FeedPosted Feb 9th 2010 7:00PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Good news, Stocks to Buy
Shares of Baidu (BIDU) are pointed sharply higher in after-hours trading, with investors cheering the company's fourth-quarter earnings report. The Internet-search issue swung to a profit of $62.7 million, or $1.80 per American depositary share, while revenue jumped 40% to $184.7 million. Analysts were looking for a slimmer per-share profit of $1.69, according to Thomson Reuters.
Looking ahead, BIDU said it expects first-quarter revenue to range between $176 million and $181 million, compared to consensus expectations for revenue of $170 million. This upbeat forecast sent the stock surging to a gain of nearly 9% in electronic trading.
Continue reading Baidu Blazes Past 4Q Earnings Expectations
Posted Feb 8th 2010 5:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Walt Disney (DIS), Media World, Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF)
I love the media sector, so Tuesday, February 9, will be an exciting day for me. After the market finishes its trading activities, we'll get reports from two entertainment companies: one's a big player in Hollywood, while the other would like to be just as big someday.
Let's start with the big gun. The Walt Disney Corporation (DIS) has first-quarter numbers all set to go, and investors are hoping for an unambiguous beat on the bottom line. The call is for net income to fall somewhere around 39 cents per share, according to Earnings.com. Kind of lousy, considering the Mouse made 41 cents per share in last year's Q1.
Continue reading Media Preview: Disney and Lions Gate to Report
Posted Feb 8th 2010 10:00AM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Employees, Recession

One of the world's preeminent economists and former central bankers had some good news and not-so-good news for investors.
Speaking on NBC's
Meet The Press on Sunday, Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said, "The recession is over. It bottomed back in the middle of the year."
However, Greenspan added that, as many economists agree, the economic recovery will have to continue for some time to absorb the slack in the labor force to lower the U.S. unemployment rate significantly.
Continue reading Greenspan: 'The Recession Is Over'
Posted Feb 7th 2010 12:30PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Agilent Technologies (A), Chipotle Mexican Grill'A' (CMG), Hasbro Inc (HAS)
Quarterly reports continue to roll out this week, with results due from Allstate Corp. (ALL), Coca-Cola Co. (KO), Marriott International Inc. (MAR), Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP), New York Times Co. (NYT), Pepsico Inc. (PEP), Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), Viacom (VIA), Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and many others. Here's a look at a few of the companies that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to be the biggest earnings gainers this week.
Analysts are looking for Coinstar Inc. (CSTR), which distributes coin-counting, DVD-rental, and other self-service kiosks, to report that its fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year ago to $0.32 per share. Revenue for the three months that ended in December is expected to have jumped 26.1% to $329.2 million. The analysts' forecast for the full year calls for earnings of $0.94 per share (+46.8%) on $1.2 billion in revenue (+25.9%). Coinstar has beat earnings estimates in the past three quarters, by as much as six cents per share.
Continue reading The Week in Preview: High Hopes for Coinstar, Agilent, Chipotle, Baidu, Hasbro
Posted Feb 6th 2010 2:10PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Microsoft (MSFT), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Activision Inc (ATVI), Nintendo (NTDOY)
Electronic Arts (ERTS), a software maker whose colleagues include Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Microsoft (MSFT), Nintendo (NTDOY) and Sony (SNE), will be reporting third-quarter numbers on Monday, Feb. 8, after the market closes up shop. This is going to be an interesting one.
I doubt there are many market watchers out there who aren't aware of the problems in the video game industry; 2009 was not the best of years for the sector, and investors are hoping that 2010 will execute a rebound. However, EA has specific fundamental problems. The declines seen in its share price cannot be solely sourced to the macro conditions of the current console cycle.
Continue reading Electronic Arts to Report Q3 Data: Should You Play This Game?
Posted Feb 5th 2010 1:30PM by Brent Archer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major Movement, Forecasts, Bad News, Corning Inc (GLW), Options, Technical Analysis
Corning (GLW - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company said it expects to see modest growth in sales and earnings in 2010, but did not offer specific forecasts. Analysts are expecting the company to earn $1.75 per share in 2010 on revenue of $6.28 billion, up from $1.28 per share and $5.4 billion, respectively. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on GLW.
This morning, GLW opened at $18.10. So far today the stock has hit a high of $18.24 and a low of $16.96. As of 12:10, GLW is trading at $17.65, down 60 cents (-3.3%). The chart for GLW looks bullish and S&P gives GLW a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.
Continue reading Corning Dips on Modest 2010 Outlook
Posted Feb 4th 2010 1:30PM by Brent Archer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major Movement, Forecasts, Good news, Gap Inc (GPS), Options, Technical Analysis

Gap (
GPS -
option chain) shares are rising today after
the company said it expects to see Q4 EPS of 49 to 51 cents, well above analysts' estimates of 44 cents. GPS is also getting momentum from its January sales results. The retailer announced its
same-store sales rose 5.0 percent in January, topping analysts' forecasts of a 4.4 percent gain. 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 GPS.
GPS opened this morning at $19.57. So far today the stock has hit a low of $19.25 and a high of $20.00. As of 11:40, GPS is trading at $19.59 up 57 cents (3.0%). The chart for GPS looks neutral and
S&P gives GPS a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.
Continue reading Gap Lifts Q4 Forecast, January Sales Up
Posted Feb 1st 2010 5:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Forecasts

Thinking about diversifying a portion of your portfolio out of the dollar, and in to, perhaps, other hard currencies, such as the euro?
About six months ago, selling dollars and to buy euros appeared to be such a slam-dunk, no-risk investment move. After all, the United States was and will continue to record $1 trillion-plus deficits that are destined to result in further weakening in the dollar in 2010. The dollar will fall, the dollar-bears argue: it's a no-brainer.
Continue reading Buying Euros, Selling Dollars a Slam-Dunk Winning Strategy? Not Quite
Next Page »