24/7 Wall St. » NTAP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 24, 2012 (HPQ, ARMH, DUK, NOV, MET, FRED, HNZ, TIF, COST, TD, CRMT, MENT, POST, FRO, JDAS, NTAP, ROSG, P)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:05:29 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning following a weak report on Chinese and German PMI readings (our coverage here and here). New US jobless benefits claims came in pretty much as expected and Kansas City Fed manufacturing data significantly beat estimates. Tech stocks soured the Nasdaq today and weighed on the other indexes as well. The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.27% at 82.318. The GSCI commodity index is down about 2% at 625.52, with commodities prices mixed. WTI crude oil closed up 0.9% at $90.66/barrel, staunching a two-day slide, and Brent crude trades up 0.92% at $106.53/barrel. Natural gas fell -3.3% today to $2.647/thousand cubic feet, following another inventory build (our coverage here). Gold settled up 0.6% today, at $1,557.60/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 34 points to 12,530.91 (0.27%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 11points (-0.38%) to 2,839.38, and the S&P 500 rose 0.14% or nearly 2 points to 1,320.73.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) maintained as ‘neutral’ but estimates raised at Credit Suisse; ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) raised to ‘buy’ at S&P; Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS; National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) raised to ‘buy’ at SocGen; and MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) raised to ‘buy’ with a target price of $46 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Hewlett-Packard is up 3% at $21.72 (more coverage here); Fred’s Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) is down -2.5% at $14.05; H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) is down -0.8% at $53.41; Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is down -7.5% at $57.17 after posting a new 52-week low of $55.75 earlier today (more coverage here); Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is up 1% at $84.16 (more coverage here); and The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) is down -0.3% at $76.54.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to get earnings reports from America’s Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Mentor Graphics Inc. (NASDAQ: MENT), Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST), Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO), and JDA Software Group Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS).

We’ve also reviewed some potential value stocks among major oil companies, gold & silver miners, conglomerates, industrials, retail, and semiconductor stocks.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Rosetta Genomics Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSG) is up nearly 52% at $17.07. The medical device maker is still booming on last week’s announcement that treatment would be covered by Medicare.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is up 12.5% at $11.62. The Internet radio company reported better-than-expected results last night. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ARMH, COST, CRMT, DUK, FRED, FRO, HNZ, HPQ, JDAS, MENT, MET, NOV, NTAP, P, POST, ROSG, TD, TIF

NetApp and the Death of Growth (NTAP)

Administrator — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:01:24 +0000

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) is now trading at levels not seen since the recession took it down with just about everything else. Earlier in May came a warning from Goldman Sachs about a fiscal-cliff at the end of the year impacting NetApp and other stocks. It is coming home to roost if you see how bad the reaction is after an earnings warning.

For its fourth quarter ended in April, NetApp reported a 19% revenue growth to about $1.7 billion with earnings coming in at $0.66 EPS versus $0.63 estimates. The problem is with first quarter guidance, where NetApp now see revenue down about 12% to 18% sequentially to $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion versus estimates of just over $1.6 billion; that revenue is down 4% to up 3% from a year earlier. NetApp also sees earnings of $0.34 to $0.39 EPS versus a consensus of $0.59 EPS.

Unfortunately, this translates to death of growth and this company has grown and grown in the past. Here is how three analysts have chimed in so far today with more calls likely:

Cut to Hold at Brean Murray;
Cut to Sector Perform at RBC;
Cut to Hold at Stern Agee.

The death of growth is never a good thing for companies which used to be high-flyers. Shares are now down about 17% at $27.20 against a prior 52-week range of $31.94 to $56.49. At least this is better than things were last night when shares were down as much as 20% in the after-hours session. Nothing to celebrate here…

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Earnings Warning, Technology Companies Tagged: NTAP

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 22, 2012 (GPS, DRYS, DPZ, LYB, TSLA, AZO, BBY, RL, WSM, EXPR, AEO, BIG, HRL, NTAP, P, STP, TSL, PCX, BNHN, FB)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:06:11 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened slightly higher this morning following their European and Asian counterparts, none of which were the least concerned about a downgrade to Japanese debt or dire predictions from the OECD and the IMF (our coverage here and here). Existing US home sales were slightly above the consensus estimate, which also helped buoy stocks this morning (our coverage here). The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.52% at 81.509. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 633.25, with commodities mostly lower on the stronger dollar. Corn and cotton were today’s big losers. WTI crude oil closed down -1% at $91.66/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -0.62% at $108.13/barrel. Natural gas rose more than 3% today at $2.69/thousand cubic feet. Gold settled down -0.8% today, at $1,576.60/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 2 points to 12,502.66 (-0.01%), the NASDAQ fell about 8 points (-.029%) to 2,839.08, and the S&P 500 rose 0.05% or less than 1 point to 1,316.63.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) raised to ‘buy’ at Lazard Capital; DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) started as ‘buy’ at Global Hunter; Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a target price of $46 at Argus; LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE: LYB) started as ‘outperform’ with a target price of $60 at Credit Suisse; and Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) started as ‘buy’ at Maxim Group.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) is down -1.67% at $362.40; Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is up 1.3% at $18.41 (more coverage here); Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) is up 3.4% at $151.24 (more coverage here); Williams Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) is up 3.4% at $35.90; and Express Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) is down -26.9% at $16.88.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to get earnings reports from American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO), Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG), Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P), Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is down nearly -40% at $2.22 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.36 earlier today. The coal miner was reported to be interviewing firms to help with a restructuring. Patriot issued a non-denial denial later to stem the bleeding. More coverage here and here.

Benihana Inc. (NASDAQ: BNHN) is up 21.3% at $16.13. The restaurateur is being acquired for $296 million.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is down -8.6%% at $31.12 after posting a new low of $30.98 earlier today. Shares are getting pummeled again today. We’ve started a deathwatch here and here. Just search for ‘facebook deathwatch’ to get the latest dope.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Minneapolis Fed President Naryana Kocherlakota is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:00 a.m. – New home sales
10:00 a.m. – FHFA house price index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 5-year note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AEO, AZO, BBY, BIG, BNHN, DPZ, DRYS, EXPR, FB, GPS, HRL, LYB, NTAP, P, PCX, RL, STP, TSL, TSLA, WSM

The Top Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (TECD, URBN, AZO, BBY, DELL, PETM, RL, BIG, HPQ, NTAP, P, TOL, COST, TIF, PAY)

Administrator — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:09:16 +0000

24/7 Wall St. has compiled earnings previews for some of the top companies reporting in the week ahead. Estimates have been taken from Thomson Reuters for consensus earnings and targets and we have added in color on some companies if applicable.

These are some of the focus companies reporting earnings in the coming week: Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD); Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN); Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO); Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY); Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL); PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM); Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL); Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG); Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ); NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP); Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P); Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL); Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST); Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF); and VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY).

MONDAY, MAY 21

Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ: TECD) is set to report and show how the outlook is for the companies which actually distribute all of the technology components and finished smartphones and consumer electronics devices around the world. Shares were recently under $48 and the 52-week range is $38.21 to $59.29. The consensus estimate is $1.16 EPS and $6.18 billion in revenue.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) is going to show if its turnaround is closer or just still chugging along. Estimates are $0.20 EPS and $579.2 million in revenue. Shares were recently around $25.50 and the 52-week range is $21.47 to $33.90; the consensus target price is about $29.70.

TUESDAY, MAY 22

Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) took it hard on the chin recently when rival Advance Auto warned of a difficult second quarter. This is one of the high-priced stocks and shares are around $366 against a 52-week range of $266.25 to $399.10. The consensus analyst target price is $419.80; estimates are $6.25 EPS and $2.13 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $8.47 EPS and $2.84 billion in revenue.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is in such disarray that we won’t even bother with the warnings and the caveats here. Estimates are $0.60 EPS.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is now trading at only about 7.5-times forward earnings. Estimates are $0.46 EPS and $14.89 billion in sales. Earnings have been choppy on guidance but the PC makers and components makers are all talking up the release of Windows 8 as a new catalyst. With shares trading just under $15.00, the 52-week range is $13.29 to $18.36 and the consensus price target is almost $19.50.

PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) has been a steady “beat earnings and raise guidance” outfit as Americans will pay endless and countless dollars on Fido and Fifi. Estimates are $0.73 EPS and $1.6 billion in revenue. With shares around $56.00, the 52-week high is $59.36.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) has sold off nearly $40 from its highs since March. The question is how its business has been holding up in slowing markets even if the U.S. sales have been strong. Estimates are $0.83 EPS and $1.6 billion in sales. With shares around $143 the 52-week range is $105.00 to $182.48 and the consensus price target from analysts is just over $190.00.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) should be called “Warning Lots” because it has lowered guidance and been hard on two different waves. With shares under $35 and against a high of $47.22, the premium values of the dollar stores may and discounters may be hurting here. On the flip side, the bar has been set extremely low. Estimates are $0.69 EPS and $1.3 billion in revenue.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is now around the $22 handle and the news of another 25,000 or more in layoffs (versus 350K as of October 31, 2011) is not helping the growth hopes. Estimates are $0.91 EPS and $29.92 billion in sales. The stock now trades at about 6-times earnings, but the consensus price target is down to just over $29.00 as no one wants to pay up for the valuation of this DJIA component.

NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) has been pounded and the last 45 days has looked like a downward staircase on its chart. At about $34.00, the 52-week range is $33.00 to $56.49 and the consensus price target objective is just over $47.00.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is no longer market-influencing, but it is a cult stock and the earnings could create a large gain or a large drop. With shares under $10.50, the post IPO range is $7.83 to $26.00. Estimates are -$0.17 EPS and $74.3 million in revenue. Can the company make it to profitability by the end of next year?

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is expected to be profitable. A profitable homebuilder! At $25.50, the 52-week range is $13.16 to $27.80. A lot of good news already has to be priced in, so we would want to expect upside to remain positive here. Estimates are $0.04 EPS and $381.9 million in revenue.

THURSDAY, MAY 24

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) almost always beats its earnings estimates. At $83.75 the 52-week range is $70.22 to $92.10; analysts have a target price of $86.80 or so. Estimates are $0.87 EPS and $22.1 billion in revenue.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) has come off of its highs significantly and this is the king of jewelry stores for investors. There will have been two smaller reports ahead of Tiffany in the week with Fred’s and Zale. Estimates for Tiffany are $0.69 EPS and $816.8 million. With shares under $61.00, the 52-week range is $56.21 to $84.49 and the consensus price target is $75.63.

VeriFone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) has pulled back by about 20% from its highs, but the woes of the company seem to be behind it. At $44.80, the 52-week range is $30.25 to $55.89 and the consensus analyst price target is $54.10. Estimates are $0.61 EPS and $471.5 million in revenue.

As a reminder, dates and estimates can change ahead of earnings and some may have already changed.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: AZO, BBY, BIG, COST, DELL, HPQ, NTAP, P, PAY, PETM, RL, TECD, TIF, TOL, URBN

Has NetApp Growth Peaked? (NTAP)

Administrator — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:43:18 +0000

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) has been a great growth story and it has ridden the wave of network storage solutions and the cloud long before the most recent interest surged in storage and the cloud. That growth may be peaking.

Shares of NetApp are soft on what is a strong market day elsewhere in technology after a boutique firm called FBN Securities downgraded the stock. This brokerage and research firm is a relatively unknown firm to Main Street, but the new rating went down to “Market Perform” from a prior “Outperform” based upon the notion that channel checks from the analyst are signalling weaker sales and growing fears of competition coming in the months ahead.

After a $42.02 close on Tuesday, the stock is still well off of last year’s highs as the 52-week trading range is $33.00 to $56.49. After a 2.7% drop to $40.90 so far today, Yahoo! Finance still lists a market capitalization rate of $14.8 billion. NetApp is often considered the storage stock that was always too expensive to acquire for another big player and it is likely now too valuable on a raw dollar basis.

Thomson Reuters had a consensus target of $2.38 EPS on $6.22 billion in projected fiscal April-2012 sales, with those targets rising to $2.73 EPS and $6.95 billion in sales for the following fiscal year. The multiples are not expensive, but the raw dollar figure of nearly $15 billion in addition to whatever premium the company might want would lower the chances of this company being acquired.

It is surprising to see such a negative reaction from a boutique firm’s downgrade but such is life on some days.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Software, Technology Companies Tagged: NTAP

Top Five Early Winners & Losers This Thursday (ITRI, NTAP, NILE, NVDA, PMFG)

Administrator — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:32:55 +0000

Many stocks are on the move this morning. Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) and NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) are the two pre-market leaders on percentage gains this Thursday morning on NASDAQ; and the companies with the biggest losses and active volume are Blue Nile, Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); and PMFG, Inc. (NASDAQ: PMFG). We have added color on each and shown the moves.

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) managed to beat estimates on earnings and sales and it is buying a company called SmartSynch for $100 million. Shares are up 12% at $45.02 on almost 20,000 shares in the pre-market.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) was up almost 10% last night and up even higher in early Thursday pre-market trading after saying that it now expects earnings to come in at $0.60 to $0.65 EPS on $1.645 billion to $1.725 billion in sales. The mid-point of each range is slightly above estimates and it comes after shares are still down by about one-third from the peak. Shares are up 8.1% at $43.12 on about 100,000 pre-market shares.

Blue Nile, Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) has the dubious honor of being on the leaderboard of pre-market losers. Guidance for the quarter ahead was of $0.04 to $0.07 EPS on sales of $81 million to $84 million, both were light. Shares are down more than 23% at $31.99 in the pre-market.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is down this morning after the graphics chip card maker sees revenue of $900 million to $930 million in the coming quarter against estimates of $944 to $945 million. For the past quarter, the $0.26 per share and $953.2 million in sales did slightly beat expectations. Shares are down about 7% at $15.07 on about 150,000 shares.

PMFG, Inc. (NASDAQ: PMFG) is lower after pricing a 2.6 million share secondary offering at $16.00 per share after closing at $21.01. Boy, what a discount. Shares are down almost 20% at $16.90 on 175,000 pre-market shares.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: ITRI, NILE, NTAP, NVDA, PMFG

Top Earnings & Economic Previews For The Day Ahead (ANF, A, NILE, CLWR, CMCSA, NVDA, PCG, DVN, DE, GG, WFR, NTAP, TEVA)

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:28:53 +0000

Wednesday is a fairly busy day for earnings expectations. We are expecting the following reports: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF); Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A); Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE); Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR); Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG); Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN); Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE); Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG); MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR); NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP); and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA). We have used the consensus estimate data from Thomson Reuters and compiled additional data on each.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is expected to report $1.12 EPS on $1.33 billion in sales; shares are very close to 52-week lows and the downward channel in the chart continues.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) $0.69 EPS and $1.65 billion in sales. Interestingly enough, this one was one of the stocks outperforming Apple so far in 2012.

Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) $0.42 EPS on $123.17 million.

Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) -$0.35 EPS and $356.72 million in sales; we will be watching closely for any discussions about funding its business plan.

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) $0.41 EPS on $14.87 billion in sales; shares are very close to a 52-week high at $27.20 versus a high of $27.52.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) $0.19 EPS on $950.44 million in sales; expected 7% sales growth and a drop in earnings. The most recent Rambus pact details may become more clear as those patent agreements were not disclosed.

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) $0.85 EPS on $3.49 billion in sales. PG&E shares are off of highs more than other utilities in general and room for the 4.4% dividend to be discussed.

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) $1.48 EPS

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) $1.23 EPS on $6.49 billion in sales; watch currency discussions for guidance ahead.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is one of the top gold companies with a $36.5 billion market value. Estimates are $0.60 EPS and $1.49 billion in revenue.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is now down big again due to Energy Conversion Devices bankruptcy on fears that the solar sector is again going to crumble. This has moved from a value stock to a value trap now that it is expected to lose money. Estimates are -$0.06 EPS and $769.49 million in sales.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) $0.58 EPS on $1.56 billion in sales; next quarter $0.63 EPS on $1.68 billion in sales; under $40 it is way under its 52-week high and now valued at only about 16.5-times fiscal April-2012 earnings estimates.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) is going to show whether or not generic ambitions can trump branded drugs. The turnaround in the share price has just not materialized. Estimates are $1.58 EPS and $5.63 billion in sales.

ECONOMIC DATA FOR WEDNESDAY:

8:30 AM EST Empire Manufacturing (Feb.)
9:15 AM EST January Industrial Production expected +0.6%
9:15 AM EST January Capacity Utilization expected 78.6%
10:00 AM EST NAHB optimism (Feb.)
10:00 Treasury’s Geithner testifies to House Ways & Means on 2013 budget
10:30 AM EST EIA Weekly Petroleum Inventory
2:00 PM EST FOMC Minutes

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings, Economy Tagged: A, ANF, CLWR, CMCSA, DE, DVN, GG, NILE, NTAP, NVDA, PCG, TEVA, WFR

Top Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (CRL, CIM, NAT, RAX, AVP, GT, MET, OMC, ZNGA, A, NVDA, PCG, DVN, DE, NTAP, CMCSA, APA, DTV, WM, JWN, AMAT, DUK, HNZ, CPB)

Administrator — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:22:53 +0000

Earnings season is starting to slow down a bit but we will still have some sector-moving earnings reports from major companies. 24/7 Wall St. has prepared earnings previews for the following companies:

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL); Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM); Nordic American Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: NAT); Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX); Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP); Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT); MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET); Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC); Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA); Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG); Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN); Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE); NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP); Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA); Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA); DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV); Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM); Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN); Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT); Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK); H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ); and Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB).

Earnings estimates are from Thomson Reuters and the dates may change by the companies. More detailed previews will be available each day this coming week with much more color and trading information.

MONDAY, FEB 13

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) $0.56 EPS

Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) $0.11 EPS

Nordic American Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: NAT) -$0.29 EPS… with losses expected this year, we will be watching for any dividend news after the company sold 5.5 million shares last month.

Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) $0.15 on $281 million in sales; this one still trades at close to 60-times 2012 expected earnings of $0.81 EPS.

TUESDAY, FEB 14

Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) $0.51 EPS on $3.11 billion; a serial disappointment in shares, but turnaround investors have hopes that the bar is set extremely low. Earnings will prove if there is a value story here or just more of a value trap.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) $0.20 EPS on $5.88 billion in sales; this is still a long-term turnaround story valued at less than 7-times expected earnings.

MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) $1.24 EPS on $16.81 billion in revenues; shares are mid-way between the 52-week high and 52-week low.

Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) $0.95 EPS on $3.8 billion in sales.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) estimates are not yet available for its first quarterly earnings report. Shares are now back over $13.00 due to the Facebook-effect on anything tied to social media.

Don’t forget about Valentine’s Day….

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: A, AMAT, APA, AVP, CIM, CMCSA, CPB, CRL, DE, DTV, DUK, DVN, GT, HNZ, JWN, MET, NAT, NTAP, NVDA, OMC, PCG, RAX, WM, ZNGA

After Taleo, Looking at Other Cloud M&A ‘Hopefuls’ (SKYY, TLEO, ORCL, EQIX, AKAM, RAX, TDC, NTAP, CRM)

Administrator — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:03:57 +0000

It is a bit surprising that First Trust ISE Cloud Computing (NASDAQ: SKYY) is not trading higher than it is after a ‘cloud acquisition’ even if it is a thinly traded ETF compared to other technology funds. After the Taleo Corporation (NASDAQ: TLEO) acquisition by Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) and with the market still holding gains, it would seem likely that investors and speculators would say “more cloud mergers and buyouts are coming this way.”

What is interesting is that Taleo was not even part of this cloud ETF, and many of the ETFs components are not exactly all cloud space players. Is it fair to lump in all cloud players as targets when one is software and one is hardware? Be advised, there are some stocks which have had buyout rumors in the past listed below but there are no current rumors we have heard.

Here is the weighting of the cloud ETF’s more cloud-centric companies, with the most recent weightings and some commentary on some of the names:

Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) 3.80%…probably too expensive to acquire now on valuation metrics and with a $6.1 billion market cap.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:: AKAM) 3.72%… surged after earnings, now unlikely to be bought on the cheap by would be acquirers.

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) 3.39%… has been called a buyout candidate before but the company’s line is that it wants to remain independent.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) 3.35%… still considered a special situation by some investors but no buyout rumors have proven true, and shares are up big after earnings.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) 3.22%… “The one that got away.” This used to be a buyout dream stock, but valuation got in the way. Now at over $14 billion the time may have come and gone.

Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) 3.08%… way too expensive to acquire on a valuation basis. Cloud is everywhere here in effect as a great benefit, but this one is diversified into CRM and SaaS.

Where this gets interesting is that Taleo is a human resources software maker and perhaps not just cloud software as some of the media headlines would have suggested. The 18% premium also suggests that paying up for the cloud players is only a limited value.

Just because one buyer buys a loose cloud play in software does not translate to buyouts in hardware.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Mergers and Buy Outs, Rumors, Software Tagged: AKAM, CRM, EQIX, NTAP, ORCL, RAX, SKYY, TDC, TLEO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APKT, AFFX, AKS, AAPL, CCI, EMC, GD, GMCR, LMT, MOS, NTAP, OFG, POT, STLD, TIVO)

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:28:08 +0000

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

Acme Packet, Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush; estimates and targets lowered after revenue warnings from Morgan Keegan and Wells Fargo.
Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform with $500 target and raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) added to the U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Reiterated Buy with $94 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) Cut to Underperform by RBC Capital Markets.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) Started as Underperform at National Bank.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) Raised to Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Raised to Overweight at Evercore Partners.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, AFFX, AKS, APKT, CCI, EMC, GD, GMCR, LMT, MOS, NTAP, OFG, POT, STLD, TIVO