Posts for Ticker ‘WAG’

Soros Fund Holdings

Yesterday Soros Fund Management Filed a 13-F outlining the fund’s long portfolio as of September 30th, 2009.  The total value of the holdings reported in the filing is $6,198,089.  Twenty holdings represented roughly 50% of the value.  Soros Fund Management is a hedge fund management company that invests primarily based on macroeconomic analysis.  It should be noted that the fund’s equity portfolio likely contains significant short positions, which are not reported in 13-F filings.  Some of the positions in the filing may be in place as hedges or part of a multi-part trade, rather than a directional bet.  With that in mind, a glance at this firm’s major holdings provides clues to its macroeconomic outlook.  

Total stakes in Petroleo Brasileo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR) represent 9.23% of the value of the positions reported in the filing, with just over 13 million shares held.  This is down from by 2.3 million from the fund’s last filing. Read More »

Posted on: November 17, 2009 – 10:52 am in Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World

hersheyThere are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.

24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed  by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.

24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?

Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”.  Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless.  How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business.  Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.

24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?

Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets.  A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value.  If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.

The list: Read More »

Posted on: October 20, 2009 – 5:06 pm in Research, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

52-Week High Club

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) hit a yearly high of $97.33 as options traders place bets in anticipation of positive earnings.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) hit a yearly high of $28.58 as Citigroup gives the company a buy rating in anticipation of the declaration of a dividend or stock buy backs in 2010.

Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) hit a yearly high of $43.68 as rumors of a takeover circulated.  The shares promptly dropped as the rumored purchaser, Danone SA, denied the reports.

Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) hit a yearly high of $30.64 as it reported that its 4Q profits had quadrupled.  

Valassis Communications (NYSE: VCI) hit a yearly high of $25.25, boosted by positive news coming out of Gannett.

Walgreen Company (NYSE: WAG) hit a yearly high of $37.53 after the company’s earnings beat analysts estimates.

Garrett W. McIntyre

Posted on: September 29, 2009 – 4:12 pm in Analyst Calls, Dividend, Food, Media, Mergers and Buy Outs, Stock Buybacks, Transports, , , , , ,

Big Stock Moves Of The Day (9/29/2009)

Aocording to Volume Spike Investor, several stocks are making significant moves before the open.

Including in the list are Gannett (GCI) (details), BSD Medical (BSDM) (details), Walgreen (WAG) (details), Sequenom (SQMN) (details), and MBIA (MBI) (details).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: September 29, 2009 – 8:28 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , ,

Shorts Tear Into Tech With a Vengeance (CSCO)(DELL)(NVDA)(MSFT)(ADBE)(ORCL)(QCOM)(BRCM)(NOK)(HPQ)(TXN)(EMC)(JPM)(C)(BAC)(WFC)(GM)(F)(M)(JWN)(HD)(LTD)(WAG)

Angrybear_3Short sellers placed large bets against the stock of tech companies for the period ending on January 15, taking a series of positions to gamble that firms like Microsoft (MSFT) and Cisco (CSCO) would be the next sector hit hard by selling.

Shares short in Microsoft rose 18% to 92.4 million. Share sold short in Cisco were up 17% to 61.3 million. The short interest in Dell (DELL) rose 15% to 60.1 million. Shares sold short in Nvidia (NVDA) were up 67% to 43 million.

Read More »

Posted on: January 27, 2009 – 8:26 pm in Short Interest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Companies That Won’t Make It Through 2009 (HMC)(SIRI)(AIG)(FRE)(FNM)(RAD)(NYT)(NT)(PIR)(CHTR)(HOV)

AngrybearA lot of fairly well-known public companies either disappeared or went bankrupt this year. Circuit City is on the list. Based on the most recent news GM may get added soon.

24/7 Wall St. looked at some of the largest and most well-known companies, reviewed their SEC filings if they are public, analyst reports, and media observations about their businesses and picked ten that probably won’t be around at the end of next year. That does not mean that their brands will disappear, but these companies will have been dissolved as the world knows them now or working though the court system in the hopes of getting Chapter 11 protection and a chance at survival.

Read More »

Posted on: December 19, 2008 – 7:47 pm in Research, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

10 CEOs To Go In 2009: Mary Sammons of Rite Aid (RAD, WAG, CVS)

Reverse stock split or not, Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) has been under the gun and its future is far from certain.  There was a period in time in 2007 when it looked like the investor boat was going to be turned for the better.  But that is in the past and the current climate does not bode well for independent standalone retail companies (even drugstores).  Chairman & CEO Mary Sammons was deemed as a good fit and was probably within view of the home stretch of the turnaround finish line.  But then the rug was yanked out from under the company’s feet.  You might be able to argue that the company pulled the rug out from under its own feet this time, and now the economy weakening rapidly may only act further against it.

Read More »

Posted on: December 5, 2008 – 10:10 am in Management Change, Retail, Turnarounds, , ,

Media Digest 10/9/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

NewspaperAccording to Reuters, the US Treasury may buy interests in large banks following the model set up by the UK.

Reuters reports that IBM’s (IBM) earnings strength helped calm tech investors.

Reuters reports that MetLife (MET) and The Hartford (HIG) may be in merger talks.

Read More »

Posted on: October 9, 2008 – 2:59 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Longs Merger Plot Thickens (LDG, WAG, CVS)

Longs_logoLongs Drug Stores Corporation (NYSE: LDG) is doing something which may seem odd to many, which is essentially a "going with the bird in the hand" strategy.  The company has just announced that its board of directors has determined not to have buyout discussions with Walgreens (NYSE: WAG).  This was after consultation with its legal and financial advisors.  Walgreens had sent Longs an expression of interest that was announced on September 12.

Read More »

Posted on: September 17, 2008 – 8:19 am in Mergers and Buy Outs, Retail, , ,

Can Longs Buyout Save Drug Store Sector? (LDG, CVS, RAD, WAG)

Cvs_logoLongs Drug Stores Corporation (NYSE: LDG) is trading way up this morning after last night’s announcement that CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) will acquire the company.  In a definitive agreement reached, Longs will receive $71.50 per share in cash in the buyout.  After the assumption of debt and items, this buyout is valued at roughly $2.9 Billion.

Read More »

Posted on: August 13, 2008 – 7:39 am in Mergers and Buy Outs, Retail, , , ,

Why is CVS Buying $2 Billion of its Stock? (CVS, WAG, RAD)

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) has announced that the company will buy back up to $2 Billion worth of common stock from time to time in the open markets during 2008 and 2009.  The company believes this will enhance shareholder returns.

While some buybacks are great, this one seems so odd that it may even be counterintuitive.  The company has been the darling of pharmacy stocks compared to Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), and Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) has been left so far behind that it hasn’t ever been able to mount an effective turnaround this entire decade.  It scored a huge win with its acquisition of Caremark Rx to become a huge pharmacy benefit manager.  The stock is also within sniffing distance of its 52-week highs and shares are up close to 200% over the last 5-years.

Is there a significant slowdown happening on the retail side there in pharmacies?  The answer is yes or at least some, but pharmacies have the benefit of being located close to many homes in neighborhoods and they have the benefit that many consumers go there for their pharmaceutical and general healthcare and personal hygiene products.  While people may spend less during hard times, many of those products still have to sell regardless of the economy. These aren’t recession-proof, but they should hold up better than mid-tier purses and mid-tier clothing retailers.

But this could also be a signal from the company that the bulk of its post-merger benefits have been realized.  Unfortunately, we won’t know about that until more time passes.  We don’t want to speculate on whether or not CVS thinks its growth is going to peter out in 2008 and 2009, but the timing of this $2 Billion cushion just seems odd.  This would represent about 3 and a half days worth of trading volume.

Shares of CVS have gained to be up 0.5% at $42.90 today after the news.  Its 52-week trading range is $34.80 to $43.75, and its market cap is roughly $61 Billion.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2008

Posted on: May 21, 2008 – 11:10 am in Retail, Stock Buybacks, , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AU, CEPH, KO, CXR, MCO, NVO, URBN, WAG, CVC, CMCSA, TWC, DISH, DTV)

Below are some of the key general calls we are looking at in early pre-market trading:

  • Anglogold (NYSE: AU) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  • Cephalon (NASDAQ: CEPH) downgraded to Underperform at Morgan Stanley.
  • Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.
  • Cox Radio (NYSE: CXR) downgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
  • Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) raised to Peer Perform a Bear Stearns.
  • Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Cable & Satellite Initiations: UBS has initiated cable and satellite companies. Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) were all started as neutral at UBS.  DIRECTV (NYSE: DTV) was initiated as Buy and DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) was initiated with a Neutral rating.

Jon C. Ogg
February 8, 2008

Posted on: February 8, 2008 – 7:31 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (CAT, EMN, GIS, K, GNTX, MEDX, MRK, N, NE, PLT, WAG)

These are not the only analyst calls impacting stocks pre-market, but these are the top calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on:
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.
Eastman Chemical (NYSE: EMN) raised to Buy at UBS.
General Mills (NYSE: GIS) & Kellogg (NYSE: K) raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Gentex (NASDAQ: GNTX)raised to Neutral at UBS.
Medarex (NASDAQ: MEDX) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Merck (NYSE: MRK) raised to Buy at UBS.
Netsuite (NYSE: N) initiated as Outperform at JMP Securities.
Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) downgraded to Sell at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
Januar 28, 2008

Posted on: January 28, 2008 – 7:22 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

Rite Aid Can’t Get It Right (RAD, CVS, WAG)

Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) is indicated to open lower after the company posted another net loss for the quarter.  It also lowered guidance for a second time.  We just noted this one as a turnaround stock that has yet to turn around, and this proves that even more true.

Its $93 million net loss came in at -$0.12 EPS, while First Call was looking for only -$0.07 EPS targets. revenues came in at $6.52 Billion, also under the $6.6 Billion estimate.  To top it off, Rite Aid said a slow cold and flu season was having an impact.

As far as guidance, that is lower. It now expects to lose $161 to $192 million for fiscal 2008, a wider loss than its prior range of $78 to $161 million. It targets fiscal 2008 sales between $24.3 and $24.6 billion, under the September forecast of $24.5 to $25.1 billion.

Last night Jim Cramer noted the difference on execution between CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) and Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) with CVS being the clear winner.  Imagine what you’d have to say about the execution here.  This one had been one of Cramer’s Top 9 Picks for 2007, but its turnaround stumbled.  Hell, it’s falling off the cart.

Rite Aid shares are now indicated down almost 10% at $3.70 in crummy pre-market trading.  Its 52-week trading range is $3.44 to $6.74.  That hurts.

Jon C. Ogg
December 20, 2007

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Posted on: December 20, 2007 – 8:20 am in Earnings, , ,

Cramer’s Execution Face-Offs (DPZ, PZZA, WAG, CVS)

Tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC was a different section than the normal stock picking.  Jim Cramer wanted to cover execution of a business model (or business plan):

  • Cramer’s first face-off was in the pizza group of food and restaurants between Papa John’s International (NASDAQ:PZZA) and Dominos Pizza Inc. (NYSE:DPZ). 
  • Secondly, Cramer compared CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) to Walgreen’s (NYSE:WAG).

In the pizza face-off, Cramer noted how Papa Johns (NASDAQ:PZZA) was confident on the conference call, how they were positive about the environment despite rising food and energy prices and more, while Dominos (NYSE: DPZ) was apathetic and not positive.  He also noted how this will bring about a company that deserves a higher multiple.  Papa John’s fell 2% to $22.64 today but rose almost 1% to $22.80 on his call (52-week trading range $21.76 to $34.86.  Dominos fell 1.5% today to $12.75 and fell another 0.5% to $12.69 in after-hours trading (52-week trading range $12.25 to $35.67 per-dividend).  We noted in the past how Dominos had looted its books to make that one-time shareholder pay-off.

In the second execution comparison for competitors, Cramer noted how Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) used to be the GO-TO stock in the group but has fallen off track.  CVS Caremark (NYSE:CVS) has started executing better and changed its weakness with the Caremark cost containment company to win as patents go from label to generic in the coming years.  Walgreens is a good pharmacy according to Cramer, but CVS now is winning because of execution and now has an extra edge.  CVS is also adding stores more strategically and more thought out.  In the past Cramer noted this as a MAJOR BULL MARKET PICK.

CVS shares closed up almost 1% today at $39.49 and rose another 0.5% to $39.68 after-hours (52-week range $29.44 to $42.60).  Walgreens hasn’t traded in after-hours to speak of and closed down 2.3% today at $36.38 (52-week trading range $35.80 to $49.10).

For those of you always looking for "CRAMER PICKS TO MOVE" you’ll want to count tonight as  "more educational rather than bold stock picking."

Jon C. Ogg
December 19, 2007

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

Posted on: December 19, 2007 – 6:31 pm in Cramer, , , , ,

Turnarounds That Haven’t Turned Around: Rite Aid (RAD, WAG, CVS, WMT)

Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) is a turnaround story that frankly has never ceased being a turnaround story.  Can you remember the mid to late 1990’s stock trading?  One great stock in the drug store arena that had a fresh look and feel was Rite Aid.  But then in 1998 and 1999, this one went to hell in a hand basket.  During the pinnacle it traded north of $40.00, but this entire decade has been the decade of wrong-aid.  It hasn’t seen $10.00 the entire decade.  It has made several recovery attempts and failed. 

Its new Co-Chairman and President & CEO Marry Sammons is well thought of and deemed a winner for this company.  Jim Cramer has been behind her naming this his #2 Speculative Pick for 2007 , as have other media pundits.  This summer everything was seeming to go right at the company and the stock was above $6.00.  The new plan was working on the surface.  Then it posted a net loss and that was that.  Shares have only moderately recovered after posting a slightly wider loss in September.

It recently lost its chief marketing officer in early November and its most recent same-store-sales have been moderately higher.   With a $3.2 Billion market cap and expected sales north of $24 Billion, it is dirt cheap on a price/sales ratio.  Even after a poor performance out of Walgreen’s (NYSE:WAG), its market cap is $36.5 Billion on an expected $60 Billion in annual sales. 

So if Rite Aid can ever get the "E" back in its P/E this one has major room for upside.  It’s just too bad that this has been the case every year in recent history.  Maybe some turnarounds take longer than others in a competitive space, but some turnarounds at troubled companies seem to stay….. umm, troubled.  There is always the argument that Wal-Mart’s (NYSE: WMT) new program and increased pressure from CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) are stronger than before, but at the end of the day the stock market players only want to own established companies that can prove they have steady earnings power and steady dependability.  Rite Aid needs to consider this,  even if it means a lower top-line.

Shares still sit around $4.00 and the 52-week low is $3.44.  Rite Aid was just featured with a bit more detail in our "10 Stocks Under $10" weekly newsletter.  This is also featured from time to time on our Open Email Dustribution List.

Jon C. Ogg
December 17, 2007

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

Posted on: December 17, 2007 – 1:15 pm in HI/LOW, Shareholder Issues, Turnarounds, , , ,

52-Week Low Club II (IUSA, JSDA, KNOT, TRK, WAG, ZLC)

Below is our last list of featured 52-week lows today:

  • InfoUSA (NASDAQ:IUSA)… here’s what happens when your paid model gets Google-ized by free everything. $8.63 close versus $8.79 prior yearly low.
  • Jones Soda (NASDAQ:JSDA)… indigestion took this down 3.3% to $6.60, although it managed in the last hour to get back above the prior $6.51 52-week close.  With a $32.60 high, this will still make most investors burp. We aren’t rushing out to include this in our "10 Stocks Under $10 Newsletter" just because it’s under $10.00 again, mainly on its triple-digit P/E ratio despite a severe sell-off.  Jim Cramer has been out of this name as a backer for quite some time, but he are some old comments from Cramer.
  • The Knot (NASDAQ:KNOT) lower by 3.7% to $13.20, just under the $13.24 prior 52-week lows as American anti-family values are taking hold.  Maybe they could hedge the business with divorce.com.  All joking aside, keep your eyes on this one.  We had this as a possible buyout candidate from our "Small Cap Internet Watch List" but we noted that things had to get worse and stay worse before management would have to capitulate and agree to a buyout.
  • Speedway Motor Sports (NYSE:TRK).. maybe NASCAR and stock car racing isn’t immune from a slower consumer, even if there was a big promotion in NYC this week. Closed $33.75, prior 52-week range was $33.80 to $41.68.  Maybe the U.S. needs more NASCAR moms and more soccer dads.  Paying $1 million to go on a car may be dwindling too, but who knows.
  • Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG).. this was surprising with another 1.9% drop to $36.59, under the last year range of $37.06 to $49.10.  Apparently dropping those CVS plans over price might not be the right ticket.  At 18-times earnings we aren’t licking our chops yet.
  • Zale Corp. (NYSE:ZLC)…. jewelry is tough in a slower economy, and you can’t sell your garage to buy that diamond tennis bracelet.  This was down in sympathy with Tiffany.  Zale closed down 2.7% to $17.89, under the 52-week range of $18.18 to $31.57.

Jon C. Ogg
November 30, 2007

Posted on: November 30, 2007 – 4:45 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , ,