24/7 Wall St. » GILD

Key Biotech Issues To Watch (XBI, ANIK, BCRX, CBST, DNDN, GILD, ILMN, TRGT)

Administrator — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:23:02 +0000

Biotech is a sector which is often mixed with a hodge-podge of winners and losers based on news flow from analysts and/or key drug developments which often have very little to do with the broad market on any particular day. The SPDR S&P Biotech (NYSE: XBI) showed the first signs of life on the candlestick charts on Tuesday and we wanted to review some of the top biotech and emerging pharma issues for this Wednesday.

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIK) and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) were both added to the Zacks #5 Rank List today, which is the list that is called its STRONG SELL LIST. This does not usually create huge moves on the day as investors discount these rankings but they may need to be reviewed for the longer-term outlooks in the calls.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) is set to report earnings after the close of trading today and investors will be watching closely as the infection-fighting leader is up substantially over the last two years. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.44 EPS and $209.4 milllion in sales. This one is no longer cheap at 22-times this year’s expected earnings and 20-times expected 2013 earnings. This is on the heels of the company announcing positive results from its ENTEREG Phase 4 study in radical cystectomy procedures.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) was noted on CNBC’s Mad Money last night by Jim Cramer as being too speculative without the sales numbers to warrant a buy.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) has said that it will present 30 abstracts covering its products and investigational agents for hepatitis B and C at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (a.k.a. the International Liver Congress 2012) taking place April 18-22 in Barcelona, Spain. Some data is new and other data is further advancement data.

Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) has lost much of its takeover hopes as the company is fighting to say that the $51 offer from Roche greatly undervalues the company. Some call it the “Apple of Genomics” but shares have slid from over $52 down to $44 in recent days against a 52-week range of $25.57 to $79.40. Shareholders are expected to vote today. Call options were about 3-times normal trading volume yesterday.

Targacept (NASDAQ: TRGT) is likely to get some interest after Barron’s noted that it could be a long-ball stock triple. Keep in mind that this is down 80% and it has a poor record so far. Barron’s touted it as a developer which “partners with major drug companies to create novel therapies for depression, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.”

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Biotech, Drug companies Tagged: ANIK, BCRX, CBST, DNDN, GILD, ILMN, TRGT, XBI

Abbott’s Hep-C Pressures All Hep-C Rivals (ABT, RIGL, GILD, VRTX, IDIX)

Administrator — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:28:23 +0000

News from Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) on its positive Phase II study results from two different interferon-free hepatitis C treatment has the entire drug sector up in arms as it pertains to Hepatitis C drugs. The 91%, 93%, and 95% response rates that were initially seen in the report were more than impressive. The news is spooking investors in other Hepatitis C drug players as you can see:

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RIGL) has a study under way and its shares are down 4% at $7.95.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) has already taken it on the chin once and maybe it should feel lucky that its drop is only 1% at $47.61 so far today.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) is down 1.5% at $41.17 on the day.

Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IDIX) is the worst of the lot that we have seen with a drop of 14.4% at $8.75.

Investors over the longer-term should be reminded that unless Abbott is allowed to skip a lot of the testing that it could still be quite some time before its Hepatitis C treatment even comes up for the traditional FDA approval process. We are nearly in mid-2012 already, and that could put the time frame out to 2014 or even longer.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Biotech, Drug companies Tagged: ABT, GILD, IDIX, RIGL, VRTX

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (BX, APO, CMA, DELL, DANG, EXM, FSLR, GILD, LVLT, ERIC, MAR, ORCL, SUN, VVUS, WBMD)

Administrator — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:31:18 +0000

Each weekend we review the many analyst calls we track during the week. Some turn out to be very insightful and some turn out to be not so great. For better or worse, these become the top analyst calls of the week.

The top calls in the last week were seen in the following: The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX); Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO); Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA); Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL); E-commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG); Excel Maritime Carriers (NYSE: EXM); First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD); Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT); LM Ericsson Telephone Company (NASDAQ: ERIC); Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR); Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL); Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN); VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS); WebMD Health Corporation (NASDAQ: WBMD). We have added in color and summaries on each.

The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) hardly budged this week. The private equity leader was raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs and the price target was $19.00. That gave almost 20% upside. In the private equity upgrade was also Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) with a price target of $17.50 for another 20% upside or so.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) had a bad week, and it seemed to all get that bad mojo after the stock was downgraded to Sell at Stifel Nicolaus for close to a 4% loss all in all.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) took two downgrades on valuation after earnings failed to offer much continued inspiration: Cut to Neutral at Citigroup; Cut to Hold at Needham.

E-commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) was a bit of an “Oops” this last week. The e-commerce site in China saw its rating Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse on Wednesday. Shares tanked the next day and the stock was down almost 10% at one point the following day. As the casino boss says after they clean you out, “Thanks for playing and better luck next time!”

Excel Maritime Carriers (NYSE: EXM) has already been slapped silly, and its rating was cut down to Underperform by Zacks after already being down over 60% in the last year. The global shipping market is just not yet coming back into favor with many analysts.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was cut to Neutral at Susquehanna. While not a huge surprise for a downgrade any longer, this was just before earnings are due and shares closed down over 4% at $35.58 on Friday.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is now much less in favor since its hepatitis C treatment appears to be far less active than previously thought. We saw two more downgrades this last week: Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein; Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.

Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) was an incredible mover on Thursday after the communications player was raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley. Shares rose well over 10% on Thursday and we have an analysis on its move.

LM Ericsson Telephone Company (NASDAQ: ERIC) does not get many upgrades, so it was interesting that the telecom equipment player was raised to Overweight at JPMorgan on Thursday. Shares gapped up, closed up even higher on Thursday, and shares rose almost another 2% on Friday for a total gain of over 5%.

Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) is not at the 52-week high like so many stocks, but it was Raised to the highly prized Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs. The price target is $42.00 and that leaves plenty of implied upside from the $34.73 price on Friday.

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) is almost right back up to where it was before it the bottom was yanked out from under it after its poor earnings. Apparently that is a concern to at least one… Early in the week this one was downgraded to Market Perform from Market Outperform at JMP Securities now that the stock has run from under $26 to over $29 since the start of 2012.

Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) is into refining, so higher and higher gas prices do not really help the outfit. This was not just downgraded to Underperform by Zacks Investment Research on Friday, it was named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) was a total home run this last week and analysts were forced to chase it higher and higher after the FDA panel recommended that Qnexa get FDA marketing approval to combat weight loss. After the news came the following calls: reiterated Outperform but raised target to $36.00 at Credit Suisse; Raised to Hold at Brean Murray; Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann; and Raised to Market Outperform at Rodman & Renshaw.

WebMD Health Corporation (NASDAQ: WBMD) had another bad week after dropping from almost $27.50 down to almost $25.00 after warning that it could face a loss for the year. Some analysts just expect more pain or cannot take any more pain here with the stock down over 50% from its 52-week high. S&P Capital IQ cut the rating to Strong Sell from Sell, and Raymond James cut the rating down to Market Perform from Outperform.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls of the week, 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: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, Research, The Week Tagged: APO, BX, CMA, DANG, DELL, ERIC, EXM, FSLR, GILD, LVLT, MAR, ORCL, SUN, VVUS, WBMD

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, DELL, MOS, GILD, DNDN, BAS, CYH, LOPE, RRC, CETV, CHS, DLTR, GRMN, NG, RRD, TOL, HSTM, FIRE, THLD, NFX, CELL)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:07:33 +0000

US equities markets opened lower this morning following surprisingly weak manufacturing reports from Europe and China. Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of Greek debt to ‘CCC’ could not have been a surprise, but the move highlighted the doubts about whether or not Greece will be able to meet its new obligations. The new home sales report was weaker than expected (see our coverage here) and rising crude oil costs also kept markets on the downside. Indexes remained in negative territory for most of the day and are set to close with modest losses. Crude oil was higher today, with WTI crude up 0.02% at $106.27/barrel and Brent crude up 1.23% at $123.16/barrel. Gold settled up 0.7% at $1,771.30, a three-month high.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down almost 27 points to 12,938.75 (-0.21%), the NASDAQ fell more than 15 points (-0.52%) to 2,933.17, and the S&P 500 fell -0.33% or nearly 5 points to 1,357.66.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reiterated as ‘outperform’ and target price lifted to $600 at Credit Suisse; Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup and cut to ‘hold’ at Needham; The Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) raised to ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity; Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein; and Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) started as ‘neutral’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Basic Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: BAS) is up 0.15% at $19.90; Community Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: CYH) is up 14.3% at $23.61; Grand Canyon Education Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE) is down -0.95% at $17.67; Range Resources Inc. (NYSE: RRC) is up 3.4% at $66.47; Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: CETV) is down -18.5% at $6.93; Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) is up 16.9% at $14.97; Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is down -0.76% at $87.34; Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) is up 9.2% at $48.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $49.93 (more coverage here); Novagold Resources Inc. (AMEX: NG) is flat at $8.75; R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (NYSE: RRD) is down -1.8% at $13.00; and Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is down -4.8% at $22.56 (more coverage here).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

HealthStream Inc. (NASDAQ: HSTM) is up nearly 34% at $23.18 after posting a new all-time high of $23.19 earlier today. The Internet-based health learning company beat both EPS and revenue expectations in its most recent quarter.

Sourcefire Inc. (NASDAQ: FIRE) is up nearly 27% at $45.34 after posting a new all-time high of $45.50 earlier today. The Internet security provider handily beat earnings and revenue expectations last night.

Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD) is up nearly 20% at $6.0. The pharmaceutical maker yesterday announced positive results for its pancreatic cancer treatment.

Newfield Exploration Co. (NYSE: NFX) is down more than -12% at $37.06. The independent oil & gas company missed EPS and revenue estimates last night.

Brightpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: CELL) is down more than -11% at $8.89. The mobile-phone wholesaler has cut its outlook for 2012.

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

8:30 a.m. – New US claims for unemployment benefits
10:00 a.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
1:00 p.m. – 7-year note auction
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AAPL, BAS, CELL, CETV, CHS, CYH, DELL, DLTR, DNDN, FIRE, GILD, GRMN, HSTM, LOPE, MOS, NFX, NG, RRC, RRD, THLD, TOL

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ASX, AAPL, BX, BRCM, CIEN, CMA, DELL, DNDN, DANG, GILD, MDT, MOS, EDU, SPIL, TSM)

Administrator — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:05:35 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (NYSE: ASX) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform but raised target to $600 at Credit Suisse.
The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Reiterated Buy with $46 target at Argus.
Ciena Inc. (NASDAQ: CIEN) Maintained Buy with $21 target at Argus.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) Cut to Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup; Cut to Hold at Needham.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Started as Neutral at Citigroup.
E-commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
The Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE: EDU) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: SPIL) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, 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: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, ASX, BRCM, BX, CIEN, CMA, DANG, DELL, DNDN, EDU, GILD, MDT, MOS, SPIL, TSM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (ORCL, ITRI, CSX, ABB, GILD, BKS, BYD, CCO, CIE, DTG, HL, JAKK, M, MDT, PXD, SKS, WLK, THLD, CORT, GTXI, CHTP, WMT, WFT)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:05:23 +0000

US markets opened higher this morning and traded higher for most of the day. The DJIA briefly rose above 13,000 for the first time in nearly 3 years. But in the early afternoon, apparently as a result of a failure to break through the 13,000 barrier, stocks turned south and all three indexes fell below their openings. The announced settlement in Greece boosted the market early, and climbing crude oil prices helped energy stocks all day. Commodity prices also rose today as the dollar lost strength. Crude oil was up sharply, with WTI crude up more than 2% at $105.50/barrel and Brent up 0.81% at $121.02/barrel. Gold settled at $1,758.50, up 1.9%, and a two-week high.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 16 points to 12,965.99 (0.12%), the NASDAQ fell more than 3 points (-0.11%) to 2,948.57, and the S&P 500 rose 0.07% or nearly 1 point to 1,362.23.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut to ‘market perform’ at JMP Securities; Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) cut to ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley; and Gilead Sciences Inc. (NYSE: GILD) cut to ‘equal weight’ at Barclays.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is down -4.65% at $12.50 (more coverage here); Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) is down -10.6% at $8.57; Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCO) is down -3.65% at $12.16; Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) is down -6.9% at $31.67; Dollar Thrifty Auto Group Inc. (NYSE: DTG) is up 2.3% at $75.08; Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL) is up 9.6% at $5.50; JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is up 0.7% at $15.16; Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) is up 0.8% at $36.53 after posting a new 52-week high earlier today of $38.21; Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) is down -2.6% at $38.92; Pioneer Drilling Co. (NYSE: PXD) is down -0.2% at $113.45; Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) is up 3.4% at $11.24; Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is down -4.1% at $59.90; and Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK) is down -4.2% at $57.93.

We have a preview of tomorrow’s earnings reports here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD) is up more than 43% at $5.06 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.65 earlier today. The pharmaceutical maker announced positive results for its pancreatic cancer treatment.

Corcept Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CORT) is up 49% at $4.52. The drug maker has received FDA approval for its Cushing Syndrome treatment.

GTx Inc. (NASDAQ: GTXI) is down more than -36% at $3.70. The drug maker reported that the FDA issued a clinical hold on further trials of its prostate cancer treatment.

Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHTP) is down nearly -18% at $2.75 after posting a new 52-weekl low of $2.18 earlier today. The development stage drug maker meets with an FDA panel on Thursday to review clinical data on a new drug application. More coverage here.

Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT) is down nearly -14% at $15.34. The oil field services company will restate prior earnings due to what the company calls “material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting for income taxes relating to current taxes payable, certain deferred tax assets and liabilities, reserves for uncertain tax positions, and current and deferred income tax expense.” Weatherford expects to take a charge for $225-$250 million for the years before 2010. More coverage here.

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
10:00 a.m. – Existing home sales
11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction
1:00 p.m. – 5-year note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: ABB, BKS, BYD, CCO, CHTP, CIE, CORT, CSX, DTG, GILD, GTXI, HL, ITRI, JAKK, M, MDT, ORCL, PXD, SKS, THLD, WFT, WLK, WMT

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ABB, ABG, BBVA, BGS, CSX, GILD, IMUC, INFY, ITRI, KLAC, LRCX, NEE, NSC, ORCL, WSH)

Administrator — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:28:12 +0000

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

ABB Limited (NYSE: ABB) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE: BBVA) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
B&G Foods Inc. (NYSE: BGS) reinstated as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
ImmunoCellular (NASDAQ: IMUC) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Infosys Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
NextEra Energy Inc. (NYSE: NEE) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ABB, ABG, BBVA, BGS, CSX, GILD, IMUC, INFY, ITRI, KLAC, LRCX, NEE, NSC, ORCL, WSH

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CHK, WYN, CMCSA, RL, DELL, CEG, ENB, SPWR, HNZ, CPB, DMD, BDCO, CTIC, GILD, SCON)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:06:23 +0000

US stocks opened mixed this morning, with the Nasdaq opening lower than both the DJIA and the S&P 500. The Nasdaq briefly crossed into positive territory this morning, but has traded lower otherwise. There was no further news from Europe today, and the dollar traded weaker against both the euro and the British pound. Most commodities traded higher on the weaker dollar. Crude oil finished the day mixed, with WTI up 1.17% at $103.51/barrel and Brent crude down -0.46% at $119.56/barrel. Gold settled at $1,725.90, down -0.1%, and flat for the week.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 46 points to 12,949.95 (0.36%), the NASDAQ fell more than 8 points (-0.27%) to 2,951.78, and the S&P 500 rose 0.23% or more than 3 points to 1,361.22.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) raised to ‘buy’ at Stifel Nicolaus; Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NYSE: WYN) reiterated as ‘outperform’ with a target price of $145 at Credit Suisse; Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $202 at Argus; and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) cut to ‘neutral’ at Baird.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: CEG) is down -0.38% at $36.53 (more coverage here); Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) is down -3.9% at $37.86; SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) is up 11.6% at $8.35 ;(more coverage here); H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) is up 4.3% at $54.35; and Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is up 2.6% at $32.90 (more coverage here).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD) is up nearly 32% at $7.83. The Internet media company reported better-than-expected earnings last night.

Blue Dolphin Energy Co. (NASDAQ: BDCO) is up more than 25% at $10.87 after posting a new high of $11.60 earlier today. The pipeline and oil & gas producer has no news, but crude prices are rising today and Blue Dolphin is likely thought of as an acquisition target.

Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is up 23% at $1.37. The drug maker received a positive opinion for approval of its non-Hodgkin lymphoma drug from a European regulator.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is down nearly -15% at $46.74. The drug maker reported a setback on its hepatitis C trials. More coverage here and here.

Superconductor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SCON) is down nearly -18% at $1.03 after posting a new 52-week low of $0.90 earlier today. The superconductor materials company completed a private placement of 4.6 million shares at $1.05/share. We have more coverage here.

US markets are closed Monday in observance of the President’s Day holiday.

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

11:30 a.m. – 6-month bill auction
1:00 p.m. – 2-year note auction

Have a great holiday weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: BDCO, CEG, CHK, CMCSA, CPB, CTIC, DELL, DMD, ENB, GILD, HNZ, RL, SCON, SPWR, WYN

Mid-day Movers (ACHN, RAIL, DMD, KONA, GILD)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:27:50 +0000

At about noon ET today, two of the three major equity indexes remain solidly positive, with the DJIA up nearly 20 points at about 12,924 and the S&P 500 up less than 1 point to 1,358. The Nasdaq is down about 13 points at around 2,940. After opening higher this morning, the leading economic indicators came in lower than expected, and that’s kept interest in tech stocks low. The dollar has lost strength against the euro and the British pound, but gained strength versus the Japanese yen. The dollar index is flat at 79.376, slightly stronger than where it started the day.

Among the major movers at around noon today are Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN), Freightcar America Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL), Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD), Kona Grill Inc. (NASDAQ: KONA), and Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD).

Achillion is up more than 23% at $10.79. Volume is more than 3x the daily average of about 1.5 million shares traded. The pharmaceutical maker is getting a boost from the bad news at Gilead.

Freightcar America is up nearly 22% at $25.94. Volume is nearly 12x the daily average of 75,000 shares traded. The rail car maker shattered EPS and revenue estimates this morning.

Demand Media is up about 19% at $7.07. Volume is nearly 4x the daily average of around 327,000 shares traded. The Internet media company reported better-than-expected earnings last night.

Kona Grill is down nearly -11% at $5.52. Volume is nearly 5x the daily average of around 71,000 shares traded. The restaurant operator announced that its COO is leaving the company to become COO at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB).

Gilead Sciences is down more than -15% at $46.51. Volume is nearly 5x the daily average of 10.6 million shares traded. The drug maker reported a setback on its hepatitis C trials. More coverage here.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: ACHN, DMD, GILD, KONA, RAIL

Morning Movers (CTIC, RAIL, GILD, SCON, SPWR, STP, FSLR)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:15:18 +0000

Two of the three major US equities indexes opened higher this morning with the Nasdaq composite being the laggard. The gains are modest due to any news from Europe on the Greek debt crisis. This morning’s inflation indexes came in pretty much as expected (our coverage here), so that has had little impact. Solar shares are getting a boost from several companies, all reporting good news. In the first half hour of trading, the DJIA is up more than 33 points at around 12,937, the Nasdaq Composite is lower by about 2.5 points at around 2,957, and the S&P 500 is up nearly 4 points at around 1,362.

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include the Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC), Freightcar America Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL), Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD), Superconductor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SCON), and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR).

Cell Therapeutics is up more than 35% at $1.49. Volume is already more than 4x the daily average of about 2 million shares traded. The drug maker received a positive opinion for approval of its non-Hodgkin lymphoma drug from a European regulator.

Freightcar America is up nearly 19% at $25.33. Volume is already about 5x the daily average of 75,000 shares traded. The rail car maker shattered EPS and revenue estimates this morning.

Gilead Sciences is up down nearly -14% at $47.22. Volume is already about 3x the daily average of around 10.6 million shares traded. The drug maker reported a setback on its hepatitis C trials. More coverage here.

Superconductor Technologies is down nearly -25% at $0.94 after posting a new 52-week low of $0.90 earlier this morning. Volume is already more than 10x the daily average of around 91,000 shares traded. The superconductor materials company completed a private placement of 4.6 million shares at $1.05/share.

SunPower is up more than 25% at $9.37. Volume is already nearly double the daily average of about 1 million shares traded. The solar panel maker reported strong quarterly earnings last night. Solar panel makers Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), up 15%, and First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), up 11%, are also reporting good news this morning. More on First Solar here.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: CTIC, FSLR, GILD, RAIL, SCON, SPWR, STP