Posts for Ticker ‘USBE’

Additional Pre-Market Stock News (November 29, 2007) (ENB, EEP, FRED, HNZ, LULU, MHS, MW, VSE, USBE, ULBI, VIP, SIGM)

Below is some of the other top summaries of news we haven’t covered this morning:

Enbridge Inc. (ENB) and Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (EEP) had a pipeline blow late yesterday that has oil up as much as $4 today; two workers were killed; the explosion and fire on an Enbridge Energy Partners’ crude oil pipeline approximately three miles southeast of Enbridge’s Clearbrook, Minnesota terminal is apparently one of the Canadian pipelines that comes down to the U.S. and it is a supply risk.
Fred’s (FRED) $0.12 EPS after $0.02 "timing event" versus $0.14 estimate; hired Merrill Lynch to help it review strategic alternatives after receiving interest from multiple parties.
HJHeinz (HNZ) $0.71 EPS vs $0.69 est.; put guidance at higher end of range for next quarter.
Lululemon (LULU) trading up 10% after beating earnings and raising guidance.
Medco Health (MHS) announced a 2 for 1 stock split.
Men’s Wearhouse (MW) trading down 12% after disappointing earnings.
Sigma Designs (SIGM) traded up 14% after posting $0.79 EPS vs $0.54 estimates.
Ultralife Batteries (ULBI) receive a $2.6 million order from the U.S. Defense Department.
VeraSun Energy (VSE) and US BioEnergy (USBE) are going to merge operations into a single company; USBE shares up 8%.
Vimpel-Comm (VIP) trading up 5% after beating earnings expectations.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (WCG) traded up 10% after-hours after announcing that on November 21, it received an executed Contract between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This one had been battered after that FBI raid killed the stock in recent weeks.

Jon C. Ogg
November 29, 2007

Posted on: November 29, 2007 – 8:38 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Business Day In Global Warming (XEL, FTEK, AIG, SYNM, AKNS, USBE, DASTY, CLNE, DSTI, FSLR, HOKU, PBW, GEX)

Xcel Energy’s (NYSE:XEL) 345-kilovolt transmission line along with two major 115 kV lines will deliver the power into the Minnesota High voltage transmission grid allowing delivery of the power from the Fenton Wind farm and other wind power resources from the Buffalo Ridge region of the state into the twin Cities area.  Minnesota’s largest wind farm and the state’s largest transmission line built to carry wind power into the Twin Cities were dedicated today and will soon become fully operational.  The only thing between the Twin Cities and the North Pole is a picket fence and it blew down.

Fuel Tech, Inc. (Nasdaq: FTEK) announced receipt of a FUEL CHEM® demonstration order from a new electric utility customer in the Midwestern United States on a large Powder River Basin coal-fired boiler, with chemical feed scheduled to commence later this quarter.  Unfortunately for the company shareholders, shares slid nearly 3% to $24.39 after a miserable day yesterday.

Jim Cramer recently gave a large summary of his stock picks that would win from the move to a greener U.S., although some are far from "green" companies.

Read More »

Posted on: November 13, 2007 – 5:02 pm in Alternative Energy, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Some Ethanol Names Drowning In Their Own Tanks (USBE, PEIX, VSE, AVR)

Some of these ethanol stocks are almost becoming permanent members on the list of 52-week lows.  Some of these were major hi-flyers that went to flying under the radar to merely being hitchhikers.

Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ:PEIX) is trading down 6% at $9.30, well under the $9.73 close.

US BioEnergy (NASDAQ:USBE) hit $9.09, under the old $9.14 lows but stock is currently just above old low.

Verasun Energy (NYSE:VSE) hit $10.95 today, under the old $11.00 low but stock has recovered almost 2%.  Shares are still down close to 3%.

The issue here is not the relative cost to oil with oil over $80.00 per barrel.  We are not alone in this assessment, obviously with these hitting 52-week lows almost more frequently than they don’t, but there are some serious questions about the validity of ethanol as a business in the manner it is being done today.  Ethanol itself is not bad, but without the government subsidy these companies might not be viable.  In fact, there are some that even argue that ethanol in a "purely on its own" model is not even worth the "pollution savings" because of the energy that has to be used to make it and to transport it.  That is even before the corrosive arguments com into play.

When these how up daily on the 52-week lows it begins to feel like they are being overly picked on.  But 2008 is an election year, and ethanol is arguably somewhat of a political issue.

Jon C. Ogg
September 24, 2007

Posted on: September 24, 2007 – 12:17 pm in Alternative Energy, , , , , ,

Aventine Stands Alone In Ethanol on 52-Week Lows (AVR, PEIX, VSE, USBE)

Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc (NYSE:AVR) is one of the names that seems to show up on the list of 52-week lows more often than it doesn’t.  Today is a repeat of that instance.  Aventine shares were downgraded at Soleil today pre-market from "Buy" to "Hold" and shares are down almost 4% today at $10.85,  The trading range today is $10.61 to $11.25 and the trading range over the last 52-weeks is $11.20 to $26.49.

The company is one of the fuel-grade ethanol producers in the U.S., and it shows up on the 52-week lows list as frequently as Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX).  The key difference is Aventine would fit the bill of many value screens based on its P/E ratio.  Pacific Ethanol would not because its profitability is so much lower.  But Aventine is expected to have a decline in earnings in 2008, so its "value term" may be somewhat voided out.

Soleil also downgraded VeraSun (NYSE:VSE) and US BioEnergy Corp. (NASDAQ:USBE) to "Sell" from "Hold" pre-market, but those shares are actually up on the day along with Pacific Ethanol.

While legislation is expected that may boost prices, ethanol is quite apolitical situation right now and man are on both sides of the argumentif ethanol as an industry in its state in the U.S. right now is profitable without a government subsidy and even if it is environmentally sound or helping in dependence on foreign oil.  With 2008 being an election year and with Iowa out of the way early on, ethanol (and the stocks that live off it) may see even more volatility in 2008.

Jon C. Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St.; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: September 18, 2007 – 12:45 pm in Alternative Energy, , , , , , ,

Pre-Market Stock News (August 13, 2007)

(BEAS) BEA Systems trading up 6% pre-market on 3 upgrades: Raised to Buy at B of A; raised to Buy at UBS; raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.
(BX) Blackstone earned posted revenues $975M vs $1.06 Billion.
(C) Citigroup disclosed $500+ million in credit losses, yet stock indicated higher.
(EMC) EMC trading up 2% ahead of VMware IPO pricing (as of now VMware IPO should price today and trade Tuesday).
(GS) Goldman Sachs is adding $3 Billion in additional capital into one of its ‘undervalued’ hedge funds.
(HOV) Hovnanian said quarterly net contracts are down 24% and forecast higher cancellations.
(IDEV)  Indevus Pharm announced receipt of a $49.9 Million milestone payment from Esprit Pharmaceuticals.
(LCRY) LeCroy $0.12 EPS vs. $0.06 est.
(MOT) Motorola signed contracts with China Mobile for nearly $400 million.
(NITE) Knight Trading said that Goldman Sachs invested for a minority interest in its Direct Edge ECN.
(PHTN) Photon Dynamics raised mid-point of range.
(Q) Qwest Communications names Edward A. Mueller Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
(SHLD) Sears is lowering KMart and Sears sales.
(SYY) Sysco Foods $0.49 EPS vs $0.46 est.
(USBE) US Bioenergy $0.15 EPS vs $0.12 est.

Jon C. Ogg
August 13, 2007

Posted on: August 13, 2007 – 7:32 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , , , ,

VeraSun (VSE), BioFuel Energy (BIOF): More Corn To The Rescue

Several recent ethanol IPOs have had a tough time as concerns mount that a lack of corn supply could drive their cost of revenue up. The four companies the represent most of the money taken in from the capital markets recently are BioFuel Energy (BIOF), U.S. BioEnergy (USBE), VeraSun (VSE), and Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR). They may be about to get a hand.

According to CNNMoney, American farmers are ready to grow their biggest corn crop ever, an astonishing 12.8 billion bushels. The ethanol industry will need it. CNN figures say "ethanol production is forecast to double by the end of 2008 to more than 13 billion gallons."

Fear of lack of corn has hammered stock prices. VeraSun hit $30 a bit over a year ago. It now trades at about $14. Shares of the company and its peers have recovered slightly. Part of this is due to a the House of Representatives beginning to amending an energy bill expected to call for greater use of alternative fuels. But, that is could comfort if the cost or materials stays high.

VeraSun’s revenue has been fairly flat for the last three reported quarters, at around about $145 million. But cost of revenue has gone up from $88 million in the September 2006 quarter to $135 million in the March 2007 quarter.

That trend may finally move into reverse.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: June 30, 2007 – 6:33 pm in Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

Massive List of 52-Week Lows (June 20, 2007)

Stock Tickers: AVR, BCRX, CACH, CHCI, COLY, CTIC, FSII, HOV, HR, INFS, LEG, MTH, PEIX, RSYS, SCSS, SEPR, SNY, STAA, USBE, UTSI, VSE, YSI

Once again, many many more losers…..This list is larger than most of recent note.  There is just about any given day where there are fresh 52-week lows:

Aventine Renewable (AVR)…-3.9% to $14.09; $14.60 prior low.  Watch the renewable energy names as they are plentiful on 52-week lows.

BioCryst Pharma (BCRX)…-3.3% at $6.92; prior 52-week low $7.13; follow-on weakness from Peramivir Monday.

Cache (CACH)…-2.7% to $13.92; not lowest intraday but low close.

Comstock Homebuilders (CHCI)…-4.4% to $2.83; another stinking homebuilder.

Coley Pharma (COLY)….-59% to $3.46; $8.00 prior lows; intra-day implosion as Pfizer ditches its cancer drug.

Cell Therapeutics (CTIC)…-9.4% to $3.09; prior 52-week low was $3.38.

FSI International (FSII)….-13% to $3.43; $3.91 was prior low; weak guidance; hedge fund pressures CEo.

Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV)…-3% to $19.08; prior 52-week low $19.53; another stinking homebuilder.

Healthcare Realty (HR) -2.2% to $28.34; prior 52-week low was $28.57; this one goes lower and lower each week it feels like.

InFocus (INFS) -4% to $2.33; follow-on weakness after CFO quit; stock imploding….

Leggett & Platt (LEG)…-0.7% to $21.92; not tru 52-week low but low close; continued weakness after estimates cut from housing.

Meritage Homes (MTH)..-1.5% to $28.75; another stinking homebuilder.

Pacific Ethanol (PEIX)…-2.35 to $12.35; lowest close of late; and we thought ethanol was king…..

Radisys (RSYS)…-3.8% to $12.80; not true low but low close and hit intraday lows; no news today.

Select Comfort (SCSS)…-2.1% to $16.03; prior low $16.09; weak housing must mean weak bed sales; maybe hamocs are the new rage?

Sepracor (SEPR)…-2.5% to $43.67; prior 52-week low $43.84; insiders exercising stock options this week; P/E ratio drifting lower and lower; now down 33% from highs.

Sanofi-Aventis (SNY)…-1.8% to $40.84; prior low $41.09; drug woes continue; worries they’ll dilute to buy Bristol-Myers.

Staar Surgical (STAA)…-2.85% to $4.09; $4.14 prior 52-week lows; no news, but not a ’staar’ after all.

US Bioenergy (USBE)…-2.6% to $10.67; $10.78 prior low; busted IPO looks like worse getting even worse.

UTSarcom (UTSI)…-3.8% to $5.28; $5.43 was prior 52-week low; down more than 50% in last year; the beatings will continue until leadership improves AND until they actually report and open the books.

VeraSun (VSE)…-4.7% to $13.08; $13.69 was prior 52-week low; ethanol slide continues.

u_Store-It Trust (YSI)…-2.9% to $16.97; $17.05 was prior intra-day low; no news, but they obviously aren’t storing enough.

Jon C. Ogg
June 20, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in any of the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 20, 2007 – 3:38 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Almost 52-Week Lows: Some Key Ethanol Stocks

Stock Tickers: PEIX, VSE, XNL, ADM, CLNE, ANDE, USBE, AVR

With oil prices remaining high, with politicians noting ethanol ahead of the Iowa caucus, and with OPEC threatening no new development and exploration if we keep pushing toward more and more biofuels, it was pretty amazing to see some of the ethanol stocks within spitting distance of their 52-week lows:

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (PEIX) $12.90, 52-week low $12.50 (OCT 2006)
Verasun Energy Corp. (VSE) $14.91, 52-week low $14.36 (yesterday)
Xethanol (XNL) $1.35, 52-week low $1.24 (MAY 2007)

Andersons Inc. (ANDE) is not in the boat, with shares at $39.28 and its 52-week low is $31.05.  US BioEnergy (USBE) is trading at $12.07, above its $10.78 lows over the last 52-weeks.  Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR) is up on the day close to 2% at $17.16, up from its $14.60 low over the last 52-weeks.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is no longer doing its major alternative energy swings and its shares sit down 1.1% at $33.71, with its 52-week lows at $30.20 (JAN 2007).  The recent IPO Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) from T. Boone Pickens might be an ultimate indicator of demand for these shares right now (although, that isn’t ethanol).

If OPEC is out raising cain against biofuels, it has to make any sensible person wonder how much of a shortage there really is.  It is true thatthere is actually not a net shortage, but capacity is supposedly maxxed and storm season and summer is always a serious concern to energy prices.  But this first sabre rattling out of OPEC essentially against biofuels has to be yet another indicator that biofuels are starting to actually be noticed in downstream shipments by the OPEC nations.

Jon C. Ogg
June 7, 2007 

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 7, 2007 – 10:03 am in Alternative Energy, HI/LOW, , , , , , , ,

Pre-Market Stock News (May 14, 2007)

(ACL) Alcan’s buyout bid by Alcoa is reportedly getting big interest from larger names such as Rio Tinto and others.
(BRLC) Syntax-Brillian filed to sell 25.6M shares, although the shelf was telegraphed with earnings last week.
(DCX) DaimlerChrysler is selling a majority stake in Chrysler to Cerberus Capital for $7.7 Billion; Chrysler will maintain 19.9% stake.
(FACT) First Albany is recapitalizing and will receive a $50M investment from Matlin Patterson.
(GE) GE’s NBC unit could or should merge with Yahoo! (YHOO) according to WSJ.
(GILT) Gilat Satellite $0.13 EPS vs $0.11e.
(INFT) Inforte gets a $4.25 cash buyout from Business & Decision.
(MMC) Marsh & McClennan announced $500M accelerated share buyback program.
(MRK) Merck received and FDA Approvable letter of its NDA for EMEND.
(MWA) Mueller Water names new CFO.
(MYL) Mylan Labs is acquiring Merck KGaA’s generic operations for about $6.7 Billion.
(NAT) Nordic American Tanker $0.85 EPS vs $0.83e.
(NAVR) Navarre is selling its independent music distribution business.
(PLXS) Plexus CFO retiring.
(QTWW) Quantum Fuel signed an agreement to acquire a 24.9% stake in a German solar company.
(SORC) Source Interlink to acquire PRIMEDIA’s Enthusiast Media unit for about $1.2 Billion.
(SYNF) Synergy Financial being acquired by New York Community Bancorp (NYB).
(TRMK) Trimark is paying $85M to acquire DATA RETURN from Saratoga Partners.
(ULBI) Ultralife Battery accepts modified order from last week lowered from $6.9M to $2.4M.
(USBE) US Bioenergy $0.08 EPS vs $0.21e.
(VAS) VIASYS being acquired by Cardinal Health (CAH) for $42.75.
(WMT) Wal-Mart is expanding electronics offerings and will include Skype equipment.

Jon C. Ogg
May 14, 2007

Posted on: May 14, 2007 – 6:35 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,