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Closing Bell for Friday on Wall Street: Markets Open Higher, Maintain Gains All Day

Paul Ausick — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 20:05:04 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning after the report on non-farm payrolls showed a slightly larger rise than analysts had expected. State and local government jobs rose for the first time in months. In Europe, German exports rose sharply, but the country’s central bank has lowered its GDP forecasts for this year and next. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei experienced another volatile trading day before closing down slightly. The Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges also closed down. The Fed’s afternoon report on consumer credit showed non-revolving debt (student loans, auto loans) rising again. Markets rose slightly following the report, and closed the week on an upbeat note.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.13% today, now at 81.6470. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.3% at 628.70. WTI crude oil closed up 1.3%, at $96.03 a barrel, and closed out the week up about 4.4%. Brent crude trades up about 1% at $104.61 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.1% today at about $3.83 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 3.2% today at $1,383.00, and closed down 0.7% for the week.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 207 points to 15,247.89 (1.38%), the NASDAQ rose more than 45 points (1.32%) to 3,469.22, and the S&P 500 rose 1.28% or about 21 points to 1,643.33.

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

Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM) cut to ‘hold’ at Stifel Nicolaus on a preliminary IRS ruling;
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) cut to ‘neutral’ at Nomura;
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), started as ‘outperform’ at Macquarie;
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) raised to ‘underperform’ at CLSA; and
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in the following price changes today:

Quiksilver Inc. (NYSE: ZQK) is down 11.3% at $6.81;
Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) is up 2.8% at $63.87;
Christopher & Banks Corp. (NYSE: CBK) is up 2.3% at $6.99;
Crossroads Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDS) is down 1% at $2.03; and
JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) is up 9.5% at $9.27.

There are no company earnings reports of note scheduled for release before markets open on Monday.

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Textura Corp. (NYSE: TXTR) is up 41.3% at $21.19. The construction industry software provider held its IPO today.

Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is down about 19% at $11.12. The set-top box maker settled patent litigation for less than shareholders were expecting.

James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) is down about 11% at $2.55. The coal miner’s stock dived on an analyst’s downgrade, dragging other coal stocks with it.

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

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

Filed under: Investing Tagged: C, CBK, CRDS, IRM, JKS, JRCC, LULU, MTN, S, TIVO, TXTR, YUM, ZQK

TiVo Taps Google, Cisco, Time Warner for Patent Settlement

Paul Ausick — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:05:37 +0000

Confirming a report from last night, set-top box maker TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) said this morning that the company has settled patent litigation with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) and Arris Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRS). TiVo will receive an upfront, lump-sum payment of $490 million from Google and Cisco to resolve patent licensing disagreements that went to court last year.

Including this settlement, TiVo says it has now received $1.6 billion from awards and settlements related to the use of the company’s intellectual property.

TiVo also said it will double its stock repurchase program, from $100 million to $200 million and extend the program through August 2015, bringing the company’s total cash available for repurchases to $160 million.

Following yesterday’s announcement of a settlement, TiVo’s shares spiked nearly 10%. Now that the details are out, however, the shares are tanking in premarket trading. Investors were clearly looking for a better deal.

Shares of TiVo are down nearly 18% in premarket trading this morning, at $11.35 in a 52-week range of $7.75 to $14.10. Shares closed at $13.71 last night.

Filed under: Media Tagged: ARRS, CSCO, GOOG, TIVO

Closing Bell for Tuesday on Wall Street: Markets Open Higher, Manage to Hold Decent Gain

Paul Ausick — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:04:51 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning on another day when very little economic data was released anywhere around the globe. There was no data released at all in the U.S., and in Asia, Hong Kong’s inflation rate rose to 4% in the past 12 months, ahead of projections. In Europe, German PPI rose 0.1%, which was less than expected, and the U.K.’s CPI came in at 2.4%, below the estimate of 2.6%. Core CPI in the U.K. came in at 2%, well short of the predicted 2.3%. A substantial amount of U.S. economic data will be announced over the next few days to make up for the dearth of the last few days.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.14% today, now at 83.8540. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.5% at 635.02. WTI crude oil closed down 0.6%, at $96.16 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 0.9% at $103.90 a barrel. Natural gas is up 2.5% today at about $4.19 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.5% today at $1,377.60.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 52 points to 15,387.42 (0.34%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 6 points (0.16%) to 3,502.12, and the S&P 500 rose 0.17% or nearly 3 points to 1,669.16.

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

Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFE) cut to ‘underperform’ at CLSA;
Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) cut to ‘neutral’ at Sterne Agee;
Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies;
Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) reinstated as ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; and
Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) started as ‘overweight’ at Piper Jaffray.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today:

Kid Brands Inc. (NYSE: KID) is down 0.6% at $1.58;
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is up 2.5% at $12.97;
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is down 3.7% at $25.83;
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) is up 1.2% at $52.83 after posting a new 52-week high of $54.25 earlier today;
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) is up 2.8% at $78.89 after posting a new 52-week high of $79.47 earlier today;
Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) is up 9.8% at $13.48 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.60 earlier today;
TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX) is up 0.8% at $51.76; and
Vodafone plc (NASDAQ: VOD) is up 0.1% at $30.14.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO), Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW), Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), and Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) is up 19.3% at $3.70 after posting a new 52-week high of $4.83 earlier today. The Chinese solar panel maker increased its first quarter shipment forecast, although year-over-year volume will still be lower.

Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR) is up 4.9% at $3.42. The wireless carrier received a sweetened offer this morning from Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S).

SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) is down 11.1% at $45.85. The solar energy installer is giving back some recent gains, as investors may have figured out that there is a limit to optimism.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify in front of a joint House/Senate committee and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher 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
10:00 a.m. – Existing home sales
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
2:00 p.m. – FOMC minutes released

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AEO, AET, BBY, BZH, CLWR, DKS, HD, INTU, KID, LIFE, LOW, MAT, NTAP, S, SCTY, SKS, SNE, SPLS, TGT, TIVO, TJX, TOL, VOD, YGE

Closing Bell for Monday on Wall Street: Markets Open Lower, Bounce Once, Then Go Flat

Paul Ausick — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:06:15 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning but soon rose above the break-even line where it stayed until noon when share prices began to dip. That was quite a shift from Asian markets, where the three major indexes were all higher, with the Nikkei at a five-and-a-half year high. In Europe the only economic data of note came from Italy, where industrial new orders rose 1.6% in April and industrial sales declined 0.9%. In the U.S., there was no economic data of note released today. Gold and silver took a beating early, but came back to close higher. Remarks by Chicago Fed President William Evans, however, sent equities markets back into negative territory.

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.6% today, now at 83.7490. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.7% at 632.05. WTI crude oil closed up 0.7%, at $96.71 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 0.1% at $103.80 a barrel. Natural gas is up 0.9% today at about $4.09 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 1.4% today at $1,384.10.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 19 points to 15,335.28 (-0.12%), the NASDAQ fell more than 2 points (-0.07%) to 3,496.43, and the S&P 500 fell -0.07% or about 1 point to 1,666.29.

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

Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) cut to ‘sell’ at Stifel Nicolaus;
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) cut to ‘sell’ at Deutsche Bank;
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) raised to ‘buy’ at Maxim Group;
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) raised to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs; and
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) raised to ‘equal weight’ at Barclays.

Earnings reports released since markets closed last Friday have resulted in some price changes for reporting companies as of the last half hour of trading today:

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) is down 3.9% at $45.78 and
Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: QIHU) is up 6.6% at $43.77 after posting a new 52-week high of $45.11 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings from Kid Brands Inc. (NYSE: KID), TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY), Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX), and Vodafone plc (NASDAQ: VOD).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is down 34% at $1.58. The Greek bank’s shares gave back last week’s gains after announcing a 1-for-10 reverse split and an issuance of 2.27 billion new shares following the split..

Real Goods Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: RSOL) is up 68% at $6.77, after posting a new 52-week high of $7.17 earlier today. The solar PV installation company has mysteriously appeared on investors’ radar screens and shares have more than tripled in the last 2 trading days.

JA Solar Holding Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is up 69% at $9.46 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.53 earlier today. The solar PV panel maker reported earnings this morning, and they were better than expected..

Stay tuned for Tuesday. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and New York Fed President William Dudley are giving speeches. We have also noted the following event on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auctions

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ABT, BBY, CPB, DKS, HD, JASO, JCP, KID, KSU, LEAP, NBG, P, QIHU, RSOL, SKS, TIVO, TJX, VOD

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AAPL, CS, HL, NAV, P, ROK, SKUL, TEF, TIF, TWX, TIVO, WHR, XLNX)

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:25:19 +0000

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

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reiterated Outperform and $600 price target by Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL) raised to Buy at Global Hunter.

Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) rose handily on Thursday after activist investor Carl Icahn got his way on the board. Now J.P. Morgan has raised its rating to Overweight from Neutral.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) has shuffled the chairs in the C-suite after earnings. Now Pandora has been raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray. Maintained Neutral but raised target to $13 from $10 at Credit Suisse.

Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK) cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Skullcandy Inc. (NASDAQ: SKUL) disappointed the street by predicting a loss. Now we have seen three downgrades: cut to Underperform at Raymond James, cut to Underweight at Piper Jaffray and cut to Underperform at D.A. Davidson.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) raised to Buy at UBS.

Telefonica S.A. (NYSE: TEF) raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas.

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) cut to Sell from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) raised to Buy from Hold with $68 target at Argus.

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) started as Hold at Argus.

UBS says to hell with Warren Buffett and his “never buy an airline” stance. It says to buy these airlines.

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

BofA/Merrill Lynch has a positive research call saying that the cell phone towers still have a lot of upside left in them.

Filed under: Investing Tagged: AAPL, CS, HL, NAV, P, ROK, SKUL, TEF, TIF, TIVO, TWX, WHR, XLNX

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ADBE, BV, BP, BKW, CIEN, CL, CVS, DVA, DE, EQR, XOM, KMB, MRO, MSFT, PG, RIGL, RDS-A, S, TIVO, WYNN, YOKU, ZUMZ)

Trey — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:37:35 +0000

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

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) cut to Neutral a Janney.

Bazaarvoice Inc. (NASDAQ: BV) raised to Outperform with $18 target at Credit Suisse.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW) started as Neutral at BofA/ML.

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) cut to Perform at Oppenehimer.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) reiterated Buy and raised target to $56 from $54 at Argus and raised to Outperform at Macquarie.

Davita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) raised to Buy at Nomura.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) started as Outperform at Macquarie.

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) defended on weakness and reiterated as Buy with $68 price target at Argus.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) started as Market Perform a BMO.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL) cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) reiterated Buy with $7.50 target at Argus.

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) cut to Neutral at UBS.

Youku Tudou Inc. (NYSE: YOKU) started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Here are some other outlook pieces for the end of 2012 and 2013:

Fortune’s Top 10 Stocks to Buy for 2013
BofA’s 10 Defensive and Yield Stock Picks for 2013
The Big Gold Trade: 2013 Pairing Gold Versus Miners
S&P 500 Upside Targets for 2013 from Everyone
Our own 2013 Alternative Energy and Cleantech Outlook for 2013

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADBE, BKW, BP, BV, CIEN, CL, CVS, DE, DVA, EQR, KMB, MRO, MSFT, PG, RDS-A, RIGL, S, TIVO, WYNN, XOM, YOKU, ZUMZ

Apple May Enter Market It Did Not Pioneer — TV

Douglas A. McIntyre — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 11:24:56 +0000

In all the markets in which Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has had success, the consumer electronics company has been a pioneer. If it moves into the television industry, it will lack that critical advantage, which may be a barrier it cannot overcome.

A look at the history of Apple product launches makes the point that, even if Apple manufactures and markets the best products in a sector, it additionally has the “first mover” advantage, to use an overused Harvard Business School term.

The Mac was first sold in 1984 under the name Macintosh. That put its computer in the market at the beginning of the PC age.

The iPod, which was first released in 2001, was an early version of portable multimedia players. And Apple built a huge library of music tethered to the device, a service not available from its competitors. iTunes became an immediate advantage for consumer marketing, and to some extent for the music industry that needed new avenues for distribution.

The iPhone, released in 2007, was among the first smartphones aimed at the consumer market. The Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry had a large customer base, almost exclusively among business and enterprise users. Consumers were not targets of new smartphone devices until the middle of the past decade.

And the iPad was one of the first tablet PCs. Other companies, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Samsung, have launched products to compete with the iPad, but none of them has taken large market share, yet.

The television obviously has been at the center of the living room for decades. The set-top box was the original in-home device to allow for cable TV. Beginning with TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) products, the consumer could watch shows during times other than when they were broadcast. Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) allowed consumers to stream programs onto their televisions via an Internet connection.

The Wall Street Journal reports that:

Apple Inc. is working with component suppliers in Asia to test several TV-set designs, people familiar with the situation said, suggesting the U.S. company is moving closer to expanding its offerings for the living room.

Apple’s powerful brand may help the firm to elbow its way into the living room. However, Americans already have televisions with massive screens, sophisticated audio and boxes for satellites, cable TV and even the current version of Apple TV piled high next to those screens to allow for access to a nearly infinite body of programs.

Apple will be late to the TV market. That creates a barrier the company is not used to and a situation in which it has to gain on the competition from behind.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Consumer Electronics Tagged: AAPL, AMZN, NFLX, RIMM, TIVO

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — November 29, 2012: Markets Hold onto Modest Gains (NTAP, LNCO, IACI, KMX, CREE, ARO, GES, TIVO, WDAY, BKS, KR, RY, TIF, AVGO, OVTI, YOKU, ZUMZ, SOL, WWAV, RIMM, BLOX, KSS)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:05:44 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning after the weekly report on new claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in lower than expected (more coverage here) and the second estimate of GDP indicated growth of 2.7% (more coverage here). In Asia, markets were generally higher on comments yesterday that negotiations on a solution the U.S. fiscal cliff were making progress. Shanghai was the exception, posting its lowest close in nearly four years. In Europe, Germany reported a 6.9% unemployment rate, as expected, (more coverage here) and a survey of eurozone business and consumer sentiment came in higher than expected. U.S. pending home sales rose sharply (more coverage here), but November same-store sales were disappointing (more coverage here). Equities dipped smartly when House Speaker Boehner denied that “substantive progress” had been made on fiscal cliff talks.

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.2% at 80.203. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.5% at 642.59, with commodities prices mixed today. WTI crude oil closed up 1.8% today, at $88.07 a barrel. Brent crude trades up 1% at $110.60 a barrel. Natural gas is down nearly 4% today at about $3.65 per thousand cubic feet, following the weekly storage report (more coverage here). Gold settled up 0.6% today at $1,727.20 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 37 points to 13,021.82 (0.28%), the NASDAQ rose more than 20 points (0.68%) to 3,012.03, and the S&P 500 rose 0.43% or about 6 points to 1,415.97.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) started as ‘underperform’ at CLSA; LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ: LNCO) started as ‘buy’ at Citi; IAC/InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $42 at Goldman Sachs; and Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank.

Earnings reports of interest since U.S. markets closed last night have resulted in price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is down 5.1% at $13.41 (more coverage here); Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) is up 2.3% at $25.84; Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is up 6.5% at $11.56; Workday Inc. (NYSE: WDAY) is down 2.8% at $51.68; Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is 12.1% at $14.11 (more coverage here); Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is up 5% at $26.31 after posting a new 52-week high of $26.40 earlier today (more coverage here); Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is up 0.4% at $59.05; and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is down 7% at $59.30 (more coverage here).

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Avago Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), Youku Tudou Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), and WhiteWave Foods Co. (NYSE: WWAV).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is up 3% at $11.43. The smartphone maker continues to gather upgrades from analysts. More coverage here.

InfoBlox Inc. (NASDAQ: BLOX) is up 32.3% at $18.45. The automated network control maker handily beat expectations and raises guidance. More coverage here.

Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is down 10.9% at $45.56. The retailer posted a big decline in November same-store sales and third quarter revenues did not meet expectations..

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

8:30 a.m. – Personal income and spending
9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
3:00 p.m. – Farm prices

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ARO, AVGO, BKS, BLOX, CREE, GES, IACI, KMX, KR, KSS, LNCO, NTAP, OVTI, RIMM, RY, SOL, TIF, TIVO, WDAY, WWAV, YOKU, ZUMZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — November 28, 2012: Markets Open Lower, Close Higher (LNKD, CAG, CHKP, GLW, UNH, ADI, GMCR, PVH, AEO, ANN, EXPR, TFM, JASO, MOV, LEDS, ARO, GES, TIVO, WDAY, BKS, KR, RY, TIF, KCG, GMCR, TFM)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:06:53 +0000

U.S. equity markets opened lower again this morning following Senator Harry Reid’s comments that negotiations on the U.S. fiscal cliff were not going well. In Asia, markets reacted badly to the report and to comments from the U.S. Treasury that the Chinese yuan is still far undervalued. Chinese officials said economic growth with be 7.8% in the fourth quarter. In Europe, markets also reacted to Reid’s statement and Spain’s report of a drop of 9.7% in retail sales in October. U.S. markets responded favorably to comments from Congressman John Boehner that negotiations over the fiscal cliff were going well. New home sales in the U.S. were lower than expected (more coverage here) and the release of the October Beige Book didn’t contain any big surprises (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index fell today, now down 0.09% at 80.330 after rising to 80.589 earlier. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.2% at 645.96, with commodities prices mostly lower today. WTI crude oil closed down 0.8% today, at $86.49 a barrel, following the EIA petroleum status report (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down about 0.4% at $109.49 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.9% today at about $3.70 per thousand cubic feet. Gold settled down 1.5% today at $1,716.50 an ounce (more coverage here).

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 107 points to 12,985.03 (0.83%), the NASDAQ rose about 24 points (0.81%) to 2,991.78, and the S&P 500 rose 0.79% or about 11 points to 1,409.93.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) started as ‘neutral’ at Cowen; ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a target price of $33 at BofA/ML; Check Point Software Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CHKP) started as ‘market perform’ at BMO; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a target price of $20 at Argus; and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) reiterated as ‘outperform’ with a target price of $59 at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports of interest since U.S. markets closed last night have resulted in price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Analog Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ADI) is up 0.8% at $40.41; PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) is up 6.8% at $116.68 after posting a new 52-week high of $116.93 earlier today; American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) is up 7% at $20.75 (more coverage here); Ann Inc. (NYSE: ANN) is up 8.2% at $35.08; Express Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) is up 9.4% at $14.21; JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is up 7.7% at $0.70 (more coverage here); Movado Group Inc. (NYSE: MOV) is up 9.3% at $35.23; and SemiLEDS Corp. (NASDAQ: LEDS) is flat at $1.18.

After markets close today and before they open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear from Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO), Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES), Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS), Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF).

Some standouts from today include the following stocks:

Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: KCG) is up 13.7% at $3.38. The stock trader and market maker has received a buyout offer from Getco Holding. More coverage here.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is up 28.8% at $27.29. The coffee company posted better-than-expected profits and raised guidance last night. More coverage here.

The Fresh Market Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) is down 13.5% at $52.10. The specialty grocer put up weak numbers and guided lower.

Stay tuned for Thursday. 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. – GDP
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
10:00 a.m. – Pending home sales
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
11:00 a.m. – Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
1:00 p.m. – 7-year Treasury note auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADI, AEO, ANN, ARO, BKS, CAG, CHKP, EXPR, GES, GLW, GMCR, JASO, KCG, KR, LEDS, LNKD, MOV, PVH, RY, TFM, TIF, TIVO, UNH, WDAY

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ADP, BK, BWLD, EXPD, GPS, GE, GHDX, LIFE, MYGN, NKE, NOK, NTRS, P, PAYX, RHT, QCOR, SQNM, STT, TIVO, TOT, WAG)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:05:48 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from Wall St. research calls this Tuesday.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) cut to Neutral at UBS.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) started as Buy at Citigroup.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) raised to Outperform at RBC.

Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ: EXPD) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

The Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reiterated Buy with $25 target at BofA/ML.

Genomic Health Inc. (NASDAQ: GHDX) started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFE) started as Outperform at William Blair.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) reiterated Buy with $120 target at BofA/ML.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) cut to Underperform at BMO.

Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS) started as Neutral at Citigroup.

Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) started as Reduce at Nomura.

Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) cut to Sell at Citigroup.

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) reiterated Buy with $61 target at BofA/ML.

Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOR) removed from Focus List but maintained Buy at BofA/ML.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.

State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT) started as Buy at Citigroup.

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) raised to Buy at Lazard.

Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT) maintained Underperform at BofA/ML.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) put on the Conviction Buy List with $43 target at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Investing Tagged: ADP,, BK, BWLD, EXPD, GE, GHDX, GPS, LIFE, MYGN, NKE, NOK, NTRS, P, PAYX, QCOR, RHT, SQNM, STT, TIVO, TOT, WAG