RAD – 24/7 Wall St.

Posts for Ticker ‘RAD’

The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World

There are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.

24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.

24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?

Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”. Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless. How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business. Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.

24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?

Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets. A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value. If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.

The list: Read More »

Posted on: October 20, 2009 – 5:06 pm in Research, Uncategorized, AAPL, AET, ALL, AM, AVP, AXP, BA, BBBY, BDK, BGP, BKS, BMY, CAJ, CAL, CL, COF, CPB, CVS, CVX, DAI, DD, DELL, DIS, DLM, EBAY, EK, EL, F, FDX, FUJIY, GE, GIS, GOOG, GPS, GR, GT, HD, HMC, HNZ, HOG, HRB, HRL, HSY, IBM, JCP, JNJ, K, KFT, KO, KSS, L, LIZ, LOW, LZB, MAR, MAT, MCD, MOT, MS, MSFT, NKE, NSANY, NYT, ODP, PBI, PBY, PEP, PG, PZZA, RAD, RL, RSH, S, SBUX, SCHW, SHW, SKS, SLE, SNE, SPLS, SUN, T, TBL, TGT, TIF, TM, TSN, TUP, TXN, UPS, VZ, WAG, WEN, WHR, WMT, XOM, XRX, YHOO

Rite Aid’s Turnaround Looking More Likely (RAD)

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) may have just made the last or one of the last announcements that saved the reputation as far as it being a stock that investors would stay interested in. The drug store chain announced that it has received notice from the New York Stock Exchange that Rite Aid is now back in compliance with the exchange’s share price listing requirement now that its closing share price on June 30, 2009 and its average closing share price for the prior 30-days of trading were both above $1.00. This will keep the company from pursuing that awful proposed reverse stock split. These are not the only positive things happening for the company and for the stock.
Read More »

Posted on: July 1, 2009 – 2:10 pm in Retail, Stock Splits, Turnarounds, RAD

Rite Aid, No New Surprises (RAD)

Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) is getting a bit of a boost after earnings, despite there being no major success nor a major turnaround in the near future. The drug store chain posted narrower losses after its activities in closing stores and cutting costs. The real reason for the interest is that there are a few positive developments and no real blow-ups that were not known ahead.
Read More »

Posted on: June 24, 2009 – 7:19 am in Earnings, Retail, RAD

Wal-Mart’s (WMT) Drug Addiction Is Trouble For Rivals

Wal-Mart (WMT) plans a significant expansion of its programs to bring inexpensive prescription drugs to its customers which will almost certainly damage margins as its competitors.

According to The Wall Street Journal, “The discount retailer is offering businesses low-priced drugs if they sign up to buy directly from Wal-Mart’s network of in-store pharmacies, rather than contracting to buy drugs through third parties known as pharmacy-benefit managers.” Read More »

Posted on: May 4, 2009 – 5:18 am in Pharmaceuticals, Retail, RAD, WMT

Fixing GM (GM) May Just Be Practice For The Government’s Next Bailout

GM’s (GM) stock trades at $1.71, which is not even its 52-week low. Several news outlets have reported that the Treasury has asked the No.1 US car company to prepare for Chapter 11. The government will probably try to have GM broken into two pieces. In that case, most of the creditors may be stuck holding paper in the weaker of the operations which will be made of brands like Saturn and Hummer which have no economic value at all. If that tactic works, the money that GM owes to financial firms could end up being next to nothing. Read More »

Posted on: April 14, 2009 – 4:02 am in Autos, Banking, Economy, Retail, DDS, GM, HMC, RAD, TM

New Moody’s Company “Dead Pool” May Wreck A Lot Of Companies

Moody’s has come out with a list of 283 companies that are at great risk of defaulting on their debt. The Wall Street Journal got a copy of the list so each of the firms can face customers, suppliers, and creditors who will have fresh questions about whether these corporations will fail.

Because they are on a list from Moody’s published by The Wall Street Journal, their fates may be sealed even though they might not have been if the list never saw the light of day. Read More »

Posted on: March 10, 2009 – 4:11 am in Research, AMD, AMR, LVLT, RAD

A Big Writedown At Macy’s (M)? A Question Of Who Is Next

It is beginning to dawn on Wall St. that jobs are not the only thing that retailers will be cutting. The value of their stores, inventories, and any past M&A deals may be on the line.

According to Bloomberg, "The second-largest U.S. department-store company may write down its goodwill by as much as $3 billion after-tax as early as this month, said Dan Poole, who researches stocks for National City Private Client Group." Part of the action would be due to the value of May Department Store assets. Macy’s bought the chain three years ago.

Posted on: January 9, 2009 – 1:57 pm in Retail, M, RAD

Companies That Won’t Make It Through 2009 (HMC)(SIRI)(AIG)(FRE)(FNM)(RAD)(NYT)(NT)(PIR)(CHTR)(HOV)

A lot of fairly well-known public companies either disappeared or went bankrupt this year. Circuit City is on the list. Based on the most recent news GM may get added soon.

24/7 Wall St. looked at some of the largest and most well-known companies, reviewed their SEC filings if they are public, analyst reports, and media observations about their businesses and picked ten that probably won’t be around at the end of next year. That does not mean that their brands will disappear, but these companies will have been dissolved as the world knows them now or working though the court system in the hopes of getting Chapter 11 protection and a chance at survival.

Posted on: December 19, 2008 – 7:47 pm in Research, AIG, ALU, CHTR, CVS, FNM, FRE, HMC, HOV, NT, NWS, NYT, PIR, RAD, SIRI, WAG

10 CEOs To Go In 2009 (BSX, C, DDS, EK, GM, NT, RAD, SNDK, SIRI, JAVA)

It is that time of year where companies should have been evaluating their plans for the year ahead. Each year we come out with a list of companies who should get rid of their CEOs or which should make some strategic changes inside the company that revolve around the CEO and management. Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX), Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C), Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK), General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE: NT), Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI), and Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) are all on this year’s list.

With so many stocks down 50% and more, we want to stress that the list could have had hundreds of management teams on the list if stock prices were the sole criteria. Our criteria for change is far more than just poor stock performance. The list is broken down individually below and summarized with links to the full story on each individual.

Posted on: December 7, 2008 – 5:26 pm in Management Change, BSX, C, DDS, EK, GM, JAVA, NT, RAD, SIRI, SNDK

10 CEOs To Go In 2009: Mary Sammons of Rite Aid (RAD, WAG, CVS)

Reverse stock split or not, Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) has been under the gun and its future is far from certain. There was a period in time in 2007 when it looked like the investor boat was going to be turned for the better. But that is in the past and the current climate does not bode well for independent standalone retail companies (even drugstores). Chairman & CEO Mary Sammons was deemed as a good fit and was probably within view of the home stretch of the turnaround finish line. But then the rug was yanked out from under the company’s feet. You might be able to argue that the company pulled the rug out from under its own feet this time, and now the economy weakening rapidly may only act further against it.

Posted on: December 5, 2008 – 10:10 am in Management Change, Retail, Turnarounds, CVS, RAD, WAG

The Black Friday Ten: Retailers Who May Not See 2009 (BONT)(DDS)(TLB)(PIR)(CPWM)(WSM)(CHS)(SKS)(EBHI)(RAD)

A year ago, not many people would have thought Circuit City would be in bankruptcy now. Linens ‘n Things, Mervyn’s, Whitehall Jewelers and Steve & Barry’s have either shut down or are closing huge numbers of locations since they moved into Chapter 11.

The most astonishing fact about the retail industry now is that the environment has gotten much worse than it was when each of these businesses began to fail. Sales at stores across the country will be down this holiday season. Some analysts believe that the numbers will be as bad as for any fourth quarter in thirty-five years.

Adding to the problem of slow consumer spending brought on by the recession is an unprecedented liquidity crisis. Retailers who need access to capital for inventory, rent, and personnel costs are finding that it is nearly impossible to get access to funds without a pristine balance sheet and a history of substantial positive cash flow.

These troubles point to a number of other retail chains going out of business between now and early next year. Sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which is considered the bellwether of holiday sales, will determine the fate of several companies which are now viewed as the weakest operators in the industry.

Posted on: November 26, 2008 – 5:57 pm in Retail, BONT, CHS, CPWM, DDS, EBHI, PIR, RAD, SKS, TLB, WSM

Rite Aid Problems Mounting (RAD)

The problems are mounting for Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD). Yesterday, the drug store operator received a non-compliance letter from the NYSE over its shares trading under $1.00 for the last 30-day period. The company is taking a special step to fix this issue, but it has continued issues that it require its attention.

Posted on: October 17, 2008 – 8:14 am in Exchange News, Retail, Shareholder Issues, Stock Splits, RAD

A Dozen Companies Which Should Lay-Off 10,000 People This Year

The evidence that sales at many companies are struggling and that employment will suffer are almost everywhere. Recently, a division of GMAC said it would let 5,000 people go. According to MSNBC, "Job cuts announced by U.S. employers last month jumped 12 percent over a year ago to cap the busiest summer of downsizing in six years." Job cuts through October could top what they were for all of 2007.

The economy is beginning to look like it did during the deep recessions in the early 1990s and 1973. Eric Rosengren, the president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, sees the situation getting much darker in the second half. Speaking of deteriorating financial conditions he said, "It may push the unemployment rate up to 6%, with more than 2 million people losing their jobs since the financial turmoil began last summer.".

Posted on: September 4, 2008 – 10:31 am in Economy, AIG, AMZN, BAC, BBI, C, CC, F, GPS, HMC, IBM, JPM, MRK, NFLX, RAD, SGP, SHLD, T, TM, WM

Can Longs Buyout Save Drug Store Sector? (LDG, CVS, RAD, WAG)

Longs Drug Stores Corporation (NYSE: LDG) is trading way up this morning after last night’s announcement that CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) will acquire the company. In a definitive agreement reached, Longs will receive $71.50 per share in cash in the buyout. After the assumption of debt and items, this buyout is valued at roughly $2.9 Billion.

Posted on: August 13, 2008 – 7:39 am in Mergers and Buy Outs, Retail, CVS, LDG, RAD, WAG

Big Retails Which May Close Or Downsize (CC)(BBI)(PIR)(CPWM)

Circuitcity It is now no secret that we are in a very weak economic environment and if it is not an official recession it is for about 80% of the country. We’ve already seen some retailers collapse entirely or at least fall into the restructuring chapters that protect the company from liquidation. Among these are Sharper Image, Lillian Vernon, Mervyn’s, Ames, Harvey Electronics, Good Guys, Levitz, Bombay, Movie Gallery, Tweeter, and other former modest-sized retailers which have filed to shield themselves from creditors.

There are several larger retailers that are in real trouble. Some are at risk for bankruptcy and each of them could have to cut operations so much that their revenue would be a fraction of what it is now.

Posted on: July 30, 2008 – 12:49 pm in Retail, TGT, NFLX, WMT, CC, GPS, RAD, PIR, CVS, CPWM, BBI, TUES

Major Rite Aid Gains Tied To Insider Buying (RAD)

Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) has been in trouble and its perpetual turnaround has been elusive or just short-lived at best with shares having slid more than 80% from 52-week highs. You wouldn’t know that if you just bought shares today for the first time. Today we saw a filing from late Tuesday showing that insiders of the company have made close to $1.5 million in share purchases on the open market.

The first filing we saw was by CEO Mary Sammons who purchased 475,000 shares on the open market at $1.0016 and another 11,750 shares at $1.01. Board members Robert Miller and George Golleher each bought 500,000 shares on the open markets at roughly the same levels.

Shares rose more than 23% to $1.42 on the news. Insiders buying shares rarely causes such a strong move like this, but we have seen a monster sell-off before this and the company is expected to post losses for 2008 and again in 2009. Its 52-week trading range is $0.98 to $6.13.

Jon C. Ogg
July 16, 2008

Posted on: July 16, 2008 – 4:01 pm in Insider Activity, Retail, RAD

The 52-Week Low Club (SIRI, XMSR, C, BAC, AIG, LEA, RAD, GM, OSK, UAUA)

Oshkosh (OSK) Comes out with extremely week outlook. Sells down to $22.20 from 52-week high of $65.83.

GM (GM) Big sell rating and possible credit rating downgrade. Economy catches up to Detroit. Makes multiyear low at $11.10 down from 52-week high of $43.20.

Rite Aid (RAD) Larger than expected loss. Sells off to to $1.39 from 52-week high of $6.51.

Lear Corporation (LEA) Auto supplier in a bad auto market. Screams down to $14.25 from 52-week high of $41.33.

Bank of America (BAC) Series of negative comments from brokerages about money center banks. Wall Street also does not like Countrywide (CFC) deal. Sells down to $25.01 from 52-week high of $52.96.

Citigroup (C) Wall St. estimates another $9 billion in write-offs in Q2. Drops to $17.53 from 52-week high of $52.97.

XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) Concerns about viability, merger or not. Drops to $7.33 from 52-week high of $16.44

Sirius (SIRI) Ditto. Dips to $1.80 from 52-week high of $3.94

AIG (AIG) Investors looking for more huge write-offs. Tumbles to $28.26 from 52-week high of $70.97

United (UAUA) Oil prices top $140 a barrel. Sell down to $5.25 from 52-week high of $51.60

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: June 26, 2008 – 2:45 pm in HI/LOW, AIG, BAC, C, CFC, GM, LEA, OSK, RAD, SIRI, UAUA, XMSR

Why is CVS Buying $2 Billion of its Stock? (CVS, WAG, RAD)

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) has announced that the company will buy back up to $2 Billion worth of common stock from time to time in the open markets during 2008 and 2009. The company believes this will enhance shareholder returns.

While some buybacks are great, this one seems so odd that it may even be counterintuitive. The company has been the darling of pharmacy stocks compared to Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), and Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) has been left so far behind that it hasn’t ever been able to mount an effective turnaround this entire decade. It scored a huge win with its acquisition of Caremark Rx to become a huge pharmacy benefit manager. The stock is also within sniffing distance of its 52-week highs and shares are up close to 200% over the last 5-years.

Is there a significant slowdown happening on the retail side there in pharmacies? The answer is yes or at least some, but pharmacies have the benefit of being located close to many homes in neighborhoods and they have the benefit that many consumers go there for their pharmaceutical and general healthcare and personal hygiene products. While people may spend less during hard times, many of those products still have to sell regardless of the economy. These aren’t recession-proof, but they should hold up better than mid-tier purses and mid-tier clothing retailers.

But this could also be a signal from the company that the bulk of its post-merger benefits have been realized. Unfortunately, we won’t know about that until more time passes. We don’t want to speculate on whether or not CVS thinks its growth is going to peter out in 2008 and 2009, but the timing of this $2 Billion cushion just seems odd. This would represent about 3 and a half days worth of trading volume.

Shares of CVS have gained to be up 0.5% at $42.90 today after the news. Its 52-week trading range is $34.80 to $43.75, and its market cap is roughly $61 Billion.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2008

Posted on: May 21, 2008 – 11:10 am in Retail, Stock Buybacks, CVS, RAD, WAG

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADP, MKTX, MA, NVO, OXY, OVTI, PAYX, PCG, RAD, TER)

These are not the only analyst calls this morning, but these are the calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on early this Tuesday morning:

Automatic Data (NYSE: ADP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America.
MarketAxess (NASDAQ: MKTX) raised to Neutral from Sell at Banc of America.
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Novo-Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO) downgraded to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
OmniVision (NASDASQ: OVTI) raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America.
PG&E (NYSE: PCG) raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
Teradyne (NYSE: TER) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Jon C. Ogg
February 26, 2008

Posted on: February 26, 2008 – 7:05 am in Analyst Calls, ADP,, MA, MKTX, NVO, OVTI, OXY, PAYX, PCG, RAD, TER

The 52-Week Low Club (AMD)(CC)(RAD)

Georgia Gulf (GGC) No news. Homebuilder exposure? Down to $4.90 from 52-week high of $21.90.

Rite Aid (RAD) Bad same-store sales. Down to $2.26 from 52-week high of $6.74.

AMD (AMD) Goes down almost every day now. Falls to $6.75 from 52-week high of $20.63.

Circuit City Stores (CC) Part of the retailer meltdown. Fall to $3.84 from 52-week high of $22.02.

YRC Worldwide (YRCW) Going to book big impairment charge on acquisition. Drops to $13.77 from 52-week high of $47.09.