Posts for Ticker ‘NCC’

Shorts Up Bets Against Healthy Banks And Big Industrials, Move Out Of Tech (AAPL)(C)(GE)(F)(INTC)(MSFT)(YHOO)

AngrybearIf investors had a notion that short sellers were going to stay in big financials, they were wrong. Short interest in the weakest companies in the sector dropped. Shares short in Citigroup (C) fell 22% to 142.6 million shares. Shares short in CIT (CIT) were down 13% to 49.5 million. The short interest in AIG (AIG) dropped 4% to 135.6 million. Short interest in NCC (NCC) moved off 17% to 24.2 million shares. Shares short in Bank of America (BAC) were down 4% to 105.4 million even though many analysts believe the company will have to raise money.

The focus of the short sellers moved to the healthy financial firms on bets that they will sell off like their less successful peers. Shares short in JPMorgan (JPM) rose 29% to 5.2 million. The short interest in Wells Fargo (WFC) was up 7% to 133.2 million.

Short sellers jump into stock in big industrials. Shares sold short in GE (GE) were up 34% to 106.4 million. The short interest in Ford (F) moved higher by 7% to 268.5 million.

Read More »

Posted on: December 25, 2008 – 4:03 am in Short Interest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Will US Unemployment Hit 10%? (SHLD)(NCC)(GM)

UnemplyThe US unemployment rate in September was 6.1%. The consensus estimates are that the numbers will rise, but there are differences over how much. The Bloomberg News survey of economists gives an average prediction of a loss of another 200,000 jobs in October. That would be the largest erosion in five years and would take unemployment to 6.3%

Several analysts have more pessimistic forecasts of an increase of 250,000 people out of work compared with September, putting the jobless rate at 6.8%.

Read More »

Posted on: November 2, 2008 – 6:23 pm in Economy, , ,

Barclays (BCS) Shows Why Taxpayer Bailouts Are Junk

Cammonopoly_wideweb__430x3250Barclays (BCS) turned down cash from the UK government. Unlike most large US banks, it did not want to trade independence for money. Companies such as Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan (JPM), and Citigroup (C) will now have the Treasury looking through their underwear drawers for excessive executive compensation, accounting practices, and ski trips.

Read More »

Posted on: October 31, 2008 – 5:08 am in Banking, , , , , , ,

Early Bird Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CHA, CHH, CMCSA, GOOG, ID, PAS, ACF, ERIC, NCC, NWS, NOK, PCTI, RAH, SHW)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades we are seeing from Wall Street firms this Tuesday morning with more than two hours to the open:

  • China Telecom (CHA) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Choice Hotels (CHH) Raised To Neutral From Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • Comcast (CMCSA) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Google (GOOG) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • L-1 Identity Solutions (ID) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • PepsiAmericas (PAS) Raised to Buy at UBS.

Read More »

Posted on: October 28, 2008 – 6:37 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Companies Beyond Financial Sector Want Bailout Cash, A Bad Idea (C)(WFC)(NCC)(WB)

TreasuryToo many mouths to feed. Someone will have to starve.

Now that Henry Paulson has $700 billion and some discretion about how to spend it companies from car manufacturers to airlines want a piece. So do some municipalities. Insurance companies are already in the "salvation system", or at least AIG (AIG) is. But, its $123 billion came from a pot all of its own.That means Treasury has a bit more money.

Read More »

Posted on: October 26, 2008 – 6:48 am in Economy, , , ,

What The NCC (NCC) Deal Says About Bank Balance Sheets

Cammonopoly_wideweb__430x3250NCC (NCC) was bought today by PNC in what most people would view as a classic "takeunder" The price of the deal was well below where the shares traded yesterday.

NCC’s stock is down 20% on the news. PNC will pay a total of $2.23 a share or $5.58 billion.

The government had a hand in the deal and probably even forced it. PNC says it received a $7.7 billion investment from the government, under its $750 billion bailout plan.

The amount of the write-offs when the deal is done will be extraordinary. PNC’s CEO said $19.9 billion of losses on the National City portfolio will come in as write-downs at the time the acquisition closes.

That says a great deal about major US bank balance sheets. Wachovia (WB) reported a third-quarter loss of $23.9 billion on Wednesday, which say a mouthful about that state of its financials. Under the provisions of its merger deal with Wells Fargo (WFC), it was required to fess up to everything bad it could find. According to Reuters, loan losses from Wachovia could hit $74 billion.

Odd that the really big write-offs only get exposed when these firms are bought. It is almost as if those banks which are still independent are moving a bit slowly in getting all of their cards onto the table.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 24, 2008 – 9:46 am in Banking, , , ,

PNC and National City Banks Merge Despite Armageddon (PNC, NCC)

Pnc_logoToday is one ugly day for financial stocks, and probably one of the crummiest days so far that you could pick to announce a merger.  Yet hold on to your seats.  PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC).  The deal has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Read More »

Posted on: October 24, 2008 – 8:35 am in Banking, Mergers and Buy Outs, ,

The Next Stocks That Could Go Under $1 (CHTR)(SIRI)(F)(LVLT)(ABK)(AIG)(NCC)(C)

95129cA year ago, it would have been hard to find people who would believe that Sirius XM (SIRI) or Charter Communications (CHTR) would trade below $1. Sirius had a 52-week high of $3.92. Its merger, which was to create one satellite radio company, was supposed to push that share price up. But, it has over $1 billion of debt to be refinanced next year. Today it fetches $.37.

Charter is in a pretty good business. As a cable provider it markets digital TV, broadband and VoIP services. The company has more than five million customers. It also has over $20 billion in debt. The stock changes hands at $.38. That compares with a 52-week high of $3.94

Read More »

Posted on: October 17, 2008 – 10:15 am in Micro Cap, , , , , , , ,

Wells Fargo Sneaks Into Wachovia, Steals It From Citi (WFC, WB, C, SOV, NCC, FITB)

Wachovia_logo Wells_fargo_logo Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) is now in play as Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) has come out with an alternative merger deal in a stock for stock merger offer for all of Wachovia including all banking operations.  Wells Fargo has reached an agreement to acquire all of Wachovia Corporation and all its businesses and obligations, including its preferred equity and indebtedness, and all its banking deposits. 

Read More »

Posted on: October 3, 2008 – 6:12 am in Banking, Mergers and Buy Outs, , , , , ,

NCC (NCC) Triples In Two Days

R218533_855025In a sign of how perverse and debased the market’s reactions to simple news has become, NCC (NCC), the large regional bank, dropped from over $4 last Friday to $1.36 on Monday. Today, the shares change hands at $3.50.

There has been no news about the financial firm to account for either its fall or resurrection. Rumors about credit and bank runs took NCC down despite comments from several brainy analysts including Oppenheimer & Co.’s Terry McEvoy. He upped his rating to "outperform" when trading opened at the beginning of the week.

Read More »

Posted on: October 2, 2008 – 9:08 am in Uncategorized, ,

Oppenheimer’s National City Upgrade Spurns Options Activity (NCC)

Right after noon today, our screen for most active call options pointed out the movements in shares of National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC).  We already noted that famed Oppenheimer banking analyst Meredith Whitney actually upgraded her rating of National City to an "Outperform" rating from a prior "Perform" rating this morning.  But because of the woes of troubled financial stocks and the hated take-under buyouts, this stock has followed most of them lower again this morning.

Read More »

Posted on: September 29, 2008 – 11:25 am in Analyst Calls, Banking, Options,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (ACV, CMM, NCC, NT, RHD, TLAB, TRA, XLNX)

These are some of the top analyst upgrades we have seen this Monday morning with about two hours to the open:

  • Alberto-Culver (ACV) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • China Mass Media (CMM) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • National City (NCC) Raised To Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Nortel Networks (NT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
  • R.H. Donnelley (RHD) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • Tellabs (TLAB) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
  • Terra Industries (TRA) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Xilinx (XLNX) Raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.

Jon C. Ogg
September 29, 2008

Posted on: September 29, 2008 – 6:52 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Worst Performing Bank Stocks (DSL, FED, CORS, GRAN, NCC, BKUNA, VNBC)

BurningmoneyThe carnage and fallout from the Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) failure on Friday was broad-based and very ruthless in the banking sector.  Most companies had no news, yet speculation of exposure and related counterparty and credit default risk drove investors to sell almost all questionable banking names. 

Bank Stock (Ticker)                     Close    (drop and %)       Volume
Downey Financial Corp. (DSL)      $2.03 (-$1.87; -47.95%)   3,663,566   
FirstFed Financial Corp. (FED)     $10.04 (-$8.21; -44.99%) 1,972,956
Corus Bankshares Inc. (CORS)    $3.75 (-$1.05; -21.88%)    993,442
Bank of Granite (GRAN)               $4.50 (-$1.58; -25.99%)    65,354
National City Corporation (NCC)    $3.71 (-$1.28; -25.65%)    326,015,615
BankUnited Financial (BKUNA)     $0.79 (-$0.21; -21.00%)   1,200,562
Vineyard National Bancorp (VNBC)$1.10 (-$0.28; -20.29%)   81,173 

There were also several REIT and other non-bank financial stocks that performed worse than some of these, but these were the banking related names that tanked after WaMu became Shamu.

Jon C. Ogg
September 27, 2008

Posted on: September 27, 2008 – 6:46 am in Banking, HI/LOW, , , , , , ,

The 52-Week 9/26/2008 (MRVL)(RIMM)(WM)(JAVA)(SFD)(NCC)

Sad_clownWashington Mutual (WM) Shut down by feds. Drops to $.148 from 52-week high of $26.47.

Smithfield Foods (SFD) Credit concerns. Sells down to $13.95 from 52-week high of $32.26.

Sun (JAVA) Company shares continue to drift off on growth worries. Falls to $7.52 from 52-week high of $25.04.

Research in Motion (RIMM) Misses Wall St. forecast numbers. Plunges to $69.50 from 52-week high of $148.13.

NCC (NCC) Picks up worries from Washington Mutual collapse. Down to $2 from 52-week high of $27.21.

Marvell Tech (MRVL) Key supplier to RIMM. Drops to $9.57 from 52-week high of $18.84.

Posted on: September 26, 2008 – 2:40 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , ,

Brokerage Firms Again Downgrading Each Other (C, GD, GS, JEF, KBW, LEH, MS, NCC, SGR)

These are some of the top analyst downgrades or negative calls we are seeing this morning, and you’ll notice that brokerage firm stocks are again the targets of many downgrades:

  • Citigroup (C) Cut To Underperform From Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  • General Dynamics (GD) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Goldman Sachs (GS) Cut to Underperform from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
  • Jefferies (JEF) Cut to Sell at B of A.
  • Keefe Bruyette & Woods (KBW) Cut to Sell at B of A.
  • Lehman (LEH) Cut to Underperform from Hold at Merrill Lynch.
  • LSI Industries (LYTS) Cut to Underperform at Baird.
  • McDermott (MDR) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Morgan Stanley (MS) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
  • National City (NCC) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann.
  • Shaw Group (SGR) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.

Obviously there are a few calls thrown in here that aren’t brokerage firms or investment banking firms, but the brokers are back to killing each other again for the third day this week.

Jon C. Ogg
August 14, 2008

Posted on: August 14, 2008 – 6:31 am in Analyst Calls, Brokerage Firms, , , , , , , , ,

Can WaMu, National City, Or Others Find Takeunder Bids? (WM, NCC)

Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE: WM) is looking exactly like "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."  The difference is that this one is real instead of a movie.  Shares are down yet another 29% to new 52-week lows.  The reality is that this represents lows not seen since the early 1990’s.  It has gotten that bad.

Forbes noted Dick Bove at Ladenburg Thalmann having noted it as one of the likely banks on the edge in a recent report along with about 100 other banks at risk.

It has become impossible to draw the line between research reports, fears, and even rumors at this point.  If a run on the bank occurs and if a banks trading parties cut them off, then they are about as good as done.

We have just seen National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC) have its shares halted with a "NEWS PENDING" status after it fell some 27% to $3.20.  The news release from National City has said they are not experiencing unusual deposit or creditor runs to address "market rumors."

Everyone keeps running break-up values on the major financial institutions.  The problem is that the balance sheets are currently still in a near-impossible situation to analyze.  The pool of bidders are likely to focus on those healthier institutions that may be up for grabs because they have seen shares plummet in sympathy.   

Perhaps a better title for this movie would be "Fall Street."

Jon C. Ogg
July 14, 2008

Posted on: July 14, 2008 – 11:08 am in Banking, Financial Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, Rumors, ,

Could Your Bank Be Closed By The Feds? (C)(IMB)(BAC)(NCC)

The most important financial lifeline for most small businesses and consumers is their bank. More often than not these banks are regional or local. They are easier to approach and tend to give better service than large money center banks like Citigroup (C) which have thousands of branches.

The failure of the big bank IndyMac (IMB) has lead analysts to ask how many of the nation’s 7,500 banks could go under. The New York Times reports that "the troubles are growing so rapidly at some small and mid-size banks that as many as 150 out of the 7,500 banks nationwide could fail over the next 12 to 18 months."

That number may be very, very low. During the S&L crisis which began in the late 1980s, about 1,000 banks failed. There is not reason to believe that the current mortgage failure rate and consumer credit default rate will not cause hundreds of banks to go under due to lack of adequate capital. Several large regionals like NCC (NCC) have been forced to raise billions of dollars. NCC’s shares are down almost 90%.It is still an open question whether NCC makes it, even with a huge cash infusion.

The FDIC insures most bank deposits, but if failures increase sharply, its workload will be overwhelming.

The local bank, which looked like the "safe" bank when companies like Bank of America (BAC) were writing down huge mortgages losses is not so safe any more

Douglas A. McIntyre.

Posted on: July 14, 2008 – 9:41 am in Banking, , , ,

The 52-Week Low Club (GM)(AIG)(BAC)(NCC)(WM)

Washington Mutual (WM) More banking concerns. Hammered to $7.12 from 52-week high of $44.19.

Bank of America (BAC) Death to all bank stocks. Sees $30.56 from 52-week high of $52.96.

National City (NCC) More bank death threats. Down to $4.75 from 52-week high of $34.62.

AIG (AIG) Feds looking into valuations of securities. Sells down to $33.65 from 52-week high of $72.91.

General Motors (GM) People can’t borrow from banks to buy cars. Drops to $16.23 from 52-week high of $43.20.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: June 6, 2008 – 2:48 pm in Uncategorized, , , , ,

Media Digest 6/6/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

According to Reuters, a survey of sovereign wealth funds found concerns about their investment is overblown.

Reuters reports that Verizon Wireless (VZ)(VOD) will buy Alltel for over $28 billion.

Reuters reports that AIG (AIG) faces an SEC probe on subprime mortgage contracts

Reuters writes that Fed officials are split on its role as a market savior.

Reuters writes that UBS (UBS) may have to reveal client names in a probe of its practices in the US.

The Wall Street Journal writes that problems with many banks will get worse as they deal with home and condo loans.

The Wall Street Journal writes that National City (NCC) is under scrutiny by US regulators.

The Wall Street Journal writes that a survey of soveign fund practices finds that they often take controlling intersting in the companies that they put money into.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Ambac (ABK) and MBIA (MBI) were downgraded from the AAA ratings.

The Wall Street Journal writes that S&P, Moddy’s (MCO), and Fitch agreed to change their ratings practices.

The Wall Street Journal writes that job cuts have made the car companies in Detroit nearly as productive as Japanese rivals.

The New York Times says one in eleven mortgage holders face payment problems.

The New York Times reports that sales soared at Take-Two (TTWO).

The FT says the head of BP (BP) has asked Russia to abide by the rule of law in management of its oil firms.

The FT writes that European banks have been hit harder by the credit crisis that those in the US.

The FT writest ath GM (GM) has defended its reliance on SUVs.

Bloomberg writes that Lehman (LEH) may raise it capital leve by as much as $5 billion.

Bloomberg writes that a Brazilian oil field may cost up to $240 billion to develop.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: June 6, 2008 – 2:52 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AKAM, AEO, ARBA, BBI, CPWR, DVAX, FNSR, NCC, TOO, TXN)

These aren’t the only analyst calls this Monday morning, but these are the ones we are focusing on early this morning:

  • Akamai Tech (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
  • American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) cut to Underperform at Friedman Billings.
  • Ariba (NASDAQ: ARBA) raised to Outperform at RBC Capital.
  • Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) Added To Citigroup’s Top Picks list.
  • Compuware (NASDAQ: CPWR) Raised to Buy from Hold at Banc Of America.
  • Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ: DVAX) cut to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
  • Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
  • National City (NYSE: NCC) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Teekay Offshore (NYSE: TOO) raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
May 19, 2008

Jon Ogg produces and edits the "10 Stocks Under $10" newsletter and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 19, 2008 – 6:31 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,