24/7 Wall St. » RDC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CHK, COP, RSH, STM, AIZ, ABX, MRO, MA, AGN, AUY, TWX, CLX, RDC, RRD, MSO, IACI, FSLR, DSX, COCO, APA, OWW, WNR, CMCSA, SVNT)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:09:45 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened lower this morning following dismal reports from Europe on manufacturing (our coverage here) and unemployment (more coverage here). The ADP report on US unemployment provided more gloomy news ahead of Friday’s official unemployment numbers (more coverage here). The US EIA petroleum inventory report helped push oil prices down (more coverage here), but the weak economic news ruled the day. Only the Nasdaq index has managed to pull into positive territory at all today, and that by less than 0.2% about an hour before closing. The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.39% at 79.130. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 687.61, with commodities mostly lower on the rising dollar. Chicago wheat fell more than -4.5% to post the biggest loss of the day. WTI crude oil closed down -0.9% at $105.22/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.23% at $1118.19/barrel. Gold settled down -0.5% today, at $1,654.00/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 11 points to 13,268.65 (-0.08%), the NASDAQ rose more than 9 points (0.31%) to 3,059.85, and the S&P 500 fell -0.25% or more than 3 points to 1,402.31.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘neutral’ at R.W. Baird; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML and started as ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) raised to ‘buy’ at Auriga; STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) raised to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs and raised to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup; and Assurant Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is down -2.8% at $39.30 (more coverage here); Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) is down -4.4% at $28.85; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is down -0.8% at $452.14; Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) is down -4.3% at $92.29; Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) is down -2.6% at $14.36; Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) is down -1.6% at $37.30; The Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) is down -3.3% at $67.74; Rowan Companies Inc. (NYSE: RDC) is up 1.3% at $34.97; R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (NASDAQ: RRD) is down -7% at $11.79; Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) is down -1.2% at $3.41; and IAC/InterActiveCorp. (NASDAQ: IACI) is up 3.3% at $50.34 after posting a new 52-week high of $52.77 earlier today.

Tomorrow we get earnings from First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO), Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW), and Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) among many others.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Chesapeake Energy is down -13.5% at $16.95 after posting a new 52-week low of $15.86 earlier today. The natural gas producer reported weak results and more troubles for CEO Aubrey McClendon. More coverage here.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is down -1% at $30.29. The cable company reported good earnings this morning. More coverage here.

Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SVNT) is down -18.8% at $1.51. An analyst has said that the company insolvent. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, and San Francisco Fed President John Williams are speaking at a conference. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:30 a.m. – Challenger job cut report
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Productivity and costs report
10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABX, AGN, AIZ, APA, AUY, CHK, CLX, CMCSA, COCO, COP, DSX, FSLR, IACI, MA, MRO, MSO, OWW, RDC, RRD, RSH, STM, SVNT, TWX, WNR

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, NEM, DNDN, CHTR, APOL, COST, PCLN, HFC, AZO, CRZO, DPZ, ODP, SAFM, RDC, TECD, YRCW, ALIM, TBET, SUMR, PEIX, CECO)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:14:49 +0000

Stocks started the day nearly flat before turning down on a poor report on US durable goods orders (more coverage here) and a slide in the Case-Shiller home price index (more coverage here). The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index came in much stronger than expected, however, and all the indexes had turned positive by mid-morning (more coverage here). The tech sector, led by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which posted a new 52-week high over $543/share, carried the rest of the market higher. Crude oil was lower today, with WTI crude lower by -1.9% at $106.55/barrel and Brent crude down -1.92% at $121.79/barrel. Gold settled up 0.8% at $1,788.40/ounce, the yellow metal’s highest close since more than three months.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 24 points to 13,005.12 (0.18%), the NASDAQ rose more than 20 points (0.69%) to 2,986.76, and the S&P 500 rose 0.34% or nearly 5 points to 1,372.18.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) cut to ‘hold’ at TD; Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) maintained as ‘neutral’ but target price cut to $13 at Credit Suisse; Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) maintained as ‘outperform’ and target price raised from $60 to $74 at Credit Suisse; Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; and Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) started as ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) is up nearly 7% at $632.78 after posting a new 52-week high of $637.88 earlier today (more coverage here); HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC) is down -3.7% at $31.91 (more coverage here); Autozone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) is up 2.7% at $375.94 after posting a new 52-week high of $377.78; Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) is down -0.5% at $27.47; Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) is up nearly 16% at $38.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $38.90 earlier today (more coverage here); Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) is up nearly 19% at $3.58; Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) is down -1.5% at $48.72; Rowan Companies Inc. (NYSE: RDC) is down -6% at $36.20; TechData Corp. (NASDAQ: TECD) is down -6.7% at $53.62; and YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is down -13% at $10.31.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Alimera Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: ALIM) is up about 76% at $4.06. The eyecare drug maker received a positive outcome from a European regulatory body for its ILUVIEN treatment.

Tibet Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: TBET) is up 14% at $1.71. The drug maker is being taken private by its CEO and chairman for $3/share.

Summer Infant Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMR) is up nearly 25% at $5.98. The maker of branded juvenile products announced better than expected earnings this morning.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is down more than -26% at $1.19. The ethanol maker’s reported earnings fell short of expectations. More coverage here.

Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ: CECO) is down more than -18% at $9.17. The for-profit education company posted a weak earnings report this morning.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher, and Philadelphia Fed president Charles Plosser are giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
8:30 a.m. – US GDP
9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
2:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Beige Book
3:00 p.m. – Farm prices

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AAPL, ALIM, APOL, AZO, CECO, CHTR, COST, CRZO, DNDN, DPZ, HFC, NEM, ODP, PCLN, PEIX, RDC, SAFM, SUMR, TBET, TECD, YRCW

The 25 Companies Spending Billions On Buybacks (ACE, AKAM, ABC, AOL, AVT, CBOE, CHTR, CSCO, COV, DISCA, DLB, XOM, CVX, HRS, HUN, JASO, JAH, NWSA, RDC, LUV, STJ, BSX, MSI, V, HPQ)

Administrator — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:56:25 +0000

It is no secret that the market volatility has many investors rattled. What is very counter-intuitive is that many companies are continuing with most or all of their investor friendly plans regardless of the market. That means keeping balance sheets strong, but it also means buying back stock and paying out dividends. In fact, some companies have signaled that they just do not believe the current mayhem will turn into a new 2008 or 2009 situation.

The fresh buybacks we have featured are only the big buybacks which are large in size or large in percentages of the market capitalization of the underlying companies. The best buyback announcements in August have come from the following: Ace Ltd. (NYSE: ACE); Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM); AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE: ABC); AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL); Avnet Inc. (NYSE: AVT); CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE); Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Covidien plc (NYSE: COV); Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA); Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB); Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM); Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX); Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS); Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN); JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO); Jarden Corporation (NYSE: JAH); News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA); Rowan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: RDC); Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV); and St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE: STJ).

We also saw some large and interesting buybacks in the last week of July from the likes of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX); Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI); Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V); and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ).

The companies are using their balance sheets to take advantage of distressed situations. Ultimately, this could even signal M&A opportunities arising. As a reminder, companies are not under any obligation to spend a single dollar to repurchase stocks. These buybacks actually look real, and many have a solid history of buying back shares. Who needs activist investors when you see these billions and billions being made available to purchase stock.

Here are the companies buying billions in their own stock.

Filed under: Accounting, Activist Investor, Business Services, Compensation, Corporate Governance, Dividend, Economy, Editor's Picks, Insider Activity, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, Shareholder Issues, Value Investing Tagged: ABC, ACE, AKAM, AOL, AVT, BSX, CBOE, CHTR, COV, CSCO, CVX, DISCA, DLB, HPQ, HRS, HUN, JAH, JASO, LUV, MSI, NWSA, RDC, STJ, V, XOM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MDRX, AMR, ADI, BHP, BYD, CHH, KIOR, LEAP, MRO, MAR, PCS, OSG, PFCB, RDC, SKH, TXN, VLO, YNDX)

Administrator — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:12:42 +0000

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

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
KiOR, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIOR) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Cut to Neutral at Baird; Maintained Neutral but cut target to $12 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Buy with $22 target at Argus.
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (NYSE: OSG) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank; Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) Cut to Sell at Argus.
Rowan Companies (NYSE: RDC) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) Started as Underperform at BofA/ML.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) Reiterated Buy with $35 target at Argus.
Yandex N. V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

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: ADI, AMR, BHP, BYD, CHH, KIOR, LEAP, MAR, MDRX, MRO, OSG, PCS, PFCB, RDC, SKH, TXN, VLO, YNDX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ATHN, ARUN, FAS, CVLT, DEO, NE, RDC, ZUMZ)

247wallst — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:40:14 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst calls from Wall Street we have seen early this Friday morning:

Athenahealth (ATHN) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Aruba Networks (ARUN) Raised to Buy at Jefferies; Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Chico’s FAS (FAS) Raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
CommVault Systems (CVLT) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Diageo plc (DEO) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Noble Corp. (NE) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Rowan Cos. (RDC) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) Cut to Neutral at Baird.

JON C. OGG
MAY 22, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ARUN, ATHN, CVLT, DEO, FAS, NE, RDC, ZUMZ

Early Bird Analyst Downgrades (DO, ESV, HBC, MORN, PPO, PWAV, RDC, TDW, TROW)

247wallst — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:00:00 +0000

These are some of the early analyst downgrades we are seeing from Wall Street this Friday morning with about two and a half hours until the open:

Diamond Offshore (DO) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Ensco (ESV) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
HSBC (HBC) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Morningstar (MORN) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Polypore International (PPO) Cut to Hold at BB&T.
Powerwave (PWAV) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Rowan Companies (RDC) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Tidewater (TDW) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
T. Rowe Price (TROW) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.

Jon C. Ogg
October 31, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: DO, ESV, HBC, MORN, PPO, PWAV, RDC, TDW, TROW

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ELN, ESLT, LLNW, RDC, SLW, AIG, EAT, ENTR, HNT, INAP, NVS, OEH, PACR, TI )

247wallst — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:39:08 +0000

Upgrades and Positive Calls:

Elan (ELN) Raised to Equal-weight at Lehman.
Elbit Systems (ESLT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Limelight Networks (LLNW) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Rowan Cos. (RDC) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Silver Wheaton (SLW) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.

Downgrades or Cautious Calls:

American International Group (AIG) Started as Sell at Societe Generale.
Brinker (EAT) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Entropic Communications (ENTR) Cut to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Health Net (HNT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Internap (INAP) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Novartis (NVS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Orient Express (OEH) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Pacer International (PACR) Cut To Underweight at JPMorgan.
Telecom Italia (TI) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Jon C. Ogg
August 6, 2008

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AFL, AMGN, BBY, CHTT, CVH, HNT, KMB, PCLN, RDC)

247wallst — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:30:58 +0000

These are not all of the upgrades or positive calls we have seen, but these are some calls moving shares this Monday morning:

AFLAC (AFL) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James.
Amgen (AMGN) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Best Buy (BBY) Raised to Buy at Banc of America.
Chattem (CHTT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Coventry Health (CVH) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Health Ney (HNT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Pricleine.com (PCLN) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Rowan (RDC) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
July 28, 2007

UBS Hikes Oil (CVX, DO, HERO, NE, PDE, RDC, RIG)

247wallst — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:01:05 +0000

UBS has raised its raw oil price targets for 2008 to 2010 and has lifted its coverage in the oil sector. UBS also initiated coverage on some of the oil and drilling companies this morning. Here are a few of the stocks they initiated coverage on:

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) raised to Buy from Neutral.
Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) started as Buy with a $160 target.
Hercules Offshore (NASDAQ: HERO) started as Neutral with a $35.00 price target.
Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) started as Buy with $81.00 target.
Pride (NYSE: PDE) started as Neutral.
Rowan (NYSE: RDC) started as Buy with $53.00 target.
Transocean (NYSE: RIG) started as Buy with a $200 target.

As far as average oil price, UBS raised those as well:

$115.00 average per barrel for 2008.
$120.00 average per barrel for 2009.
$116.50 average per barrel for 2010.

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2008