The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up triple digits with a gain of 178 points to 11,575.46, the NASDAQ rose more than 42 (1.6%) to 2,657.43, and the S&P 500 rose 2% or 24 points to 1,225.28. Today’s top analyst upgrade and downgrade calls were numerous and included Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR), Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), and more than a dozen other companies.
There has been a turnaround from the indicated loss in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) after its earnings showed that book value managed to actually grow and the stock was up almost 10% at $6.63 late in the session.
Some food for thought… Now the MLP and pipeline sector may look cheap on the heels of the El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP) buyout.
As far as the other big earnings report reactions today (prices within 20 minutes of the closing bell): The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) was down 0.3% at $66.79; International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) was a huge drag on teh DJIA with shares still down 4.5% at $178.30; Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was up 1.2% at $64.54; State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) was up 9% at $36.97.
Several other standouts from today are as follows…
American Public Education Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI) lost more than 20% of its value to $30.05 after the American Military University will see far lower tuition assistance from the U.S. Marine Corps.
Badger Meter Inc. (NYSE: BMI) was a loser even if it is supposed to be a water winner after missing earnings estimates. Shares were down 13% at $29.08 in the final minutes of the day.
Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was a disaster after an earnings warning that would not have been so bad had the stock not been up 100% from its 52-week lows before the report. The stock was down a massive 39% at $16.20 right before the close on more than 8-times normal volume of 25 million shares.
Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) was such a winner that it should be called “Master Chief” for its stock ticker. Its subcutaneous Herceptin trial met the study goals and the stock was up over 18% at $7.34 right before the close. This was not even a 52-week high.
Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) was about 4% shy of sales targets in its earnings report and that had the stock down 7% to $34.56 right before the close. With a 52-week high of $46.88, it seemed a bit harsh of a reaction even with slightly lower margin guidance.
Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) was up over 15% at $12.95 on reports that a $25.00 per share buyout could be headed its way. We gave a handicap on the odds of a deal happening.
USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) broke a major run higher today and still no news exists. The belief is that the loan approval from the DOE may get a better review now that solar loan fraud seems to be prevailing after Solyndra. Shares were down 4% at $2.10 right before the close. Still, this was a $1.30 stock just last Thursday.
Stay tuned for Wednesday. We have speeches to watch from Rosengren and Lockhart on the docket as well as a hearing about ETFs. Here are some economic releases due in the morning and throughout the day:
- 8:30 September CPI
- 8:30 Housing Starts
- 10:30 Weekly Oil Inventories
- 2:00 PM Beige Book
JON C. OGG
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