24/7 Wall St. » PIR

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AKS, ALU, AWK, APA, AF, AZK, DRI, HBAN, PHG, LTD, PIR, Rl, RL, UL, URBN, VIP, WBMD, WCC)

Administrator — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:07:18 +0000

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

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Outperform with $12 target at Credit Suisse.
Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Raised to Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann.
Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Astoria Financial Corporation (NYSE: AF) Cut to UNderweight at JPMorgan.
Aurizon Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AZK) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LTD) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Started as Hold at Argus.
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
WebMD Health Corporation (NASDAQ: WBMD) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
WESCO International (NYSE: WCC) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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, IPOs, M&A, 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: AF, AKS, ALU, APA, AWK, AZK, DRI, HBAN, LTD, PHG, PIR, RL, UL, URBN, VIP, WBMD, WCC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CSCO, FSLR, SI, BRCM, AFFY, DFS, FDX, PIR, SCHL, WGO, SONO, NVLS, GEVO, ZOLL, BPAX, PEIX)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:05:03 +0000

US markets opened fast this morning, up nearly 1% in the first hour of trading before giving most of the gain back by mid-morning and then wandering around a gain of less than 0.5% for the rest of the day. Better manufacturing data from Europe, and solid manufacturing gains in the US helped the market in the early going. The US dollar was down against the euro, the yen, and the British pound. Crude oil prices fell today, with WTI down more than -1.5% at $93.44/barrel and Brent down about -0.9% at $103.33. Gold continued its slide as well today, down more than -1% at $1,568.80/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 47 points to 11,869.95 (0.39%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 2 points (0.07%) to 2,541.01, and the S&P 500 rose 0.33% or about 4 points to 1,215.83.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) started as ‘buy’ at Nomura. Other ratings actions today include First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ at R.W. Baird; Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; and Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFY) raised from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is down -3.2% at $23.06; FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) is up almost 8% at $83.45; Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) is up 0.23% at $13.17; Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHL) is up more than 4% at $26.73; and Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO) is down -0.15% at $6.80.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

SonoSite Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO) is up more than 27% at $53.68, a new 52-week high. The ultrasound device maker has been acquired by Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Inc. for $54/share, or about $995 million. Our coverage is here.

Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is up more than 17% at $40.68, after posting a new 52-week high of $42.50 earlier today. The semiconductor equipment maker is being acquired by Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) for $3.3 billion in an all-stock deal. More coverage here.

Gevo Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) is up more than 13.5% at $6.41. The biofuel and chemical company signed an agreement with The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) to develop a new bio-derived plastic bottle.

Zoll Medical Corp. (NASDAQ: ZOLL) is up more than 29% at $60.47, after posting a new 52-week high earlier today of $63.86. The medical device maker’s wearable defibrillator has been re-affirmed for Medicare coverage.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is down more than -77% at $0.48, after posting a new 52-week low of $0.46 earlier today. The biopharmaceutical company reported that its experimental drug to enhance libido in post-menopausal women failed a late-stage trial.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is down nearly -18% at $0.87. The ethanol maker announced the completion of a sale of about 12.6 million shares and warrants to 11 private investors for just over $8 million in cash.

Stay tuned for Friday. Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans and Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher are speaking tomorrow. Here is another other noteworthy event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index for November released

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AFFY, BPAX, BRCM, CSCO, DFS, FDX, FSLR, GEVO, NVLS, PEIX, PIR, SCHL, SI, SONO, WGO, ZOLL

November Same-Store Sales Mixed, Winners and Losers (LTD, TLB, COST, TGT, M, DDS, JWN, KSS, GPS, ROST, JCP, TJX, LULU, SSI, PIR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:17:59 +0000

Retailers are reporting November sales this morning and the results are decidely mixed. The best report we’ve seen so far this morning is from Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) and the worst is from The Talbot’s Inc. (NYSE: TLB). In between are reports from Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP), TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX), Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU), Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI), and Pier One Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR)

Limited Brands’ same-store sales rose 7%, compared with a consensus estimate of 4.4%. Net sales fell by -2.3%, however, from $893 million a year ago to $872.6 million. The company also announced a $2/share special dividend to be paid on December 23rd to shareholders of record on December 12th.

The Talbot’s Inc. (NYSE: TLB) reported third-quarter earnings this morning and posted an adjusted EPS loss of -$0.22, compared with a consensus estimate of an EPS loss of -$0.16. Same-store sales fell by -4% in November. Talbot’s has closed 35 store locations so far this year and plans to close a total of 110 locations by the end of its 2013 fiscal year.

Costco’s same-store sales rose 7%, excluding gasoline and currency effects. Including gasoline, sales were up 9%. Analysts were expecting a rise of 6.5%.

Target posted a same-store sales gain of 1.8% in November, but analysts were looking for a gain of 2.8%. The company’s CEO said that he expects December to offer a “competitive and promotional environment as consumers continue to focus on value.”

Macy’s same-store sales rose 4.8% last month, and total sales were up 5.3%. The consensus estimate for same-store sales was an increase of 4.1%.

Dillard’s posted a same-store sales jump of 3%, in-line with the average estimate.

Nordstrom reported November same-store sales rose 5.6%, compared with an average analyst estimate of 5%. Total sales rose nearly 12% in November.

Kohl’s reported that November same-store sales fell -6.2%, while analysts were expecting a 2% increase. The CEO called the results “disappointing,” and said that the company expects to benefit from customers seeking value during the remainder of the holiday shopping season.

Gap same-store sales fell by -5%, more than the analysts’ expectation of a -4.3% decline. The company’s CEO expects December to “to remain fiercely competitive and highly promotional.”

Ross posted a same-store sales increase of 5% in November, better than the 3.7% that analysts were expecting. The company said it expects a 3%-4% increase in December as well.

Penney’s same-store sales fell -2% in November, compared with a -1.6% decline expected by the analysts. Total sales also fell by nearly -6% in the month.

TJX reported same-store sales growth of 4%, in-line with the average estimate. The company’s CEO said that the store would have performed better but for the warmer weather which put off winter clothes buying.

Lululemon reported third-quarter earnings today, noting that same-store sales jumped 16% in the quarter. Shares are down more than -11% in the first half-hour of trading this morning. Here’s our coverage of the company’s earnings report.

Stage Stores reported same-store sales rose 2.3%, compared with an estimate for a flat month. Total sales rose 4.3%, and the company’s CEO said that the final week of the month was “very strong.”

Pier One released third quarter sales figures today, and same-store sales for the quarter ending November 27th rose 7%. The company said quarterly EPS would be $0.20-$0.21, compared with the consensus EPS estimate of $0.18. Same-store sales for the holiday weekend were up 10% over last year.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Apparel, Consumer Goods, Economy, Retail Tagged: COST, DDS, GPS, JCP, JWN, KSS, LTD, LULU, M, PIR, ROST, SSI, TGT, TJX, TLB

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (ALU, AMZN, AAPL, CSCO, CSC, CXW, DF, EPD, GNW, GMCR, GRPN, HD, MPEL, PIR, SRDX, TEVA, VRTX, YRCW, ALIM)

Administrator — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:19:38 +0000

Each morning 24/7 Wall St. issues a summary list of key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations issued by Wall Street research firms. We review these calls and other calls made throughout the week to see which stand out the most. Some are great calls that were full of insight, while others were total flops. After reviewing and filtering all of these research reports, we end up with the top analyst calls of the week.

We had many key calls that stood out this week in shares of the following: Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU); Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC); Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE:CXW); Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF); Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD); Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN); The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD); Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL); Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR); SurModics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX); Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA); Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX); and YRC Worldwide. Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW).

We have broken each of these calls out and added in color where applicable.

Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) can’t get off the floor and it keeps disappointing. Shares even closed at $1.99 after seeing a year low of $1.92 on Friday. Alcatel’s chart looks almost the same as the chart of late-2008, but it cannot blame the market this time. We saw three downgrades worth noting this last week: Cut to Sell at Citigroup; Cut estimates and target at Argus; and Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) had two big calls this last week. The main call was on Friday when Nomura issued a very unenthusiastic NEUTRAL rating. The other call came on Thursday when Zacks added it to the STRONG SELL list. With valuations still very high and with profit margins running razor-thin, it seems that at least some caution should prevail unless the holiday season is going to blow the doors of the hinges here.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week Tagged: AAPL, ALIM, ALU, AMZN, CSC, CSCO, CXW, DF, EPD, GMCR, GNW, GRPN, HD, MPEL, PIR, SRDX, TEVA, VRTX, YRCW

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALU, AIG, DK, GRPN, HD, ING, K, MDVN, PIR, DGX, TOL, VE, PAY, WES, YRCW)

Administrator — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:22:59 +0000

These are some of Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls.

Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Sell at Citigroup; Cut estimates and target at Argus.
American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DK) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) Started as Buy at Benchmark.
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
ING Groep NV (NYSE: ING) Cut to Hold at Soc-Gen.
Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Veolia Environnement S.A. (NYSE: VE) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
VeriFone Systems, Inc (NYSE: PAY) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Western Gas Partners. L.P. (NYSE: WES) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
YRC Worldwide. Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) Maintained Underperform and target cut to $0.05 at Credit Suisse; maintained neutral with losing share at Zacks.

See the top analyst upgrades and downgrades of the prior week here.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIG, ALU, DGX, DK, GRPN, HD, ING, K, MDVN, PAY, PIR, TOL, VE, WES, YRCW

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMAT, CAR, BMY, BRCM, CTRN, CL, ENB, HUN, LRCX, MU, PIR, RENN, TEF)

Administrator — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:19:06 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Avis Budget Group (NYSE: CAR) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) Added to Focus 1 List at BofA/ML.
Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) Started as Outperform at Scotia.
Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) Reinstated as Neutral at BofA/ML.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) Started as Underperform at Macquarie.
Telefonica, S.A. (NYSE: TEF) Raised to Buy at UBS.

See last week’s top analyst calls here.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMAT, BMY, BRCM, CAR, CL, CTRN, ENB, HUN, LRCX, MU, PIR, RENN, TEF

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AET, AIXG, CTSH, FFIV, GDOT, HFC, ITW, IBM, LXK, MWV, NTAP, OPTR, ORCL, PIR, TYC, UA, UIS, V, VMW, GWW)

Administrator — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:18:37 +0000

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

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Reiterated Buy with $51 target at Argus.
Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) Removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
HollyFrontier Corporation (NYSE: HFC) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OPTR) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Raised to Top Pick at FBR.
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Annual Report Tagged: AET, AIXG, CTSH, FFIV, GDOT, GWW, HFC, IBM, ITW, LXK, MWV, NTAP, OPTR, ORCL, PIR, TYC, UA, UIS, V, VMW

Key Earnings To Watch This Coming Week (COOL, BBY, CPST, FNSR, JRJC, KR, PIR, RIMM, SFD)

Administrator — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:42:35 +0000

While earnings season is over, we are still getting earnings reports from many of the off-cycle and off-quarter companies. Some of the companies on deck to report earnings next week may actually be market-moving or sector-moving stocks for that report period. We are looking at earnings from Majesco Entertainment Co. (NASDAQ: COOL), Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY), Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST), Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR), China Finance Online Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JRJC), Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR), Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM), and Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD).

Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is the obvious big one, but there are others like Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) that can move their sectors and related sectors. We have compiled data from Thomson Reuters consensus as well as shown pricing data and added color on each if applicable.

Majesco Entertainment Co. (NASDAQ: COOL) is due with earnings on Monday and this small-cap video game company has come back like a champ as it has focused on small format and “freemium” games in social media or mobile gaming. It just this week announced an NBA format game as well. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.07 EPS and $25.5 million in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are -$0.02 EPS and $17.5 million in revenue. Be advised that Majesco is very thin on analyst coverage so those figures may differ greatly from real results. Shares are trading around $4.08 and its 52-week range is $0.49 to $4.19 and its market cap is still only $153 million.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is due to report earnings on Tuesday and the current expectation during the slowdown looks very “Blah!” from where we sit today. The good news is that the stock is now very cheap and it does screen out as a “value stock” even if the bias is negative ahead of earnings. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.33 EPS and $10.69 billion in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are $0.54 EPS and $11.41 billion in revenue. Shares are trading around $28.70 and its 52-week range is $28.09 to $45.63; Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target objective of almost $36.25.

Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST) is due to report on Tuesday. This is another non-market mover and it won’t even be a sector-mover. It is still a cult stock in the alternative and green (or less dirty) energy. We might not even have cared, but a fresh call from FBR Capital brought attention here when it was started with an analyst rating of “Outperform.” We would caution that it is thinly covered by Wall Street. Thomson Reuters has estimates of -$0.03 EPS and $25.97 million in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are -$0.02 EPS and $24.7 million in revenue. Shares are trading around $1.66 and its 52-week range is $0.62 to $2.14.

Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR) is due to report Wednesday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.33 EPS and $242.89 million in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are $0.38 EPS and $253.9 million in revenue. Shares are trading around $18.30 and its 52-week range is $11.98 to $46.09. Needless to say, this one was bashed at its last earnings. This one got hit this last week when CIENA Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) was hit after earnings. Don’t quote us on this (unless it recovers), but if Finisar can meet its lowered expectations it is actually now showing up as a “value stock” for investors looking at companies that trade at under 10-times forward earnings. Needless to say, this one has not exactly gone too well in 2011.

China Finance Online Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JRJC) has not escaped the China-bash trade, particularly since this company provides online financial and listed company data and information in China. We only have one real estimate so this one is likely more of a “language” report than a “meet or beat” report. Its earnings report is due Thursday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.06 EPS and $14.99 million in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are $0.04 EPS and $15.06 million in revenue. Shares are trading around $3.91 and its 52-week range is $3.65 to $8.59.

Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is due to report on Thursday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $ EPS and $ in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are $ EPS and $ in revenue. Shares are trading around $23.40 and its 52-week range is $19.56 to $25.48. With cost pressures still persisting, the low margins are something to watch here as companies are not yet able to pass on major price hikes in retail food sales.

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) is due Thursday. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.12 EPS and $334.96 million in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are $0.13 EPS and $333.97 million in revenue. Shares are trading around $11.05 and its 52-week range is $5.67 to $12.75. As you should have noticed, Pier 1 is back to making money and the stock has held up fairly well since its recovery when you consider that it was an at-risk brand during the recession.

Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is the Big Kahuna due to report this coming Thursday. Needless to say, after the warnings and after the rise of Apple and Google, the expectations are low. R-I-M is one company which could even find itself at-risk in the years ahead if the trends of today are not rectified. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.32 EPS and $5.15 in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are $1.42 EPS and $5.51 billion in revenue. Shares are trading around $36.75 and its 52-week range is $$36.08 to $70.54. While this looks cheap and sounds cheap from an earnings valuation standpoint, keep in mind that many downgrades have been seen since its earnings warning. R-I-M is likely a value trap rather than a value stock as shares have continued to slide far worse than when it first warned. Our take… RIM should try to merge with Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK).

Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) is supposed to be defensive in nature because it is food, but input costs and transportation costs have weighed on the fresh meat and packaged meat producer. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.82 EPS and $3.24 billion in revenue; the estimates for the coming quarter are $0.71 EPS and $3.23 billion in revenue. Shares are trading around $18.95 and its 52-week range is $13.34 to $24.93.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: BBY, COOL, CPST, FNSR, JRJC, KR, NOK, PIR, RIMM, SFD

M&A Watch: Does Major Insider Buying at Cost Plus Put It Back In Play? (CPWM, PIR)

Administrator — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:45:35 +0000

Cost Plus Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM) is one company which we might generally skip due to its size and volume. The insider buying of late has been too large to ignore. This is one of the retailers that became very much “at risk” during the recession and even before. Many still consider it less healthy in liquidity as others despite the company’s consistent home product offerings and its nice store format that ranges from furniture to accessories to food and more. Now we have recent insider buying and we wanted to see if management and insiders know something that the rest of us do not.

Willem Mesdag, a director, recently purchased more than just a few shares. On May 24, 2011, Mesdag bought 100,000 shares at $8.84 per share for a total of $884,000.00 and he bought another 29,700 shares the following day at $9.00 for a total of more than $267,000.00. Form 4 filings show that more shares were also acquired:

June 2: Buy 89,300 shares at $8.94 for $798,601
June 3: Buy 36,250 shares at $8.92 for $323,259
June 6: Buy 184,400 shares at $8.88 for $1,638,265

Mesdag is now shown to own a total of 1,542,150 shares, although the SEC footnotes show that these are held by Red Mountain Capital Partners II, L.P.

In mid-May came news that the company’s loss narrowed to $3.4 million as revenue rose about 6% to $199.7 million for the most recent quarter. The company also raised guidance with its last earnings report. Next quarter it sees a net quarter loss of $8 to $10 million, or -$0.37 to -$0.44 EPS with sales of $195 to $199 million. Net income from continuing operations for its fiscal year of $13 to $15 million, or $0.54 to $0.63 EPS (was $4.7 million for fiscal 2010).

The company also ended the latest quarter with $41 million in borrowings and $7.8 million in letters of credit under its credit facility, down from $61.7 million in borrowings and $10.0 million in letters of credit a year earlier. More importantly, it claims that the liquidity position is sufficient to meet expenses over the next year and for the foreseeable future.

Cost Plus is one of the retailers which has not ever paid a dividend to its shareholders. Until the company is consistently earning money every quarter we do not expect that to change. The company had long ago been a target of Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) but the company fought that off and shares have rallied handily since then.

At the end of May came new coverage on Cost Plus from BB&T, but shares were only started with a HOLD rating. This is not exactly the most deeply research-infested retailer as its market cap is only about $200 million. At $9.00, the 52-week trading range is $2.63 to $12.88.

It s hard to know what insider buying means, but insider buying is almost always viewed better than insider selling. This stake is now worth nearly $14 million and that has been increased substantially in just the last two weeks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Compensation, Insider Activity, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, Retail Tagged: CPWM, PIR

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BHI, BYI, CCL, CMCSA, DECK, DVY, HAIN, IMGN, PMTC, PFE, PIR, PWER, RAD, STX, STRA, TGT)

Administrator — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:27:11 +0000

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

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Bally Technologies Inc. (NYSE: BYI) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) Cut to Neutral as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Reiterated Buy with $31 target at BofA/ML.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DVY) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Hain Celestial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) Maintained BUy and raised target to $36 at Argus.
Immunogen Inc. (NASDAQ: IMGN) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Parametric Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: PMTC) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $23 at Credit Suisse.
Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Maintained Neutral but raised target to $13 at Credit Suisse.
Power-One, Inc. (NASDAQ: PWER) Maintained Buy with $13 target at Auriga.
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) Reiterated Neutral but raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) Raised at Needham.
Strayer Education Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BHI, BYI, CCL, CMCSA, DECK, DVY, HAIN, IMGN, PFE, PIR, PMTC, PWER, RAD, STRA, STX, TGT