24/7 Wall St. » GR

Media Digest (3/27/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:38:39 +0000

Increasing numbers of mutual funds have performances tied to huge investments in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). (Reuters)

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, is in China to address production labor problems. (Reuters)

The European Union begins an investigation of the United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) bid for Goodrich (NYSE: GR). (Reuters)

Fed Chairman Bernanke says “easy money” remains necessary because of the slow jobs recovery. (WSJ)

Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) of Calgary plan to create a pipeline that will compete with the Keystone XL. (WSJ)

German consumer confidence slips in a recent poll by GfK. (WSJ)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) will sell its new high-end Lumia 900 smartphone for $99.99 in the U.S. (WSJ)

Chancellor Merkel says she supports a temporary increase in European bailout funds. (WSJ)

The Federal Trade Commission will ask Congress to examine new digital privacy rules. (WSJ)

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) cannot delay the distribution of generic versions of its antipsychotic drug Seroquel. (WSJ)

Banks that did poorly in recent stress tests performed by the Fed want data used to make the decisions. (WSJ)

Some states may run pension plans for companies. (NYT)

BWM recalls 1.3 million cars due to battery flaws. (NYT)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) plans to enter the electronic bond trading industry. (FT)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) inches closer to the release of a self-driving car. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Private Equity Tagged: AAPL, AZN, ENB, EPD, GOOG, GR, GS, NOK, UTX

The 10 Largest Hedge Funds in America

Administrator — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:01:14 +0000

By now, most investors know that the large hedge funds are run by billionaires rather than millionaires. What many investors might not know is that some hedge funds are reaching the size of large mutual fund families. They have become enormous. To give an idea of their size, the bottom two hedge funds among the top 10 in the U.S. alone have nearly $20 billion in assets under management each.

Read The 10 Largest Hedge Funds in America

What is even more amazing than the funds’ individual size is the size of the hedge fund world. In the U.S., funds that had $1 billion or more in assets cumulatively had assets under management of more than $1.3 trillion. Well over $1 trillion of those assets tracked were distributed in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The industry may be huge, but it is not stable. That’s because so many funds take such outsized risk to grow more rapidly than their competitors. Thousands of funds closed in 2008 after the fall of Lehman Bros. In what was probably the worst quarter in the industry’s history, Hedge Fund Research reported that 700 U.S. funds closed in the third quarter of that year. The funds not only lost money on investment, but also could not repay loans taken from banks that gave them leverage to help increase their asset bases.

The surge in the stock market and improvement in the economy lifted the hedge fund industry back toward record levels last year. According to HFR, the number of new funds rose to 1,113 last year from 935 in 2010, the most since 2007 when 1,197 were counted. Obviously, the success of the business is based to a large extent on the health of the economy, although some of the funds on this list have done well enough to defy that lesson.

A recent report from Absolute Return lists U.S. hedge funds according to their assets under management as of January 2012. A look at the top 10 hedge funds reveals several rather well-known names, but also shines a light on several completely unknown ones.

24/7 Wall St. examined the top 10 hedge funds and outlined their respective units. We also provided the funds’ investment strategies and included some of their top holdings if available.

Filed under: Activist Investor, Annual Report, Banking, Compensation, Corporate Governance, Economy, Editor's Picks, Financial Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, Mutual Funds, Private Equity, Special Report, Tax Tagged: AAPL, BAC, BLK, BP, CMG, DLPH, EP, GLD, GR, INTC, LLY, MCD, MMI, OZM

United Tech May Be The Best DJIA Conglomerate Stock In 2012 (UTX, GE, MMM, GR)

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:10:19 +0000

United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) may actually be the best stock in 2012 out of the three conglomerates which are in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. While we have had a long-standing positive bias for General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and been only a bit warm on 3M Co. (NYSE: MM), the analyst community currently has the highest marks for United Tech, followed by GE and 3M. Some of this is simply due to GE’s price gains over the last few weeks and United Tech made our list of most undervalued DJIA stocks.

Analysts according to Thomson Reuters have a consensus price target objective of $88.79 over the next year versus a current share price of $74.90. That gives an implied upside of about 18.5% and its 2.6% dividend yield is likely to be raised sometime around this coming summer if all goes well.

One key issue is that much is price-based because United Tech is also down from its 52-week high the most of the three DJIA conglomerates with a drop of more than 18% from its 52-week high. The market cap of $68 billion keeps United from being in the mega-cap or super-cap group and not that much higher than the $58 billion worth of 3M and only one-third of GE’s market cap.

There is a wild card here, a very big wild card… The Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) acquisition which has been a huge overhang. That is the trick, and a clean deal will allow it to soar but a troubled deal could act as as a continued thorn in its side.

With a 52-week trading range of $66.87 to $91.83, United Tech does not even to reach a 52-week high to reach the consensus analyst price target.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Conglomerates, Index, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: GE, GR, MMM, UTX

The Best Performing S&P Stocks of 2011 (SPY, OKE, AN, ROST, LTD, GR, TSO, EQT, ERTS, WFM, RL, TDC, RRC, MA, HUM, CMG, VFC, ISRG, BIIB, EP, COG)

Administrator — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:08:23 +0000

October may have been one of the best months of many of our lives in equities. The SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) rose by 10.9%. in October, but the year-to-date gain has been a mere 1.2% from the December 31, 2010 close to the close on October 31, 2011. 24/7 Wall St. wanted to see which stocks are up the most in percentage gains so far in 2011 in data provided by Capital IQ. This is a year-to-date move through the close of October 31, 2011. We have shown the S&P 500 Index gainers in order from lowest to highest. Another representation is how much implied upside there is to the Thomson Reuters consensus analyst price target as well. Those which are trading above their consensus price target have been given a “caution” ahead of the pricing data.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) 37.1% year-to-date; at $76.05 the consensus price target is $76.60.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) 38.1% year-to-date; caution: at $38.94 the consensus price target is $31.28.

Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) 38.7% year-to-date; caution: at $87.73 the consensus price target is $85.00.

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) 39.0% year-to-date; at $42.71 the consensus price target is $44.71.

Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) 39.2% year-to-date; This is being acquired, so no color.

Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) 39.9% year-to-date; at $25.94 the consensus price target is $20.31.

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) 41.6% year-to-date; at $63.50 the consensus price target is $72.28.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) 42.6% year-to-date; at $23.35 the consensus price target is $25.63. This was previously listed as our top pick for the best video game stock for 2011.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) 42.6% year-to-date; at $72.12 the consensus price target is $74.47.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) 43.2% year-to-date; caution: at $158.79 the consensus price target is $150.00.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) 44.9% year-to-date; at $59.66 the consensus price target is $60.56.

Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) 53.0% year-to-date; at $68.84 the consensus price target is $76.50.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) 54.9% year-to-date; at $347.24 the consensus price target is $374.82. It seems odd to see one financial stock here.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) 55.1% year-to-date; at $84.89 the consensus price target is $88.71. Health insurance has not been as bad of a business as the administration was looking for.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) 58.1% year-to-date; caution: at $336.12 the consensus price target is $328.45. The growth continues, but it is at or close to being fully valued.

V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) 60.4% year-to-date; at $138.22 the consensus price target is $144.33.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) 68.3% year-to-date; caution: at $433.86 the consensus price target is $419.27. DaVinci sales remain robust as more surgeons are looking for robotic surgery capabilities.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) 73.5% year-to-date; caution: at $116.36 the consensus priced target is $115.22. Here is how this compared to the rest of its peers before earnings season.

El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) 81.8% year-to-date; being acquired so no color.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) 105.3% year-to-date; ; at $77.72 the consensus price target is $91.32.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: HI/LOW, Index, Trading Alert Tagged: AN, BIIB, CMG, COG, EP, EQT, ERTS, GR, HUM, ISRG, LTD, MA, OKE, RL, ROST, RRC, SPY, TDC, TSO, VFC, WFM

The Largest S&P 500 Stock Gainers For The First Three Quarters

247wallst — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:34:37 +0000

S&P 500 YTD TOP 10 (31Dec10 – 29Sep11)	Ticker	YTD Price Change (%)	Close Price 29Sep11	Close Price 31Dec10	Market Cap($Mil)	Short Interest as % of Shares
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp	COG	69.4	64.13	37.85	6700.9	0.40%
Cerner Corp	CERN	48.8	70.49	47.37	11916.5	9.50%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc	CMG	47.2	313.14	212.66	9815.7	8.70%
MasterCard Inc	MA	46.5	328.37	224.11	39630.3	1.20%
V.F. Corp	VFC	45.7	125.56	86.18	13775.7	3.00%
Intuitive Surgical Inc	ISRG	44.8	373.22	257.75	14586.6	3.50%
Biogen Idec Inc	BIIB	40.9	94.46	67.05	22910.9	0.30%
Goodrich Corp	GR	37.5	121.08	88.07	15135.6	1.10%
Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc.	WPI	37.3	70.91	51.65	9511.1	2.10%
Humana Inc.	HUM	37.1	75.07	54.74	12523.9	0.50%
Source: S&P Capital IQ

Filed under: Research Tagged: BIIB, CERN, CMG, COG, GR, HUM, ISRG, MA, VFC, WPI

Top Debt & Credit Rating Agency Actions (UTX, GR, GM, LSTZA, LSTZB, LCAPA, LCAPB, BRK-A, BRK-B, CAG, OWW, WWWW, CMI)

247wallst — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:43:21 +0000

Today’s ratings actions are led-off by Moody’s affirmation of its ‘A2′ senior unsecured and ‘Prime-1′ short-term ratings on United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX). The affirmation follows United’s announced acquisition of Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR) for $18.4 billion in cash. Moody’s noted the complementary nature of the deal and United’s historically strong “fiscal conservatism” as support for the ratings affirmation. Moody’s also noted that it was placing Goodrich’s ‘Baa2′ senior unsecured rating under review for a possible upgrade. Standard & Poor’s also put Goodrich on CreditWatch with positive implications.

Other rating actions were announced for General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), Liberty Media LLC, Lubrizol Corp., now wholly-owned by Berkshire-Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A; BRK-B), ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW), Web.com Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW), and Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI)

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is having its ‘Ba2′ corporate family rating and its ‘Baa3′ secured credit facility ratings reviewed for possible upgrade at Moody’s. The company’s new union contract and its improved operating and financial performance are the drivers of the review. Global economic uncertainty and the cyclic nature of the automaking business are the agency’s biggest concern. Also today, S&P assigned ‘AAA’ ratings to $500 million in asset-backed notes for Ally Bank. The funds are primarily intended to finance purchases of new cars from GM and Chrysler.

Liberty Media LLC and its Liberty Starz Group (NASDAQ: LSTZA; LSTZB) and Liberty Capital Group (NASDAQ: LCAPA; LCAPB) have received a ratings downgrade from Moody’s on senior unsecured bonds from ‘B1′ to ‘B3′ and the probability of default rating was downgraded from ‘Ba3′ to ‘B1′. The downgrades follow a court ruling that allows Liberty Media to split-off certain assets. The agency noted that 18% of Liberty Media’s revenues and 37% its enterprise value are being removed, which “disproportionately and negatively affect Liberty Media’s bondholders.”

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A; BRK-B) subsidiary Lubrizol Corp. received a ratings upgrade from Moody’s following its acquistion by Warren Buffett’s company. The agency raised Lubrizol’s debt ratings from ‘Baa1′ to ‘Aa2′ with a stable outlook. There’s no substitute for having access to really deep pockets, or as Moody’s says, Berkshire-Hathaway “now guarantees Lubrizol’s public debt.”

ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) has had its ‘BBB’ corporate credit and its ‘A-2′ short-term and commercial paper rating, among others, re-affirmed by S&P following ConAgra’s decision to give up its attempts to acquire Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RAH). All the company’s ratings have been removed from CreditWatch and the ratings outlook has been declared stable.

Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW) has had its ‘B’ corporate credit rating put on CreditWatch with negative implications by S&P. The agency downgraded debt for Travelport Holdings Ltd. yesterday, which together with The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) owns 55% of Orbitz.

Web.com Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW) received a preliminary rating of ‘B’ with a stable outlook from S&P on its corporate credit.

Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) received a corporate credit upgrade from ‘BBB+’ to ‘A’ from S&P. Cummins is an engine and parts maker and has been performing above expectations for the past three quarters. Analysts have raised EPS estimates for the current quarter by 10%.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, CAG, CMI, GM, GR, LCAPA, LCAPB, LSTZA, LSTZB, OWW, UTX, WWWW

Against the Grain: Mid-Day Movers (RUSS, SJL, PVFC, MATS, GR, SHIP)

247wallst — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:48:23 +0000

At mid-morning, the DJIA is down more than -300 points on concern that the global economy is once again heading for a recession. There are few winners today, and most of those are ETFs that rise on a bearish market. Among today’s positive movers are the Direxion Daily Russia Bear 3X ETF (NYSE: RUSS), the ProShares UltraShort Russell MidCap Value Fund (NYSE: SJL), the Direxion Daily Basic Materials ETF (NYSE: MATS), PVF Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: PVFC), Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR), and Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP).

The Direxion Daily Russia Bear 3X ETF (NYSE: RUSS) is today’s biggest gainer so far, up nearly 18% at $64.93 after posting 52-week higher earlier this morning of $65.05. This 3x leveraged fund has recovered nicely since the downgrade of US debt in early August, which sent shares to a 52-week low. As with all triple leveraged funds, this one is not for the faint of heart.

The ProShares UltraShort Russell MidCap Value Fund (NYSE: SJL) is up nearly 15%, at $66.78, in a 52-week range of $47.31-$79.36. This fund is a 2x leveraged bet against the daily performance of the Russell MidCap Value Index. Another good bet today, but like other leveraged funds, tomorrow could be a different story.

The Direxion Daily Basic Materials Bear 3x Shares ETF (NYSE: MATS) is up more than 14.5%, at $58.06 in a 52-week range of $32.35-$61.24. We noted earlier this morning the collapse [http://247wallst.com/2011/09/22/gold-miners-outshine-copper-miners-rio-bhp-vale-fcx-scco-nem-abx-auy-slw-gld-gdx-slv-sil/] in metals and mining, and this 3x leveraged bear fund is reflecting that decline.

PVF Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: PVFC) is the leading equity gainer today, up more than 14%, at $1.75, in a 52-week range of $1.27-$2.23. Average daily volume on this stock is just over 13,000 shares. The company is bank holding company for a northeast-Ohio bank with 17 branches.

Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR) finally got the acquisition offer everyone expected from United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX). Goodrich shares posted a new 52-week high this morning of $120.93, following United’s $127.50/share all-cash offer. The deal is valued at $18.4 billion, including $1.9 billion of Goodrich debt that United will assume.

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP) is up more than 13%, at $4.00, in a 52-week range of $2.71-$20.25. The company is a dry-bulk shipper and this move is counter-intuitive given the expected weakness in iron ore and coal demand. The recent purchase of OceanFreight, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCNFD) by DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) has pushed up speculation that other M&A activity might be coming in the shipping industry. Seanergy has a market cap of around $30 million and a decent-sized fleet, making it a prime suspect for a takeover.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: GR, MATS, PVFC, RUSS, SHIP, SJL

Media Digest (9/22/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:00:51 +0000

The House defeated a spending bill to fund the federal government passed September 30. (Reuters)

United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) will buy Goodrich (NYSE: GR) for $16.5 billion. (Reuters)

China’s PMI for September was weak. (Reuters)

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) may fire its CEO and replace him with Meg Whitman. (WSJ)

Greece made further, deeper cuts to its expenses to win bailout money. (Reuters)

Tim Geithner will present more detail on the government’s plans to revive the economy. (Reuters)

Eric Schmidt said Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has not altered its search results to help its own products. (Reuters)

Roubini says the EU crisis could cause Great Depression II. (Reuters)

Long-term bonds rose on news of Federal Reserve purchases. (Reuters)

Hulu now has over one million paid subscribers. (Reuters)

Moody’s said some U.S. companies with weak balance sheets are unlikely to default. (WSJ)

As more companies create business which rely on Facebook, the site’s users push back. (WSJ)

Efforts to refinance homes may help the economy slightly. (WSJ)

Greece will put a higher tax on pensions. (WSJ)

S&P cuts its rating of several Italian banks. (WSJ)

Fosters was bought by SABMiller for $10 billion. (WSJ)

Bridgestone will increase the size of one of its U.S. plants. (WSJ)

The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) expects a drop in revenue and a slide in online sales. (WSJ)

Chrysler and the UAW failed to close a labor deal. (WSJ)

The FDA is under pressure to put more warnings on the Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) heart-rhythm drug Multaq. (WSJ)

Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS) said it will stay in the refining business. (WSJ)

Moody’s downgraded Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C). (WSJ)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) appointed a new CTO. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: BAC, C, GOOG, GR, HPQ, NOK, NYT, SNY, UTX, WFC

Today’s Best Market Rumors (9/20/2011) Goodrich M&A, Apple IP

247wallst — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:13:43 +0000

Updated throughout the day.

The SEC is examining whether anyone profited from trading ahead of the rating agency downgrade of US debt (WSJ)

Samsung may sue Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) issues on from its new iPhone (Reuters)

Transatlantic Holdings (NYSE: TRH) may seek a “standstill” agreement with potential Validus Holdings NYSE: VR) (WSJ)

United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) continues talks to buy Goodrich (NYSE: GR) (WSJ)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Rumors Tagged: AAPL, GR, TRH, UTX, VR

Against the Grain: Mid-Day Movers (KIPS, BFLY, GR, GEDU, CVOL, EDZ, VALV, MNTA, JKS, AMBT, EDC)

Administrator — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:06:35 +0000

The DJIA was down about -230 points at mid-morning and now that the European markets have closed the DJIA is down “only” about -175 points. Continuing concerns about Greek debt and worries about European sovereign debt are leading the day’s concerns. Here’s a look at several of the big movers — in both directions. First, the contrarians… You just have to love the big winners on a down day:

Kips Bay Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIPS) is up nearly 22%. The company is developing a new device for use in coronary artery bypass grafts. The share price rise doesn’t appear to be attributable to any specific news from or about the company.

Bluefly Inc. (NASDAQ: BFLY) is an e-commerce retailer of men’s and women’s designer clothes and eyewear. Shares are up more than 13% this morning as the stock continues to benefit from a large share purchase last week by investor George Soros.

Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR) is up more than 11% on continuing speculation that the company would be acquired by United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) in a $17 billion takeover. Goodrich is a supplier of aircraft parts and services, and its aftermarket business is strengthening.

Global Education & Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: GEDU) shares are up more than 12% this morning. The company provides foreign language training and test preparation services in China. The company’s CFO resigned in late August.

C-Tracks Citi Volatility Index Total Return ETN (NYSE: CVOL) is up nearly 14% this morning. The fund is a directional measure of the implied volatility of US large-cap stocks.

Direxion Daily Emerging Markets Bear 3X ETF (NYSE: EDZ) is up about 12% this morning. The fund is a triple-leveraged play on the opposite price-performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

The stocks leading the downturn:

Shengkai Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: VALV) is down more than -40% this morning on last week’s announcement that the company was re-directing its business away from its traditional markets and attempting to secure new business in the oil and chemical markets. Some investors have raised concerns over the company’s accounting practices, a particular problem for many Chinese companies recently. The stock has already traded more than 4x its average daily volume.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) is down more than -25% as the company has been unable to prevent its stock from falling below technical support levels. So far today about 3x normal daily volume has been traded.

JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) is down more than -22% after being forced to close a factory that has been accused of polluting a nearby river. The company’s shares also received two new downgrades this morning. So far today volume is about 3x normal.

Ambient Corp. (NASDAQ: AMBT) shares are down more than -15%. The company provides smart grid communications software and platforms. There’s no particular news, but investment in smart grid projects is likely to stall as the US economy remains weak.

GT Advanced Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) shares are down nearly -10% as the entire solar sector continues to get pounded. Customers for GT’s semi-conductor making equipment are not expected to keep placing orders for more as the market for solar PV panels continues to be oversupplied.

The Direxion Emerging Markets Bull 3X ETF (NYSE: EDC) is off nearly -10%, as it is expected to perform in exactly the opposite direction of the 3X bear fund we noted earlier.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Trading Alert Tagged: AMBT, BFLY, CVOL, EDC, EDZ, GEDU, GR, JKS, KIPS, MNTA, VALV