24/7 Wall St. » PRU

What’s Important in the Financial World (5/24/2012) Costco Earnings, Oil Below $90

247wallst — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:29:01 +0000

Oil has hit an extraordinarily low price, below $90 a barrel for WTI crude. That is the lowest level since October. It shows no inclination to spike back up. PMI data from Europe and China actually may depress it. Talks are going on that might defuse the Iran weapons battle. Iran’s government has admitted that sanctions have started to bite. Gasoline prices also have begun an accelerated drop. Yesterday, according to AAA, the price for a gallon of regular on a national average was $3.676. That is down from $3.849 a month ago. A gallon of premium, on average, has now dropped below $4. There may be pressure on the U.S. economy because of trouble in Europe. A plunge in fuel prices will not offset that entirely, but it will help.

Costco Sales

Costco (NASDAQ: COST) continues its extraordinary run as the most successful big-box retailer. Its club membership system has bettered the more traditional store operations of Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT). Net sales for the quarter that ended May 6 increased 8% from last year to $21.85 billion. Net sales for the first 36 weeks increased 10% to $65.54 billion. Same-store sales were up 5% for the most recent quarter. Costco’s shares trade at $83.50, up from a 52-week low of $70.22. Costco’s revenue per employee was $569,488, compared to $206,117 for Walmart.

Best IPOs

A quick review of the 25 largest U.S. IPOs ever shows how badly Facebook has done in early trading. Most of the companies on the list have tremendous revenue, traditional business plans that they have been able to freshen, and large profits. Among these are Visa (NYSE: V), UPS (NYSE: UPS), General Motors (NYSE: GM), MetLife (NYSE: MET) and Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU). The thing that stands out most about the list is how few tech companies it has. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is on the list, of course. But most of the companies are financial ones or firms that are manufacturing based. (Data from CapitalIQ.)

Facebook Investigation

The debate over whether some large investors were warned about a revenue downgrade of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) continues. Several media have carried stories about Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) passing on numbers that showed lowered forecasts for earnings and revenue in the second quarter and the full year. The attorney general of Massachusetts has begun an investigation into whether information was selectively disclosed. Morgan Stanley insists that it was in compliance with all the regulations that set rules for IPO behavior. Even if Morgan Stanley makes its case successfully, the news likely will keep individual investors out of the market. Many of these investors have turned to mutual funds, exchange traded funds and fixed income paper to protect their interests. That behavior has been reinforced by the Facebook IPO.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Market Open Tagged: COST, FB, GM, GOOG, GS, MET, MS, PRU, TGT, UPS, V, WMT

A Look Back At Largest IPOs

247wallst — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:18:06 +0000

A quick review of the 25 largest US IPOs ever shows how badly Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has done in early trading. Most of the company’s on the list have tremendous revenue, traditional business plans which they have been able to freshen, and large profits.

Among these are Visa (NYSE: V), UPS (NYSE: UPS), GM (NYSE: GM), MetLife (NYSE: MET), and Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) The thing that stands out most about the list is how few tech companies it has.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is on the list, of course. But, most of the companies are financial ones, or firms that are manufacturing based. (Data from CapitalIQ)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: IPOs Tagged: FB, GM, GOOG, MET, PRU, UPS, V

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Administrator — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:28:07 +0000

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

AAR Corporation (NYSE: AIR) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Raised to Buy at Janney Capital.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Cut to Hold at Needham.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) Raised to Buy at Argus.

Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup; Raised to Buy at Stern Agee.

Infoblox Inc. (NYSE: BLOX) Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Overweight at Stephens; Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Started as Outperform at William Blair.

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Cut to Neutral at Cowen.

Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc. (NYSE: PRX) named value stock of the day at Zacks.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) Started as Buy at Citigroup.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) Cut to Hold at Argus.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) Raised to Equalweight at Morgan Stanley.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Total SA (NYSE: TOT) Raised to Buy at UBS.

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: AGCO, AIR, AKAM, AMAT, AMZN, BLOX, CL, D, FLEX, GRPN, JBHT, JBL, JNPR, MCD, PRU, PRX, PSX, RBS, SO, TOT

Top Earnings Previews For Wednesday (AKAM, CSCO, CSC, ENB, GRPN, IM, ICE, LVLT, MCO, NWSA, PNG, PAA, PRU, RL, RAI, S, TWX, VICL, V, WFM)

Administrator — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:30:51 +0000

We are entering into the last waves of the normalized quarterly earnings reports for companies with December 31 quarter-end dates, and we are entering the first waves of the earnings reports from companies with off-normal quarter-ends. Wednesday is going to be another busy day with many earnings.

The earnings previews are for the following: Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM); Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML); Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC); Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB); Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN); Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM); IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE); Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT); Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO); News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA); PAA Natural Gas Storage L.P. (NYSE: PNG); Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA); Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU); Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL); Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI); Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S); Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX); Vical Inc. (NASDAQ: VICL); Visa Inc. (NYSE: V); and Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

We have compiled earnings preview on each company using Thomson Reuters consensus estimates and added color on each if applicable. Some are market moving, some are sector moving, and some are just interesting for traders to watch around the earnings reports.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) has estimates of $0.40 EPS and $311.26 million in revenues.

Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) has estimates of $0.09 EPS and $401.5 million in revenues. Growth is gone, but it still screens as value.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has estimates of $0.43 EPS and $11.23 billion in revenues. Preliminary preview notes are available.

Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) has estimates of $0.58 EPS and $3.98 billion in revenues. As a reminder, CSC has warned on earnings. This one shows up as a value stock in all sorts of investor screens but it is a value trap.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: AKAM, CSC, CSCO, ENB, GRPN, ICE, IM, LVLT, MCO, NWSA, PAA, PNG, PRU, RAI, RL, S, TWX, V, VICL, WFM

America’s Shrinking Corporate Giants

247wallst — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:48:06 +0000

It is rare for one of America’s largest companies to lose a third or more of its sales in a brief time. When it happens, it is usually either because of market or economic forces, or because of a designed refocusing. 24/7 Wall St. identified the eight largest American companies whose revenue fell the most in the past five years and analyzed the reasons behind the drops.

Read America’s Ten Shrinking Corporate Giants

Large companies can lose a significant amount of their revenues because they get into a great deal of financial trouble. A company may lose part of its customer base quickly because of economic forces, or it may be part of a financial catastrophe. As a result, the company’s revenue declines, and it begins to post large losses. In cases like these, companies often are forced to sell divisions to fund their survival. Alternatively, companies may close some of their operations that drain capital. General Motors and Citigroup are good examples of this category. Each moved from relative prosperity to difficulty in a very short period.

The other reason large companies shrink quickly is by design. The management of a corporation created by merger or acquisition activity may find that some of its pieces no longer fit together. One division may grow at a much higher or slower rate compared to others. Also, the way the stock market values one part of a large corporation may change because it is in a category Wall Street no longer favors. That, in turn, becomes a burden on the stock price of the entire enterprise. Telecom hardware company Motorola Solutions and media giant Time Warner fall into this category. Each is smaller than it was five years ago because it spun out a major business.

24/7 Wall St. used Capital IQ to screen the largest companies in America based on total revenue in 2006. We then screened for those that had the largest drops in total revenue between 2006 and 2010. Most of the eight companies on this list lost a third of their total revenue over the period, and some lost more than half. The list is ranked by total revenue loss from greatest to least.

This is 24/7 Wall St.’s list of America’s Shrinking Corporate Giants

Filed under: Special Report Tagged: AIG, AOL, BAC, F, GM, GOOG, GS, HD, KFT, MET, MMI, MSI, PM, PRU, TTM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIG, ARBA, COG, CSL, CBOE, CLX, DNDN, EBAY, GPS, HIT, KCG, LBTYA, MRVL, MSFT, ONXX, PRU, QNST, SPWRA, VZ)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:30:48 +0000

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

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Ariba Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Carlisle Companies (NYSE: CSL) Reiterated Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Clorox Corporation (NYSE: CLX) Cut to UNderweight at Morgan Stanley.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Maintained Buy and $62 target at Needham.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Raised to Outperform at Pac-Crest.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Cut to Equal-weight at Barclays.
Hitachi Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: KCG) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Liberty Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LBTYA) Raised to Outperform at Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) Started as Buy at Auriga.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) maintained Buy but cut target to $48 at Canaccord Genuity.
Prudential Financial. Inc. (NYSE: PRU) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ: QNST) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Cut to Underperform at Needham; Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.

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: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIG, ARBA, CBOE, CLX, COG, CSL, DNDN, EBAY, GPS, HIT, KCG, LBTYA, MRVL, MSFT, ONXX, PRU, QNST, SPWRA, VZ

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAP, ARO, AEO, CF, CMCSA, CMA, CY, KCI, KKD, LULU, MRO, ORCL, PRU, RSH, SMTC, SQNS, UTI, WEN, YHOO)

Administrator — Thu, 26 May 2011 12:23:56 +0000

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

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) Raised to Market Perform at FBR Capital.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Raised to Outperform at FBR Capital.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) Maintained Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) added to Focus List at Citigroup.
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: CY) Reiterated Strong Buy as Aggressive Growth at Zacks.
Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) Maintained Strong Buy as Momentum & Value at Zacks.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Cut to Underperform at FBR Capital.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) Reiterated Buy but raised target to $60 at Argus.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
Prudential Financial. Inc. (NYSE: PRU) Added to Focus List at Credit Suisse.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTC) Reiterated Buy but raised target to $33 at Gleacher & Co.
Sequans Communications SA (NYSE: SQNS) Started as Outperform at Baird; Started as Buy at Needham; Started as Buy at UBS.
Universal Tech Institute (NYSE: UTI) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. (NYSE: WEN) Reiterated Sell at Argus.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Maintained Buy with $19 target at BofA/ML.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAP, AEO, ARO, CF, CMA, CMCSA, CY, KCI, KKD, LULU, MRO, ORCL, PRU, RSH, SMTC, SQNS, UTI, WEN, YHOO

Prudential Raising Close to $1 Billion (PRU, AIG)

Administrator — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:24:19 +0000

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) has raised close to $1 billion. If no over-allotment shares are exercised, this figure is closer to $970 million. The insurer sold 18.35 million shares at $54.50 per share in a public secondary offering. Proceeds from the offering will be to help the company pay for the acquisitions of AIG Star Life Insurance Co., Ltd and AIG Edison Life Insurance Company from American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG).

Citi, BofA Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Barclays Capital are the joint book-runners, and the co-managers are listed as Deutsche Bank Securities, HSBC, and Wells Fargo Securities. The underwriters will have a 30-day over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 2,752,293 shares of common stock from the company.

Prudential shares closed at $55.02 on Thursday and the market cap before the effect of this offering was listed as roughly $25.7 billion. The 52-week trading range is $46.20 to $66.80 and the average daily volume is almost 4.4 million shares.

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

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Financial Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, Secondary Offering Tagged: AIG, PRU

Today’s Best Market Rumors (7/19/2010)

247wallst — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:50:46 +0000

Updated throughout the day.

“American International Group Inc.’s appointment of Mark Tucker as chief executive officer of its Asian unit shows AIG may eventually be planning a takeover bid of Prudential Plc’s division in the region, analysts said.” (Bloomberg)

Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. are poised to win orders this week from plane-leasing companies returning to the market after the economic crisis, said four people familiar with the planned announcements. (Bloomberg)

Kinder Morgan, the pipeline giant that was taken private in a $22 billion leveraged buyout three years ago, is proceeding with plans for an initial public offering (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Rumors Tagged: AIG, BA, Kinder Morgan, PRU

Top Analyst Positive Research Calls (AFL, AXP, CY, MRVL, PG, PRU, TIF, UA, TXN, X)

247wallst — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:45:19 +0000

These are this Tuesday’s top analyst downgrades and cautious research calls we have seen from Wall Street analyst reports:

AFLAC (NYSE: AFL) Raised to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
American Express (NYSE: AXP) Raised to Buy at Calyon.
Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE: CY) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Marvell Technologies (NASDAQ: MRVL) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.
Prudential (NYSE: PRU) Raised to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Under Armour (NYSE: UA) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list from 24/7 Wall St. to hear about ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, analyst upgrades and downgrades, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and IPOs, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AFL, AXP, CY, MRVL, PG, PRU, TIF, TXN, UA, X