Posts for Ticker ‘MOT’

Today’s Best Market Rumors (11/17/2009) New Bid For Cadbury

Updated throughout the day.

Updated 4.06 PM EST:  “U.S. chocolate giant Hershey Co. has been in high-level talks with Italian chocolate maker Ferrero Spa to possibly craft a rival joint bid to Kraft Foods Inc.’s $16.7 billion offer for Cadbury PLC.”  (WSJ)

Toys ‘R’ Us could go public  (The Deal)

The new Motorola (NYSE:MOT) Droid handset may be taking significant market share from the Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) Pre.

AOL’s market value will be $3.2 billion when it is spun off from Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)  (The Business Insider)

Smartphones from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) are becoming a security threat  (BusinessWeek)

Several nations including Russia, the US, Israel, France, and China are preparing for cyberattacks.  (CNET)

Talks between Sal. Oppenheim and Australia’s Macquarie over the sale of the Luxemburg-based firm’s investment banking operations collapsed.  (Reuters)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Today’s Best Market Rumors (11/12/2009) (VZ)(EBAY)(SBUX)

magazinUpdated throughout the day.

Ebay (NASDAQ:EBAY) PayPal profits will increase sharply in Q4. (TheStreet)

A former lead director at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is pushing for the firm to pick an insider as the new CEO  (TheDeal)

British Airways will merge with Iberia  (Bloomberg)

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) employees and customers are upset that the company has gone into the instant coffee business.  (BusinessWeek)

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) may be spending as much as $100 a phone to market the Motorola (NYSE:MOT) Droid  (Fortune)

Bain Capital has made a $1 billion bid for Japanese telemarketing company Bellsystems24. (NYTimes)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Media Digest 11/12/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   China is the key stop on Obama’s tour of Asia.

Reuters:   South Korea’s businesses may start to feel more pressure from China competitors..

Reuters:   Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) bought 3Com (NYSE:COM) for $3.1 billion.

Reuters:   Lou Dobbs left CNN (NYSE:TWX) Read More »

Wal-Mart (WMT) Give RIM (RIMM) A Hand

WMTRIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) has been under seige these last few weeks. Investors are concerned that the Blackberry maker is losing market share to the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and a new group of handsets using the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android mobile operating system. Motorola (NYSE:MOT) launched its Droid just last week.

RIM shareholders are also nervous the Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) Pre sales could take a very modest but still damaging piece of the Blackberry market.

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) means to help save RIM. Read More »

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

appleBy Douglas A. McIntyre

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

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

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

Read more…

Today’s Best Market Rumors (9/10/2009) (AMD)(AMR)(LCC)(CLWR)(MOT)

magazinUpdated throughout the day.

Update 2.52 PM EST:  The antitrust disagreement  between Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and AMD (NYSE:AMD) may be resolved by a private settlement  (MarketWatch)

Updated 12.23 PM EST:  Motorola (NYSE:MOT) may have sold 100,000 Droid the first weekend the handset was on the market  (Bloomberg)

Updated 11.33 AM EST: Huge hedge fund SAC says it has found no improper trades. Media sources has linked the firm to the Galleon insider trading investigation. (Bloomberg)

Updated 8.48 AM EST:  Hedge fund assets could hit $2 trillion worldwide by the end of 2010 (DealBook)

American Air (NYSE:AMR) and US Air (NYSE:LCC) may merge  (TheStreet)

The International Energy Agency may be downplaying the need for greater oil supplies to prevent a market panic.  (CNBC)

AT&T (NYSE:T) is publishing data to undermine Verizon’s (NYSE:VZ) claims about the better quality of its cellular network.

Time Warner’s (NYSE:TWX) AOL unit will lay-off 1,000 people next month. (AllThingsD)

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is not likely to close its media properties.  (Ad Age)

A number of public pensions face bankruptcy. (Forbes)

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) may use its China business as a template for expansion in India.  (The Deal)

Even after a $1 billion cash infusion 4G WiMax company Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) may need more money from Sprint (NYSE:S) and other partners.  (BreakingViews)

Douglas A. McIntyre

24/7 Wall St. TV: McDonald’s (MCD) Consumer Service Lesson: Seconds Count

24/7 WallSt TVMcDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) spends a great deal of its test kitchen time trying to beat the clock. It has occurred to the fast food chain that a customer who expects to wait 30 seconds for a meal may leave after a minute if his food is not ready.  The world’s largest restaurant operator has its own Innovation Center where management works out the kinks of serving food hot and on time. Read More »

Motorola (MOT) Droid Visits Manhattan

nokBy Douglas A. McIntyre

Some pieces of news are worth mentioning only in passing because they are interesting, but may not mean a thing. CNET says that over 100 people lined up at midnight to be early buyers of the new Motorola (NYSE:MOT) Droid handset at a Verizon (NYSE:VZ) store in Manhattan. The store in Herald Square had 500 phones in stock to meet the early demand.

The Droid is Motorola’s answer to the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) Pre.

Read more…

Top Day Trader Alerts (CIT, DNDN, F, HGSI, MOT)

This is a strange morning for day trader alerts.  There are not dozens and dozens of stocks in the big news, but those that are moving are moving big.  We have links through on each stock over at VSInvestor.com for more data and analysis on price and volume:

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is actually very thin volume as no NYSE trades are seen, but it is down by almost half on its bankruptcy filing.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is trading over 5% higher after filing for PROVENGE approval with the FDA.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is trading up about 7% this morning on high volume.  It actually made money.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) is trading up over 30% at multi-year highs on its positive lupus study data at the higher dose.

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is running rather well today.  The troubled phone and communications maker is up about 5% on an analyst upgrade and on a report in Barron’s.

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

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

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

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

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

JON C. OGG

Handset Growth Expected To Surge With Apple (AAPL) Is The Lead

appleThe global handset business has faltered due to the recession. Research firm Strategic Analytics says that worldwide handset sales fell to 291 million units in Q3 down from 304 million in the same period a year ago. But, the firm expects Q4 to be a period of improving sales compared to last year, and part of that improvement is likely to be driven by strong sales of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone. Read More »

Media Digest 10/29/2009 Reuters, WSJ. NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   House Democrats unveiled their healthcare bill.

Reuters:   Senators may extend home purchase credits until April.

Reuters:   China will launch a case against The Big Three auto companies.

Reuters:   Galleon paid Wall St. bankers millions to give data that would allow a trading “edge.” Read More »

Media Digest 10/28/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   The Nielsen survey shows consumer confidence up in the US for the first time since 2007.

Reuters:   Obama’s financial reforms are advancing in Congress.

Reuters:   The pay czar said his authority should not be expanded.

Reuters:   Obama’s “too big to fail” bill would curb bailouts. Read More »

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (CHK, EOG, FFIV, FCX, MOT, NVLS, SAP, STJ, STM, TSCO)

These are this Thursday morning’s top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street research calls:

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) Raised to Neutral at UBS; Raised to Buy at Canaccord Adams.
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Novellus Systems (NASDAQ: NVLS) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) Raised to Buy at UBS.
STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) Cut to Sell at RBS.
Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) Cut to Underweight at Piper Jaffray.

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
OCTOBER 22, 2009

The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World

hersheyThere are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.

24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed  by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.

24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?

Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”.  Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless.  How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business.  Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.

24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?

Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets.  A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value.  If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.

The list: Read More »

The Week of Proof for A123 (AONE, CBAK, ABAT, CSGH, BRK-A, GE, QCOM, MOT, AB, PG)

A123 Systems Inc (NASDAQ: AONE) is still likely going to be one of the highlights of trading activity for the week, but the valuation is all based on the future rather than on the performance of the past.   The maker of lithium-ion car batteries turned out to be the second best IPO of 2009 in the United States, so the company’s execution from here is paramount.  That is what a 50% gain on the first day will do for you.   The deal was for 28.1 million shares at $13.50, although it opened at $17.00 and it never went below $16.56 in the aftermarket.

While a highlight is one thing, A123 has competition and its losses are off the chart.  China Bak Battery, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBAK) and Advanced Battery Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABAT) are in the space but have far less hype.
Read More »

In A123 Battery IPO, Buffett Indirectly Wins (AONE, BRK-A, GE, QCOM, MOT, SCMR, AB, PG, AAPL)

A123 LogoBuffett ImageNext week is still supposed to mark the initial public offering of what me be a very hot IPO.  Auto electric-battery maker A123 Systems Inc. is tentatively set to launch and begin trading mid-next-week under the stock ticker “AONE” on NASDAQ.  We have penciled in a date of September 23 or 24, but if you have been watching IPOs for years you know that date can change.  This one has been in the IPO hopper almost forever as the IPO filing date was in August 2008.

We’ll get to this a little later, but we did note in the title that Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) may be the indirect winner here in this offering.  A123 raised a fairly recent round led by General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and affiliates, which has a 11.7% stake.  At the time the company filed to come public it has raised roughly $160 million and it has large stakes held by venture capital firms (North Bridge, Sequoia and others), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) has a 7.6% stake and Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) has a 6.9% stake.  Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, the co-Founder and Chairman of Sycamore Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCMR), also has a 9.9% stake.  AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) are also listed under the investors of the company.
Read More »

Media Digest 9/11/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   International bank regulators are looking at Brazil as a model.

Reuters:   John Mack will step down at Morgan Stanley’s (MS) CEO.

Reuters:   The SEC vowed reforms after its report on Madoff revealed mistakes.

Reuters:   GM will sell control of Opel to Magna. Read More »

Motorola (MOT): Right Phone, Wrong Network

nokMotorola (MOT), one the world’s No.2 handset company and now nearly out of business, introduced its new flagship product called Cliq. The phone runs the new Google (GOOG) Android mobile operating system. It will launch on the T-Mobile network in the last quarter of the year. Read More »

Top Analyst Upgrades (BHP, COH, HOG, MOT, RIMM, VALE, LMT)

These are the top analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street brokerage firms early this Tuesday morning:

BHP Billiton (BHP) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Coach (COH) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Harley-Davidson (HOG) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
Motorola (MOT) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
R-I-M (RIMM) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Companhia Vale do Rio (VALE) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Lockheed Martin (LMT) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

JON C. OGG