Posts for Ticker ‘XRX’

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 »

Today’s Best Market Rumors (9/29/2009) (AMD)(GOOG)(AMGN)

newspaperUpdated throughout the day.

Update:  Xerox (XRX) may find that IBM (IBM) or HP (HPQ) outbid it for ACS (ACS)  (Barron’s)

Update:  Apple (AAPL) may be working on a touchscreen remote for an upcoming TV product.  (The Boy Genius Report)

Update: Sequenom (SQNM) is recovering some losses, perhaps due to rumors it may be sold (TheStreet)

Warner Music (WMG) may be near a licensing deal with Google’s (GOOG) YouTube. (WSJ)

Hedge fund manager John Paulson may try to merge CIT (CIT) with IndyMac Federal Bank (NYPost)

Cytokinetics (CYTK) continues to rise despite denying rumorsthat it may be bought by Amgen (AMGN) (DJ Newswires).

AMD (AMD) could be at riskfor bankruptcy. (MarketWatch)

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) may be acquisition targets.  (The Deal)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Media Digest 9/29/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   China may hold the key to a sanctions program against Iran.

Reuters:   The head of the AIG (AIG) unit that caused most of the firm’s losses is back in US.

Reuters:   The G20 has set up a long struggle over bank capital rules. Read More »

Big Stock Price Changes Of The Day (ACS)(XRX)(CALM)(GMTN)(ASPN)

According to Volume Spike Investor, these are the bigger movers of the day:

Aspect Medical (ASPN) up sharply on buy-out.

Cal-Maine (CALM) down on earnings (details).

Big moves in Xerox (XRX) and ACS (ACS) on M&A.

Gander Mountain (GMTN) goes private (details).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Xerox (XRX) Overpays For ACS (ACS)

95129cDell (DELL) paid a price that it could not defend, at least financially, for Perot (PER) earlier this month. Xerox (XRX) has decided to follow Dell down the same road by paying an extraordinary premium for ASC (ACS), a business outsourcing operator. The price tag is $6.4 billion in cash and stock. Read More »

Top Analyst Upgrades (MT, AVGO, CAH, EBAY, NFLX, NVS, STX, WDC, XRX)

These are this Tuesday morning’s top analyst upgrades and positive research calls that we have seen from Wall Street research with about two hours until the market opens:

ArcelorMittal (MT) Raised to Buy at Citigroup
Avago Tech (AVGO) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank; started as Overweight at Barclays; started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Cardinal Health (CAH) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
eBay (EBAY) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Netflix (NFLX) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Novartis (NVS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Seagate Tech (STX) Started as Buy at UBS.
Western Digital (WDC) Started as Buy at UBS.
Xerox (XRX) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Yahoo! (YHOO) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMAG, AAPL, BX, JBLU, LAZ, RSH, SF, TLB, TIF, XRX, YHOO)

Bull and Bear ImageThese are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street early this Thursday morning:

AMAG Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMAG) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Raised to Outperform at JMP Securities.
The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) Raised to Conviction Buy at Goldman Sachs.
JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) Raised to Conviction Buy at Goldman Sachs.
RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Talbots (NYSE: TLB) was upgraded to Buy at Citi and raised to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) Raised to Buy at Brean Murray.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Raised to Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

JON C. OGG

Media Digest 5/22/2003 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   Chrysler is already seeing positive effects from bankruptcy.

Reuters:   The US is working with GM (GM) on a Chapter 11 filing as the June1 deadline looms.

Reuters:   Pimco’s Gross says US is at risk of losing its AAA rating.

Reuters:   The US closed BankUnited and sold it to private equity interests.

Reuters:   AIG’s (AIG) Liddy stepped down as CEO.

Reuters:   The trillion dollar bailout is beginning to shake market confidence in the US economy.

Reuters:   New reports show the US has a bumpy road ahead as it moves toward recovery. Read More »

Media Digest 2/24/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaper12According to Reuters, JPMorgan (JPM) cuts its dividend.

Reuters reports that AIG (AIG) got bids from Met Life and Axa for its life unit.

Reuters says that healthcare spending is taking a higher percentage of American spending.

Reuters reports that Yahoo! (YHOO) will offer tools that match users to ads. Read More »

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADPT, CBST, FLIR, MA, TEX, LXK, MCXH, V, XRX, ZRAN)

These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street this Friday morning:

  • Adaptec (ADPT) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
  • Cubist Pharamceuticals (CBST) Started as Accumulate at ThinkEquity.
  • FLIR Systems (FLIR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • MasterCard (MA) Started as Outperform at Baird.
  • Terex (TEX) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Lexmark (LXK) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.
  • Marchex (MCHX) downgraded at Thomas Weisel and at JMP Securities.
  • Visa (V) Started as Neutral at Baird.
  • Xeros (XRX) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
  • Zoran (ZRAN) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

JON C. OGG
February 20, 2009

Media Digest 10/24/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

TelevisionAccording to Reuters, Greenspan said he was shocked by the credit meltdown.

Reuters reports that the value of Bear Stearns $30 billion mortgage portfolio fell 9%.

Reuters writes that Asia and Europe are turning to China for economic fixes.

Reuters writes that Microsoft’s earnings forecast was better than expected.

Read More »

Xerox (XRX) Director Chuck Prince Shows Zip Support For Stock

Xerox_2In what was supposed to be a display of confidence, newly anointed Xerox director Chuck Prince, the man who came about as close to Citigroup as any mortal could have, has acquired 10,000 shares of his new company’s stock at a purchase price of a little more than $130,000.

That must be reassuring to shareholders! Chuck Prince walked away from Citigroup with a heinously undeserved $95 million and has now condescended to invest less than 1/730th at the company where he has been inexplicably given a role on the board of directors. Back when his appointment was first announced, I wrote that "If I were a Xerox shareholder, I’d be insulted."

Read More »

Media Digest 3/28/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

According to Reuters, Bank of America (BAC) will pay the president of Countrywide (CFC) $28 million to stay and run the company after the buy-out is complete.

Reuters writes that the chairman of Bear Stearns (BSC) sold all of his stock in the company for $61 million.

Reuters writes that Xerox (XRX) will pay $670 million to settle a securities lawsuit.

Reuters reports that JP Morgan (JPM) is trying to integrate Bear Stearns operations as they begin to fall apart.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Citigroup (C) has hired an outsider to run its huge US consumer bank.

The Wall Street Journal writes that ad-click data for Google (GOOG) was disappointing for the second time in two months.

The Wall Street Journal writes that tech firms holding auction-rate securities are beginning to post write-offs due to their falling value.

The Wall Street Journal writes that AT&T (T) plans to launch a mobil TV service for its handset subscribers.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the number of cellphones with GPS is rising rapidly.

The Wall Street Journal writes that recent numbers suggest that China may have passed the US in total number of internet users.

The New York Times writes that a China anti-monopoly law could hurt Microsoft’s (MSFT) bid for Yahoo! (YHOO).

The FT writes that M&A activity is at a four-year low.

The FT writes that rice prices are up 30% to an all-time high.

Bloomberg writes that Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) may have to raise $20 billion in new capital.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Read More »

Pre-Market Stock News (January 24, 2008)

We are full blown into earnings season now.  These are not all of the stocks in the news, but this is a good portion of the news in individual stocks for traders to review this morning:

  • Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NLY) priced its secondary of 51,000,000 shares of common stock at $19.25 per share.
  • AT&T (T) $0.71 EPS vs. $0.71 estimate; new share buyback plan of up to 400 million shares.
  • Becton Dickinson (BDX) $1.07 EPS vs $1.04 estimate; raised guidance before charges.
  • Cabot Micro (CCMP) $0.51 EPS vs $0.47 estimate.
  • Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) shares rose another 7% to $21.72 after beating earnings and raising guidance.
  • Danaher (DHR) $1.12 EPS vs. $1.12 estimate.
  • DuPont (DD) noted as strong value without earnings risk according to Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money.
  • eBay (EBAY) shares fell over 5% after beating earnings but lowering guidance; Meg Whitman retires as CEO but stays on board.
  • F5 Networks (FFIV) shares rose almost 20% after beating earnings.
  • Ford (F) -$0.20 EPS vs. -$0.19 estimates; CEO will be on CNBC at 12:15 PM EST.
  • IBM (IBM) noted as strong value without earnings risk according to Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money.
  • Lennar (LEN) -$0.42 EPS vs, -$1.61 est.; but losses were before -$7.50 per shares in charges; sees 2008 continuing weakness.
  • Lockheed Martin (LMT) $1.89 EPS vs. $1.69 estimate; sees 2008 EPS $7.05 to $7.25 vs. prior guidance $6.19 to $7.15 and vs. $7.29 estimate.
  • Microsoft (MSFT) reports earnings after the close today with estimates at $0.46 EPS on revenues of $15.94 Billion.
  • Napster (NAPS) msic rental service is now available to NTT DoCoMo subscribers.
  • Netflix (NFLX) earnings were above plan and guidance was too; shares indicated up slightly.
  • Nokia (NOK) announced its market share rose to 40% and posted a 57% gain in earnings overseas.
  • Plexus Corp. (PLXS) raised guidance to $0.46 to $0.51 EPS on revenues of $440 million to $460 million, compared to estimates of $0.42 & almost $430 million;shares rose 8.3% to $21.50 in after-hours trading.
  • Polycom (PLCM) posted $0.42 EPS on revenues of $263.3 million vs. estimates of $0.39 & $252.5 million; shares rose some 7.7% to $24.00.
  • Potash (POT) announced it would repurchase up to 5% of its outstanding shares.
  • Qualcomm (QCOM) posted $0.46 EPS and non-GAAP EPS at $0.52 EPS on $2.44 Billion in revenues.  Estimates were $0.53 EPS on revenues of $2.41 Billion, 6% to $38.90 after-hours.
  • Symantec (SYMC) beat earnings; raised guidance; shares rose 8.5% at $16.55.
  • THQ (THQI) traded down 8% after disclosing net profit drops on charges from discontinued titles.
  • Trimble Navigation (TRMB) shares rose 15% at $27.45 after raising current guidance and reaffirming 2008 revenues.
  • Western Digital (WDC)  $1.35 EPS vs. $1.04 estimate; sees next quarter $0.85 to $0.91 EPS  & $2 Billion revenues vs. estimates of $0.80 & $1.9 Billion; shares rose by almost 7%.
  • World Acceptance (WRLD) $0.54 EPS vs. $0.46 estimates.
  • Xerox (XRX) $0.41 EPS vs $0.41 estimate; sees next quarter $0.25 to $0.28 vs. $0.28 estimate; sees 2008 $1.31 to $1.35 EPS versus $1.31 estimates.

Jon C. Ogg
January 24, 2008

52-Week Low Club (ABK, AKAM, C, CPKI, EBAY, FFIV, FUL, NMX, PMI, ZQK, SGMS, STXS, TTI, XRX, ZBRA)

After the financial meltdown and after the new tech wreck, many of the same stocks and same REIT’s keep appearing over and over on the list of new 52-week lows.  Here are some others that might not have normally caught your eye:

  • AMBAC Financial (ABK) was down big after it came clean and ran the gauntlet, but this one went from bad to worse by closing down a whopping 38% at $12.97.  Ouch!
  • Akamai Tech (AKAM) closed down almost 4% at $25.88; prior 52-week range was $25.97 to $59.69….. so much for pushing out online video and media faster being a solid business.
  • Citigroup (C) just cant catch a break with a new year low close of $26.24.  Maybe being a stronger manager might help Pandit.  Dear Vikram, Welcome to running a troubled public company.
  • California Pizza Kitchen (CPKI) after its warnings closed down over 17% at $10.10; $12.20 to $25.23 prior range.
  • eBay (EBAY) was a bit of a shock to see, although if you take the retail, tech, and internet angle it’s not a huge stretch.  The good news is that this was only intra-day with a low of $27.67 at the open.  It closed up 0.5% at $28.09 and the prior 52-week range was $27.85 to $40.73.
  • F5 Networks (FFIV) took a downgrade to Hold from Buy at Jefferies; shares closed down 8% to $20.68; prior range $21.07 to $46.94.
  • H B Fuller (FUL) manufactures and markets adhesives and specialty chemical products worldwide.  It fell 11.3% to $19.57; prior low $20.56; posted lower Q4 earnings
  • NYMEX Holdings (NMX) closed down 7.5% at $103.98, 52-week range is $105 to $148; maybe that raised CEO bonus might not be the best idea.
  • PMI Group (PMI) won’t find any sympathy anywhere, shares closed down 7.5% at $7.77.
  • Quicksilver (ZQK) can’t be a big shock since it warned on earnings yesterday; -5.3% at $7.04.
  • Scientific Games (SGMS) wasn’t just bad, it was a slaughter at -30% to $19.45; prior range $28.15 to $40.70.  It lost a contract and took a downgrade.
  • Stereotaxis (STXS) received an additional approval from FDA but it warned on earnings in a significant manor that caused an investor and trader revolt in what was already down and out.  It fell down 22% to $8.84; prior range $9.66 to $16.88.
  • Tetra Technologies (TTI) is a geographically diversified oil and gas services company that provides niche products and services focused on well completion and on late-life production enhancement and decommissioning.  Maybe that business isn’t great anymore?  It warned Monday about a shortfall and today was just as bad or worse. This one closed down 8% to $14.38, and its prior 52-week range was $14.38 to $30.20.
  • Xerox (XRX) hit intra-day 52-week lows and if this isn’t an endorsement of a slowdown in the big business climate then what the hell is?  Shares hit a low of $13.59, but closed barely over the prior 52-week low at $13.88; 52-week range $13.84 to $20.18.
  • Zebra Tech (ZBRA) can’t be too big of a shock with retail slowing and its bar code tech is retail dependent (sans-drugs); stock fell almost 3% to $30.17; prior range is $30.95 to $42.50.

Jon C. Ogg
January 16, 2008

Media Digest 11/19/2007 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Barron’s

According to Reuters, some auto industry experts think car sales could hit a 15-year low in 2008.

Reuters reports that the OPEC summit ended with members disagreeing about what to do about the weak US dollar.

Reuters also reports that Xerox (XRX) will have its first dividend since 2001.

The Wall Street Journal writes that China is putting a curb on bank lending between now and the end of the year, a move that could hurt that stock market there and the economy.

The Wall Street Journal writes that crude oil production could plateau creating long-term energy shortages.

The Wall Street Journal writes that AMD (AMD) is finally releasing its full platform of chips for building PCs.

The New York Times writes that while most investment firms were making bad decisions in the current credit crisis, Goldman Sachs (GS) made a number of smart moves.

The New York Times writes that global interest in the 700 Mhz frequency band could boost prices at the January FCC spectrum auction.

The New York Times writes that Fox News signed Shepard Smith to an $8 million, three year anchor dea.

The FT writes that OPEC members have united behind higher prices.

The FT reports that support is growing for a super-fund for SIVs as rates for borrowing by banks increases.

The FT writest that the head of GE (GE) called for incentives to build nuclear plants.

The FT writes that concerns about Vista are not preventing adoption of the Microsoft (MSFT) OS.

Barron’s writes that the falling price of EchoStar (DISH) is likely to cause AT&T (T) to make a bid for the company.

Bloomberg writes that Wall St. will pay out $38 billion in bonuses as shareholders loss $74 billion.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Pre-Market Analyst Calls (October 22, 2007)

AAUK cut to Hold at Citigroup.
ANPI cut to Sector PErform at both RBC & CIBC.
APPB cut to Underperform at Wachovia.
ASH cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
AXP cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
BHP cut to Hold at Citigroup.
CFC cut to Underweight at Lehman.
COF cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
CTXS raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
CLWR raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Read More »

Key Earnings Reactions (October 19, 2007)

(AMD) Advanced Micro Devices -$0.71 EPS vs -$0.62 est.
(BSX) Boston Scientific $0.20 EPS vs $0.07 guidance.
(CAT) Caterpillar $1.40 EPS vs $1.43 est.; narrows 2007 guidance.
(FITB) Fifth Third $0.71 EPS vs $0.68 est.
(GOOG) Google traded up 1% after beating earnings; added 2,100 jobs.
(HOG) Harley Davidson $1.07 EPS vs $1.05 est.; cautious near-term.
(HON) Honeywell $0.81 EPS vs $0.81 est.
(ISRG) Intuitive Surgical traded up almost 5% after beating earnings and raising guidance.
(MMM) 3M $1.29 EPS vs. $1.28 est.; guidance looks raised but that is on gains.
(PMCS) PMC-Sierra slightly beat estimates but CEO retiring; stock traded up marginally.
(SLB) Schlumberger $1.09 EPS vs $1.07 est.
(SNDK) SanDisk indicating down after beating earnings and seeing slight drop in pricing.
(WB) Wachovia $1.05 EPS vs $1.03 est.; was $0.90 after items.
(XLNX) Xilinx $0.30 EPS vs $0.29 est.
(XRX) Xerox $0.27 EPS vs. $0.26 est.

Jon C. Ogg
October 19, 2007

NetFlix (NFLX): The Death Of Hope

In 1942, economist Joseph Schumpeter came up with the notion of "creative destruction". The term became more popular in the 1970s and 1980s as Wal-Mart (WMT) ran K-Mart out of town and Xerox (XRX) and Polaroid where crushed by digital competition.

From 2002 to early 2006, NetFlix (NFLX) had its turn at creative destruction. Its new model of delivering DVDs though the mail virtually destroyed Blockbuster’s (BBI) bricks-and-mortar model. Over that period, Netflix stock rose almost 400%. Blockbuster’s fell 80%.

But, no creative destruction lasts forever, and now it is NetFlix’s turn to get eaten up. So far this year, NFLX shares are off 35% and Blockbuster’s are down 20%. After NetFlix posted earnings, its shares hit a level lower that they have seen in two years.

The easy answer about why NetFlix is down so much is that its subscriber base is now flat, sitting short of seven million, and its is having to lower the price of its service because Blockbuster has entered the DVD-through-the-mail business in an attempt to stay afloat.

But, that isn’t the right reason. Just at NetFlix was instrumental in destroying shareholder value at Blockbuster, the digital video age is killing the NetFlix model.

Two years ago, Apple (AAPL) TV did not exist. Neither did Qualcomm’s (QCOM) MediaFlow TV product for cellphones. Amazon’s (AMZN) UnBox was not in the market. Neither were many of the cable VOD options or Verizon’s (VZ) FiOS television offering. And, Wal-Mart did not have an online video download service.

It is too late for NetFlix. Just as it was for Blockbuster as the company discovered that the market had passed it by. NetFlix may be in business for years, but it has lost the war for providing premium video to consumers.

Douglas A. McIntyre