24/7 Wall St. » NILE

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DWA, HRB, PCLN, RAD, WAG, ADSK, GM, AONE, IL, NILE, HNR, NP, ENER, PRTS, ORLY, AMSC, NOR, C, BZH)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:07:49 +0000

Pre-market signals were weak today, and once trading opened, the signals got stronger. The DJIA has traded down more than -200 points for most of the day, with financial and energy stocks the hardest hit. Rates on Italian bonds topped 7% this morning, sending traders running away from equities and commodities alike. The only gainer for the day appears to be the dollar, which is stronger against the euro and the yen in the mid-afternoon. Crude prices fell below $95/barrel before recovering to near $98/barrel, and gold is down at $1,789.30. About an hour before closing, nearly 99% of the S&P 500 stocks were down on the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than -389 points to 11,780.94 (-3.2%), the NASDAQ fell nearly -106 points (-3.88%) to 2,621.65, and the S&P 500 fell -3.67% or nearly -47 points to 1,229.10.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) cut to ‘sell’ at Janney; H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) cut to ‘hold’ at S&P Capital IQ; Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; and Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up down about -10%, at $22.48; A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is down less than -1%, at $3.09; IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IL) is down more than -37%, at $5.50, after posting a new 52-week low of $5.44 earlier today; Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) is down nearly -16%, at $33.24; Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down more than -19%, at $8.80; and Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE: NP) is up more than 12%, at $18.84.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) is down more than -32%, to $0.41. The company has said that it will suspend manufacturing and cut 500 jobs. Excess inventory of solar panels gets the blame.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) is down more than -22%, at $3.94, after posting a new 52-week low of $3.66 earlier in the day. The company received a waiver from one of its lenders for failing to meet coverage ratio requirements.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) is down about -1.1%, at $76.44, after posting a new 52-week high of $77.95 earlier today. We noted the company’s performance earlier today in an article on auto sector implied gains.

American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC)) is up nearly 10%, to $4.49. The company reported earnings today, and its growing order backlog indicates a possible turnaround following the loss of its biggest customer earlier this year.

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) is down more than -16%, at $8.51. The company will pay a special dividend of $1/share to shareholders of record as of yesterday’s close. That pushed the shares down a buck this morning, and the rest is due to the overall market decline today.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) is down more than -8%, at $28.78. The bank claimed the largest decline among the big US banks today.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is down nearly -8%, at $2.17. There was no special news from Beazer today, but the threatened burst of new foreclosures soon to hit the housing market have had a nasty effect on this lower-priced builder.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Dennis Lockhart is giving a speech in the morning and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a town hall meeting with soldiers and their families at Fort Bliss, Texas, at 11:45 a.m. We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – International trade balance report
8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims
8:30 a.m. – Monthly import/export price report
9:45 a.m. – Bloomberg consumer comfort index
10:30 a.m. – EIA natural gas inventory report
2:00 p.m. – Monthly US Treasury budget report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ADSK, AMSC, AONE, BZH, C, DWA, ENER, GM, HNR, HRB, IL, NILE, NOR, NP, ORLY, PCLN, PRTS, RAD, WAG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALSK, ADSK, AVP, NILE, CAAS, DWA, EQR, HRB, PCLN, RAD, ROVI, SPPI, TGH, WAG, WPO)

Administrator — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:06:16 +0000

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

Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ALSK) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
China Automotive Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CAAS) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) Cut to Sell at Janney.
Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) Raised to Buy at Argus.
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Cut to Hold at S&P Capital IQ (late-Tuesday).
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI) has seen at least three downgrades: Collins Stewart, CLSA, Brean Murray.
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI) named Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Textainer Group Holdings Limited (NYSE: TGH) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADSK, ALSK, AVP, CAAS, DWA, EQR, HRB, NILE, PCLN, RAD, ROVI, SPPI, TGH, WAG, WPO

Bilking the Rich: Rising Diamond Prices (TIF, NILE)

Administrator — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:31:41 +0000

There is a prevailing belief that higher oil prices act as a tax on the poor and middle classes because everyone pays the same for gasoline and energy regardless of income. If that is true, then an opposite would be to find goods that only the wealthy buy where prices are rising. Diamonds fit just that bill. Diamond prices have risen faster than most goods.

Investors in Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) and in Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) have already had to consider rising gold prices. So far the price gains have not been killed as the recovery for the rich has outweighed the pain of higher prices. While there is more than 9% unemployment, the wealthy aren’t unemployed and they can buy diamonds and jewelry.

A fresh report from Rapaport, the leading source on diamond pricing that exists, shows just how much prices of diamonds are rising. RapNet showed that average asking prices rose by 3.4% just over the month of February 2011:

Half-carats were up 2.5%;
one-carats were up 4.2%;
and three-carats were up 4.5%.

It isn’t just the high-end that rose. Maybe middle-class America will notice this as well. RapNet showed that small inexpensive diamonds rose with average prices up 11.3% from the end of February-2010.

The prices were not attributed to gold, nor to rising commodities. It was due to rising demand. Strong Indian demand, constrained supply from diamond miners, demand in Belgium and Israel, and continued demand in China were all cited as causes for the rise in diamond prices.

De Beers Diamond Trading Company showed that prices rose by about 7% in February. Prices at rough tenders increased by about 7% to 10%, and premiums in the secondary market “remain in the high single digits despite the price hikes and demand remains strong.”

There is a chance that recent events around the globe may curb the numbers soon. RapNet’s report noted on the current risks, “geopolitical and macroeconomic factors may still have a negative impact on the market.”

It is one thing to hear everyone talking about the impact of $4.00 gasoline. How sorry does the public feel when they hear millionaires complaining that their new ring should have cost only $12,000 rather than $14,000?

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Economy, Luxury, Research Tagged: NILE, TIF

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALU, ALXN, AWK, NILE, CELL, CMG, CSCO, EPOC, EXPE, GDOT, IFF, ONXX, SPR, S, TUP)

Administrator — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:32:03 +0000

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

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Neutral at Nomura.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Started as Neutral with $29 target at Credit Suisse.
Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Brightpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: CELL) Raised to Outperform as the Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Epocrates, Inc. (NASDAQ: EPOC) Started as Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML; Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) Cut to Sell at Janney.
International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) maintained as Underperform as the Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPR) Cut to Neutral with $26 target at Credit Suisse.
Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) Cut to Neutral with $5 target at Goldman Sachs.
Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) Raised to Buy with $64 target at Argus.

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: ALU, ALXN, AWK, CELL, CMG, CSCO, EPOC, EXPE, GDOT, IFF, NILE, ONXX, S, SPR, TUP

Unusual After-Hours Stocks on the Move (NILE, EXPE, PNRA, HOKU, VITA)

Administrator — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:07:11 +0000

We are seeing yet another high number of shares on the move in the after-hours session this Thursday. Five top movers are Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE), Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), Hoku Corporation (NASDAQ: HOKU), Orthovita Inc. (NASDAQ: VITA), and Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA).

Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) closed up over 5% today at $63.66. The online jewelry seller reported quarterly sales rose 11.5% to $114.8 million and earnings rose 17% to $0.41 EPS.

Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) closed up 1% at $25.69 but a smaller profit than expected and profit margins narrowing took a bite out of the company. Shares are down currently in the after-hours by 6.6% at $24.00 versus a 52-week range of $18.30 to $29.85.

Hoku Corporation (NASDAQ: HOKU) closed up 1.5% at $2.58 today against a 52-week range of $2.09 to $3.78, but the company gave an update to its expected capital costs for a new plant before production can begin. Shares are down 11.2% at $2.29 in the after-hours.

Orthovita Inc. (NASDAQ: VITA) was up 3% to $2.20 today but shares are really up higher in the after-hours. The company received FDA approval for its Vitoss ‘bimodal bone graft substitute.’ Shares are now up 17% at $2.58 in the after hours against a 52-week trading range of $1.60 to $4.68. For the coming quarter, sales are expected to be $76 to $78.5 million and earnings are expected to be $0.14 to $0.16 EPS. Thomson Reuters had estimates ahead at $0.20 EPS on $79.69 million in revenues. Shares are trading down 12% at $55.99 in the after-hours against a 52-week range of $40.70 to $64.45.

Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) rose over 1% to $99.71 today and shares are breaking above the $100 mark after reports that Fiscal-2010′s $3.62 EPS was up 30% on 7.9% growth in system-wide comparable net bakery-cafe sales. Shares are up 9% at $108.75 versus a prior 52-week trading range of $70.86 to $106.87.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: After-Hours Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: EXPE, HOKU, NILE, PNRA, VITA

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AA, AXP, AMLN, AMAT, NILE, CSCO, ETN, HBAN, HSY, JCI, JNPR, KEY, LXK, LTD, PNC, TXN)

247wallst — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:31:24 +0000

These are this Tuesday’s analyst upgrades and downgrades seen from Wall Street research calls:

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) Raised to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital.
American Express (NYSE: AXP) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Ladenberg Thalmann.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) Started as Hold at Benchmark.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Hold at Auriga.
Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) Reinstated as Conviction Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) Reiterated Sell at Auriga.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Lexmark International (NYSE: LXK) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital.
PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) Reiterated Sell at Auriga; yet Maintained Buy at Broadpoint AmTech.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AA, AMAT, AMLN, AXP, CSCO, ETN, HBAN, HSY, JCI, JNPR, KEY, LTD, LXK, NILE, PNC, TXN

Online Jewelry Sales Heating Up? (NILE)

247wallst — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:53:16 +0000

Generally speaking, it takes one significant analyst call to move a stock 10%. Yet today, that is exactly what we are seeing in shares of Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE). Citigroup raised its rating on the online jewelry leader to Buy from Hold this morning. But where this gets interesting is determining how much better the business is doing.

Citi does maintain from the start that Blue Nile’s fundamentals are improving, and it also noted that Wall Street estimates for the second quarter are reasonable. Before considering this upgrade, the Thomson Reuters estimates are $0.19 EPS and $67.89 million for this last quarter, and $0.79 EPS and $284.15 million in revenues for the year. With a $42 share price and a $612 million market cap, that puts the online jewelry retailer’s forward valuations at roughly 50-times earnings and 2.15-times revenues.

One of the benefits here is polished diamond prices being lower by more than 10% from last year’s Q2 period. Citi’s Mark Mahaney believes that this will give it plenty of room to protect margins at a time when the jewelry industry is consolidating.

Mahaney is also looking for the company to be able to have higher customer conversions, particularly as 90% of its sales involve diamonds. The other boost will come from the online migration now that the consumer is becoming more comfortable buying online.

Before Mahaney’s upgrade, this one had pulled back some 25% since June’s highs. But this $42.00+ price compares to a 52-week range of $18.34 to $52.50. While a 20% to 25% pullback since June’s highs sounds solid, many are going to have a hard time stomaching the earnings ratios.

One issue we would chalk up to part of today’s gains is the large short interest. We show 4.465 million as the last short interest. That is close to one-third of its float and is roughly 20-days worth of volume.

While the earnings multiple seems hard to stomach, it was just last week that William Blair raised its rating to an ‘Outperform’ rating.

JON C. OGG
JULY 14, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls, Luxury Tagged: NILE

Top Analyst Upgrades (BK, NILE, LLL, NTRS, PRU, VMW, YHOO)

247wallst — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:32:49 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Tuesday morning:

Bank of New York Mellon (BK) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.
Blue Nile (NILE) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
L-3 Communications (LLL) Raised to Overweight at JP Morgan.
Northern Trust (NTRS) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.
Prudential (PRU) Raised to Overweight at JP Morgan.
VMware (VMW) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Yahoo! (YHOO) Started as Buy at Canaccord.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: BK, LLL, NILE, NTRS, PRU, VMW, YHOO

Top Analyst Downgrades (BCS, NILE, ED, MVL, RBS, SRE, UBS)

247wallst — Wed, 06 May 2009 11:17:59 +0000

These are the top pre-market analyst downgrades or cautious calls we have seen from Wall Street this Wednesday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

Barclays (BCS) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Blue Nile (NILE) Cut to Negative at Susquehanna.
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Marvel Entertainment (MVL) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Sempra Energy (SRE) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
UBS (UBS) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale; Raised to Hold from Sell at ING.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: BCS, ED, MVL, NILE, RBS, SRE, UBS

Top Analyst Downgrades (AMT, AXA, NILE, CA, FDS, IBM, IBKR, ICE, NOVL, SBAC, VIA)

247wallst — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:33:37 +0000

These are the top analyst downgrades and cautious calls we have seen from Wall Street analysts this Monday morning:

American Tower (AMT) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
AXA (AXA) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Blue Nile (NILE) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
CA Inc. (CA) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
FactSet (FDS) Started as Sell at Auriga.
IBM (IBM) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Adams.
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
Novell (NOVL) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
SBA Communications (SBAC) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Viacom (VIA) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AMT, AXA, CA, FDS, IBKR, IBM, ICE, NILE, NOVL, SBAC, VIA