24/7 Wall St. » ICE

CME Group OKs 5-for-1 Stock Split (CME, ICE)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:31:50 +0000

After markets closed last night, CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) announced a 5-for-1 stock split which will be accomplished as a 400% stock dividend. The dividend will be paid on July 20th to shareholders of record on July 10th.

CME Group owns and operates the Comex and Nymex commodities exchanges as well as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. The company pulled out of the bidding for the London Metals Exchange earlier this week.

CME stated the reason for the split:

We believe that splitting CME Group stock will appeal to a broader, more diverse mix of investor portfolios. By making our shares attractive to more people, we have potential to further expand the base of ownership.

In other words, liquidity. Shares closed yesterday at $256.16 and trade an average of about 600,000 a day. Lowering the share price to around $50 will, CME hopes, attract more investors. Over the past 12 months, CME shares are down about -14%.

CME, as well as the IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE), the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., and Chicago-based OCC (formerly the Options Clearing Corp.) have been designated as systemically important financial institutions. The designation means more regulatory oversight and perhaps larger reserves to withstand a debacle similar to the MF Global implosion.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Commodities, Exchange News, International Markets, Stock Splits Tagged: CME, ICE

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMAT, ARBA, BX, CPLA, CHA, DELL, DNDN, EMC, FB, GMT, ICE, JAZZ, NDAQ, PCX, PG, SBUX, WY)

Administrator — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:22:37 +0000

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

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Ariba Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) Raised to Buy at Stern Agee.

Capella Education Co. (NASDAQ: CPLA) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Cut to Neutral at Mizuho; Maintained Underperform and target cut to $14 at Credit Suisse.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Started as Underperform at Jefferies; Maintained Hold with $11 target at Canaccord Genuity.

EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) Reiterated Buy with $36 target at Argus.

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) Started as Buy with $40 target at Needham.

GATX Corporation (NYSE: GMT) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JAZZ) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) Reiterated Buy with $70 target at Argus.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

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: AMAT, ARBA, BX, CHA, CPLA, DELL, DNDN, EMC, FB, GMT, ICE, JAZZ, NDAQ, PCX, PG, SBUX, WY

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 17, 2012

Paul Ausick — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:04:49 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened essentially flat this morning as investors were faced with a flat report on new claims for jobless benefits (our coverage here). Manufacturing data from the Philadelphia Fed came in much lower than expected and the leading economic indicators also weighed the market down (more coverage here). The US dollar index rose slightly today, now up 0.03% at 81.398. The GSCI commodity index is down fractionally at 633.40, with commodities mostly higher again today. Wheat is the big gainer again today, while orange juice futures were down more than -6%. WTI crude oil closed down -0.3% at $92.56/barrel, and Brent crude trades down at -2% at $107.55/barrel. Gold settled up 2.5% today, at $1,574.90/ounce, ending a four-day losing streak.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down 156 points to 12,442.49 (-1.24%), the NASDAQ fell more than 60 points (-2.10%) to 2,813.69, and the S&P 500 fell -1.50% or nearly 20 points to 1,304,87.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) raised to ‘neutral’ at Sterne Agee; IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE) raised to ‘strong buy’ at Raymond James; SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) reiterated as ‘buy’ but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reiterated as ‘buy’ with target price of $96 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) is down -7.3% at $4.09; Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is down -5.6% at $95.60; E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is down -16.6% at $6.25 (more coverage here); GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) is down -10.1% at $18.72 (more coverage here); Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is up 3.9% at $52.84; and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is up 4.7% at $61.97 (more coverage here).

On Friday we are scheduled to get earnings from ANN Inc. (NYSE: ANN), Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (NYSE: BWS), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), and Footlocker Inc. (NYSE: FL).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Rosetta Genomics Ltd. (NASDAQ: ROSG) is down -17.7% at $4.11. The medical diagnostics firm priced a secondary offering this morning. More coverage here.

Dendreon Inc. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is down -11.3% at $7.65. The company’s prostate cancer drug got another challenge from a competing product from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). More coverage here.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is down -21.4% at $1.68 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.63. The solar component maker lost its CFO today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. We don’t have anything on the schedule for tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll have a quiet day.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: ANN, BONT, BWS, DANG, DE, DELL, DLTR, DNDN, FL, GME, ICE, JASO, PGR, ROSG, SHLD, SINA, V, WFR, WMT

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ANF, A, BBVA, CME, CROX, DE, DELL, DKS, HLF, HP, HBAN, ICE, LM, SINA, V, WAT)

Administrator — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:23:52 +0000

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

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas.

CME Group Icc. (NASDAQ: CME) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) Started as Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Reiterated Buy with $96 target at Argus.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Raised to Neutral at Stern Agee.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $58 at Argus.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Raised to Buy at Caris; David Einhorn did not discuss the issue at the Value Investing Congress on Wednesday; Reiterated Buy with $76 target at Canaccord Genuity.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) Raised to Buy with $55 target at Argus.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) Maintained Outperform but cut 2012/2013 estimates and maintained $8 target at Credit Suisse.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) Raised to Strong Buy at Raymond James.

Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Maintained Buy but removed from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: A, ANF, BBVA, CME, CROX, DE, DELL, DKS, HBAN, HLF, HP, ICE, LM, SINA, V, WAT

Chinese Currency Going Global? (CME, ICE)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:29:43 +0000

At a conference in Singapore, the CEO of the London Metals Exchange (LME), the world hub for metals trading, said that LME is working on a 2-year project to create its own clearing house and that the group is considering adopting the Chinese yuan as a means of settlement once the project is launched. LME currently accepts US dollars, euros, Japanese yen, and British pounds to settle contracts.

The LME is currently seeking bids to be acquired, with the CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE) among the potential buyers. Firm bids for LME are due next week.

Adding the yuan would recognize the fact that China is the world’s largest consumer of the metals contracted at LME — copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, nickel, and tin. For China the adoption of the currency would be a major step in the country’s goal of internationalizing the yuan. Last month the government widened the fixed trading band on the yuan, but among the policy changes remaining is removing the restriction on foreign ownership of China’s currency.

According to a report at MarketWatch, market participants have supported the proposed move, although LME’s CEO said, “It’s like asking people if they’d like world peace or a pony for Christmas. Obviously [the answer is] yes.”

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Banking, China, Commodities, Currency, Exchange, Metals Tagged: CME, ICE

NASDAQ Joins NYSE & CME In Paying Dividends, Finally (NDAQ, NYX, CME, CBOE, ICE)

Administrator — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:55:32 +0000

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is finally going to start paying out a cash dividend to its shareholders. The company announced its plans to initiate a quarterly cash dividend at a rate of $0.13 per share of common stock to be paid on June 29, 2012 to all holders of record on June 15, 2012.

This is the first dividend paid out by NASDAQ to its common shareholders in the company’s history. If you annualize the $0.13 as static per quarter, the yield comes to 2% for shareholders based upon the $25.33 price. The rival NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) has a much higher dividend yield of about 4.5% and it has paid out a dividend since June of 2007.

Today’s dividend news is long overdue. We have listed this exchange as a dividend sinner before and Raymond James noted the call for a dividend as recently as February. If you look at the CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) it has been public far less time than NASDAQ and it has been paying a dividend since back in 2003. CME Group even went as far as declaring a special dividend earlier this year on top of its regular common dividend.

CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) has been public for less than two years and it has been paying a dividend since late in 2010. The leader in options trading has a dividend yield of about 1.8% and that dividend is likely to be raised in the next quarter or two.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is now the last of the public U.S. securities exchanges which does not have a dividend yield. Today’s dividend news by NASDAQ is long overdue.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Corporate Governance, Dividend, Exchange, Exchange News, Financial Stocks, Shareholder Issues Tagged: CBOE, CME, ICE, NDAQ, NYX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMZN, BIP, XLS, GM, GPRN, ICE, LLTC, PRXL, PKD, PVH, GOLD, RIO, LUV, SHW, TXN)

Administrator — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:15:49 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Monday. Some of these calls are moving the shares this morning.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE: BIP) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Exelis, Inc. (NYSE: XLS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) Cut to Neutral with $20 target at BofA/ML; Cut to Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Linear Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: LLTC) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

PAREXEL International Corporation (NASDAQ: PRXL) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.

Parker Drilling Company (NYSE: PKD) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

PVH Corporation (NYSE: PVH) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Rangold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) Cut to Neutral at Nomura.

Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMZN, BIP, GM, gold, GPRN, ICE, LLTC, LUV, PKD, PRXL, PVH, RIO, SHW, TXN, XLS

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BHI, ICE, LXK, MTG, MU, RDN, GOLD, SWY, TSLA, XL)

Administrator — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:03:00 +0000

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

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG) Started as Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette Woods.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) Started as Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette Woods.

Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) Cut estimates at Goldman Sachs.

Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Raised to Buy at Wunderlich.

XL Group, Plc (NYSE: XL) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: BHI, gold, ICE, LXK, MTG, MU, RDN, SWY, TSLA, XL

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMD, AIXG, CELG, DNDN, DLR, EBAY, ICE, JOY, LVLT, NSC, RSH, BOX, VECO)

Administrator — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:27:39 +0000

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

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Started as Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Joy Global, Inc. (NYSE: JOY) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.

RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

SeaCube Container Leasing Limited (NYSE: BOX) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AIXG, AMD, BOX, CELG, DLR, DNDN, EBAY, ICE, JOY, LVLT, NSC, RSH, VECO

Top Earnings Previews For Wednesday (AKAM, CSCO, CSC, ENB, GRPN, IM, ICE, LVLT, MCO, NWSA, PNG, PAA, PRU, RL, RAI, S, TWX, VICL, V, WFM)

Administrator — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:30:51 +0000

We are entering into the last waves of the normalized quarterly earnings reports for companies with December 31 quarter-end dates, and we are entering the first waves of the earnings reports from companies with off-normal quarter-ends. Wednesday is going to be another busy day with many earnings.

The earnings previews are for the following: Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM); Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML); Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC); Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB); Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN); Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM); IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE); Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT); Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO); News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA); PAA Natural Gas Storage L.P. (NYSE: PNG); Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA); Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU); Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL); Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI); Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S); Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX); Vical Inc. (NASDAQ: VICL); Visa Inc. (NYSE: V); and Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

We have compiled earnings preview on each company using Thomson Reuters consensus estimates and added color on each if applicable. Some are market moving, some are sector moving, and some are just interesting for traders to watch around the earnings reports.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) has estimates of $0.40 EPS and $311.26 million in revenues.

Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) has estimates of $0.09 EPS and $401.5 million in revenues. Growth is gone, but it still screens as value.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has estimates of $0.43 EPS and $11.23 billion in revenues. Preliminary preview notes are available.

Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) has estimates of $0.58 EPS and $3.98 billion in revenues. As a reminder, CSC has warned on earnings. This one shows up as a value stock in all sorts of investor screens but it is a value trap.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: AKAM, CSC, CSCO, ENB, GRPN, ICE, IM, LVLT, MCO, NWSA, PAA, PNG, PRU, RAI, RL, S, TWX, V, VICL, WFM