24/7 Wall St. » WG

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AMZN, GRPN, RIO, TXN, GM, DDMG, CLRO, GPN, CMVT, ISCA, VRNG, WG, KERX, PNCL)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:05:23 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning but managed to recover fairly quickly following a report on robust manufacturing growth (our coverage here). The report on construction spending came in weaker than expected (our coverage here). The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.22% at 78.831. Commodities were mixed on the weaker dollar, with corn and soybeans rising and wheat falling. WTI crude oil closed up about 2.2% at $105.23/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 2.08% at $125.44/barrel. Gold settled up 0.5% today, at $1,679.70/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 52 points to 13,264.49 (0.40%), the NASDAQ rose more than 28 points (0.91%) to 3,119.70, and the S&P 500 rose 0.74% or more than 10 points to 1,418.89.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) cut to ‘sell’ at Stifel Nicolaus and cut to ‘neutral’ with a $20 target price at BofA/ML; Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RIO) raised to ‘overweight’ at Barclays; Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) cut to ‘neutral’ at UBS; and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) started as ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Digital Domain Media Group Inc. (NYSE: DDMG) is down -1.6% at $5.60; ClearOne Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CLRO) is down -5.4% at $4.26; and Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is down -4.2% at $45.49. Before markets open tomorrow we’ll get earnings from Comverse Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT) and International Speedway Corp (NASDAQ: ISCA).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Groupon is down more than -16% at $15.31. The internet coupon company is restating earnings again. More coverage here and here.

Vringo Inc. (AMEX: VRNG) is up more than 84% at $3.04 after posting a new 52-week high of $3.09 earlier today. The ringtone company is merging with a patent protection firm. More coverage here.

Willbros Group Inc. (NYSE: WG) is up nearly 23% at $3.98. The oil & gas construction company had good news and bad news this morning. More coverage here.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: KERX) is down more than -64% at $1.78 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.63 earlier. The drug company’s colorectal cancer treatment failed a trial. More coverage here.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) is down nearly 51% at $0.67 after posting a new 52-week low of $0.50 earlier. The US air carrier has filed for bankruptcy protection. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Automakers will be reporting March sales throughout the day. San Francisco Fed President John Williams is giving a speech. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week bill auctions
4:30 – FOMC minutes released

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Analyst Calls, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMZN, CLRO, CMVT, DDMG, GM, GPN, GRPN, ISCA, KERX, PNCL, RIO, TXN, VRNG, WG

Good News Trumps Bad for Willbros (WG, ETP)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:36:05 +0000

Oil & gas construction firm Willbros Group Inc. (NYSE: WG) announced preliminary results for the company’s fourth quarter and full fiscal year, at the same time that it said that it would be unable to file the required SEC documents after the company

determined that a material weakness existed in its controls over the completeness, accuracy and presentation of its accounting for income taxes, including the tax provision and related tax assets and liabilities.

The company is scheduled to file its Form 10-K on April 9th, and the CFO said:

We have reviewed our significant agreements and believe we can complete the filing within the time periods allotted. The generally non-cash nature of the items which require adjustment, primarily goodwill and tax reserves, does not impact our debt covenants or our liquidity.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the company will begin work this month on a portion of the Red River Gathering Pipeline being built by Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP). Willbros, which will construct a 97-mile long segment of the system, did not indicate the value of the contract.

Investors like the good news much better than the bad, boosting Willbros’ share price by more than 25% this morning, to $4.06 in a 52-week range of $3.13-$11.87.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Oil & Gas, SEC Tagged: ETP, WG

Cramer’s Big Pipe Hit (WG)

247wallst — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:39:08 +0000

On tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC, Jim Cramer came out discussing oil and gas infrastructure, and said that a relatively small player name Willbros Group, Inc. (NYSE: WG) is a winner. The company focuses on pipelines and associated facilities for onshore, coastal, and offshore locations. He noted how the company sees $8 Billion worth of opportunity down the road in the coming years as we need several thousand more miles of pipeline both upstream and midstream. This one also only has a $1.2 Billion market cap. Cramer noted this is at the heart of the return of the natural gas and infrastructure theme.

This closed down 2.6% today at $34.78 and the 52-week range is $20.05 to $62.04. Cramer’s target: $45.00.

Last night Cramer called FMC a hidden Agriculture trade.
He’s also got picks in Brazil.
Despite a sharp rebound from lows, he’s still anti-tech.
There is also this XTO secondary that hurt the stock, but everyone keeps talking it up.

Jon C. Ogg
February 14, 2008