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Top Analyst Calls of the Week, Stocks to Buy, Stocks to Sell, Sector by Sector

Jon C. Ogg — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 11:45:31 +0000

This last week had much more volatility than what investors have grown used to. 24/7 Wall St. wanted to highlight the top analyst sector research calls of the week now that investors are trying to look for bargains among the battered and sold off stocks. Friday’s top analyst upgrades and positive research calls included Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) and many others. The top analyst downgrades and cautious calls from Friday were in shares of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Sprint Nextel Inc. (NYSE: S) and others.

Other key sector calls were numerous. Some are downgrades, but others are aimed at helping investors find bargains out among the wreckage. One of the top calls came from Credit Suisse calling for the S&P 500 Index to hit 1,900 by the end of 2014. We included only some of the names from each call and links have been provided to each so that investors can see the full summary of each call.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) had some news from us this week during the turmoil as investors often look at Warrenn Buffett’s stocks for opportunities. We outlined the Buffett stocks that analysts thought had the most upside, and then we also identified the fully value or overvalued Buffett stocks as well.

The coal sector took an untimely sector downgrade from Raymond James, hitting James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) worse than peers.

Oppenheimer listed its new institutional portfolio strategy stocks to buy. This list was mostly technology, and it was surprising to see Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) on the list.

There were several calls in oil and gas which stood out. Jefferies gave its list of oil services stocks to buy including names like Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) and seven other stocks. Deutsche Bank listed its top 10 oil and gas stocks to buy and Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) had the most upside in that group of 10 stocks. Merrill Lynch also issued a report calling for the stocks to buy under new American energy independence.

Technology was also given a focus at UBS. The firm said that SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) and other key tech stocks were trading at discounts to the secular growth stories. Cray Inc. (NASDAQ: CRAY) was given big upside with a $25 target at Sterne Agee due to supercomputing and advanced security. Oppenheimer warned that activist investors are likely to target more technology stocks. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) got a great start to the week as three calls hit almost all at once.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) managed a rare event this week: it gained for the week, in part because Stern Agee raised the rating to Buy.

Jefferies raised its price targets on its list of pharma stocks to buy, including Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) for its big dividend yield.

The risk of higher interest rates is putting pressure on mortgage REITS.

Are you worried about higher interest rates hitting the financial sector? UBS included Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) and many other financial stocks in a call showing financial stocks that will win with higher interest rates.

Even gold, and therefore the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD), was defended by Sterne Agee over gold demand. Unfortunately, the end of the week proved brutal here in that call.

Bill Gross of PIMCO is warning that too much risk is being taken for way too low of carry returns.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: BAC, BHI, BRK-A, CIE, CRAY, GLD, GRMN, HPQ, INTC, JCP, JRCC, MRK, S, SCHW, SNDK, YUM

Closing Bell for Thursday on Wall Street: Markets Post Gains Following Lower Open

Paul Ausick — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:14:33 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened slightly lower this morning, even though the report on new U.S. claims for unemployment benefits came in a bit lower than expected. The drag on stock prices followed a statement by the European Central Bank that it is leaving the key 0.5% interest rate unchanged and is prepared to deal with negative interest rates. The Bank of England also left rates unchanged. Greek unemployment rose to a record-high of 2.8%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed lower again following day of big swings in equities prices.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 1.28% today, now at 81.5350. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.2% at 626.58. WTI crude oil closed up 1.1%, at $94.76 a barrel on the weaker dollar. Brent crude trades up about 0.6% at $103.62 a barrel. Natural gas is down 4.2% today at about $3.83 per million BTUs following a larger-than-expected build in storage. Gold settled up 1.2% today at $1,415.80.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 78 points to 15,039.16 (0.53%), the NASDAQ rose more than 22 points (0.66%) to 3,424.05, and the S&P 500 rose 0.84% or more than 13 points to 1,622.46.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Endo Health Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP) cut to ‘sell’ at Cantor Fitzgerald;
The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) started as ‘buy’ with a $55 price target at Canaccord Genuity;
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) started as ‘buy’ with a price target of $23 in a counter-intuitive call at Sterne Agee;
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (NYSE: KMP) restarted as ‘overweight’ at Barclays; and
Vera Bradley Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in the following price changes today:

ANN Inc. (NYSE: ANN) is up 1.4% at $31.51;
J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) is down 3.9% at $98.40; and
Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN) is up 2.2% at $20.69.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Quiksilver Inc. (NYSE: ZQK), Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN), Christopher & Banks Corp. (NYSE: CBK), Crossroads Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDS), and JA Solar Holding Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

LightInTheBox Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LITB) is up 26% at $11.96. The China-based e-commerce company held its IPO today.

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) is up 17% at $19.08 after posting a new 52-week high this morning of $19.17. The networking equipment company posted better-than-expected earnings this morning.

VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) is down 20.7% at $17.41 after posting a new 52-week low of $17.08 earlier today. The electronic payments firm reported decent results, but the stock sank on the forecast.

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

8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate
3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ANN, CBK, CIEN, CRDS, ENDP, JASO, JCP, KMP, LITB, MTN, PAY, SJM, TITN, VRA, XONE, ZQK

Top Analyst Upgrades and Stocks to Buy: J.C. Penney, VeriFone, Whole Foods, More

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:30:02 +0000

Investors and traders constant look for fresh research ideas that will lead to higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls each morning to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks. We are breaking out the positive analyst calls as far as stocks to buy and positive research calls today. These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, initiations and positive analyst research calls seen from Wall Street today.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was started as Buy with $130 price target at Sterne Agee.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was started as Buy with $58 price target at Sterne Agee.

ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) was started as Buy with a $55 price target as a 3D printing industrial materials pure play at Canaccord Genuity.

The Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) was started as Buy with $60 price target at Sterne Agee.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was started as Buy with $23 price target at Sterne Agee.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP) resumed at Overweight by Barclays.

Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) was started as Buy with $60 price target at Sterne Agee.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) was started as Buy with $70 price target at Sterne Agee.

Philips Electronics N.V. (NYSE: PHG) was raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) was raised to Positive at Susquehanna.

Whole Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) was started as Buy with $61 price target at Sterne Agee.

Here is a list of stocks that will benefit from the coming American energy independence.

A key research report from UBS is calling technology dirt cheap as secular growth is on sale for investors.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: COST, DLTR, JCP, JWN, KMP, LPNT, M, PAY, PHG, TFM, THC, WFM, XONE

J.C. Penney Stock Gets Boost from Sterne Agee Analyst

Paul Ausick — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:20:37 +0000

Shares of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) are getting a boost in premarket trading this morning following initiation of coverage by Sterne Agee with a Buy recommendation and a 12-month price target of $23 a share. Shares closed at $18.16 last night. The brokerage firm’s note acknowledges that J.C. Penney is “on its back,” but offers some positive thoughts on why it has chosen to take the other side of the bet.

Analyst Charles Grom believes that the change in leadership, the return to successful past practices, and “a willingness to go against the herd” will move the company’s shares higher beginning in the second half of this year. He admits, however, that his call “is not for the faint of heart.”

Grom expects J.C. Penney to revert to its former focus on private brands, promotions and coupons to lure past customers back into the stores. He also expects the company to leverage the cost improvements made by former CEO Ron Johnson and his team. New CEO Mike Ullman is expected to bring J.C. Penney’s focus back to store brands, which will weigh on same-store sales and profit margins in the second quarter of 2013, but should begin to produce results in the back-to-school season when J.C. Penney’s traditionally has held strength.

J.C. Penney’s effort is one of those “back to the future” moments. As Grom notes, the strategy that Ullman is reviving worked very well for the company in the years between 2006 and 2009. But during Ullman’s tenure at the top of J.C. Penney, shares lost an average of 2% a year — far better than during Johnson’s term, but still nothing to celebrate.

J.C. Penney shares are up about 1.2% in premarket trading this morning, at $18.37 in a 52-week range of $13.55 to $32.55.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: JCP

May Retail Sales Due Tomorrow from Costco, Other Chain Stores

Paul Ausick — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:31:29 +0000

Same-store retail sales from many of the country’s largest chains are scheduled to hit the tape tomorrow. Sales in March and April rose just 1.4% and 3%, respectively, so the most recent projection from Retail Metrics that sales will rise 2.8% represents a bit of a disappointment. In May of 2012, same-store sales rose 2%.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) reported May sales yesterday, and posted a gain of 2.8%. Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), and Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) are projected to post a year-over-year May sales gain of more than 3%, but Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) is expected to post a decline of 1.9%, primarily on poor pharmacy sales.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) drags the department store group down with a projected drop in same-store sales of 6.6%. Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is forecast to see sales drop 3.5% in May.

Among the discount stores, Costco is expected to post a gain of 4.4% excluding gasoline sales and PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) is forecast to show a gain of 8.2%. Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) is expected to post a 3.7% jump in same-store sales for May.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is among the many stores that no longer report monthly sales, but Retail Metrics forecasts sales at Sam’s Club stores will rise by 2.4% while sales at the company’s other stores will rise by 1%. Overall, Walmart sales are forecast to rise 1.2%, well below last year’s 3% gain in May.

Retail Metrics notes that improving weather, rising stock prices, better news on housing, and rising consumer confidence should have contributed to higher spending in May. The less-than-stirring forecast has been hampered by higher gasoline prices and stagnant personal income.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: BKE, COST, GPS, JCP, PSMT, RAD, SHLD, SMRT, WAG, WMT

Ten Brands That Will Disappear in 2014

Douglas A. McIntyre — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:26:50 +0000

Each year, 24/7 Wall St. identifies 10 important brands sold in America that we predict will disappear before 2014. This year’s list reflects the brutally competitive nature of certain industries and the importance of not falling behind in efficiency, innovation or financing.

The list also reflects how industry trends can accelerate the demise of certain brands. This year, we included two magazines — Martha Stewart Living and Road & Track. With print advertising in a multiyear decline, some magazines have weathered the decline better than others. These two, however, have suffered sharp drops in advertising revenue over the past five years. Magazines also carry the heavy legacy costs of printing, paper and distribution — a problem not shared by online-only competition.

Click here to see the 10 brands

Consumer electronics is another category with disappearing brands. The Barnes & Noble Nook is on the list. It competes with better-selling products made by larger companies — Apple and Amazon.com — and is also in the e-reader business, a shrinking industry. The Olympus digital camera also will disappear from store shelves by the end of 2014. Camera sales, especially point-and-shoot models, have been eroded by smartphones, which have increasingly high-quality cameras.

Yet another industry with two brands on our list is automobiles. Car sales are growing in the United States, but brands with market shares under half a percent cannot compete with companies that either produce high-luxury models like Mercedes-Benz or multiline giants like General Motors. Suzuki pulled out of the American market last year. Mitsubishi and Volvo will follow soon.

Looking back on last year’s calls list, we have had some winners, and some bad calls. Suzuki, MetroPCS and Current TV are all gone in the United States. American Airlines is part of a new company through its combination with U.S. Airways, though the American Airlines name lives on. Talbots was acquired by a private equity firm less than two months after we called it. Research In Motion is no longer a brand, having been renamed BlackBerry. We bungled our predictions regarding Avon, the Oakland Raiders and Salon.

We continue to use the same methodology in deciding which brands will disappear. The major criteria include:

Declining sales and losses;
Disclosures by the parent of the brand that it might go out of business;
Rising costs that are unlikely to be recouped through higher prices;
Companies that are sold;
Companies that go into bankruptcy;
Companies that have lost the great majority of their customers; and
Operations with withering market share.

Each brand on the list suffers from one or more of these problems. Each of the 10 will be gone, based on our definitions, within 18 months.

This is 24/7 Wall St.’s 10 brands that will disappear in 2014.

Filed under: Special Report Tagged: BKS, JCP, LEAP, MSO

Media Digest: Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

Douglas A. McIntyre — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:52:40 +0000

Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) cuts forecasts for game console margins for the next several years. (MarketWatch)

Sony also cuts targets for smartphones and camera sales. (Reuters)

A complex Irish tax loophole helps Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) save billions in taxes. (Reuters)

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) sets a $5 billion share buyback through Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS). (Reuters)

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) raises its offer for Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR), but many investors think the new sum is inadequate. (Reuters)

Jamie Dimon has a stronger position at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) now that he will keep both the CEO and chairman jobs. (WSJ)

Prosecutors may use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to charge SAC Capital Advisors. (WSJ)

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) will increase production by 200,000 vehicles this year. (WSJ)

ESPN, which is majority owned by Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), begins a series of large layoffs. (WSJ)

Phone companies start to sell subscriber data to marketers. (WSJ)

Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) says it will use a dividend from Verizon Wireless to expand its main businesses in Europe. (WSJ)

Renault and Nissan aggressively invest to increase market share in India. (WSJ)

J.C. Penney Co. Inc.’s (NYSE: JCP) $2.25 billion loan, backed by real estate, will show how much leverage such assets hold. (WSJ)

The new Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox will face rising competition from online games. (NYT)

The Bank of Japan decides not to increase its monetary easing plans. (FT)

Japan’s trade deficit rises as high-priced imports offset the effects of a weaker yen. (FT)

Rumors surface that Sony may spin out its entertainment unit. (Bloomberg)

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AAPL, CLWR, DIS, F, GS, JCP, JPM, MRK, MSFT, S, SNE, VOD

Closing Bell for Monday on Wall Street: Markets Open Lower, Bounce Once, Then Go Flat

Paul Ausick — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:06:15 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning but soon rose above the break-even line where it stayed until noon when share prices began to dip. That was quite a shift from Asian markets, where the three major indexes were all higher, with the Nikkei at a five-and-a-half year high. In Europe the only economic data of note came from Italy, where industrial new orders rose 1.6% in April and industrial sales declined 0.9%. In the U.S., there was no economic data of note released today. Gold and silver took a beating early, but came back to close higher. Remarks by Chicago Fed President William Evans, however, sent equities markets back into negative territory.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.6% today, now at 83.7490. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.7% at 632.05. WTI crude oil closed up 0.7%, at $96.71 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.1% at $103.80 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.9% today at about $4.09 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.4% today at $1,384.10.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 19 points to 15,335.28 (-0.12%), the NASDAQ fell more than 2 points (-0.07%) to 3,496.43, and the S&P 500 fell -0.07% or about 1 point to 1,666.29.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) cut to ‘sell’ at Stifel Nicolaus;
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank;
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) raised to ‘buy’ at Maxim Group;
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) raised to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; and
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) raised to ‘equal weight’ at Barclays.

Earnings reports released since markets closed last Friday have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today:

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is down 3.9% at $45.78 and
Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: QIHU) is up 6.6% at $43.77 after posting a new 52-week high of $45.11 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Kid Brands Inc. (NYSE: KID), TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY), Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX), and Vodafone plc (NASDAQ: VOD).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is down 34% at $1.58. The Greek bank’s shares gave back last week’s gains after announcing a 1-for-10 reverse split and an issuance of 2.27 billion new shares following the split..

Real Goods Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: RSOL) is up 68% at $6.77, after posting a new 52-week high of $7.17 earlier today. The solar PV installation company has mysteriously appeared on investors’ radar screens and shares have more than tripled in the last 2 trading days.

JA Solar Holding Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is up 69% at $9.46 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.53 earlier today. The solar PV panel maker reported earnings this morning, and they were better than expected..

Stay tuned for Tuesday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and New York Fed President William Dudley are giving speeches. We have also noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auctions

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ABT, BBY, CPB, DKS, HD, JASO, JCP, KID, KSU, LEAP, NBG, P, QIHU, RSOL, SKS, TIVO, TJX, VOD

Top Analyst Upgrades and Stocks to Buy: J.C. Penney, Pandora, Priceline and More

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:30:55 +0000

Investors and traders are always on the lookout for fresh research ideas that will lead to higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks. We are breaking out the positive analyst calls as far as stocks to buy and positive research calls today. These are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, initiations and positive analyst research calls seen from Wall Street today.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

NetEase Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.

Deutsche Bank gave its top oil services stocks to buy today.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was raised to Buy from Hold at Maxim Group.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) was started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

Oppenheimer gave a list of top consumer and business services stocks to buy.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.

Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

The quiet period for Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE: TMHC) has ended and we have seen the following coverage calls from Wall Street: started as Buy at Citigroup, started as Outperform at Credit Suisse and started as Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ABT, ACN, JCP, KORS, NTES, P, PCLN, TMUS

Closing Bell for Friday on Wall Street: Stock Markets Open Higher Today, March Upward

Paul Ausick — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:06:51 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning, taking advantage of buying opportunities after yesterday’s slide in equities’ prices. In the U.S., the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index and the Conference Board leading indicators both posted better-than-expected numbers and added more buying enthusiasm. In Europe, Spain recorded its first ever trade surplus, but there was no other economic news of note. In Asia, the Hong Kong exchange was closed for a holiday. In Japan, the Nikkei rose to a five-and-a-half-year high and the Shanghai exchange closed at a seven-week high after regulators eased some refinancing restrictions.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.8% today, now at 84.2540. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.5% at 627.99. WTI crude oil closed up 0.9%, at $96.02 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.1% at $103.80 a barrel. Natural gas is up 3.1% today at about $4.06 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.6% today at $1,364.70, down nearly $72 for the week.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 121 points to 15,354.79 (0.80%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 34 points (0.97%) to 3,498.97, and the S&P 500 rose 0.95% or nearly 16 points to 1,666.12.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) cut to ‘sell’ and price target slashed to $85 at Goldman Sachs;
The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) cut to ‘neutral’ at Atlantic Securities;
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) raised to ‘buy’ at Credit Agricole;
United Continental Holdings plc (NYSE: UAL) raised to ‘market perform’ at Avondale Partners; and
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) cut to ‘hold’ at Maxim Group on a valuation call.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today (more coverage is linked to the company’s name):

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is down 7% at $37.00;
Dell Inc. (NYSE: DELL) is down 0.2% at $13.40;
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down 3.6% at $18.11;
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is down 0.7% at $60.72; and
Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI) is down 7.6% at $24.11;

Before markets open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), and Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NYSE: QIHU).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is up 19% at $2.38. The Greek bank’s shares rise following a boost to the country’s sovereign debt rating earlier this week.

Real Goods Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: RSOL) is up 98.4% at $3.48, after posting a new 52-week high of $3.63 earlier today. The solar PV installation company is finally getting some attention from investors, even though its first quarter earnings released last week were weak.

Tableau Software Inc. (NYSE: DATA) is up 62.5% at $50.38. The cloud-based, big data visualization maker held its IPO today.

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

8:30 a.m. – Chicago Fed national activity index
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADSK, CPB, DATA, DE, DELL, DIS, GM, JASO, JCP, JWN, NBG, P, QIHU, RSOL, SSI, UAL