24/7 Wall St. » KND

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (FSLR, MNST, TSL, ARMH, MAR, Y, CROX, DECK, MRVL, MCP, SPN, ANR, JCP, NEM, CHTP, BV, KCP, RBCN, KND)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:08:15 +0000

After opening higher this morning, markets rebounded from an early dip following a better-than-expected reading on consumer confidence and a bullish report on US new home sales. But sellers took over in the afternoon and the three major indexes turned south, with the DJIA falling into negative territory for the day. Crude oil continues to set new multi-month highs, with WTI ending up 1.8% for the day at $109.77/barrel, and a gain for the week of 6.3%. Brent crude is up 1.42% at $125.37/barrel. Gold settled down -0.6% at $1,776.40/ounce, but posted a weekly gain of 2.9%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 2 points to 12,983.02 (-0.01%), the NASDAQ rose more than 6 points (0.23%) to 2,963.75, and the S&P 500 rose 0.17% or more than 2 points to 1,365.74.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) cut to ‘neutral’ at Susquehanna; Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) reiterated as ‘Conviction Buy List’ and estimates raised at Goldman Sachs; Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo and cut to ‘negative’ at Susquehanna; ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) started as ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray; and Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) raised to ‘Conviction Buy List” at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Allegheny Corp. (NYSE: Y) is up 4.4% at $315.72; Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) is down -5.8% at $19.24 (more coverage here); Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK) is down -14.2% at $77.39; Marvel Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) is down -3.7% at $15.46; Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is down -7.9% at $26.80 (more coverage here); Superior Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: SPN) is down -1.8% at $29.92; Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) is down -2.9% at $20.40 (more coverage here); J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down -0.72% at $41.63; and Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) is down -2.3% at $62.32.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Chelsea Therapeutics International Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTP) is up 61% at $3.88. The drug maker yesterday received an FDA panel approval for a drug to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Bazaarvoice Inc. (NASDAQ: BV) is up about 37% at $16.40. Today is the social commerce site’s IPO and trading volume has topped 8.1 million on an original issue of about 9.5 million shares at $12/share. More coverage here and here.

Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (NYSE: KCP) is up about 19% at $15.55 after posting a new 52-week high of $16.00 earlier. The apparel maker is being taken private at $15/share. More coverage here.

Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) is down nearly -19% at $9.87. The LED maker missed estimates and offered weak guidance for the current quarter.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) is down nearly -15% at $10.66. The healthcare services company posted a loss last night and announced that it would not renew 7 of 10 master leases with Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR).

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

10:00 a.m. – Pending home sales index
10:30 a.m. – Dallas Fed manufacturing survey
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auction

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: ANR, ARMH, BV, CHTP, CROX, DECK, FSLR, JCP, KCP, KND, MAR, MCP, MNST, MRVL, NEM, RBCN, SPN, TSL, Y

Mid-day Movers (CHTP, BV, KCP, RBCN, KND)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:43:52 +0000

Shortly after noon ET today, all three major US stock indexes are showing gains, with the DJIA up more than 24 points at about 13,009, the Nasdaq up nearly 12 points at 2,969, and the S&P 500 up nearly 5 points to 1,368. After opening higher this morning, markets rebounded from an early dip following a better-than-expected reading on consumer confidence and a bullish report on US new home sales. The dollar is weaker today, with the dollar index down -0.37% at 78.342. The weaker dollar is pushing some commodities down, with precious metals losing the most.

Among the major movers at around noon today are Chelsea Therapeutics International Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTP), Bazaarvoice Inc. (NASDAQ: BV), Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (NYSE: KCP), Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN), and Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND).

Chelsea Therapeutics is up more than 58% at $3.82. Volume is at mid-day is about 13x the daily average of about 1.2 million shares traded. The drug maker yesterday received an FDA panel approval for a drug to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Bazaarvoice is up about 39% at $16.62. Today is the social commerce site’s IPO and trading volume has topped 6.7 million on an original issue of about 9.5 million shares at $12/share. More coverage here and here.

Kenneth Cole Productions is up more than 19% at $15.58 after posting a new 52-week high of $16.00 earlier. Volume is already about 60x the daily average of 24,000 shares traded. The apparel maker is being taken private at $15/share. More coverage here.

Rubicon is down nearly -18% at $10.00. Volume at mid-day is 5x the daily average of around 440,000 shares traded. The LED maker missed estimates and offered weak guidance for the current quarter.

Kindred Healthcare is down nearly -15% at $10.65. Volume is about 3x the daily average of around 705,000 shares traded. The healthcare services company posted a loss last night and announced that it would not renew 7 of 10 master leases with Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR).

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: BV, CHTP, KCP, KND, RBCN

Morning Movers (CHTP, KCP, KND, RBCN, DECK)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:22:59 +0000

The three major US equities indexes opened higher this morning but quickly lost steam ahead of the consumer sentiment and monthly new home sales reports. Action in Europe and Asia had boosted the futures market this morning, but the signals were not strong enough to encourage buying. In the first half hour of trading, the DJIA is up about 16 points at around 13,001, the Nasdaq Composite is up more than 7 points at around 2,964, and the S&P 500 is up more than 3 points at around 1,367.

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include the Chelsea Therapeutics International Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTP), Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (NYSE: KCP), Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND), Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN), and Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK).

Chelsea Therapeutics is up more than 56% at $3.76. Volume is already nearly 9x the daily average of about 1.2 million shares traded. The drug maker yesterday received an FDA panel approval for a drug to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Kenneth Cole Productions is up about 21% at $15.82 after posting a new 52-week high of $16.00 earlier. Volume is already about 20x the daily average of 24,000 shares traded. The apparel maker is being taken private at $15/share. More coverage here.

Kindred Healthcare is down more than -17% at $10.29. Volume is already higher than the daily average of around 705,000 shares traded. The healthcare services company posted a loss last night and announced that it would not renew 7 of 10 master leases with Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR).

Rubicon is down nearly -17% at $10.12. Volume is already nearly double the daily average of around 440,000 shares traded. The LED maker missed estimates and offered weak guidance for the current quarter.

Deckers is down nearly -12% at $79.54. Volume is already about 2.5x the daily average of around 1.7 million shares traded. The outdoor apparel and equipment maker reported earnings last night, and warned of price increases for the coming year.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: CHTP, DECK, KCP, KND, RBCN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALTR, AZO, BWP, BA, BYI, EPB, DD, EW, KND, LEN, LLTC, PCS, PLL, PNM, PSB, SAP, TOL)

Administrator — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:28:23 +0000

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

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) Maintained as Buy with a price target of $381 by Argus.
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE: BWP) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Raised to Overweight with $82 price target at Morgan Stanley.
Bally Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BYI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
E I DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), or DuPont, Cut to Neutral at Citigroup; Lowered estimates for DuPont at Credit Suisse.
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW) Raised to Buy with $75 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND) is already a strong buy but was named as the value stock of the day by Zacks Investment Research.
Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC) Reiterated Underperform and named Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL) on Focus List and raised price target to $68 at Credit Suisse.
PNM Resources, Inc. (NYSE: PNM) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
PS Business Parks (NYSE: PSB) reiterated Outperform and named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Reiterated Buy with $84 price target objective by Argus.
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.

If you want to receive the full 24/7 Wall St. 2012 Model Dividend Portfolio you can sign up in the email submission below. Each morning we send our free email list subscribers a snapshot of the key feature stories, the top daily analyst upgrades and downgrades, previews for key events, and many other aspects governing your finances.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALTR, AZO, BA, BWP, BYI, DD, EPB, EW, KND, LEN, LLTC, PCS, PLL, PNM, PSB, SAP, TOL

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (AVP, BBBY, FSLR, KND, NFLX, POT, RSH, RGLD, SIRI, S, TLAB, WFM, CSCO, BIDU)

Administrator — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:01:56 +0000

Each morning 24/7 Wall St. issues its list of some of the key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms. We review these calls and other calls made throughout the week to see which stand out the most. Some are great calls that were greatly insightful. Other calls may be relevant well into the future, and some calls turn out to be total duds that were very painful for the analysts who made them (and the traders that listened). After reviewing and filtering all of these research reports, we end up with the top analyst calls of the week.

This weeks top analyst calls were in the following stocks: Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP); Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND); Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX); Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT); RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH); Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S); Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB); and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

We have a runner up call in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and we also have a highlight on Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) despite some valuation concerns.

We have compiled the ratings news and relevant data around the reaction to each or around the implications on each. Color has also been provided if relevant on the name.

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) had an awful post-earnings week due to a drop and due to an SEC investigation. On Friday came news that Citigroup was reiterating a “Buy” rating as the worst is likely price in. The problem is that Citi highlighted more negative than positive and it cut the target to $22 from $29 in the call. Around $19.00, that is not really enough upside even if the stock is now getting “cheap.” Avon was cut to “Neutral” by UBS on Friday.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) rarely pulls back very much, Shares were down over 3% on Friday because Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with a quite boring “Underweight” rating. Interesting considering that its client base never spends like there is a recession. On Wednesday Bed Bath & Beyond was reiterated at “Buy” and the target was raised to $70 at Argus.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) may have taken more downgrades after its CEO firing/resignation SNAFU, but at least one analyst is defending the position. Argus came out and lowered the price target to $90.00 but the firm is maintaining its “BUy” rating. This one has gotten so ugly that perhaps there is some value. We just hate trying to think about former high-flying stocks as “value” because it means things went really bad. Interestingly enough, shares bounced more than 20% from the lows of the week.

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND) may have been beaten up too much during the malaise around healthcare reimbursement rates. We would caution that earnings are due this coming Thursday (NOV 3). In July this was above $20.00 then the reimbursement rate woes came on at the time as a bad sell-off. Zacks has finally said enough is enough and named it the Value Stock of the Day this last Thursday as the research shop sees this trading well under ten-times next year’s earnings estimates.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week Tagged: AVP, BBBY, BIDU, CSCO, FSLR, KND, NFLX, P, POT, RGLD, RSH, S, SIRI, TLAB, WFM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALXN, BAC, F, HSP, ITRI, KND, NFLX, PX, RRC, THI, URBN, V)

Administrator — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:29:23 +0000

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

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) Maintained Neutral and cut target to $14 from $16 at Credit Suisse.
Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML, but named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) Started as Outperform with $60 target at Credit Suisse; maintained Buy and $50 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup (boy, how timely).
Praxair Inc. (NYSE: PX) Cut to Underperform from Buy at BofA/ML.
Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) Reiterated Sell at Canaccord Genuity.
Tim Hortons, Inc (NYSE: THI) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALXN, BAC, F, HSP, ITRI, KND, NFLX, PX, RRC, THI, URBN, V

Top 10 Stocks To Watch This Week, The Unusual Suspects (BAC, CARB, CSCO, HMSY, KND, MNKD, MU, NVDA, S, RAH)

Administrator — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:43:20 +0000

There are many things happening this week that are either fresh events or which are follow-on events from last week. We have already compiled an earnings calendar with detailed previews for this week and we have also already hit the top analyst calls of last week. Our top stocks with issues include the following: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Carbonite, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); HMS Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: HMSY); Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND); MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD); Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE: MU); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S); and Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RAH).

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) was pounded in the last two weeks but the bank shares have started to stabilize. Dick Bove defended it last week as have several others now that the bank has also tried to defend itself unsuccessfully. Barron’s wrote this weekend “Time to Bet on Bank of America” as all of the bad loan news is priced in and then some.

Carbonite, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB) ended up becoming a great IPO for anyone who got shares. The online backup storage outfit is not immune to market weakness, but it has a simple share structure and it was not as small of a sliver as some other recent Web2.0 or most recent .com sales would have indicated. The company was forced to slash its price to get the IPO done and the price was a bargain for buyers. Any weakness should represent buying opportunities and this is a complete opposite stance for after-market trading that we have said in most other post-IPO players of late.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has seen its game change now that it beat earnings and is showing some stabilization after what had been a free-fall. We covered Cisco as one where the negativity going into earnings was so high that no one wanted it. It appears to have reached a plateau and at $15.99 its lowest peak selling price before earnings was $13.30. Cisco is now back above the 50-day moving average ($15.42) and the 200-day moving average is all the way up at $18.08. The next resistance point is $16.50 or so, and then not up until about $17.05.

HMS Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: HMSY) has a 3-for-1 stock split being effected with a Wednesday ex-date on the dividend. At $70.96, its 52-week trading range is $50.97 to $84.82.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) is one where if we said it was ‘hit hard’ after the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements would be like calling a heart attack a case of the 24-hour flu. What makes it interesting is that Barron’s points out that it now only trades at about 7.5-times next year’s earnings after adjusting for the new reimbursement rates and said the sell-off from $19 to $12 was overdone. Barron’s take: Kindred could pop 150%

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD) needs all the help it can get and it rose by more than 17% on Friday to $2.79 after JMP Securities upgraded the rating to Market Outperform after the FDA confirmed its pivotal study design for Afrezza. What was interesting is that there were also some after-hours trades that were up more than 5% more after the close. With a 52-week trading range of $2.20 to $10.05 and with a short interest of more than 20 million shares, this is going to be one to watch.

Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE: MU) did not participate in the Friday rally follow-through. Shares were down almost 3% at $6.18; shares put in a new 52-week low this week (as did many) and the new 52-week range is $5.65 to $11.95. DRAMeXchange reported this last week that the DDR 2GB and 4GB contract price was $12.25 (1Gb $0.61) and $23.5 (2Gb $1.31) respectively, representing decreases of 15.52% and 16.07% respectively. Those were the largest price drops since June and the fear is that it could remain weak if the market does not bolster confidence again. Micron has an investor presentation on Monday as well. The good news is that the 50-day moving average is not up until $7.57.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) experienced a total gap and crap trade pattern on Friday after Thursday’s earnings. It gapped up by more than 10% pre-market but ended up closing down almost 4% at $12.88 on the day. We warned that volatility would reign rather than a rapid-fire price recovery. The sell-off from the peak was even more than what we were expecting based upon the news. Our take is that NVIDIA has a bit of an identity crisis on Wall Street as the financial world is trying to think of it as a mobile computing play rather than a pure-play graphics chipset player for PCs. The change of mentality is just going to take a while and there are still many cheaper chip-related stocks to be had. Be patient here.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) briefly broke under $3.00 this last week on the market and on financial health concerns. When we said “the worst was yet to come” a week earlier in Sprint, it was not expected that another 30% would come out of the stock in the last week and a half. Whether it comes to a management change or another bold move, Sprint is truly finding itself in a lonely spot. We hate to bring up viability issues when a company has about $6.5 billion in cash and investments, but that risk seems to be coming up more and more based on the stock market action.

Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RAH) has rejected an offer from ConAgra yet again after the terms were raised to $5.2 billion that was said to be $94.00 in cash. What is interesting is that this is a super-premium to prior highs before the latest deal surfaced.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Calendar, The Week Tagged: BAC, CARB, CSCO, HMSY, KND, MNKD, MU, NVDA, RAH, S

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AZO, CSCO, CTB, CREE, ECL, HEV, EXPE, FSLR, KND, MON, MWW, MOS, NEM, OPEN, PLD, VMW, WNR)

Administrator — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:22:22 +0000

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

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Raised to Buy at Gleacher & Co.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: CTB) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) Reiterated Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Raised to Buy at Ticonderoga.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Western Refining, Inc. (NYSE: WNR) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AZO, CREE, CSCO, CTB, ECL, EXPE, FSLR, HEV, KND, MON, MOS, MWW, NEM, OPEN, PLD, VMW, WNR

Medicare & Medicaid Killing Nursing Homes & Skilled Nursing Facilities (KND, SUNH, SKH, FVE, SRZ, NHC, AMED, AFAM, SNH)

Administrator — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:03:51 +0000

Maybe you can blame overly inflated healthcare costs or maybe you can blame more austerity measures. In the end, all that matters is that nursing home coverage, rehab, and skilled nursing coverage reimbursement rates are being cut by Medicare and Medicaid. The move is wreaking havoc among some of the providers that cater to this segment.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a final rule that cuts Medicare skilled nursing facility Prospective Payment System payments by 11.1% in FY 2012 by $3.87 billion. The cuts are listed as being to “correct for an unintended spike in payment levels and better align Medicare payments with costs.”

The 2012 recalibration will result in a reduction of 12.6% to skilled nursing facility payments of $4.47 billion, but this would be partially offset by the FY 2012 update with an increase of 1.7% to Medicare payments to skilled nursing facilities. This reflects a market basket of goods and services reduced by a 1% multi-factor productivity adjustment mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

A 2.5% increase for hospice reimbursement is not going to be anywhere close to offsetting the losses here.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) is in three segments of hospitals, health services, and rehabilitation. It gets somewhere close to 30% of its revenues from this segment being cut. Its stock opened down at $14.06 and shares are down almost 27% at $13.77 versus a 52-week range of $11.52 to $28.99.

Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH) may have its entire profits gone or at risk now as it has awful exposure here. Its shares opened down at $3.21 versus a $7.00 close. Shares are now down a total of 55% at $3.13 and its shares hit a low so far of $3.10 (52-week low) versus a 52-week high of $15.01.

Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (NYSE: SKH) operates skilled nursing facilities, as well as assisted living facilities, hospice service providers, home health providers, and a rehabilitation therapy business. Its stock is down a sharp 37% at $5.44 after opening at $6.61 this morning. Its 52-week trading range is $2.33 to $15.93.

Five Star Quality Care Inc. (NYSE: FVE) operates senior living communities via independent living or congregate care communities, assisted living communities, and nursing facilities, is down “only” about 8% at $4.55 versus a 52-week trading range of $3.50 to $8.95.

Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: SRZ), which offers senior living services and independent living services, is down only 3% at $8.53 against a 52-week range of $2.18 to $12.44.

National Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: NHC) operates and manages long-term health care centers, and associated assisted living and independent living centers. Its stock is down 12% at $41.78 against a 52-week range of $33.51 to $53.08.

Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is in home health and hospice services and its shares are down 3% at $25.08. Almost Family Inc. (NASDAQ: AFAM), a home health provider, is down 3.7% at $24.33.

Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) is a REIT in hospitals, nursing homes, senior apartments, independent living properties, and assisted living centers. Its shares are also down today by 2.4% at $23.37 versus a 52-week range of $20.42 to $25.28.

Here is what is interesting about this move… This was “pre-budget deal.” If you think that Medicare and Medicaid payments are the only ones at risk in the weeks, months, and years ahead, you might want to think again. Cuts will be coming for a myriad of reasons and from many angles. Companies which rely heavily or solely on government contracts for goods and services are all under more scrutiny.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Accounting, Consumer Goods, Corporate Governance, Economy, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Politics Tagged: AFAM, AMED, FVE, KND, NHC, SKH, SNH, SRZ, SUNH

Top Stocks To Watch This Coming Week, The Unusual Suspects (AMZN, AWK, DYN, ETFC, COF, FSLR, F, GNW, MLNX, LCC, DAL, BKD, FVE, KND, SKH, SUNH)

Administrator — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:10:36 +0000

There are going to be more than just several key equity issues to watch in the week ahead. 24/7 Wall St. has compiled this weekend’s previews of non-earnings events to watch this coming week in equities. The headlines and the markets are still clouded by the developments going on in Washington D.C. over the debt ceiling and the budget and we will see if the positive developments stick by Monday morning.

This is the list of Unusual Suspects to watch in the week ahead: Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN); American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK); Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN); E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC); Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F); Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW); Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX); US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC); Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL); Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD); Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (NYSE: FVE); Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND); Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH); and Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH).

Again, these are intended to be the non-earnings stocks to watch even if some are reporting earnings. In separate notes, we already published an earnings calendar with more than 20 detailed previews of the top earnings reports for this coming week. There are also some carry-over issues that investors will want to track in the Top 11 Analyst Calls of the Week that we have for review and preview with matters that have longer-term implications.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was given a feature article in Barron’s this weekend titled “It’s All About the Revenues at Amazon” where the financial publication says that it is worth another 25% more than it already is today. If the market is flat or just not real weak due to Washington D.C. on Monday morning we would expect another gain of 2% or so despite all-time highs having been seen last week.

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is one we have routinely featured as being the best water stock out there. The water utility giant almost never reaches a 10% pullback from its highs, but on Friday it did breach that 10% threshold barely at $27.63 would mark it and the low was $27.54. Shares closed at $28.00. The company does have earnings coming up, but that is very rare to get the 10% pullback. We will not be shocked if the company announces a capital raise on strength.

Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) was down over 3% in regular trading on Friday, but shares popped more than 5% in the after-hours session to $6.05 on news that a Delaware court rejected PSEG’s attempt to block the company’s restructuring.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) could have another buyer as Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) reportedly had considered making a bid back in 2010. This report surfaced after the close on Friday. Our take stands on our “maximum fair market value being $20″ unless a buyer has a way to end the overhang of its ongoing problem loan areas.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) may have earnings come up this next week but word surfaced late Friday that it has Cory Steffek to help the company make acquisitions and/or seek out partnerships. This fits in with our solar mergers expectations in the coming months.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was listed in Barron’s this weekend as being “ready to roll” in an artgicle. Despite having had lower earnings and despite some new UAW labor issues, Barron’s said Ford could top $15 if analysts are right. While that is another 25% higher, that is actually far less aggressive than the consensus price targets from Thomson Reuters.

Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) rose Friday on word that the company is taking steps for a possible splitting-up of the company and to move to reinstate share buybacks. If this is the case, then the gains may have much more to go as a candidate for moving away from mortgage guaranty operations. Keep in mind that the 6% gain to $8.32 on Friday compares to a 52-week range of $7.56 to $14.77.

Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) was noted over the weekend as having large options bets that its gains in cloud computing will keep going. At $34.85, keep in mind that the Israeli-outfit has a 52-week trading range of $14.60 to $35.60.

Two Tales in Airlines: US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) announced late Friday that it was suing its pilot union for illegal job actions for its 5,200 pilots covered in the union. In another bit of weekend news, Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) faces some negative press as two of its jets apparently collided on the ground in Chicago. No injuries were reported, but how organized does that sound?

Woes come to nursing homes… Medicare announced big cuts on Friday afternoon regarding reimbursement and payments to nursing homes as part of what was announced in April to lower overpayments to the nursing home segment. This created a disaster in many key stocks: Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) was down 6.3% at $20.04; Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (NYSE: FVE) was down 9.5% to $4.48; Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) was down about 20% to $15.00; Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) was down 19% to $7.11; Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH) was down 33% at $4.69.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Airlines, Calendar, Editor's Picks, Healthcare, The Week, Trading Alert Tagged: AMZN, AWK, BKD, COF, DAL, DYN, ETFC, F, FSLR, FVE, GNW, KND, LCC, MLNX, SKH, SUNH