24/7 Wall St. » KSS

Retail Sales for May Better Than Expected

Paul Ausick — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:10:49 +0000

Retailers are announcing May same-store sales figures today. Research firm Retail Metrics projected an overall gain of 2.8% year-over-year, compared with a 1.4% gain in March and a 3% gain in April. Retail sales gained 2% in May of 2012. Early reports indicate that the overall May increase could reach 3.5%.

Retail sales in May got a lift from improving weather, rising stock prices, better news on housing and rising consumer confidence. The modest forecast has been hampered by higher gasoline prices and stagnant personal income.

Many retailers no longer report monthly same-store sales. These include Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO).

Here’s a rundown:

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reported that same-store sales, including gasoline, for May rose 5%, compared with the same month in 2012. That is above the Retail Metrics estimate for a gain of 4.4%, including gasoline sales.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) said same-store sales for May rose 3%, compared with the same period last year, as well as a Retail Metrics estimate for a rise of 2.9%.

The Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) reported same-store sales for May rose 4.1% compared with the same period a year ago. The Retail Metrics estimate called for a rise of 3.4%. A year ago, The Buckle reported a same-store sales rise of just 0.2%.

Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) reported an 8.2% jump in same-store sales for May, well above the 3.7% estimate from Retail Metrics. In May of last year, sales rose 3.1%. Today’s report follows a very strong same-store sales jump of 8% in April.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) posted a same-stores sales rise of 1.1% for May, well below the 2.9% increase expected by Retail Metrics. In May 2012, the teen apparel store’s sales jumped 13.7%.

Costco shares are up about 1%, at $110.44 in a 52-week range of $87.25 to $115.77.

L Brands’ shares are down 2.3%, at $50.46 in a 52-week range of $40.32 to $53.33.

Stein Mart’s shares are up 2.3%, at $13.30 in a 52-week range was $6.56 to $13.44.

Zumiez’s shares are down 2.3%, at $30.32 in a 52-week range of $17.93 to $41.96.

The Buckle’s shares are trading up 0.5% at $54.14 in a 52-week range of $36.33 to $57.22.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: AEO, ANF, BKE, COST, KSS, LTD, M, SMRT, TGT, WMT, ZUMZ

Top Analyst Downgrades and Stocks to Sell: Barnes & Noble, Vera Bradley and More

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:35:16 +0000

Investors frequently get to see the analyst upgrades and Buy ratings from Wall Street firms. What investors often do not get to see is when analyst downgrade stocks to sell or to avoid. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many fresh research calls each and every day to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks, and we have broken out the negative analyst calls today. These are this Thursday’s top analyst downgrades and cautious research notes from Wall Street.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Janney.

Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR) was cut to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley.

Endo Health Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP) was cut to Sell from Neutral at Cantor Fitzgerald.

First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Vera Bradley Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Here are the Top Analyst Upgrades and Stocks to Buy this morning.

Sterne Agee started coverage on many retailers. We covered the Buy ratings on the upgrades and positive calls montage this morning, but here were the companies started with the cautious Neutral ratings: Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG), Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO), Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) and Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS).

Filed under: Investing Tagged: BKS, CWTR, DG, ENDP, FDO, FHN, FIVE, KSS, SKS, VRA

Closing Bell for Thursday on Wall Street: Markets Open Mixed, Fail to Hold Gains

Paul Ausick — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:06:48 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning following a blizzard of data releases on the U.S. economy. Before that data came out, however, there was some positive data out of both Europe and Asia. In Europe, the eurozone trade surplus came in much higher than expected and the consumer price index rose just 1.2% year-over-year. In Asia, Japan reported an annualized GDP growth rate of 3.5% and a drop in the GDP deflator of 1.2%, mixed signals at best. In the U.S., new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected and the Philadelphia Fed survey fell when an increase was expected, and new housing starts were sharply lower on a steep drop in new construction of multi-family residences.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.28% today, now at 83.5980. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.1% at 624.91. WTI crude oil closed up 0.9%, at $95.16 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.2% at $103.93 a barrel. Natural gas is down 3.3% today at about $3.94 per million BTUs following a larger-than-expected addition to U.S. inventories<>. Gold settled down 0.7% today at $1,386.90.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 42 points to 15,233.22 (-0.28%), the NASDAQ fell more than 6 points (-0.18%) to 3,465.24, and the S&P 500 fell 0.50% or more than 8 points to 1,650.47.

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

Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: ABX) was cut to ‘underperform’ at Macquarie;
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘neutral’ with a $20 price target at J.P. Morgan;
Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $64 at Stifel Nicolaus;
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) raised to ‘overweight’ with a price target of $65 at Morgan Stanley; and
SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) raised to ‘outperform’ at Cowen Securities.

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:

Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) is up 2.6% at $91.36 after posting a new 52-week high of $92.93 earlier today;
Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) is down 4.1% at $36.78;
Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX) is down 3.6% at $20.64;
E Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) is up 5.3% at $5.20;
Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is up 4.6% at $51.97;
ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is down 14.5% at $1.89; and
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is down 2.1% at $78.21.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), and Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is up 13.1% at $23.98, after posting a new 52-week high of $24.24 earlier today. The networking equipment giant posted strong earnings last night.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is up 20.1% at $2.03. The Greek bank’s shares have risen by a third since the country’s sovereign debt rating was upgraded earlier this week.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is down 13.4% at $3.80. The chipmaker’s shares took a beating today after Goldman said that the stock was overpriced.

Stay tuned for Friday. Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota is giving a speech. We have (also) noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – Leading indicators

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ABX, ADSK, AMD, CHK, CSCO, DANG, DELL, JACK, JCP, JWN, KSS, NBG, PANW, SKX, SOL, SPWR, SSI, STZ, WMT

Closing Bell for Wednesday on Wall Street: Markets Open Soft, Close with a Flourish

Paul Ausick — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:04:07 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened slightly lower this morning following a number of data releases related to the U.S. economy. Producer prices declined in April and the New York manufacturing index came in much lower than expected. U.S. industrial production was also lower than expected. There was little significant data out of Asia, but in Europe, the eurozone economy continued to contract in the first quarter. Eurozone GDP fell 0.2% in the first quarter, slightly more than the 0.1% drop expected by economists.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.29% today, now at 83.8370. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.4% at 627.87. WTI crude oil closed up 0.1%, at $94.30 a barrel following the release of the EIA’s inventory data. Brent crude trades 1.1% at $103.72 a barrel. Natural gas is up 1% today at about $4.06 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 2% today at $1,396.20.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 60 points to 15,275.15 (0.39%), the NASDAQ rose about 9 points (0.26%) to 3,471.62, and the S&P 500 rose 0.51% or more than 8 points to 1,658.71.

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

Golar LNG Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLNG) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs;
BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein;
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $48 at Argus;
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; and
Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) cut to ‘underweight’ at Barclays.

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:

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is up 3.7% at $45.60 after posting a new 52-week high of $46.49 earlier today;
Primo Water Corp. (NASDAQ: PRMW) is down 7.2% at $1.42;
Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSCO) is down 9.9% at $44.61;
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) is down 4.6% at $89.46;
First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE: AG) is down 9.8% at $10.15 after posting a new 52-week low of $10.13 earlier today; and
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) is up 2.7% at $48.66 after posting a new 52-week high of $48.91 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE: SKX), E Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NASDAQ: DANG), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is up 5.2% at $44.40, after posting a new 52-week high of $45.59 earlier today. The biopharmaceutical firm gave an upbeat presentation on its plans for new cancer and heart drugs.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is down 3.6% at $427.92. The PC and consumer electronics product maker is being sued by the U.S. Justice Department for leading a price-fixing scheme in the book publishing business.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is up 3.5% at $3.45. The social games producer got a big boost from a purchase of 25 million of the company’s shares by activist investor Jana Partners.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin, and San Francisco Fed President John Williams are all giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index
8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: Investing Tagged: A, AAPL, AG, BBRY, BMY, CSC, CSCO, DANG, DDS, DE, GLNG, GPS, JACK, KSS, LOW, M, PRMW, SCHW, SKX, SOL, WMT, ZNGA

L Brands, Zumiez Lead Rise in April Retail Sales

Paul Ausick — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:07 +0000

Retailers are announcing April same-store sales figures today. Research firm Retail Metrics projected an overall gain of 3.5% year-over-year, compared with a 2% gain in February and a 1.4% gain in March.

In general, April sales benefited from lower prices for gasoline, an extra shopping day, and generally better news on the U.S. economy. Late snow and cold temperatures in parts of the country, the payroll tax increase and the effects of the sequester acted as drags on sales.

Several retailers no longer report monthly same-store sales. These include Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO).

Here’s a rundown:

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reported that same-store sales for April rose 4% compared with the same month in 2012. That is below the Retail Metrics estimate for a gain of 4.9%, excluding gasoline sales.

L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) said same-store sales for April rose 2% compared with the same period last year and a Retail Metrics estimate for a rise of 4.8%. The company also said that it expects to report EPS for the first quarter of $0.46, which is higher than previous guidance of $0.40 to $0.45, but in line with the consensus estimate. L Brands noted that first-quarter earnings took a hit of $0.03 per share due to severance and a higher tax rate.

The Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) reported same-store sales for April rose 6.2% compared with the same period a year ago. The Retail Metrics estimate called for a rise of 1.8%.

Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) yesterday reported an 8% jump in same-store sales for April, well above the 3% estimate from Retail Metrics.

PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) reported same-store sales for April rose 10.7%, higher than the 10.2% rise estimated by Retail Metrics.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) posted a same-stores sales rise of 4.6% for April, better than the 4.1% increase expected by Retail Metrics.

The TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) reported same-store sales rose 8% in April. The Retail Metrics estimate called for a rise of 6.8%.

Costco shares are inactive in the pr-market, having closed last night at $109.61 in a 52-week range of $82.10 to $110.41.

Limited’s shares are down 1.8%, at $52.25 in a 52-week range of $40.32 to $53.33.

Stein Mart’s shares are inactive this morning, and closed last night at $10.90 in a 52-week range of $6.15 to $11.10.

PriceSmart’s shares are also inactive this morning, and closed last night at $88.52 in a 52-week range of $59.00 to $90.94.

Zumiez’s shares are inactive and closed at $30.41 last night in a 52-week range of $17.93 to $41.96.

The Buckle’s shares are trading up 1.4% at $50.31 in a 52-week range of $36.33 to $51.74.

TJX’s shares are inactive and closed at $50.40 last night in a 52-week range of $39.46 to $50.61.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: AEO, ANF, BKE, COST, KSS, LTD, M, PSMT, SMRT, TGT, TJX, WMT, ZUMZ

Not Much Expected from March Retail Sales, Not Much Delivered

Paul Ausick — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:55:24 +0000

Retailers are announcing March same-store sales figures today. Research firm Retail Metrics projected an overall gain of 1.5% year-over-year, compared with a 2% gain in February and a 3.9% gain in March of 2012.

In general, March comparable sales were hit by cold, snowy weather that put a crimp in sales of spring merchandise. Other factors contributing the low forecast and results were a later Easter holiday, weaker jobs data and federal budget cuts. Lower gasoline prices, tax refunds and record equity prices were among the positives for the month.

March 2013 is a five-week period for most retailers, ending at April 6 or 7.

Here’s a rundown:

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reported that same-store sales for March rose 4%, compared with the similar period in 2012. That is well below the Retail Metrics estimate for a gain of 5.6%, excluding gasoline sales.

Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) said same-store sales for March rose 3%, compared with the same period last year and a Retail Metrics estimate for a rise of 0.4%. The company, though still named Limited Brands, now wants to be known as “L Brands.”

The Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) reported same-store sales for March were flat, compared with the same period a year ago. The Retail Metrics estimate called for a rise of 0.1%.

Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) reported same-store sales for March down 2.8%. Retail Metrics estimated a same-store sales decrease of 1.3%% for Stein Mart.

PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) reported same-store sales for the four weeks ended March 31 rose 7.9%, below the 8.8% rise estimated by Retail Metrics.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) posted a same-stores sales rise of 2.1% for March, much better than the 8% decline expected by Retail Metrics.

The TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) reported same-store sales fell 2% in March. The Retail Metrics estimate called for a drop of 1.4%.

TJX’s shares are up 0.6% at $47.79 in a 52-week range of $39.38 to $48.20.

Limited’s shares are up 3.1%, at $49.68 in a 52-week range of $40.32 to $52.50.

Costco shares are up 0.2% at $105.92 in a 52-week range of $81.98 to $107.75.

Stein Mart’s shares are down 0.4% at $8.13 in a 52-week range of $6.02 to $9.34.

PriceSmart’s shares are down fractionally at $84.81 in a 52-week range of $59.00 to $86.00.

Zumiez’s shares are up 10.4% at $27.50 in a 52-week range of $17.93 to $41.96.

The Buckle’s shares are trading up 3% at $48.99 in a 52-week range of $36.33 to $51.74.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: AEO, ANF, BKE, COST, KSS, LTD, M, PSMT, SMRT, TGT, TJX, WMT, ZUMZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — March 22, 2013: Markets Turn Higher Awaiting Cyprus Solution (KSS, LNKD, BEAM, ADTN, FDO, MU, NKE, SLW, VRNG, DRI, TIF, APOL, DG, JASO, MU, NKE, BBRY)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:04:31 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning and trading stayed positive territory all day. No solution has yet been agreed to the Cyprus banking crisis (more coverage here), but the delay has had little impact on U.S. stocks. There were no data releases in Asia or the U.S. today, and releases in Europe were muted as well. In Germany, the Ifo business climate index came in lower than expected (more coverage here). Fitch announced a ratings watch on U.K. sovereign debt with an eye toward a possible downgrade (more coverage here), but that did not move equity prices either.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.42% today, now at 82.392. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.6% at 644.55, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed up 1.4% today, at $93.71 a barrel, to finish the week down just 0.1%. Brent crude trades up 0.2% at $107.66 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1% today at about $3.94 per million BTUs after rising above $4.00 briefly. Gold settled down 0.5% today at $1,606.10 an ounce, but finished the week up 0.9%, the third straight week the yellow metal has closed higher (more gold coverage here).

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 91 points to 14,512.26 (0.63%), the NASDAQ rose more than 22 points (0.70%) to 3,245.00, and the S&P 500 rose 0.72% or about 11 points to 1,556.89.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank; LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) started as ‘sector perform’ at RBC Capital; Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) started as ‘hold’ at Stifel Nicolaus; ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) raised to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James; and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank, but cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) is up 0.9% at $31.26; Vringo Inc. (NYSEMKT: VRNG) is up 0.4% at $2.85; Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) is up 1.2% at $49.55; and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is up 2% at $69.24 (more coverage here).

Before markets open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear from Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG), and JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) is up 11.4% at $10.10 after posting a new 52-week high of $10.27 earlier today. The semiconductor maker reported results that were better than expected and snagged a few upgrades from analysts as well.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is up 11% at $59.48 after posting a new 52-week high of $60.25 earlier today. The sports apparel company reported better-than-expected earnings, but missed revenues on lower sales in China. More coverage here.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) is down 8% at $14.85. The smartphone maker’s newest phone was launched in the U.S. today, but analysts expect a fizzle. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Monday. New York Fed President William Dudley and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Chicago Fed national activity index
10:30 a.m. – Dallas Fed manufacturing survey
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADTN, APOL, BBRY, BEAM, DG, DRI, FDO, JASO, KSS, LNKD, MU, NKE, SLW, TIF, VRNG

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ADTN, BEAM, BBRY, DEO, DSW, FDO, JBL, KSS, LNKD, LULU, MU, SLM, YELP)

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:30:25 +0000

From active traders to passive investors, it seems that everyone is interested in new ideas on how to make a profit. 24/7 Wall St. looks over research calls from all over the planet to find great ideas. Many research-driven ideas for stocks to buy and for stocks to sell come from independent research firms and some come from the large sell-side investment banking firms on Wall St. These are some of this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from select Wall St. research calls.

ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) raised to Market Perform at Raymond James.

Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) started as Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) maintained Underperform as the services outlook remains a concern according to Credit Suisse.

Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO) started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) raised to Outperform with $73 price target at Credit Suisse.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) is in a tug of war as the dollar store was raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank but was downgraded to Neutral at Citigroup.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) maintained Buy with $28 target at Argus.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) cut to sell at Deutsche Bank.

LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) started as Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) maintained Hold but cut estimates at Argus, and lowered price target to $75 from $79 at Credit Suisse.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) reiterated Outperform and target price raised all the way up to $14 from $8 at Credit Suisse.

SLM Corp. (NASDAQ: SLM) reiterated Outperform and raised price target to $24 from $22 at Credit Suisse.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP) started as Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.

BofA/Merrill Lynch identified many top leveraged buyout candidates.

Jefferies has made a serious contrarian call by being bullish on select coal players.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADTN, BBRY, BEAM, DEO, DSW, FDO, JBL, KSS, LNKD, LULU, MU, SLM, Yelp

February Retail Sales Softer Than Expected

Paul Ausick — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:25:29 +0000

Retailers are announcing February same-store sales figures today. Research firm Retail Metrics projected an overall gain of 2.5% year-over-year, compared with a 5.1% gain in January and a 4.2% gain in February of 2012.

The research firm said this morning that the overall gain reached just 1.9% in February. Excluding drug stores, same-store sales rose 4.2%. The best performing sector was discount stores; the worst performer was teen apparel.

Several retailers stopped reporting same-store sales this month. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) and Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) join other retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO), that no longer report monthly sales figures.

Here’s a rundown:

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reported that same-store sales for February rose 6% compared with February 2012. That is well above the Retail Metrics estimate for a gain of 4.6%, excluding gasoline sales.

Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) said same-store sales for the four weeks ended March 3 rose 3% compared with February 2012 and a Retail Metrics estimate for a rise of 2.8%.

The Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE) reported same-store sales for February fell by 1.1% compared with the same month a year ago. The Retail Metrics estimate called for a drop of 2.3%.

Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT) reported same-store sales for the four weeks ended March 2 up 0.6%. Retail Metrics estimated a same-store sales increase of 0.7% for Stein Mart.

PriceSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) reported same-store sales for the five weeks ended March 3 rose 8.9%, well above the 6.5% rise estimated by Retail Metrics.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) posted a same-stores sales decline of 8.9% for the four weeks to March 2, much worse than the 1.3% decline expected by Retail Metrics.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) reported same-store sales rose 3% for the four weeks ended March 2. The Retail Metrics estimate called for a gain of 2.3%.

Gap’s shares are up 3.6% at $35.70 in a 52-week range of $24.54 to $37.85.

Limited’s shares are up 0.6%, at $45.33 in a 52-week range of $40.32 to $52.50.

Costco shares are up 0.8% at $103.41 in a 52-week range of $81.98 to $105.97.

Stein Mart’s shares are down 1.6% at $8.51 in a 52-week range of $6.02 to $9.34.

PriceSmart’s shares are up 1.3% at $75.32 in a 52-week range of $59.00 to $86.00.

Zumiez’s shares are down 2.0% at $22.64 in a 52-week range of $17.93 to $41.96.

The Buckle’s shares are trading up 1.1% at $44.95 in a 52-week range of $36.33 to $51.74.

Filed under: Retail Tagged: AEO, ANF, BKE, COST, GPS, KSS, LTD, M, PSMT, SMRT, TGT, WMT, ZUMZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 28, 2013: Markets Climb Before Late Day Slide (EBAY, RHT, SKS, FSLR, VMW, CECO, CLR, GRPN, GTAT, JCP, LTD, MNST, RGR, PANL, BKS, CVC, KSS, SHLD, BODY, CTIC, CLNE, DECK, GPS, MCP, PANW, SD, BBY, GRPN, JCP, BSFT)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:04:03 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning as the federal budget sequester appears to be set to go into effect tomorrow. Global data releases were also mixed. In Europe, the consumer price index came in at 2%, as expected, but Spain’s fourth-quarter GDP revision was worse than expected. Consumer spending slipped in France and German unemployment ticked up to 6.9%. In Asia, the news was better, with the official announcement of a dovish replacement for Governor of the Bank of Japan and Japanese PMI up month-over-month. In the U.S. the second revision to GDP growth rose less than expected, to just 0.1% (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.38% today, now at 81.906. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.8% at 650.13, with commodities prices mostly higher today. WTI crude oil closed down 0.8% today, at $92.05 a barrel, losing 5.6% on the month (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 0.7% at $111.10 a barrel. Natural gas is up about 1.3% today at about $3.48 per million BTUs following the weekly storage report (more coverage here). Gold settled down 1.1% today at $1,578.10 an ounce, down about 5% for the month of February.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 21 points to 14,054.25 (-0.15%), the NASDAQ fell about 2 points (-0.07%) to 3,160.19, and the S&P 500 fell -0.09% or more than 1 point to 1,514.56.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) started as ‘outperform’ at BMO; Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) started as ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) cut to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley; First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) reiterated as ‘hold’ at Argus; and VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) started as ‘hold’ at Stifel Nicolaus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ: CECO) is down 9% at $3.25; Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR) is up 4.7% at $87.88; GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) is down 6.5% at $2.87; Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) is up 2.7% at $45.72; Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) is up 3.3% at $51.27; Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is up 2.6% at $54.89 (more coverage here); Universal Display Corp. (NASDAQ: PANL) is up 13.5% at $31.67; Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is up 4.5% at $15.92; Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) is down 9.1% at $14.06; Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is down 1.1% at $46.10; and Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is down 6.2% at $44.52 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Body Central Corp. (NASDAQ: BODY), Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC), Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE), Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP), Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW), and SandRidge Energy Co. (NYSE: SD).

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was scheduled to report after closing today, but announced a delay until tomorrow, ahead of tonight’s deadline to receive an offer from founder Richard Schulze (more coverage here).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is down 24.3% at $4.53. The daily deals web site absolutely cratered on a dismal earnings report last night. More coverage here.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down 18% at $17.34. The department store operator posted results that were even worse than Groupon’s. More coverage here.

Broadsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: BSFT) is down 30.8% at $21.39. The Internet communications company posted good earnings last night, but guidance was way below expectations.

Stay tuned for Friday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is giving a speech. Automakers will be announcing February car sales throughout the day.We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and outlays
8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending

Filed under: Investing Tagged: BBY, BKS, BODY, BSFT, CECO, CLNE, CLR, CTIC, CVC, DECK, EBAY, FSLR, GPS, GRPN, GTAT, JCP, KSS, LTD, MCP, MNST, PANL, PANW, RGR, RHT, SD, SHLD, SKS, VMW