24/7 Wall St. » MCK

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (FDX, WY, CMA, GLW, RDS-A, IDTI, MCK, PCL, CYOU, HUM, LAZ, L, SYY, SURW, CHUX, SOHU, GBG, DNDN)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:07:48 +0000

US equity markets opened lower this morning and never moved into positive territory all day. Greek debt swap negotiations made no discernible progress today and there was no scheduled data on tap to move the market one way or the other. The dollar picked up strength against the euro today, but faltered against the British pound and the Japanese yen. The dollar index rose 0.1385 to 79.051. Crude oil was mixed with WTI crude down -0.76% at $97.10/barrel and Brent crude up 1.39% at $116.17/barrel. Gold closed down -0.9% at $1,724.90/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 17 points to 12,845.20 (-0.13%), the NASDAQ fell almost 4 points (-0.13%) to 2,901.99, and the S&P 500 fell -0.04% or less than 1 point to 1,344.33.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBS; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) raised to ‘outperform’ at Piper Jaffray; and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last week have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Integrated Device Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) is down -0.98% at $6.60; McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) is up 1.71% at $82.18; Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) is up 0.32% at $39.81; Changyou.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYOU) is down -12.43% at $25.50; Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is down -5.8% at $84.90; Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is down -4.3% at $27.65; Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) is down -0.85% at $38.28; and Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) is down -4% at $29.66.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW) is up more than 44% at $22.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.69 earlier. The telecom provider has agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) for about $341 million, or $23/share.

O’Charley’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUX) is up nearly 42% at $9.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.88. The company has agreed to be acquired by Fidelity National Financial Inc. (NYSE: FNF) for $221 million, about $9.85/share.

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) is down nearly -15% at $53.61. The Chinese internet company posted solid earnings, but its Q1 forecast was below expectations.

Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX: GBG) is down -11% at $1.05. The junior gold miner reported preliminary results today that were worse than expected and lowered first quarter production estimates.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is up about 17.6% at $16.66. The drug maker is getting a boost from a negative report on a prostate cancer drug treatment that would compete with Dendreon’s Provenge.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Senate Budget Committee. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week Treasury bill auction
3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: CHUX, CMA, CYOU, DNDN, FDX, GBG, GLW, HUM, IDTI, L, LAZ, MCK, PCL, RDS-A, SOHU, SURW, SYY, WY

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CF, DLPH, EA, EL, MCK, RSH, SRE, SNE, TDC, VMW, YHOO)

Administrator — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:29:02 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning. It is generally light in analyst coverage the week between Christmas and New Years, but there are also some great hidden gems during this time.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) named as value stock of the day by Zacks Investment Research.
Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) Initiated as Outperform at Credit Suisse; Started as Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan; Started as Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) Maintained Neutral with $28.00 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) Reiterated Buy with $61 price target objective at Argus.
Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) target cut in Japan by Barclays.
Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) added to US 1 focus list at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Maintained Buy with $18.00 price target objective at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: CF, DLPH, EA, EL, MCK, RSH, SNE, SRE, TDC, VMW, YHOO

America’s 10 Highest Paid CEOs (Which Are Worth It?)

Charles B. Stockdale — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:22:17 +0000

Several lists of the highest paid CEOs in America are published each year mostly by the business media and shareholder groups. All are based on proxy statements. Long before the lists are published, the boards of directors of these companies try to justify the compensation packages for shareholders. Investors often are skeptical of these defenses, and they should be. It is rare, but not impossible, to show that a chief executive deserves $50 million, or even $100 million a year.

Read America’s 10 Highest Paid CEOs

Based on the annual CEO Pay Survey 2011 by GMI, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 highest paid CEOs. We then analyzed company performance of the highest paid CEOs to determine which pay packages were worth the investment.

Such a review about management compensation is by its nature subjective and different from a board’s reasoning. A board may take into account the long-term record of a CEO who has held his or her job for several years. The board might set a pay package based on an extraordinary year. The directors also may pay a CEO well just before he or she retires. 24/7 Wall St. has downplayed each of these factors, but has not eliminated them. Our judgment of “fairness” is based on what shareholders received in the year as the CEO’s compensation year. Our primary measurements are revenue growth, earnings growth and stock price change.

This is the 24/7 Wall St. list of the 10 highest paid CEOs for 2010 and an analysis of whether their compensations were worth the payments in terms of shareholder returns. All compensation considerations used to set pay, which include board of director criteria from each company, come from SEC-filed proxies.

Filed under: General, Special Report Tagged: AET, CVS, GBL, GGP, MCK, OCR, RL, TRW, VNO, VRSK

Ten Highest Paid CEOs of 2010 (MCK, OCR, TRW, VRSK, CVS, GGP, RL, VNO, AET, GBL)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:07:59 +0000

When it comes to executive pay, the amounts paid to today’s highest paid CEOs equals the GDP of a small emerging nation. The ten most highly compensated CEOs according to a recent survey by GMI took home about $770 million, more than the GDP of Vanuatu or Samoa, among others.

The GMI survey measures what the firm calls “total realized compensation,” which is further defined as “compensation that has been received by the CEO, rather than any notional estimates, accounting costs, or other uncertainties.” Here’s the list:

CEO	Company	Ticker	Compensation
John Hammergren	McKesson Corp.	MCK	$145,266,971
Joel Gemunder	Omnicare, Inc.	OCR	$98,283,242
John Plant	TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.	TRW	$76,841,646
Frank Coyne	Verisk Analytics, Inc.	VRSK	$69,416,726
Thomas Ryan	CVS Caremark Corp.	CVS	$68,079,823
Adam Metz	General Growth Properties, Inc.	GGP	$66,707,460
Ralph Lauren	Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.	RL	$66,651,515
Michael Fascitelli	Vornado Realty Trust	VNO	$64,402,468
Ronald Williams	Aetna, Inc.	AET	$57,787,786
Mario Gabelli	GAMCO Investors Inc.	GBL	$56,608,736

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Compensation Tagged: AET, CVS, GBL, GGP, MCK, OCR, RL, TRW, VNO, VRSK

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ASH, AVNR, CASC, DEO, IGT, IART, LNKD, MCK, MMI, OVTI, SUN, WDC)

Administrator — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:33:32 +0000

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

Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) Reiterated Buy with $79 target at Argus.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNR) Reiterated Buy with $6 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Cascade Corporation (NASDAQ: CASC) maintained strong buy as value at Zacks.
Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) Added to Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) Reiterated Buy and $61 target at Canaccord Genuity.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Buy at BofA/ML.
McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) Cut to Underperform at BMO.
OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) Reiterated Hold at Argus.

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: Analyst Calls Tagged: ASH, AVNR, CASC, DEO, IART, IGT, LNKD, MCK, MMI, OVTI, SUN, WDC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BHI, BIIB, BRCD, COF, CLS, CNX, FGP, TFM, INTC, DATE, KOS, MCK, MCP, PCX, PTEN, BTU, PFCB)

Administrator — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:25:27 +0000

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

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Raised to Buy at ISI Group.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Maintained Buy with $7.50 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) Reiterated Sell at Argus.
Celestica Inc. (NYSE: CLS) Maintained Buy but cut target to $11 at Argus.
Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
The Fresh Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Maintained Buy with $28 target at Gleacher.
Jiayuan.com International Ltd. (NASDAQ: DATE) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE: KOS) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) Covered as Value Stock at Zacks.
Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BHI, BIIB, BRCD, BTU, CLS, CNX, COF, DATE, FGP, INTC, KOS, MCK, MCP, PCX, PFCB, PTEN, TFM

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (ADBE, BRCM, BWLD, DWA, EQIX, FFIV, GTXI, JDAS, MCK, PNRA, RFMD, SIMG, S)

Administrator — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:01:16 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Tuesday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: ADBE), Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD), Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA), Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX), F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), GTx, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTXI), JDA Software Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS), McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK), Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA), RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD), Silicon Image, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIMG), and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S).

Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: ADBE) is so far not moving much but it may be very active today at at its annual analyst meeting. the company is targeting 10% revenue growth in fiscal year 2011 and gave an intra-quarter business update within the range of its prior guidance: revenue of $950 million to $1 billion, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.48 to $0.54 and a non-GAAP operating margin of 37-38%.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) is doing even better this morning after it beat earnings, announced that it was paying about $86 million to buy Percello Ltd. for its a system on chip (SoC) design targeting femtocells, and announced that it was going to raise $600 million in debt. The stock was up 5.5% at $39.28 after the close in after-hours trading on last look, but this morning is showing a gain of 10.5% at $41.15 on over 500,000 shares. This marks a 52-week high as the range was $25.76 to $38.47 before today.

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) fell after it beat earnings but same store sales fell rather than gained. The wings and beer (and more) chain was down almost 6% at $45.65 on last look last night and the stock is down 6.5% at $45.40 in pre-market trading.

Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) rose after earnings beat estimates handily. Shares were up almost 5% at $36.00 on last look last night, but the stock is up 7.7% at $37.00 this morning versus a 52-week range of $26.61 to $44.77.

Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) rose in after-hours after reporting positive earnings. Shares were up as much as 6.4% at $81.50 last night, but the stock is up about 5.2% at $80.55 on thin volume this morning.

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) looks more like high-five after beating earnings and guidance are helping a surge. Shares are up 10% at $112.80 on nearly 200,000 shares this morning. This may be a 52-week high if it holds as the trading range of the last year is $43.50 to $112.05.

GTx, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTXI) is lower again on a proposed secondary stock offering. Shares were down 10% at $2.87 in after-hours trading, and the stock is still down 10.6% at $2.85 on over 60,000 shares pre-market. An average day is only about 90,000 shares.

JDA Software Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS) rose after earnings on thin trading volume last night and this morning. The after-hours gain was about 8% at $23.95 after having been north of $24.00 briefly last night, but the gain this morning appears to be closer to 14% at $25.25.

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) looked a tad light on the earnings, but it maintained its fiscal year targets and set a $1 billion stock buyback plan. Shares were up almost 7% at $66.15 on last look this morning.

Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) fell after the food chain basically met estimates. Shares were down 4.6% at $89.95 in the after-hours session on last look last night and the move this morning has shares down 5.2% at $89.43 on thin volume.

Silicon Image, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIMG) beat earnings and raised guidance last night. Shares were up 25% at $5.70 in the after-hours trading and the stock is now up even a bit more as the gain is shown as 30% at $5.95 on nearly 300,000 shares pre-market.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) reported a slightly wider loss than expected, and shares are getting hit. Shares are down 4.25 at $4.57 and there has already been more than 11 million shares traded this morning with almost an hour left before the open.

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

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: ADBE, BRCM, BWLD, DWA, EQIX, FFIV, GTXI, JDAS, MCK, PNRA, RFMD, S, SIMG

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (BP, SCHW, CCRT, LTD, MCK, MUSA, NTES, PT, VIP, WPI)

Administrator — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:30:44 +0000

These are ten of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls early this Wednesday morning:

BP plc (NYSE: BP) defended at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Compucredit Corp. (NASDAQ: CCRT) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) reiterated Buy and Raised target to $80 at Auriga.
Metals USA Holdings Corp. (NYSE: MUSA) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Buy at KeyBanc.
Neteaste.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) Reiterate Buy and $49 price target at Auriga.
Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT) Cut to Neutral at BNP Paribas.
Vimpel-Communications (NYSE: VIP) Started as BUy and $24 target at UBS.
Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BP, CCRT, LTD, MCK, MUSA, NTES, PT, SCHW, VIP, WPI

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APC, DCAI, HBAN, LDK, MCK, NLC, PEP, PM, POT, RIG)

Administrator — Wed, 12 May 2010 12:10:08 +0000

These are some of the top research calls for upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen by Wall Street analysts this Wednesday morning:

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Dialysis Corp. of America (NASDAQ: DCAI) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
LDK Solar Co.Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) Target raised to $8 from $6.90 (was Neutral) at HSBC.
McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Nalco Holding Co. (NYSE: NLC) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Raised to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) Maintained Buy, but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Raised To Buy at Desjardins (Canada).
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) Raised to Strong Buy at First Securities.

JON C. OGG

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Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: APC, DCAI, HBAN, LDK, MCK, NLC, PEP, PM, POT, RIG

The 52-Week Low Club (MCK)(VSE)(ATRC)(CLZR)

247wallst — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:16:03 +0000

McKesson (MCK) Sales slowdown and downgrade. Drops to $35.81 from 52-week high of $68.43.

Verasun Energy (VSE) Chapter 11. Sells down to $.20 from 52-week high of $17.75.

Atricure (ATRC) Department of Justice probe. Roth Capital downgrade. The daily double. Drops to $3 from 52-week high of $14.38.

Candela (CLZR) Looking at strategic alternatives and posted poor earnings.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in HI/LOW Tagged: ATRC, CLZR, MCK, VSE