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Earnings Highlights: Apple, Boeing, Cisco, Ford, Kodak, Microsoft, Yahoo! ...

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

  • Apple Inc. (AAPL) posted its highest quarterly revenue ever, easily beating estimates, as iPhone sales doubled.
  • Boeing Co. (BA) swung to a larger-than-expected Q4 profit but guidance fell short of analysts' estimates.
  • Chevron Corp. (CVX) fell short of analysts' earnings estimates for Q4, sending shares lower.
  • Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) shares rose after optimistic statements by the CEO ahead of Q2 results.
  • Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) shares surged after it beat Q4 expectations by a wide margin and cash flow improved.
  • Ford Motor Co. (F) reported its first annual profit in four years due to cost-cutting and improved market share.
  • Halliburton Co. (HAL) reported lower Q4 earnings but beat estimates by a penny, and revenue also fell.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Apple, Boeing, Cisco, Ford, Kodak, Microsoft, Yahoo! ...

Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: AMZN, BBY, DV, POT, TWX, VZ, X ...

Analyst Upgrades

  • Kaufman Bros. upgraded Amazon.com (AMZN) to buy from hold as it finds the risk/reward on shares attractive following the recent pullback and expects the company to report strong Q4 results. Kaufman maintains a $155 price target on the stock.
  • Baird upgraded DeVry (DV) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $76 from $62. The firm said they have increased confidence in DeVry's ability to navigate through the ERP implementation.
  • Benchmark Co. upgraded McGraw-Hill (MHP) to buy from hold on expectations the company's momentum should continue throughout 2010 due to improving debt markets, increased IPO issuance and steady education funding. The firm raised its target price on shares to $42 from $32.
  • Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Rochdale.
  • AK Steel (AKS) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
  • Cooper Industries (CBE) was raised to buy from neutral at UBS.

Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: AMZN, BBY, DV, POT, TWX, VZ, X ...

U.S. Steel Dives on Q4 Loss, Q1 Outlook

U.S. Steel (X - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $267 million, or $1.86 per share, on revenue of $3.35 billion. Analysts were expecting a loss of $1.44 per share on revenue of $3.09 billion. The company also forecast a first-quarter loss in line with fourth quarter results, whereas analysts are forecasting a loss of 44 cents per share. 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 GE.

This morning, X opened at $52.66. So far today the stock has hit a high of $53.40 and a low of $50.37. As of 12:00, X is trading at $51.11, down $5.12 (-9.1%). The chart for X looks bearish and S&P gives X a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

Continue reading U.S. Steel Dives on Q4 Loss, Q1 Outlook

Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: AKS, EVVV, PEB, PM, PWR, S, X ...

Analyst Upgrades

  • Deutsche Bank upgraded U.S. Steel (X) to buy from hold after raising its steel forecasts and upped its target price on shares to $77 from $44. Note, the firm also downgraded AK Steel.
  • Credit Suisse upgraded Philip Morris (PM) to outperform from neutral based on a better international outlook.
  • JPMorgan upgraded ev3 Inc. (EVVV) to overweight from neutral. The firm sees upside potential to ev3's consensus estimates for 2010 and raised its target price on shares to $19 from $15.
  • Vale (VALE) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
  • Xilinx (XLNX) was raised to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
  • Shuffle Master (SHFL) was upgraded at KeyBanc to buy from hold.

Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: AKS, EVVV, PEB, PM, PWR, S, X ...

Cramer on BloggingStocks: China's industrial focus helps lots of U.S. names

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says at least one country is getting it right when it comes to economic stimulus.

How in the heck can you get 16% industrial growth and lower-than-expected consumer price inflation? How is that possible? Yet that's what we saw from China last night, and that's a tonic to pretty much everyone who is waiting for our own stimulus to kick in.

And we need it.

On Monday, Fluor (FLR) (Cramer's Take), the giant construction company, when asked if it could quantify the value of stimulus dollars currently in backlog, said "Really, the only stimulus funding we have seen directly has been the award that we got at Savannah River for some nuclear soil remediation. And, it was, I would say, we're less than $0.5 billion."

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: China's industrial focus helps lots of U.S. names

U.S. Steel: Poised to race ahead during the global economic expansion

Not-for-squeamish U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) is rising on schedule, despite a recent pull-back, which is why I'm reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended on April 15, 2009, at a price of $27.61. If you bought X in April, you're up about 28%.

The rationale for owning X's shares remains the same. U.S. Steel will likely be a survivor in the consolidating global steel sector with sufficient scale to either produce raw materials and acquire raw material assets.

Continue reading U.S. Steel: Poised to race ahead during the global economic expansion

AK Steel, U.S. Steel report better-than-expected Q3 results

It was good news bad news for the steel industry Tuesday. AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) and United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) both reported better-than-expected third-quarter results. But for U.S. Steel, it was the third straight quarterly loss as the economic downturn continued to drag down demand.

For the three months that ended in September, U.S. Steel said it lost $303 million, or $2.11 per share. That compares with a profit of $919 million, or $7.79 per share, in the same period of last year. Revenue for the quarter fell 61% to $2.82 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a loss of $2.87 per share on revenue of $2.72 billion.

Continue reading AK Steel, U.S. Steel report better-than-expected Q3 results

Before the bell: Futures waver ahead of economic reports, more earnings

U.S. stock futures drifted higher Tuesday morning, pointing to a somewhat flat beginning on Wall Street this morning after yet another sell-off day Monday despite a series of strong earnings releases. Investors await several economic releases due out this morning, including housing and consumer confidence, looking for direction.

Economic releases this morning include September durable goods orders at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, which is expected to have risen. At 9 a.m., the August Case-Shiller Home Price Index is due out. Prices are expected to have continued their slide. At the same time, October's Conference Board reading on consumer confidence will be released. Economists expect confidence has improved slightly.

Continue reading Before the bell: Futures waver ahead of economic reports, more earnings

US Steel: A bright future, but it's not a play for squeamish investors

I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), first recommended on April 15, 2009 at a price of $27.61. Shares are up a cool 59.5% since that time.

The rationale for owning X's shares remains the same: US Steel will likely be a survivor in the consolidating global steel sector with sufficient scale to either produce raw materials and acquire raw material assets.

Continue reading US Steel: A bright future, but it's not a play for squeamish investors

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Copper inventory build threatens the cyclicals

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the plunge in China overnight is being blamed on the industrial metal, so expect some carry-over.

It turns out copper was the metric. Drats, I thought it was the dollar or oil. I thought we were supposed to buy the cyclicals on earnings being better than expected. I thought we might be buying the minerals and the steels and the oils off the morning proxy of the Baltic Freight Index, known as the Baltic Fright Index in the days when it kept going down, and kept us out of the Freeports (NYSE: FCX) (Cramer's Take) and Vales (NASDAQ: VALE) (Cramer's Take) and Union Pacifics (NYSE: UNP) (Cramer's Take) and U.S. Steels (NYSE: X) (Cramer's Take).

Silly me.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Copper inventory build threatens the cyclicals

Before the bell: Futures edge lower ahead of housing data, more earnings

U.S. stock futures declined Tuesday morning after managing to close higher on Monday to extend the remarkable rally in the markets in the last two weeks. Today, more earnings are on tap, and investors will also focus on housing data coming out before the opening bell. Finally, there is a hearing about the energy trading that would be of interest to investors.

What on many investors' minds these past recent days is how long will the rally continue. The market, on Monday, on the one hand showed resilience following some disappointing earnings and pressures from sellers trying to cash in profits. On the other hand, the surprise climb in housing sales perhaps should have triggered a more convincing positive performance. While no doubt some would want to take some profit of the table in the coming days, more positive news from corporate results to economic data indicating a better third quarter could sustain markets.

Continue reading Before the bell: Futures edge lower ahead of housing data, more earnings

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CSX, JBL, MRVL, NUE, STT, X ...

Analyst upgrades:
  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded American Capital (NASDAQ: AGNC) to Outperform from Market Perform on expectations the company's book value and earnings are trending higher. The firm raised its target price to $22.
  • Jefferies upgraded Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's EPS and sales momentum will return with the Michigan economy likely bottoming out. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target price to $18 from $24.
  • Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Steel (X) to Overweight from Equal Weight due to its favorable product mix and leverage to improving operating rates.
  • CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  • Mueller Water (NYSE: MWA) was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at JMP Securities.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CSX, JBL, MRVL, NUE, STT, X ...

China's steel story: government slowing down demand

The whole world watches China when it comes to the natural resource play. Iron ore and steel companies have watched their share prices swing wildly based on news coming out of the Middle Kingdom in terms of what Chinese mills will be buying and how much they are willing to pay (particularly for the annual iron ore negotiations). Of late, the steel and iron sector has bounced nicely based on rising Chinese demand. Now noises coming out of China's government imply the steel bounce might have been inflated demand numbers. (via FT Alphaville).

Continue reading China's steel story: government slowing down demand

Cramer on BloggingStocks: The pain of being rational

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it's hard not to capitulate when your clients demand irrationality.

When I was weighted short and we would have these seemingly endless days of rallying, it was the mornings that would get me. The mark-ups of the futures, the refusal of Asia or Europe to go down, the "tone." It was relentless.

Then I would get to the office and, after a long period in which all I heard were downgrades, I would be greeted by upgrades, where I would always scream, "Now? Now they upgrade Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) (Cramer's Take)?" Or, "He's putting Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) (Cramer's Take) on the list now, after this run?" Or, "Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) (Cramer's Take) goes from hold to buy? After it ran up 4 points? What is he thinking?"

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: The pain of being rational

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Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+150.2510,058.64
NASDAQ+24.822,150.87
S&P 500+13.781,070.52

Last updated: February 10, 2010: 09:19 AM

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