24/7 Wall St. » PAAS

After The Fall, Huge Upside & Value In Gold/Silver Miners (GDX, SIL, ABX, GG, NEM, AU, KGC, AEM, GFI, AUY, IAG, HMY, EGO, RGLD, SLW, PAAS)

Administrator — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:44:10 +0000

Gold and silver have finally indicated that the free fall we saw over the last month may have at least stabilized. The markets are mixed today in the commodities and the miners and we admit that no one truly knows what is the bottom-dollar that these can hit and no one knows the real top-dollar that investors will pay in a rally. What we do know is that the sell-off has literally gutted many of the key players in gold and silver and there is huge upside and value here if the consensus analyst price targets for one year from now are anywhere near correct.

At issue may be a stock market stabilization, or perhaps it is a stabilization aimed solely at the commodities and those companies which profit from either the rise of commodity prices or the rise of the demand for those commodities. It was just yesterday evening that Dennis Gartman of the Gartman Letter was talking up gold miners as his method of choice to play the current bounce in gold.

To show just how much implied upside there is we found some large cap gold stocks that have upside of about 100% and many of the big players have implied upside of well over 50%. The key ETFs for these miners show just how widespread the damage was during the last sell-off. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (AMEX: GDX) trades at $43.35 against a 52-week trading range of $39.08 to $66.98 and that is down about 35% as a group from the highs. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (AMEX: SIL) trades at $18.00 against a 52-week range of $16.54 to $29.05 and that is down almost 38% from its high in the last year.

We included the implied dividend yields but due to foreign issues and ADRs causing currency translations and due to some payouts not being quarter like U.S. companies do, we would urge you to only consider the dividend as a footnote and something you should be verifying on your own. Besides that, who buys gold (and silver) miners because of their dividend yields only?

We have evaluated the following large-cap gold stocks: Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX); Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG); Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM); AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU); Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC); Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM); Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE: GFI); Yamana Gold, Inc. (NYSE: AUY); IAMGOLD Corp. (NYSE: IAG); Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMY); Eldorado Gold Corp. (NYSE: EGO); and Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD). We have covered also two of the larger silver players of Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) and Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS).

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) traded at $37.60 and has a market value of $37.6 billion. The consensus target price from Thomson Reuters is $59.10 and the 52-week range is $34.82 to $55.95. Barrick has a dividend yield of 2.2%. The implied upside to the consensus target: 57% but we would note that the target is above the 52-week high.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) traded at $34.90 with a market value of $28.2 billion. The consensus target price from Thomson Reuters is $60.42 and the 52-week trading range is $32.16 to $56.31. Goldcorp’s most recent yield was listed as 1.6%. The implied upside to the consensus target is 73% but we would note that the consensus target is still above the 52-week high.

Filed under: ADR, Commodities, Corporate Governance, ETF, Metals, Trading Alert, Value Investing Tagged: ABX, AEM, AU, AUY, EGO, GDX, GFI, GG, HMY, IAG, KGC, NEM, PAAS, RGLD, SIL, SLW

Royal Gold’s Reserves Grow Even as Results Lag (RGLD, ABX, KGC, NEM, GG, PAAS, GLD)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:00:30 +0000

For those who believe that the price of gold is going to rise, Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) may be worth another look. Shares are essentially flat over the past 12 months, but the company’s results have been outstanding even though they slightly missed estimates for the company’s third fiscal quarter.

The company owns shares of production in mines operated by Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC), Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), and Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) among many others. The company gets a portion of production without the impact of rising costs on production, costs which have bedeviled the miners for some time now.

For the company’s third quarter EPS came in at $0.44 versus a consensus estimate of $0.45. Revenues rose to $69.6 million, compared with an estimate of $69 million. Royal Gold also reported an increase in its gold reserves this morning, from a previous total of 83.9 million ounces of gold and 12.4 billion ounces of silver to 84.5 million ounces of gold and 1.2 billion ounces of silver.

After applying the company’s royalty participation formula, Royal Gold claims its precious metals reserves increased 19% on a gold equivalent basis from December 2010 to December 2011.

The consensus estimate for 2012 EPS is $1.83, growing to $2.32 in 2013. The company’s dividend yield is just 1%, and an increase to the annual $0.15/share dividend would probably help the stock more than another gold strike.

Compared with the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (AMEX: GLD), Royal Gold comes up a little short, with five-year share-price growth of 101% compared with growth of 138% for the ETF.

Royal Gold’s shares hit an all-time high last September near $84 and it’s trading today at $59.65, down about -2.3% from last night’s close. The 52-week range is $55.00-$83.87. Year-to-date shares are down -11.6%, even after a jump above $75/share following a January at-the-market purchase of 4 million shares by Goldman Sachs. Shares could be available at a bargain price real soon now.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Commodities, Earnings, Metals Tagged: ABX, GG, GLD, KGC, NEM, PAAS, RGLD

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BBY, BWLD, CR, EMC, EXLP, GPS, IBN, INVN, LULU, MU, PAAS, BTU, RTN, RIMM, VVUS)

Administrator — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:07:22 +0000

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

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) Maintained Hold at Argus.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) Started as Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Crane Company (NYSE: CR) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

EMC Inc. (NYSE: EMC) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $36 at Argus.

Exterran Partners L.P. (NYSE: EXLP) Started as Neutral with $23 target at Credit Suisse.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Raised to Buy at Janney.

ICICI Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

InvenSense, Inc. (NASDAQ: INVN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer; Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Started as Buy at UBS.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Reiterated Buy with $11 target at Jefferies.

Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Maintained Underperform with $12 target at Jefferies.

VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Raised to Buy at Brean Murray.

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: Analyst Calls Tagged: BBY, BTU, BWLD, CR, EMC, EXLP, GPS, IBN, INVN, LULU, MU, PAAS, RIMM, RTN, VVUS

Silver’s Re-Run: The Devil’s Metal Lives On (SLV, GLD, AGQ, SLW, PAAS, HL)

Administrator — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:56:35 +0000

Is it starting to feel like the silly season all over again? On a day after higher consumer confidence and weak durable goods, spot gold is up just over 1% at $1,788.90 but spot silver is up almost 4% at $36.99 per ounce. Silver is now at a high back to when the rug was yanked out from under its feet in September. A Euro cash infusion and a 10% silver mine activity in December may be adding fuel to today’s fire.

iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is up 5% at $36.06 and we have seen 20.6 million shares trade at 12:45 PM EST versus an average volume of 18 million shares. The ProShares Ultra Silver (NYSE: AGQ) is up 10% at $73.20 and it has already crossed its average daily volume as well with its double-leverage. The SPDR Gold Trust now has more than $71 billion in assets and it is up ‘only’ 1.2% at $173.80.

The individual stocks are lagging today. Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW) is up 3.45% at $39.83. Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS) is up 2.7% at $26.08. Even the most battered of the lot in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL) is up only 1.9% at $5.33.

Silver has more industrial use than gold, besides silver is called the devil’s metal for a reason. We’ve seen this movie before.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Commodities, Industry, Luxury, Metals, Trading Alert Tagged: AGQ, GLD, HL, PAAS, SLV, SLW

Top Earnings Previews For Wednesday (ADI, ANGI, SAM, CHS, CLH, ESRX, FLR, GRMN, HPQ, LTD, PAAS, SINA, TJX, TOL, ZLC)

Administrator — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:25:23 +0000

This week is still slated to be busy for earnings reports. We have compiled earnings previews for the following stocks reporting Wednesday: Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI); Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI); Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM); Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS); Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH); Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX); Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR); Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN); Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ); Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD); Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS); SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA); TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX); Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL); and Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC).

Included in the previews are some pricing data and color on each preview. Estimates are the consensus targets from Thomson Reuters.

Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) is now up 35% from last year’s low and within about 6% of a 52-week high after many of the chip names have had phenomenal 2012 moves. Estimates are $0.48 EPS on $662.3 million in sales.

Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) is set to see its first public earnings release. We have always wondered about its lack of earnings as sort of unacceptable, but so far Wall Street has stayed by it. Estimates are -$0.11 EPS on $25.38 million in sales. At $15.20, the post-IPO range is $10.77 to $18.75.

Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM) remains at a premium value on its earnings at 24-times expected 2012 earnings estimates. Estimates are $1.12 EPS and $131.6 million in sales.

Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) is still trying to get its ship back in order. Estimates are $0.11 EPS and $546.66 million in sales.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) has remained highly valued and it has recently split its stock after an incredible share move in recent years. Estimates are $0.48 EPS and $506.04 million in sales. 4Q 0.49

Express Scripts Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) is still pending a review by the FTC in its attempt to acquire Medco. Many feel that the deal could be blocked. Earnings estimates are $0.85 EPS on sales of $11.6 billion.

Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR) still remains well off of its highs and is still at a premium at 16.5-times expected 2012 earnings for this infrastructure design leader. Estimates are $0.82 EPS and $6.38 billion in sales.

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) is expected to report $0.66 EPS on $769.9 million in sales. The turnaround continues here as it continues to move away from being dependent upon Garmin sales for in-car navigation.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is still just getting a plan underway for its Meg Whitman-lead turnaround. Estimates are $0.87 EPS on $30.7 billion in sales.

Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) is expected to post $1.46 EPS and $3.47 billion in sales.

Pan American Silver Corporation (NASDAQ: PAAS) is expected to report earnings of $0.51 EPS on $229.59 million in revenues. We will be looking for its cost per ounce of production in silver.

SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) is expected to report $0.21 EPS on $129.34 million in sales. This stock remains down by more than half from last-year’s highs.

TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) remains at a premium valuation and shares hit a new all-time high on Tuesday. Estimates are $0.62 EPS on $6.72 billion in sales.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is expected to report $0.02 EPS on $360.8 million in sales. Home builders are profitable again, often from ‘other’ activities. Shares just hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday.

Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) is expected to post its “money quarter” that includes the holiday sales. Estimates are $0.77 EPS on $657.38 million in revenue. Keep in mind that this company is still expected to lose money for its full year ending in July.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: ADI, ANGI, CHS, CLH, ESRX, FLR, GRMN, HPQ, LTD, PAAS, SAM, SINA, TJX, TOL, ZLC

Gold & Silver Miners Love Low-Rate Outlook (SLW, PAAS, GG, NEM, KGC, AEM, GDX, GDXJ, SIL)

Administrator — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:07:06 +0000

Silver and gold miners just got some great news today after having lost so much luster in recent months. The FOMC has now telegraphed that it expects that interest rates will remain exceptionally low through at least the end of 2014. While an expectation is not a formal pledge nor a formal promise, this is much longer than what the public had been told over and over before. The prior language was “through at least mid-2013″…

Silver Wheaton Corporation (NYSE: SLW) is up 6.7% at $34.07, and the 52-week trading range is $25.84 to $47.60.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is still only flat at $21.85 but it was lower before the FOMC comments today. The 52-week trading range is $19.93 to $43.06.

Goldcorp Incorporated (NYSE: GG) is up 5.2% at $46.70, and the 52-week trading range is $39.93 to $56.31.

Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) is up 3.4% at $59.43, and the 52-week trading range is $50.05 to $72.42.

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) up over 6% at $11.23, and the 52-week trading range is $9.96 to $18.25.

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) up 8% at $37.23, and the 52-week trading range is $34.36 to $76.49.

ETFs are rocking as well. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) is up 5.3% at $54.58 against a 52-week range of $49.22 to $66.98. Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (NYSE: GDXJ) is up 6.5% at $28.66 against a 52-week range of $22.58 to $42.97. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is up 3.9% at $23.69 and the 52-week range is $19.05 to $31.34.

The logic is simple enough… This signals extremely low interest rates and low costs of borrowing. It also signals that investors will have to look elsewhere yet again to seek higher returns than short-term and intermediate-term Treasuries. As this means that rates will be low in the U.S. for longer than expected, that is going to drive a weak dollar policy as long as things remain static in Europe and in other major economic zones. That is the perfect storm for gold and silver as they are often inversely correlated to the dollar.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, ADR, Commodities, Consumer Goods, Corporate Governance, Currency, Economy Tagged: AEM, GDX, GDXJ, GG, KGC, NEM, PAAS, SIL, SLW

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (NFLX, PAAS, HAL, HD, KORS, APD, BHI, CLWR, APD, BHI, CLWR, EMC, WDC, CSX, ZION, AAPL, BLRX, LEE, BONT, IDCC, ACHN)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:11:04 +0000

All three major equity indexes opened lower this morning and while all have tracked back to last night’s close, only the Nasdaq Composite has managed to wobble to a small gain for the day. The stalled negotiations between Greece and its bondholders are weighing down European markets and the effects are felt on this side of the Atlantic. Earnings reports haven’t boosted the market at all today, even though some have been quite good. The euro has hit $1.30 again. In commodities, WTI crude oil is down -0.51% at $99.07/barrel and Brent crude is down -0.36% at $110.18/barrel. Gold closed off -0.77% at $1,665.30/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 33 points to12,675.75 (-0.26%), the NASDAQ rose just 2 points (0.09%) to 2,786.64, and the S&P 500 fell -0.10% or just more than 1 point to 1,314.63.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) maintained as ‘outperform’ with a $100 target price at Credit Suisse; Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) maintained as ‘outperform’ but estimates lowered at Credit Suisse; Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) maintained as ‘buy’ but target price lowered to $54 at Argus; Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reiterated as ‘buy’ and target price raised to $51 at Argus; ;and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) started as ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley, as ‘outperform’ at Baird, and as ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) is down nearly -3% at $87.29; Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) is down -0.57% at $47.46; Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is up 2% at $1.79; EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) is up 6.7% at $25.01; Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) is up 6.2% at $36.85; CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) is down -3.5% at $21.89; and Zions Bancorp. (NYSE: ZION) is down -7.6% at $17.15. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reports earnings after markets close today. See our coverage here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX) is up nearly 79% at $5.88 after posting a new 52-week high today of $6.87. The biopharmaceutical company has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with a French company to develop and market its hepatitis C drug.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LEE) is up more than 26% at $1.39. The newspaper company has been granted permission to exit bankruptcy protection.

The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) is up nearly 18% at $3.81. The department store operator has hired a new CEO who was previously the CEO at Lord & Taylor, before that chain was acquired by a Canadian company.

InterDigital Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC) is down nearly -20% at $35.68. The wireless technology developed has shut down its “strategic review” without finding a buyer and will continue to seek additional patent sales and licensing agreements.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) is up more than 17% at $10.79. The drug company, which is developing its own hepatitis C drug, is enjoying a halo effect from BioLineRx’s announcement.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. President Barack Obama delivers his state of the union address at 9:00 P.M ET tonight. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:00 a.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
10:30 a.m. – 5-year Treasury note auction
2:15 p.m. – Fed chairman Ben Bernanke press conference

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: AAPL, ACHN, APD, BHI, BLRX, BONT, CLWR, CSX, EMC, HAL, HD, IDCC, KORS, LEE, NFLX, PAAS, WDC, ZION

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CAL, HAL, HMY, HD, IBI, KLAC, KORS, NFLX, NIHD, NVLS, PAAS, TXN, UNP, ZUMZ)

Administrator — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:14:33 +0000

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

Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) Reiterated Buy but lowered target to $54 at Argus.
Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMY) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Reiterated Buy and raised price target to $51 at Argus.
Interline Brands, Inc. (NYSE: IBI) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE: KORS) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Outperform at Baird; Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Maintained Outperform with $100 target at Credit Suisse.
NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: NIHD) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) maintained Outperform but lowered estimates at Credit Suisse.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $40 at Credit Suisse; Cut to Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $130 at Argus.
Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

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: Analyst Calls Tagged: CAL, HAL, HD, HMY, IBI, KLAC, KORS, NFLX, NIHD, NVLS, PAAS, TXN, UNP, ZUMZ

Top Earnings & Economic Events In The Week Ahead (PCLN, AONE, ATVI, PAAS, TM, CSCO, CSC, GM, GMCR, M, SLW, MCP, JWN, NVDA, DIS)

Administrator — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:51:33 +0000

Earnings season has peaked, but we still have many key earnings reports and economic events coming in the week ahead. 24/7 Wall St. has featured a calendar with events scheduled all-week on the earnings and economic front.

The earnings previews are as follows: priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN); A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE); Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS); Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC); General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M); Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW); Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP); Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS). Earnings estimates are from Thomson Reuters.

For each day of the week we have also added in the key economic events to watch for as well.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7

priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) is expected to report $9.30 EPS and $1.42 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $5.14 EPS and $996.75 million in revenues.

10:00 AM EST Employment Trends Index (October)

3:00 PM EST Consumer Credit (September)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8

A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is expected to report -$0.38 EPS and $66.3 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are -$0.35 EPS and $84.2 million in revenues.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is expected to report $0.02 EPS and $558.4 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.53 EPS and $2.1 billion in revenues.

Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) is expected to report $0.78 EPS and $260.8 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.66 EPS and $247.58 million in revenues.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) is expected to report $0.41 EPS and $52 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $1.03 EPS and $66.47 billion in revenues. As a reminder, this will originally be in Yen and the Yen has been at record highs and it could impact the figures.

7:30 AM EST NFIB Small Business Sentiment (October)

4:30 PM EST API Weekly Oil Inventories

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, Economy, The Week Tagged: AONE, ATVI, CSC, CSCO, DIS, GM, GMCR, JWN, M, MCP, NVDA, PAAS, PCLN, SLW, TM

24/7 Closing Bell (AMD, FSLR, POT, PAAS, S, OXY, CVX, CSTR, MRK, BIDU, WY, IPG, SWC, ALGN, STMP, CPSI, CODE, DRIV)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:04:59 +0000

Markets opened slightly lower this morning and spent the morning trying to decide on a direction. The Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose more than expected, but even that was not enough to charge up investors. In the early afternoon, advances were leading declines on the NYSE, while the status was just the reverse on NASDAQ. Both oil and gold prices were slightly lower after rising sharply yesterday. So far this month, markets are up a solid 13%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly more than 21 points to 12,230.35 (0.18%), the NASDAQ fell about -1.5 points (-0.05%) to2,737.15, and the S&P 500 rose 0.03% or about 0.47 points to 1,285.06.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including a raise for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) was maintained at ‘buy’ but the target price was cut to $90 at Argus; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) cut to ‘sector perform’ at Scotia; Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) cut to ‘sector perform’ at CIBC; Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) raised to ‘outperform’ at Macquarie; and Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) raised to ‘outperform’ with a new target price of $135 at Credit Suisse.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is up 0.3%, at $109.99, two pennies short of a new 52-week high; Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is down about -7.6%, at $48.91; Merck (NYSE: MRK) is up 2.3%, at $35.10; Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is up 4.33% (our coverage here), at $144.38; Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) is up 1.6%, at $18.23; and The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) is up 11.6%, at $9.94 (our coverage here).

Several other standouts from today follow …

Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) is up more than 27%, at $12.65. The company beat earnings estimates this morning, and has reiterated its production estimates for platinum and palladium for 2011. Stillwater recycled 133,500 ounces of platinum, palladium, and rhodium in the third quarter, up 70% from the same period a year ago.

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) is up more than 34%, at $23.94. The company posted solid earnings for the third quarter and announced a $150 million stock buyback program. Align manufactures and sells Invisalign teeth straightening products.

Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ: STMP) is up more than 25%, at $32.48 — a new 52-week high — following an outstanding earnings report. Stamps.com raised its non-GAAP EPS estimate for the second time this year, to $1.20-$1.40. The company originally estimated non-GAAP EPS of $0.85-$1.05.

Computer Programs and Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CPSI) are down more than -28%, at $51.10. The company missed both revenue and EPS estimates for the quarter, and the fourth-quarter outlook is also weak. The company’s $1.44/share dividend takes some of the sting out of the poor results.

Spansion Inc. (NYSE: CODE) is down more than -25%, at $10.46, after posting a new 52-week lower earlier today of $9.17. The company released a weaker fourth-quarter forecast and announced the closure of its plant in Kuala Lumpur as part of its effort to cut costs.

Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) is down more than -19%, at $18.52. The company’s third-quarter earnings were short of expectations and the fourth-quarter forecast was lowered.

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

9:45 a.m. — Chicago Purchasing Managers Index
3:00 p.m. — USDA farm prices

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Market Close Tagged: ALGN, AMD, BIDU, CODE, CPSI, CSTR, CVX, DRIV, FSLR, IPG, MRK, OXY, PAAS, POT, S, STMP, SWC, WY