Short interest in a number of major financial firms rose for the period ending October 15.
Shares short in Citigroup (NYSE:C) rose 51% to 178.1 million. The short interest in CIT (NYSE:CIT) was up 21% to 85.6 million. Share sold short in Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) were up 14% to 71.5 million. Shares short in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) were fairly flat. Read More
Updated throughout the day
Updated 3.34 PM EST: Consensus figures for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) earnings may be significantly too high (Barron’s)
Updated 1.14 PM EST: The whisper number for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) is $1.47 EPS compared to the Wall St. consensus of $1.42 (WhisperNumber)
Update 11.34 AM EST: Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) is substantially increasing the amount of original content it will run on its websites. (CNET)
Update 11.37 AM EST: GE (NYSE:GE) and Vivendi are $500 million apart on their valuation of Vivendi’s 20% of NBCU (WSJ)
Kraft (NYSE:KFT) will increase its bid for Cadbury from 745 pence to 850 to 900 pence per share before a UK government deadline on November 3 (Reuters)
Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is having trouble raising money for its new $20 billion fund (NYPost).
US authorities are close to filing a number of other insider trading charges against hedge funds (NYTimes).
The CME (NYSE:CME) may buy the CBOE of $5 billion. (Crain’s Chicago Business)
PC makers may have over-built based on higher anticipated sales from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows 7 (Barron’s)
Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) says that tens of millions of US PCs have scam security software (Reuters)
Potash (NYSE:POT) could benefit from rising corn prices. (BusinessWeek)
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone sales may disappoint investors when the company reports earnings (Fortune)
China’s GDP growth rate will be above 8% this year. (Forbes)
You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Reuters: US corporations are concerned about the weakness of the dollar.
Reuters: Bernanke says that global imbalances in trade and cash flows must be addressed.
Reuters: Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is attacking new markets with huge price cuts. Read More
These are the top early-bird analyst upgrades and positive research calls which we have seen from Wall Street early this Monday morning:
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) Added to Goldman Sachs Top M&A List.
Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Kroger (NYSE: KR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
PG&E (NYSE: PCG) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Polaris (NYSE: PII) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Visa (NYSE: V) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
VMware (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.
JON C. OGG
The short interest in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was steady in the period that ended on September 30 at 16 million shares.The bet being made against RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) rose 13% to 13% to 19.2 million. The shares short in other major techs stocks dropped.
Shares short in Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCD) dropped 14% to 19.1 million. Shares short in Juniper (NADSAQ:JNPR) dropped 11% to 36.8 million. The short interest in Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) dropped 8% to 12.9 million shares. Read More
These are some of the top stocks to watch for active trading today based on pre-market and after-hours volume activity. There are links through to more detailed coverage and volume analysis at VSInvestor.com
Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) shares are getting hammered as the most active premarket issue on very poor earnings and metrics..
Akamai Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM) down sharply on heavy volume after it missed expctations and guided lower for Q3.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) shares are falling after poor earnings on lower revenue amid weaker demand.
Verenium Corp. (Nasdaq: VRNM) shres are one of the top percentage gainers on fairly strong volume on a BP cellulosic ethanol venture.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) shares continue to climb on strong premarket volume, amid optimism for its drug pipeline.
American Axle & Manufacturing Holding Inc. (NYSE: AXL) shares are up strongly on discussions with lenders.
Trico Marine Services Inc. (TRMA) are one of the more uncommon premarket gainers, after it beat EPS expectations by 23 cents a share.
-The 24/7 Wall St. Team
A number of short sellers are not buying the tech rally and have substantially increased their positions in Microsoft (MSFT), Dell (DELL), Cisco (CSCO), Symantec (SYMC), and Palm (PALM).
Among other major technology stocks, the short position in Blackberry maker RIM (RIMM) rose 17% to 22.6 million shares. The short interest in competitor Palm was up 10% to 42.2 million. More than 33% of the Palm float is now sold short.
But, it was the really large tech companies that experienced the most notable moves. Read More
Goldman Sachs is out with some key calls in technology sector today. While some calls are positive, our take on this is more of a cautious stance due to the broad nature of some of the downgrades. Among the individual calls is a downgrade of IBM (NYSE: IBM) to Neutral rather its prior “Buy” rating based on limited upside to its $120 target. Both EMC (NYSE: EMC) and NetApp, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP) were resumed with coverage with “Neutral” ratings. CA, Inc. (NYSE: CA) was also downgraded to Neutral from Buy.
The firm raised Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) to the Conviction Buy List based on its operating leverage and a return in teh second half for PC sales. Goldman is also reiterating the “Buy” ratings on both Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ). Arrow is based on its operations and its relative underperformance. The call in H-P is based upon some recovery in the printer business and on some expected strength in the second half for the PC sector. On the storage side, Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) was raised to “Buy” from Neutral, while Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) was cut to Neutral from Buy.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was maintained as Buy rating and saw its price target raised to $160 from $145. On the software side, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), and Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) remain its favorite picks.
The ratings for the sector are attractive. There is good news here, but the sector call is broad enough that the impact may be limited. And some of the caution may further weigh on the otherwise would-be winners today.
Jon C. Ogg
July 10, 2009
It’s taken a back seat to health care, but one of the next big agenda items for President Obama’s administration is cybersecurity, a priority that is becoming all the more clear following July 4 hacker attacks on the White House, the Pentagon and the New York Stock Exchange.
The Associated Press reports that the attack on U.S. and South Korean government agencies last week was even broader than first realized. Other agencies targeted by the malicious code included the National Security Agency, Homeland Security Department, State Department, the Federal Trader Commission, the Treasury, the Nasdaq stock market (Nasdaq:NDAQ) and The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO). Read More
Data Domain, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDUP) keeps getting higher and higher bids in the bidding war that has erupted between EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) and NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP). Interestingly enough, this has an implication for Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) as well. There is one question that keeps coming up… Why Is Data Domain worth so much to these companies???
Read More
Reuters: Small banks are worried that new regulations will hurt their earnings.
Reuters: A judge approved the sale of GM assets.
Reuters: Rio Tinto (RTP) sold its food packaging assets for $1.2 billion.
Reuters: The UN reports that the recession has pushed 90 million more people into extreme poverty. Read More
These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades this Wednesday morning in early trading.
After today, we’d expect analyst coverage to start getting this until at least next Tuesday because of the shortened week. We have already seen the effects of fewer participants this week, particularly after such a stellar quarter that just ended yesterday.
Jon C. Ogg
July 1, 2009
These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street firms this Wednesday morning:
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Isle of Capri (ISLE) Raised to Outperform at oppenheimer.
OfficeMax (OMX) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Petro-Canada (PCZ) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Regions Financial (RF) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Staples (SPLS) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Symantec (SYMC) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
JON C. OGG
Apple’s (AAPL) march to make the iPhone a viable alternative to the business-oriented RIM (RIMM) Blackberry and perhaps netbooks, which are posting surging sales, got a boost from software security companies. Symantec (SYMC) and McAfee (MFE) are developing applications which can be used on the fast-selling handset. Read More
These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades and cautious research calls from Wall Street this Thursday morning:
American Superconductor (AMSC) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
AT&T (T) Cut to Neutral at at JPMorgan.
Micron Tech (MU) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Morgan Stanley (MS) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Redwood Trust (RWT) Cut to Neutral at at JPMorgan.
Symantec (SYMC) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
United Bankshares (UBSI) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
Verizon (VZ) Cut to Neutral at at JPMorgan.
JON C. OGG
Monday is starting the week off with a pretty light wave of analyst calls. The top 10 analyst upgrades and downgrades are not even a full 10 calls with more than two hours until the market opens:
Adobe Systems (ADBE) Cut to Hold at Citigroup; Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Bankrate (RATE) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
BorgWarner Inc. (BWA) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Marathon Oil (MRO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Red Hat (RHT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Sepracor (SEPR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Symantec (SYMC) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Sina Corp. (SINA) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
JON C. OGG
Short sellers were figuring that after the bank rally late last month, banks shares were likely to give back some gains. That was working until Wells Fargo (WFC) reported that it would have a good Q1, which probably resulted in a huge short squeeze in bank stocks.
As of the last day in March, shares sold short in Citigroup (C) were up 21% from two weeks earlier to 1.2 billion. Shares short in AIG (AIG) rose 54% to 281 million. The short interest in Wells Fargo was up 8% to 168 million. Shares sold short in JP Morgan (JPM) rose 26% to 70 million. The short interest in US Bancorp (USB) was up 18% to 76 million. Shares short in Fifth Third (FITB) were higher by 22% to 58 million. Read More
These are some of the top analyst upgrades or positive initiations we have seen early this morning with about two hours until the open:
Adobe Systems (ADBE) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Allegiant Travel (ALGT) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
American Express (AXP) Raised to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.
Digital River (DRIV) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
General Maritime (GMR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Microsoft (MSFT) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Netflix (NFLX) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Omniture (OMTR) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Salesforce.com (CRM) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Symantec (SYMC) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
JON C. OGG
These are the top pre-market upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street this Thursday morning:
BCE (BCE) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Google (GOOG) Raised to Buy at Canaccord.
IAC/Interactive (IACI) Raised to Buy at Canaccord.
Symantec (SYMC) Started as Buy at Auriga.
ValueClick (VCLK) Raised to Buy from Sell at Canaccord.
Carlisle Companies (CSL) Cut to Underweight at KeyBanc.
CNOOC (CEO) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Janus (JNS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
McAfee (MFE) STarted as Sell at Auriga.
SolarFun (SOLF) Cut to Sell at Collins Stewart, but was also raised to Hold from Sell at Canaccord.
Jon C. Ogg
March 26, 2009
If investors had a notion that short sellers were going to stay in big financials, they were wrong. Short interest in the weakest companies in the sector dropped. Shares short in Citigroup (C) fell 22% to 142.6 million shares. Shares short in CIT (CIT) were down 13% to 49.5 million. The short interest in AIG (AIG) dropped 4% to 135.6 million. Short interest in NCC (NCC) moved off 17% to 24.2 million shares. Shares short in Bank of America (BAC) were down 4% to 105.4 million even though many analysts believe the company will have to raise money.
The focus of the short sellers moved to the healthy financial firms on bets that they will sell off like their less successful peers. Shares short in JPMorgan (JPM) rose 29% to 5.2 million. The short interest in Wells Fargo (WFC) was up 7% to 133.2 million.
Short sellers jump into stock in big industrials. Shares sold short in GE (GE) were up 34% to 106.4 million. The short interest in Ford (F) moved higher by 7% to 268.5 million.
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