24/7 Wall St. » MW

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GOOG, JDSU, DRI, CB, LNKD, SAI, VRA, MTN, VLGEA, MW, TLB, MNI, MSO, FSLR, JAG, GBG)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:06:59 +0000

Equities fell sharply after this morning’s opening. Futures were soft prior to the opening bell due largely to continue to worry about Europe and a forecast cut to the European Central Bank’s lending rate from 1.25% to 1%. The mid-morning report on US crude oil stocks put a halt to any thought of a crude price rise, with US inventories growing by 1.3 million barrels following a 3.9 million barrel increase the week before. WTI is trading down almost $1, at $100.30/barrel late in the day, and Brent is trading at $109.45/barrel, down more than $1.35. Gold is up nearly 0.75%, at $1,744.60.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 45 points to 12,195.61 (0.37%), the NASDAQ fell less than 1 point (-0.01%) to 2,649.21, and the S&P 500 rose 0.20% or more than 2 points to 1,261.02.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) started as ‘buy’ with a $725 target price at Canaccord Genuity. Other ratings actions today include JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) started as ‘buy’ with a $14.75 target price at Jefferies; Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) cut to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ at Argus; Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) started as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and LinkedIn Corp. (NASDAQ: LNKD) started as ‘buy’ with an $85 target price at Canaccord Genuity.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: SAIC Inc. (NYSE: SAI) is up 6.5% at $12.95; Vera Bradley Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) is down about -1.5% at $36.62; Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) is up slightly less than -1% at $45.48; Village Super Market Inc. (NASDAQ: VLGEA) is down more than -3.8% at $30.49; and The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE: MW) is up more than 20% at $32.68.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) is up about 65% at $2.58. The women’s clothing store has received a takeover offer from private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $3.00/share, a 92% premium to the stock’s closing price yesterday.

The McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) is up more than 52%, at $1.80. The newspaper company said that advertising rates have not fallen as badly in the first two months of the current quarter. For the first nine months of this year ad revenue declined -10%, compared with a decline of -5.6% in October and November.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) is up more than 32%, to $4.12. Retailer J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP) acquired a 16.6% stake in the lifestyle and media company today for $3.50/share, or $38.5 million. More coverage here.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is up more than 4.6%, at 48.26. The company sold its 550-megawatt Topaz solar PV plant to a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) for an undisclosed sum. The plant had previously been valued at more than $2 billion. More coverage here.

Jaguar Mining Inc. (NYSE: JAG) is down -9.6%, at $6.55. The junior gold miner said yesterday that its founding CEO had resigned.

Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX: GBG) is up about 17.8%, at $1.19. Another junior gold miner, Great Basin has finalized a $150 million term credit facility for 5 years at a rate 4% above LIBOR.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Here are some noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New US unemployment claims report
10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade report
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas status report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet
4:30 p.m. – Money supply report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: CB, DRI, FSLR, GBG, GOOG, JAG, JDSU, LNKD, MNI, MSO, MTN, MW, SAI, TLB, VLGEA, VRA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAPL, CAT, CHTR, CL, CMCSA, CMA, DE, DTV, IFT, KMB, LRCX, MW, NVLS, NTRI, RL, TEVA, PAY, WCRX)

Administrator — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:17:59 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Started as Buy with $495 target at Janney.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) Raised to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Imperial Holdings, LLC (NYSE: IFT) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Men’s Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRI) Started as Buy at Auriga.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
VeriFone Systems, Inc (NYSE: PAY) Started as Buy at Argus.
Warner Chilcott plc (NASDAQ: WCRX) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, CAT, CHTR, CL, CMA, CMCSA, DE, DTV, IFT, KMB, LRCX, MW, NTRI, NVLS, PAY, RL, TEVA, WCRX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CHD, GSIC, MW, SPWRA, TSO, VCLK)

Administrator — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:25:08 +0000

It is a Friday in late-August, so the research calls are pretty thin. These are some of today’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen this morning:

Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD) Raised to Outperform at BMO; a safe defensive stock for a bear market.
GSI Commerce Inc. (NASDAQ: GSIC) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE: MW) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Raised to Buy at Soleil.
Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
ValueClick, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCLK) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research (late Thursday call)

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: Analyst Calls Tagged: CHD, GSIC, MW, SPWRA, TSO, VCLK

The 52-Week Low Club (COF)(NT)(MW)(BKS)

247wallst — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:00:51 +0000

Men’s Warehouse (MW) No one wants shirts, coats, and ties. Falls to $16.76 on bad same-store sales. Down from 52-week high of $56.64.

Barnes & Noble (BKS) Poor sales and weak earnings. Books are passe. Stock drops to $28 down from 52-week high of $43.80.

Nortel Networks (NT) Telecom equipment sector is weak all over. Trades down to $12.13 from 52-week high of $31.79.

Electronics for Imaging (EFII) Expects Q4 miss and gets downgraded. Shares fall to $12.35 from 52-week high of $30.20.

Capital One (COF) Big write-offs. Drops to $38.85 from 52-week high of $83.64.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The 52-Week Low Club

247wallst — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:11:10 +0000

Darden Restaurants (DRI) Bad earnings, downgrades. Falls to $28.30 from 52-week high of $47.60.

SLM (SLM) Buy-out dead. New CEO. Margins for product poor. A mess. Down to $22.35 from 52-week high of $58.

Mens Wearhouse (MW) Nothing special. General retail malaise. Trades down to $28.43 from 52-week high of $56.64.

Exar Corporation (EXAR) Cuts revenue estimates. Falls to $7.60 from 52-week high of $15.24.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The 52-Week Low Club (SHLD)

247wallst — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:21:42 +0000

Cato Corp (CTR) Drop in Q3 numbers and poor guidance for Q4. Falls to $14.45 from 52-week high of $25.66.

Mens Wearhouse (MW) Emperor has no cloths. Bad earnings. Drops to $33.62 from 52-week high of $56.64.

McClatchy (MNI) One of newspaper chain’s large properties offers employee buy-outs. Falls to $13 from 52-week high of $43.70.

Sears Holdings (SHLD) Poor earnings. Falls to $98.25 from 52-week high of $195.18.

Stein Mart (SMRT) Turns in money losing quarter. Trades down to $5.15 from 52-week high of $17.17

Douglas A. McIntyre

Additional Pre-Market Stock News (November 29, 2007) (ENB, EEP, FRED, HNZ, LULU, MHS, MW, VSE, USBE, ULBI, VIP, SIGM)

247wallst — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:38:38 +0000

Below is some of the other top summaries of news we haven’t covered this morning:

Enbridge Inc. (ENB) and Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (EEP) had a pipeline blow late yesterday that has oil up as much as $4 today; two workers were killed; the explosion and fire on an Enbridge Energy Partners’ crude oil pipeline approximately three miles southeast of Enbridge’s Clearbrook, Minnesota terminal is apparently one of the Canadian pipelines that comes down to the U.S. and it is a supply risk.
Fred’s (FRED) $0.12 EPS after $0.02 "timing event" versus $0.14 estimate; hired Merrill Lynch to help it review strategic alternatives after receiving interest from multiple parties.
HJHeinz (HNZ) $0.71 EPS vs $0.69 est.; put guidance at higher end of range for next quarter.
Lululemon (LULU) trading up 10% after beating earnings and raising guidance.
Medco Health (MHS) announced a 2 for 1 stock split.
Men’s Wearhouse (MW) trading down 12% after disappointing earnings.
Sigma Designs (SIGM) traded up 14% after posting $0.79 EPS vs $0.54 estimates.
Ultralife Batteries (ULBI) receive a $2.6 million order from the U.S. Defense Department.
VeraSun Energy (VSE) and US BioEnergy (USBE) are going to merge operations into a single company; USBE shares up 8%.
Vimpel-Comm (VIP) trading up 5% after beating earnings expectations.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WCG) traded up 10% after-hours after announcing that on November 21, it received an executed Contract between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This one had been battered after that FBI raid killed the stock in recent weeks.

Jon C. Ogg
November 29, 2007