24/7 Wall St. » TDC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades

Administrator — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:33:05 +0000

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

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE: BBVA) Cut to Sell at Societe Generale.

Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

Jetblue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.

Kirkland’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) Raised to Outperform at Baird.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Cut to Sell at Soc-Gen.

Repblic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush Morgan.

Splunk, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) Started as Buy at BofA/ML; Started as Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley; Started as Neutral at UBS; Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Tumi Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TUMI) Started as Buy at Jefferies; Started as Outperform at William Blair; Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

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: BBVA, EMN, featured, FRC, JBLU, KIRK, M, N, NEE, NOK, RSG, SPLK, SYMC, TDC, TUMI, VRTX

5 Big S&P 500 Tech Stocks Outperforming Apple in 2012 (AAPL, CA, TDC, CRM, A, BRCM, DELL)

Administrator — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:53:30 +0000

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been on fire in 2012 and has hit new high after new high. If you just benchmark the $500 price, Apple shares are up 23.4% so far in 2012. What is amazing is that there are some surprises in technology stocks in the S&P 500 Index which have managed to outperform Apple so far year-to-date.

As it turns out the stocks of CA Inc. (NYSE: CA), Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A), and Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) have all outperformed Apple so far in 2012. Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is even a runner-up as its gain is only 1% less than Apple’s great 2012 run.

CA Inc. (NYSE: CA) closed out 2011 at $20.03 and at $26.79 the stock is the best of the technology sector stocks in the S&P 500 with gains of 33% year-to-date after adjusting for a dividend payment. Speaking of which, that dividend yield is close to 3.7%. The mean price target is $27.50 from analysts, so that implies only about 3% more upside as it stands today.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) closed out 2011 at $48.51 and after earnings the stock is now up to $61.75 for a year-to-date gain of just over 27%. Enterprise data storage remains in demand. Thomson Reuters has a price target of $67.42 and that implies just under 10% upside left in the stock.

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) closed out 2011 at $101.46, and shares are up 29.6% year-to-date with the stock at $131.50. With SaaS, CRM, and the cloud, the valuation here remains an astronomical 94-times next year’s forward earnings estimates. The consensus price target of $147.70 leaves an implied upside of almost 13%.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) is diversified enough in a number of sectors that it might not feel like a true technology company even though it is in the S&P 500 Technology screens. After closing 2011 out at $34.93, its shares are up 25.5% at $43.85. The consensus analyst mean target of $49.79 leaves an implied upside of 13.4% over the next year. That would not even be a 52-week for the stock.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) has so far lived up to when Jim Cramer touted it as a tech smartphone value stock. Even with a drop so far on Monday of almost -1.5% it is trading at $36.50 for a year-to-date gain of 24.3% from the $29.36 closing price of 2011. The consensus analyst mean target of $41.77 leaves an implied upside remaining of 14.4%.

There is a surprise runner-up status by Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). With a 0.8% gain so far on Monday to $17.90, Dell is up 22.35% year-to-date from the $14.63 close of 2011. Boy, Dell? Really? Dell has barely 1% of upside left before running into the mean consensus analyst target of $18.17.

As far as how all of this compares to Apple, a $500 Apple share price leaves an implied 13.7% upside to the consensus analyst price target of $568.49 on the stock even if some analysts are actually expecting far more upside.

Is it ironic that S&P downgraded the technology sector today calling the group overextended on a historic basis? Keep in mind that we still have over ten months until the end of the year.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Consumer Electronics, PC Companies, Software, Technology Companies, Trading Alert Tagged: A, AAPL, BRCM, CA, CRM, DELL, TDC

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AONE, EXPE, RIMM, AMGN, MMM, AAPL, CSCO, AMSC, BG, DNKN, LO, PEP, PM, SIRI, TDC, IPSU, TSL, DMND, GRPN, TLEO, CZR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:07:40 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened a bit higher this morning, and after some volatility have managed to get to the final half hour of trading with a modest gain. Some news is leaking out about the Greek debt swap deal being done, but what’s being reported is not likely to be welcomed in by ordinary Greeks. The dollar has been down most of the day as everyone seemed to believe an announcement on the Greek debt deal was imminent. The dollar index is down -0.187% — a slight uptick from its lower level this morning — at 78.591. Crude oil is up strongly, with WTI crude up 1.15% at $99.85/barrel and Brent crude up 1.16% at $118.56/barrel. Gold settled up 0.6% at $1,741.20/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 7 points to 12,890.61 (0.05%), the NASDAQ rose more than 11 points (0.39%) to 2,927.23, and the S&P 500 rose 0.15% or 2 points to 1,351.96.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) cut to ‘sell’ at Wunderlich; Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) cut to ‘hold’ at S&P Capital IQ; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) reiterated as ‘hold’ with $15 target price at Cannacord Genuity; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) cut to ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer and named ‘Bull of the Day’ at Zacks; and 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) got a lift from a target price increase to $665, which we cover here. We’ve also got a story on how Apple gets 80% of the operating profit among all the phone makers.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is down -2.1% at $20.00 (here’s our coverage); American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC) is down -8.74% at $5.50; Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) is up 5.9% at $63.25; Dunkin’ Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) is down -2.35% at $28.33; Lorillard Inc. (NYSE: LO) is up 9.8% at $124.46 after posting a new 52-week high of $127.68 earlier today; Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is down -3.6% at $64.37 (our coverage here); Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) is up 2.8% at $80.08 after setting a new 52-week high of $80.99 earlier today; Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is nearly flat at $2.19 (additional coverage here); and Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC) is up 10% at $63.85 after posting a new 52-week high earlier today of $64.97.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Imperial Sugar Co. (NASDAQ: IPSU) is up more than 79% at $6.02. The sugar refiner and marketer said it is nearing a sale of one of its divisions.

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is up 20% at $11.08. The solar panel maker is getting a big boost from a report that China will add about 3,000 megawatts of solar PV generation this year, although some analysts think the total will be double that. Other Chinese solar panel makers are also getting a nice bump from the news. We have another view of the sudden rise here.

Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) is down more than -36% at $23.36 after posting a new 52-week low of $21.44 earlier today. The snack food maker will re-state accounting and that jeopardizes the deal to purchase the Pringles brand from Proctor & Gamble (NYSE: PG). See our coverage here.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is down more than -15% at $20.82. The Internet coupon company posted weak earnings last night. See our coverage here.

Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ: TLEO) is up more than 17% at $45.62 after posting a new 52-week high of $45.71. The maker of cloud-based software is being acquired by Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL). More coverage here and here.

Ceasars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) is down about -3.8% at $14.80. The share price nearly doubled at yesterday’s IPO, to a high of $17.90, but the stock is coming back to earth today.

Stay tuned for Friday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Cleveland Fed president Sandra Pianalto are speakingWe have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – International trade report
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment report
2:00 p.m. – US Treasury budget report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AAPL, AMGN, AMSC, AONE, BG, CSCO, CZR, DMND, DNKN, EXPE, GRPN, IPSU, LO, MMM, PEP, PM, RIMM, SIRI, TDC, TLEO, TSL

After Taleo, Looking at Other Cloud M&A ‘Hopefuls’ (SKYY, TLEO, ORCL, EQIX, AKAM, RAX, TDC, NTAP, CRM)

Administrator — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:03:57 +0000

It is a bit surprising that First Trust ISE Cloud Computing (NASDAQ: SKYY) is not trading higher than it is after a ‘cloud acquisition’ even if it is a thinly traded ETF compared to other technology funds. After the Taleo Corporation (NASDAQ: TLEO) acquisition by Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) and with the market still holding gains, it would seem likely that investors and speculators would say “more cloud mergers and buyouts are coming this way.”

What is interesting is that Taleo was not even part of this cloud ETF, and many of the ETFs components are not exactly all cloud space players. Is it fair to lump in all cloud players as targets when one is software and one is hardware? Be advised, there are some stocks which have had buyout rumors in the past listed below but there are no current rumors we have heard.

Here is the weighting of the cloud ETF’s more cloud-centric companies, with the most recent weightings and some commentary on some of the names:

Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) 3.80%…probably too expensive to acquire now on valuation metrics and with a $6.1 billion market cap.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:: AKAM) 3.72%… surged after earnings, now unlikely to be bought on the cheap by would be acquirers.

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) 3.39%… has been called a buyout candidate before but the company’s line is that it wants to remain independent.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) 3.35%… still considered a special situation by some investors but no buyout rumors have proven true, and shares are up big after earnings.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) 3.22%… “The one that got away.” This used to be a buyout dream stock, but valuation got in the way. Now at over $14 billion the time may have come and gone.

Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) 3.08%… way too expensive to acquire on a valuation basis. Cloud is everywhere here in effect as a great benefit, but this one is diversified into CRM and SaaS.

Where this gets interesting is that Taleo is a human resources software maker and perhaps not just cloud software as some of the media headlines would have suggested. The 18% premium also suggests that paying up for the cloud players is only a limited value.

Just because one buyer buys a loose cloud play in software does not translate to buyouts in hardware.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Mergers and Buy Outs, Rumors, Software Tagged: AKAM, CRM, EQIX, NTAP, ORCL, RAX, SKYY, TDC, TLEO

Top Earnings Previews For Thursday (ATVI, BG, CBOE, DNKN, EXPE, LNKD, MPEL, NUAN, PEP, PBR, PM, RSG, SIRI, SON, TDC)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:20:47 +0000

This week should be the last waves of the normalized quarterly earnings reports for companies with December 31 quarter-end dates. We are also starting to get a few of the first waves of the earnings reports from companies with off-normal quarter-ends. Wednesday is going to be another busy day with many earnings. The earnings previews are for the following: Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG); Carbonite Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB); CBOE Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE); Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN); Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE); LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD); Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL); Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN); PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP); Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR); Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM); Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE: SON); and Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC).

We have compiled earnings preview on each company using Thomson Reuters consensus estimates and added color on each if applicable. Some of these are market moving, some are sector moving, and some are just interesting for traders to watch around the earnings reports.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) estimates are $0.56 EPS and $2.2 billion in revenues. At $12.55, the maker of World of Warcraft has been very range bound.

Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) estimates are $1.57 EPS and $13.73 billion in revenues.

Carbonite Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB) estimates are -$0.23 EPS and $16.78 million in revenues. This will be a first real look of a full quarter and unfortunately this one has been cut in half as investors have tempered expectations for the personal data backup service provider.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: ATVI, BG, CBOE, DNKN, EXPE, LNKD, MPEL, NUAN, PBR, PEP, PM, RSG, SIRI, SON, TDC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CF, DLPH, EA, EL, MCK, RSH, SRE, SNE, TDC, VMW, YHOO)

Administrator — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:29:02 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning. It is generally light in analyst coverage the week between Christmas and New Years, but there are also some great hidden gems during this time.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) named as value stock of the day by Zacks Investment Research.
Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) Initiated as Outperform at Credit Suisse; Started as Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan; Started as Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) Maintained Neutral with $28.00 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) Reiterated Buy with $61 price target objective at Argus.
Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) target cut in Japan by Barclays.
Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) added to US 1 focus list at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Maintained Buy with $18.00 price target objective at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: CF, DLPH, EA, EL, MCK, RSH, SNE, SRE, TDC, VMW, YHOO

Morning Movers (ORCL, TDC, CMFB, MY, RIMM)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:28:01 +0000

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC), Commercefirst Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: CMFB), China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd. (NYSE: MY), and Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM).

After the first half hour of trading this morning, Oracle is down nearly -13% at $25.42. Volume is heavy, with 22.3 million shares already traded, compared with a daily average of 31 million. The business software company reported weak earnings after markets closed last night. See more coverage here.

Teradata is down more than -12.5% at $44.15. Volume is heavy, with nearly half the average daily volume of 1.9 million shares already traded this morning. The data warehousing software maker’s stock was downgraded from ‘outperform’ to ‘perform’ at Oppenheimer.

Commercefirst is up more than 80% at $6.24. Volume is 4x the daily average, but trading in this stock is always very light. The Maryland bank holding company is being acquired by Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: SASR) for $24.5 million in stock and cash, or about $13.50/share.

China Ming Yang Wind Power is up more than 15% at $1.58. Volume is already greater than the daily average of about 230,000 shares traded. The Chinese wind turbine maker has announced that it will continue share and ADS repurchases under its $50 million buyback program.

Research in Motion is up about 7.5% at $13.46. Volume has already nearly equaled the daily average of 22 million shares traded. The smartphone maker is getting a boost on reports that at least two offers for the company did not materialize. Apparently this is interpreted to mean that RIM is under consideration as a takeover target — and that’s good news for shareholders.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Market Open, Most Actives Tagged: CMFB, MY, ORCL, RIMM, TDC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BWA, CTL, CHKR, CTRN, EXXI, F, HON, ITMN, JEF, JPM, ORCL, RIMM, TDC, WPI)

Administrator — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:03:40 +0000

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

BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) Raised to Outperform as the Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (NYSE: CHKR) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) maintained long-term Underperform as the Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Energy XXI (Bermuda) Limited (NASDAQ: EXXI) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Reiterated Buy with $70.00 price target at Argus.
InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) maintained Outperform but cut price target down to $20.00 from $37.00 at Credit Suisse.
Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF) Cut to Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity; maintained Outperform but cut price target to $40.00 from $42.00 at Credit Suisse.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Raised to Buy from Hold but price target is only $16.00 at ThinkEquity.
Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) Cut to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: WPI) maintained Buy with a price target objective of $78.00 per share at Argus.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BWA, CHKR, CTL, CTRN, EXXI, F, HON, ITMN, JEF, JPM, ORCL, RIMM, TDC, WPI

The Best Performing S&P Stocks of 2011 (SPY, OKE, AN, ROST, LTD, GR, TSO, EQT, ERTS, WFM, RL, TDC, RRC, MA, HUM, CMG, VFC, ISRG, BIIB, EP, COG)

Administrator — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:08:23 +0000

October may have been one of the best months of many of our lives in equities. The SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) rose by 10.9%. in October, but the year-to-date gain has been a mere 1.2% from the December 31, 2010 close to the close on October 31, 2011. 24/7 Wall St. wanted to see which stocks are up the most in percentage gains so far in 2011 in data provided by Capital IQ. This is a year-to-date move through the close of October 31, 2011. We have shown the S&P 500 Index gainers in order from lowest to highest. Another representation is how much implied upside there is to the Thomson Reuters consensus analyst price target as well. Those which are trading above their consensus price target have been given a “caution” ahead of the pricing data.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) 37.1% year-to-date; at $76.05 the consensus price target is $76.60.

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) 38.1% year-to-date; caution: at $38.94 the consensus price target is $31.28.

Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) 38.7% year-to-date; caution: at $87.73 the consensus price target is $85.00.

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) 39.0% year-to-date; at $42.71 the consensus price target is $44.71.

Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) 39.2% year-to-date; This is being acquired, so no color.

Tesoro Corporation (NYSE:TSO) 39.9% year-to-date; at $25.94 the consensus price target is $20.31.

EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) 41.6% year-to-date; at $63.50 the consensus price target is $72.28.

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) 42.6% year-to-date; at $23.35 the consensus price target is $25.63. This was previously listed as our top pick for the best video game stock for 2011.

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) 42.6% year-to-date; at $72.12 the consensus price target is $74.47.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) 43.2% year-to-date; caution: at $158.79 the consensus price target is $150.00.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) 44.9% year-to-date; at $59.66 the consensus price target is $60.56.

Range Resources Corporation (NYSE: RRC) 53.0% year-to-date; at $68.84 the consensus price target is $76.50.

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) 54.9% year-to-date; at $347.24 the consensus price target is $374.82. It seems odd to see one financial stock here.

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) 55.1% year-to-date; at $84.89 the consensus price target is $88.71. Health insurance has not been as bad of a business as the administration was looking for.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) 58.1% year-to-date; caution: at $336.12 the consensus price target is $328.45. The growth continues, but it is at or close to being fully valued.

V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) 60.4% year-to-date; at $138.22 the consensus price target is $144.33.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) 68.3% year-to-date; caution: at $433.86 the consensus price target is $419.27. DaVinci sales remain robust as more surgeons are looking for robotic surgery capabilities.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) 73.5% year-to-date; caution: at $116.36 the consensus priced target is $115.22. Here is how this compared to the rest of its peers before earnings season.

El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) 81.8% year-to-date; being acquired so no color.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE: COG) 105.3% year-to-date; ; at $77.72 the consensus price target is $91.32.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: HI/LOW, Index, Trading Alert Tagged: AN, BIIB, CMG, COG, EP, EQT, ERTS, GR, HUM, ISRG, LTD, MA, OKE, RL, ROST, RRC, SPY, TDC, TSO, VFC, WFM

Are You Ready… The Cloud ETF Arrives (SKYY, NFLX, RNOW, OTEX, RAX, TIBX, INFA, APKT, TDC, ARUN, EQIX)

Administrator — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:14:33 +0000

The new saying in investing is “There’s an ETF for that!” Now you can count THE CLOUD in there. First Trust has just launched its Cloud-ETF, called the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund (NASDAQ: SKYY). The expense ratio is probably not going to be considered outrageous but is higher than many ETF products with its 0.60% expense ratio.

The top components are as follows: NetFlix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) 4.46%; RightNow Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RNOW) 4.15%; Open Text Corp. (NASDAQ: OTEX) 4.13%; Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) 4.11%; TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX) 3.91%; Informatica Corp. (NASDAQ: INFA) 3.89%; Acme Packet Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) 3.87%; Teradata Corp. (NYSE: TDC) 3.80%; Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) 3.78%; and Equinix Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX) 3.70%. The classification stresses software at 32.53%, Internet software & services as 22.61%, communications equipment at 16.75%, and computer & peripherals at 11.15%.

The index tracks the ISE Cloud Computing™ Index and is said to be modified in equal-dollar weightings and is meant to track the cumulative performance of companies “actively involved in the cloud computing industry.” Minimum participation requires being engaged in a business activity supporting or utilizing the cloud computing space, as well as a share listing on an index-eligible global stock exchange, and finally a minimum market capitalization rate of $100 million.

The three segments in the index are the following:

pure-play cloud computing companies: direct service providers for the cloud or companies that deliver goods and services that utilize cloud computing technology;
non-pure-play cloud computing companies: companies that focus outside the cloud computing space, but those which provide goods and services in support of the cloud computing space;
Technology Conglomerate Cloud Computing Companies: These are large broad-based companies that indirectly utilize or support the use of cloud computing technology.

The overall weight by segment is 10% allocated to technology conglomerate companies. The rest is stated as, “The index weight that is allocated to non pure play companies is calculated by dividing the non pure play companies’ market capitalization by the sum of the pure play, non pure play and technology conglomerate market capitalizations. The remainder of the index weight is allocated to pure play companies.” Stocks are equally weighted within each of the three classifications and the index is reconstituted semi-annually and rebalanced quarterly.

After looking at the fact sheet, here are more details. The minimum constituent market cap is $863 million, the median market cap is $9.65 billion, and the highest market cap is $321 billion. The average P/E ratio is 33.37, the average price/book ratio is 5.10, the average price-to-cash flow ratio is 17.75, and the average Price/sales ratio is 4.20.

It is up to you as to decide whether or not you are a believer in an ETF with modified weightings such as this. When we hear “There is an ETF for that!” the question that always comes to mind is “Should there be?”

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Business Services, Consumer Electronics, Corporate Governance, Editor's Picks, ETF, Infrastructure, Internet, IPOs, Media, Mutual Funds, PC Companies, Software, Technology Companies Tagged: APKT, ARUN, EQIX, INFA, NFLX, OTEX, RAX, RNOW, SKYY, TDC, TIBX