Analyst Upgrades

• Boeing (BA) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Office Depot (ODP) and Staples (SPLS) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Kennametal (KMT) and Polyone (POL) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Airgas (ARG) to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• EchoStar (SATS) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, BA, BP, BSX, COH, GM, INTC, NSM, STJ, TIF, TSN, UA ...

Analyst Calls: AA, BA, BP, BSX, COH, GM, INTC, NSM, STJ, TIF, TSN, UA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Procter & Gamble (PG) upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Capital One (COF) upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Airgas (ARG) upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Broadcom (BRCM) upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Lululemon (LULU) upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• DryShips (DRYS) upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AVB, BRCM, COF, DRYS, IFF, LULU, NSM, OII, OSG, PG ...

Analyst Calls: AVB, BRCM, COF, DRYS, IFF, LULU, NSM, OII, OSG, PG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: General Motors IPO Pumps Up the Markets (GM, DRYS, EXEL, HUM, LTXC)

Closing Bell: General Motors IPO Pumps Up the Markets (GM, DRYS, EXEL, HUM, LTXC) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Late Wednesday, DryShips (DRYS) reported that its third-quarter profit climbed 57% to $49.3 million, or 18 cents per share, while revenue increased 1.5% to $225.5 million.

On an adjusted basis, earnings for the quarter arrived at 38 cents per share. Operating margin improved to 48% from 40.4%. The results surpassed analysts' expectations, which called for a profit of 25 cents per share on $217 million in revenue.

Continue reading DryShips Sails Higher on Solid Q3 Report

DryShips Sails Higher on Solid Q3 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

DryShips Inc. (DRYS) is on the move after the company announced that its offshore unit scored a four-well drilling contract valued at roughly $135 million. Under the terms of the deal, DryShips will commence drilling in West Africa in the first or second quarter of 2011 for a period of approximately 300 days.

The positive news propelled DRYS substantially higher right out of the gate, with the shares staging a bullish gap above short-term resistance in the $4.50 region. Going forward, this area could now switch roles to act as a technical backstop for the shares.

Continue reading DryShips Surges on News of $135M Drilling Contract

DryShips Surges on News of $135M Drilling Contract originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Franklin Resources (BEN) to outperform from market perform and raised its target price for shares to $127 from $105 to reflect its belief the company is well positioned in the current environment.
• UBS upgraded Nuance (NUAN) to buy from neutral and has an $18 price target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and believes the company could be an acquisition target.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded DryShips (DRYS) to equal weight from underweight and has a $5.50 target on the stock. The firm cites the firmer ultra-deepwater drilling market for the upgrade.
• Becton Dickinson (BDX) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Edwards Lifesciences (EW) was upgraded to market perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
• Arkansas Best (ABFS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BCR, BEN, DRYS, INT, ISRG, NKE, NOK, NUAN, VCLK, ZMH ...

Analyst Calls: BCR, BEN, DRYS, INT, ISRG, NKE, NOK, NUAN, VCLK, ZMH ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: The Bears Stay Alive (ORCL, HPQ, NE, GE, DRYS, IDIX)

Closing Bell: The Bears Stay Alive (ORCL, HPQ, NE, GE, DRYS, IDIX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Call volume was unusually heavy on DryShips Inc. (DRYS) Thursday, with roughly 41,000 contracts crossing the tape. This surge in activity represented about 1.75 times DRYS' expected daily call volume. By contrast, fewer than 4,400 puts changed hands on the drybulk shipper during the course of Thursday's trading, falling short of the equity's predicted put volume.

Taking a closer look at Thursday's trading, most call players set their sights on DryShips' May 7 call, with 10,485 contracts crossing the tape. The majority of these calls traded at the ask price, suggesting they were purchased, and implied volatility on this soon-to-be front-month option climbed 1.7% by the close. Open interest on the May 7 call rose overnight by 5,046 contracts, confirming that new bullish bets were added here yesterday.

Continue reading Short-Term Bulls Buy Calls on DryShips

Short-Term Bulls Buy Calls on DryShips originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple (AAPL) closed at $242.02 on Friday. On April 8, AAPL announced its new iAd platform for its mobile devices. AAPL is expected to announce Q2 EPS on April 20. May and July is at 32; verses its 26-week average of 33 contracts according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

DryShips (DRYS) closed at $6.56. DRYS April put option implied volatility is at 65, June is at 59, September is at 57; below its 26-week average of 74. Options were active on April 9th with 115,489 contracts trading according to Track Data. Average daily volume is 56K contracts according to IVolatility.

Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Apple Volatility Flat into EPS and iAd Sales Outlook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: The March to Nowhere (DRYS, LXRX, AMAT, XRTX, MCD)

Closing Bell: The March to Nowhere (DRYS, LXRX, AMAT, XRTX, MCD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

DryShips Inc. (DRYS) has a date in the earnings spotlight after Thursday's closing bell, with the drybulk shipper slated to release its fourth-quarter results. Analysts are expecting DryShips to report a profit of 23 cents per share, modestly lower than its year-ago earnings of 25 cents per share. The company has a decidedly mixed history on the earnings front; during the past four reporting periods, Dryships has topped analysts' consensus expectations twice and fallen short on two other occasions.

Ahead of the report, calls are the options of choice among speculative investors. During the past 10 days, traders on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 6.87 calls for every put on DRYS. In other words, option players have purchased nearly seven times more bullish bets than bearish.

Continue reading Call Volume Pops Ahead of DryShips' 4Q Report

Call Volume Pops Ahead of DryShips' 4Q Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: An almost recovery (AMD, AXP, DRYS, ETFC, FTNT, VVUS)

Closing Bell: An almost recovery (AMD, AXP, DRYS, ETFC, FTNT, VVUS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Transportation company DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) started the session on a positive note this morning after announcing a new waiver agreement with Deutsche Bank.

DRYS, which is struggling under the weight of a hefty debt burden, said it has reached a pact with Deutsche Bank regarding the waiver terms for a credit facility worth $1.125 billion. The facility covers two drillships that are currently under construction.

"We are delivering the waivers as promised and we hope to conclude discussions with the rest of the lenders in the near future," stated CEO George Economou.

Continue reading Volatile DryShips shares rally on new debt agreement

Volatile DryShips shares rally on new debt agreement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 May 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) said revenues and bookings both declined in the most recent quarter.
• Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) reported strong Q4 results in the wake of Circuit City's demise.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) sailed past analysts' Q1 projections, sending shares higher.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) Q3 results topped analysts expectations and drove shares higher.
• DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) swung to a larger-than-expected Q4 loss and revenue slipped.
• DSW Inc. (NYSE: DSW) reported a bigger-than-expected Q4 loss as same-store sales declined.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Best Buy, Walgreen, Tiffany, Research in Motion, KB Home and more

Earnings highlights: Best Buy, Walgreen, Tiffany, Research in Motion, KB Home and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Athens-based shipping issue DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) announced Monday that it will release its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2008 earnings results after the close of trading in New York today, March 24. Ahead of the report, buy-to-open call volume has been consistently heavy on the beaten-down stock.

During the past five days, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 30,875 calls on DRYS, compared to jut 9,697 puts. In other words, bullish bets have been three times more popular than their bearish counterparts.

Continue reading Call volume is heavy on DryShips Inc. ahead of 4Q earnings

Call volume is heavy on DryShips Inc. ahead of 4Q earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During the bull market in commodities that peaked midway through 2008, shipping companies that transfer base commodities across the oceans enjoyed phenomenal runs to all-time highs before fizzling out like a Roman candle.

Companies that carry wheat, corn, soybeans, fertilizer, cement, iron ore pellets and sugar were printing money as the day rates for shipping dry commodities soared.

The rate charged by dry bulk shipping companies to buyers of commodities abroad, as measured by the Baltic Dry Index (BDI), began 2008 at roughly $5,800 per day. The rate topped out at $11,700 midyear, and bottomed out in early December at $675 -- a 94% correction. Absolutely unbelievable!

Shares of the most widely traded stock within the dry bulk shipping sector, DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS), traded as high as $116 in May, reflecting the fullness of the commodity rally that seemed to be irreversible based on the glowing projections of China, India, central Europe and what are now known as "Frontier Economies," like Vietnam and Indonesia.

Following that meteoric rise in shares of DRYS to $116, the stock proceeded to careen all the way down to $3 in November.

Continue reading Best Trades of 2008: #4 Buying DryShips (DRYS) at the November low

Best Trades of 2008: #4 Buying DryShips (DRYS) at the November low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For most investors and traders, 2008 was a tough year. But while many people saw their portfolio take a merciless beating and watched their retirement vanish into thin air, there were a select few who made a killing.

In fact, if you had been on the right side of any of these bets, you could have banked enough dough to make up for your losses and then some.

Here are five trades everyone wishes they had made in 2008:

#1 Shorting 'Chindia' the day after New Year's: The Chindia experience peaked in Beijing with Michael Phelps, and the market knew it would a year and a day before the Closing Ceremonies.

#2 Getting long and staying long the 30-year Treasury bond: This strategy went from being a modestly successful trade through October to a hero-sized trade in the past 45 days.

#3 Shorting oil on the Fourth of July: The drop in oil prices has been nothing short of unbelievable. Those that had the fortitude to short crude in early July (and had the stones to stay with that trade) made a killing.

#4 Buying DryShips (DRYS) at the November low: Following its meteoric rise to $116, the stock careened all the way down to $3. But if you went long then, you saw the share price quadruple in less than a month.

#5 Shorting 'too big to fail' Fannie and Freddie: This shorting strategy defied all odds and pretty much defined the year for the stock market.

Best Trades of 2008: 5 moves that could have made you rich originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

They say that the higher you climb, the harder you fall. Well that has certainly been the story of freight carrier DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS).

A glance at the stock's two-year chart is likely to cause more than just nausea.

In 2007, shares of DRYS rallied hard on the heels of the global growth story. Chinks in the armor began to appear in the fall of that year, and DRYS sold off some of its gains. By the end of that year, shares had lost 20% of their value from the peak.

The world economy was tied tighter to the U.S. economy than most believed. Even worse, the large amount of hedge fund money in the stock ultimately resulted in the stock's demise.

And what a demise it has been.

Shares of DRYS collapsed this year amid a slowing economy and the credit crisis. Prices for bulk goods fell like a rock at a time when new ships meant more capacity.

It was a recipe for disaster, but what about now? Is DRYS a bargain trading for less than $5 per share?

On Monday, with the news of a massive stimulus plan being advocated by the President-elect, DRYS turned on a dime. Following through yesterday, the stock is up some 30%.

Continue reading Growth story could sail again -- buy DryShips (DRYS)

Growth story could sail again -- buy DryShips (DRYS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Editor's Note: This post was written by Fil Zucchi, one of Minyanville's many sharp minds.

Drybulk shippers have been slammed over the last few days courtesy of a plunge in capesize spot rates. However, according to the sharp eyes at Dahlman Rose, the volume of new spot fixtures has been exceedingly low of late. And taking a slightly longer perspective, spot rates are up more than 100% since last year.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Not all shippers are created equal: Dryships NASDAQ:DRYS) plays in almost strictly in the spot market and therefore it stands to reason that it should swing hard with spot rates. After closing the purchase of Quintana Marine, Excel Maritime (NYSE:EXM) now has a decent balance of long term and short term fixtures contracts. And then you have an outfit like Paragon Shipping (NASDAQ:PRGN) with most of its fleet leased out on long term - fixed price contracts.
  
  
• Despite the vast differences in the business models of these three companies, the market has not been very discerning in how it has treated its stocks, which suggests that there may be some arbitrage opportunity, should one wish to play it that way.
  
  
• Despite growing economic risks in China, it's tough to envision a collapse of infrastructure build-outs, or a sudden change in food needs in the BRIC countries and around the world in general. As long as these two activities hold up, it's tough to see a collpase in the shipping business;
  
  
• I can't stress enough that my long side interest in EXM and PRGN is heavily influenced by some sizable, and so far not so succesful, shorts in broad commodity ETF's.
  
  
• And lastly, the volatility in the shippers offers some very attractive options selling opportunities.
  
  (Positions in EXM, PRGN)

Are drybulk shippers capsizing? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dryships (DRYS) - Will earnings sink it?

Dryships (DRYS) - Will earnings sink it? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 May 2008 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.