DOE Inventory Data Swings Prices (OIH, USO, VLO)
The Department of Energy is out with its weekly inventories data. There appears to be some seasonality and weather issues, and it will be interesting to see these figures next week when you consider…
All Work
Jon C. Ogg
Agriculture Report Good for Farmers, Not For Consumers (ADM, BG, MOS, MON, POT, DE, CNH, LIZ)
The US Department of Agriculture this morning released its January World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, or WASDE, which projects world supply and demand for food products like wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, oats, rice,…
ITT Follows Tyco & Fortune, The Great Break-Up (ITT, FO, TYC, TEL)
ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT) after the same strategy recently announced by Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE: FO) and what Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) did in 2007. The company is splitting itself up into three…
Short Sellers Keep Exiting High-Priced Leaders (AMZN, AAPL, BIDU, FFIV, GS, GOOG, IBM, MA, NFLX, POT, PCLN, CRM, VMW, WYNN)
The short sellers keep running for cover as the bull market continues. In the actively traded high-priced market leaders, the trend continues for less and less short selling and many of these are now…
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AKS, AA, ADI, CHD, GE, GS, HBAN, LSI, NYB, QLGC, SNDK, SBIB, SYMC, TLB, VZ)
These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms. AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Cut to Sell at UBS. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:…
The 17 Most Important IPOs To Watch For In 2011
The market for Initial Public Offerings is booming. After seeing so many IPOs trade exponentially higher than expected in 2010, the market should continue to be strong in 2011. We have created what was…
Lululemon, When Great Things Get Even Greater (LULU)
lululemonShares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) had a great 2010 and the company had already risen after raising its guidance after earnings in early December. When things go well they must go incredibly…
At 52-Week Lows, Reconsidering RadioShack (RSH, VZ, AAPL, WMT, TGT, BBY)
RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is off to a very rough start in 2011. Its stock has only enjoyed one day of gains since the start of the year. Yesterday brought much carnage to its…
For-Profit Colleges: Looking for Bottom as Enrollments Fall (APOL, STRA, EDMC, COCO, CECO, DV)
The University of Phoenix, owned by Apollo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), reported first fiscal quarter revenue of $1.33 billion and EPS of $1.61, both higher than expectations of $1.26 billion in revenue and EPS…
Earnings For Homebuilders, They’re Back… Almost (LEN, KBH, RYL, DHI, PHM, TOL, XHB)
A second homebuilder has reported fourth quarter and full-year earnings that handily beat very low expectations. Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) reported this morning that it had quarterly EPS of $0.17 on revenue of $860.1…
Turnaround? Sears Sees Rise in Earnings (SHLD, WMT, TLB, TIF)
Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) today reported same-store sales and estimated net income for its fourth fiscal quarter ending January 29th. Same-store sales at Kmart and Sears stores were off a combined -1.7% for…
A Valuation Turnaround Call for HP (HPQ)
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is a truly different company without Mark Hurd. After his departure and ouster, the stock never found its way back to normal in 2010 despite a bull market. That bias…
Alcoa Not Weighing On Aluminum Sector (AA, ACH, RS, CENX, NOR, KALU)
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was the first component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to report earnings. Last night’s report was actually above estimates on earnings even if revenues were a tad soft. The…
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AET, AMR, CSIQ, FXCM, GG, IPXL, INTC, JASO, LDK, M, MCD, MON, NFX, RSH, CRM, SBUX, STP, SPWRA, YUM)
These are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms. Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Reiterated Neutral with $39 target at BofA/ML. AMR Corporation (NYSE:…
Level 3 Reaffirms Ahead of Offering (LVLT, CMCSA, NFLX)
Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is back again in the capital markets. Once a seller, always a seller. The company will offer $300 million in eight-year maturity notes, pushing out its maturity scale…
Groundhog Day in Chip-Land: AMD Loses Another CEO (AMD, INTC)
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) set CEO Dirk Meyer up for failure from his first day on the job. After the close came the announcement that Meyer was resigning in mutual agreement with…
Alcoa Delivers, While Tone Expected (AA)
Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) did manage to turn in better-than-expected performance to kick off earnings season. That was expected of the company after the gains we have seen of late in its shares. Fourth…
Is LDK’s Move Sustainable? (LDK, FSLR, STP, SPWRA, JASO, TAN)
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) is surging after this morning’s guidance. Shares are up by double-digit percentages on higher guidance for its fourth quarter 2010 and for its fiscal year 2011. We are…
Dot Hill, Gains, and Rethinking Tech M&A (HILL, NTAP, ORCL, HPQ, DELL, EMC, CSCO)
Dot Hill Systems Corporation (NASDAQ: HILL) is finding itself back in favor this morning. The company has aspects of the cloud for investors but it is more for storage solutions, software, and security for…
Smith & Nephew Becomes Worth an Arm and a Leg in M&A (SNN, JNJ, ZMH, SYK, MDT)
Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) is trading higher today on reports that it rebuffed an approach for a takeover by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). What is interesting about the implied $10.9 billion,…