Today had all the earmarks in line for another solid day of sell-offs, yet the markets held ground considering the tone this morning. The good news was low inflation, the lowest in over 50 years. But agriculture stocks were hammered on overseas competitive news about weak pricing and demand. Then came a banking downgrade from the S&P playing catch-up. Despite the mixed performance at the end of the day, this felt like a win. Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 8,497.18 (-7.49)
S&P 500: 910. 71 (-1.26)
NASDAQ: 1,808.06 (+11.88)
Top Analyst Calls
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) may have been the biggest helping hand after John Chambers said that they were starting to see signs of life in the tech and telecom markets. Shares were up 0.7% at $19.21 late in the day ahead of the closing bell.
Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) staged a major comeback after the company met earnings estimates and reaffirmed guidance. Shares were up over 2% at $28.79 ahead of the closing bell.
Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was one of today's top upgrades as its price target was raised to $350 from $300 at Goldman Sachs. Shares were up almost 3% at $297.10 ahead of the closing bell.
Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SVNT) traded up again after an FDA panel decided to recommend backing for its new gout drug KRYSTEXXA and on an analyst upgrade. The 14 to 1 vote in favor is not a formal approval but it tips the scale more toward a likely approval from the FDA. Shares were up almost 35% at $12.55 ahead of the closing bell.
E*TRADE Financial (NASDAQ: ETFC) is raising $1.2 billion in new capital to bolster its balance sheet. The company is selling $400 million in shares as part of the raise and then a debt exchange with the balance. The company is still facing challenging internals. Shares were down 11.8% at $1.46 ahead of the closing bell.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) gave earnings of $0.64 EPS vs. $0.51 estimates but "a challenging environment" is causing it to see mixed numbers. Despite beating estimates, it sees little real recovery and said that it is lowering expectations for the coming quarter. Shares were up almost 3% at $297.10 ahead of the closing bell. Shares were down almost 1% at $51.05 ahead of the closing bell.
Star Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: STSI) was not exactly a household name, but this one imploded after the company was on the wrong end of a patent ruling in the favor of Reynolds. This one was beaten by 75% to $1.08 on the news.
Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) priced its secondary at a fairly firm price of $13.00 for 18.6 million shares in a secondary offering. This was after a $13.33 close yesterday. Shares were down 3.75% at $12.83 ahead of the closing bell.
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