Troubled movie renter Blockbuster has been looking for a buyer, and we learn today that DISH Network (DISH) has won the auction for the company, with a deal valued at $228 million in cash.

Blockbuster was once the biggest name in video rentals, but it has been unable to keep up with changes in the market created by companies such as Netflix (NFLX) and Redbox.

Continue reading DISH Networks Wins Blockbuster Auction

DISH Networks Wins Blockbuster Auction originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Diamond Foods (DMND) acquired the Pringle brand product from Proctor & Gamble (PG) for $2.35 billion, as reported in Dealbook.

When we think of Diamond Foods we think of nuts, edible nuts. Diamond's two main brands are Diamond and Emerald. It produces all kinds of nut products for cooking and eating. Among them are almonds, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts and peanuts. The product line also includes microwave popcorn and potato chips.

Continue reading What Will Pringles Do for Diamond Foods?

What Will Pringles Do for Diamond Foods? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NYSE Euronext (NYX) acquired American Stock Exchange (Amex) in 2008 to expand its equities, options and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) trading business. Recently NYSE announced plans to sell the majority of its stake in the Amex stock options market to seven companies -- including top banks, trading houses and brokerages. With this move, the company hopes to increase its trading volumes by giving major brokerages an incentive to bring their business to Amex. Major competitors are Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ), CME Group (CME), BATS Global and Direct Edge.

Continue reading NYSE Looks at Selling Stakes in Amex Exchange to Drive Volumes

NYSE Looks at Selling Stakes in Amex Exchange to Drive Volumes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Place Whirlpool Corporation (WHR), first discussed here on March 13, 2009, at a price of $34.47, in the not-for-squeamish-investors category.

Appliance manufacturer extraordinaire Whirlpool's stock over-corrected last summer, formed a bear-hug, bottomed at/near $69.50, then recovered to about $90 during the winter -- before recently sliding back to $84. Translation: a roller-coaster -- something that one generally does not see with an industrial player. Even so, I still like WHR here. But hold on to your hat if you own the shares -- the bumpiness could continue in 2011.

And if you haven't already, consider taking some provides off the table with WHR, if you're in at/near $34.50.

Continue reading The Bumpy Ride Continues with Whirlpool

The Bumpy Ride Continues with Whirlpool originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading America Movil to Expand Growth with Pre-Paid Data Plans

America Movil to Expand Growth with Pre-Paid Data Plans originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Options Update: Texas Instruments Volatility Flat into National Semi Purchase originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lowe's (LOW) is the world's second largest retailer of home improvement products after Home Depot (HD). Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) also cater the home improvements market. Lowe's offers a wide range of home improvement products and installation services to individual home owners as well as professional builders. In addition to the physical stores, consumers can buy products through the company's dedicated website. Lowe's business is vulnerable to the housing market swings and the recent slowdown has affected its sales to a great extent in the past few years.

Continue reading Store Expansion and DIY Activity Will Benefit Lowe's

Store Expansion and DIY Activity Will Benefit Lowe's originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OpenTable(OPEN) has come a long way since Chuck Templeton envisioned the idea in 1998 after observing the difficulty his wife faced while trying to book a dinner reservation by phone. Today, it is the leading provider of free and real-time online restaurant reservations for users looking to book reservations online as well as a reservation and guest management solution for restaurants. The company is comfortably ahead of its competitors like Urbanspoon, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp and UK-based companies liveRES Ltd and Livebookings Ltd. It also seems to have hit the right note with its decision to take Groupon head-on by selling third-party restaurants coupons through its website.

We currently maintain a $94.90 price estimate for OpenTable, which is about 10% below the stock's market price.

Continue reading OpenTable Gaining Momentum in Diners Seated

OpenTable Gaining Momentum in Diners Seated originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Our $19.74 price estimate for Charles Schwab implies a roughly 10% premium to the stock's market price.

Continue reading Schwab Acquisition Gives Customers More Options

Schwab Acquisition Gives Customers More Options originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Expedia Resumes American Airlines Relationship

Expedia Resumes American Airlines Relationship originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Much has been written about rare earth metals. They are used in electronics, batteries and specialized magnets. China controls more than 90% of rare earth production and has put a ban on exports of the minerals.

The largest miner of rare earths outside China is Molycorp (MCP), a U.S.-based company. The company mines lanthanide and molydenum. Lanthanides include cerium, lanthanum and yttrium. These exotic elements are used in cell phones, computers, X-ray film and TV glass.

Continue reading Rare Earth Miner Molycorp Acquires 90% of AS Silmet

Rare Earth Miner Molycorp Acquires 90% of AS Silmet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup (C) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Cubist Pharma (CBST) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Pentair (PNR) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Heritage Financial (HFWA) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• SL Green Realty (SLG) and Digital Realty (DLR) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• MGM Resorts (MGM) to neutral from Sell at Janney Capital.
• Ciena (CIEN) to buy from neutral and Olin (OLN) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Mellanox (MLNX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) and Canadian Natural (CNQ) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• IDEX (IEX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Ctrip.com (CTRP) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) and Analog Devices (ADI) to hold from sell at Auriga.
• Quicksilver (KWK) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADI, BRCM, C, CIEN, COP, INTC, MGM, OXY, QCOM, TXN ...

Analyst Calls: ADI, BRCM, C, CIEN, COP, INTC, MGM, OXY, QCOM, TXN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fourth quarter GDP ended on a uptrend, coming in at 3.1%. The state of the economy was healthy and it looked like growth would continue to match or exceed Q4. Based on that scenario, Bank of America (BAC) analyst Ethan Harris, forecast first-quarter 2011 GDP to come in at 3.3%.

But in the few short months of 2011, the world is getting turned upside down. The conflict in Libya has cut OPEC oil production and sent oil prices skyrocketing. In turn, the price of gasoline is nearing $4.00 per gallon. And food processors are raising prices due to higher raw commodity prices. These two factors have put a dent in the household budget.

Continue reading Bank of America Cuts First-Quarter GDP Forecast

Bank of America Cuts First-Quarter GDP Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bank of America (BAC) is a pretty big player in its industry; it's got brand equity -- everyone has heard of it. How is its stock looking these days?

At the time of writing, shares could be had for $13.44. The 52-week low for the company is $10.91; the 52-week high is $19.86. That's a tight range, and as one might imagine, this company has been a vehicle for traders trying to ride whatever volatility is available at any given time.

Continue reading BAC: Checking In on Bank of America's Stock

BAC: Checking In on Bank of America's Stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Texas Instruments Acquires National Semiconductor

Texas Instruments Acquires National Semiconductor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's an interesting story, which speaks volumes about the psychological dynamic of the markets. On Friday the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will report on end-of-season inventories, often called 'ending stocks.' Traders are getting word the report may show inventories are lower-than-usual. Against that backdrop, as a trader you certainly don't want to take a short position. So what to do? You buy, of course.

Monday's buying drove corn prices to a record high of $7.6025 per bushel, up 24.25 cents, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Country Hedging, a brokerage firm, said: "Federal forecasters could drop the projection to less than 500 million bushels from last month's 675 million. This is a 15 year low."

Continue reading Supply Concerns Send Corn Prices to a Record High

Supply Concerns Send Corn Prices to a Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) canceled 300 flights on Sunday, to inspect 79 Boeing (BA) 737-300 planes to address possible "skin fatigue". Overall option implied volatility of 29 is below its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

KB Home (KBH) April put option implied volatility is at 52, May is at 45; compared to its 26-week average of 46 according to Track Data, suggesting larger near term price movement into its expected release of Q1 results on April 5.

Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Southwest Volatility Low into Inspection of Planes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Juniper's (JNPR) shares have risen significantly since the company's previous earnings release unlike Cisco (CSCO), which have trended in the opposite direction. This could imply that investors are more excited about Juniper's upcoming products relative to Cisco's. One of these is its new data center technology previously called Project Stratus, which is now being branded QFabric. Besides Cisco, Juniper also competes with Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and Huawei-3Com in the network equipment business.

Our price estimate for Juniper's stock stands at $32.59, which is roughly 23% below the current market price.

Continue reading Juniper's QFabric Could Expand Its Switching Market Share

Juniper's QFabric Could Expand Its Switching Market Share originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• OPEC production fell 411,000 barrels per day to 29,343 million bpd.
• Libya's production fell 343,000 barrels per day, from 1,396,000 bpd.
• Nigeria fell 107,000 barrels per day due to Royal Dutch (RDS) Oil maintenance.

Continue reading Brent Crude Oil Explodes to $120 Per Barrel

Brent Crude Oil Explodes to $120 Per Barrel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American Express (AXP) followed in Visa's (V) steps and announced a digital payment and commerce platform dubbed Serve, which enables the consumers to make purchases and person-to-person payments online via mobile phones and at merchants that accept American Express cards. MasterCard (MA) is also planning to launch its own offering for personal payments.

We estimate that American Express derives 73% of our $49.61 price estimate from card transaction and execution fees while Visa derives almost 29% of its $85.03 Trefis price estimate from transaction fees.

Continue reading American Express Nips at Paypal with New 'Serve' Platform

American Express Nips at Paypal with New 'Serve' Platform originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.