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Closing Bell for Wednesday on Wall Street: Markets Open Lower, Stock Prices Rise All Day

Paul Ausick — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:05:50 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning on relatively little economic data. In Europe, Germany reported that industrial production rose 1.2%, while a house price index in the U.K.rose 1.1% month-over-month. In Asia, China reported a stronger-than-expected trade surplus of $18.16 billion in April (more coverage here). In the U.S., demand for home mortgages rose, primarily on rising demand for refinancing (more coverage here). Share prices turned higher shortly after trading opened this morning, and indexes remained positive all day, with all three major indexes posting a decent gain by the closing bell.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.43% today, now at 81.897. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.4% at 630.47. WTI crude oil closed up 1.1%, at $96.62 a barrel, following today’s report on inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 0.2% at $104.21 a barrel, creating the lowest spread between WTI and Brent in recent memory. Natural gas is up 1.4% today at about $3.98 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.7% today at $1,473.70.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 48 points to 15,104.97 (0.32%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 17 points (0.49%) to 3,413.27, and the S&P 500 rose 0.41% or nearly 7 points to 1,632.68.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) cut to ‘cautiousl’ at ISI group;
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee;
U.S. Auto Parts Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) raised to ‘buy’ at Roth Capital;
Plains All American Pipeline LP (NYSE: PAA) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; and
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) cut to ‘underperform at Baird.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading:

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is down 0.9% at $41.61;
Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD) is up 2.9% at $8.83;
Fuel Tech Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK) is down 10.3% at $3.59;
Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) is up 6.3% at $5.62;
Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) is up 0.9% at $34.65;
SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) is down 3.5% at $5.20;
Zillow Inc. (NYSE: Z) is down 9.9% at $56.70;
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is down 9.8% at $37.36 (more coverage here);
Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) is up fractionally at $47.34;
The Wendy’s Co. (NYSE: WEN) is down 5.7% at $5.77; and
Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is up 10.5% at $13.30.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN), Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR), Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST), Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX), Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX), Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC), Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE), and Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Affymax Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFY) is up 18.9% at $1.37. The biopharmaceutical firm had no news today, but seemed to catch a wave from Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN).

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is up 17.3% at $21.59, a new 52-week high. The video game company posted good results and forecast a strong current quarter.

Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) is down 19.4% at $14.51. The storage company’s CEO and founder resigned today.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year bond auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AFFY, AGU, AMGN, AOL, AWK, BBBY, CDE, CLR, CMA, CVC, DISH, DMD, EA, ENB, FIO, FTEK, GRPN, KGC, LULU, MNST, MRO, PAA, PARTS, PEIX, RAX, RIG, SD, TSLA, VVUS, WEN, Z

Closing Bell for Tuesday on Wall Street: Share Prices Push Indexes to All-Time Highs

Paul Ausick — Tue, 07 May 2013 20:05:18 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning following an unexpected 0.25% cut in Australia’s key interest rate to a new level of 2.75%. Japan’s Nikkei reopened today after a two-day holiday and buyers were in abundance (more coverage here). In Europe, industrial production in France fell 0.9%, which was more than the expected drop of 0.3%. France’s trade deficit came in higher than expected as well today. In the U.S., the Fed reported this afternoon that consumer debt rose by just $8 billion in March, half the amount expected by economists (more coverage here). The U.S. Treasury also auctioned 4-week bills today at a zero interest rate (more coverage here). Both the DJIA and the S&P 500 indexes posted new all-time highs today.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.06% today, now at 82.265. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.3% at 632.74. WTI crude oil closed down 0.6%, at $95.62 a barrel, following a report that Saudi Arabian production rose in April and that demand in the U.S. will be lower this year (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 1% at $104.39 a barrel. Natural gas is down 2.1% today at about $3.93 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.3% today at $1,448.80.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 87 points to 15,056.28 (0.58%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 4 points (0.11%) to 3,396.63, and the S&P 500 rose 0.52% or more than 8 points to 1,625.96.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including:

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs;
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) started as ‘underperform’ at Wells Fargo;
Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY) resumed as ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs;
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; and
Sanchez Energy Corp. (NYSE: SN) started as ‘buy’ at SunTrust.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading:

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) is down 1% at $86.79 after posting a new 52-week high of $89.72 earlier today;
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is down 8.9% at $43.43 (more coverage here);
Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) is up 1.9% at $58.32 after posting a new 52-week high of $58.51 earlier today;
Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) is down 1.3% at $86.72;
Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) is up 1.8% at $26.42;
Checkpoint Systems Inc. (NYSE: CKP) is up 4.1% at $12.10;
DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is up 6.6% at $61.80 after posting a new 52-week high of $62.06 earlier today (more coverage here);and
Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) is up 9.1% at $107.93.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK), Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), Fuel Tech Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK), Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC), Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD), Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ: Z), AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB), Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) and Vivus Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) is down 23% at $16.99. The network equipment maker warned on earnings this morning.

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) is up 9.5% at $1.44. The networking company held its annual meeting today and shareholders are willing to be patient. More coverage here.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is down 3.5% at $3.52. The mobile phone maker’s shareholders are not as patient as Alcatel Lucent’s.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Governor Jeremy Stein is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 10-year note auction

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ANF, ANR, AOL, APC, AWK, CKP, CRZO, DMD, DTV, EA, ENB, FOSL, FSLR, FTEK, INCY, JCP, KGC, MRO, PAA, SD, SN, VNO, VVUS, WEN, Z

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — March 14, 2013: Markets Climb to New Highs Today (AMZN, EBAY, WFC, VMW, ETFC, BFAM, MW, VRA, LODE, SOL, AEO, MCP, ZUMZ, BWS, MGM, SD)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:03:50 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning following a better-than-expected report on new jobless benefits claims in the U.S. and a mostly inline report on producer prices (more coverage here). In Europe, eurozone unemployment fell a bit more than expected and Spanish retail sales were not as bad as expected. In Asia, key interest rates in New Zealand and South Korea remained unchanged. The Shanghai index closed higher for the first time in six days. The DJIA closed with a tenth straight day of gains and the S&P closed within a couple of bucks of its all-time high.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.41% today, now at 82.553. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.4% at 647.17, with commodities prices mostly higher today on the weaker dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.6% today, at $93.03 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.7% at $109.00 a barrel. Natural gas is up 3.8% today at about $3.82 per million BTUs following a relatively large draw on stocks last week (more coverage here). Gold settled up 0.1% today at $1,590.70 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 82 points to 14,538.99 (0.58%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 14 points (0.43%) to 3,258.93, and the S&P 500 rose 0.56% or nearly 9 points to 1,563.20.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) cut to ‘neutral’ at J.P. Morgan; eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $65 at Argus and raised to ‘overweight’ at Evercore; Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) started as ‘market perform’ at BMO Capital; VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) raised to ‘outperform’ at William Blair and maintained on Focus List at Credit Suisse; and E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) cut to ‘underperform’ at KBW.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE: BFAM) is up 11.2% at $33.35 after posting a post-IPO high of $33.49 earlier today; Men’s Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) is up 19% at $34.60; Vera Bradley Inc. (NASDAQ: VRA) is down 8.4% at $22.81; Comstock Mining Inc. (NYSEMKT: LODE) is down 7.1% at $1.97; and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is up 1.4% at $2.17.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: AEO), Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP), Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), and Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (NYSE: BWS).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

MGM Resorts International Inc. (NYSE: MGM) is up 6.5% at $13.21. The casino and resort operator is a likely target for further investment by Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. More coverage here.

SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) is down 3.3% at $5.66. The energy exploration and production company caved in to demands from a large investor and it looks the company’s CEO is headed for the door. More coverage here.

E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) is down 8.3% at $10.84. The online financial firm got battered after its largest investor said it would sell its entire stake in the company. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index
8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing index
9:00 a.m. – Treasury International Capital (TIC) data
9:15 a.m. – Industrial production
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AEO, AMZN, BFAM, BWS, EBAY, ETFC, LODE, MCP, MGM, MW, SD, SOL, VMW, VRA, WFC, ZUMZ

Help Wanted: New CEO for SandRidge Energy

Paul Ausick — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:15:33 +0000

Late yesterday afternoon, the board of directors of SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) essentially caved in to demands from TPG-Axon Group and agreed to add four new directors named by the hedge fund to the SandRidge board effective immediately. The company’s current CEO, Tom Ward, will be retained until June 30, at which time he will either be fired or another TPG-Axon director will be appointed to the board, giving the hedge fund control of the board. It probably goes without saying that Ward will not stay on.

TPG-Axon and Mount Kellett Capital Management launched their attack on SandRidge last November, charging that the company had allowed Ward to participate in land acquisitions and sales through other companies that he either controlled or had an interest in. The SandRidge board said it had investigated the allegations many times in the company’s past and found no wrongdoing.

That is what the board of Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) said about the well participation program that it allowed CEO Aubrey McClendon to take advantage of. That did not work out too well for McClendon, who officially steps down on April Fool’s Day. Board support was not enough for Ward either.

In exchange for Ward’s ouster and the four board seats, TPG-Axon has agreed to terminate its consent solicitation and withdraw its notice of intent to nominate a slate of candidates at SandRidge’s next annual shareholders meeting.

SandRidge shares spiked in the late afternoon yesterday, but closed the day within pennies of where they started. The shares are down about 0.2% in the premarket this morning at $5.84 in a 52-week range of $4.81 to $8.57.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Commodities, Corporate Governance, Management Change, Oil & Gas, Shareholder Issues Tagged: CHK, SD

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — March 7, 2013: Markets Open Higher, Chop to Higher Close (SAP, CLH, ANGI, SD, BIG, ALJ, PETM, MTN, CIEN, DANG, JRCC, KR, SFD, FNSR, HRB, P, WDAY, ANN, FL, AMD, PBR, FB)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:05:58 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning and trickled lower most of the day as there was little news to follow generally good data from around the globe. In Japan, the central bank held interest rates and asset purchases at previous levels. In Europe, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank also left rates unchanged (more coverage here). French unemployment was higher than expected, as was France’s trade deficit. In the U.S., fourth quarter productivity was reported down and unit labor costs were higher. The new claims for jobless benefits fell, but the army of the unemployed grew (more coverage here). Tomorrow’s reports on non-farm payrolls and the U.S. unemployment rate are expected to show 171,00 more jobs and a drop in the unemployment rate from 7.9% to 7.8%

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.45% today, now at 82.089. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.7% at 641.74, with commodities prices mostly higher today. WTI crude oil closed up 1.3% today, at $91.56 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.4% at $111.10 a barrel. Natural gas is up 3.3% today at about $3.58 per million BTUs after a larger-than-expected drawdown on stocks (more coverage here). Gold settled up fractionally today at $1,575.10 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 33 points to 14,329.57 (0.23%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 10 points (0.30%) to 3,232.09, and the S&P 500 rose 0.18% or nearly 3 points to 1,544.28.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) raised to ‘overweight’ at HSBC; Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) raised to ‘outperform’ at Baird; Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) started as ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray; SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) cut to ‘underperform’ at BMO; and Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) raised to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank, cut to ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity, and cut to ‘underperform’ at Raymond James.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Alon USA Energy Inc. (NYSE: ALJ) is down 4% at $19.00; PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) is down 6.6% at $62.17; Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) is up 7.4% at $60.87 after posting a new 52-week high of $61.83 earlier today; Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) is up 18.3% at $17.67; E Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NASDAQ: DANG) is down 5.7% at $3.94; James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) is down 6.7% at $2.38; Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is up 3.3% at $30.34 after posting a new 52-week high of $30.62 earlier today (more coverage here); and Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) is up 9.6% at $24.43 after posting a new 52-week high of $25.03 earlier today (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR), H & R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB), Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P), Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY), Ann Inc. (NYSE: ANN), and Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL).

Some standouts among high-volume stocks today include:

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is up 4.1% at $2.53. This chipmaker had no news today, but the enthusiasm over the company’s inclusion in the coming PlayStation 4 continues.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE: PBR) is up 5.1% at $17.53. The Brazilian oil & gas firm pushed higher for the second day in a row following the announcement of its hike to diesel fuel prices.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up 4.2% at $28.61. The social network company announced a new look for its news feed today, making room for more ads and pushing stock prices up.

Stay tuned for Friday. Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Employment: non-farm payroll, unemployment rate
10:00 a.m. – Wholesale trade

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ALJ, AMD, ANGI, ANN, BIG, CIEN, CLH, DANG, FB, FL, FNSR, HRB, JRCC, KR, MTN, P, PBR, PETM, SAP, SD, SFD, WDAY

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AWK, ANGI, BIG, CLH, DVA, HTZ, LOGI, MLNX, WFR, NANO, NYCB, SAP, SD)

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:40:10 +0000

These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Angie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank, cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity and cut to Underperform at Raymond James.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) raised to Outperform at Baird.

DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) named Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.

Logitech International S.A. (NASDAQ: LOGI) named Bear of the Day as smartphones are eating up its peripheral sales, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) raised to Outperform at JMP Securities.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs (full note).

Nanometrics Inc. (NASDAQ: NANO) started as Buy with $20 target at Canaccord Genuity.

New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: NYCB) raised to Outperform at KBW.

SAP A.G. (NYSE: SAP) raised to Overweight at HSBC.

SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) cut to Underperform at BMO.

UBS sees enterprise storage changing the landscape of traditional drives and storage ahead.

Here are 11 stocks which analysts expect to rise 50% to 100% (or more) over the next year.

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ANGI, AWK, BIG, CLH, DVA, HTZ, LOGI, MLNX, NANO, NYCB, SAP, SD, WFR

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — March 1, 2013: Markets Struggle to Small Gains (DB, V, DRI, BUD, ADSK, BODY, CTIC, CLNE, DECK, GPS, MCP, PANW, SD, BBY, ARNA, BYD, SSYS, RIG, GRPN, MTG, IEP)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:03:42 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a number of disappointing data releases in Europe and Asia. Eurozone PMI remains on the pessimistic side, with a reading of 47.9, and the unemployment rate ticked higher to 11.9% (more coverage here). Italy’s debt-to-GDP ratio is at its highest level in 20 years, and U.K. PMI came in well below expectations. In Asia, China’s PMI came in just into the optimism zone with a reading of 50.1, down from a previous reading of 50.4. In the U.S. the report on personal income and savings disappointed investors (more coverage here), while both the ISM manufacturing index and consumer sentiment index posted solid gains (more coverage here). But stocks could do little more than remain in positive territory on the day when a mandatory cut of $85 billion in the federal budget went into effect.

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.44% today, now at 82.294. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.3% at 648.21, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed down 1.5% today, at $90.68 a barrel, down 2.6% for the week and the lowest closing price since December 24th. Brent crude trades down 0.9% at $110.36 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.8% today at about $3.46 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.4% today at $1,572.30 an ounce, the lowest close since last July, but only fractionally below last week’s close.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 35 points to 14,090.04 (0.25%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 10 points (0.30%) to 3,169.74, and the S&P 500 rose 0.24% or nearly 4 points to 1,518.24.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) cut to ‘neutral’ at UBS; Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE: BUD) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $45 at Jefferies.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Body Central Corp. (NASDAQ: BODY) is up 1.6% at $7.83; Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is down 10.6% at $1.20; Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) is up 2.4% at $12.88; Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK) is up 15.6% at $46.72; Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) is up 2.6% at $33.78; Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is down 5.4% at $5.81; Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) is down 3.9% at $58.73; SandRidge Energy Co. (NYSE: SD) is down 4.4% at $5.45; and Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is up 3.4% at $16.96 (more coverage here).

Before markets open Monday morning we are scheduled to hear from Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA), Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD), Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS), and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is up 14.8% at $5.20. The daily deals website fired its CEO last night. More coverage here.

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG) is up 27.5% at $3.80. The mortgage insurer posted another loss yesterday, but investors appear to think that the insurers will get well when Uncle Sam plays a smaller role in the housing market. More coverage on today’s spiky stocks here.

Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ: IEP) is down 15.3% at $60.57. The Carl Icahn-controlled MLP issued more shares (actually, common interests) at a 13% discount this morning. Like MTG, another of today’s spiky stocks.

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

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

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ADSK, ARNA, BBY, BODY, BUD, BYD, CLNE, CTIC, DB, DECK, DRI, GPS, GRPN, IEP, MCP, MTG, PANW, RIG, SD, SSYS, V

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — February 28, 2013: Markets Climb Before Late Day Slide (EBAY, RHT, SKS, FSLR, VMW, CECO, CLR, GRPN, GTAT, JCP, LTD, MNST, RGR, PANL, BKS, CVC, KSS, SHLD, BODY, CTIC, CLNE, DECK, GPS, MCP, PANW, SD, BBY, GRPN, JCP, BSFT)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:04:03 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning as the federal budget sequester appears to be set to go into effect tomorrow. Global data releases were also mixed. In Europe, the consumer price index came in at 2%, as expected, but Spain’s fourth-quarter GDP revision was worse than expected. Consumer spending slipped in France and German unemployment ticked up to 6.9%. In Asia, the news was better, with the official announcement of a dovish replacement for Governor of the Bank of Japan and Japanese PMI up month-over-month. In the U.S. the second revision to GDP growth rose less than expected, to just 0.1% (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.38% today, now at 81.906. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.8% at 650.13, with commodities prices mostly higher today. WTI crude oil closed down 0.8% today, at $92.05 a barrel, losing 5.6% on the month (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 0.7% at $111.10 a barrel. Natural gas is up about 1.3% today at about $3.48 per million BTUs following the weekly storage report (more coverage here). Gold settled down 1.1% today at $1,578.10 an ounce, down about 5% for the month of February.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 21 points to 14,054.25 (-0.15%), the NASDAQ fell about 2 points (-0.07%) to 3,160.19, and the S&P 500 fell -0.09% or more than 1 point to 1,514.56.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) started as ‘outperform’ at BMO; Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) started as ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) cut to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley; First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) reiterated as ‘hold’ at Argus; and VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) started as ‘hold’ at Stifel Nicolaus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in several price moves today, including these: Career Education Corp. (NASDAQ: CECO) is down 9% at $3.25; Continental Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLR) is up 4.7% at $87.88; GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) is down 6.5% at $2.87; Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) is up 2.7% at $45.72; Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) is up 3.3% at $51.27; Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is up 2.6% at $54.89 (more coverage here); Universal Display Corp. (NASDAQ: PANL) is up 13.5% at $31.67; Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is up 4.5% at $15.92; Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) is down 9.1% at $14.06; Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is down 1.1% at $46.10; and Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is down 6.2% at $44.52 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Body Central Corp. (NASDAQ: BODY), Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC), Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE), Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NASDAQ: DECK), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP), Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW), and SandRidge Energy Co. (NYSE: SD).

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) was scheduled to report after closing today, but announced a delay until tomorrow, ahead of tonight’s deadline to receive an offer from founder Richard Schulze (more coverage here).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is down 24.3% at $4.53. The daily deals web site absolutely cratered on a dismal earnings report last night. More coverage here.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) is down 18% at $17.34. The department store operator posted results that were even worse than Groupon’s. More coverage here.

Broadsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: BSFT) is down 30.8% at $21.39. The Internet communications company posted good earnings last night, but guidance was way below expectations.

Stay tuned for Friday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is giving a speech. Automakers will be announcing February car sales throughout the day.We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and outlays
8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
9:55 a.m. – University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: BBY, BKS, BODY, BSFT, CECO, CLNE, CLR, CTIC, CVC, DECK, EBAY, FSLR, GPS, GRPN, GTAT, JCP, KSS, LTD, MCP, MNST, PANL, PANW, RGR, RHT, SD, SHLD, SKS, VMW

Omega’s Leon Cooperman Dumps Apple, Buys Facebook and Other Key Stocks

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:33:52 +0000

Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors, Inc. is a hedge fund manager that can move stocks. The newest 13-F filing at the SEC shows that he made some significant portfolio changes as of the end of Q4-2012.

The most notable holding change is that Cooperman’s Omega has cleared out its entire position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). The apparent heir replacing Apple in the portfolio is social networking giant Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). The Facebook position was some 3,161,300 shares worth some $84.15 million at the time. The Apple position at the end of the third quarter was worth some $177 million.

Another new position is Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), whereby Cooperman had some 2,149,340 common shares worth about $30.9 million. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) is another new position for Cooperman at more than 3.1 million shares worth some $106.2 million.

Harbinger Group Inc. (NYSE: HRG) was another new position for Cooperman. He held 5 million shares worth some $38.45 million at the end of 2012.

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) was shown to be a new position of some 24,378,545 shares worth some $154.8 million; Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) was another new position of 3,115,545 shares worth some $139 million.

Another small position was taken in Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) and it was listed as being some 1,258,273 shares worth $37.3 million.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Activist Investor Tagged: AAPL, CROX, FB, FCX, featured, HRG, RIG, SD

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AVP, BBVA, RATE, BPL, CLWR, CLF, CMCSA, CXO, DELL, FOSL, GE, GRPN, PM, PXD, SD, ZMH )

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:35:27 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls.

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) raised to Neutral at UBS.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

BankRate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Buckeye Partners L.P. (NYSE: BPL) raised to Buy with target of $58 at Argus.

Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) cut to Underperform at Raymond James.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE: CXO) started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) cut to neutral at Macquarie, cut to Underperform at FBR and cut to Outperform at CLSA.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reiterated Outperform and raised target by $1 to $25 at Credit Suisse.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) raised to Buy at Stern Agee.

Phillip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) raised to Neutral at Nomura.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Zimmer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZMH) raised to Buy with $90 target at Argus.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AVP, BBVA, BPL, CLF, CLWR, CMCSA, CXO, DELL, FOSL, GE, GRPN, PM, PXD, RATE, SD, ZMH