24/7 Wall St. » OVTI

Pacific Crest Gets Very Bullish on Cell Towers (CRUS, OVTI, INVN, AMT, CCI, SBAC, T, VZ, S)

Lee Jackson — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:08:57 +0000

Portland based boutique brokerage firm Pacific Crest securities came out today with an extremely bullish call on the wireless and tower sector. While starting four companies with an Outperform rating and initiating two with Sector perform, the big news for investors that like the space is the price targets established for the tower companies. If the team at Pacific Crest is right, these high-flying stocks may go much higher. And that is on the heels of massive gains seen by investors already. Here are the research initiations:

American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) is rated at Outperform with a price target of $99. The consensus target is $84.50.

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) is rated at Outperform with a target of $102, compared to the consensus target of $78.

SBA Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: SBAC) also is rated at Outperform and has a target of $98. The consensus target is $77.

InvenSense Inc. (NYSE: INVN) is rated at Outperform. Its target of $15 is is right in line with the street call of $15.

Pacific Crest also started Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) and OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI) with Sector Perform ratings this morning.

The strong ratings for the tower companies highlight the dogfight in which the major wireless providers are locked. With the landline portion of their business dropping and new challenges from voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) providing cheap service, the industry leaders have all set their focus on wireless. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) all have bundled wireless packages designed at varying price points to fit any consumer. These packages include wireless phone service, texting and data. With the advent of cheaper and better smartphones, this battle for the consumer only grows.

If the analysts at Pacific Crest are right on the tower companies, investors could be looking at 20% gains. One word of caution, these stocks have all outperformed over the past year. It may be smart to look for a pullback before buying in.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, Telecom & Wireless Tagged: AMT, CCI, CRUS, INVN, OVTI, S, SBAC, T, VZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — November 30, 2012: Market Wobbles to Lower Finish (COP, CAG, DUK, BMY, WPI, AVGO, OVTI, YOKU, ZUMZ, SOL, WWAV, LDK, VRSN, ZNGA, FB, GRPN)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:05:33 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning, but some initial enthusiasm wore off by mid-morning and stocks moved slightly lower throughout the day. In Europe, unemployment rose more than expected (more coverage here) and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said that the eurozone crisis would begin to abate in the second half of next year (more coverage here). In Asia, Japan kicked out another $11 billion in stimulus and India reported lower-than-expected GDP growth. In the U.S., the Chicago PMI came in lower than expected (more coverage here) and the report on personal income and spending was also a disappointment (more coverage here). In the afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner said that negotiations on the fiscal cliff are “almost nowhere.” That depressed equities even more, although traders pulled out an essentially flat close.

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.07% at 80.149. The GSCI commodity index is up 1% at 649.34, with commodities prices mixed again today. WTI crude oil closed up 0.6% today, at $88.61 a barrel, and finishes the month 2% higher. Brent crude trades up 0.3% at $111.10 a barrel. Natural gas is down 2.4% today at about $3.56 per thousand cubic feet. Gold settled down 1% today at $1,712.70 an ounce, and finished the month down 0.5%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 3 points to 13,024.66 (0.02%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 2 points (-0.06%) to 3,010.24, and the S&P 500 rose 0.02% or less than 1 point to 1,416.18.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) started as ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) raised to ‘buy’ at Jefferies; Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) maintained as ‘outperform’ with a target price of $76.50 at Credit Suisse; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) started as ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; and Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: WPI) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a target price of $100 at Argus.

Earnings reports of interest since U.S. markets closed last night have resulted in price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Avago Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is down 0.5% at $34.93; OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) is 5% at $15.10; Youku Tudou Inc. (NYSE: YOKU) is up 1.1% at $17.07; Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is down 1.1% at $20.52 after posting a new 52-week low of $18.58 earlier today (more coverage here); ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is up 9.3% at $1.29 (more coverage here); and WhiteWave Foods Co. (NYSE: WWAV) is down 3.4% at $15.07 (more coverage here).

Before markets open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear only from LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), as earnings season winds down.

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is down 13.6% at $33.99. The Internet domain registry received a new six-year contract, but the terms were less than the company requested. More coverage here.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is down 5.7% at $2.47. The social network game company has loosened its ties with Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). More coverage here.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is down 9.8% at $4.10. The daily deals company’s board had decided to retain the current CEO.

Stay tuned for Monday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index
10:30 a.m. – Construction spending
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auction

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AVGO, BMY, CAG, COP, DUK, FB, GRPN, LDK, OVTI, SOL, VRSN, WPI, WWAV, YOKU, ZNGA, ZUMZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — November 29, 2012: Markets Hold onto Modest Gains (NTAP, LNCO, IACI, KMX, CREE, ARO, GES, TIVO, WDAY, BKS, KR, RY, TIF, AVGO, OVTI, YOKU, ZUMZ, SOL, WWAV, RIMM, BLOX, KSS)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:05:44 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning after the weekly report on new claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in lower than expected (more coverage here) and the second estimate of GDP indicated growth of 2.7% (more coverage here). In Asia, markets were generally higher on comments yesterday that negotiations on a solution the U.S. fiscal cliff were making progress. Shanghai was the exception, posting its lowest close in nearly four years. In Europe, Germany reported a 6.9% unemployment rate, as expected, (more coverage here) and a survey of eurozone business and consumer sentiment came in higher than expected. U.S. pending home sales rose sharply (more coverage here), but November same-store sales were disappointing (more coverage here). Equities dipped smartly when House Speaker Boehner denied that “substantive progress” had been made on fiscal cliff talks.

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.2% at 80.203. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.5% at 642.59, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed up 1.8% today, at $88.07 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 1% at $110.60 a barrel. Natural gas is down nearly 4% today at about $3.65 per thousand cubic feet, following the weekly storage report (more coverage here). Gold settled up 0.6% today at $1,727.20 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 37 points to 13,021.82 (0.28%), the NASDAQ rose more than 20 points (0.68%) to 3,012.03, and the S&P 500 rose 0.43% or about 6 points to 1,415.97.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) started as ‘underperform’ at CLSA; LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ: LNCO) started as ‘buy’ at Citi; IAC/InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $42 at Goldman Sachs; and Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank.

Earnings reports of interest since U.S. markets closed last night have resulted in price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is down 5.1% at $13.41 (more coverage here); Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) is up 2.3% at $25.84; Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is up 6.5% at $11.56; Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) is down 2.8% at $51.68; Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is 12.1% at $14.11 (more coverage here); Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is up 5% at $26.31 after posting a new 52-week high of $26.40 earlier today (more coverage here); Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is up 0.4% at $59.05; and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is down 7% at $59.30 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Avago Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), Youku Tudou Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), and WhiteWave Foods Co. (NYSE: WWAV).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is up 3% at $11.43. The smartphone maker continues to gather upgrades from analysts. More coverage here.

InfoBlox Inc. (NASDAQ: BLOX) is up 32.3% at $18.45. The automated network control maker handily beat expectations and raises guidance. More coverage here.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is down 10.9% at $45.56. The retailer posted a big decline in November same-store sales and third quarter revenues did not meet expectations..

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

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and spending
9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
3:00 p.m. – Farm prices

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ARO, AVGO, BKS, BLOX, CREE, GES, IACI, KMX, KR, KSS, LNCO, NTAP, OVTI, RIMM, RY, SOL, TIF, TIVO, WDAY, WWAV, YOKU, ZUMZ

Apple Ecosphere Stocks After Earnings

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:05:03 +0000

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was initially trading down around $591 after the shares were released from trading after its earnings report and its guidance were deemed a disappointment. Where this gets interesting is that the Apple has recovered and shares are now flat around $609.54, although officially Apple shares were down 1.2% today.

Apple’s ecosphere stocks, those companies which are deemed to be critical suppliers of parts to the company, are trading mixed in the after-hours.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) shares closed down 2% at $31.62 on the day, and shares were down 0.4% at $31.50 for a while in the after-hours session. On last look shares were up around $32 in the after-hours.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) fell 3.8% ahead of the report and shares are currently down 2.6% at $38.17.

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) dell 2.4% to $14.24 today but shares are now trading down around $14.10 after the report.

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) fell by 0.35% today to $57.43 and the shares are down 0.3% at $57.26 on last look in the after-hours.

Keep in mind that some of these shares may change wildly in either direction based upon many factors.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Active Trader Tagged: AAPL, BRCM, CRUS, OVTI, QCOM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — August 31, 2012: Markets Rise After Bernanke Speech (GLW, SE, TD, GRMN, MT, OVTI, SAI, STP, ZUMZ, CPB, HSOL, CPB, FB, SPLK, SABA, KNXA, IBM)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:03:04 +0000

Today’s issue of the “Closing Bell” is out early as we join many of you in an early start to the holiday weekend. Data in today’s report was compiled between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. ET.

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher this morning and were trending lower on stagnant unemployment reports and slightly higher inflation from Europe (our coverage here). The Chicago Fed PMI index also came in a bit lower than expected although it still indicates a modest expansion in the economy (our coverage here). Fed chairman Bernanke’s long-awaited remarks from Jackson Hole did not promise an expected new round of easing and that sent markets down to their lowest point of the day (our coverage here). Then a rumor surfaced that the ECB is still considering a yield band target as part of a bond buying program, and stocks ticked up to their highest point of the day before giving a little of the gain back just after noon.

The U.S. dollar index is lower today, now down 0.51% at 81.277. The GSCI commodity index is down fractionally today at 666.96, with commodities prices mostly higher and corn falling below $8.00/bushel again. WTI crude oil is trading up 1.7% today, at $96.24/barrel. Brent crude trades higher at $114.32/barrel. Natural gas is up 1.24% today to $2.782/thousand cubic feet. Gold is trading at $1,682.80/ounce, up 1.6% so far today.

At about 2:00 p.m. today, the DJIA is up more than 77 points to 13,077.77 (0.59%), the NASDAQ has risen more than 14 points (0.47%) to 3,062.98, and the S&P 500 is up 0.44% or about 6 points to 1,405.60.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) raised to ‘outperform’ with a target price of $16 at Oppenheimer; Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE) cut to ‘equal weight’ with a target price of $30 at Barclays Capital; Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) started as ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; and ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) started as ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Some companies that reported earnings since markets closed last night and have recent share price changes today include Omnivision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) are up 5.1% at $16.72; SAIC Inc. (NYSE: SAI) is up 4.3% at $12.32; Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is up 1.3% at $0.91; and Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is down 9.8% at $29.05.

Earnings releases scheduled before markets open on Tuesday morning include Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), Hanwha Solarone Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: HSOL), and Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is down 4.9% at $18.16 after hitting a new post-IPO low of $18.08 earlier today. The social network company’s stock was downgraded today on concerns over remaining share lockup exits. More coverage here.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) is up 14.4% at $34.89. The enterprise software company beat earnings estimates and raised guidance for the current quarter.

Saba Software Inc. (NASDAQ: SABA) is up 12.3% at $8.94. The HR cloud-based software maker continues to be considered a takeover target following the acquisition of Kenexa Corp. (NYSE: KNXA) by International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM).

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

9:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management PMI
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great holiday weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: CPB, FB, GLW, GRMN, HSOL, IBM, KNXA, MT, OVTI, SABA, SAI, SE, SPLK, STP, TD, ZUMZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — August 30, 2012: Markets Slide Waiting for Bernanke (HUM, YGE, AET, LPX, CTXS, LTRX, CHUY, TIVO, VRA, TD, OVTI, SAI, ZUMZ, P, CIEN, FSLR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 20:05:12 +0000

The three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower this morning on an absence of new data from overseas and an expected drop in new claims for unemployment benefits did not occur (our coverage here). Encouraging reports on August retail sales (more coverage here) bolstering a July rise in personal consumption expenditures of 0.4% (our coverage here). But the news everyone is waiting for won’t come until tomorrow, when Fed chairman Ben Bernanke gives a speech from the Jackson Hole conference. Will the Fed commit to more easing or won’t it? Bernanke is most likely to indicate in the oblique manner of the Fed that August unemployment figures, due out next Friday, will drive the decision on easing.

The U.S. dollar index rose today, now up 0.18% at 81.696. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally today at 668.71, with commodities prices mostly higher and corn at around $8.10/bushel. WTI crude oil finished down 0.9% today, closing at $94.62/barrel. Brent crude trades slightly higher at $112.66/barrel. Natural gas is up 2.4% today to $2.75/thousand cubic feet following the weekly storage report (more coverage here). Gold settled at $1,657.10/ounce, down 0.4% again today.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 107 points to 13,000.78 (-0.81%), the NASDAQ fell more than 32 points (-1.05%) to 3,048.71, and the S&P 500 fell -0.78% or about 11 points to 1,399.50.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) cut to ‘neutral’ with a lowered target price of $74 at Credit Suisse; Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) cut to ‘sell’ with a target price of $1.00 at ThinkEquity; Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) started as ‘neutral’ with a $43 target price at Credit Suisse; Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE: LPX) raised to ‘buy’ with a $16 target price at BofA; and Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) started as ‘neutral’ at Longbow Research.

Some companies that reported earnings since markets closed last night and have share price changes as of the last half hour of trading today include Lantronix Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRX) is down 7.9% at $1.87; Chuy’s Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUY) is up 7.5% at $20.70 after posting a new 52-week high of $21.60; Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is down 2.1% at $9.16; Vera Bradley Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) is down 8.3% at $21.66; and The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) is down 1.3% at $81.29.

Earnings releases scheduled before markets open tomorrow morning include Omnivision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), SAIC Inc. (NYSE: SAI), and Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is up 16.1% at $11.70. The internet radio provider beat earnings expectations last night and raised guidance. More coverage here.

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) is down 19.1% at $13.53. The networking coverage missed its EPS expectations and forecast a weaker quarter going forward. More coverage here.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down 17.3% at $20.02. The solar panel maker is ahead of schedule on a big project and will have to stop work for a while. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s long-awaited remarks from Jackson Hole are scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Reuters consumer confidence index
10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
3:00 p.m. – Farm prices

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AET, CHUY, CIEN, CTXS, FSLR, HUM, LPX, LTRX, OVTI, P, SAI, TD, TIVO, VRA, YGE, ZUMZ

Top Earnings Previews for the Week Ahead (STP, TIF, TFM, HNZ, JOY, P, CIEN, OVTI, SPLK)

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 17:57:09 +0000

We have prepared an earnings calendar for the week ahead. Considering that it is going to be a very lightly attended week for investors there are just not that many key earnings report on deck. Estimates were taken from Thomson Reuters and color has been added on this which we selected. Here is a list of some of the companies we are tracking for earnings reports in the week ahead:

Monday

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is not exactly important to the solar sector any longer, but it is important to know whether or not the company is doomed after it disclosed fraud against the company. Estimates are -$0.47 EPS and $472.15 million in sales.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is down over 25% from its highs still but this will be watched closely. Estimates for the July quarter are $0.74 EPS and $891.6 million in sales.

Wednesday

Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) has enjoyed what we would say is ‘the Whole Foods halo-effect’ and now we will see if it can live up to high expectations after having doubled off of its lows. Estimates are $0.27 EPS and $308 million in revenue.

H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) is expected to report $0.80 EPS and $2.84 billion in sales.

Joy Global Inc. (NYSE: JOY) is expected to report $1.88 EPS and $1.42 billion. Keep in mind that shares had been cut in almost half during the sell-off during the first half but they have recovered in the last 30 days or so.

Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) is expected to turn in earnings of -$0.03 EPS on almost $101 million in revenue. Last quarter the online radio provider managed to post a loss of only half as bad as expected.

Thursday

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) is set to report Thursday and its shares have so far been somewhat insulated from the woes of Europe and worries over telecom and communications equipment spending. Estimates are -$0.02 EPS and $473.5 million in revenue.

OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) will be closely watched since it is supposed to be an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone supply winner. Estimates are $0.22 EPS and $243.77 million. It was treated harshly after missing its last earnings expectations.

Splunk, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) has managed to hold up well with its real-time operational intelligence for data management inside enterprises. It has only been public since April so this will be its first full quarter report as a public company. Estimates are -$0.04 EPS and $39.8 billion in revenue.

As a note, these estimates and dates can change and some may have already changed.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Active Trader, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: AAPL, CIEN, HNZ, JOY, OVTI, P, SPLK, STP, TFM, TIF

13 Unusual After-Hours Stocks on the Move (AKAM, FTNT, LVS, STX, WDC, OVTI, SYNC, TEX, TSCO, WFM, TFM, ZNGA, FB)

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:15:36 +0000

These are the 24/7 Wall St. unusual after-hours stocks on the move. Most of the movers are on earnings news.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) loved its earnings report as shares are up over 16% at $32.80 on more than 725,000 shares since the closing bell.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) is up over 10% at $24.73 on well over 200,000 shares. The company beat expectations on its earnings report.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) is down 6% at $35.25 on more than 2.4 million shares after a big earnings disappointment.

Great news in disk drive earnings…. Seagate Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: STX) is up 8.3% at $28.51 on more than 600,000 shares since the close of trading. Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is up almost 18% at $38.28 on more than 1 million shares since the closing bell.

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) is up big with a 9% gain to $13.67 but only on 23,000 shares since the closing bell.

Synacor, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNC) is down almost 19% at $10.50 on about 70,000 shares since the closing bell. The company known for TV everywhere missed its earnings expectations.

Terex Corporation (NYSE: TEX) is up 16% at $16.36 after earnings and more than 73,000 shares have traded hands.

Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) is up 6% at $83.70 on nearly 500,000 shares after posting a 17% gain in earnings and managing to lift its guidance.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) is soaring after beating earnings and raising guidance. The margins are now 3-times that of some rivals in the grocery business. Shares are up close to 11% at $93.67 on over 1.2 million shares since the closing bell. Its smaller and fairly new rival called The Fresh Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) is up 7% at $55.06 as a secondary trade with only about 20,000 shares having traded hands.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is getting crushed after cutting its earnings outlook for the year in half after a truly poor earnings report with only $0.01 EPS. As of 5:55 PM EST we had shares down 36.4% at $3.23 on more than 18 million shares. The news is also bashing Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) as the two are tied for better or worse ahead of the social networking giant’s own earnings report Thursday. Facebook shares are down 7.6% at $27.10 on more than 2.5 million shares after the close of trading.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Active Trader, After-Hours Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AKAM, FB, FTNT, LVS, OVTI, STX, SYNC, TEX, TFM, TSCO, WDC, WFM, ZNGA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — June 1, 2012 (FB, HPQ, JWN, S, BX, MY, OVTI, RLD, VRA, AMSC, CIM, DG, GAME, CONN, GRPN, XRA, SPLK)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 20:06:30 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened sharply lower this morning on weak PMI reports from Europe and even weaker news on US employment (our coverage here). The US ISM manufacturing index fell more than expected and US construction spending rose less than expected (more coverage here). The SPX Volatility Index hit a 2012 high of 26.67 in mid-afternoon. Shares look set to close today down more than -2%.

The US dollar index slipped today, now down -0.25% at 82.833. The GSCI commodity index is down about -1.2% at 596.20, with commodities prices generally lower on the weak economic news. WTI crude oil closed down -1.5% at $83.23/barrel, ending the week down -8%. Brent crude trades down -3.1% at $98.70/barrel (more coverage here). Natural gas fell -3.9% today to $2.33/thousand cubic feet. Gold was today’s big winner, settling up 3.7% today, at $1,622.10/ounce, for the yellow metal’s biggest single-day jump since last August.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 276 points to 12,117.05 (-2.23%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 80 points (-2.82%) to 2,747.48, and the S&P 500 fell -2.47% or more than 32 points to 1,278.03.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) started as ‘outperform’ at R.W. Baird, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) cut to ‘hold’ at Jefferies; Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura and started as ‘outperform’ at RBC; Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; and The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) raised to the ‘Conviction Buy’ list at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have been scarce, but here are some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today: China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd. (NYSE: MY) is down -6.2% at $1.36; OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) is down -19.1% at $13.09; RealD Inc. (NYSE: RLD) is down -5.5% at $11.31; and Vera Bradley Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) is down -8.9% at $19.93 after posting a new 52-week low of $19.52 earlier today.

On Monday, we are scheduled to get earnings reports from American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC), Chimera Investment Corp. (NYSE: CIM), Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG), Shanda Games Ltd. (NASDAQ: GAME), and Conn’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is down -9.3% at $9.65, after posting a new post-IPO low of $9.53 earlier today. The Internet coupon site’s insider lock-up period ended today. More coverage here.

Exeter Resource Corp. (AMEX: XRA) is up 10.4% at $2.01. The junior miner is one of many gold and silver mining stocks that posted big gains today. More coverage here.

Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) is down -15.3% at $27.58 after posting a new post-IPO low of $27.31 earlier today. The data analytics company posted its first report as a public company, and beat estimates on revenues and the size of the EPS loss. Even the forecast for the current quarter and the full year beat estimates. Some days you just can’t win.

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

10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Have a great weekend!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMSC, BX, CIM, CONN, DG, FB, GAME, GRPN, HPQ, JWN, MY, OVTI, RLD, S, SPLK, VRA, XRA

Analysts Talk Up Apple & Friends Ahead of WWDC (AAPL, IBM, OVTI)

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:25:18 +0000

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) remains the darling of Wall Street as one of the few powerhouses still managing to grow. We have seen two solid research calls showing positive expectations ahead of its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The company has sent out invites to a keynote on Monday, June 11, that will kick off its 2012 WWDC in San Francisco.

Stern Agee’s Shaw Wu reiterated his Buy rating and the price target is $780.00. While a lot of attention has been around the potential for new Macs, Wu believes Apple’s bigger news will be about its new iOS and OS X software features.

International Business Machines Co. (NYSE: IBM) also got an honorable mention here. Wu said, “Tim Cook & Co. will headline a keynote on Monday, June 11, to kick off its annual WWDC event in San Francisco. While a lot of anticipation and focus has been on potential new hardware announcements including new Macs, we believe the bigger news could be around new iOS and OS X software features including enhanced Maps and photosharing. AAPL continues to be one of our top picks along with IBM.”

The well-known analyst Gene Muster of Piper Jaffray, who has been a very long-term bull in Apple, expects Apple to demonstrate its television set sooner rather than later. He called it a “when rather than if” scenario. Despite what he expects will be a $2,000 target price, Muster believes that Apple can take as much as 10% of this television market. As far as the when, Munster thinks the announcement comes in the second half of 2012 and will be released during the first half of 2013. Keep in mind that Gene Munster believes Apple’s stock price can hit $1,000 within two years.

Another positive call came today from R.W. Baird on OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) despite a huge drop of 12% after earnings fears may have it losing some Apple business. Baird’s call noted that it believes that Apple has been selected as a supplier for camera chipsets as a second supplier for the rear-facing camera in he next iPhone. J.P. Morgan also suggested that Omnivision may have won additional business from Apple. Both analysts acknowledged the drop here, which is a sharp fall of over 12% to $12.18.

Apple is down over $9.00, or .6%, along with the broad market and shares are at $568.35 against a 52-week range of $310.50 to $644.00. The consensus target price from Thomson Reuters is $708.50 as of now.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Consumer Electronics, PC Companies, Technology, Technology Companies Tagged: AAPL, featured, IBM, OVTI