Continue reading Closing Bell: The grinch comes early (INTC, HOTT, MVIS, ETFC, SHLD)

Closing Bell: The grinch comes early (INTC, HOTT, MVIS, ETFC, SHLD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Target (NYSE: TGT) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $52 from $45 citing reduced inventories, some credit stability, and an improved back-to-school period.
• Credit Suisse said concerns regarding Safeway's (NYSE: SWY) price position are overblown and that earnings risk is limited. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Neutral and raised the target price to $25 from $22.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) to Outperform from Perform as it believes the story is underappreciated following the recent sector rally. The firm has a $14 price target on the stock.
• CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at FTN Equity.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: TGT, SWY, CSIQ, HOTT, MPEL, RIO, CPB, CVD and HGG

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: TGT, SWY, CSIQ, HOTT, MPEL, RIO, CPB, CVD and HGG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 May 2009 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• San Francisco Fed Reserve Bank President Yellen to speak about the U.S. economic outlook at the University of California/San Diego with a Q&A session.
• Aracruz Cellulose (NYSE: ARA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 11:00am.

• Richmond Fed Reserve Bank President Lacker to speak about U.S. economic outlook to the National Economists Club in Washington with a Q&A session expected.
• Gulfmark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE: GLF) to discuss the acquisition of Ridgon Marine at 9:00am.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.
• Hansen Natural Corporation (NASDAQ: HANS) to give Business News update at 5:00pm.

Continue reading Market highlights for next week: Alcoa to report earnings

Market highlights for next week: Alcoa to report earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the slowing US economy, it's been tough for retailers. Yet, there are some that are bucking the trend.

An example is Metropark, which is a fashion-conscious retailer focused on the 20 to 35 year-old demographic. Metropark believes that its market segment is underserved - and poised for much more growth, so today the company has also filed to go public.

In fact, the Metropark store environment is much like a stylish night club with regular live performances by disc jockeys and the sales personnel that are called "Style Consultants."

Some of the premium brands offered include: Acrylic, Affliction, Ed Hardy, English Laundry, Monarchy, Obey, Rock & Republic and True Religion.

No doubt, Metropark's growth has been particularly strong. In 2004, the company launched with four stores. Now, there are 43 stores in 17 states. From 2005 to 2007, revenues have gone from $11.5 million to $71.6 million.

Metropark also has a stellar management team. The company's CEO and founder, Orval Madden, was the mastermind behind Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOTT).

The lead underwriter on the IPO is Goldman, Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS) and the proposed ticker symbol is "MTPK." You can locate the prospectus at the SEC website.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Metropark USA, an edgy retailer, preps for IPO thrill originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Perhaps it is because investors have an appetite for stocks, since there seems to be few investment alternatives. Real estate is off limits and the yield on bonds and other fixed-income investments is pathetically low.

The theme for the week ahead is SMOOTH SAILING. In this week's column, we delve into some stocks that will be announcing earnings, and that may benefit from the changing tide of investor sentiment. To be sure, there will be several areas of choppiness as we continue to be bombarded by the stormy realities of a turbulent economy.

Monday, May 19

The chart for Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) looks M'm M'm good. Sporting a smooth line with nary a ripple over the past 12 months, management has done a great job at keeping both company earnings and share price up, even in the face of significant food inflation. While shares have been condensing during the past few months, recently they have been rising with a series of higher highs and higher lows. Be on the outlook for earnings of 44 cents per share on revenue expectations of $1.89 billion. Now that I think of it. That's a lot of soup wrapped in tin-plated steel -- one of many materials that has seen its price almost double in the past six months.

Continue reading The week in preview: Smooth sailing ahead

The week in preview: Smooth sailing ahead originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 18 May 2008 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Happy Cinco de Mayo!
• Day one of the two-day FDA Anesthetic/Life Support Drugs & Drug Safety/Risk Management Advisory Committees meeting: Purdue Pharma's NDA for Oxycontin.
  
• Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call Tuesday at 10:00am.

• Day two of the two-day FDA Anesthetic/Life Support Drugs & Drug Safety/Risk Mgmt Advisory Committees meeting: Cephalon's (NASDAQ:CEPH) sNDA for Fentora.
• Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 12:00pm.
• Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

• Marsh & McLennan (NYSE:MMC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Transocean (NYSE:RIG) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
• Hot Topic (NASDAQ:HOTT) and Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) to report April sales at 4:00pm.

• Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) to report April sales at 8:00am. Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) to report sales at 8:15am. Target (NYSE:TGT) to report sales at 8:30am.
  
• NVidia (NADAQ:NVDA) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.

• PDUFA date for Adolor Corp (NYSE:ADLR) and GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE:GSK) Entereg for management of Post-operative Ileus.
• American International Group (NYSE:AIG) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Sotheby's (NYSE:BID) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.

Market highlights for next week: April sales results coming out originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 May 2008 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• PDUFA date for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY)'s supplemental Biologics License Application for Orencia for the treatment of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

• Chattem Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTT) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.
• FOMC to release minutes of the March 18th meeting at 2:00pm.
• Embraer-Empr Bras Aeronautica (ADR) (NYSE: ERJ) conference call to announce new midsize & midlight executive jet concepts at 6:00pm.

Continue reading Market highlights for next week: Alcoa to report earnings

Market highlights for next week: Alcoa to report earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Monday, March 10

• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and InterActive Corp. (NASDAQ: IACI) to present at Bear Stearns Media Conference.
• Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) to hold mid-quarter update conference call at 5:00 pm.

Tuesday, March 11

• Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9:00 am.
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) to hold analyst meeting at 9:00 am.
• Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 10 am.

Wednesday, March 12

• FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee Meeting on Schering-Plough Corp.'s (NYSE: SGP) sBLA for Pegintronfor treatment of melanoma at 8:00 am.
• Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to host analyst/investor meeting at 8:30 am.
• Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 4:30 pm.

Continue reading Market highlights for next week: Texas Instruments to hold mid-quarter update

Market highlights for next week: Texas Instruments to hold mid-quarter update originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 08 Mar 2008 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Societe Generale downgraded shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Hold from Buy after the company lowered its Q4 guidance. Goldman Sachs downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy on the company's lowered Q4 revenue outlook and the growing probability that the wireless infrastructure market will decline again in 2008.
• Circuit City (NYSE: CC)'s rating was lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan, as they believe the company's high cost turnaround will require a strategic partner or acquirer, which may not happen until after 2H08 and this year's holiday season.
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) to Hold from Buy to reflect their pushed out expectations for an earnings recovery.

• Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns.
• Lehman downgraded Telecom Italia (NASDAQ: TI) to Underweight from Equal Weight.
• Goldman removed Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) from its Conviction Buy List.

Analyst downgrades: ERIC, CC and HOTT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) to give business update at 10am.
• Burger King (NYSE: BKC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10am.

• Merrill Lynch to host conference call discussing Focus Media's (NASDAQ: FMCN) secondary offering at 11am.
• Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO Jerry Yang, Senior VP Michael Callahan & General Counsel to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on how their company gave false information to Congress relating to their role in a human rights case in China which resulted in a journalist being sent to jail for 10 years.

• Symmetry Medical (NYSE: SMA) to give Q3 business update at 8am.
• Fluor (NYSE: FLR) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) to report October sales at 4pm, American Eagle (NASDAQ: AEO) to report Oct. sales at 5pm.

• Disney (NYSE: DIS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.
• CyberSource (NASDAQ: CYBS) to give 2007 guidance at 4:30pm.
• Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to report Oct. sales at 8am, Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to report Oct. sales at 8:15am.

• Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO) to give business update at 11am.
• Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 1pm.

Market highlights for next week: Yahoo CEO to testify before Congress originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Monday October 8

• PDUFA date for Theravance Inc's (NASDAQ: THRX) Telavancin for complicated skin and soft tissue infections caused by gram-positive bacteria

• Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE: YUM) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 9:15am
• Optimal Group Inc (NASDAQ: OPMR) to hold conference call at 11am to discuss the WowWee acquisition
• Penn Treaty American Corporation (NYSE: PTA) to hold operational update at 11am
• Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm

• Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11am
• Hot Topic Inc (NASDAQ: HOTT) and Zumiez Inc (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) reporting monthly sales at 4pm

• Pepsico Inc (NYSE: PEP) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11am
• Bebe Stores Inc (NASDAQ: BEBE) to report monthly sales at 7am, Limited Brands Inc (NYSE: LTD) and The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc (NASDAQ: PLCE) at 7:30am, The Gymboree Corporation (NASDAQ: GYMB) at 7:55am, AnnTaylor Stores Corporation (NYSE: ANN), Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) at 8am, Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) at 8:30am.

• PDUFA date for GlaxoSmithKline Plc's (NYSE: GSK) Hycamtin for relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer

Market highlights for next week: YUM, AA, COST, PEP to report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Markets closed for Labor Day holiday.

• Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) to report monthly sales at 1pm; General Motors (GM) at 2pm.
• American Dental Partners Inc (NASDAQ: ADPI) to discuss acquisition of Metropolitan Dental at 1pm.

• Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) to hold media event to introduce "a new array of digital media offerings."
• The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) to give update on 787 Dreamliner Program at 10am.
• Hot Topic Inc (NASDAQ: HOTT) and Zumiez Inc (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) to report monthly sales at 4pm, American Eagle Outfitters Inc (NYSE: AEO) at 5pm.

• Chico's FAS Inc (NYSE: CHS) to report monthly sales at 7:30am, AnnTaylor Stores Corporation (NYSE: ANN), Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) at 8am.
• PDUFA date for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ: OMRI) Thrombin.
• Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11am.
• National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

• I did not see anything to compelling going on today, please leave a note in the comments section if you think I missed something.

Market highlights for next week: Ford (F) to report monthly sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Big share buyback at Hot Topic (HOTT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Blue Nile Inc (NASDAQ: NILE) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.
• SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 9pm.

• Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 11am.
• Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

• Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8am.
• Hot Topic Inc (NASDAQ: HOTT) to report monthly sales at 4pm.

• More monthly sales reports, including: Chicos FAS Inc (NYSE: CHS) at 7:30am; Limited Brands Inc (NYSE: LTD) at 7:30am; Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) at 8am; AnnTaylor Stores Corporation (NYSE: ANN) at 8am; and Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) at 8:15am.

• EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 12pm.
• PDUFA date for Solvay SA (OTC: SVYSY) and Wyeth's (NYSE: WYE) Bifeprunox for the treatment of Schizophrenia.

Market highlights for next week: Sprint Nextel (S), Cisco (CSCO) to report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup downgraded RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) to Sell from Hold on valuation as they believe shares have priced in a more aggressive top-line recovery than the company can deliver over the next 12 months and that margin improvement is likely to slow.

• Merrill downgraded Weyerhauser (NYSE: WY) to Neutral from Buy based on the tighter credit environment and the impact on a potential containerboard divestiture or merger.

• Matrix downgraded shares of Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) to Sell from Hold to reflect rising oil prices and negative fundamental trends.

• AG Edwards downgraded Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) to Sell from Hold to reflect negative performance momentum and a lack of back-to-school prospects.

• Credit Suisse downgraded Unilever (NYSE: UN, UL) to Underperform from Neutral as their analysis suggests the company continues to lose market share...

• Baird cut Franklin Electric (NASDAQ: FELE) to Underperform from Neutral.

• Bear Stearns downgraded Kyphon (NASDAQ: KYPH) to Peer Perform from Outperform.

• Jarden (NYSE: JAH) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.

• Citigroup downgraded PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) to Hold from Buy.

• Alacatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.

Analyst downgrades 7-31-07: GT, PTR, RSH and UL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hot Topic's sales better than expected originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hot Topic could be primed for a turnaround originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The Chicago Board of Trade (NYSE: BOT) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc (NYSE: CME) to hold a special shareholder meeting in Chicago about merging at 4pm.
• Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) to hold a business update at 4:30pm.
• Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

• Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, to be held from July 10-July 13 in Santa Monica, California.
• The Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) to release a 2007 Sales Update at 9am.
• Sealy Corporation (NYSE: ZZ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Continue reading Market highlights for next week: Monthly sales numbers coming

Market highlights for next week: Monthly sales numbers coming originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Welcome to the 17th installment of The Wal-Mart Weekly, a weekly column dedicated to bringing you insight, wit, facts, results, opinions and just a bit of everything else when it comes down to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart.

Last week I mused on how Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) supplies basic customer service to its customers -- or a lack of it. From waiting in lines when there are many empty checkout lanes to blocking aisles with pallets during daytime shopping hours, is the retailer turning off customers by not creating a pleasant atmosphere that is conducive to shopping?

Continue reading The Wal-Mart Weekly: A lot of quantity, but a lack of selection

The Wal-Mart Weekly: A lot of quantity, but a lack of selection originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Jun 2007 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will players in the specialty retail field bring up solid March sales results this week? Who knows, but analysts expect this and, you know, analysts are always right (well, not exactly). At issue here is the expected strength of March sales in the specialty retail sector, reflecting a sales shift from April due to an earlier Easter. Who may suffer here? Specialty retailers of clothing, that's who.

OK, so what does that mean for April sales and beyond? A sour entry into late spring, perhaps? Who's in the cross-hairs of analysts in this sector? Try retailers like Talbot's (NYSE: TLB), Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS), and Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD). Throw on that pile companies like Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), which may have seen lower sales due to bottoms (yeah, the "pants" kind) during this season shift that's happened in the last few weeks.

And the good news? While retailers like Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN), Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) and American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) may have an above-average spring, sales are expected to slump over the summer season. Adjust positions accordingly I guess? Heh -- seasonality is the name of the game in clothing and much of specialty retail. The companies that can predict and adjust product lines as fast as possible are the winners.

Disclosure: I own HOTT shares as of 4-11-07.

What's left for the specialty retailers this year? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Apr 2007 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.