Stocks in the news: TM, STT, JNJ, IBM, NYT, AMTD, C, COP, PFE ...

Posted Jan 20th 2009 8:22AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Deals, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Pfizer (PFE), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), International Business Machines (IBM), Citigroup Inc. (C), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), New York Times'A' (NYT), Alcoa Inc (AA), Bank of America (BAC), ConocoPhillips (COP), TD AmeriTrade Holding (AMTD)

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) on Tuesday named Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota's founder, president of the Japanese automaker. Toyota, once believed to be better immune than U.S. carmakers to the recession has been struggling as well with its sales declining 4% in 2008 for the first time in a decade. This is the first time in 14 years that a Toyoda family member has taken the helm. While this appointment is not surprising, it comes earlier than expected. TM shares gained over 2% in premarket trading.

State Street (NYSE: STT) reported its earnings fell 71% to $65 million, or 15 cents a share on costs of more than $800 million to prop up funds and cut its work force. Excluding certain items, profit was $1.18, beating the $1.13-a-share estimate. STT gave notice late Friday that it's setting on $5.5 billion of unrealized after-tax losses on its investment portfolio and $3.6 billion in unrealized losses in conduits. The stock was down over ~~25%~~ 35% in premarket trading.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced that fourth-quarter sales decreased 4.9% to $15.2 billion, below estimates of $15.3 billion. EPS was $0.97, but excluding special items, fourth-quarter EPS increased 6.8% to $0.94, 2 cents better than estimates. The stock was down 1.2% in premarket trading.

International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) faces fresh accusations that it's abusing its market dominance in mainframe computers to shut out rival products in violation of European Union antitrust rules. IBM is set to report quarterly results after the close with analysts estimating it will post earnings of $3.03 a share. The stocks was down 1.2% in premarket trading.

The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) said Monday it was getting $250 million in financing from companies controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu. The money will be used to refinance existing debt. The stock was up nearly 3% in premarket trading.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: AMTD) is also reporting quarterly results today and is expected to post a fiscal first-quarter profit of 31 cents a share. Indeed, TD Ameritrade said quarterly earnings dropped 23%, in line with expectations, and lowered its 2009 earnings forecast.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), the largest maker of networking equipment, plans to release within the next few months a server computer equipped with sophisticated virtualization software. This product could threaten to shake up the technology industry and compete with its traditional partners like Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and IBM.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and Merrill Lynch & Co. had their debt ratings lowered by Moody's to A1 from Aa3. This comes as BAC announced last week it and Merrill had substantial losses in fourth-quarter. BAC shares were down over 12% in premarket trading.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) apparently has different reports surrounding Nikko Cordial Securities, its Japanese retail brokerage. While some say it plans to sell it, others report Citi is commited to it. Citi shares dropped some 4.8% in premarket trading.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) will trim about 4% of its workforce, or about 1,300 jobs employees and reduce the number of contractors it uses as it cuts its capital budget. The oil company approved a $12.5 billion capital program for 2009, down from $15.3 billion in 2008. COP shares dropped some 3.8% in premarket trading.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) said it failed to win U.S. approval to sell lasofoxifene for women with weak bones. A clinical trial showed an increase in deaths. Shares declined 1.5% in premarket trading.

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) and Exxon (NYSE: XOM) also declined 2.7% and 1.5% respectively in premarket trading as aluminum and oil prices fell.

Tags: aa, amtd, bac, c, cop, csco, ibm, inthenews, jnj, nyt, pfe, stt, tm, xom