24/7 Wall St. » PSUN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AZN, BLK, BRCM, CEG, ED, EBAY, ERIC, EXC, GOOG, NFLX, NOK, PSUN, SOL, SAP, SNY, TRN, UPS, VVUS, VMW)

Administrator — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:21:46 +0000

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

AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Reiterated Buy with $46 price target at Argus.
Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: CEG) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE: ED) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Reiterated Buy with $40 price target at Argus.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) downgraded to Hold at Benchmark; Raised targets at boutique firm Global Equities Research.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Maintained Underperform and cut estimates at Needham.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse (full summary).
Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) Raised to Buy at Janney Capital Markets.
ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) named as the Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas.
Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE: TRN) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Started as Perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VWM) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.

If you enjoyed the morning Wall Street research notes, you can sign up to receive these directly in your inbox each morning by joining our free email list in the box below. We also include major movers, key stock calls, news on Warren Buffett and other gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AZN, BLK, BRCM, CEG, EBAY, ED, ERIC, EXC, GOOG, NFLX, NOK, PSUN, SAP, SNY, SOL, TRN, UPS, VMW, VVUS

A Slew of Layoffs

247wallst — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:24:11 +0000

Layoffs were part of the business news yesterday. Enough people lost jobs in a series of three “downsizings” to reminds those who believe unemployment continues to fall that the economy still struggles.

Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) said it would close 200 stores. The company faces competition for the sale of glasses and other personal wear items. Not all retailers will benefit from improvements in sales this holiday season. The news follows a recent announcement that the Gap (NYSE: GPS) will close 200 of its own outlets. For all the retailers who boast that the 2011 holiday season will be strong, several have found otherwise.

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) could not be in a business more different from Pacific Sunwear. But the large pharmaceutical company finds itself in a period of falling sales. It will cut 1,150 jobs in the U.S. Many will be sales staff, which is a sure sign that revenue growth has become troubled. Either the economy has hurt the company or its products have failed in the market. It hardly matters to those who will lose jobs.

On the same day as the other two job actions, McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) announced it would cut 550 jobs in its education publishing division. Sales of textbooks must have dropped.

The three actions, all in one day, are not directly related to one another. It is open to speculation if they would have happened if the economy was in a substantial recovery. The job cuts do, however, remind those who believe that the employment market has recovered that there are still pockets of trouble large enough to cost thousands of jobs.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Retail Tagged: AZN, GPS, MHP, PSUN

Media Digest (12/8/2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:23:41 +0000

S&P may downgrade the EU and the largest eurozone banks. (Reuters)

France and Germany continue to press new eurozone treaty measures that would help trigger new financing for the region. (Reuters)

Japan says it is not aware of a $600 billion IMF plan for Europe. (Reuters)

The Department of Health blocks wider distribution of the morning-after birth control pill. (Reuters)

Japan’s government may set a bailout fund from crippled TEPCO. The fund may be as high as $19 billion. (Reuters)

Two large electronics retailers in China increase e-commerce efforts. (Reuters)

Nintendo says its lead game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, will not leave. (Reuters)

AT&T (NYSE: T) says it will continue its campaign to buy T-Mobile. (Reuters)

A Wall Street Journal analysis shows the SEC allowed 50 money managers to avoid disclosing ownership in corporations. (WSJ)

Natural gas will replace coal as the primary means to generate electricity in the U.S. by 2025. (WSJ)

Regulators may decide U.S. banks do not have to set risk parameters based on credit rating agency opinions. (WSJ)

A deal between Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) faces more regulator scrutiny. (WSJ)

Macy’s (NYSE: M) may try to block a deal between Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) and JCPenney (NYSE: JCP). (WSJ)

General Motors (NYSE: GM) says Volt fires were cause by welded parts in the cars. (WSJ)

Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ) 4G network not working in some areas. (WSJ)

Some central banks in Europe set plans in the event the eurozone does not survive. (WSJ)

New York State raises a tax on the wealthy. (WSJ)

Avon (NYSE: AVP) has a gap between earnings and free cash flow that limits its operations. (WSJ)

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) says its investment in the Oprah network continues to rise. (WSJ)

Pacific Sunware of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) will close 200 stores. (WSJ)

Southwest Air (NYSE: LUV) is close to a transaction to buy 100 Boeing (NYSE: BA) planes. (WSJ)

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has advanced approval of a new kidney cancer drug. (WSJ)

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) says it will cut its U.S. workforce by 24%. (WSJ)

LivingSocial will try to raise $400 million and probably put IPO plans on hold. (WSJ)

Developers buy closed auto plants because of cheap property values. (NYT)

Boeing (NYSE: BA) workers approve a new four-year contract. (NYT)

Genetech and Novartis (NYSE: NVS) develop a drug that may slow the advance of breast cancer. (NYT)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may sell its luxury operations. (FT)

JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) says it will increase lending in Europe. (FT)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) loses a key trademark case in China. (FT)

McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) to cuts jobs in its education unit. (FT)

A Bloomberg poll says investors expect a banking crisis in China. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AVP, BA, DISCA, GM, JCP, JPM, LUV, M, MHP, MSO, NOK, NVS, NYX, PFE, PSUN, T, VZ

Six Well Known Apparel/Retailers Under Very Dark Clouds (ARO, APP, CWTR, LIZ, PSUN, TLB)

Administrator — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:01:57 +0000

The world of boutique apparel and retailing apparel is a boom or bust business it seems. Many companies start out great but either missteps occur or the trends move away from the original focus of the company. Being public companies, it is up to management to steer these ships the right direction. Change happens, and those retailers who cannot adapt or adjust their business models cause severe suffering. We have identified the following as the most troubled of the more widely recognized retail/apparel names: Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO); American Apparel, Inc. (AMEX: APP); Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR); Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ); Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN); and The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB).

What these companies can do to turn around differs greatly. Each apparel retailer is a unique situation. They are also effectively new companies as far as the public is concerned about three times a year on average.

Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is just stuck in the mud, or maybe in quicksand. The former flying-high retailer has lost its cool and trends keep going south here. We thought this was looking a bit busted months ago when it was still well above $20 and now shares have been flirting with $11.00. What this teen apparel retailer can do to get back the cool is hard to predict. Maybe they need the next teen star endorsement. This is the strongest of our weakest retail/apparel names today. At $11.30 the market cap is over $900 million still even with a 52-week range of $10.34 to $27.73. The company is also expected to keep making money, but with no growth and with no outside enthusiasm. This one has also not loaded itself with long-term debt, but that is about the only good thing to say right now.

American Apparel, Inc. (AMEX: APP) is in limbo. The company that was supposed to be ‘the next Gap’ just imploded, management scandal, financial woes, and other irregularities just have this one down and out. Shares have stayed under $1.00 and it is not even a situation here where a stock market recovery is assured to even bring up any support. Can Ron Burkle fix this situation? At $0.91, the market cap is $94 million or so and the 52-week range is $0.66 to $1.90. American Apparel has almost zero following by Wall Street, but let’s just say that finances have not been pleasant here and the moves by outside holders do not imply that shareholders will be treated well.

Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR) has almost been forgotten about and we won’t publish our nickname for this one. Being the Chico’s-wannabe has done little to drive the company. SHares began their slide before the recession and the long-term chart just looks like a staircase straight down. At $1.02, the market cap is $93.5 million and the 52-week range is $0.82 to $5.89. This one was supposed to be an e-commerce and online winner, but it turns out that this was not the case. The company is also expected to lose money in 2011 and in 2012.

Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) has lost much of its cool and even the Lucky brand has not come to its rescue as many hoped and its flagship brands have not really helped turn the ship either. AT $4.31, the 52-week range is $4.02 to $7.90. Liz got crushed going into the recession and this was above $40 in 2007. Shares are higher than in early 2009, but to say this has foundered would be an understatement. The market cap is over $400 million and the company has too much debt and not enough liquidity for safety. Analysts are expecting -$0.55 EPS in 2011 and are looking for $0.20 EPS in 2012.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) has been a shell of its former glory since the peak of the recession. The performance today after a disappointing back to school season and after having missed prior targets in weeks and months earlier are becoming par for the course. At $1.47 now, shares hit a 2-year low of $1.26 today. The balance sheet is going to be a concern if Pac-Sun keeps missing the mark here. The market cap is just under $100 million here and we are not endorsing anything positive to say at this point with another 30%+ drop on Wednesday.

The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) is in such a strange place that you have to scratch your head. The upscale womens apparel retailer has faltered at each time it has tried to turn around. Shares are now close to where they were at the peak selling of the late 2008 to early 2009 recession. So much for that would be merger helping it out. It seems nothing is working here. Even at $2.78 it has a market cap of almost $200 million and the 52-week range is $2.33 to $13.43. The one thing that may help is that expectations are so low and there still seems to be some hope for a turnaround next year that gets it closer to break-even again. Liquidity remains a concern for us longer-term.

What makes apparel/retail so interesting is that the consumer can turn on a company extremely fast. Every one of these companies was formerly something much greater. But when those same-store sales turn south as customers go look elsewhere for the next cool, look out.

The good news is that the extreme cyclical and seasonal trends can also work for any of these companies. One great ad campaign and one great product cycle, and any apparel retailer can be cool all over again.

Unfortunately, these companies and stocks are all in the dog house. Some more than others. These all share one thing in common: it will take far more than a stock market recovery to turn these companies around and to save their shareholders.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Apparel, Retail, Shareholder Issues, Turnarounds Tagged: APP, ARO, CWTR, LIZ, PSUN, TLB

Early-Bird Stocks on the Move (IRE, CSIQ, ORCC, PSUN, PT, RMBS, VRA)

Administrator — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:32:00 +0000

We are tracking several key moving stocks this morning that have news or events driving shares. None of these are Japan-focused stocks as the coverage there seems to revolve entirely around the nuclear power plant situation. Overseas markets and US equity futures were much higher after Japan rallied but the markets have softened up over the last couple of hours. These are this morning’s key movers on news for US equity traders to focus on in early-bird trading hours.

Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) was lower by 2% overseas, which you can blame partly on a PIIGS kinfolk trade after Portugal got a downgrade or you can blame on market softness after Japan’s rally is being overshadowed by newer and broader nuclear concerns.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) announced a third engineering, procurement and construction agreement to build a 10.5 MW solar park in Thunder Bay, Ontario with SkyPower, Canada’s largest solar projects operation with 148.3 MW recently awarded to it by the Ontario Power Authority. While shares were higher last week above $13.00, shares have handily recovered off of the week’s lows as the world is viewing solar as a much safer alternative than nuclear energy due to Japan.

Online Resources Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCC) posted a wider loss and said it is no longer reviewing a possible M&A strategy. Shares were down more than 20% at $4.80 in the after-hours and are indicated down around the same level in early-bird indications.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) posted a narrower loss and saw lower expenses, but same-store sales and margins were soft. Shares closed at $4.35 yesterday but shares were down 8% at $3.95 last night and early-bird indications may be even softer.

Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT) is somehow amazing. The telecom carrier is actually up marginally after Portugal took yet another sovereign debt rating downgrade. The defensive nature of telecom stocks…

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) shares popped in the after-hours session after the DRAM memory controller license operation renewed a pact with Toshiba for another 5-year period. Shares were up over 7% above $20.00 last night and shares are indicated around $19.75 in early-bird indications.

Vera Bradley, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) is still relatively new as a public company so its action and reaction could change either way throughout the day as its shares had been up considerably since its IPO. The handbags and accessories retail company saw net earnings drop because of taxes and other items. Shares were up over 5% above $35.00 last night and we are still awaiting indications.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: CSIQ, IRE, ORCC, PSUN, PT, RMBS, VRA

Tempering of January Same-Store Sales, Still Strong 2011 (LULU, VRA, ZUMZ, TIF, CWTR, AEO, TLB, PSUN)

Administrator — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:24:25 +0000

Blame it in part on the weather. The major gain in same-store sales that has been seen in recent months may be coming to an end. There were several factors to blame, and Retail Metrics has outlined several key issues that will curb expectations on those sales gains that were so common in 2010. The weather is one issue, but the easy comps and gas prices might have some of the blame here too.

January saw multiple snow storms in the Northeast, South and Midwest, all a net drag on sales even if the weather did facilitate more close-out sales. Retail Metrics also pointed out that gas prices were up 15% from a year ago and up another 3% from December; food prices have also been climbing. The most recent months over the last year have seen very easy comparable sales figure bogeys but Retail Metrics pointed out that January likely faces the toughest comparable store sales going all the way back to April of 2008.

The interesting aspect of the holiday season is unlike what we have seen for the last two or three years. Clearance merchandise was limited in January due to strong Holiday sales and strong sales in December and in November are expecte3d to have pulled out sales from the January component of the fourth quarter. More good news seems to still be adding support for retail despite the cautious January headline expectations due to higher consumer confidence and strong leading economic indicators. There is another silver lining here: January is the least important month of the fourth quarter in retail with only 23.5% of the quarter a year ago.

Some of Retail Metrics’ expected key winners for January/Quarter same-store sales are as follows:

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) expected at +27.3%;
Vera Bradley, Inc. (NYSE: VRA) expected at +10.9%;
Zumiez, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) expected at +8.1%;
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) expected at +7.4%.

Some of the Retail Metrics’ expected key losers for January/Quarter same-store sales are as follows:

Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR) expected at -17.9%;
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) expected at -7.7%;
The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) expected at -6.8%;
Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) expected at -5.7%.

The new Retail Metrics January Same Store Sales Index is down another 1- basis-points and is now expected to come in at roughly +2.6% for the month.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Apparel, Consumer Goods, Economy, Retail Tagged: AEO, CWTR, LULU, PSUN, TIF, TLB, VRA, ZUMZ

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (EGLE, MIPS, RFMD, PSUN, YHOO)

247wallst — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:54:31 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Wednesday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE), MIPS Technologies (NASDAQ: MIPS), RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD), Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE) is up nearly 4% premarket to $4.16, relative to a 52-week range of $3.91-$6.08. The shipping company was upgraded to outperform from market perform by FBR Capital.

MIPS Technologies (NASDAQ: MIPS) is down roughly 10% on light volume to $13.68, relative to a 52-week range of $3.57-$18.19. The semiconductor company reported weak 2Q earnings.

RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) is down 8.5% on heavy volume to $7.01, relative to a 52-week range of $3.65-$8.37. The chip manufacturer reported weak 3Q earnings.

Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) is down 3% premarket on moderate volume to $4.36, relative to a 52-week range of $2.92-$6.84.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) which met earnings expectations, but nevertheless reported a revenue loss and weak guidance. Shares of YHOO were down nearly 2% premarket on very heavy trading to $15.71, relative to a 52-week range of $12.94-$19.12.

Michael B. Sauter

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: EGLE, MIPS, PSUN, RFMD, YHOO

Select Retail Short Squeezes? (PSUN, FINL, TRLG)

247wallst — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:22:50 +0000

Short sellers could be on the run here in several retailers. Each day our software tracks stocks that have high short interest and are either short squeezes or potential short squeezes in a real time.

After the FOMC announcement, several stocks in the retail space are shaping up nicely as potential short squeezes. Noteworthy moves today include Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) up 4.13%, Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) up 3.22% and True Religion Apparel Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLG) up 2.00%.

Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) has 3,356,015 shares in the short interest with a short ratio of 2.62. Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) has 2,592,396 shares in the short interest with a short ratio of 3.58

True Religion has 5,413,732 shares short with a short ratio of 8.75. The stock has recently pulled back from $28.90 to $18.84. Estimates are for $1.88 this year and $2.10 for next year which hardly makes this an expensive name.

What are the short sellers thinking?

Geoffrey A. Garbacz, GoodMorningWallSt.com

Posted in Apparel, Retail, Short Interest Tagged: FINL, PSUN, TRLG

Top Day Trader Alerts (NLST, SPWRA, SPWRB, NGSX, PSUN, SMTL, AMAT)

247wallst — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:58:57 +0000

These are this Tuesday’s top day trader and active trader alerts with more details and analysis linked through to each stock over at VSInvestor.com:

Netlist Inc. (NLST) is seeing small profit taking after a 500% run in the last week.

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) (NASDAQ: SPWRB) is down 13% on accounting irregularities and two downgrades.

NeurogesX, Inc. (NASDAQ: NGSX) is up 11% but off last night’s highs after an FDA pain patch approval.

Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) is down 20% on wider losses and poor guidance.

Semitool, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMTL) is up 30% on what has to be record trading volume on the Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) acquisition.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on top day trading alerts, key analyst upgrades and downgrades, Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AMAT, NGSX, NLST, PSUN, SMTL, SPWRA, SPWRB

52-Week High Club

247wallst — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:33:14 +0000

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) rallied over 11% to a yearly high of $5.01 after Dow Jones reported that the company had entered into an agreement to sell its St. Charles Ill. distribution center $11 million.

ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD) hit a yearly high of $47.90 after analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded the stock.

Bitstream Inc. (NASDAQ: BITS) hit a yearly high of $6.05 after the company announced that K-Touch Mobile Indonesia, a mobile phone maker, had licensed Bitstream’s mobile we brower for distribution.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) rallied over 6% to a yearly high of %6.62 after FBR Capital upgraded the apparel stores industry.

Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ: SBGI) rallied over 12% to a yearly high of $4.22 after the company’s subsidiary, Sinclair Television Group, intends to offer roughl $430.00 million in debt which will be used to pas for its cash tenders for its 3% senior covertible notes due in 2027 and 4.875% senior convertable notes due in 2018.

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted in Healthcare, Old Media, Retail, Technology Companies, Telecom Tagged: BITS, PIR, PSUN, RMD, SBGI