24/7 Wall St. » WAG

Retail Sales Roundup (COST, TGT, JCP, KSS, DDS, JWN, SKS, SSI, M, GPS, TJX, LTD, ROST, SMRT, WTSLA, BKE, ZUMZ, WAG)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:24:53 +0000

US retailers are reporting December same-store sales today, and here’s a wrap-up of the results as of about 10 a.m. this morning. Reports were in from Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI), Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), The TJX Cos. Inc. (NYSE: TJX), Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Stein Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: SMRT), Wet Seal Inc. (NASDAQ: WTSLA), Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE), Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), and Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG).

Teen stores Buckle and Zumiez battered expectations, while Gap and Wet Seal both missed expectations badly.

Data from CNBC.

Store	Consensus Est.	Actual
Costco	7.6%	7.0%
Target	3.1%	1.6%
J.C. Penney	-0.1%	0.3%
Kohl’s	2.2%	-0.1%
Dillard’s	3.0%	4.0%
Nordstrom	5.1%	8.7%
Saks	5.8%	5.8%
Stage Stores	1.0%	1.2%
Macy’s	5.0%	6.2%
Gap	-1.3%	-4%
TJX	2.6%	8%
Limited	5.7%	7%
Ross	4.2%	9%
Stein Mart	-1%	Flat
Wet Seal	-1%	-3.7%
Buckle	5.0%	8.9%
Zumiez	5.1%	10%
Walgreen	-0.1%	0.4%

Buckle shares are up more than 2% at $41.33 in a 52-week range of $33.97-$47.97. Zumiez shares are up more than 14% at $30.13 in a 52-week range of $15.85-$30.90. Gap shares are down nearly -4% at $18.18 in a 52-week range of $15.08-$23.73. Wet Seal shares are down more than -2.5% at $3.21 in a 52-week range of $3.03-$5.23.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Apparel, Consumer Goods, General, Retail Tagged: BKE, COST, DDS, GPS, JCP, JWN, KSS, LTD, M, ROST, SKS, SMRT, SSI, TGT, TJX, WAG, WTSLA, ZUMZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AEO, RAM, TSRX, WAG, SCG, BASI, CAMP, RAM, NOA, FAC, PHH, MJN, SFLY)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:04:41 +0000

Today’s opening on equity markets lifted stocks slightly on mixed economic news. New home and durable goods sales rose more than expected, but personal income and spending didn’t meet expectations, with income growth at just 0.1% in November compared growth of 0.4% in October. The Santa Claus rally continued all day on very light volume. WTI crude oil is up about 0.3% at $99.83/barrel and Brent crude is up just 0.06% at $107.96. Gold continues to fall, down to $1,607.10, a drop of -0.22%.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 125 points to 12,294.68 (1.03%), the NASDAQ rose more than 19 points (0.74%) to 2,618.64, and the S&P 500 rose 0.9% or more than 11 points to 1,265.31.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at Standpoint Research; RAM Energy Resources Inc. (NYSE: RAM) raised from ‘market perform’ to ‘outperform’ at Rodman; Trius Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRX) started as ‘outperform’ at Robert W. Baird; Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) maintained as ‘hold’ with a lowered price target of $36 at Jefferies; and Scana Corp. (NYSE: SCG) maintained as ‘buy’ with raised price target of $43 at Wunderlich.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Bioanalytical Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BASI) is up more than 15% at $1.60 and CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ: CAMP) is down more than -19% at $4.13. All told a light day for earnings reports.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

RAM Energy Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: RAM) is up nearly 21% at $2.43. The independent oil & gas company continues its run from yesterday, when if finished up more than 70% on news of re-listing on Nasdaq and a $550 million private equity investment.

North American Energy Partners Inc. (NYSE: NOA) is up more than 33% at $6.98. The oil field services company will resume its contract with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (NYSE: CNQ) pending a final contract signing.

First Acceptance Corp. (NYSE: FAC) is up nearly 33% at $1.36. A director of the insurance company bought 200,000 shares on Wednesday.

PHH Corp. (NYSE: PHH) is down more than -5% at $10.53. The mortgage servicer’s credit ratings were cut yesterday at S&P and the fallout continues.

Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (NYSE: MJN) is down about -5.5% at $64.97. The food processing company had its Enfamil infant formula recalled at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) yesterday, and Walgreen’s, Safeway, Kroger, and Supervalu stores followed today.

Shutterfly Inc. (NASDAQ: SFLY) is down nearly -5% at $23.89. The Internet photo site cut its fourth-quarter guidance this morning.

Markets are closed Monday, December 26. Stay tuned for Tuesday. Here are the noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

9:00 a.m. – S&P Case-Shiller housing price index
10:00 a.m. – Conference Board consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – State Street investor confidence index

Have a Merry Christmas Day and great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AEO, BASI, CAMP, FAC, MJN, NOA, PHH, RAM, SCG, SFLY, TSRX, WAG

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (F, GS, RIMM, HON, ORCL, NKE, ATU, KMX, KBH, SHAW, WAG, DFG, CMFB, WWAY, AMPE, VMW, CVLT)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:11:35 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning on mixed reaction to the $641 billion borrowing spree from the European Central Bank. Technology stocks were weighed down by poor earnings report and uninspired guidance from one of the industry’s biggest players. The DJIA and the S&P 500 finally reached positive territory about half an hour before closing, but the Nasdaq never touched the line. A very large drawdown on US crude oil inventories helped energy stocks post some gains. One hour before trading closes for the day only a half billion shares have traded hands on the NYSE today. The US dollar is slightly stronger against the euro and the Japanese yen, but down slightly against the British pound. WTI crude oil is up more than 1.5% at $98.79/barrel, and Brent crude is up about 1% at $107.78. Gold was down -0.25% at $1,613.50.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 4 points to 12,107.74 (0.03%), the NASDAQ fell nearly 26 points (-0.99%) to 2,577.97, and the S&P 500 rose 0.19% or more than 2 points to 1,243.72.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) started as ‘buy’ at Sterne Agee. Other ratings actions today include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) started as ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) raised from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ with a $16 target price at ThinkEquity; Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $70 target price at Argus; and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ at Canaccord Genuity and maintained as ‘buy’ with a lowered target price of $40 at Credit Suisse.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Oracle Corp. is down nearly -11% at $25.98; Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is up nearly 3% at $96.40; Actuant Corp. (NYSE: ATU) is up nearly 9% at $22.61; CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) is down nearly -6% at $29.22; KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is down more than -5% at $7.33; Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is up nearly 17% at $26.45; and Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) is down about -0.5% at $33.34. For more on the ripple effects of Oracle’s weak earnings, see our coverage here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Delphi Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: DFG) is up almost 73% at $43.99 after posting a new 52-week high of $44.00. The insurance and financial services company has agreed to be acquired by Japan’s Tokio Marine for $2.66 billion.

Commercefirst Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: CMFB) is up nearly 71% at $13.25 after posting a new 52-week high of $13.99 earlier today. 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.

Westway Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWAY) is up nearly 23% at $5.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $6.60 earlier today. The bulk liquid storage provider has rejected a $6/share unsolicited takeover offer from an unidentified infrastructure investment fund.

Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMPE) is down more than -17% at $4.38. The drug company announced the sale of 2.2 million shares in private sale to investors at $4.25/share.

VMWare Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is down more than -10% at $76.65. The virtual software company is suffering from Oracle’s weak earnings and guidance.

CommVault Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) is down more than -15% at $39.22. The software company is another of Oracle’s victims.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Here are other noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – US Commerce Department GDP report
8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims report
8:30 a.m. – Chicago Federal Reserve national activity index
8:30 a.m. – Bureaus of Economic Analysis corporate profits report
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index
10:00 a.m. – Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index
10:00 a.m. – Conference Board leading economic indicators
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas inventory report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply reports

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMPE, ATU, CMFB, CVLT, DFG, F, GS, HON, KBH, KMX, NKE, ORCL, RIMM, SHAW, VMW, WAG, WWAY

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ACI, AMT, BRK-B, CLF, CCI, DE, DPZ, GES, LOW, LULU, SINA, SNN, WNR, WAG, SLF, WPI, TEVA)

Administrator — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:19:44 +0000

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

Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) named as Bear of the Day with a $13.00 price target at Zacks.
American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.B) named as Bull of the Day with a $91.00 price target at Zacks.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Crown Castle International Corporation (NYSE: CCI) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) Started as Hold at KeyBanc.
Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Sina Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank
Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Argus made changes to its institutional model portfolio: added shares of Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) and sold out of shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF).

Credit Suisse is out positive on generics saying that the news flow on generic Lipitor has obscured the bigger picture on Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA). The firm recommends buying WPI after its recent weakness as strong fundamentals just got cheaper. It also recommends buying TEVA for the longer term and as a turnaround story for 2012.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ACI, AMT, BRK-B, CCI, CLF, DE, DPZ, GES, LOW, LULU, SINA, SLF, SNN, TEVA, WAG, WNR, WPI

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AEG, AZO, ABX, FCN, PEP, RSH, RTN, SOL, WAG)

Administrator — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:44:18 +0000

Most U.S. research analysts do not make research calls the day after Thanksgiving but these are a few analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this morning. NYSE closes at 1:00 PM EST and the bond market closes around 1:15 PM EST today.

AEGON N.V. (NYSE: AEG) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) named Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Reiterated Buy at Gabelli & Co.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) maintained Hold at Argus.
ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) maintained Neutral but cut target to $2 at Credit Suisse.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Reiterated Buy at Gabelli & Co.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ABX, AEG, AZO, FCN, PEP, RSH, RTN, SOL, WAG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAPL, CI, DV, DDS, IFF, LNKD, MS, QCOM, RIMM, TGT, WAG, WMT, WDC, ZOLL)

Administrator — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:13:09 +0000

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

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform and $500 target at Credit Suisse.
CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
DeVry, Inc. (NYSE: DV) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE: LNKD) maintained Hold at Argus.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Raised to Buy at Collins Stewart.
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) Reiterated Buy and $72 target at Argus.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut target to $20 at Credit Suisse.
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
ZOLL Medical Corp. (NASDAQ: ZOLL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, CI, DDS, DV, IFF, LNKD, MS, QCOM, RIMM, TGT, WAG, WDC, WMT, ZOLL

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DWA, HRB, PCLN, RAD, WAG, ADSK, GM, AONE, IL, NILE, HNR, NP, ENER, PRTS, ORLY, AMSC, NOR, C, BZH)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:07:49 +0000

Pre-market signals were weak today, and once trading opened, the signals got stronger. The DJIA has traded down more than -200 points for most of the day, with financial and energy stocks the hardest hit. Rates on Italian bonds topped 7% this morning, sending traders running away from equities and commodities alike. The only gainer for the day appears to be the dollar, which is stronger against the euro and the yen in the mid-afternoon. Crude prices fell below $95/barrel before recovering to near $98/barrel, and gold is down at $1,789.30. About an hour before closing, nearly 99% of the S&P 500 stocks were down on the day.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than -389 points to 11,780.94 (-3.2%), the NASDAQ fell nearly -106 points (-3.88%) to 2,621.65, and the S&P 500 fell -3.67% or nearly -47 points to 1,229.10.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) cut to ‘sell’ at Janney; H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) raised to ‘outperform’ at Oppenheimer; Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) cut to ‘hold’ at S&P Capital IQ; Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; and Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up down about -10%, at $22.48; A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is down less than -1%, at $3.09; IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IL) is down more than -37%, at $5.50, after posting a new 52-week low of $5.44 earlier today; Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) is down nearly -16%, at $33.24; Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down more than -19%, at $8.80; and Neenah Paper, Inc. (NYSE: NP) is up more than 12%, at $18.84.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) is down more than -32%, to $0.41. The company has said that it will suspend manufacturing and cut 500 jobs. Excess inventory of solar panels gets the blame.

U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS) is down more than -22%, at $3.94, after posting a new 52-week low of $3.66 earlier in the day. The company received a waiver from one of its lenders for failing to meet coverage ratio requirements.

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) is down about -1.1%, at $76.44, after posting a new 52-week high of $77.95 earlier today. We noted the company’s performance earlier today in an article on auto sector implied gains.

American Superconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSC)) is up nearly 10%, to $4.49. The company reported earnings today, and its growing order backlog indicates a possible turnaround following the loss of its biggest customer earlier this year.

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) is down more than -16%, at $8.51. The company will pay a special dividend of $1/share to shareholders of record as of yesterday’s close. That pushed the shares down a buck this morning, and the rest is due to the overall market decline today.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) is down more than -8%, at $28.78. The bank claimed the largest decline among the big US banks today.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) is down nearly -8%, at $2.17. There was no special news from Beazer today, but the threatened burst of new foreclosures soon to hit the housing market have had a nasty effect on this lower-priced builder.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Dennis Lockhart is giving a speech in the morning and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a town hall meeting with soldiers and their families at Fort Bliss, Texas, at 11:45 a.m. We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – International trade balance report
8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims
8:30 a.m. – Monthly import/export price report
9:45 a.m. – Bloomberg consumer comfort index
10:30 a.m. – EIA natural gas inventory report
2:00 p.m. – Monthly US Treasury budget report
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ADSK, AMSC, AONE, BZH, C, DWA, ENER, GM, HNR, HRB, IL, NILE, NOR, NP, ORLY, PCLN, PRTS, RAD, WAG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALSK, ADSK, AVP, NILE, CAAS, DWA, EQR, HRB, PCLN, RAD, ROVI, SPPI, TGH, WAG, WPO)

Administrator — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:06:16 +0000

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

Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ALSK) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
China Automotive Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CAAS) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE: DWA) Cut to Sell at Janney.
Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) Raised to Buy at Argus.
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Cut to Hold at S&P Capital IQ (late-Tuesday).
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI) has seen at least three downgrades: Collins Stewart, CLSA, Brean Murray.
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI) named Momentum stock of the day at Zacks.
Textainer Group Holdings Limited (NYSE: TGH) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADSK, ALSK, AVP, CAAS, DWA, EQR, HRB, NILE, PCLN, RAD, ROVI, SPPI, TGH, WAG, WPO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CVX, CMG, COST, DE, XOM, DFS, LEAP, NWS.A, NEM, ORCL, RL, PLCM, PCG, RYAAY, SNE, WAG)

Administrator — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:23:05 +0000

These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair; Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse; Raised target to $90 at Argus.
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Maintained Neutral but cut estimates and target to $87 at Credit Suisse.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) maintained Neutral but target to $4 from $10 at Credit Suisse.
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS.A) Removed from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Reiterated Outperform on Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Polycom Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) Raised to Buy at Argus.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) Cut to UNderperform at BofA/ML.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: CMG, COST, CVX, DE, DFS, LEAP, NEM, NWS-A, ORCL, PCG, PLCM, RL, RYAAY, SNE, WAG, XOM

America’s Biggest Store Chains With No Online Shoppers

247wallst — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:24:48 +0000

Online sales success has become critical to major retailers. All evidence shows that e-commerce continues to grow at double-digit annual rates while in-store sales in the U.S. have barely grown at all over the past two years. If retailers are to continue growing sales, they should make sure to have a successful online operation. Yet many retailers have yet to realize this. 24/7 Wall St. analyzed sales and online traffic data to determine the retailers with the weakest online business.

The convenience of online shopping and the ability to make price comparisons on the Internet has completely changed retail trends in the past decade. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and other e-commerce sites have already taken a significant lead. Amazon’s revenue in the latest quarter grew 51% to $9.9 billion. If revenue continues to increase at this rate, Amazon will become a $60 billion company next year. That is larger than Lowe’s or Best Buy, and it makes brick-and-mortar retailers shudder.

24/7 Wall St. has analyzed the effectiveness of the e-commerce operations at 25 huge, publicly traded retailers in the U.S. We looked at total revenue for 2010 based on SEC filings. We then considered each company’s web traffic for July 2011 based on data from Experian Hitwise, a research company that measures online audiences. We looked at the total traffic of each company and its share of traffic among the 25 retailers.

This list includes the worst ten retailers in terms of the ratio of annual revenue to the company’s share of Internet traffic among the retailers in July. A retailer with very large revenues but low Internet visits has done a poor job of getting more customers to shop online. Naturally, the largest online retailer, Amazon, received the best e-commerce effectiveness score of 2.1. The higher the score, the worse the performance.

Some of the results are to be expected. Pharmacies and home supply stores such as Home Depot and CVS Caremark do not do particularly well. It seems that although the companies have well-established e-commerce operations and sophisticated websites, people tend to shop for drugstore items and building materials by visiting physical locations. Still, these companies cannot ignore e-commerce, because people increasingly buy items of nearly any kind online.

The most notable result of the analysis is how poorly Walmart did, given its position as the number one retailer in the world and tremendous financial and merchandising resources. Walmart received one of the worst ranks among all the companies considered. Walmart.com is the second most visited e-commerce site on the Internet, based on Hitwise numbers. But the portion of Walmart’s sales that come from e-commerce are extremely small — less that 2%, or $6 billion, according to analysts from Wells Fargo Securities. Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners LLC, told Bloomberg, “Wal-Mart has been lagging in e-commerce, and the loss of two executives won’t help where the company’s going. It will be challenging for them to build the momentum they need.” The world’s largest retailer recently dismissed its two senior online executives.

The Ten Biggest Stores With No Online Shoppers

Filed under: General, Internet, Retail Tagged: AMZN, ANF, BBY, COST, CVS, DDS, HD, KSS, LOW, M, ODP, OMX, SPLS, WAG, WMT