24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (BAC, CHK, SAM, ERJ, PAA, GE, MCD, KMB, ALK, ALTR, COF, HBI, SNDK, KEY, AEP, CP, CTIC, RCL, PCX, RVBD, RMBS)
Markets opened higher this morning although a decline in tech stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, leaving the index with only a small gain going into the last hour of trading. Energy stocks boosted the Dow and the S&P. Asian and…
The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 65 points to 13,029.19 (0.5%), the NASDAQ fell more than 7 points (-0.24%) to 3.000.45, and the S&P 500 rose 0.12% or nearly 2 points to 1,378.53.
There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) cut to ‘sell’ at Credit Agricole; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) started as ‘neutral’ at UBS; Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; and Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) started as ‘overweight’ at Barclays.
Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is up 1.4% at $19.41 (more coverage here); McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is up 0.7% at $95.90 (more coverage here); Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) is up 1.6% at $76.50 after posting a new 52-week intraday high of $77.09 (more coverage here); Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) is down -0.4% at $34.55; Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) is down -8.1% at $35.38; Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) is up 0.05% at $53.96; Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) is up 11.7% at $30.09 (more coverage here); Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is down -12.2% at $35.55 (more coverage here); KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is down -0.06% at $7.87; American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is up 1.1% at $38.29; Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP) is up 0.8% at $77.08 (more coverage here); Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is flat at $1.16; and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is down -7.8% at $26.61.
We have a preview of next week’s big earnings reports here.
Other standouts from today include the following stocks:
Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is down -8% at $6.19. The coal miner announced another mine closure today, along with a lowered production estimate. Patriot is scheduled to report earnings after markets close today.
Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is down -28.6% at $19.89. The network equipment maker missed earnings expectations. More coverage here.
Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) is down -12% at $4.92. The dhip maker missed EPS estimates today and offered a lower-than-expected forecast.
Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):
- 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6- month bill auction
Have a great weekend.
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Paul Ausick
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.