Posts for Ticker ‘JWN’

Black Friday Gimmicks & Desperation, A Win For Consumers (WMT, BBY, COST, TGT, KSS, GPS, M, JWN, MA, AMZN)

We are right at a week away from the highly awaited Black Friday for 2009’s holiday and Christmas season.  As you likely know, this is THE day that retailers look forward to all year and critically depend upon as an anchor to how each retailer’s full year earnings results turn out.  You may already be tired of Christmas ads and the holidays haven’t even arrived yet.  With over 10% unemployment, a recession-end that doesn’t feel like a recession-end, a very tight discretionary spending budget, and a general lack of consumer confidence, it is no surprise at all that the focus for the Holiday Season in 2009 is one of deals and thrift.

These are not in any particular order, but the promotions have been reviewed at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY), Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M), and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN).  There is also already promotion between MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN).  Admittedly, this is just a sampling of major outlets.

What is amazing is just how much of the deal-making is already out before the holiday season starts as retailers key off of each other.  It is almost impossible to avoid thinking how such a promotional Christmas and Holiday Season in 2009 is going to add pressure to margins at almost all the first-line retailers.
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Posted on: November 19, 2009 – 12:54 pm in Apparel, Calendar, Editor's Picks, Entertainment, Luxury, Product Review, Retail, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (CADX, COH, DELL, HTE, JWN, RIMM, S, STP, URI, VRSK)

These are the top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street research calls early this Monday:

Cadence Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CADX) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Started as Buy with $19 target at Goldman Sachs.
Harvest Energy (NYSE: HTE) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) Started as Hold, $66 target, at Auriga.
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) Raised to Neutral (from Underweight) at HSBC.
United Rentals (NYSE: URI) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ: VRSK) Started as In-Line at Fox-Pitt; Started as Market Perform at KBW.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week to be notified of key analyst calls, top early morning day trader alerts, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 8:13 am in Analyst Calls, Technology Companies, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Day Trader Alerts (ANF, RINO, CADX, TSTC, PLA, JWN)

These are this morning’s top day trader and active trader alert stocks.  More detailed analysis and data has been offered via a link to each story at VSInvestor.com:

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is trading higher by 6% despite poor sales.

RINO International Corp. (NASDAQ: RINO) is hitting new 52-week highs after strong earnings.

Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CADX) is down 6% after the FDA extended the review for its painkiller Acetavance.

Telestone Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: TSTC) is the top percentage gainer.

Playboy Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: PLA) is up again 8% after yesterday’s takeover chatter.

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is down about 5% on soft earnings despite raised guidance.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week to be notified of key merger news, key analyst calls, top early morning day trader alerts, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON OGG

Posted on: November 13, 2009 – 8:53 am in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , ,

Macy’s Highlights Value-Performance Conundrum in Dept. Stores (M, JWN, KSS)

Bull and Bear ImageMacy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) is showing just how much of a conundrum there is between today’s retail stock valuations and the reality of what to expect from earnings ahead.  Macy’s had a narrower loss in the last quarter of $35 million, or -$0.08 EPS; but outside of items its earnings were -$0.03 EPS.  Revenues were down over 3% to $5.28 billion. Thomson Reuters had estimates at -$0.07 EPS and $5.25 billion in revenues.    The company did manage solid inventory management controls and its ongoing localized merchandise by region was part of why it raised its sales and earnings guidance for the year.

Still, there are issues between today’s share price versus valuations and where it came up from.  This also highlights issues that lie ahead for Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) and Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) ahead of their earnings this week.
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Posted on: November 11, 2009 – 10:12 am in Apparel, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Retail, , ,

Major Stocks That Have Doubled And Their Future Prospects (F)(AMZN)(AAPL)(WFMI)(MOT)

appleBy Douglas A. McIntyre

The S&P 500 index is so far having a fine year, up a bit more than 20%. But several big-company stocks in the index have doubled, or better, over that time. Among the best-performers are some of America’s most well-known companies.

Here’s a look at 10 of those and their prospects of advancing further — or sliding back into the large pack of equities that have had only modest advances during the current bull market (all prices are as of the close on Nov. 9).

Ford (NYSE:F) was left for dead when it traded at $1 last November. The market thought it would share the sorry fate of its rivals General Motors and Chrysler, and that common shareholders would get nothing.

Read more…

Posted on: November 10, 2009 – 5:37 pm in Editor's Picks, , , , , , ,

Top 10 Earnings on Deck This Week (ERTS, ENER, PCLN, SQNM, TYC, AMAT, M, JWN, WMT, DIS)

bull-and-bear-image2Earnings season has wound down now with over 85% of the S&P 500 Index having reported.  Still, there are some key companies posting their quarterly results and some companies were screened out of this list which are still actively traded or widely held stocks.  Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER), Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) and Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) are on deck Monday. Also this week are earnings from Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC), Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M), are Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN). Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) are our two DJIA components reporting this week.

We have included Thomson Reuters consensus estimates and included performance and other important color where applicable.  We have shown the share performance since the March 9 close that traders mark as the official end date of the bloody bear market.  One issue to consider is that we used the performance since June 30 to keep consistency for our prior previews even though some of the quarter-ends this coming week are technically August 31.
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Posted on: November 8, 2009 – 10:26 am in Alternative Energy, Calendar, Cult Stock, Earnings, Green Biz, Retail, Semiconductor, Short Interest, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (BIIB, INCY, MOT, CMCSA, JWN, ODP, PALM, RIMM, RCL, YUM)

These are this Monday’s top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms:

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ: INCY) Started as Outperform at Leerink Swann.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Cut to Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Research-in-Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
YUM! Brands (NYSE: YUM) Raised to Outperform at RBC Capital.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 2, 2009 – 9:25 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Retail Job Picture For Holidays Worsens

AnnThere has been some hope that with a modest recovery from the recession that holiday retail sales would pick up this year. Those hopes appear to be premature. The high levels of unemployment and lack of consumer access to credit may make this Christmas season even worse than last.

The difficulties in the retail sector are going to hurt the jobs market, particularly between now and the end of the year. Read More »

Posted on: September 24, 2009 – 5:50 am in Retail, , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (BEN, KLAC, NVLS, LRCX, JWN, OSK, STX, WDC, S)

These are the top analyst upgrades and positive research calls from Wall Street this Monday morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Franklin Resources (BEN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
KLA-Tencor (KLAC), Novellus Systems (NVLS) and Lam Research (LRCX) were all three Raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Nordstrom (JWN) Raised to Neutral and off Conviction Sell List at Goldman Sachs.
Oshkosh (OSK) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Seagate Tech (STX) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.
Western Digital (WDC) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.
Sprint (S) Raised to Buy at Auriga.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: July 6, 2009 – 6:35 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (AMZN, COH, FDX, IPI, JWN, QCOM, RIMM, URBN)

These are Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen early this morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

  • Amazon.com (AMZN) Raised to Outperform at Cowen.
  • Coach (COH) Started as Outperform at Robert W. Baird.
  • FedEx (FDX) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
  • Intrepid Potash (IPI) Started as Outperform at RBC.
  • Nordstrom (JWN) Started as Outperform at Robert W. Baird.
  • Qualcomm (QCOM) Started as Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
  • Research in Motion (RIMM) Started as Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
  • Urban Outfitters (URBN) Started as Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted on: June 30, 2009 – 6:33 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADSK, AVY, CAT, DFS, FEIC, BEN, JWN, PMTC, SLB, VECO)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst calls with upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street firms this Thursday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

AutoDesk  (ADSK) Started as Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Avery Dennison (AVY) Started as Underperform at Baird.
Caterpillar (CAT) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Discover Financial (DFS) Started as Outperform at FBR.
FEI Co. (FEIC) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Franklin Resources (BEN) Started as Outperform at Wachovia.
Nordstrom (JWN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Parametric Technology (PMTC) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Schlumberger (SLB) Started as Neutral at HSBC.
Veeco Instruments (VECO) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: May 28, 2009 – 6:35 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

S&P Downgrades Credit Ratings on DDS, JCP, M, Neiman Marcus, JWN

Standard & Poor’s downgraded the ratings on Dillard’s (NYSE: DDS), J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), Macy’s (NYSE: M), Neiman Marcus (private) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN).

Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Diane Shand said, “The rating actions reflect Standard & Poor’s deepening concern about the impact of the U.S. recession on the increasingly troubled department store sector which felt the full brunt of the declining U.S. economy and weakening consumer confidence in 2008…”

Read more…

Posted on: April 17, 2009 – 8:34 am in Uncategorized, , , ,

Can The Weak Stocks Catch Up Now? (MSFT)(HPQ)(CSCO)(INTC)(SHLD)(JWN)(TGT)(XOM)(BP)(COP)

sunset3The person who first said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link has never lifted a V8 out of a Ford Mustang. But, the analogy works in most cases and now, as much as ever in the last year, it gets to be tested in the stock market.

The S&P 500 is up 25% in just over three weeks. Many analysts say that there is no reason that the run-up should be so sharp. The rally would be more “sustainable” if the climb was gradual and slower. That is probably true. Cautious investors are inclined to sell stocks that move up quickly to lock in profits. They are afraid that the market can’t go up forever. Those sentiments undercut future advances in stock prices. Read More »

Posted on: April 3, 2009 – 4:23 am in Banking, Drug companies, Most Actives, Oil & Gas, Technology Companies, , , , , , , , , ,

Media Digest 2/24/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaper12According to Reuters, JPMorgan (JPM) cuts its dividend.

Reuters reports that AIG (AIG) got bids from Met Life and Axa for its life unit.

Reuters says that healthcare spending is taking a higher percentage of American spending.

Reuters reports that Yahoo! (YHOO) will offer tools that match users to ads. Read More »

Posted on: February 24, 2009 – 4:05 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nordstrom Earnings & Outlook: When Bad Is Good Enough (JWN)

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) reported terrible earnings.  Interestingly enough, the report from the high-end retailer  is looking “good enough” when you consider the state of many retailers.
Read More »

Posted on: February 23, 2009 – 4:26 pm in Earnings, Luxury, Retail,

S&P Pans Retailer Ratings (DDS, M, JWN, JCP, SHLD, BONT, KSS, SKS)

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has put six department store companies on CreditWatch with negative implications and has changed the outlook on three department store companies to negative from stable.  Moody’s & Fitch either downgraded or warned of possible downgrades.  Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), and Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) were all part of the S&P call late today.

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Posted on: February 5, 2009 – 5:04 pm in Analyst Calls, Retail, , , , , , , ,

Macy’s (M) Workers May Face More Large Layoffs

Bejiqcavb2e9ycazw6i8pcauk6iqhca6pxdMacy’s (M) is up against the same hard rock as other large retailers who cater to the middle class, Sears (SHLD) and Nordstrom (JWN). Sales are being crippled by the recession and there are simply too many stores in too many malls and on too many street corners.

Macy’s (M) may layoff as many as a thousand people next week.

Read More »

Posted on: January 31, 2009 – 4:17 pm in Retail, , ,

Shorts Tear Into Tech With a Vengeance (CSCO)(DELL)(NVDA)(MSFT)(ADBE)(ORCL)(QCOM)(BRCM)(NOK)(HPQ)(TXN)(EMC)(JPM)(C)(BAC)(WFC)(GM)(F)(M)(JWN)(HD)(LTD)(WAG)

Angrybear_3Short sellers placed large bets against the stock of tech companies for the period ending on January 15, taking a series of positions to gamble that firms like Microsoft (MSFT) and Cisco (CSCO) would be the next sector hit hard by selling.

Shares short in Microsoft rose 18% to 92.4 million. Share sold short in Cisco were up 17% to 61.3 million. The short interest in Dell (DELL) rose 15% to 60.1 million. Shares sold short in Nvidia (NVDA) were up 67% to 43 million.

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Posted on: January 27, 2009 – 8:26 pm in Short Interest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Retailers That Will Dominate Store Closings (SHLD)(M)(JWN)(TIF)(WMT)(BBY)(GPS)(M)

Empire_3Several estimates from retail analysts predict the tens of thousands of retail outlets will close this year. Some put the number as high as 70,000 in the first half of 2009. Wall St. is bracing for a large number of bankruptcies in the sector, some of them public companies.

The largest fifteen or twenty retailers will chop locations but not go out of business. They have the sales and balance sheets to make it through the next two or three years, unless the recession turns to a depression. But, they won’t be able to keep the doors of all their operations open.

These are some of the nation’s largest retailers and estimates of what they will have to do to cut their total numbers of outlets as revenues fall.

Read More »

Posted on: January 12, 2009 – 11:49 am in Retail, , , , , , , , , , ,

Nordstrom Gets New Largest Shareholder (JWN)

Money_stack_pic_2It looks like Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) has a new largest shareholder.  An existing holder called Capital World Investors has increased its ownership in the upscale retailer and now owns a 10.1% stake in the company with 21,813,100 shares of common stock.

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Posted on: January 9, 2009 – 10:59 am in Insider Activity, Retail,