24/7 Wall St. » SONC

Is Good Times Four Times More Valuable Today Than It Was A Week Ago? (GTIM, MCD, YUM, SBUX, DRI, CMG, SONC)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:50:09 +0000

Just one week ago Good Times Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ: GTIM) stock was available for about $1.50/share. Today the share posted a new 52-week high of $5.98 on no news. In fact the last news about the company came out last week, when it hired a consultant to help it find a “strategic transaction.” The company said at the time that one option might be more acquisitions, but the investors who are driving up the share price are clearly thinking buyout.

Good Times has a market cap of less than $13 million, even at today’s nosebleed prices. It is competing for dining out dollars with behemoths like McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX), and current darling Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG). Even mid-size eateries like Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) dwarf Good Times and its 45 locations, all but 4 of which are in Colorado.

In its latest annual report, Good Times noted that it sold one of its stores in exchange for modifications to its credit agreement. The company went through a 1-for-3 stock split in December 2010 and closed 3 more stores in 2011 in addition to the one it sold.

Good Times might be a fine place to eat, but a fine place to invest? Without the 4x bump in share price over the last week, the entire enterprise would be worth about $3 million.

With just over an hour to go in today’s trading session, Good Times shares are up 66.9% at $4.69 after posting a new intra-day high of $5.98. The 52-week low is $0.71. Remember that last figure.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Food, HI/LOW, Retail Tagged: CMG, DRI, GTIM, MCD, SBUX, SONC, YUM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (XOM, WDC, RAX, NLY, EMR, BBX, CAG, GME, IHS, LULU, PERY, SONC, NCTY, DG, DISCA, RGR, SWHC, BTFG, DMND)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:06:33 +0000

Markets opened sharply this morning and remained in negative territory all day. Purchasing managers’ indexes in the eurozone and in China came in lower than expected this morning, weighing European and Asian shares. The US dollar index rose slightly today, now up 0.10% at 79.733. Commodities were mixed on the dollar strength, with grains and sugar higher, and most other commodities lower. The US EIA weekly natural gas storage report showed a gain of 11 billion cubic feet in US inventories, sending natural gas prices tumbling nearly -4%. (our coverage here). WTI crude oil closed down -1.8% at $105.35/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -0.88% at $123.11/barrel. Gold settled down -0.5% today, at $1,642.50/ounce, a nine-week low.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 78 points to 13,046.14 (-0.60%), the NASDAQ fell 12 points (-0.39%) to 3,063,32, and the S&P 500 fell -0.72% or about 10 points to 1,392,79.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) raised to ‘neutral’ with a $92 target price at JPMorgan; Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) raised to ‘strong buy’ at Needham; Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) cut to ‘underperform’ at Sterne Agee; and Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: BBX) is down -1.7% at $3.97; ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is down -0.6% at $26.21; Gamestop Corp. (NYSE: GME) is down -6% at $23.17; IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS) is down -4.9% at $92.89; Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is up 2.9% at $76.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $76.66 earlier today; Perry Ellis International Inc. (NASDAQ: PERY) is up 3% at $18.42; Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) is down -6.8% at $7.50; and The9 Ltd. (NASDAQ: NCTY) is down -5% at $7.01.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) is up 3.33% at $46.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $46.95 earlier today. The discount retailer posted better than expected earnings results. More coverage here.

Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is down -0.35% at $48.16. The cable network may take a big loss its investment in the Oprah Winfrey Network. More coverage here.

Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE: RGR) is up 13.4% at $47.95 after posting a new 52-week high today of $48.24. Smith & Wesson Holdings Co. (NASDAQ: SWHC) is up nearly 14% at $7.84 after posting a new 52-week high of $8.00. The gunmakers are rising on Ruger’s announcement that it will not be accepting any new orders until May because it is fully booked. More coverage here.

Banc Trust Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ: BTFG) is down more than -18% at $1.22. The bank holding company warned on earnings this morning. More coverage here.

Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) is down -8% at $23.59. The snack food maker is suspending its dividend. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are giving speeches. We have also noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – New home sales

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: BBX, BTFG, CAG, DG, DISCA, DMND, EMR, GME, IHS, LULU, NCTY, NLY, PERY, RAX, RGR, SONC, SWHC, WDC, XOM

Hamburgers Going Gourmet (MCD, WEN, SONC, JACK)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:15:03 +0000

During the recent Great Recession, the big fast food chains like McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), The Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN), Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), Burger King, and others launched low priced menu items for cash-strapped customers. Dollar menus were all the rage.

Now that the economy is improving, there’s a burst of demand for high-end, high-priced burgers and there are plenty of smaller companies moving to cash in on the trend. Burger prices that start at $10 or so include condiments like truffles, onions caramelized in wine, and expensive cheeses. Bloomberg News cites the CEO of upscale chain Umami:

Consumer awareness, especially around burgers, is evolving. These gourmet burger chains hit a certain psychographic — somebody who is very quality conscious, who is willing to explore and get out of their element.

And get out their wallets. The owner of another gourmet chain, Short Order, put it this way:

The days of eating $50 steaks are probably over. … Consumers are stepping down, without having to go to a Burger King.

We noted earlier this week that the top 500 restaurant chains in the US posted revenue of $242 billion in 2011, with McDonald’s topping the list at $34.2 billion in sales. How long until we can order a Big Mac avec Brie?

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Food Tagged: JACK, MCD, SONC, WEN

The Most Unhealthy Meals Served By America’s Fast Food Chains

247wallst — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:12:17 +0000

From California, to the New York Island; from the redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters, this land is filled with fatties, lard butts and people large enough to have their own gravitational fields. Yes, America is the land of the “large and in charge” and one of the main reasons for it is our love of fast food.

Though it’s tempting to put all the blame for America’s obesity crisis on the fast-food industry — and experts say they are at least partly at fault — it’s important to view it in context. The industry came of age during the 1950s as suburban communities saw their populations skyrocket and social mores also began changing as women began to increasingly work outside the home. Some of the savviest entrepreneurs in American corporate history and sprang into action.

McDonald’s Corp. started the trend in 1955 when businessman Ray Kroc wondered how the McDonald Brothers sold so many burgers at their Southern California burger joint. He opened his first McDonald’s Drive-In in Des Plaines, Illinois. There are more than 32,000 restaurants that are home to the Golden Arches. Col. Harlan Sanders began franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952. Five years later, Sanders began selling chicken in buckets and today there are more than 15,000 KFC outlets. James McLamore and David Edgerton founded Burger King in 1954, when as the company’s website notes “flame-broiled beef begins fulfilling its destiny.” There are more than 12,500 Burger Kings today. Glen W. Bell Jr. opened the first Taco Bell in 1962 with an investment of $4,000 and eventually sold the chain to Pepsico Inc. in 1978. At that time, there were 868 Taco Bells. Today, there are nearly 6,000. At the tender age of 17, Fred DeLuca co-founded Subway Restaurants in 1965. They have 32,800 locations today.

Read The Most Unhealthy Meals Served By America’s Fast Food Chains

Fast forward to the beginning of the of the 21st Century and many of the same trends that helped create the modern fast food industry are still helping fuel its growth. Many children, especially racial minorities, live in single-parent households, a whopping 65 percent of non-Hispanic black children and 37 percent of Hispanic children as of 2007, according to Kids Count. Mothers are working outside the home at much higher rates than in years past. It is projected that women will account for 46.9 percent of the labor force in 2018, up from 46.8 percent in 2018. Add to this mix, high unemployment rates caused by the uncertainty of the worldwide economy, and the allure of fast, cheap food becomes hard to resist.

And therein lies the problem.

Obesity rates are a public health crisis. Obesity rates have tripled among children since 1980. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who are obese are vulnerable to everything from diabetes to heart disease resulting in some $147 billion in direct medical costs annually.

Determining how much fast food is at fault for the poor state of the health of many Americans “is impossible to quantify, but is definitely a factor,” says Christina Munsell, Research Assistant and at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, in an interview. The increase in obesity “definitely would correlate with eating quicker meals that are easier to obtain.”

In order to create the rankings, 24/7 Wall St. examined the menus of the top 10 restaurant brands in the quick service category by sales as determined by QSR, an industry publication, looking for items that were the highest in calories, carbohydrates, sodium and saturated fat. We then ranked them against the nutritional guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture.

A couple of important caveats to consider. Not all food sold at fast food restaurants is unhealthy. The industry aggressively promotes healthier choice on their menus. Subway, for one makes a special point of doing this even though its Footlong subs are not healthy choices. Moreover, experts point out that some items sold at sit-down restaurants are actually much more unhealthy than many fast food items. Fast food, though, has gained ground during the economic slowdown while casual and fine dining chains have suffered. McDonald’s alone earned $24.58 billion in revenue in 2010. Yum Brands! Inc., parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, made $11.42 billion.

Methodology: We derived the rankings by taking the average nutritional ratings of menu items compared with the USDA recommendations. Carbohydrates, saturated fat, and sodium were given the most weight. Calories and protein were also considered.

Filed under: Food, General Tagged: MCD, PEP, SONC, YUM

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (CSTR, RIMM, SONC, SPWRA, TOT)

247wallst — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:49:55 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Friday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR), Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM), Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ: SONC), Sunpower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA), and Total SA (NYSE: TOT).

Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is up nearly 10% premarket on moderate volume to $56.50, relative to a 52-week range of $37.05-$67.56. The company reported favorable Q1 earnings.

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down close to 14% premarket to $48.84, relative to a 52-week range of $42.53-$73.37. Weakness in Blackberry sales caused RIM to cut current-quarter profit guidance.

Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ: SONC) is up 8.5% premarket to $10.80, relative to a 52-week range of $7.28-$12.20. The company announced that its same-store sales increased roughly 5% for the first two months of the quarter.

Sunpower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) is up 39% premarket on heavy volume to $22.42, relative to a 52-week range of $9.61-$19.88. Total SA (NYSE: TOT) announced it would acquire the solar company yesterday.

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: CSTR, RIMM, SONC, SPWRA, TOT

This Week’s Top Earnings on Deck (CCL, DG, JEF, WAG, ADBE, JBL, SONC, GIS, PAYX, RHT, BBY, CAG, GME, DRI, ORCL, RIMM)

Administrator — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:26:01 +0000

Earnings season is supposed to be over, but we have a packed week full of earnings due from off-calendar quarterly earnings reports. We have compiled Thomson Reuters estimates and added color where applicable on the following earnings on the books: Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL); Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG); Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF); Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG); Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE); Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL); Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ: SONC); General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS); Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX); Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT); Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY); ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG); GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME); Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI); Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL); and Research-in-Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM)

Tuesday morning brings Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL). Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.19 EPS and $3.31 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.33 EPS and $3.51 billion in revenues. With shares around $40.75, its 52-week range is $29.68 to $48.14.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) also reports Tuesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates for the dollar-store giant of $0.59 EPS and $3.52 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $3.40 billion in revenues. At $30.30, its 52-week range is $24.29 to $33.73.

Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) is due to report on Tuesday morning and it is one investors look at more closely now that it avoided much of the market malaise during the meltdown. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.36 EPS and $636.79 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.41 EPS and $671.1 million in revenues. At $24.40, its 52-week range is $20.15 to $28.44.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) is due with its drug store earnings Tuesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.80 EPS and $18.39 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.63 EPS and $18.25 billion in revenues. At $41.84, its 52-week range is $26.26 to $47.11.

On Tuesday afternoon comes a report from Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE). Thomson Reuters has estimates for the Flash and Acrobat maker of $0.57 EPS and $1.03 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.57 EPS and $1.04 billion in revenues. At $32.39, the 52-week trading range is $25.45 to $37.30.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) also reports on Tuesday after the close. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.51 EPS and $3.91 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.54 EPS and $4.04 billion in revenues. AT $19.52. its 52-week range is $10.17 to $23.09.

Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ: SONC) reports earnings on Tuesday after the close and while it is not a sector-mover, it can be very volatile around earnings reports. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.03 EPS and $114.6 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.17 EPS and $143.19 million in revenues. At $9.18, its 52-week trading range is $7.28 to $13.11.

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: ADBE, BBY, CAG, CCL, DG, DRI, GIS, GME, JBL, JEF, ORCL, PAYX, RHT, RIMM, SONC, WAG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AA, AMZN, AEP, ADSK, AAPL, BKS, BA, KO, HBAN, NFLX, GOOG, PEP, PCLN, Q, SONC, YHOO)

Administrator — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:11:36 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
American Electric Power Company (NYSE: AEP) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Started as Outperform ($405 target) at Wedbush.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) Raised to Neutral with $16 target at Credit Suisse.
The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) Cut to Hold at Argus.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Started as Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) Cut to Sell at Argus.
Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) Raised to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Started as Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

In case you were out last week, the top five analyst calls full summary is available here (AMZN, APC, AAPL, GOOG, VVTV). Yesterday’s full analyst slate is here and covers AAPL, AMGN, OFC, EXPE, KEM, MOS, POT, SVU, TROW, UHS, WFMI, WYNN, ALTR, ATML, NVDA, SNDK, and TXN.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AA, AAPL, ADSK, AEP, AMZN, BA, BKS, GOOG, HBAN, KO, NFLX, PCLN, PEP, Q, SONC, YHOO

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ARNA, ARMH, DRYS, GMR, GSK, NOK, OSG, SONC, TK, VLCM, WBD)

Administrator — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:42:29 +0000

These are some of the top analyst research calls for upgrades, downgrades, and initiations this Wednesday morning on Wall Street:

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) Cut to SELL at Execution Noble (Overseas).
DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
General Maritime (NYSE: GMR) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Reiterated Overweight at JPMorgan.
Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE: OSG) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ: SONC) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Volcom Inc. (NASDAQ: VLCM) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) Started as Buy at Citigroup.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ARMH, ARNA, DRYS, GMR, GSK, NOK, OSG, SONC, TK, VLCM, WBD

Top Day Trader Alerts (BP, CRIS, FDX, NBIX, NOK, SMTS, SONC, URRE)

Administrator — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:13:15 +0000

There are many stocks on the move this morning in the top day trader alerts and top active trader alerts. BP plc (NYSE: BP), Curis Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX), Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Somanetics Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTS), Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC), and Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) are all on the move this morning. We have compiled news, reactions, historical data, and relative color where applicable.

BP plc (NYSE: BP) is down again as the saga continues. Fitch cut it sharply, its dividend is at risk, demands are being made for endless reimbursements and damages, and its CEO is supposed to meet with the White House. Shares are down 4% at $30.15 on over 4 million ADR shares trading in the pre-market.

Curis Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS) is getting spanked, and not lightly. Its mid-stage colon cancer drug failed to show benefits as a first-line treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer. Shares are down a sharp 39% at $1.98 versus a 52-week range of $1.28 to $3.70.

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) is trading lower despite earnings returning to strong profits. The guidance for Fiscal May-2011 was offered as being $4.40 to $5.00 EPS versus Thomson Reuters estimates of $5.06 EPS. Shares are down 2% at $81.47 on 200,000 shares.

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) is surging as it has a big deal on its hands with much larger Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT). Abbott has agreed to pay as much as $575 million to help develop and commercialize Neurocrine’s endometriosis treatment. Shares are up over 20% at $5.67 on 375,000 shares, a new 52-week high as the prior range was $1.94 to $5.20.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) is getting hammered and is hitting 52-week lows on the ADR. All the smartphone sales are beating out Nokia it appears as it lowered its devices and services for its second quarter 2010 outlook…. Shares are down 9.8% at $8.86 on over 15 million shares in pre-market trading. The prior 52-week range was $9.10 to $16.00.

Somanetics Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTS) is surging on news that it is being acquired. Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) announced a signed definitive merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Somanetics Corporation for $25.00 per share in cash. The total comes to $250 million, net of cash acquired. Somanetics is up over 31% at $24.87 on almost 2 million shares in the pre-market. The prior 52-week range was $12.90 to $21.96.

Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) lowered guidance… again. Investors are going to probably going to get more than frustrated here if this happens again. Shares are down 3% at $9.58 versus a 52-week range of $8.07 to $13.11.

Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) must feel like the Lone Ranger. It noted, “Tenth Circuit Rules in Favor of Uranium Resources, Inc. in Indian Country Case.” Only 170,000 shares have traded, but it is up 46% at $0.73 versus a 52-week range of $0.45 to $1.55.

FANNIE MAE & FREDDIE MAC DELISTING

JON C. OGG

Sponsor: 26 Cheap Stocks to Sell – Cheap stocks have been on a tear recently, but nine out of ten stocks are circling the drain!

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: BP, CRIS, FDX, NBIX, NOK, SMTS, SONC, URRE

Big Stocks, Big ‘Fair Value’ Upside (LOW, SONC, DFS, UNH, KLAC, AMAT, GE, DVN, APOL, NRG)

Administrator — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:07:39 +0000

Many analysts have been updating their price targets on various key stocks, and it is always interesting to see what the truly independent research analysts have for price targets on major stocks. Morningstar has covered many key stocks in many key sectors this week and we wanted to take a look at each sector to see which had the most upside. Some of the names we pulled were Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW), Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC), Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS), UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH), KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC), Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN), Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), and NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG).

We have pulled a few of the major names here to highlight the largest upside in each category, and provided a direct link for each to see the logic and reasoning behind the calls from each individual analyst.

In the consumer sector, both Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) were both shown to have close to 50% upside to the fair value estimates.

In the bank and financial stock sector, Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) was given a fair value that is nearly 80% higher than today’s prices.

Imagine healthcare stocks having upside. Morningstar has tried to smooth out the effects of the healthcare reform and has the view that UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) was about 50% higher to a fair value estimate.

In technology, Morningstar saw close to 50% upside to fair value in KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT).

In the industrial sector, Morningstar sees General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) having more than 35% upside to fair value.

In the energy patch, Morningstar showed that Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) has almost 50% upside to an implied fair value estimate.

In the business and financial services picks, the pick of Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) seems unusual considering its recent woes despite beating earnings. But Morningstar gives close to 70% implied upside to a a fair value estimate here.

For the lagging utilities sector, Morningstar believes a fair value estimate for NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) is approximately 75% higher than current share prices.

Estimates fair value prices are those of Morningstar, which we used to derive the implied upside to today’s share prices.

Jon C. Ogg

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Healthcare, Research, Technology Companies, Trading Alert Tagged: AMAT, APOL, DFS, DVN, GE, KLAC, LOW, NRG, SONC, UNH