Posts for Ticker ‘POT’

Soros Fund Holdings

Yesterday Soros Fund Management Filed a 13-F outlining the fund’s long portfolio as of September 30th, 2009.  The total value of the holdings reported in the filing is $6,198,089.  Twenty holdings represented roughly 50% of the value.  Soros Fund Management is a hedge fund management company that invests primarily based on macroeconomic analysis.  It should be noted that the fund’s equity portfolio likely contains significant short positions, which are not reported in 13-F filings.  Some of the positions in the filing may be in place as hedges or part of a multi-part trade, rather than a directional bet.  With that in mind, a glance at this firm’s major holdings provides clues to its macroeconomic outlook.  

Total stakes in Petroleo Brasileo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR) represent 9.23% of the value of the positions reported in the filing, with just over 13 million shares held.  This is down from by 2.3 million from the fund’s last filing. Read More »

Posted on: November 17, 2009 – 10:52 am in Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (BHP, DFG, FITB, GNTX, HRB, INTU, POT, RTP, RVBD, STI)

These are this Monday’s top ten analyst calls from Wall Street for upgrades, downgrades, and initiations:

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) Started as Neutral at HSBC.
Delphi Financial (NYSE: DFG) Started as Outperform at KBW.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Rochdale.
Gentex (NASDAQ: GNTX) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Started as Buy at Genuity.
Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RTP) Started as Neutral at HSBC.
Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Rochdale.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 26, 2009

Posted on: October 26, 2009 – 8:14 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (AMZN, CB, CXW, GSK, ITRI, LEAP, LM, PNC, POT, VLO)

These are this Friday morning’s top 10 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street’s research calls:

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Outperform at FBR Capital (new target $130); Raised to Overweight at Barclays; Raised to Buy at Jefferies; Raised to Buy at Janney Montgomery.
Chubb (NYSE: CB) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Corrections Corp (NYSE: CXW) Started as Buy at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.     Credit Suisse
PNC Financial Services (NYSE: PNC) Raised to Overweight at Wells Fargo.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) Cut to Sector Perform at CIBC; targets raised to $125 at RBC and raised to $135 at Canaccord.
Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 23, 2009

Posted on: October 23, 2009 – 8:16 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Ten Canadian Companies With Management Compensation Issues

welchThe Corporate Library’s latest annual review of corporate governance  at TSX 60 companies in Canada turned up eleven which present high or very high concerns with regard to CEO compensation:

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC)
EnCana Corporation  (NYSE:ECA)
TransCanada Corporation  (NYSE:TRP)
Canadian National Railway Company  (NYSE:CNI)
BCE Inc.   (NYSE:BCI)
Royal Bank of Canada   (NYSE:RY)
Thomson Reuters Corporation  (NYSE:TRI)
Husky Energy Inc.  
Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation  
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.   (NYSE:POT)
Rogers Communications Inc.  (NYSE:RCI)

US companies aren’t the only ones with pay issues.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 23, 2009 – 6:32 am in Compensation, , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Best Market Rumors (10/19/2009) (YHOO)(POT)(SYMC)(CME)(AAPL)

Updated throughout the day        

Updated  3.34 PM EST:  Consensus figures for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) earnings may be significantly too high (Barron’s)

Updated 1.14 PM EST:  The whisper number for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) is $1.47 EPS compared to the Wall St. consensus of $1.42  (WhisperNumber)

 Update  11.34 AM EST:  Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) is substantially increasing the amount of original content it will run on its websites. (CNET)

Update 11.37 AM EST:   GE (NYSE:GE) and Vivendi are $500 million apart on their valuation of Vivendi’s 20% of NBCU (WSJ)

newspaperKraft (NYSE:KFT) will increase its bid for Cadbury from 745 pence to 850 to 900 pence per share before a UK government deadline on November 3  (Reuters)

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is having trouble raising money for its new $20 billion fund (NYPost).

US authorities are close to filing a number of other insider trading charges against hedge funds  (NYTimes).

The CME (NYSE:CME) may buy the CBOE  of $5 billion. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

PC makers may have over-built based on higher anticipated sales from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows 7  (Barron’s)

Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) says that tens of millions of US PCs have scam security software  (Reuters)

Potash (NYSE:POT) could benefit from rising corn prices. (BusinessWeek)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone sales may disappoint investors when the company reports earnings (Fortune)

China’s GDP growth rate will be above 8% this year.  (Forbes)

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: October 19, 2009 – 9:01 am in Rumors, , , , , , , , ,

Next Week’s Top 10 Earnings on Deck (AAPL, UNH, YHOO, FCX, WFC, T, MCD, POT, MSFT, SLB)

NYSE Floor ImageWe have almost an endless wave of corporate earnings for the calendar Q3-2009 coming out next week.  We have what looks to be over 100 of the S&P 500 Index members reporting and what appears to be 12 current or ex-DJIA components reporting earnings as well.  Coming up with a Top 10 is almost unfair, but this coming week’s top ten earnings we will be focusing on are as follows: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD), Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB).

We screened out the companies whose destiny has already been set by competitor earnings from this last week and screened out the ones which will have no real broad impact but are still widely held and actively traded. Lastly, we screened out the drug and medical companies as we are featuring those in their own group at BioHealthInvestor.com.  A more detailed estimate count from Thomson Reuters has been provided, along with data showing performance from the March 9 close and the June 30 closing date along with other pertinent information on each stock.
Read More »

Posted on: October 16, 2009 – 1:12 pm in Calendar, Earnings, Editor's Picks, Internet, Large Cap Stocks, Technology Companies, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Day Trader Alerts (DPTR, AMGN, PER, DELL, LEN, POT, MOS)

These are this Monday’s top day trader and active trader alert stocks in the pre-market.  We have more details on each for volume and price moves at VSInvestor.com:

Delta Petroleum Corporation (NASDAQ: DPTR) is getting whacked and battered today on poor well results.  It was a very bad weekend as shares are down 35%.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) is up over 2% and actually close to 52-week highs on positive study data.

Perot Systems Corp. (NYSE: PER) is up huge by 65% or more, but traders are selling as this is a huge premium and above what many would have expected.  Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is going to be accused of overpaying.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) is down 4% on somewhat active volume after posting wider losses.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) is down almost 5% and not as much as it could have been… Lower guidance is hurting shares, look at Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) on this one as well.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for top day trader alerts, analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.  We also have an affiliate offering a top 10 trading lessons sign-up.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 21, 2009 – 9:14 am in After-Hours Activity, Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , , ,

Unusual Options Trading Screens (EK, ETFC, ODP, ARNA, FCX, S, FORM, POT)

It is the weekend, and that means that our end-of-week screen for unusual options trading activity is complete.  Of course expiration date throws a wrench in any screens, but we found some very unusual options trading in others not tied to options expiration and roll-out trades.  We have provided a link through to each for more color and analysis on the specific options and stock moves at VSInvestor.com:

Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) tanked on high stock volume from the KKR deal this week. But the real impressive area was the unusual options trading.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) is under $2.00, yet options trading is looking very active.  Here we gave price triggers to watch out for as possible resistance, if you can use such a thing on a $2.00 stock.

Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP) is very rare to see on the unusual stock options list, yet there it was. The big trade was out to January.

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) was not just impressive.  It was a huge winner since it was down and then closed up and saw high options and stock trading.  This will be a key watch-list stock for traders this coming week. The options trading may have been a roll-out.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) very active compared to normal volume in options trading, yet not in the stock volume… $1,000 gold is the likely trigger.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) was very active in stocks and in options, probably a continued bet that management and operations may need to learn to speak German….

FormFactor Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM) may be a hedge or income trade of some sort, but this is a very odd pattern by any measure.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) saw a bullish bias in the options roll as September-2009 contracts expired.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for top day trader alerts, options screens, analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 19, 2009 – 10:33 am in Options, Trading Alert, , , , , , , ,

Top Day Trader Alerts (ARIA, DPTR, ETFC, FSLR, MOS, POT, SLXP, S)

These are this Monday’s top day trader alert and active trader alert stocks.  We have more color and more detail on price and volume analysis linked through to each at VSInvestor.com:

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) is one of the top gainers, up 15%… on positive study data.

Delta Petroleum Corporation (NASDAQ: DPTR) is down almost 8% and should be an active stock like it was last week.

E*Trade Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) is up over 5% on an Citi call to “Buy” shares.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down over 3% on an analyst cut to Sell.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) are both getting clipped on a key analyst downgrade this morning.

Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLXP) is the biggest gainer this morning with a 50% gain on its key IBS study results.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) is rallying over 20% on word of a Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) bid coming.  Here wwe noticed the stock is close to resistance, assuming the normal trading takes over after the jump up.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for top day trader alerts, top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG
SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

Posted on: September 14, 2009 – 8:58 am in After-Hours Activity, Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades (BSX, DWA, ETFC, FSLR, LVS, MSFT, MOS, POT, UPS, UA)

These are the top 10 analyst calls for upgrades and downgrades seen early this Monday morning from Wall Street research firms:
Boston Scientific (BSX) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
DreamWorks Animation (DWA) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
E*TRADE Financial (ETFC) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
First Solar (FSLR) Cut to Sell at Soleil.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Raised to Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Microsoft (MSFT) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Mosaic (MOS) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
UPS (UPS) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Under Armour (UA) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 14, 2009 – 8:18 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Analyst Dumps Agriculture & Fertilizers (MOS, POT, MOO)

Bull and Bear ImageThis morning is looking a little rough for some of the farming, agriculture, fertilizer, and potash stocks.  We have seen a downgrade in the sector from UBS this morning.  Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) and Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) were both downgraded to Neutral from Buy by the analyst team at UBS today.  This broad call is also going to have an impact on Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO).
Read More »

Posted on: August 28, 2009 – 8:14 am in Agriculture, Analyst Calls, , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (CCE, DRI, JASO, MOS, NOK, PALM, PAAS, POT, SOL, TLAB)

These are the top 10 pre-market analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen early this Thursday morning from Wall Street:

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) Raised to Buy at UBS.
DR Horton (DRI) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
JA Solar (JASO) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Mosaic (MOS) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Nokia (NOK) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Palm (PALM) Cut to Sell at Morgan Joseph.
Pan-American Silver (PAAS) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Potash Corp. (POT) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
ReneSola (SOL) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse; but cut to Underweight at Piper Jaffray.
Tellabs (TLAB) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 13, 2009

Posted on: August 13, 2009 – 7:46 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (SCHW, HSY, LEAP, PCS, MSFT, NFLX, POT, PLD, RSH, SPWRA)

These are the top ten analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street this Friday morning with about two hours until the market opens for trading:

Charles Schwab (SCHW) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Hershey Foods (HSY) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank, but was Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Leap Wireless International (LEAP) Started as Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
MetroPCS (PCS) Started as Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Microsoft (MSFT) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Netflix (NFLX) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
Potash Corp. (POT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
ProLogis (PLD) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
RadioShack (RSH) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
SunPower (SPWRA) Raised to Outperform at FBR.

JON C. OGG
JULY 24, 2009

Posted on: July 24, 2009 – 6:45 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Unusual Options Trading in Mosaic, Options Price Predicting (MOS, VALE)

Mosaic LogoWe saw very unusual options trading late today during the last hour of trading in shares of Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS).  This is the day after reports that Brazil’s Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) was interested in the company as one of the possible acquisitions in the potash and agri-business.  We also saw a late-day sudden move of over $2.00 to the downside.

This highly unusual options trading in Mosaic had all the characteristics of last minute options rolls as today is the expiration date for the July 2009 stock options.  Interestingly enough, the same sort of late-day dip was seen in shares of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) and even in Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI).  Potash Corp. also saw some obvious options roll trading that looked like a mini volume spike, but not in Intrepid.

Unless told differently, we will attribute all of the late-day action to the options roll.  Either way, we wanted to dig down and try to use options as a prediction tool to see just what price is expected to come if Vale does make a play for Mosaic.  This movement was quick enough and violent enough that we would not be surprised if this ends up being one of those classical trading patterns where large options trading triggered a big move and caused the rumor mongers to start barking.
Read More »

Posted on: July 17, 2009 – 4:06 pm in Agriculture, Mergers and Buy Outs, Options, Rumors, Trading Alert, , , ,

Top Day Trader Alerts (MOS, POT, CIT, NOK, JPM, CTAS, XLNX, PLCM, SLT)

These are some of the top stocks to watch this morning for active trading today based on pre-market and after-hours volume activity. There are links through to each with more detailed coverage and volume analysis at VSInvestor.com:

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) shares are up roughly 12 percent in premarket trade to $50 on takeover speculation, with rivals including Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT) also seeing some early bids.

CIT Group (CIT) shares are likely to see a volume spike Thursday after newspaper reports suggest that a government bailout might not be cards, and talks reportedly broke down.

Stocks moving on earnings this morning include Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM). Others could move include Cintas Corp. (Nasdaq: CTAS), Xilinx Inc. (Nasdaq: XLNX) and Polycom Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM).

Sterlite Industries (NYSE: SLT) may see a volume spike lower after a stock offering that priced at a 6 percent discount.

-The 24/7 Wall St. Team

Posted on: July 16, 2009 – 7:25 am in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Downgrades (BKC, IPCM, MAS, POT, VOD)

These are some of the cautious analyst calls and analyst downgrades we have seen from Wall Street firms with more than two hours until the market opens this Tuesday morning:

Burger King (BKC) Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
IPC The Hospitalist Co. (IPCM) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Masco (MAS) Cut to Underweight at JP Morgan.
Potash Corp. (POT) Target cut to $100 at UBS.
Vodafone (VOD) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: July 14, 2009 – 6:29 am in Analyst Calls, , , , ,

New Fertilizer Dump, India and USDA (POT, MOS, AGU, CF, TRA, TNH, IPI, MOO)

Broken Money Merger ImageFertilizer stocks just can’t catch a break.  If it isn’t an official earnings warning to watch out for or the stock market and economic growth concerns, then it government data.  New data reported from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has raised concerns that farmers are going without fertilizer.  Add in a report of another price drop in potash in India and you have the double whammy.  Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT), Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRA), Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. (NYSE: TNH), and Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) are all seeing some action today.  Just not good action.  Even the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is getting hit.

Read More »

Posted on: July 10, 2009 – 1:19 pm in Agriculture, Economy, Trading Alert, , , , , , , ,

Potash Earnings Issues Now Credibility Issues (POT, MOS, AGU, CF, TRA, TNH, IPI, MOO)

Burning Money PicPotash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) did last night what most traders already feared was coming. The Canadian potash supply giant said that weak demand for its products and lower prices were going to take earnings for the quarter down to about $0.70 EPS versus a previous forecast of $1.10 to $1.50 EPS.  This is hitting other potash and fertilizer companies including Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE: TRA), Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. (NYSE: TNH), and Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI).  Even the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is indicated to open lower this morning.
Read More »

Posted on: June 26, 2009 – 6:48 am in Agriculture, Earnings Warning, , , , , , , ,

Giving Ag, Potash, and Fertilizers A Second Chance (MON, POT, MOS, IPI, AGU, CF, MOO)

money-stack-imageMonsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT), Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) and Intrepid Potash,Inc. (NYSE: IPI) are all recovering at least some from yesterday’s major drops.  While Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) are lower again, the declines are minuscule compared to yesterday’s reaction to the news.  Even the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is trading up marginally.  These stocks were crushed yesterday by word of lower demand and lower prices over at K+S in Europe.

Read More »

Posted on: June 18, 2009 – 11:53 am in Agriculture, Technical Analysis, Trading Alert, , , , , , ,

Potash and Fertilizer Stocks Skunked By News From Germany (POT, MOS, MON, AGU, CF, IPI, MOO, SYT)

burning-money-picIf you thought European stock news from companies doesn’t matter, this morning is proof against that notion.  A German company called K+S warned of weak potash demand and announced price cuts and a drop in sales expectations.  It is calling Q2 demand very weak ahead of the fall fertilization.  This news has not yet been issued by US and Canadian fertilizer and potash players, but shares of Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), and Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) are getting hammered.  Even the agriculture ETF  such as the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is getting hit along with Syngenta AG (NYSE: SYT).
Read More »

Posted on: June 17, 2009 – 11:45 am in Agriculture, Earnings Warning, Trading Alert, , , , , , ,