24/7 Wall St. » RVBD

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (BAC, CHK, SAM, ERJ, PAA, GE, MCD, KMB, ALK, ALTR, COF, HBI, SNDK, KEY, AEP, CP, CTIC, RCL, PCX, RVBD, RMBS)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:05:19 +0000

Markets opened higher this morning although a decline in tech stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, leaving the index with only a small gain going into the last hour of trading. Energy stocks boosted the Dow and the S&P. Asian and European markets were higher today, except in Japan, where tech stocks held the market down. The IMF’s attempts to build its Eurozone firewall fund to around $400 million are meeting with mixed success, with the failure of the BRIC countries to jump on board (our coverage here). The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.46% at 79.193. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 672.63, with most commodities gaining on the falling dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.8% at $103.05/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 0.54% at $118.64/barrel. Gold settled up 0.01% today, at $1,642.80/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 65 points to 13,029.19 (0.5%), the NASDAQ fell more than 7 points (-0.24%) to 3.000.45, and the S&P 500 rose 0.12% or nearly 2 points to 1,378.53.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) cut to ‘sell’ at Credit Agricole; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) started as ‘neutral’ at UBS; Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; and Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) started as ‘overweight’ at Barclays.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is up 1.4% at $19.41 (more coverage here); McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is up 0.7% at $95.90 (more coverage here); Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) is up 1.6% at $76.50 after posting a new 52-week intraday high of $77.09 (more coverage here); Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) is down -0.4% at $34.55; Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) is down -8.1% at $35.38; Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) is up 0.05% at $53.96; Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) is up 11.7% at $30.09 (more coverage here); Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is down -12.2% at $35.55 (more coverage here); KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is down -0.06% at $7.87; American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is up 1.1% at $38.29; Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP) is up 0.8% at $77.08 (more coverage here); Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is flat at $1.16; and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is down -7.8% at $26.61.

We have a preview of next week’s big earnings reports here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is down -8% at $6.19. The coal miner announced another mine closure today, along with a lowered production estimate. Patriot is scheduled to report earnings after markets close today.

Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is down -28.6% at $19.89. The network equipment maker missed earnings expectations. More coverage here.

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) is down -12% at $4.92. The dhip maker missed EPS estimates today and offered a lower-than-expected forecast.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6- month bill auction

Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AEP, ALK, ALTR, BAC, CHK, COF, CP, CTIC, ERJ, GE, HBI, KEY, KMB, MCD, PAA, PCX, RCL, RMBS, RVBD, SAM, SNDK

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALTR, BAC, SAM, CHK, CRUS, ERJ, EZPW, GTE, XXIA, LL, MYGN, NXY, OKE, PAA, RVBD, SNDK, SYNM)

Administrator — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:31:02 +0000

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

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Sell from Underperform at Credit Agricole.

Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) Started as Neutral at UBS.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo; called “a stock to avoid on more ‘off balance sheet’ debt and ‘Founders Well’ issues” by Argus.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.

Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ: EZPW) Cut to Underperform at Stern Agee.

Gran Tierra Energy, Inc. (AMEX: GTE) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Ixia (NASDAQ: XXIA) Raised to Buy at Wunderlich.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LL) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) Raised to Outperform at Cowen.

Nexen Inc. (NYSE: NXY) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) Raised to Buy at UBS.

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA) Started as Overweight at Barclays.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer; downgrades and price target and estimates have been cut at multiple boutique firms.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; downgraded or estimate and price targets cut at several other boutique firms.

Syntroleum Corporation (NASDAQ: SYNM) Started as Market Outperform with $1.80 price target at JMP Securities.

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: ALTR, BAC, CHK, CRUS, ERJ, EZPW, GTE, LL, MYGN, NXY, OKE, PAA, RVBD, SAM, SNDK, SYNM, XXIA

Three Huge Tech Losers For Traders (EXTR, RVBD, SNDK)

Administrator — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:13:59 +0000

Technology companies are reporting earnings by the dozens now as earnings season is in full swing. 24/7 Wall St. has identified three dismal earnings reports in the technology sector that traders will be focusing on this Friday. We are tracking big losses in shares of Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR), Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK).

Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR) was lower with a double-digit percentage loss after offering a preliminary guidance. The company’s quarterly net revenue is expected to be $73.0 to $73.5 million versus a prior guidance $80 to 85 million. This is also under a year ago. Earnings will be about $0.04 per share, which up from a loss a year ago but it is under the $0.06 to $0.08 per share it previously offered. Wall Street analysts were expecting sales of more than $82 million with earnings of $0.07 EPS. Full 2012 sales are now in a range of $317 to $325 million with earnings of $0.22 to $0.26 per share versus a Thomson Reuters set of estimates of $0.27 EPS and $330.3 million in sales.

Extreme Networks went out in the after-hours session with a loss of more than 18% to $3.54 on almost 500,000 shares in the after-hours session alone.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) was hit hard last night with a double-digit percentage loss on its earnings report. The company’s report was $0.20 EPS on $183 million in sales; Thomson Reuters was at -$0.20 but the revenues were supposed to be about $186 million. The company sees second quarter adjusted earnings $0.21 to $0.22 per share and $193 to $197 million in sales, while Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.24 EPS on just over $202 million in sales. For all of 2012, the company’s new revenue growth is put at about 15% instead of 17% to 20% previously offered.

Riverbed shares went out Thursday night at $23.00 for a 17.4% loss and almost 2.2 million shares traded in the after-hours session. Shares are indicated around $22.70 in the pre-market session with more than two hours until the open.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) had already guided its sales and margins down on lower demand for its flash memory, but what was expected to be a weak report became even weaker after its new guidance targets. Earnings came in $0.63 EPS versus a $0.70 consensus target and sales were $1.21 billion versus $1.23 billion expected. Now the company put the coming quarter guidance at $1 billion with a $50 million buffer on either side while the consensus target was still all the way up at $1.3 billion. Sales are now expected to be negative in all of 2012 versus the 2011 year for a comparison. So much for a GARP and Value story.

SanDisk went out with a 13.7% drop to $34.90 in the after-hours session with more than 1.66 million shares recorded in the NASDAQ after-hours session. Be advised that the 52-week low in SanDisk is down at $32.24. Shares are indicated around $34.40 with more than two hours until the market opens.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: After-Hours Activity, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Pre-Market Activity, Technology Companies, Trading Alert Tagged: EXTR, RVBD, SNDK

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (BBY, SD, ALL, JCP, KIM, AEP, CVX, D, F, HON, PG, SOA, CPHD, INFI, NRGY, RVBD)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:07:13 +0000

All three major US indexes opened lower this morning following the report that US GDP grew by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. A rise of 3% was expected. Combined with the lack of a solution the Greek debt swap and lackluster earnings from several major US companies, the DJIA has remained down all day though the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 have turned positive (barely). There’s still about half an hour to go before the close, so there’s still some hope that all the indexes will finish the week on an uptick, no matter how small. WTI crude oil is down -0.13% at $99.57/barrel and Brent crude is up 0.55% at $111.40/barrel. Gold is higher by 0.50% at $1,738.50.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 74 points to 12,660.61 (-0.58%), the NASDAQ rose more than 11 points (0.40%) to 2,816.55, and the S&P 500 fell -0.16% or about 2 points to 1,316.33.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) started as ‘outperform’ with a $32 target price at Credit Suisse; Sandridge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) started as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity; The Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) started as ‘outperform’ at William Blair; J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) raised to ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray and maintained as ‘buy’ with target price raised to $49 at Argus; and Kimco Realty Crop. (NYSE: KIM) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup.

Earnings reports since markets closed on last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is down -2.62% at $40.20; Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is down -2.10% at $104.35; Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D) is down -1.91% at $49.88; Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is down -3.69% at $12.27; Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) is up 1.31% at $58.59; and Proctor & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) is down -0.51% at $64.47.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA) is up more than 40% at $27.35, after posting a new 52-week high of $27.85 earlier today. The specialty chemicals company has agreed to be acquired by Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) for $3.4 billion in cash and stock.

Cepheid (NASDAQ: CPHD) is up more than 25% at $42.98 after posting new 52-week high of $43.03 earlier today. The medical diagnostics equipment maker has boosted its sales outlook and is enjoying a halo effect from the hostile takeover bid for Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN).

Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI) is down -40% at $5.97. The drug maker has cancelled further trials of a pancreatic cancer drug that does not perform better than placebo.

Inergy L.P. (NYSE: NRGY) is down nearly -24% at $17.31 after posting a new 52-week low of $17.23 earlier today. The natural gas distribution company is cutting payouts to its unitholders.

Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is down nearly -19% at $24.38. The networking technology company warned this morning that first-quarter sales growth would not meet previous expectations.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and outlays
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auctions

Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: AEP, ALL, BBY, CPHD, CVX, D, F, HON, INFI, JCP, KIM, NRGY, PG, RVBD, SD, SOA

Morning Movers (INFI, RVBD, SOA, INFA, F)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:06:27 +0000

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI), Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA), Informatica Corp. (NASDAQ: INFA), and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).

After the first half-hour of trading, Infinity Pharmaceuticals is down more than -31% at $6.81. Volume is nearly 4x the daily average of about 64,000 shares traded. The drug maker has cancelled further trials of a pancreatic cancer drug that does not perform better than placebo.

Riverbed is down nearly -21% at $23.66. Volume is already nearly 3x the daily average of about 3.1 million shares traded. The networking technology company warned this morning that first-quarter sales growth would not meet previous expectations.

Solutia is up more than 41% at $27.56 after posting a new 52-week high of $57.85 earlier. Volume is already 12x the daily average of about 1.3 million shares traded. The specialty chemicals company has agreed to be acquired by Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) for $3.4 billion in cash and stock.

Informatica is up nearly 15% at $44.00. Volume has already exceeded the daily average of 1.7 million shares traded. The business software and services company has raised its outlook for the first quarter.

Ford is down more than -4% at $12.18. Volume is already about 80% of the daily average of about 54 million shares traded. The automaker missed earnings estimates this morning.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Roundups, The Day Tagged: F, INFA, INFI, RVBD, SOA

The Juniper & Riverbed Tails Wagging The Cisco Dog (JNPR, CSCO, RVBD)

Administrator — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:49:36 +0000

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) is often considered the baby versions of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO). That characterisation may not be fair, but that is another story. Investors and traders treat these often on an interchangeable basis. Then you have to throw in the situation at Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) on its earnings report.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is getting hit very hard, perhaps even too hard, after its 53% profit gains beat expectations and revenue met estimates more or less. The problem is that the company’s guidance for the quarter ahead remains challenging. Riverbed was up 1.2% at $29.92 today but now the stock is down almost 13% in the after-hours session to $26.00 per share in active trading.

So, as far as Juniper is concerned, its non-GAAP profit fell to $0.28 EPS from $0.35 a year earlier while revenue fell to $1.12 billion from $1.19 billion a year earlier. Those were more or less in-line with estimates, but the company talked about the current quarter being a challenging one and it cut sales expectations to $960 to $990 million versus a target of about $1.1 billion. That is just heading very much in the wrong direction no matter how you cut it. Juniper closed down 1% today and the after-hours earnings reaction has shares down almost 8% at $20.60 in active after-hours trading.

There is an old saying that a tail cannot wag the dog. Unfortunately that is not proving to be the case this evening. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the king of the networking space and its shares are down 1% at $19.62 in the after-hours after closing flat at $19.83. Cisco is in a turnaround and it is believed by many that Cisco is trying to win back much of its lost business in a leaner operating structure. We’ll know in the coming weeks if that is true or not.

Stay tuned.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, After-Hours Activity, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Trading Alert Tagged: CSCO, JNPR, RVBD

Acme Packet Warning: Wile E. Coyote Loses Again (APKT, CSCO, RVBD, JNPR)

Administrator — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:32:59 +0000

Acme Packet Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) is trading as though Wile E. Coyote is running the company and trying to sell to the Roadrunner. The company issued an earnings warning after the closing bell which lowered its full year outlook due to uncertainty among North American communications service providers. Telecommunications customers were giving weak orders during the quarter for its networking equipment for voice, video and data.

While Acme competes against Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), shares of Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) and Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) are the stocks suffering after posting gains in the first day of 2012.

Acme cut its targets to $1.03 to $1.05 EPS for the year on sales of $308 million to $310 million. When it gave guidance in October, those ranges were $1.14 to $1.18 EPS on sales of $315 million to $320 million.

The stock was initially halted after a 2.9% gain to $31.81 today, but shares are down 17.5% in the after-hours session down around $26.25. Sadly, this is going to make for a 52-week low as the range over the last year was $29.25 to $84.50.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Technology Companies, Telecom Tagged: APKT, CSCO, JNPR, RVBD

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AFFX, AMCX, BRCM, CSIQ, CSCO, DECK, DANG, ELN, EL, FSLR, IVR, IPG, JNPR, OMC, OVTI, ONXX, PTR, RENN, RVBD, SI, YOKU)

Administrator — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:28:50 +0000

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

Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) Raised to Neutral from Sell with a $4.50 price target at Goldman Sachs.
AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) Started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Canadian Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) named as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Started as Buy at Nomura.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) Cut to Underperform from Buy at Stern Agee.
E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NYSE: DANG) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.
Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Estee Lauder Companies (NASDAQ: EL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral from Buy at R.W. Baird.
Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. (NYSE: IVR) Cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.
OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI) lowered estimates again but maintained as Buy with $12.00 price target at Canaccord Genuity.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) Raised to the Conviction Buy List with a $47.00 price target objective at Goldman Sachs.
PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE: PTR) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup.
Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.
Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Youku.com Inc (NYSE: YOKU) Started as Hold at Brean Murray.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AFFX, AMCX, BRCM, CSCO, CSIQ, DANG, DECK, EL, ELN, FSLR, IPG, IVR, JNPR, OMC, ONXX, OVTI, PTR, RENN, RVBD, SI, YOKU

360-Degree Cisco Earnings Preview: Peers Await (CSCO, JNPR, ALU, RVBD, BRCD)

Administrator — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:58:51 +0000

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is set to report earnings after the close of trading and Wall Street is expecting a better report than what it had heard from the company earlier this year. This will bring an update on the company’s layoffs and reorganization as well.

First and foremost, here is a quick hit on its competitors and peers with overlaps. Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) is likely to move in the same direction as Cisco after earnings, but its shares remain battered from highs as well. Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) has been battered endlessly with downgrade after downgrade and its magic turnaround failed yet again to come to meaningful fruition. Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) recently recovered handily and some are hoping that this means good things for Cisco and Riverbed both. Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) remains as “the poor man’s Cisco” and was often a buyout target, but that time seems to have come and gone.

As far as what analysts are calling for out of Cisco, Thomson Reuters has a consensus of $0.39 EPS and $11.02 billion in revenues. Next quarter estimates are $0.42 EPS and $11.13 billion in sales. If Cisco reaches way out and offers 2012 guidance (July fiscal year-end) those consensus estimates are $1.70 EPS and $45.26 billion in sales.

Cisco shares are down over 2% today with the weak stock market, but at $17.89 its 52-week range is $13.30 to $24.60. Our take is that Cisco was beaten down too much for its leadership position and because of its low valuation and high cash balances. At the same time, shares have rallied close to 45% from the extreme lows seen in August during the market sell-off.

We would note that the chart is in a very interesting place that should offer some significant support even if the news is bogged down by woes in Europe. The 50-day moving average is $16.74 and the 200-day moving average is now $16.78. Those just crossed this week and the $17.89 price has been above that for most of the last month. See the stockcharts.com chart below.

Options traders appear to be braced for a move of $0.75 or so in either direction. Analysts have been far more positive on the way up compared to the pre-summer levels and the consensus price target is $19.37 from Thomson Reuters.

We know that the telecom and communications providers have been selectively telling suppliers and services providers that they have had order pushouts. Still, we have seen some win and some lose. Cisco is just too large to be immune to the current woes of Europe, slower spending in Asia and other slowing fears. At the same time, Cisco was just punished far too harshly throughout 2011 before its shares recovered.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Earnings, Technology Companies Tagged: ALU, BRCD, CSCO, JNPR, RVBD

Tellabs… Wall Street Sees More Pain Coming (TLAB, ALU, RVBD)

Administrator — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:21:37 +0000

We have been reviewing technology and telecom equipment providers of late to see if the worst is truly behind or if more pain is yet to come. After seeing the action in Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) this week, we are being nice by only asking “What the hell?”

Tellabs ended last week strongly but we have to wonder if the slowing capital spending in telecom and communications providers is not adequately built into the share price. The company did lose money at this week’s report, but less than expected. Revenues were down almost 30% from a year earlier and the range is flat to plus or minus a few percent for the coming quarter.

We have conducted similar review for Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) to see if it has found a plateau, as well as noting what looks to be a “back from the dead” attitude for Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD).

We have seen literally one analyst downgrade per day this week and these are all basically “sell” ratings:

Wednesday: J.P. Morgan cut it to Underweight from an already cautious neutral;
Tuesday: S&P Capital IQ cut the rating to “Sell” from Hold;
Monday: Zacks cut the rating to Underperform.

Shares closed up on Monday at $4.69 before earnings, but now the stock is down to $4.20 after earnings and after the analysts have weighed on the stock. Its 52-week trading range is $3.67 to $7.31. No one wants it even though it is effectively now trading close to its tangible book value. The only good news here is from Motley Fool saying “don’t get too worked up” on the earnings.

The issue is that the company is not sure if even the hurricane and the Verizon slow orders have signaled a bottom domestically and it has international risk now that more than half its sales come from outside of North America. In a world of consolidating telecom and communications providers, the business climate often looks like a boom and a bust for companies of this size.

No love for Tellabs. Apparently none tomorrow either, if the analysts are right.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Technology Companies, Telecom Tagged: ALU, RVBD, TLAB