Continue reading Closing Bell: DOW, NASDAQ, and S&P up, however massive run leaves some in dust

Closing Bell: DOW, NASDAQ, and S&P up, however massive run leaves some in dust originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q1 results and recommends accumulating shares on any weakness from concerns around a slowdown in bookings. They believe that while bookings growth slowed in Q1, CRM's growth remains stellar and its market opportunity remains large.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded First Marblehead (NYSE:FMD) to Market Perform from Underperform. The firm believes most of the bad news is reflected in shares and that there are early indications of "thawing" within the private student loan ABS market.
  
• Lehman upgraded the E.W. Scripps Co (NYSE:SSP) to Overweight from Underweight and expects the upcoming July 1st split of Scripps Networks Interactive from Scripps will give the company strategic opportunity by separating high growth cable from traditional newspapers and broadcasting.

• ING upgraded Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) to Buy from Hold and StatoilHydro (NYSE:STO) to Hold from Sell.
  
• Cost Plus (NASDAQ:CPWM) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at JMP Securities.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Level 3 (NASDAQ:LVLT) to Market Perform from Underperform.

Analyst upgrades: CRM, FMD and SSP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 May 2008 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• DJIA 12,582.39 (+55.13; +0.44%)
• S&P 500 1,360.58 (+6.09;+0.45%)
• NASDAQ 2,351.70 (+29.58; +1.27%)
• 10YR-TBond 3.532% (+0.066%)
• 52-Week Lows.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Gains Hold after end of day profit taking

Closing Bell: Gains Hold after end of day profit taking originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Dow 12,576.44 (-35.99; -0.29%)
• S&P 500 1,365.54 (-7.00; -0.51%)
• NASDAQ 2,348.76 (-16.07; -0.68%)
• 10YR-TBond 3.558% (+0.002%)
• Full 52-week lows.
• See Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Housing, FOMC Minutes, earning fears all culprits for a weaker day

Closing Bell: Housing, FOMC Minutes, earning fears all culprits for a weaker day originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reuters reports that First Marblehead Corporation (NYSE: FMD) -- a student loan securitizer -- is in deep yogurt and the stock market is not happy, knocking 42% out of its stock. The reason? The Education Resources Institute Inc (TERI), which claims to be the largest not-for-profit guarantor of U.S. private education loans, filed Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Thanks to borrower defaults and credit market problems, its liquidity was "damaged."

People have asked me what would be the next shoe to drop after subprime. The $85 billion student loan market is one where the supposed alchemy of securitization is turning lead into toxic waste rather than gold. Securitization was supposed to eliminate the risk of loss by bundling enough good loans with bad ones so the security would offer attractive returns. While the securitizers got big fees, the losses are turning out to be larger than expected.

Continue reading First Marblehead down 42% -- are student loans the new subprime?

First Marblehead down 42% -- are student loans the new subprime? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We keep coming close to losing these companies that are fighting for their lives.

Yesterday we had First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD) (Cramer's Take) on student loans.

Is CIT (NYSE: CIT) (Cramer's Take) next with its student loan portfolio (as opposed to its mobile home portfolio and its subprime portfolio...sheesh!)?

We obviously had a giant problem with MBIA (NYSE: MBI) (Cramer's Take) over the amount of capital it needs to raise. Will it have to raise capital and cut the dividend?

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: More lenders on life support

Cramer on BloggingStocks: More lenders on life support originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Sierra Pacific (NYSE: SRP) to Hold from Buy on valuation and uncertainty over the company's Integrated Resource Plan investment program.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL) to Hold from Buy and lowered their target to $30 from $38 after their Asia channel checks indicated the first wave of cancellations for PWM ICs from the leading Taiwan Motherboard manufacturers.
  
• Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) were lowered to Neutral from Buy at UBS, citing credit pressures that will likely require increased reserves.

• First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings.
  
• The firm also downgraded Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ: CASY) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.

Analyst downgrades: SRP, ISIL, FNM and FRE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) volatility elevated as YHOO trades near 36-month low. YHOO, however, is recently up $0.81 to $23.54 following positive analyst comments. Bear Stearns says "there are several catalysts that could drive YHOO's shares, including: 1) success from branding initiatives, 2) good results from Panama, 3) takeover / strategic partnership talks, 4) the Alibaba IPO, and 5) a material share repurchase." YHOO overall option implied volatility of 38 is above its 26-week average of 35 according to Track Data, suggesting larger movement.

First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD) volatility was low prior to announcing Subpoena from NY AG. FMD, a provider of outsourcing services for private and non-governmental education lending, closed at $40.70. FMD announced on 8/31/07 it received a subpoena on 8/22/07 from the New York Attorney General's investigation of lending, educational, and nonprofit institutions. FBRC say's "facing wider spreads, downsizing-reiterating underperform." FMD over all option implied volatility of 41 is below its 26-week average of 45 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movements.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update: YHOO near 36-month low into Jerry Yang's first 100 days originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)

This week's rumor round-up: Will Amazon overpay for Netflix? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) -- calls Active on higher implied volatility as DOX rallies on Chatter. DOX is a software & services holding company and has a market cap of $7.4 billion with long term debt of $450 million. DOX is recently up $1.23 to $36.78 on unconfirmed & renewed LBO chatter. FMD call option volume of 2,049 contracts compares to put volume of 177 contracts. DOX June option implied volatility of 31 is above its 26-week average of 27 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD) -- calls active as traders hedge Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) chatter. FMD, a provider of outsourcing services for private and non-governmental education lending, is recently up $1.42 to $36.73. Unconfirmed speculation is circulating WFC is interested in purchasing FMD. FMD June option implied volatility of 46 is above its 26-week week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger price risks.

Joy Global (NYSE: JOYG) -- call volume and volatility higher on renewed takeover chatter. JOYG is a manufacturer and service provider of surface and underground mining equipment. JOYG is recently up .99 to $53.22 on unconfirmed takeover chatter. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is frequently mentioned as potential acquirer. JOYG call option volume of 2,213 contracts compares to put volume of 276 contracts. JOYG June option implied volatility of 50 is above its 26-week average of 42 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Option volume leaders today are: Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Elan Corp. (ADS) (NYSE: ELN), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Altria Group (NYSE: MO).

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

Option update 5-21-07: Buyout chatter moves options originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 May 2007 12:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank believes upside remains on Xilinx Inc's (NASDQ: XLNX) margins and tax rates, initiating shares with a Buy rating and $38 target.

• JP Morgan waits for improved new unit volumes and better earnings visibility before getting more constructive on Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc (NASDAQ: RRGB) and initiated shares with a Neutral rating.

• Given the lack of catalysts to improve margins above their peers, JP Morgan doesn't expect multiple expansions from Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM) in the near-term, assuming shares with a Neutral rating.

• Deutsche Bank expects Silicon Labratories (NASDAQ:: SLAB) multiples to expand with operating margins, starting shares with a Buy rating and $40 target.

• Needham believes Comtech Group Inc (NASDAQ: COGO) is uniquely leveraged to benefit from the growth of manufacturing in China and started shares with a Buy rating and $21 target...

• Deutsche Bank initiated shares of Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL) with a Buy rating.

• Citigroup started GTx, Inc (NASDAQ: GTXI) with a Buy rating.

• Pacific Growth started Itron, Inc (NASDAQ: ITRI) with a Buy rating.

• First Marblehead Corp (NYSE: FMD) was initiated with a Hold rating and $38 target at Sandler.

• UBS started Kaiser Aluminum Corp (NASDAQ: KALU) with a Buy rating and $100 target.

Analyst initiations 5-10-07: COGO, IM, MRVL, RRGB and XLNX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 May 2007 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.