24/7 Wall St. » NLY

Annaly Holds Up Well On Creative Financing (NLY, AGNC, REM)

Administrator — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:50:28 +0000

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is perhaps one of the most closely watched mortgage REITs of them all, in part because of the $16 billion size and in part because the team is deemed to be one of the most astute entities when it comes to trading mortgage-backed securities products. Now the company has a relatively creative way of raising financing without immediately diluting the common stock holders.

The company has priced a public offering of $750.0 million of its 5.00% convertible senior notes due out in 2015. The gross proceeds to Annaly from this offering will be $750.0 million. Annaly expects to use the $750 million in gross proceeds to purchase mortgage-backed securities for its investment portfolio and for general corporate purposes. This may also be used to retire other parts of the REIT’s long-term debt, and additional investments and to repay short term debt.

Terms of the 5.00% notes are maturity on May 15, 2015 unless earlier repurchased or converted. The notes will be convertible into Annaly common stock at an initial conversion rate of 52.7969 shares per $1,000 principal amount of notes. The initial conversion price is equivalently $18.94 per share but that is subject to adjustment in certain circumstances.

Credit Suisse Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co. were the joint lead book-running managers for the offering. J.P. Morgan Securities and UBS Securities are acting as the joint book-running managers for the offering. Annaly has granted the underwriters of the notes a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $112.5 million aggregate principal amount of the notes solely to cover over-allotments.

Today’s financing is important because that $18.94 conversion price is a 15% premium to the $16.47 close on Tuesday. It also compares to a 52-week range of $14.05 to $18.79. Keep in mind that this REIT is one of the double-digit yields out there in Mortgage-REITs.

Annaly accounts for close to 20% weighting in the iShares FTSE NAREIT Mortgage Plus Cp Index (AMEX: REM) and that ETF is weighted almost as high with American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC).

American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC) is down only $0.02 while Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is down 0.4% at $16.40. If Annaly had sold the same amount of $750 million in common shares, this reaction would have likely been worse. The iShares FTSE NAREIT Mort Plus Cp Index (AMEX: REM) is down 0.3% at $13.98.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Dividend, Housing, REIT, Secondary Offering Tagged: AGNC, NLY, REM

The Top Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (NYX, ACI, ADM, BRCM, CHK, SIRI, VLO, AWK, NLY, CMCSA, FSLR, GRMN, HIG, MA, SYMC, V, WFM)

Administrator — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:01:24 +0000

Earnings season is in full swing and the coming week is going to be extremely active with big earnings reports. 24/7 Wall St. has tried to preview several top earnings for the week ahead.

NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) is on Monday and the following earnings reports are due on Tuesday: Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI); Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM); Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM); Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO).

Wednesday’s top earnings reports on deck are as follows: American Water Works Co. (NYSE: AWK); Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY); Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN); Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG); MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA); Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC); Visa Inc. (NYSE: V); and Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

We will provide previews for the larger report due on Thursday as the reports get closer. As a reminder, some of the dates and estimates may change and some of them may have already changed. Consensus estimates are from Thomson Reuters and we have provided color on each if applicable.

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) reports on Monday. The consensus estimates are $0.48 EPS and $611.1 million in revenues. Shares are around $27.00, and the consensus analyst price target is $32.30. Now that the German merger (the German takeover of America’s top exchange) is off the table, investors are focusing on the values here.

TUESDAY, May 1

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is due Tuesday morning and its shares have been battered along with the entire coal sector. Estimates are $0.16 EPS and $1.12 billion in revenues. Shares are around $9.50, and the consensus analyst price target is $32.30.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is due Tuesday morning and estimates are $0.59 EPS and $21.4 billion in revenues. Shares are around $31.00, and the consensus analyst price target is almost $34.00.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) reports after the close on Tuesday and it has been riding the Apple wave. The consensus estimates are $0.55 EPS and $1.8 billion in revenues. Shares are around $36.30 and the consensus analyst price target is $42.40.

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: ACI, ADM, AWK, BRCM, CHK, CMCSA, FSLR, GRMN, HIG, MA, NLY, NYX, SIRI, SYMC, V, VLO, WFM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (XOM, WDC, RAX, NLY, EMR, BBX, CAG, GME, IHS, LULU, PERY, SONC, NCTY, DG, DISCA, RGR, SWHC, BTFG, DMND)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:06:33 +0000

Markets opened sharply this morning and remained in negative territory all day. Purchasing managers’ indexes in the eurozone and in China came in lower than expected this morning, weighing European and Asian shares. The US dollar index rose slightly today, now up 0.10% at 79.733. Commodities were mixed on the dollar strength, with grains and sugar higher, and most other commodities lower. The US EIA weekly natural gas storage report showed a gain of 11 billion cubic feet in US inventories, sending natural gas prices tumbling nearly -4%. (our coverage here). WTI crude oil closed down -1.8% at $105.35/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -0.88% at $123.11/barrel. Gold settled down -0.5% today, at $1,642.50/ounce, a nine-week low.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 78 points to 13,046.14 (-0.60%), the NASDAQ fell 12 points (-0.39%) to 3,063,32, and the S&P 500 fell -0.72% or about 10 points to 1,392,79.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) raised to ‘neutral’ with a $92 target price at JPMorgan; Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) raised to ‘strong buy’ at Needham; Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) cut to ‘underperform’ at Sterne Agee; and Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: BBX) is down -1.7% at $3.97; ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is down -0.6% at $26.21; Gamestop Corp. (NYSE: GME) is down -6% at $23.17; IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS) is down -4.9% at $92.89; Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is up 2.9% at $76.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $76.66 earlier today; Perry Ellis International Inc. (NASDAQ: PERY) is up 3% at $18.42; Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) is down -6.8% at $7.50; and The9 Ltd. (NASDAQ: NCTY) is down -5% at $7.01.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) is up 3.33% at $46.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $46.95 earlier today. The discount retailer posted better than expected earnings results. More coverage here.

Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is down -0.35% at $48.16. The cable network may take a big loss its investment in the Oprah Winfrey Network. More coverage here.

Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE: RGR) is up 13.4% at $47.95 after posting a new 52-week high today of $48.24. Smith & Wesson Holdings Co. (NASDAQ: SWHC) is up nearly 14% at $7.84 after posting a new 52-week high of $8.00. The gunmakers are rising on Ruger’s announcement that it will not be accepting any new orders until May because it is fully booked. More coverage here.

Banc Trust Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: BTFG) is down more than -18% at $1.22. The bank holding company warned on earnings this morning. More coverage here.

Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) is down -8% at $23.59. The snack food maker is suspending its dividend. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are giving speeches. We have also noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – New home sales

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: BBX, BTFG, CAG, DG, DISCA, DMND, EMR, GME, IHS, LULU, NCTY, NLY, PERY, RAX, RGR, SONC, SWHC, WDC, XOM

Annaly Downgrade Highlights Mortgage REIT Sector Risks Ahead (NLY, MORT)

Administrator — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:27:13 +0000

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is holding up rather well considering an analyst downgrade this morning. The research team at Stern Agee lowered the Annaly rating down to Underperform from an already-cautious rating of Neutral. The Mortgage-REIT closed at $16.34 on Wednesday and opened at $16.24 on Thursday and it has a 52-week trading range of $14.05 to $18.79.

Today’s move follows a big gap up in the stock on Wednesday because shares closed at $16.11 on Tuesday despite another dividend cut. The new dividend is only at $0.55 per quarter, down from $0.57, $0.60, and $0.65 in the sequential quarters before. Now the dividend yield is “only” 13.5% on a static basis.

What makes this call so interesting is that Annaly is often considered the best or one of the best in the field of REITs which are actually buyers of mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. A rise in long-term interest rates could have a very adverse impact on the portfolio of its mortgages.

The Market Vectors Mortgage REIT (NYSE: MORT) ETF is down only 0.3% at $25.17 on this volume.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, Dividend, Housing, REIT Tagged: MORT, NLY

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GOOG, YNDX, LULU, AMGN, NLY, BDE, FTEK, HK, PAY, DKS, IRDM, SSI, MTN, VRML, EBTX, XOMA, ONTY, ZLTQ)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:05:54 +0000

The three major US equities indexes opened sharply lower this morning and the slide continued pretty much without interruption all day. About half an hour before closing, all three indexes are down more than -1.5% and today looks headed for the worst day for the markets so far this year. A projected -0.3% contraction in eurozone GDP coupled with a slowdown of GDP growth in China to its lowest level in eight years got equities off on the wrong foot this morning, and there was simply no news good enough to turn things around. The dollar opened stronger today, and has continue to gain strength with the dollar index currently up 0.66% at 79.821. The stronger dollar weighed on crude prices, pushing WTI down -1.9% to $104.70/barrel and Brent down -1.51% at $121.93/barrel. Gold settled down -1.9% at $1,672.10, its lowest finish in six weeks.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 204points to 12,759.15 (-1.57%), the NASDAQ fell more than 40 points (-1.36%) to 2,910.32, and the S&P 500 fell -1.54% or nearly 21 points to 1,343.36.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) started as ‘buy’ at Nomura; Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) started as ‘neutral’ at UBS; lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein; and Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Black Diamond Inc. (NASDAQ: BDE) is down -2.1% at $8.74; Fuel Tech Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK) is up 0.18% at $5.61; Halcon Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: HK) is down -4.6% at $10.27; Verifone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) is up 7.5% at $50.03; Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is up 2.7% at $46.79 after posting a new 52-week high of $47.42 earlier today; Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM) is up 10.8% at $8.20; Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI) is down -4.6% at $13.69; and Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) is up 4.7% at $43.43.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Vermillion Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML) is up more than 111% at $2.81. The medical device maker received a code-change approval from the American Medical Association that incorporates one of the company’s devices. More coverage here.

Encore Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: EBTX) is up more than 35% at $20.23 after posting a new 52-week high of $20.61 earlier this morning. The bank holding company has been acquired by privately held Cadence Bancorp for about $250 million ($20.62/share).

XOMA Corp. (NASDAQ: XOMA) is up about 30% at $1.89. The biopharmaceutical firm has announced pricing on a share offer of around 29.7 million shares and warrants.

Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTY) is down nearly -41% at $4.98. The biopharma company reported a significant fourth-quarter EPS miss this morning, along with available cash that will keep the company in operation for about another 12 months.

Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) is down more than -32% at $7.50 after posting a new 52-week low of $7.46 earlier. The medical technology company posted a dismal fourth-quarter earnings report this morning.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
7:30 a.m. – Challenger Gray & Christmas job-cut report
8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
8:30 a.m. – Non-farm business productivity and unit labor costs report
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AMGN, BDE, DKS, EBTX, FTEK, GOOG, HK, IRDM, LULU, MTN, NLY, ONTY, PAY, SSI, VRML, XOMA, YNDX, ZLTQ

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMGN, NLY, GPC, GOOG, LPNT, LULU, NUAN, SUN, YHOO, YNDX)

Administrator — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:09:39 +0000

These are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Started as Buy at Nomura.

LifePoint Hospitals Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Cut to Hold on valuation at Argus.

Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Started as Neutral at Nomura.

Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Neutral at UBS.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AMGN, GOOG, GPC, LPNT, LULU, NLY, NUAN, SUN, YHOO, YNDX

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (AONE, ALU, AMSC, NLY, AAPL, CSCO, COH, CSTR, COP, DLR, IBM, LF, MMM, M, OPEN, POST, SIRI, SOHU, TRLG, ZOLT)

Administrator — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:53:52 +0000

This last week was very busy, and Friday’s disappointing trading day skewed many research reports. Each morning we track analyst upgrades and downgrades and over the weekend we review each to see which stood out as highly insightful, or which were great money-makers for investors. Of course, there are some really bad calls that come about too. For better or worse, these make up the 24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week.

This last weeks most featured reports were in shares of the following: A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE); Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU); American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC); Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Coach, Inc. (NYSE: COH); Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR); ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP); Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR); International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM); Leapfrog Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LF); 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN); Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU); True Religion Apparel, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG); and Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT).

We have summarized each call and either added in trading color or provided a link to more data on each.

A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) was a highly influential call from a firm not very well known. The battery maker was downgraded on fears that Fiskar will not be able to keep buying from them. This fell 23% after it was cut to Sell at Wunderlich, but the price target was the real kicker: $0.50. Ouch.

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) was sure a wrong-way call of the week. The perpetually turning-around communications equipment maker was downgraded to ‘Sell’ at S&P Equity Research ahead of earnings and the stock closed up almost 13% at $2.19 on Friday.

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) was inadvertently a really bad call because it got caught up in a weak stock market day and got caught on a day when alternative energy players took it on the chin. This one was raised to ‘Buy’ at Citigroup on Friday and closed don over 8% at $5.11 after opening at $5.36 on the day. Oops.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) had a rough week based in part on a mortgage foreclosure settlement. We expect the debate to continue over the real impact, but this high dividend yield mortgage REIT was downgraded to ‘Market Perform’ and the price target was cut to $16.00 from $17.50 by Friedman, Billings & Ramsey this last week.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) keeps hitting new all-time highs each day. Apparently it is going to keep doing that for quite some time if Canaccord Genuity gets its way. That firm listed many reasons to raise it price target to $665 this last week.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was better than what we feel the street gave it credit for on earnings. Credit Suisse only reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating ahead of earnings, but what stood out was the $26.00 price target because that is about $4.50 higher than the consensus price target and that is also close to where the stock petered out in 2010.

Coach, Inc. (NYSE: COH) may be gutsy and may be an afterthought. It was recently given a strong tout by CNBC’s Jim Cramer as his luxury stock of choice, but on Friday it was raised started as ‘Buy’ with a target of $85 at Citigroup. This came on a day when the stock hit an all time high and closed at $74.54.

Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is already up big over the last week, but we have never really considered it just as a value stock. Don’t tell that Zacks… On Friday it was named as Zacks’ Value Stock of the Day.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, The Week Tagged: AAPL, ALU, AMSC, AONE, COH, COP, CSCO, CSTR, DLR, IBM, LF, M, MMM, NLY, OPEN, POST, SIRI, SOHU, TRLG, ZOLT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (YUM, DMD, NLY, MS, UBS, AGU, CVS, RL, RAI, TWX, DIS, WYN, BWLD, CSCO, CZR, FFN, TNK, AKAM, NURO)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:06:49 +0000

The US equity markets opened slightly higher this morning, but soon turned around and spent the rest of the morning lower before returning to about even by afternoon. Equities could close at or near where they opened today. The lack of a decision on the Greek debt swap deal is leading investors to exercise caution both in Europe and the US. If the new Greek deal is anything like the last dozen or so, it will send markets up as soon as it is announced; and once people have a chance to read the details, markets will turn south again. Crude is higher today, with WTI up 0.51% at $98.91/barrel and Brent up 1.24% at $117.67/barrel. Gold closed down -0.73% at $1,735.60/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 6 points to 12,883.95 (0.04%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 12 points (0.41%) to 2,915.86, and the S&P 500 rose 0.22% or about 3 points to 1,349.97.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD) cut to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley; Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) cut to ‘market perform’ at FBR; Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) cut to ‘hold’ at Collins Stewart; and UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) is up 2.16% at $82.95; CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) is up 1.18% at $43.59 after posting a new 52-week high of $44.08 earlier in the day; Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) is up 9.8% at $172.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $178.47 earlier today; Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) is down -1.35% at $39.57; Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) is up 0.3% at $38.21 after posting a new 52-week high of $39.23 earlier today; Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is up 0.95 at $41.34; Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (NYSE: WYN) is up 5.6% at $43.22 after posting a new 52-week high of $43.36 earlier today; and Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) is up nearly 17% at $82.04 after posting a new 52-week high of $82.45 earlier today.

Our preview of tomorrow’s earnings releases is here. Also see our coverage of earnings for Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) due after markets close today

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) is up more than 70% at $15.32. The casino owner completed its IPO today, with 1.8 million shares going out at $9/share. We have some issues with this IPO.

FriendFinder Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFN) is up nearly 33% at $1.95. The adult dating site had no news today, so this must just be more halo effect from Facebook — or something else.

Teekay Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: TNK) is down more than -12% today at $3.98. The shipping company this morning priced a secondary stock offering of 15 million shares at $4/share.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) is up about 2% at $34.33. The internet company acquired a Canadian company today, and reports earnings after markets close today. We have more coverage here.

NeuroMetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: NURO) is down more than -17% at $0.95 after posting a new 52-week low of $0.94 earlier today. The medical device maker priced a secondary offering of 10.5 million shares at $1/share this morning.

Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New unemployment benefits claims
10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade report
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1:00 p.m. – Treasury 30-year bond auction
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AGU, AKAM, BWLD, CSCO, CVS, CZR, DIS, DMD, FFN, MS, NLY, NURO, RAI, RL, TNK, TWX, UBS, WYN, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (NLY, MT, BP, CBOE, DMD, RDY, ING, MS, NOV, OPEN, SOHU, UBS, VSH, YUM)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:18:44 +0000

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

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Sell at S&P Capital IQ.
BP PLC (NYSE: BP) Raised Estimates by UBS; Cut to Hold at Soc-Gen.
CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. (NYSE: RDY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
ING Group, N.V. (NYSE: ING) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Cut to Hold at Collins Stewart.
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) raised target to $96 at Argus.
OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer; Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse; Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) lowered targets by Credit Suisse and Nomura.
UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Credit Suisse makes a change to its favorite biotech list.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: BP, CBOE, DMD, ING, MS, MT, NLY, NOV, OPEN, RDY, SOHU, UBS, VSH, YUM

Top Earnings Previews For Tuesday (NLY, BP, BWLD, CERN, CHD, KO, EMR, HIG, JIVE, NTGR, OPEN, PNRA, SNCR, TM, DIS)

Administrator — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:24:07 +0000

We are getting into the last of the normalized quarterly earnings reports and into the first waves of the companies with off-normal quarter-ends. Tuesday is going to be another busy day with many earnings. The earnings previews are for the following: Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY); Bp Plc (NYSE: BP); Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD); Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN); Church & Dwight Co. (NYSE: CHD); Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO); Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR); Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG); Jive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: JIVE); NETGEAR Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR); OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN); Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA); Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR); Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM); and The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS).

We have compiled previews using Thomson Reuters consensus data and have added color on each if applicable.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is going to be closely watched by the dividend investors because of that 13% implied dividend yield. The mortgage REIT is expected to report $0.56 per share.

Bp Plc (NYSE: BP) has recovered handily from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. This is an ADR so its earnings will be converted from U.K. Pounds… The estimate is $1.57 per share and the stock is up well over 50% from when its shares sold off so much in 2010. Keep in mind that this was a $60 stock before the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) is not so hot after the Super Bowl and we are six weeks from the next mega-event in sports. Estimates are $0.67 EPS and $210.25 million. This one remains expensive at almost 22-times full 2012 earnings expectations and it is only about $2.00 shy of a 52-week and all-time high.

Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) is expected to report $0.53 EPS and $586.86 million in sales. At $63.20, the 52-week trading range for the healthcare information technology and support company is $53.93 to $74.39.

Church & Dwight Co. (NYSE: CHD) is expected to report $0.51 EPS and $694.32 million. At $45.50, the 52-week range is $33.83 to $47.00. This consumer products company remains at a large valuation premium to its larger consumer products rivals and it also has a much lower dividend yield.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: BP, BWLD, CERN, CHD, DIS, EMR, HIG, JIVE, KO, NLY, NTGR, OPEN, PNRA, SNCR, TM