24/7 Wall St. » PRTS

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DWA, HRB, PCLN, RAD, WAG, ADSK, GM, AONE, IL, NILE, HNR, NP, ENER, PRTS, ORLY, AMSC, NOR, C, BZH)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:07:49 +0000

Pre-market signals were weak today, and once trading opened, the signals got stronger. The DJIA has traded down more than -200 points for most of the day, with financial and energy stocks the hardest hit. Rates on Italian bonds topped 7% this morning, sending traders running away from equities and commodities alike. The only gainer for the day appears to be the dollar, which is stronger against the euro and the yen in the mid-afternoon. Crude prices fell below $95/barrel before recovering to near $98/barrel, and gold is down at $1,789.30. About an hour before closing, nearly 99% of the S&P 500 stocks were down on the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than -389 points to 11,780.94 (-3.2%), the NASDAQ fell nearly -106 points (-3.88%) to 2,621.65, and the S&P 500 fell -3.67% or nearly -47 points to 1,229.10.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) cut to ‘sell’ at Janney; H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) cut to ‘hold’ at S&P Capital IQ; Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; and Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up down about -10%, at $22.48; A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is down less than -1%, at $3.09; IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IL) is down more than -37%, at $5.50, after posting a new 52-week low of $5.44 earlier today; Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) is down nearly -16%, at $33.24; Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down more than -19%, at $8.80; and Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE: NP) is up more than 12%, at $18.84.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) is down more than -32%, to $0.41. The company has said that it will suspend manufacturing and cut 500 jobs. Excess inventory of solar panels gets the blame.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) is down more than -22%, at $3.94, after posting a new 52-week low of $3.66 earlier in the day. The company received a waiver from one of its lenders for failing to meet coverage ratio requirements.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) is down about -1.1%, at $76.44, after posting a new 52-week high of $77.95 earlier today. We noted the company’s performance earlier today in an article on auto sector implied gains.

American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC)) is up nearly 10%, to $4.49. The company reported earnings today, and its growing order backlog indicates a possible turnaround following the loss of its biggest customer earlier this year.

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) is down more than -16%, at $8.51. The company will pay a special dividend of $1/share to shareholders of record as of yesterday’s close. That pushed the shares down a buck this morning, and the rest is due to the overall market decline today.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) is down more than -8%, at $28.78. The bank claimed the largest decline among the big US banks today.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is down nearly -8%, at $2.17. There was no special news from Beazer today, but the threatened burst of new foreclosures soon to hit the housing market have had a nasty effect on this lower-priced builder.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Dennis Lockhart is giving a speech in the morning and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a town hall meeting with soldiers and their families at Fort Bliss, Texas, at 11:45 a.m. We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – International trade balance report
8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims
8:30 a.m. – Monthly import/export price report
9:45 a.m. – Bloomberg consumer comfort index
10:30 a.m. – EIA natural gas inventory report
2:00 p.m. – Monthly US Treasury budget report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ADSK, AMSC, AONE, BZH, C, DWA, ENER, GM, HNR, HRB, IL, NILE, NOR, NP, ORLY, PCLN, PRTS, RAD, WAG

Best Ideas List For The Second Half (ANF, AWK, BKS, CMG, GME, HSY, IPSU, MED, RVBD, SEIC, PRTS)

Administrator — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:01:48 +0000

Many research firms and brokerage firms maintain a list of best ideas for the year, and these often get updated quarterly or as companies reach a target or as they fall out of favor. This week came an updated “Best Ideas” list from Janney Capital Markets and some of the picks are fresh and some of the expected upsides are much higher than what economists have as overall market upside projections. The list has so far outperformed the S&P 500 Index through the first two quarters in total return: +11.12% for Janney versus 6.02% for the S&P 500.

This week brought some new changes to the list and many updates on the old list. Some of the companies covered on the list are Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG), GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME), The Hersey Company (NYSE: HSY), Imperial Sugar Co. (NASDAQ: IPSU), Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED), Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), SEI Investments Co. (NASDAQ: SEIC), and U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS).

We have covered these and added in targets and upside from Janney, as well as a blurb on each. After that, we have added in some independent color if applicable.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) was interesting to see after it has already enjoyed such a large run that has more than doubled. It was not a repeat on the list. Its adjusted price on the list was $66.92, but shares on Friday are up at $72.87. Janney sees a fair value at $85.00, implying about 16% upside. Thomson Reuters shows a consensus price target objective of $83.11 and supposedly there is a high target of $100 out there. Janney’s thesis is supported by more international growth and it noted, “we will look to short-term weakness as opportunities for the long-term.”

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was noted with a price of $29.45 and its price on Friday was $29.95. Janney’s target is $32.00. The firm noted, “American Water remains among our top ideas, not only in the water utility space, but in the water sector generally.” It also looks for earnings growth and additional dividend growth. As this was our top water pick at 24/7 Wall St., our only comment is that we see this one making it to $35 perhaps by the end of 2012. This is also a stock to hold for the next decade.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) was new on the list, which may be from the implied buyout interest. Janney’s quarter-end updated price was $16.58, but the stock was around $17.75 on Friday. Janney’s fair value target is $24.00, implying about 35% upside remaining. Janney is the street-high at $24.00, and investors may want to know that the Thomson Reuters consensus is from a small group of analysts but that appears to only be $19.50. Janney noted, “Borders’ Bankruptcy Provides Near Term Support” and sees opportunity in the nooks and e-books.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is a repeat on the Best Ideas list but Janney still sees big upside despite this hitting new all-time highs. The quarter-end adjusted price was $308.19 and shares were almost $325.00 on Friday. Janney’s fair value target is $375.00 and Janney appears to be the street-high target. Thomson Reuters has a consensus target under the current price at closer to $286.00. As a reminder, this one is up almost $200.00 from its 52-week low. Janney noted several issues here that few may know about, one is its Asian concept called ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen. Its market share within the limited-service Mexican segment was said to be 14.1% at the end of 2010.

GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) is a repeat name on the list and Janney’s adjusted price of $26.67 is fairly in-line with today’s level of $26.80. The firm sees a target of $33.00 as fair value and that is not much higher than the Thomson Reuters consensus target of $30.32. One other firm has a $35.00 target. Janney’s top points were competing store closures, its evolving position to digital, loyalty programs, and having easy comparable expectations ahead. With the buyback and turnaround underway, investors need to know that despite its 50% recovery bounce it is still considered “cheap” at well under 10-times earnings. It is also a heavily shorted stock.

The Hersey Company (NYSE: HSY) was new on the list and Janney’s adjusted initiation was at $56.85 and shares were at $57.60 on Friday. Its fair value target is $62.00 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus target of just over $59.00. It should be known that Hershey is now close to 5-year highs. You know Hershey regardless of your age and Janney simply noted, “pricing power, superior ad spending and volume growth, and a compelling valuation.”

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Value Investing Tagged: ANF, AWK, BKS, CMG, GME, HSY, IPSU, MED, PRTS, RVBD, SEIC

Top Upgrades & Downgrades (AA, RDY, FCX, GLBL, LIFC, MKTX, MDT, PRTS)

247wallst — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:39:47 +0000

These are some of the top analyst calls this morning:

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Dr. Reddy’s (NYSE: RDY) cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Global Industries (NASDAQ: GLBL) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
LifeCell (NASDAQ: LIFC) started as Outperform at FBR.
Marketaxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) started as Market Perform at FBR.
US Auto Parts (NASDAQ: PRTS) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Jon C. Ogg
March 7, 2008