Posts for Ticker ‘LVLT’

Top Day Trader Alerts (AMD, APOL, ETFC, ILMN, LVLT, PVTB)

These are this morning’s top day trader and active trader alerts from us with links through to updates and more detailed price-volume analysis with a link to each stock at VSInvestor.com:

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

Level 3 Earnings To Outline Direction (LVLT)

LVLT LogoLevel 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is set to release its third quarter 2009 earnings results on Wednesday morning before the open and plans to hold a conference call at 10:30 AM EST.  Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates at -$0.10 EPS and $926.25 million in revenues.  If Level 3 gives guidance, the estimates for Q4 are -$0.10 EPS and $922.88 million in revenues.  Because this is such a cult stock, the actual metrics behind the scenes are likely to dominate over just the corporate earnings reports.
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Level 3 Filing Pressure Shares, Maybe Unjustly (LVLT)

Money Stack ImageLevel 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) has just disclosed in an SEC filing the “Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant.”  The company noted that it consummated the transactions contemplated by a Securities Purchase Agreement that it executed with certain investors on October 1, 2009 in connection with the offering and sale of $275,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 7% Convertible Senior Notes due 2015, Series B.  A copy of the Purchase Agreement was previously filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on October 2, 2009, and is incorporated herein by reference.  It appears that the title of the filing has made more of an impact than the actual terms.
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Today’s Best Market Rumors (10/13/2009) (STIC)(LVLT)(LVS)(ENER)(GE)(SNI)

newspaperUpdated throughout the day.

Updated 3.14 PM EST:  STIC (NASDAQ:STIC) dropping on rumors that Sun (NASDAQ:JAVA) database applications may hurt STIC sales  (Barron’s)

Updated 3.11 PM EST:  Level 3 (NASDAQ:LVLT) is surging on heavy volume on buy-out rumors.  (various)

Updated 12:30 PM EST: ITT options trading is active on trader talk of takeover rumors. Shares are up 3% at $53.02.

Updated  10.40 AM EST  “Capmark Financial Group Inc., the commercial real estate company created through a 2006 leveraged buyout of certain GMAC assets, is preparing to file for bankruptcy possibly by the end of next week.”  (Reuters)

Update  8.15 AM EST  Scripps Interactive (NYSE:SNI) may be a buy-out target (PaidContent)

The four biggest US banks by assets may have to take on $55 billion of mortgage-collection contracts after marking them up by $11 billion in the second quarter, casting a shadow over earnings.  (NYPost) Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo  (NYSE:WFC), and Citigroup (NYSE:C).

CIT (NYSE:CIT) may be closer to a bankruptcy  (Reuters)

Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ:ENER) may be a buy-out target with Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) as the possible bidder.

Users of Apples (NASDAQ:AAPL) Snow Leopard software have been losing personal data.  (CNET)

GE (NYSE:GE) may eventually get rid of its entire stake in NBC Universal and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) may have to spend billions of dollars to effect that.  (AP)

Macau may curb growth of the gambling industry which would hurt prospects for Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Wynn (NASDAQ:WYNN)  (Reuters)

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

Douglas A. McIntyre

Short Sellers Flee Tech, Hit Weak Balance Sheets (INTC)(DELL)

bearShort sellers posted a mixed record on big banks. Short interest in Citigroup (C) plunged by 73% to 177.5 million shares. The short interest in Bank of America (BAC) was down 18% to 82.2 million. And, shares short in Morgan Stanley (MS) dropped 10% to 39 million.

Shares short in Fannie Mae (FNM) were up a fraction to 188.7 million. The short interest in Well Fargo (WFC) rose 5% to 90.5 million.

Companies with weak earnings prospects and poor balance sheet were hit particularly hard for the period that ended September 15. Shares sold short in Sprint (S) were up 18% to 88.6 million. Shares sold short in Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) rose 37% to 39.4 million. Short interest in Vonage (VG) was up 135% to 10.2 million. Shares short in Blockbuster (BBI) were up 28% to 25.6 million. Read More »

Shorts Flee Tech Stocks (MSFT)(INTC)(ORCL)(CSCO)

bearShort sellers moved out of tech stocks in large volumes at mid-month. Based on short interest figures as of August 14, shares short in Intel (INTC) fell 33% to 88.3 million. The short interest in Microsoft (MSFT) was down 4% to 65.1 million. Shares short in Cisco (CSCO) fell 14% to 44.2 million. Short interest in Oracle (ORCL) dropped 13% to 29.5 million. The short interest in Nvidia (NVDA) dropped 29% to 26.2 million.

Among other widely followed stocks traded on Nasdaq, shares short in Sirius XM (SIRI) fell 11% to 119.6 million. Shares short in Level 3 (LVLT) were down 5% to 93.8 million. The short interest in Starbucks (SBUX) was up 10% to 44.3 million. Read More »

Media Digest 6/23/2009

newspaperReuters:   Toyota’s (TM) new management has a rocky road.

Reuters:   A poll shows confidence in Obama’s economic plans drops.

Reuters:   Apple’s (AAPL) Jobs was at work.

Reuters:   Ford (F) and Nissan will get special factory upgrade loans Read More »

Media Digest 6/11/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Fiat closed its deal for control of Chrysler.

Reuters:   California may be hit by an economic “meltdown.”

Reuters:   May foreclosures were third highest month ever recorded.

Reuters:   The US named a “pay czar” to track financial compensation.

Reuters:   May retail sales are forecast to be up .5% due to gas.

Reuters:   The US may crack down on derivatives trading. Read More »

Top Analyst Downgrades (BKC, JNJ, LVLT, NETL)

These are the few top pre-market analyst downgrades or cautious research calls from Wall Street firms this Friday morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Burger King (BKC) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Started as Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Level 3 Communications (LVLT) Cut to Sell at UBS.
NetLogic (NETL) Started as Neutral at Baird and started as Hold at Roth.

JON C. OGG

The Top Ten Stocks For Short Sellers (MSFT)(INTC)(SIRI)(F)(AIG)(C)

sad_clown

Short selling is among the most controversial investment practices and has been blamed for sharp sell-offs in the stocks of a number of large companies, especially financial firms. Governments in both the US and other developed countries are considering banning or seriously restricting the practice of short selling. When financial stocks were dropping rapidly late last year, taking short positions in some banks and brokerage stocks was actually forbidden.

There are a limited number of stocks which consistently have short interests above 50 million shares. They are the shares in companies that short sellers move in and out of the most often.

The reasons that theses stocks are so heavily shorted is a combination of their trading volume, their numbers of shares outstanding, and their susceptibility to big price swings caused by news and rumors.

The ten favorite stocks for short sellers are a combination of financial, tech, conglomerate, auto, and big pharma companies–a sign that when Wall St. bets against companies it has no favorite sectors.

The top ten stocks for short sellers: Read More »

Level 3 Secures More Cash (LVLT)

money-stack-image6Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is trading up marginally this morning on word that its subsidiary, Level 3 Financing, Inc., has received additional financing commitments.  The additional financing is from lenders to increase the borrowings under its existing $1.4 billion senior secured credit facility.  So this is an expansion, and is via the creation of a $220 million Tranche B Term Loan.

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New Moody’s Company “Dead Pool” May Wreck A Lot Of Companies

bearMoody’s has come out with a list of 283 companies that are at great risk of defaulting on their debt. The Wall Street Journal got a copy of the list so each of the firms can face customers, suppliers, and creditors who will have fresh questions about whether these corporations will fail.

Because they are on a list from Moody’s published by The Wall Street Journal, their fates may be sealed even though they might not have been if the list never saw the light of day. Read More »

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AXYS, CRXL, DFT, LVLT, LGND, NOC, OXGN, PFE)

money_stack_pic9These are some of this morning’s top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls from Wall Street this Thursday morning with over two hours until the market opens:

  • Axsys Technologies (AXYS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Crucell (CRXL) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
  • DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Level 3 Communications (LVLT) Raised to Hold at Stanford.
  • Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Northrop Grumman (NOC) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
  • Oxigene (OXGN) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Pfizer (PFE) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.

Jon C. Ogg
February 12, 2009

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (ASML, GSIC, LVLT, NYX, PACR, PBR, PT, QGEN, SAP, TGH)

burning-money-pic7These are this Thursday’s early bird analyst downgrades and negative research calls with more than two hours until the market opens:

ASML (ASML) Cut to Neutral at B of A Merrill Lynch.
GSI Commerce (GSIC) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Level 3 Communications (LVLT) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
NYSE Euronext (NYX) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Pacer International (PACR) Cut to Underperform at Baird.
Petrobras (PBR) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Portugal Telecom (PT) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Qiagen (QGEN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
SAP (SAP) Cut to Underperform at FBR.
Textainer (TGH) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.

JON OGG

February 12, 2009

Level 3 Quells Many Fears (LVLT)

money_stack_pic8Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) managed to give an upside surprise to earnings this morning.   Its guidance was much better than most expected.  That includes yours truly.
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Is Level 3 (LVLT) Close To Default?

95129c_2Level 3 (LVLT) has been dogged by $6.4 billion in debt from M&A activity and virtually non-existent operating income.

The tough credit environment is catching up to the firm.

LVLT has $700 million in debt due over the next several quarters. Odds are that money can’t be refinanced.

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The Next Threat To The Financial System: Corporate Defaults (NYT)(CHTR)(LVLT)(SIRI)

Winter_2The next big threat to bank earnings may be corporate defaults on debt, much if it originally supplied by the banks themselves. The irony is that the problem could be solved by the banks, if they won’t open their vaults and provide more capital to companies who are in the process of refinancing.

But, they won’t. At least not without being forced to do so by the government. Banks don’t want to put their earnings in greater trouble by offering more risky loans on top of the ones they already have issued. As the recession deepens, they have no reasonable way to evaluate whether they will be paid back.

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The 24/7 Wall St. Chapter 11 Watch (SIRI)(GM)(CHTR)(MNI)(F)(NYT)(BAC)(C)(MOT)(AMD)

Sunset_3From time to time, the editors at 24/7 Wall St. will look at which companies may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the next year. The analysis involves looking at SEC filings with a focus on balance sheet, cash flow, and risk factors. Also taken into account are stock price, earnings forecasts, and the ability of a company to raise cash.

In the current credit environment, many firms which would not have been on the list at the middle of last year would have to be considered now.  We are covering what we feel are the odds that the companies may need protection from creditors.

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Level 3 Files Mixed Shelf, For Holders (LVLT)

Money_stack_pic_3Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) has just filed a mixed securities shelf registration with the SEC that will allow the sale of securities.  This filing pertains more to security holders of the company rather than the company itself.

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Short Sellers Attack America’s Largest Companies (GE)(PFE)(T)(HAL)(XOM)(INTC)(MSFT)(CSCO)(IBM)

Water_liliesFor the latest reported period, ending December 31, short sellers did not make any notable moves in or out of tech, financials, or industrial shares. What they did do was take impressively large positions in many of the largest cap companies in the world.

It was as if a part of the market was making a negative bet across the entire economy.

The short interest in GE (GE) went up 46% to 155 million shares. Shares short in Pfizer (PFE) rose 29% to 76 million shares. The short interest in Halliburton (HAL) moved up 33% to 37.4 million shares. Shares short in AT&T (T) were up 20% to 49.8 million shares. Short interest in IBM (IBM) was up 17% to 17.4 million. Shares short in Exxon Mobil (XOM) rose 14% to 49.8 million.

The short interests in Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), and Cisco (CSCO) also all rose.

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