eResearchTechnology (NASDAQ: ERES) provides technology and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company streamlines the clinical trials process by enabling customers to automate the collection, analysis and distribution of data in all phases of clinical development. The firm's flagship product, EXPeRT, processes and interprets electrocardiogram data collected during trials, to insure cardiac safety. eResearchTechnology operates in the US and the UK.
The firm pleased investors earlier in the week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 11 cents and revenues of $33.7 million. Wall Street analysts had been looking for nine cents and $31.6 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 10-12 cents (ten cent Street), Q2 revenues to $34-$36 million ($32.95M Street), FY08 EPS to 44-49 cents (44 cent Street) and FY08 revenues to $133-$140 million ($134.99M Street). Friedman Billings subsequently reiterated its "outperform" rating on the shares and boosted its price target to $18.
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares are trading higher today after the company reported a first-quarter profit of $176.8 million, or 30 cents per share. Although the adjusted profit of 36 cents per share missed analyst estimates of 38 cents per share, a few analysts upgraded NVDA saying margin growth and new products should improve NVDA's prospects through the year. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on NVDA.
After hitting a one-year high of $39.67 in October, the stock hit a one-year low of $17.31 in March. NVDA opened this morning at $22.01. So far today the stock has hit a low of $21.97 and a high of $23.39. As of 12:00, NVDA is trading at $23.38, up 1.43 (6.5%). The chart for NVDA looks bullish but deteriorating slightly, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a September bull-put credit spread below the $17.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 9.9% return in just five and a half months as long as NVDA is above $17.50 at September expiration. NVIDIA would have to fall by more than 25% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.
NVDA hasn't been below $17.50 by more than a few cents at all in the past year and has shown support around $22 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's next earnings (due out in mid-August) disappoint, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock might find from its 50-day moving average, which is currently around $20.
DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in NVDA.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lincoln Educational, Sonus Networks and Novartis were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Lehman upgraded Lincoln Educational (NASDAQ: LINC) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on improving student enrollment growth and valuation.
Merriman upgraded Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS) to Buy from Neutral on the company's strong AT&T (NYSE: T) outlook and near-term upside potential from Japan. They believe shares can trade towards the $5-$6 range.
Bernstein raised Novartis (NYSE: NVS) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company's diversification position it well to withstand future generic expiries.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Goldman Sachs added Burger King (NYSE: BKC) to its Conviction Buy List.
Credit Suisse upgraded Imperial Tobacco (NYSE: ITY) to Outperform from Neutral.
It's a fairly quiet day in analyst land as far as the most active stocks are concerned, despite there being many movers today. Here is a brief snapshot of some of the key calls today:
Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT) started as Buy at UBS. DRS Tech (NYSE: DRS) cut to Neutral at UBS; cut to market perform at FBR.
FreightCar America (NASDAQ: RAIL) Raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; new price target $42.00 from $35.00.
After hitting a one-year low of $51.00 in January, the stock hit a one-year high of $62.50 last month. GIS opened this morning at $61.48. So far today the stock has hit a low of $61.33 and a high of $62.00. As of 12:54, GIS is trading at $61.58, up 0.68 (1.12%). The chart for GIS looks bullish but deteriorating slightly, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bull-put credit spread below the $55 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 6.4% return in just 6 weeks as long as GIS is above $55 at July expiration. Evergreen would have to fall by more than 10% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.
GIS hasn't been below $55 by more than a few cents since February and has shown support around $60 recently. This trade could be risky if an economic recovery causes investors to rotate out of defensive stocks, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock might find at its 200-day moving average, which is currently around $57.50. Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.
DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in GIS.
Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR) offers North American and U.K. retailers a range of storefront service and entertainment devices. These include coin counters, kiddie rides, bulk vending machines, skill-crane games and point-of-sale terminals. The firm also provides self-service DVD movie rental/purchase kiosks and provides money transfer services, prepaid wireless products, stored value cards, payroll cards and prepaid debit cards. Coinstar products and services are distributed through more than 53,000 retail stores. Corporate clients include Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Walgreen (NYSE: WAG).
The company surprised the Street last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 18 cents and revenues of $190.5 million. Analysts had been expecting four cents and $182.7 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 8-15 cents (12 cent consensus), Q2 revenues to $200-$210 million ($202.19M consensus), FY08 EPS to 60-75 cents (57 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $850-$900 million ($829.83M consensus). DA Davidson subsequently upgraded the stock to "buy".
Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Chelsea Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CHTP) to Perform from Outperform after their survey suggested physicians believe currently available generic treatments are adequate in neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, which could impact the company's lead drug Droxidopa.
Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) was cut to Sell from Hold at Citigroup on valuation, as they estimate fair value at $13.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Goldman downgraded Kellogg (NYSE:K) to Neutral from Buy and Hershey Foods (NYSE:HSY) to Sell from Neutral.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: National Financial Partners, Blackbaud and Trans World were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Citigroup upgraded shares of National Financial Partners (NYSE:NFP) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe the recent weakness is overdone. Citigroup also added the stock to their Top Picks Live list.
Jefferies upgraded shares of Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) to Hold from Underperform on valuation, as they believe management did the right thing by lowering guidance while buying back stock more aggressively.
B. Riley lifted Trans World (NASDAQ:TWMC) to Buy from Neutral as they believe the company could ultimately go private should credit conditions improve
OTHER UPGRADES:
Keefe Bruyette raised Anworth Mortgage (NYSE:ANH) to Outperform from Market Perform.
Unit Corp (NYSE:UNT) was upgraded at Raymond James to Outperform from Market Perform.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Georgia Gulf, Sohu.com and I-flow were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Citigroup downgraded Georgia Gulf (NYSE: GGC) to Sell from Hold to reflect the deteriorating fundamentals in North American housing, and their belief that the company is increasingly likely to break its debt covenant ratio.
Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) to Hold from Buy on valuation and expects 2009 growth to be modest.
Piper cut I-Flow (NASDAQ: IFLO) to Sell from Neutral following the weak Q1 report and guidance.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Morgan Stanley downgraded Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
Goldman removed Teva Pharma (NASDAQ: TEVA) from its Conviction Buy List.
Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
JP Morgan lowered PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) to Underweight from Neutral.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, YRC Worldwide and Syniverse were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Soleil upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) to Buy from Hold on improving fundamentals, as they believe the economic stimulus package should drive consumer demand in 2H08.
Stephens upgraded shares of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Overweight from Underweight as they believe management is making meaningful changes.
Syniverse (NYSE: SVR) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. The firm upgraded shares based on accelerating organic growth from consumer wireless data usage.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Deutsche Bank upgraded NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Buy from Hold.
Kaufman initated Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) with a "buy" and set a $680 price target according toBriefing.com. The news service also reports that Lehman resumed coverage of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) with an "equal-weght" rating and a price target of $34.
Thomas Weisel maintained at "overweight" rating on Cephalon (NASDAQ:CEPH) although the FDA rejected broader use of its pain drug Fentora according to the AP.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sunoco, Ryanair and HSBC Holdings were today's noteworthy downgrades:
JP Morgan downgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Underweight from Neutral citing expected margin pressure due to high leverage to sweet crude. Goldman also downgraded shares of Sunoco to Neutral from Buy.
Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Sell from Hold as they believe the European airlines sector will trade well below book value until the companies deal with higher oil prices.
UBS cut HSBC (NYSE: HBC) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the potential for higher losses at the company's household unit and weak performance at its U.S. bank.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Broadpoint lowered MTS Medication (NYSE: MPP) to Neutral from Strong Buy.
HSBC cut Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) to Neutral from Overweight.
Goldman downgraded CNH Global (NYSE: CNH) to Neutral from Buy and PetroChina (PTR) to Sell from Buy.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Citizens Republic Bancorp, Hess Corp and Sanderson Farms were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Citizens Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ: CRBC) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following yesterday's sell-off, which they attribute in part to its removal from the Dow Jones Select Dividend Index. Shares were also raised to OUtperform from Perform at Oppenheimer following the sell-off.
Goldman upgraded Hess (NYSE: HES) to Buy from Neutral citing the company's leverage to higher oil prices. The firm said oil is likely to hit $150-$200/bbl in the next 6-24 months.
Stephens upgraded shares of Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ: SAFM) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they expect industry fundamentals to improve in FY09.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Baird raised Stellent (NASDAQ: STEL) to OUtperform from Neutral.
Friedman Billings upgraded Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) to Market Perform from Underperform.
Agco (NYSE: AG) was upgraded at Goldman to Buy from Neutral.
Lehman upgraded SLM Corp (NYSE: SLM) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
technology and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company streamlines the clinical trials process by enabling customers to automate the collection, analysis and distribution of data in all phases of clinical development. The firm's flagship product, EXPeRT, processes and interprets electrocardiogram data collected during trials, to insure cardiac safety. eResearchTechnology operates in the US and the UK.
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