Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) is a leading electronics manufacturing services firm, providing comprehensive design, manufacturing and product management services to global electronics and technology companies. The firm works for original equipment makers in the automotive, storage, medical, networking, telecommunications, computer and consumer products industries. Top customers include Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK).
The company had good news for investors earlier in the week, when it reported fiscal Q3 EPS of 26 cents and revenues of $3.09 billion. Analysts had been looking for 20 cents and $3.08 billion. Management also guided Q4 EPS to 29-33 cents (29 cent consensus) and Q4 revenues to $3.2-$3.3 billion ($3.19B consensus). Credit Suisse subsequently reiterated its "neutral" rating on the stock, but RBC Capital Markets repeated an "outperform" recommendation and Needham said "buy" again.
Reporting today are the agrichemicals firm Monsanto (NYSE: MON) -- AP Preview, and after the close, software giant Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) and Nike (NYSE: NKE).
Reported Tuesday:
Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) shares are up nearly 11% in premarket trading after the company reported its profit soared as revenue grew and costs declined, topping third-quarter earnings estimates. Merrill Lynch upgraded Jabil from Neutral to Buy.
Red Lobster operator Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) shares are up 1.9% in premarket trading after it also topped quarterly earnings estimates, postinga higher quarterly profit, boosted by the Olive Garden chain, and lower costs that helped raise operating profit at its Red Lobster chain.
Meanwhile Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) shares were also nearly 5% higher in after-hours trading Tuesday after the retailer said it abandoned plans to take over rival home furnishings retailer Cost Plus (NASDAQ: CPWM) for $88 million.
U.S. stock futures were lower early Tuesday ahead of the two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting. Meanwhile, oil climbed on supply concerns following further Nigeria unrest and new Iran sanctions and steadied above $137 a barrel. UPS (NYSE: UPS) also gave a profit warning.
U.S. stocks ended almost flat Monday as the market digested some deal activity but remained concerned over oil prices with many investors staying on the sidelines ahead of the Fed meeting. Both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 ended nearly the same as Friday with the Nasdaq Composite dropping 20 points, or 0.85%.
Economic releases today include June consumer confidence to be reported at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Consumer confidence probably fell this month to the lowest level in more than 15 years, meaning many will try to economize on their spending. The Case-Shiller report on April home prices also is on tap.
Mostly, though, investors will be concerned with the Fed's decision and statement Wednesday. While most on Wall Street believe the Fed will hold rates unchanged this time, many think the Fed will discuss a shift -- to some extent -- to focus more on inflation than the slowdown as well as hint at future rate hikes. The Fed's balancing act between trying to stimulate the economy while keeping inflation under check is becoming a more difficult task by the day.
It is going to be an interesting week. The Fed and oil will be at odds, and tempers are sure to flare on the trading floors. There are many earnings and eco reports we are looking at, and it is hard to choose which will be front and center. Traders and investors will be closely following every move by the Fed as they will be releasing a policy statement at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
Also, stocks within the homebuilders group will be front and center as a few key players will share their earnings results. Have you seen the charts of these companies lately? Click for a good comparison. And after you take a peek, you may also wonder if they are actually stock charts or ski slopes. So with that as the backdrop, here are a few names that may actually be undercovered and worth a look.
Tuesday, June 24
Anything related to the automobile industry has been under siege of late, and I can't imagine how that will change anytime soon. HB Fuller Co. (NYSE: FUL) is involved in the manufacturing of the industrial performance/adhesive products for the assembly/packaging and automobile markets. The fact that the economy is lagging would lead one to the realization that, unless we see a quick turnaround of epic proportions, the reality of a lower share price will come with the next earnings release. Several down days of late have also had increasing volume, and that is not a good sign for a stock that is beginning to show signs of breaking down. Even so, First Call is showing a $0.45 per share quarterly estimate on $347 million of revenue.
Most of us would be thrilled to invest in a stock that doubles our money, but it certainly isn't easy to find these stocks. According to data provider Capital IQ, in the last year only 1.4% of 6,700 stocks trading on the U.S. exchanges were able to double their price.
BusinessWeek started hunting some of these potentially great stocks by asking fund managers to choose those firms expected to provide 100% returns in the next few years. Of course, the resulting list is by no means a sure thing, since major factors such as the ongoing credit crisis and challenging market conditions could affect results in unpredictable ways.
But let's look at some of the strategies used when picking high-potential stocks.
Mary Lisanti, portfolio manager at the Adams Harkness Small Cap Growth Fund, focuses on young companies in the small-cap segment. She points to stocks like Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN) and Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN), saying that investors can have a big advantage when they recognize potential before the market does.
Just yesterday we were all scratching our heads and wondering where the bears had gone. It seems maybe they were just out on a binge session. Today was the playbook day of what we had seen so regularly before last week with financials and tech lower, and gold, oil and commodities higher. Oil rose a sharp $4.73 to $105.95 on lower than expected inventory numbers, and gold was up $11.00 at $949.50 in late day trading on the weak U.S.-Peso.
February's Durable Goods brought on more pessimism from the start of the session after posting a 1.7% drop, although this has always been one of the more volatile economic numbers in good times and in bad. The report out of the Commerce Department showed new home sales fell another 1.8% in a fourth consecutive decline, although that was slightly better than many were looking for. Below are the unofficial closing prices for U.S. index levels:
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Jabil Circuit, Aircastle, Genesis Lease and P.F. Chang's were today's noteworthy downgrades:
JP Morgan downgraded shares of Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) to Underweight from Overweight following the lower-than-expected guidance, as they believe the company is seeing end market weakness in most of its markets. Shares were also downgraded at Thomas Weisel to Market Weight from Overweight and at Credit Suisse to Neutral from Outperform following the disappointing guidance.
JP Morgan also downgraded shares of Aircastle (NYSE: AYR) and Genesis Lease (GLS) to Neutral from Overweight to reflect the continued credit and equity market challenges faced by both companies.
Friedman Billings downgraded shares of P.F. Chang's (NASDAQ: PFCB) to Underperform from Market Perform as they believe 2008 will be a challenging year for all casual dining restaurant companies and that the valuation is expensive at current levels.
Shares of electronic parts manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE:JBL) have been plunging this morning, despite the firm posting better-than-expected second quarter earnings per share. Hurting the stock this morning is the company's third-quarter guidance, which came in well below analysts' predictions.
Jabil Circuit reported yesterday evening a second-quarter loss of $24 million or 12 cents per share, hurt by restructuring charges. Excluding costs related to restructuring and impairment, Jabil's earnings number would have come at 20 cents per share. Analysts' forecast (which typically exclude one time items) was for 13 cents per share in the quarter.
The company posted a 4% rise in its second-quarter revenue to $3.1 billion, up from $2.9 billion a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected Jabil Circuit show revenue of $3.05 billion in the quarter, according to FactSet Research.
Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) is recently trading at $9.90 in pre-open trading, below its close of $11.38.
JBL lowered it fiscal-year guidance and forecast third-year quarter below analyst expectations.
Jefferies says: "The combination of a challenging economy, a slowdown in new program ramps and a reconfiguration of the consumer electronics business continues to keep us cautious on JBL."
JBL overall option implied volatility of 55 is above its 26-week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.
Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com
JP Morgan downgraded Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) from "overweight" to "underweight," according toBriefing.com. The news service also writes that Moody's will not change its ratings on JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) after its buy-out of Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC).
Journal Communications (NYSE: JRN) has been started as "outperform" at Bear Stearns, according to24/7 Wall St. The financial website also reports that Waters (NYSE: WAT) was raised to "overweight" from "neutral" at JPMorgan.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Legg Mason, Panacos Pharma and PepsiAmericas were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Wachovia upgraded Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) to Market Perform from Underperform citing valuation, new CEO change, and reduced Citigroup (NYSE: C) ownership.
Bear upgraded Panacos Pharma (NASDAQ: PANC) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing renewed confidence in Bevirimat, an HIV inhibitor, following analysis of Phase IIb data. The firm expects a partnership for Bevirmat to be the next catalyst.
Deutsche Bank raised PepsiAmericas (NYSE: PAS) to Buy from Hold shares on valuation, as they believe the recent weakness is overdone.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
U.S. stock futures were lower early Tuesday ahead of the two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting. Meanwhile, .gif){kind=logo}
Most of us would be thrilled to invest in a stock that doubles our money, but it certainly isn't easy to find these stocks. 
Just yesterday we were all scratching our heads and wondering where the bears had gone. It seems maybe they were just out on a binge session. Today was the playbook day of what we had seen so regularly before last week with financials and tech lower, and gold, oil and commodities higher. .gif){kind=logo}
Shares of electronic parts manufacturer 
Jabil Circuit
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