths miner announced that its resource at the company’s Bear Lodge project is 38% higher than previously believed.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up nearly 11% at $80.02. The video distributor reported that it streamed more than 2 billion hours of video in the fourth quarter. More details on this story are available here.

Acme Packet Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) is down more than -19% at $25.65, after posting a new 52-week low of $25.20 early this morning. The networking company warned on earnings last night. We have more coverage here.

Life Partners Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPHI) is down more than -15% at $5.38. The life insurance company has been accused of accounting fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Here are the noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:30 a.m. – Challenger Gray & Christmas job-cut report
8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
8:30 a.m. – Weekly initial unemployment benefits claims report
10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas report
11:00 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
4:30 a.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply reports

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: APKT, EMC, F, FDO, GD, GM, GMCR, LCAV, LPHI, MON, NFLX, POT, PRGS, REE, STZ, TIVO, TM, UNF

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APKT, AFFX, AKS, AAPL, CCI, EMC, GD, GMCR, LMT, MOS, NTAP, OFG, POT, STLD, TIVO)

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:28:08 +0000

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

Acme Packet, Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush; estimates and targets lowered after revenue warnings from Morgan Keegan and Wells Fargo.
Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform with $500 target and raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) added to the U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Reiterated Buy with $94 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) Cut to Underperform by RBC Capital Markets.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) Started as Underperform at National Bank.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) Raised to Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Raised to Overweight at Evercore Partners.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, AFFX, AKS, APKT, CCI, EMC, GD, GMCR, LMT, MOS, NTAP, OFG, POT, STLD, TIVO