24/7 Wall St. » OMC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (ACI, NFLX, KMI, KMP, HNZ, AVP, GT, WPI, ARB, BWA, CPLA, FOSL, HSP, OMC, ZIP, KORS, SYNM, CHTP, ENER, JKS)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:10:40 +0000

US stock markets opened lower this morning and gradually lost ground throughout the day. A fractionally lower opening bell has translated to around a -0.6% loss on each of the major indexes about half an hour before closing. Last night’s downgrade of the sovereign debt of six European countries set the tone in both Asia and Europe, but by mid-day, a fairly weak report on US retail sales and a more modest than expected rise in business inventories kept share prices from rising. In the late afternoon, Eurozone leaders canceled tomorrow’s meeting on the Greek bailout saying that Greece had failed to meet several demands related to the proposed $172 billion bailout. Germany’s finance minister even displayed a “who cares?” attitude toward the possibility of a Greek default (our story here). Crude oil was mixed today, with larger early gains lost on the weak news and the stronger dollar. WTI crude rose 0.08% to $100.99/barrel and Brent crude rose 0.25% to $117.68/barrel. Gold was down -0.4%, settling at $1,717.70/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 4 points to 12,878.28 (0.03%), the NASDAQ rose less than 1 point (0.02%) to 2,931.83, and the S&P 500 fell -0.09% or just over 1 point to 1,350.5.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) raised to ‘outperform’ and target price raised to $140 at Credit Suisse; Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; and H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) started as ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is up 1.2% at $17.74; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) is down -5.7% at $13.18; Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: WPI) is up 3.8% at $59.89; Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is up 4.4% at $36.94; BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) is up 0.42% at $79.18; Capella Education Co. (NASDAQ: CPLA) is down -13.3% at $39.30; Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) is up nearly 13% at $118.02; Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP) is up 6.7% at $36.50; Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) is down -0.23% at $47.91; and Zipcar Inc. (NASDAQ: ZIP) is down -13% at $13.99, a new 52-week low.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) is up nearly 25% at $41.92 after posting a new high of $42.43 earlier today. The apparel company reported better-than-expected earnings today, and the shares have more than doubled since the company’s IPO in mid-December.

Syntroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: SYNM) is up up 20% at $1.32. The biodiesel maker’s joint venture with Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) has signed a deal to distribute synthetic diesel fuel.

Chelsea Therapeutics International Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTP) is up nearly 19% at $3.69. The company’s shares fell almost -40% yesterday, but bargain hunters can’t resist. We mentioned this possibility yesterday.

Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) is down more than -80% to $0.29. The solar maker filed for bankruptcy this morning. We have more coverage here.

JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) is down nearly -12% at $7.95. The solar panel maker is just one more victim among solar stocks today of a proposed cutback in Germany’s solar subsidies and the bankruptcy of ECD. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
9:15 a.m. – Industrial production
10:00 a.m. – Housing market index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
2:00 p.m. – FOMC minutes released

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: ACI, ARB, AVP, BWA, CHTP, CPLA, ENER, FOSL, GT, HNZ, HSP, JKS, KMI, KMP, KORS, NFLX, OMC, SYNM, WPI, ZIP

Top Earnings & Economic Previews For The Day Ahead (AVP, GT, MET, OMC, WPI, ZNGA)

Administrator — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:13:14 +0000

We have several sector-moving earnings reports due on Tuesday, February 14. These are basic previews for shares of Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP), Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT), MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET), Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI), and Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA).

Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) $0.51 EPS on $3.11 billion; a serial disappointment in shares and current bribery news is just that much uncertainty for turnaround investors. The hope has to be that the bar is set low. The CEO search remains ongoing.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) $0.20 EPS on $5.88 billion in sales. This remains 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.

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) $1.76 EPS on $1.54 billion in sales.. With some generic Lipitor sales in the quarter and with some insurers starting to only cover the generic Lipitor, earnings and guidance could have a swing different from past quarters due to the mega-blockbuster status of Lipitor.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is one which we just do not really have a basis to call on as the analyst coverage is all new and this is the first post-IPO earnings report from the social gaming outfit. Shares are up around $13.60 now and well off of lows due to the Facebook-effect lifting the value on anything tied to social media.

Here are the economic events for Tuesday:

8:30 AM EST January Import Prices expected at +0.3%
8:30 AM EST January Retail Sales expected at 0.8%
10:00 AM EST December Business Inventories expected at +0.4%

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, Economy Tagged: AVP, GT, MET, OMC, WPI, ZNGA

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

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AFFX, AMCX, BRCM, CSIQ, CSCO, DECK, DANG, ELN, EL, FSLR, IVR, IPG, JNPR, OMC, OVTI, ONXX, PTR, RENN, RVBD, SI, YOKU)

Administrator — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:28:50 +0000

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

Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) Raised to Neutral from Sell with a $4.50 price target at Goldman Sachs.
AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) Started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Canadian Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) named as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Started as Buy at Nomura.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) Cut to Underperform from Buy at Stern Agee.
E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.
Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Estee Lauder Companies (NASDAQ: EL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral from Buy at R.W. Baird.
Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. (NYSE: IVR) Cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.
OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI) lowered estimates again but maintained as Buy with $12.00 price target at Canaccord Genuity.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) Raised to the Conviction Buy List with a $47.00 price target objective at Goldman Sachs.
PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE: PTR) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.
Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.
Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Youku.com Inc (NYSE: YOKU) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AFFX, AMCX, BRCM, CSCO, CSIQ, DANG, DECK, EL, ELN, FSLR, IPG, IVR, JNPR, OMC, ONXX, OVTI, PTR, RENN, RVBD, SI, YOKU

Advertising Going Strong for Now, But Softness Ahead (WPPGY, IPG, OMC, PUBGY, GCI, NYT)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:12:40 +0000

Two of the world’s largest advertising agencies reported earnings this morning, and while the reports are good, the outlook for the current quarter is soft. Things are expected to get better in 2012, with major events like the London Olympics helping to boost ad spending. And of course there’s that ad-buying booster known as a US presidential election.London-based WPP plc (NASDAQ: WPPGY) reported revenue growth of 9% for the third quarter, compared with the third quarter of 2010.

Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) reported EPS of $0.16, sharply above the consensus estimate of $0.10, on revenue of $1.73 billion, again higher than expectations of $1.64 billion. Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) and Paris-based Publicis Groupe SA (OTC: PUBGY) reported solid earnings last week. But all these companies are really looking past the fourth quarter, which all believe will be weak.

Interpublic’s earnings did not include about $132 million the company received from a private sale in August of about half the stock it held in Facebook. The buyer was not identified.

Interpublic also reiterated its outlook that revenue would grow by 4%-5% for the full year and that the company’s operating margin would be around 9.5%. WPP expects revenue growth for 2011 to be 5% and operating margin to reach 11%, up about 0.7% over 2010..

WPP notes the general state of the ad business this way: “Advertising as a proportion of GDP remains at depressed levels in mature markets post-Lehman and the faster growth markets remain under-branded and under-advertised.” Translated, that means going after markets in Brazil and China and other fast-growing developing economies. The company now expects to get 35%-40% of its revenues from the developing world, up from about 30% currently.

Online and mobile advertising is expected to grow by nearly 10% annually over the next five years. WPP said that it received 29% of its revenue from digital and interactive sources in the first nine months of the year.

That growth comes at the expense of print media, where ad spending continues to fall. Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) said that ad revenue for its newspapers fell -8.5% in the third quarter and The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) reported a print advertising drop of -10% in the third quarter. Even though the Times got a boost from its online subscriber revenue and a boost in its online ad revenues, the percentage growth does not make up for the percentage losses in print advertising because the print chunk is so much larger.

WPP shares are up slightly in the first half-hour of trading this morning, to $55.08, in a 52-week range of $43.98-$69.50. Interpublic shares are up more than 14%, to $10.16, in a 52-week range of $6.73-$13.75.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, Media Tagged: GCI, IPG, NYT, OMC, PUBGY, WPPGY

Top Analyst Calls (BT, CSCO, EMC, HAS, ITW, MAT, NTAP, OMC, TEN, VECO)

247wallst — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:25:39 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street with more than two hours until the market opens:

BT Group (BT) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) Started at Canaccord.
EMC Corp. (EMC) Started at Canaccord.
Hasbro (HAS) Started as Buy at KeyBanc.
Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
Mattel (MAT) Started as Buy at KeyBanc.
NetApp (NTAP) Started as Buy at Canaccord.
Omnicom (OMC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Tenneco (TEN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Veeco Instruments (VECO) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: BT, CSCO, EMC, HAS, ITW, MAT, NTAP, OMC, TEN, VECO

Top Analyst Downgrades (APOG, BJS, BJ, HAL, KEG, NBR, OMC, PTEN, PCG, SLB, WMT)

247wallst — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:41:11 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades and negative calls we have seen early this Tuesday morning:

Apogee (APOG) Cut to Sell at Piper Jaffray.
BJ Services (BJS) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Halliburton (HAL) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Key Energy (KEG) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Nabors (NBR) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Omnicom (OMC) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
Patterson-UTI (PTEN) Cut to Underperform at RBC.
PG&E (PCG) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Schlumberger (SLB) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Wal-Mart (WMT) Cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: APOG, BJ, BJS, HAL, KEG, NBR, OMC, PCG, PTEN, SLB, WMT

Pre-Market Stock News (June 26, 2007)

247wallst — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:59:06 +0000

(BEXP) Brigham Exploration increased natural gas production guidance from 42-45MCF to 44-46MCF.
(BLK) Blackrock will acquire the fund of funds business of Quellos for up to $1.7 Billion.
(BSC) Bear Stearns has report in WSJ that it is reluctant to bail out a second hedge fund from last year.
(CERS) Cerus announced a supply pact for its INTERCEPT blood system for platelets to French national blood service.
(EAS) Energy East $28.50 buyout from Spain
(ENCY) Encysive Pharma traded up on new CEO replacement.
(EYE) Advanced Medical Optics lowered 2007-2008 EPS guidance below consensus due to recall of its MoisturePlus.
(GGP) General Growth Properties will replace Mellon in S&P 500 after close on Friday June 29.
(GILT) Gilat Satellite gets SkyEdge broadband satellite network.
(ITT) ITT Industries is acquiring international Motion Control for $395 million.
(IXYS) IXYS Corp. lowered revenue target to $70 to $72 Million from $74.99 Million.
(LEN) Lennar posted a loss instead of a small gain, and revenues were down more than 30%; shares indicated down 2-5%.
(MO) Altria plans to maximize its savings on tobacco production; will see pre-tax savings of $355 Million.
(OMC) Omnicom trading ex-split to reflect a 2-1 stock split.
(OPTT) Ocean Power Tech named a new COO.
(RAIL) Freightcar America put EPS at $0.85 to $0.95 vs $1.18 estimate; announced new 1900 hopper railcar orders.
(RDYN) Replidyne announced positive Phase I results for topical antibiotic REP8839.
(SCMM) SCM Micro sees revenues down approximately 20%.
(SWSI) Superior Well Services announced that officers David Wallace, Jacob Linaberger and Rhys Reese each adopted 10b5-1 stock trading plans.
(TEK) Tektronix increased share buyback plan for $350 million worth of shares.
(TGT) Target guided sales to lower end of a 3-5% range.
(TLCV) TLC Vision purchased 20 million at average $5.75 per share.
(ULBI) Ultralife Batteries announced orders valued at approx $1.8 million to supply batteries and chargers to a major defense contractor.
(VMSI) Ventana gets $75 buyout offer from Roche, although Ventana declined talks.

Jon C. Ogg
June 26, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Earlybird Analyst Calls (June 25, 2007)

247wallst — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 06:24:36 +0000

Stock Tickers: ABI, BBSI, BMY, CAP, CLUB, CVX, FCBP, GM, IPG, OMC, MIG, PER, PIR, SKH, SMSI, TRLG

ABI raised to Outperform at Baird.
BBSI raised to Strong Buy at JMP Securities.
BMY raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.
CAP started as Buy at Jefferies.
CLUB cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
CVX raised to Buy at B of A.
FCBP raised to Outperform at FBR.
GM raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
IPG raised to Buy at B of A.
MIG raised to Outperform at FBR.
OMC raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
PER raised to Buy at KeyBanc/McDonald.
PIR raised to Buy at UBS.
SKH started as Outperform at Credit Suisse; started as Buy at B of A.
SMSI raised to Buy at Jefferies.
TRLG raised to Outperform at CIBC.

Jon C. Ogg
June 25, 2007

JOn Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Today’s & Upcoming Stock Splits (June 19, 2007)

247wallst — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:36:51 +0000

Stock Tickers: CPKI, MRO, STR, PVA, AGN, ESRX, GILD, OMC, YUM

TODAY (June 19, 2007)
(CPKI) California Pizza Kitchen trades ex-split today to reflect a 3-2 stock Split.
(MRO) Marathon Oil trades ex-split today to reflect a 2-1 stock split.
(STR) Questar trades ex-split to reflect a 2-1 stock split.

THIS WEEK
(PVA) Penn Viginia will trade ex-split on June 20 to reflect a 2-1 stock split.

NEXT WEEK
Allergan (AGN), Express Scripts (ESRX) and Gilead (GILD) all trade ex-split to reflect their pending 2-1 stock splits on June 25.
Omnicom (OMC) will trade ex-split on on June 26 to reflect its pending 2-1 stock split.
YUM! Brands (YUM) trades ex-split on June 27 to reflect its pending 2-1 stock split.

Jon C. Ogg
June 19, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.