Bookseller Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) has been hoping to find a potential buyer, but it appears as though its search will end with no buyer.

The book seller has been searching for months for a potential buyer, and the search will likely continue for a couple more weeks, but people close to the bidding process have stated that it looks unlikely that the company will be able to find a buyer.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Struggles to Find a Buyer

Barnes & Noble Struggles to Find a Buyer originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Barnes & Noble (BKS) April put option volatility is at 64, July is at 61, above its 26-week average of 49, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 20% to an eight-month high; S&P 500 closed down 1.87%.

Volatility Monitor: CBOE DJ Industrial Average Index (DJX) is up 3.2% to 21.8.

NASDAQ (NDX) is up 3.4% to 26.7; S&P 100 Index (OEX) is up 3.3% to 23.7, according to IVolatility.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Barnes & Noble Volatility Elevated, Shares at Historic Lows originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Barnes & Noble, the Gap, RadioShack, and Sears -- that may sound like the lineup at the local mall, but in fact they are just a few of the retailers scheduled to step into the earnings spotlight this week. Following last week's disappointing January retail sales numbers from the Commerce Department but strong fourth-quarter reports from Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Nordstrom (JWN), the coming week will offer plenty more data on the sector for investors to mull over.

Walmart

Bentonville-based Walmart (WMT) offered free holiday shipping, closed its Moscow office and named a chief merchandising officer during its fourth quarter. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast earnings for that period to come to $1.31 per share, up from $1.17 in the same quarter of last year. The world's largest retailer also is expected to post revenues of $117.7 billion for the three months that ended in January. That's 3.5% more than a year earlier.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Walmart, Home Depot and More Retail Earnings

Week in Preview: Walmart, Home Depot and More Retail Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Borders Group, one of the two main brick-and-mortar bookstore competitors to online-only retailer Amazon (AMZN), recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The development could present new opportunities for Amazon, which has already benefited from the growing digitization of literary content. Borders has indicated that it will close 200 stores, representing about 30% of its 642 stores in operation. The stores are expected to close by April 2011.

Continue reading Amazon, Apple and Google Benefit from Borders Bankruptcy

Amazon, Apple and Google Benefit from Borders Bankruptcy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• U.S. Steel (X) to buy from neutral and Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Salesforce.com (CRM) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Edison International (EIX) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Analog Devices (ADI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADI, BKS, CMG, CRM, DANG, DLTR, FDO, LLTC, NFLX, X ...

Analyst Calls: ADI, BKS, CMG, CRM, DANG, DLTR, FDO, LLTC, NFLX, X ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There's a new industry in the making. It's in the way we buy and read books. Electronic books, or e-books, are taking the book market by storm. Here's a mind blowing statistic. Barnes & Noble (BKS) announced that in December its e-book sales exceeded print books, as reported in MSNMoney.

The two big leaders in the e-book market are Amazon.com (AMZN) and Barnes & Noble with the Kindle and Nook readers respectively. Both companies said that e-readers are their best-selling product of all time.

Continue reading E-book Sales Expected to Quadruple

E-book Sales Expected to Quadruple originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumors have been circulating for almost a month about Borders' (BGP) possible bankruptcy filing. People familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal that the filing could come as early as the middle of this month.

Borders has been trying to hold off the filing by delaying payments to vendors. But this is only temporary. Now the matter has reached a critical stage. The company has obtained about $500 million to $550 million in debtor in possession financing that would keep the company operating after a court filing.

Continue reading Borders Nears Possible Bankruptcy Filing

Borders Nears Possible Bankruptcy Filing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• TCF Financial (TCB) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Exelon (EXC) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Nvidia (NVDA) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Estee Lauder (EL) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Webster Financial (WBS) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
• Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from underperform and Pioneer Natural (PXD) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Autodesk (ADSK) to buy from neutral at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, AAPL, ATHR, BKS, CL, CLX, EL, HBAN, NCR, NVDA, XRTX ...

Analyst Calls: AA, AAPL, ATHR, BKS, CL, CLX, EL, HBAN, NCR, NVDA, XRTX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Sideways Monday Goes Red (AAPL, BGP, BKS, CBRX, MCP, PFE, GLD, STP)

Closing Bell: Sideways Monday Goes Red (AAPL, BGP, BKS, CBRX, MCP, PFE, GLD, STP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of bookseller Barnes & Noble (BKS) traded sharply lower in the opening minutes of the trading session after the company reported disappointing second quarter results.

Going into this morning's earnings report, analysts had expected a loss of 8 cents per share for the quarter. BKS reported a much worse loss of 22 cents per share.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Loss Wider Than Expected, Shares Drop

Barnes & Noble Loss Wider Than Expected, Shares Drop originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Futures Trading Lower Ahead of Economic Data

U.S. Futures Trading Lower Ahead of Economic Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup assumed coverage of Illinois Tool Works (ITW) and upgraded shares to buy from hold with a $52 price target. Citi cites valuation and the company's successful execution for the rating change.
• UBS upgraded Rowan Companies (RDC) to buy from neutral based on better-than-expected dayrates in the high specification jack-up market. The firm raised its price target to $42 from $28.
• UBS also upgraded NetLogic (NETL) to buy from neutral and keeps a $33.50 target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and solid long-term outlook.
• AvalonBay (AVB) and BRE Properties (BRE) were upgraded to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Covance (CVD) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Reynolds American (RAI) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BKS, GE, GSK, ITW, MMM, MXIM, NETL, NOK, RAI, RDC, TYC ...

Analyst Calls: BKS, GE, GSK, ITW, MMM, MXIM, NETL, NOK, RAI, RDC, TYC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When there's uncertainty to a thesis, I'm not inclined to buy. That might seem obvious on the surface, but I know there are a lot of individual speculators out there who would disagree with me. Take a roll of the dice, they might say. Uncertainty can lead to huge gains, they might counter. Well, it depends on the situation, I suppose. In the case of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS), I think I'll take my chances elsewhere.

At the time of this writing, shares of the bookseller were off by more than 4% in the afternoon session, coming in at $14.36. Volume wasn't yet above average, however.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble: Too Speculative For Me

Barnes & Noble: Too Speculative For Me originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble (BKS) is slated to take its turn in the earnings spotlight before the opening bell Tuesday, Aug. 24. It's not exactly business as usual for Barnes & Noble, though -- with a proxy battle waging between Chairman Leonard Riggio and activist investor Ron Burkle, there's going to be an unusually harsh media glare on the quarterly results.

Of course, it's not just the financial media who will be eager to get a glimpse at Barnes & Noble's performance. Investors will also be chomping at the bit ahead of the firm's annual meeting, because Burkle has proposed a slate of three nominees for the retailer's board, and Riggio's seat is among those up for reelection. As Reuters' Phil Wahba explained it on Friday, "the extent of the damage is likely to affect who shareholders vote for at next month's annual meeting."

Continue reading Pressure's On Ahead of Earnings from Barnes & Noble

Pressure's On Ahead of Earnings from Barnes & Noble originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Sloppy Day, But a Win (GS, MOT, SIRI, BP, AIB, BKS, XJT)

Closing Bell: Sloppy Day, But a Win (GS, MOT, SIRI, BP, AIB, BKS, XJT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Leap Wireless (LEAP) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and analyst day, citing valuation, longer-term potential for consolidation and prospects for business improvements. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $16 from $19.
• Goldman upgraded Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from sell following the company's announcement to explore strategic alternatives. The firm raised its price target to $15 from $12.
• RBC Capital upgraded ESCO Technologies (ESE) to sector perform from underperform following the better-than-expected Q3 report. The firm raised its price target to $30 from $28.
• MetLife (MET) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• HSBC (HBC) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at CLSA.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMD, BKC, BKS, BP, DOW, HBC, LEAP, LLY, MET, PCLN, ...

Analyst Calls: AMD, BKC, BKS, BP, DOW, HBC, LEAP, LLY, MET, PCLN, ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Reports Q4 Numbers: How Does the Stock Look Now?

Barnes & Noble Reports Q4 Numbers: How Does the Stock Look Now? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS), the New York-based bookseller and purveyor of the Nook digital book reader, is scheduled to release its fiscal fourth-quarter 2010 financial results after the market closes Monday, June 28, and to discuss those results in Tuesday's Investor's Day meeting (webcast) beginning at 9:00 AM (ET).

During the three months that ended in April, Barnes & Noble appointed a new CEO and announced new features of its Nook e-reader. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the largest bookseller in the U.S. to report a net loss of $0.81 per share, deeper than the year-ago loss of $0.04 per share. Yet, its revenue is expected to have risen 16.1% from a year ago to $1.3 billion.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble Earnings Preview: Deeper Loss Seen as Nook Hopes Dwindle

Barnes & Noble Earnings Preview: Deeper Loss Seen as Nook Hopes Dwindle originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Amazon and Nook Prices Drop as E-reader Battle Wages On

Amazon and Nook Prices Drop as E-reader Battle Wages On originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Borders Group Down on Q1 Release

Borders Group Down on Q1 Release originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 May 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.