24/7 Wall St. » NAV

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (T, FFIV, URBN, AMGN, BAX, CAG, GIS, NAV, SAFM, JEF, NKE, ORCL, TRGT, CIE, CSIQ, PBH, HOV, CVS)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:06:30 +0000

US equity markets opened sharply higher this morning and have been able to sustain and even add to those gains throughout the day. Business and consumer confidence indexes in Europe were higher, giving an early boost to share prices. Then an unexpectedly large jump in new housing starts, especially multi-family dwellings, put an extra charge into investors. Proposed Federal Reserve rules governing big banks have had little impact on financial stocks, which are up about 4% in the late afternoon. Today’s auction of five-year Treasury went out at 0.880%, a record low yield. Crude oil is also sharply higher today, with WTI trading at $97.22/barrel, up more than 3.5%, and Brent is up 3.34% at $106.98. The US dollar has traded weaker all day today. Gold settled on the Comex up about 1.3%, at $1,616.80.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 336 points to 12,101.92 (2.85%), the NASDAQ rose more than 80 points (3.19%) to 2,603.73, and the S&P 500 rose 2.98% or nearly 36 points to 1,241.22.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan. Other ratings actions today include F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) cut from ‘perform’ to ‘underperform’ at Oppenheimer; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) raised from ‘outperform’ to ‘Top Pick’ at FBR Capital; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) added to ‘Strong Buy List’ at Zacks; and Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) lowered from ‘Top Pick List’ to ‘outperform’ and target price lowered from $61 to $58 at RBC Capital Markets.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is up 4% at $26.18; General Mills Inc. is down about -1% at $39.19; Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) is up nearly 7% at $39.05; Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) is down -4% at $48.66; and Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) is up more than 22% at $14.46. After markets close today we get earnings from Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL). See our 360 coverage on Oracle here and coverage of the ConAgra and General Mills reports here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Targacept Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT) is down more than -35% at $5.01, after posting a new 52-week low of $4.92 earlier in the day. The pharmaceutical maker’s anti-depressant drug, developed in conjunction with AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) has failed a late-stage trial.

Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) is up nearly 38% at $13.81. The oil & gas exploration company has signed a production-sharing agreement for a block offshore of Angola. Cobalt owns 40% of the project and is the operator.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is up nearly 33% at $2.93. The solar panel maker has sold about 86 megawatts of generation to TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP) for approximately $455 million.

Prestige Brand Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PBH) is up nearly 21% at $11.27. The drug and cleaning supplies company paid $660 million for a selection of nonprescription drugs from GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK).

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) is up more than 18% at $1.50. The home builder is riding the wave of good news about new housing starts.

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) is up about 9% at $39.85, after posting a new 52-week high earlier of $39.86. The healthcare company raised fiscal year guidance and boosted its quarterly dividend by 30%, to $0.1625/share.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. The most widely anticipated report for tomorrow is due at 8:30 a.m. from the National Association of Realtors, which will be revising its new home sales data from 2007 forward. Lower sales of up to -13% are expected. Here are other noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 7-year Treasury note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMGN, BAX, CAG, CIE, CSIQ, CVS, FFIV, GIS, HOV, JEF, NAV, NKE, ORCL, PBH, SAFM, T, TRGT, URBN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMR, CAB, CPN, ERTS, GT, GMCR, HD, LEAP, NAV, NFLX, EDU, NMR, OVTI, STP, RIG, WSH)

Administrator — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:25:29 +0000

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

AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Cabela’s, Inc. (NYSE: CAB) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Calpine Corporation (NYSE: CPN) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Reiterated Buy with $94 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Reiterated Buy with $46 target at Argus.
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) Raised to Outperform at RBC Capital.
Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut to Underperform at Wedbush.
New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Nomura Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NMR) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) maintained Buy on valuation but cut target to $12 at Canaccord Genuity.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd (NYSE: STP) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Transocean Ltd. Co. (NYSE: RIG) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Willis Group Holdings, Plc (NYSE: WSH) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMR, CAB, CPN, EDU, ERTS, GMCR, GT, HD, LEAP, NAV, NFLX, NMR, OVTI, RIG, STP, WSH

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AGNC, AAPL, ADM, CALM, CAT, DLTR, FDO, HPQ, KIRK, LNC, MON, NAV, TIF, VECO)

Administrator — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:16:50 +0000

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

American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform with $500 target at Credit Suisse.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) Started as Hold at Argus.
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at Argus.
Kirkland’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) Cut to Underperform as bear of the day at Zacks.
Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) Added to the U.S. 1 List at BofA/ML.
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Cut to Sell at Canaccord Genuity.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, ADM, AGNC, CALM, CAT, DLTR, FDO, HPQ, KIRK, LNC, MON, NAV, TIF, VECO

Media Digest (10/17/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:18:03 +0000

Philips Electronics may be unable to shed its TV operation and will fire 4,500. (Reuters)

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) to buy El Paso (NYSE: EP) for $21 billion and will save $250 million in the merger. (Reuters)

Olympus falls 24% after its CEO is pushed out and certain questionable payments are revealed. (Reuters)

Samsung to seek a broad ban to sales of the Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. (Reuters)

EU officials say they will have a plan in place by October 22 to handle the region’s financial crisis. (WSJ)

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to pay BP (NYSE: BP) $4 billion for issues related to Deepwater Horizon. (WSJ)

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) China CEO to leave as the firm faces strict regulation in the People’s Republic. (WSJ)

The UAW’s largest local approves a deal with Ford (NYSE: F). (WSJ)

U.S. postal workers will hire the former Obama car czar Ron Bloom to help them lose as few jobs as possible in a restructuring. (WSJ)

Realtor.com analysts report that the amount of attractive inventory in the home market has fallen. (WSJ)

The IMF says emerging market nations will not help Europe. (WSJ)

Hulu owners may bring in a new investor as their relationship with the premium website company weakens. (WSJ)

Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) licenses some of its patents to Imax (NYSE: IMAX). (WSJ)

Carl Icahn buys a large stake in Navistar International (NYSE: NAV). (WSJ)

Mercer finds that young workers are happier that older ones but also are more likely to leave their companies. (WSJ)

A permanent change in how Wall St. operates could hurt Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) earnings for a prolonged period. (WSJ)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) begins to sign authors and cut out publishers. (NYT)

The FCC sets a deal for wireless users to get alerts on minute overages that cost them money. (NYT)

Bids to buy EMI from Citigroup (NYSE: C) have fallen short of expectations. (NYT)

Energy bills in the EU could rise for 20 years. (FT)

The G20 give the EU one week to fix its debt crisis. (Bloomberg)

Bankers may face larger losses as government officials look to them to shoulder more of the costs of a Greek bailout. (Bloomberg)

Samsung files new suits to stop sales of the iPhone in Asia. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AAPL, AMZN, APC, BP, C, EK, EP, F, GS, IMAX, KMI, MS, NAV, WMT

Gabelli’s Major Quarterly Changes to Focus Five Stock Pick List (ARG, CF, LNCE, TE, YHOO, ASCMA, CCE, CVS, NAV)

Administrator — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:21:17 +0000

August 1 might not sound like the start of a quarter to most, but this is that date of a key report from a unique brokerage and advisory firm. Today marks the adjustment of Gabelli & Company “FOCUS FIVE” list for investors. The last quarter was a rough one, but this list is still up about 190% since its January 31, 2006 launch versus a 1.6% drop for the S&P 500 Index. The new FOCUS FIVE includes shares of Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG), CF Industries (NYSE: CF), Snyder’s-Lance Inc (NASDAQ: LNCE), TECO Energy Inc. (NYSE: TE), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is a repeat member here for the second quarter in a row. The companies deleted from the list were as follows: Ascent Media Corporation (NASDAQ: ASCMA); Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: CCE); CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS); and Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV).

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) is called “Gassed Up For Growth” with growth driven by manufacturing, medical, petrochemical, and utilities customers with 2012 sales growth of 11% and 35% earnings growth. The old Air Products $70 bid is a plus, but Gabelli gave a private market value of $88 per share in 2012, implying more than 25% upside.

CF Industries (NYSE: CF) is called the “Fertilizer Boost” where increased demand from global crop shortages is fueling more plantings. Gabelli’s boost is somewhat based upon the belief that poor weather hurt crop yields and that the crop report will come in weaker than expected. That should drive demand and offer earnings upside. Its private market value was put at $230 per share in 2012, implying upside of close to 50%.

Snyder’s-Lance Inc (NASDAQ: LNCE) is the snack cracker company you know along with the Cape Cod chips brand and Gabelli sees earnings growing from $0.85 this year to $2.00 in 2015 as the private label business pressures ease along with a strong dividend. Its private market value is $27.00 per share for 2012, implying about 30% upside.

TECO Energy Inc. (NYSE: TE) is featured as “Met Coal For Sale?” having long-term value and earnings power that should benefit from a constructive regulatory environment and favorable demographic trends. This is more of a special situation as Gabelli has a ‘sum of the parts’ analysis. It derived a private market value of $28.00, implying just over 50% upside expectations.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is called “Time For Action” where the core business and its investments put in a floor for the stock when you consider the value in Alibaba and Yahoo! Japan. The private market value was put at $21.00, implying more than 60% upside. The Thomson Reuters consensus price target is ‘only’ $17.86 and that $21 level meets the high on Wall Street as far as analyst price target objectives.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Mergers and Buy Outs, Mutual Funds, Research, Shareholder Issues, Turnarounds, Value Investing Tagged: ARG, ASCMA, CCE, CF, CVS, LNCE, NAV, TE, YHOO

Gabelli Changes All ‘Focus Five’ Stock Picks (ASCMA, CCE, CVS, NAV, YHOO, BLK, ITT, MSG, NFG, NIHD)

Administrator — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:17:36 +0000

Gabelli & Co. is rather well-known for looking at companies for their value in special situations and in possible mergers, to the point that Mario Gabelli is known as “Dr. Love” by the investment community. We have now been given the firm’s list of changes in the Gabelli Focus Five list. The changes made were Ascent Media Corporation (NASDAQ: ASCMA), Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE), CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS), Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). Those companies removed from the Gabelli Focus Five list this week were BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT), Madison Square Garden (NYSE: MSG), National Fuel Gas Co. (NYSE: NFG), and NII Holdings (NASDAQ: NIHD).

If you want to know why this list matters, the numbers speak for themselves. In 2006, this list performed 19.18% versus 9.51% for the S&P 500; in 2007 that was 4.69% versus -6.93% for the S&P 500, in 2008 that was 9.21% versus -38.30% in the S&P 500, in 2009 that was 88.80% versus 30.03% for the S&P 500, and in 2010 that was 24.38% versus 19.76% for the S&P 500. The return was lower during the first quarter of 2011 at 2.37% versus 6.03% for the S&P 500 Index. We have outlined some of the bullet points below.

Ascent Media Corporation (NASDAQ: ASCMA) is highlighted for its recapitalization with a Buy rating during the sale of media assets and the acquisition of Monitronics, holding $260 million in cash, $60 million in real estate, and significant NOLs (loss carry-forwards). Gabelli’s so-called private market value is put in the mid-$60′s versus about $48.50 currently.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) as the Western European bottler is expected to generate about $3.7 billion in cash flow thru 2015 for more repurchases. With a share price around $28.40, the Gabelli private market value was put at $36.00. For a comparison, Thomson Reuters has a mean objective price target of only about $30.25.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is one called ‘time to split’ as its trades at a discount to peers with some $5 billion in contract losses and lower margins. Gabelli thinks new management should consider a split-up of the company and gave a sum of the parts value of $52.00 per share versus $36.22 today. For a comparison, this is well above consensus as Thomson Reuters has a mean objective price target of about $38.90.

Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) is seeing more freight shipping, high fleet utilization, and what is an aging national truck fleet that should all drive demand. Its private market value was put at $80.00 versus about $69.50 today. For a comparison, this is above-consensus as Thomson Reuters has a mean objective price target of about $77.27.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is perhaps the biggest or most easily recognized call from Gabelli for investors, with the call that cash and minority stakes in Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan come to a value of “at least $13.60 per share” alone in value and believes there is limited downside at only about 2.5-times expected 2011 EBITDA. Gabelli’s private market value was put at $23.00 per share versus anout $17.70 in the market. For a comparison, this is well above average as Thomson Reuters has a mean objective price target of about $19.26.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Shareholder Issues, Turnarounds, Value Investing Tagged: ASCMA, BLK, CCE, CVS, ITT, MSG, NAV, NFG, NIHD, YHOO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ABT, ABAT, AMZN, BAC, GNOM, ELX, GCI, HAL, MJN, NAV, NLSN, TSCO, YRCW, HCA)

Administrator — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:27:27 +0000

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

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) Maintained Hold but cut estimates at Argus.
Advanced Battery Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABAT) Cut to Market Perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
Amazon.com inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Maintained Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Complete Genomics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNOM) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Emulex Corporation (NYSE: ELX) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Monday).
Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) Maintained Hold but cut 2011 targets and raised 2012 targets at Argus.
Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) Reiterated Buy and Raised estimates at Jefferies.
Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Nielsen Holdings B.V. (NYSE: NLSN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) kept as Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

HCA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HCA) has come off its so-called quiet period and analysts have initiated their coverage on the stock: Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs; Started as Buy at Citigroup; Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse; Started as Outperform at RBC; Started as Buy at BofA/Ml; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Overweight at Barclays.

You can 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: ABAT, ABT, AMZN, BAC, ELX, GCI, GNOM, HAL, HCA, MJN, NAV, NLSN, TSCO, YRCW

Today’s Top Rumors (ARMH, MSFT, INTC, CSC, HPQ, AAPL, DIS, NFLX, NAV, NBL)

Administrator — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:46:28 +0000

Rumors are still running rampant despite the upcoming slow period around the holidays. The biggest macroeconomic issue surrounds the chatter around China, first with it saying it will buy more sovereign debt from Europe and second over its non-rate hike tightening policies. Elsewhere:

ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) is continuing to benefit from word that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is planning a new ARM-based Windows O/S that migrates away from such a dominant alliance with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC). This is no exit from Intel, but it is expected to be a move to secure more future business in smartphones and tablets (ongoing).

Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) plans to remain independent despite calls to take it private (Bloomberg).

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is rumored to be revealing its own tablet competition against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and its iPad at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month (multiple).

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is large enough that it won’t likely matter. Rumors continue of “problems” around the sex tape and rehab issues around its Disney Channel stor Demi Lovato. Hey. it’s the rumor section. Frankly, age must be a factor here because I do not even know who she is. Unrelated to the prior part, the recent Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) deal with Disney could be worth $2 billion more to Disney if extended indefinitely (by Forbes).

Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) has persistent rumors of some of its new engines being unreliable and having production problems (Dow Jones).

Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) and its consortium owning the Leviathan natural gas resources in the East Mediterranean Basin may have a ‘more sober scale’ than original projections (Globes).

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Rumors Tagged: AAPL, ARMH, CSC, DIS, HPQ, INTC, MSFT, NAV, NBL, NFLX

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AEG, BHI, BP, K, KKD, MBT, NAV, CRM, SLB, UTHR, VIP, WFT)

Administrator — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:27:16 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations we have seen from Wall Street research calls this Thursday morning:

AEGON NV (NYSE: AEG) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
BP plc (NYSE: BP) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research; targets cut by Citi.
Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) Started as Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) Started as Buy with $6.00 target at Roth Capital.
Mobile Telesystems (NYSE: MBT) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Navistar International (NYSE: NAV) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P Equity Research (late yesterday call).
United Therapeutics (NASDAQ: UTHR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
VimpelCom (NYSE: VIP) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

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

Sponsor: 3 Recovery Stocks to Own Now – Get the names of the best cheap stocks to rebuild your wealth in 2010 and beyond.

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEG, BHI, BP, CRM, K, KKD, MBT, NAV, SLB, UTHR, VIP, WFT

A123 Continues Pact Announcements (AONE, NAV, FDX, PG, GE, ETN, DAI)

Administrator — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 21:09:47 +0000

Alternative energy is continuing to win new deals. A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) will provide lithium-ion battery systems for electric vehicles. The award is from a Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) joint venture with Modec Ltd. in the United Kingdom.

This is certainly not A123′s first pony show for battery announcements and was part of a battery system development agreement signed with Navistar back in March. A123 will manufacture battery systems for Navistar’s eStar electric delivery vehicle and stated that a number of vehicles have already been shipped to Federal Express (NYSE: FDX) as part of the earlier development agreement.

The company has backing from Procter & Gamble (NSE: PG) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and existing deals in place with Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN), Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI), and it has installs elsewhere with other partners.

Depending upon the circumstances and conditions, the battery pack allows a travel distance of close to 100 miles on pure electricity before needing a recharge.

A123 closed down 6% at $8.01 today after hitting an intra-day low of $8.00, which is the worst day since its 2009 IPO. But after the close shares rose as much as 8% and are currently up 4.7% at $8.39 in the after-hours session. The market cap as of today’s closing bell was $835 million.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Alternative Energy, Autos Tagged: AONE, DAI, ETN, FDX, GE, NAV, PG