24/7 Wall St. » WSM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CVX, EK, JPM, WSM, INFY, BGFV, MSFT, TGT)

Administrator — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:17:58 +0000

Equities had a hard time deciding whether to follow a bull or a bear on Thursday. Retail sales were mixed, but weekly jobless claims rose unexpectedly and the fears are that the weekly jobless claims could start hitting the 400,000 mark again. To top it off, The European Union decided to not lower interest rates despite all of the woes of the continent. A crop report put a dent in agriculture and fertilizer stocks, and earnings warnings left several issuers down considerably. The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up 21 points to 12,471.02, the NASDAQ rose almost 14 points to 2,724.70, and the S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1,295.50. Today’s analyst upgrades and downgrades are here.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) was the surprise warnings in the oil and gas sector, sending shares down 2.6% at $104.91.

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) was down after a highlighted Moody’s note signals that even with a patent deal the company could run out of cash in the middle of 2012. Shares were down 18% at $0.66 late in the day.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) fluctuated all day ahead of Friday’s earnings report, where we believe many will try to look at book value and other metrics to try to justify the massive gains in the banking sector since the end of 2011. Shares were up $0.03 at $36.69 a few minutes before the closing bell.

Earnings warnings took a bite, as much as double-digit percentage bites, ou of the following stocks: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM), Infosys Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY), Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ: BGFV).

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) managed to hold up a day after management gave a cautious PC market outlook. In analyst calls, it was maintained Outperform but cut target to $34 from $35 at Credit Suisse and it was maintained Hold and lowered estimates at Argus.

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) was up 1.4% at $49.73 right before the close on news of a news and expanded $5 billion share buyback plan.

Stay tuned for Friday, particularly since this will be Friday the 13th! Here are Friday’s economic reports to watch:

8:30 AM NOV Trade Balance
8:30 AM DEC Import & Export Prices
9:50 AM JAN Univ. Michigan Sentiment (preliminary)

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, The Day, Trading Alert Tagged: BGFV, CVX, EK, INFY, JPM, MSFT, TGT, WSM

Morning Movers (DKS, TSCO, SAFM, WSM, INFY)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:24:56 +0000

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS), Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO), Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM), Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM), and Infosys Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY).

After the first half hour of trading, Dick’s Sporting Goods is up more than 9% at $39.83. Volume is already more than double the daily average. Volume has already double the daily average. The sporting goods retailer reported lagging sales, but offset that with a new $200 million share buyback program.

Tractor Supply is up more than 7.5% at $78.42, after posting a new 52-week high of $80.11. Volume has already surpassed the daily average. The farm and ranch retailer reported better-than-expected earnings last night and raised 2011 EPS guidance.

Sanderson Farms is up more than 6% at $50.33. Volume is heavy, at about 70% of the daily average already trading hands. The poultry producer is likely getting a boost from the latest federal report on crop prices, especially corn, which is expected to be both abundant and cheaper.

Williams-Sonoma is down nearly -13% at $34.02. Volume is already 4x the daily average. The home furnishings company cut its sales guidance and announced a new stock repurchase program this morning.

Infosys is down nearly -9% at $51.76. Volume is already 3x the daily average. The India-based business outsourcing company missed the consensus estimate for fourth-quarter EPS.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Open, The Day Tagged: DKS, INFY, SAFM, TSCO, WSM

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades of the Week (MO, ANGI, AAPL, CIT, GS, GMCR, HUN, KKD, LULU, NOK, SHLD, URBN, VZ, WSM, HOGS)

Administrator — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:35:49 +0000

This was the first week after the holidays and many analyst calls were made this week with updated outlooks for 2012. 24/7 Wall St. saw many influential analyst calls this week with either long term ramifications or which caused big moves in the underlying stocks.

We have covered this in more detailed summaries below, but the following included the top stock upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in this last week: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO); Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT); Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN); Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD); Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU); Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK); Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD); Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN); Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ); Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM); and Zhongpin, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOGS).

We have given a summary and notes on each below.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) could be in for a 15% drop now that shares became overvalued per the Barron’s cover story to kick off 2012 and Davenport downgraded the stock also.

Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) had a rough week after its quiet period ended from its late 2011 IPO. The stock closed out 2011 at $16.10 and ended the week down at $13.23 for a loss of about 18%. Analyst initiation summary as follows:

Neutral with $18 target at BofA/ML;
Sector Perform with $17 target at RBC;
Perform with $16 target at Oppenheimer;
Buy with $22 target at ThinkEquity;
Buy with $21 target at Stifel Nicolaus;
Buy with $19 target at Janney Capital Markets.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may have just been a reiterated call, but this was the $560 price target call from Canaccord Genuity. Apple’s price target was also lowered to $513 from $530 at Morgan Keegan.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was noted as a “if, then” possible takeover candidate in a SunTrust Robinson Humphrey call this week that is frankly hard to agree with.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was among the banking sector downgrades this week, although shares still managed to close on a positive note if you just compare the price to the prior Friday. Meredith Whitney, Wells Fargo, and Credit Suisse all gave negative calls with downgrades or lower sales and earnings.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week, Trading Alert Tagged: AAPL, ANGI, CIT, GMCR, GS, HOGS, HUN, KKD, LULU, MO, NOK, SHLD, URBN, VZ, WSM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AAPL, GGP, UA, PLD, AKAM, WSM, PRGS, OSH, AVEO, KIOR, ASM, AONE, ARL)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:09:36 +0000

US stock markets rallied on the first morning of trading in the new year. Index futures were up sharply and trading zoomed past the mark to rise more than 2%. Strong manufacturing data from Asia gave US markets a nice boost, as did a better-than-expected report on the ISM index and a rise in US construction spending. The S&P 500 could not overcome a technical barrier, causing the market to move mostly sideways in the afternoon. Crude oil rose steeply on a weaker dollar and on the better economic news. WTI crude is up more than 4% at $103.00/barrel and Brent crude is up 4.76% at $112.14. Gold is also stronger today, up about 2.5%, at $1,605.80.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 180 points to 12.397.46 (1.47%), the NASDAQ rose more than 43 points (1.67%) to 2,648.72, and the S&P 500 rose 1.55% or more than 19 points to 1,277.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) had its target price lowered to $513 at Morgan Keegan; General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) cut from ‘outperform’ to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse; Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) raised to ‘outperform’ with a target price of $90 at Baird; Prologis Inc. (NYSE: PLD) started as ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) cut from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ at Janney Capital Markets; and Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) cut to ‘sell’ at Janney.

There were no earnings reports of note scheduled today. Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ: PRGS) is scheduled to report earnings at 4:30 p.m. today.

Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. (NASDAQ: OSH) completed an IPO today. Shares were initially priced at $25 and rose as high as $60 during the day before settling to $27.05, up more than 8% with less than half an hour of trading time left.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO) is down more than -19% at $13.90. The pharmaceutical maker reported that its liver cancer drug performed better than a competitor in late-stage trials, but investors were expecting a larger improvement.

Kior Corp. (NASDAQ: KIOR) is down more than -10% at $9.12. The alternative fuel maker had no news, but is likely getting bashed on the expiration of US ethanol subsidies.

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (AMEX: ASM) is up nearly 17% at $1.66. The junior miner is riding the coattails of an overall upsurge in materials stocks today, which have been leading the markets higher all day.

A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) is up more than 24% at $2.00. The battery maker is a partner with Satcon Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: SATC) in a demonstration project on micro-grid energy storage for the US Department of Defense.

American Realty Investors Inc. (NYSE: ARL) is up more than 12% at $2.10. The real estate investment company has no news, but continues to rise on upbeat news about the housing market.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Automakers are scheduled to release sales data throughout the day. US seasonally adjusted annual sales are expected to remain at 13.6 million cars and light trucks. Here are the noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:00 a.m. – Factory orders report for November (consensus estimate for gain of 2%)
11:30 a.m. – 4-week Treasury bill auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AAPL, AKAM, AONE, ARL, ASM, AVEO, GGP, KIOR, OSH, PLD, PRGS, UA, WSM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AKAM, ANGI, AAPL, CBE, FIO, GGP, GES, PETD, PMCS, PLD, REG, RS, UA, PANL, VTR, WSM)

Administrator — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:20:51 +0000

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

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Janney Capital Markets.
Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; Started as Perform at Oppenheimer; Started as Buy at Janney Capital Markets.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) lowered price target to $513 from $530 at Morgan Keegan.
Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Fusion-io, Inc. (NYSE: FIO) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Guess?, Inc. (NYSE: GES) Cut to Underperform from Neutral as Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Petroleum Development Corporation (NASDAQ: PETD) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
PMC-Sierra Inc. (NASDAQ: PMCS) Cut to Neutral with $6 target at Goldman Sachs.
Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE: REG) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company (NYSE: RS) named as value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Raised to Outperform with $90 target at Baird.
Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: PANL) maintained Hold and lowered estimates and target to $35 at Canaccord Genuity.
Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) Raised to Long-Term Outperform and named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) Cut to Sell at Janney Capital Markets.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, AKAM, ANGI, CBE, FIO, GES, GGP, PANL, PETD, PLD, PMCS, REG, RS, UA, VTR, WSM

Top Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (FMCN, COCO, HNZ, TSL, WSM, AEO, AMAT, GES, TOL, ENER, KKD, OVTI, P)

Administrator — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:30:15 +0000

Earnings season has mostly wound down as far as the big market movers but there are still many companies dribbling out earnings reports. This coming week we have many companies that still matter which are due to release earnings and we would expect that these could be the big movers next week.

The top reports for the coming week are as follows: Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN); Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO); H J Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ); Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL); Williams Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM); American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO); Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT); Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES); Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL); Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER); Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD); Omnivision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI); and Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P).

We have compiled previews using Thomson Reuters estimates, shown price data on each and added color if applicable.

Monday, August 22

Focus Media Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ: FMCN) has estimates of $0.37 EPS and $162.7 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.43 EPS and $174 million in revenues. Shares are trading around $28.02 and the 52-week trading range is $17.71 to $37.58. So far, Focus has managed to avoid the China bashing trades because it is more established and investors believe that it is one of the real-deal companies. Valuations still remain high but that is because growth expectations remain here for the long-term.

Tuesday, August 23

Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO) has estimates of $0.11 EPS and $427.6 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.15 EPS and $427.02 million in revenues. Shares are trading around $2.36 and the 52-week trading range is $2.315 (hit on Friday) to $7,35. Just another down and out education stock.

H J Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) has estimates of $0.76 EPS and $2.78 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.85 EPS and $2.89 billion in revenues. Shares are trading around $52.20 and the 52-week trading range is $45.52 to $55.00.

Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) has estimates of $0.47 EPS and $599.44 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.60 EPS and $644.43 million in revenues. Shares are trading around $13.75 and the 52-week trading range is $12.75 (hit Friday) to $31.89. What can the solar sector look forward to right now?

Williams Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) has estimates of $0.36 EPS and $823.97 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.39 EPS and $861.24 million in revenues. Shares are trading around $28.90 and the 52-week trading range is $24.57 to $45.48. It has been impossible to not notice the sell-off here in this cyclical retailer that does less-good in had times and scores in boom-times. The stock has suffered handily since July when Goldman Sachs raised its ratings in a solid outlook call.

Filed under: Calendar, Earnings, The Week Tagged: AEO, AMAT, COCO, ENER, FMCN, GES, HNZ, KKD, OVTI, P, TOL, TSL, WSM

24/7 Wall St. Top 10 Analyst Calls of the Week (ALU, AWK, AAPL, ARBA, CTL, GOOG, GOV, HFC, LRCX, WSM)

Administrator — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:44:47 +0000

24/7 Wall St. generally reports on ten to fifteen analyst calls each morning as the top analyst calls of the day, but after we go through these at the end of the week there are always some research calls which standout above and beyond the others. Not all calls are positive, and some are very cautious. Some are just very wrong, and others offer more insight than you see in other calls. This week’s top analyst calls were in shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU); American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Ariba Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA); CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); Government Properties Income Trust (NYSE: GOV); HollyFrontier Corporation (NYSE: HFC); Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX); and Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM).

We have added in the price action and impact of calls, and also added in color on the situation and included more consensus data if relevant.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) had a rough week as tech stocks in equipment got off to a rough start for this earnings season. Deutsche Bank cut its rating to Hold from Buy, taking shares from $5.58 to $5.36 on the call, but ultimately taking shares down to a low of $5.00 during the week before it closed out the week at $5.09. That is nearly 10% lower for the call’s impact all together, and it needs to be considered that this former dog is still up more than 50% in 2011.

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is a company that 24/7 Wall St. has been very positive on for quite some time. It is one of our Top Stocks To Own For The Decade. Around $29.50, its consensus target is $31.60 and the highest official target is $38.00. We think $35 is a fair value for 2012, but one call in water came out this week that really highlighted value above and beyond what we and above and beyond what Wall Street thinks… Gabelli highlighted a recent asset swap for the operating efficiencies and rate recognition, yet it gave a private market value foe 2011 of $44 and the report actually gave a $46 private market value for 2012. This is above and beyond our bullish stance on the greatest water utility in America.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is set to report earnings this week, but one of its larger bulls has trimmed shipment, earnings and revenue targets ahead of earnings. Gabelli maintained a “Buy” but lowered estimates under consensus.

Ariba Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA) was given a very positive research initiation call, but one which did not get off to a good start. Barclays initiated coverage this last Monday with a “Buy” rating and a $44 price target as the B2B platform leader is expected to gain market share. Shares went out the prior week at $36.72 and ended up down at $34.31 on the week. This is not a cheap stock by any real measurement. The $44 target is now the street-high call and the consensus price target is only $36.70.

CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) just announced the closure of its Savvis acquisition and it has already closed on its Qwest acquisition. The company offers a high yield for investors and at $38.42 it is well under the 52-week high of $46.87. It also trades at just under 15-times this year’s expected earnings. Friday came word that this was downgraded to Underperform as the dubious “Bear of the Day” call at Zacks.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, The Week Tagged: AAPL, ALU, ARBA, AWK, CTL, GOOG, GOV, HFC, LRCX, WSM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADTN, BMR, COF, CETV, ERTS, EPB, IDIX, LYG, MMM, NTGR, PLD, PL, SWC, TOL, TSM, VRTX, WSM)

Administrator — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:34:26 +0000

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

Adtran Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) Reiterated Buy with $49 target at Argus.
BioMed Realty (NYSE: BMR) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) Reiterated Sell at Argus.
Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: CETV) Started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IDIX) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE: LYG) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Netgear Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Protective Life Corp. (NYSE: PL) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) Started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADTN, BMR, CETV, COF, EPB, ERTS, IDIX, LYG, MMM, NTGR, PL, PLD, SWC, TOL, TSM, VRTX, WSM

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AET, MO, BBBY, BA, CLWR, ETN, HUM, MPEL, NVDA, ZQK, RSG, HOT, UNH, WM, WSM)

Administrator — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:11:15 +0000

These are some of this Friday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) Started as Neutral at Robert W. Baird.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) Raised to Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Started At Hold By Jefferies
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) Raised to Buy at Daiwa.
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Raised to Buy at Needham.
Quiksilver Inc. (NYSE: ZQK) Cut to Underperform at FBR.
Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Started as Neutral at Janney.
UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) Started as Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AET, BA, BBBY, CLWR, ETN, HOT, HUM, MO, MPEL, NVDA, RSG, UNH, WM, WSM, ZQK

A Few Winners on an Awful Day (MA, V, APOL, BSDM, CTRN, AAP, PLCE, DLTR, ROST, WSM, ARUN, SPLS)

Administrator — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:21:32 +0000

The market might feel like it is in free fall mode as suddenly 1,100 on the S&P500 has been taken out and now the DJIA is within 2% of challenging the DJIA 10,000 mark. What is always interesting to see is those few stocks are actually up on the. For starters, none should be inverse or leverage ETF/ETN products. None should be M&A stocks either, nor should they be ADRs. Some of today’s few key winners are MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA), Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), and Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) on favorable climate news. Bounces on oversold conditions include BSD Medical Corp. (NASDAQ: BSDM), Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN), and Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP). Then come favorable earnings reports sending shares of The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE), Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Williams Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM), Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN), and Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS).

We have provided the news or logic behind the gains as well as price. volume, and other relative data where applicable.

REGULATORY BOUNCES

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is up 1.5% at $205.40 on over 2.6 million shares and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is up 2.5% at $74.84 on almost 15 million shares. These two are bouncing after being very much oversold on swipe fee regulation. Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) is up again on continued hope that a recent regulatory boss has resigned that was deemed unfavorable to for-profit education companies, and shares are up 0.35% at $56.38.

OVER-SOLD BOUNCES

BSD Medical Corp. (NASDAQ: BSDM) is up over 7% at $1.48 on a recently oversold chart as this was just a $2.00 stock as recently as April 22. Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) is just a bounce after a big drop this week, but shares are up 6.5% at $32.50 on double-volume. Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) is not just up, but it hit 52-week highs after beating earnings last night and due to an analyst call from Raymond James reiterating a BUY and taking the $55 target to $60 on the stock. Shares are up 5.7% at $48.71.

EARNINGS GAINERS

The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE) is up 3.4% at $42.91 after bearing earnings handily and raising guidance next quarter and for the year. Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is showing that the dollar store trade is not dead after it beat earnings and raised guidance; shares up over 3% at $51.58. Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQL ROST) is up over 2% at $52.78 after beating earnings and claiming record margins. Williams Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) beat earnings handily again as its store traffic recovers, sending shares up 4.6% at $29.75 on almost 6 million shares. Aruba Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) is one that was up more and is barely up now after beating earnings and seeing a Stifel Nicolaus upgrade, with shares up 0.3% at $11.61. Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) beat earnings but guidance was soft. Staples was soft this morning then went up close to $22.00 and shares are currently 0.25% at $21.60.

Imagine how well these stocks would be doing today if the ticker-tape was not such a disaster. As it stands right after 1:00 PM, the markets are sharply lower:

DJIA is at 10,132.17, down 312.20 or -2.99%
S&P500 is at 1,077.31, down 37.74 or -3.38%
NASDAQ is at 2,211.01, down 87.36 or 3.80%

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury prices are about the only winners in town outside stocks; now the 10-year is yielding 3.21% and the 30-year is yielding down at 4.09%. Gold is down about 0.6% around $1,184 per ounce and crude oil is getting wiped out with a drop of $5.24 to $64.63 around the contract roll-date.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: HI/LOW, Trading Alert Tagged: AAP, APOL, ARUN, BSDM, CTRN, DLTR, MA, PLCE, ROST, SPLS, V, WSM