24/7 Wall St. » UPS

What’s Important in the Financial World (5/24/2012) Costco Earnings, Oil Below $90

247wallst — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:29:01 +0000

Oil has hit an extraordinarily low price, below $90 a barrel for WTI crude. That is the lowest level since October. It shows no inclination to spike back up. PMI data from Europe and China actually may depress it. Talks are going on that might defuse the Iran weapons battle. Iran’s government has admitted that sanctions have started to bite. Gasoline prices also have begun an accelerated drop. Yesterday, according to AAA, the price for a gallon of regular on a national average was $3.676. That is down from $3.849 a month ago. A gallon of premium, on average, has now dropped below $4. There may be pressure on the U.S. economy because of trouble in Europe. A plunge in fuel prices will not offset that entirely, but it will help.

Costco Sales

Costco (NASDAQ: COST) continues its extraordinary run as the most successful big-box retailer. Its club membership system has bettered the more traditional store operations of Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT). Net sales for the quarter that ended May 6 increased 8% from last year to $21.85 billion. Net sales for the first 36 weeks increased 10% to $65.54 billion. Same-store sales were up 5% for the most recent quarter. Costco’s shares trade at $83.50, up from a 52-week low of $70.22. Costco’s revenue per employee was $569,488, compared to $206,117 for Walmart.

Best IPOs

A quick review of the 25 largest U.S. IPOs ever shows how badly Facebook has done in early trading. Most of the companies on the list have tremendous revenue, traditional business plans that they have been able to freshen, and large profits. Among these are Visa (NYSE: V), UPS (NYSE: UPS), General Motors (NYSE: GM), MetLife (NYSE: MET) and Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU). The thing that stands out most about the list is how few tech companies it has. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is on the list, of course. But most of the companies are financial ones or firms that are manufacturing based. (Data from CapitalIQ.)

Facebook Investigation

The debate over whether some large investors were warned about a revenue downgrade of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) continues. Several media have carried stories about Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) passing on numbers that showed lowered forecasts for earnings and revenue in the second quarter and the full year. The attorney general of Massachusetts has begun an investigation into whether information was selectively disclosed. Morgan Stanley insists that it was in compliance with all the regulations that set rules for IPO behavior. Even if Morgan Stanley makes its case successfully, the news likely will keep individual investors out of the market. Many of these investors have turned to mutual funds, exchange traded funds and fixed income paper to protect their interests. That behavior has been reinforced by the Facebook IPO.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Market Open Tagged: COST, FB, GM, GOOG, GS, MET, MS, PRU, TGT, UPS, V, WMT

A Look Back At Largest IPOs

247wallst — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:18:06 +0000

A quick review of the 25 largest US IPOs ever shows how badly Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has done in early trading. Most of the company’s on the list have tremendous revenue, traditional business plans which they have been able to freshen, and large profits.

Among these are Visa (NYSE: V), UPS (NYSE: UPS), GM (NYSE: GM), MetLife (NYSE: MET), and Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) The thing that stands out most about the list is how few tech companies it has.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is on the list, of course. But, most of the companies are financial ones, or firms that are manufacturing based. (Data from CapitalIQ)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: IPOs Tagged: FB, GM, GOOG, MET, PRU, UPS, V

Big Changes to Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Stock Holdings, A to Z

Administrator — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:05:01 +0000

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) and Warren Buffett have just released their most recent U.S.-listed equity holdings for the Berkshire Hathaway empire. This cut off date is as of March 31, 2012 and Mr. Buffett has already said that he was buying some shares since the end of the quarter on weakness.

Also, keep in mind that portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are still new and those new positions of under $200 million $300 million are likely tied to them.

24/7 Wall St. has gone through line by line of each position to see which stocks have been bought and sold as new positions, as well as having added in whether or not the number of shares grew or shrank on each since the prior quarter. We had added some color in on some of the positions if applicable.

Be advised that the number of subsidiaries that this filing covers is 14 entities rather than 18 entities in the prior quarter. There is also a note in the 13F filing showing that the SEC has granted “Confidential Treatment” on some Berkshire stock holdings and that likely suggests that Buffett is still acquiring a position he does not want the public to know about yet. This filing does not signal the half-dozen or more European shares that Buffett said he bought so that remains an outstanding issue as well.

The value of the stock portfolio was $66,151,587,000 at the end of 2011 and this was listed as $75,300,250,000 at the end of March 2012.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was over 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) is now 5.6 million shares, HIGHER THAN the 1,793,915 shares last quarter.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is the SAME SIZE at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter and having been raised one quarter ago.

Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was right at 200 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is roughly 29.1 million shares, roughly the SAME AS BEFORE but it is still lower than previous quarters in past reports.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 4,333,363 Shares, SAME AS last quarter after having lowered it before.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is now 6 million shares worth $541 million and that LARGER THAN BEFORE after having been a new position of 2.684 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION listed at 22.999 million worth over $1.13 billion. This one had been 20.348 million shares worth $870 million one quarter earlier and it had been a new position just two quarters ago at 4.249 million shares.

Filed under: Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Compensation, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds Tagged: AXP, BK, BRK-A, BRK-B, CDCO, COP, COST, CVS, DG, DVA, featured, GCI, GE, GM, GSK, IBM, INTC, IR, JNJ, KFT, KO, LMCA, MA, MCO, MTB, PG, SNY, TMK, UPS, USB, USG, V, VIA, VRSK, WFC, WMT, WPO

FedEx Acquires French Company, Still Lags UPS (FDX, UPS)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:11:24 +0000

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) announced this morning that it has signed an agreement to acquire French express transportation company TATEX. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and no details were given on the terms of the acquisition.

FedEx has noted before that it plans to grow organically and to make small acquisitions, such as this one, to complement that internal growth. United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) took a different route to growth, acquiring Dutch firm TNT Express NV for $6.8 billion.

There is virtually no chance that FedEx can make enough acquisitions and integrate the companies acquired fast enough to challenge UPS or market leader DHL in Europe. Of course UPS has its own problems digesting the acquisition of TNT Express.

And both FedEx and UPS were probably counting on a bump in US business following the closure of thousands of post offices. Now that the USPS has come up with a plan to cut services without closing any of the offices, the two giant private carriers are probably re-calibrating 2012 forecasts.

Neither FedEx nor UPS shares are active in pre-market trading this morning.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Business Services, International Markets, Mergers and Buy Outs, Pre-Market Activity, Transports Tagged: FDX, UPS

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GD, ABB, HOG, COP, S, ALU, MO, PEP, TLAB, XOM, AET, BMY, BG, JBLU, LIZ, MJN, REGN, SWY, SWC, TASR, UPS, YNDX, NRGY, SPH, LEAP, AKAM)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:06:31 +0000

Markets opened a few ticks lower this morning after a poor report on new claims for unemployment benefits in the US (our coverage here). The report that pending home sales jumped 4.1% lit a fire under investors and pushed equities higher (our coverage here). The EIA report on natural gas supplies held gas prices higher although they’ve dropped back by late afternoon (our coverage here). Yields on 7-year US Treasury notes were at a record low following Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s clarification of what “exceptionally low” interest rates mean (our coverage here). The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.17% at 78.932. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.04% at 677.57, with commodities mixed on the slightly weaker dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.4% at $104.55/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 0.65% at $119.89/barrel. Gold settled up 1.1% today, at $1,660.50/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 114 points to 13,204.70 (0.87%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 21 points (0.69%) to 3,050.61, and the S&P 500 rose 0.67% or more than 9 points to 1,399.99.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) cut to ‘equal-weight’ at Morgan Stanley; ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan; Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) raised to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie; and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) maintained as ‘hold’ at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) is down -16.9% at $19.71 (our coverage here); Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is up 0.9% at $31.96 (our story here); Pepsico (NYSE: PEP) is down -0.3% at $66.44 (our story here); Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) is down -5.1% at $3.83 (our coverage here); Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is down -0.8% at $86.13 (our coverage here); Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) is down -8.4% at $45.22; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is down -1.7% at $33.72; Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG) is down -2.6% at $65.69; JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) is down -0.1% at $4.64; Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) is up 9.4% at $13.87; Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (NYSE: MJN) is up XX% at $XX; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) is up 4% at $86.38 after posting a new 52-week high of $87.26n earlier today; Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) is down -2.8% at $21.00; Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) is down -4.6% at $10.69; TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) is up 5.7% at $4.39; United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is down -1.8% at $78.25; and Yandex N.V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) is down -5% at $23.31.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Inergy L.P. (NYSE: NRGY) is up 17% at $19.71. The company is being acquired by Suburban Propane Partners LP (NYSE: SPH). More coverage here.

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) is down -20.2% at $6.16. The wireless carrier fell sharply on disappointing quarterly results. More coverage here.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) is down -14.8% at $33.03. The technology provider beat estimates but issued weak guidance.

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

8:30 a.m. – GDP report
8:30 a.m. – Employment cost index
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABB, AET, AKAM, ALU, BG, BMY, COP, GD, HOG, JBLU, LEAP, LIZ, MJN, MO, NRGY, PEP, REGN, S, SPH, SWC, SWY, TASR, TLAB, UPS, XOM, YNDX

Lopsided Overseas Package Delivery Battle (FDX, UPS)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:28:55 +0000

The country’s second-largest package delivery firm, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) has revealed that it is in discussions to acquire French express company TATEX. The French firm carriers about 19 million packages annually and turns over about €150 million a year.

Earlier this month Fedex acquired a Polish express company, Opek Sp.z o.o. — an even smaller package delivery company — in a rear-guard action following competitor United Parcel Service Inc.’s (NYSE: UPS) $6.8 billion acquisition of Dutch firm TNT Express NV. German-listed DHL, with a market cap of more than double TNT’s, is probably too big for FedEx to swallow, so the company is forced to make small pickups where it can to try to keep up.

Shares of FedEx are up about 2% at $89.89 in a 52-week range of $64.07-$98.66.

Filed under: International Markets, Large Cap Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: FDX, UPS

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (ARMH, HOG, UPS, KMI, AAPL, FCFC, JASO, JEF, PATH, TIF, ORCL, KKD, RCON, NEWL, TRGT)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:06:57 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning and nothing came along all day to move any of the three major indexes above the neutral line. The morning’s report on housing starts was no better than flat with the January number, although the number of new permits jumped suggesting that March might see some more building action (our coverage here). The US dollar index was stronger today, now up 0.16% at 79.596. With few exceptions, commodities fell on the dollar strength. Oil took a considerably hard knock today, primarily because Saudi Arabia promised to take care of any supply shortages (our story here). WTI crude oil closed down -2.3% at $105.61/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.09% at $124.34/barrel. Gold settled down -1.2% today, at $1,647.00/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 69 points to 13,170.19 (-0.52%), the NASDAQ fell more than 4 points (-0.14%) to 3,074.15, and the S&P 500 fell -0.30% or more than 4 points to 1,405.52.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) raised to ‘outperform’ at BMO; United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) cut to ‘hold’ at Stifel Nicolaus; Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML; and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reiterated ‘buy’ and target prices raised to $740 and $700 at Sterne Agee and Credit Suisse, respectively (more coverage here).

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: First City Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: FCFC) is down -10.4% at $8.92; JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is up 4.4% at $1.90; Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) is up 1.9% at $19.43; NuPathe Inc. (NASDAQ: PATH) is down -13.3% at $3.90; and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is up 6.8% at $73.37 (our coverage here). After the markets close today, Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) are scheduled to report earnings.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Recon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RCON) is up nearly 82% at $4.09 after setting a new 52-week high of $4.58 earlier today. The Chinese oil field services company has cleared up its problems with Nasdaq and signed some new contracts for the first half of the year. More coverage here.

NewLead Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NEWL) is up nearly 34% at $1.67. The shipping company cancelled a reverse stock split. More coverage here.

Targacept Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT) is down about -30% at $5.17. The drug maker will not seek FDA approval for a new anti-depressant. More coverage here.

The US Commerce Department found the Chinese guilty of dumping solar panels in the US and has hit back with tariffs of 2.9% to 4.73% on solar panel imports. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Banker’s Association purchase applications
10:00 a.m. – Existing home sales
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: AAPL, ARMH, FCFC, HOG, JASO, JEF, KKD, KMI, NEWL, ORCL, PATH, RCON, TIF, TRGT, UPS

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADBE, ARG, APD, AAPL, ARMH, CA, DRIV, DPZ, GES, HOG, KMI, LGF, OVTI, UPS, UTX)

Administrator — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:01:24 +0000

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

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Raised to Sector Perform at RBC.

Airgas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc (NYSE: APD) Started as Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated at Buy and raised target to $740 at Stern Agee; Reiterated Buy and raised target to $700 at Credit Suisse.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

CA Inc. (NASDAQ: CA) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.

Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) Raised to Outperform at BMO.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: LGF) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Hunger Games looks larger than Twilight.

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) Raised to Buy at Needham.

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) Reiterated near-term Hold and long-term Buy.

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: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, ADBE, APD, ARG, ARMH, CA, DPZ, DRIV, GES, HOG, KMI, LGF, OVTI, UPS, UTX

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, ACI, COF, GPS, S, UPS, HAST, IOC, ADBE, FMCN, LDK, QRE, AMPE, CERE)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:07:04 +0000

Markets opened slightly lower this morning as everyone seemed to be waiting for the announcement from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) regarding its $97 billion cash pile (our coverage here). Financial sector stocks pushed stocks higher in the morning and then weighed them down in the afternoon. The US dollar index has weakened throughout today, now down -0.41% at 79.461. Wheat, corn, and soybeans all fell today, but other commodities rose on the dollar weakness. WTI crude oil closed up 1% at $108.09/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -0.10% at $125.68/barrel. Gold settled up 0.7% today, at $1,667.30/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 6 points to 13,239.06 (0.05%), the NASDAQ rose more than 23 points (0.75%) to 3,078.32, and the S&P 500 rose 0.40% or nearly 6 points to 1,409.75.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) raised to ‘buy’ at Jefferies; Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) raised to ‘outperform’ at BMO; Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) cut to ‘underperform’ at Bernstein; and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan.

Earnings reports since markets closed last Friday have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Hastings Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: HAST) is down -XX% at $XX; and InterOil Corp. (NYSE: IOC) is down -XX% at $XX. After markets close today Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) and Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) are scheduled to report earnings.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) is down more than 5% at $4.64. The Chinese solar maker lowered estimates for the fourth quarter and issued soft estimates for 2012. More coverage here.

QR Energy Inc. (NYSE: QRE) is up more than 4% at $23.27. The oil & gas upstream company announced an acquisition this morning. More coverage here.

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMPE) is up nearly 42% at $3.80. The drug firm reported good results on new drug to treat macular disease. More coverage here.

Ceres Inc. (NASDAQ: CERE) is up more than 15% at $17.52 after posting a new post-IPO high of $18.70 earlier today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Minneapolis Fed President Naryana Kocherlakota are giving a speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
11:30 a.m. – 4-week bill auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Market Close, Market Roundups Tagged: AAPL, ACI, ADBE, AMPE, CERE, COF, FMCN, GPS, HAST, IOC, LDK, QRE, S, UPS

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ACI, CZR, COF, ETFC, GPS, NUE, PCX, S, TSL, UPS, WYNN, YGE, YUM)

Administrator — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:20:14 +0000

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

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) Started as Hold at KeyBanc; Started as Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Raised to Outperform at BMO.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) Raised to Buy at UBS.

Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.

Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) Started as Equal weight at Barclays.

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ: WYNN) Reiterated Buy and target raised to $140 at Citigroup.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (NYSE: YGE) Started as Equal-weight at Barclays.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ACI, COF, CZR, ETFC, GPS, NUE, PCX, S, TSL, UPS, WYNN, YGE, YUM