Option investors took a bullish interest in the Oil & Gas Pipelines industry and bearish interest in the Business Services industry on Tuesday.

Bullish Volatility Skews

• Enbridge Inc. (ENB) -- part of the Oil & Gas Pipelines industry -- came in at the top with a volatility skew of 1.25. This may come as a surprise as ENB is down -4.27% for the past month.

Continue reading Bullish and Bearish Volatility Skews: ENB, FTR, HBHC, GA, PBT, SPH

Bullish and Bearish Volatility Skews: ENB, FTR, HBHC, GA, PBT, SPH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a featured report on stocks in the Chinese online gaming sector.

"When it comes to numbers, Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) is the kind of company that accountants can only dream about; with a profit margin above 70% and huge cash reserves, the stock is selling well below book value," says China expert Jim Trippon.

In his The China Stock Digest he explains, "Giant was founded in November 2004 and as become one of the fastest-growing and most profitable companies in the Chinese online game industry."

"Despite constantly rising earnings as more and more Chinese log on to the Internet, Giant Interactive is reasonably valued with a P/E multiple of 12.5.

Continue reading China online gaming: Giant Interactive (GA)

China online gaming: Giant Interactive (GA) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One month ago, we featured a special report featuring the favorite China-based stocks among financial newsletter advisors. Since then, the 14 stocks covered in the report have risen an average of more than 15%.

The performance of these stocks -- along with the overall China market -- has far exceeded the 3% gain in the S&P 500 index over the same time period. That report can be viewed here.

Despite these gains, many of the leading advisors remain bullish on China; in particular, several have recently focused on the online gaming sector in Asia. Indeed, Timothy Lutts notes that while the video game market in the U.S. is slowing, the video game market in China is expected to show 20%+ annual growth in coming year.

Continue reading China online gaming: Top advisors' top picks

China online gaming: Top advisors' top picks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) to Buy from Hold on valuation as it finds the risk/reward on shares attractive at current levels. The firm raised its target price to $22 from $20.
  
• FBR Capital upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Outperform from Market Perform after channel checks indicated recent sales are driving increased traffic and easing market share losses. The firm raised its target price on shares to $37 from $21.
• Barclays upgraded Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Overweight from Equal Weight as it believes the company is well positioned for a rebound in advertising and that the valuation is compelling at current levels. The firm raised its target on shares to $20 from $15.
• Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) was raised to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  
• U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) and CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG) were upgraded at Goldman to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Overweight from Neutral.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANF, YHOO, X, SLE, OSK ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANF, YHOO, X, SLE, OSK ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The FDIC took over three more banks yesterday bringing the total number of bank failures so far this year to nine. As I posted, the FDIC likes to close banks on Friday after hours so they can reopen as branches of the acquiring bank on the following Monday morning. It remains to be seen whether the FDIC has enough money in its deposit insurance fund to handle its obligations for 2009 and beyond.

As it did last year, the FDIC is closing small banks while the Treasury and the Fed continue to keep the very largest ones from collapsing under the weight of their bad assets. On Friday, regulators closed banks in Georgia and California including:

Continue reading Bank Failure Count: U.S. closes three banks bringing 2009 total to nine

Bank Failure Count: U.S. closes three banks bringing 2009 total to nine originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The FDIC took over another bank yesterday -- First Georgia Community Bank -- bringing the total number of bank failures so far this year to 23. As I posted, the FDIC likes to close banks on Friday after hours so they can reopen as branches of the acquiring bank on the following Monday morning. (Here's a post on the previous three bank failures.)

The FDIC is receiver of Jackson, Ga.-based First Georgia, which had $237.5 million in assets and $197.4 million in deposits as of November 7. United Bank of Zebulon, Ga., will take over First Georgia's deposits, reopen Its four branches, and buy about $60.6 million of First Georgia's assets. The FDIC will retain the other $176.9 million worth of assets and try to sell them.

More banks will fail. The FDIC estimates that through 2013 there will be about $40 billion in losses to the deposit insurance fund. Since its current $34.6 billion fund is below the minimum target level set by Congress, the FDIC is raising insurance premiums paid by banks and thrifts to replenish its fund. Meanwhile the number of troubled banks on the FDIC's list spiked 50% to 171 as of September 30.

Looks like First Georgia won't be the last to fail.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He and has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Bank failure count: FDIC closes 23rd bank of 2008 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Friedman Billings upgraded Synovus (NYSE: SNV) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation following the recent weakness. BASF (OTC: BASFY) and Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS on valuation and believes cash flows can cover the company's dividend.
• JP Morgan upgraded H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL) to Overweight from Neutral citing benefits from lower raw material costs.
• CA, Inc (NASDAQ: CA) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Goldman removed Boeing (NYSE: BA) from the Conviction Sell List.
• WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

• Oppenheimer downgraded Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) to Perform from Outperform following the company's Q3 results as they believe a recovery of revenue from ZT Online will take longer than expected.
• Friedman Billings cut Walter Industries (NYSE: WLT) to Market Perform from Outperform as they believe the decline in steel demand will pressure met coal prices. The company's target was lowered to $30 from $53.
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Atlas Pipeline (NYSE: AHD) Holdings to Sell from Hold as they believe the company could potentially be in violation of its debt covenants as early as Q1. The company's target was lowered to $4 from $31.
• Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Dover (NYSE: DOV) and Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) were downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Continue reading Analyst calls: SNV, BASFY, AKZOY, FUL, GA, WLT, AHD, OZM, HOG, MRK

Analyst calls: SNV, BASFY, AKZOY, FUL, GA, WLT, AHD, OZM, HOG, MRK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.