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.

Analyst Upgrades

• Disney (DIS) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Pike Electric (PIKE) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Kindred Healthcare (KND) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• UBS (UBS) to hold from sell at Canaccord.
• Avery Dennison (AVY) and Take-Two (TTWO) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Mercer (MERC) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AVY, CSUN, DIS, INTU, KBH, KEY, LEN, NVTL, UBS, USNA ...

Analyst Calls: AVY, CSUN, DIS, INTU, KBH, KEY, LEN, NVTL, UBS, USNA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

KB Home (KBH) is ending the week on a high note, after the homebuilder comfortably surpassed Wall Street's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings expectations. Bright and early Friday morning, KBH announced quarterly net income of $17.4 million, or 23 cents per share, on revenue of $451 million. Adjusted housing gross margins improved to 19.7% from 19%.

This marks KBH's first quarterly profit, without the aid of tax gains, in almost four years. Analysts were anticipating KBH to swallow a deficit of 17 cents per share on revenue of $441.3 million, so these results definitely qualify as a positive surprise.

Continue reading KB Home Rallies After Solid Q4 Report

KB Home Rallies After Solid Q4 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Southern Copper (SCCO) closed down 0.5%. Copper futures rose 0.61%, according to Bloomberg. Overall option implied volatility of 36 is near its 26-week average, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

KB Home (KBH) is expected to report Q4 EPS on Jan. 7. KBH January call option implied volatility is at 55, February is at 53, above its 26-week average of 51, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

Options Update: Southern Copper Volatility Flat; Shares Near Record High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you check out the stats at KB Home's (KBH) quote page, you'll notice that it's been doing poorly for a long time, until recently, when, over the last month, it decided to bounce strongly off the 52-week low of $9.43. Today, with about three hours to go before the end of the session, it is higher by almost 3.8% to $12.15 on the back of an earnings report.

Indeed, the chart shows what I'm talking about. And you have to wonder if the strength in the homebuilder will continue. There is one problem: although volume does stand a chance of ultimately going above the average, at the time of this writing, it isn't too impressive.

Continue reading KB Home Up on Q3 Report

KB Home Up on Q3 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Housing steps into the spotlight again this coming week. The release of the National Association of Homebuilders Housing Market Index starts out the week on Monday morning. Then on Tuesday morning, look for housing starts data from August. Release of the July FHFA House Price Index is scheduled for Wednesday. And numbers for existing home sales and for new home sales in August are due out Thursday and Friday, respectively. Overall, the housing market is expected to have continued to lose momentum in August, but less dramatically than in July.

Also on the economic calendar this week: Tuesday's FOMC meeting on interest rates, the Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators Index for August on Thursday, initial jobless claims for last week, and durable goods orders data for August on Friday. No significant changes from the Fed are anticipated, but the leading economic indicators may rise a bit.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Housing Data, Lennar's Earnings and More

The Week in Preview: Housing Data, Lennar's Earnings and More originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Goldman Sachs Slashes Ratings Across Entire Homebuilder's Industry

Goldman Sachs Slashes Ratings Across Entire Homebuilder's Industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading KB Home Posts Wider-Than-Expected Q2 Loss

KB Home Posts Wider-Than-Expected Q2 Loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Halliburton (HAL) to outperform from market perform as it sees less headline risk from the Gulf of Mexico spill following Wednesday's House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. The firm upped its target for shares to $44 from $35.
• FBR Capital also upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to outperform from market perform as it views the valuation as attractive following the recent pullback in shares. The firm maintains a $35 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold on valuation; it views the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. The firm raised its target for shares to $39 from $36.
• U.S. Steel (X) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• News Corp. (NWS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• Sprint (S) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AVT, COF, HAL, JACK, LEN, MS, NOK, NWS, S, TEVA, X ...

Analyst Calls: AVT, COF, HAL, JACK, LEN, MS, NOK, NWS, S, TEVA, X ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) reported that Q1 revenue was up but earnings declined sharply, and it offered guidance.
• Best Buy Inc. (BBY) shares rallied after it topped Q4 earnings expectations and offered encouraging guidance.
• Brinker International Inc. (EAT) raised its outlook for fiscal 2010 and also increased its quarterly dividend.
• China Automotive Systems Inc. (CAAS) reported that its revenue had doubled and it beat earnings expectations.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) Q3 earnings matched estimates and revenue was flat, and it reaffirmed its outlook.
• Finish Line Inc. (FINL) shares rallied after it reported that Q4 earnings came in better than analysts' expected.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Adobe, Best Buy, General Mills, Oracle, Tiffany, Walgreen ...

Earnings Highlights: Adobe, Best Buy, General Mills, Oracle, Tiffany, Walgreen ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

KB Home (KBH) reported first-quarter earnings Tuesday morning. The homebuilder said its loss came in at 71 cents per share. A year ago, KBH lost 75 cents per share. While the quarterly loss was less than last year's, it was larger than the Street's expected loss of 42 cents per share.

Quarterly revenue fell to $264 million from $307.4 million a year ago. Not only was revenue worse than a year ago, but it also missed expectations for revenue of $277 million.

Continue reading KB Home's First-Quarter Loss Shrinks

KB Home's First-Quarter Loss Shrinks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looks like John Paulson wants to get ahead of the crowd. He and other large homebuilders are buying prime building lots in states like Arizona, Colorado and Nevada.

The big players like Lennar Corp (LEN), Standard Pacific Corp. (SPF), KB Home (KBH), DR Horton (DHI) and Toll Brothers (TOL) are all grabbing lots at bargain basement prices.

Continue reading Hedge Fund Manager John Paulson Is Buying Prime Building Lots

Hedge Fund Manager John Paulson Is Buying Prime Building Lots originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Aetna Inc. (AET) shares declined after the insurer issued a surprise earnings warning for 2010.
• Alcoa Inc. (AA) swung to a smaller-than-expected Q4 profit even as revenue declined, sending shares lower.
• Carter's Inc. (CRI) posted strong Q3 earnings that topped estimates and same-store sales growth.
• Chevron Corp. (CVX) shares declined slightly after the company issued a surprise earnings warning.
• Con-Way Inc. (CNW) was downgraded due in part to concerns about near-term earnings.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Aetna, Alcoa, Chevron, Intel, JPMorgan, KB Home, Sealy ...

Earnings Highlights: Aetna, Alcoa, Chevron, Intel, JPMorgan, KB Home, Sealy ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

KB Home (KBH) took its turn reporting earnings Tuesday. While the homebuilder scored its first profit in nearly three years, the stock turned lower in early trading.

In the three months ended November 30, KB Home banked $100.7 million, or $1.31 per share (including a tax gain of $191.7 million). This compares favorably to a year-ago loss of $307.3 million, or $3.96 per share. Revenue, however, dropped to $674.6 million from $919 million on a year-over-year basis. This topped Wall Street's expectations for a per-share loss of 42 cents and revenue of $578 million.

Continue reading KB Home Turns a Profit, but Shares Drop

KB Home Turns a Profit, but Shares Drop originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve's first Beige Book report of the year is due out this week. The report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The previous report, released in December, showed modest improvement in eight of the districts, while the October report confirmed that the economy was stabilizing after earlier declines.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Fed's Beige Book; Alcoa, JPMorgan and Intel Earnings

The Week in Preview: Fed's Beige Book; Alcoa, JPMorgan and Intel Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Bearish on Banks: TheStreet Says
• Citigroup, Bank of America Smeared Again: Today's Outrage

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says stocks connected to the sector will take it on the chin if the housing index falls further.

A perusal of the charts this weekend shows something surprising: The weakest group out there has been the homebuilders for several weeks now. KB Home (NYSE: KBH) (Cramer's Take), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) (Cramer's Take), Lennar (NYSE: LEN) (Cramer's Take), and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) (Cramer's Take) have simply been a horror show. What's going on here? How can these stocks be so dangerous when mortgage rates have crashed through 5%, the level that every banker I talk to says mortgages jump off the table and refinancings rush to be done.

What's going on? This group's tracking more than just mortgage rates. It's tracking employment and news flow and both are terrible.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Housing stocks are key to this market

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Housing stocks are key to this market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The housing market got two pieces of bad news Friday. The first being weaker-than-expected earnings for KB Home (NYSE: KBH) and the second being a less-than-expected rise in new home sales last month.

First, the good news. New home sales did rise last month. In the current economic environment, that by itself is good news. Unfortunately the rise was less than analysts had been expecting to see.

Continue reading New home sales rose less than expected last month

New home sales rose less than expected last month originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of California-based homebuilder KB Home (NYSE: KBH) sold off Friday morning after the company failed to meet analyst estimates for its third quarter.

As we noted in our earnings preview, analysts were expecting to see the company show a loss of 56 cents per share for its third quarter, but the company failed to hit that number, posting an actual loss of a much worse 87 cents per share.

Continue reading KB Home narrows loss but misses estimates

KB Home narrows loss but misses estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading KB Home third quarter earnings preview

KB Home third quarter earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Much of the focus this week will no doubt be on the FOMC meeting on interest rates and the subsequent decision, as well as on the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh, were the agenda will include bonuses for bank executives among other things.

Things will be fairly quiet again on the earnings front as the next earnings season has yet to ramp up. However, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters do have high hopes for a handful of companies that will release results this week.

Continue reading The week in preview: Eye on AutoZone, ConAgra, KB Home, Research In Motion ...

The week in preview: Eye on AutoZone, ConAgra, KB Home, Research In Motion ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.