Despite a weak durable goods figure this morning, despite more woes in Ireland and Portugal, and despite energy rising, the markets managed yet another gain. It is now almost back to 'international markets don't matter' in investor minds despite all of the risks and turmoil.

Here were today's closing bells:

Dow Jones 12,170.56 +84.54 (0.70%)
S&P 500 1,309.66 +12.12 (0.93%)
Nasdaq 2,736.42 +38.12 (1.41%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: The Rest of the World Doesn't Matter (AMZN, BBY, GME, MU, SFD, TEVA, PG)

Closing Bell: The Rest of the World Doesn't Matter (AMZN, BBY, GME, MU, SFD, TEVA, PG) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Red Hat (RHT) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Cogdell Spencer (CSA) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Micron (MU) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• El Paso Electric (EE) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• MICROS Systems (MCRS) and Harmony Gold (HMY) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Verso Paper (VRS) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Sony (SNE) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Noble Corp. (NE) and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Tyson Foods (TSN) and Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BAC, BHI, KKR, MU, NE, RHT, SNE, TSN, WMT ...

Analyst Calls: BAC, BHI, KKR, MU, NE, RHT, SNE, TSN, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Up as Investors Await Jobless Claims

U.S. Stock Futures Up as Investors Await Jobless Claims originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The markets were taking a breather after a huge recovery, but today's rally was the return of the global growth and rebuilding trade. An absolutely dismal home sales number did not even keep the bulls from charging today.

Here were the unofficial closing bells:

Dow Jones 12,086.02 +67.39 (0.56%)
S&P 500 1,297.54 +3.77 (0.29%)
Nasdaq 2,698.30 +14.43 (0.54%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: Growth & Rebuilding Back On Track (BAC, CREE, MU, NFLX, PRAN)

Closing Bell: Growth & Rebuilding Back On Track (BAC, CREE, MU, NFLX, PRAN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Trinity Industries (TRN) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Cameron (CAM) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Expedia (EXPE) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Micron (MU) to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANF, CAM, CLX, EXPE, GME, MU, NAV, NOK, WMT ...

Analyst Calls: ANF, CAM, CLX, EXPE, GME, MU, NAV, NOK, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Interpublic Group (IPG) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Radware (RDWR) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Fluor (FLR) and Waddell & Reed (WDR) to buy from hold, as well as AllianceBernstein (AB) to hold from sell, at Citigroup.
• MetroCorp (MCBI) and American Capital (AGNC) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• International Flavors (IFF) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• BioCryst (BCRX) and Southern Company (SO) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Bunge (BG) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AB, BG, CMG, CSCO, DF, EXPE, JLL, MU, NLSN, S, SO ...

Analyst Calls: AB, BG, CMG, CSCO, DF, EXPE, JLL, MU, NLSN, S, SO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Micron (MU) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Baker Hughes (BHI) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• PDL BioPharma (PDLI) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Fluor (FLR) and Rush Enterprises (RUSHA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Camden Property (CPT) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Hologic (HOLX) and Illumina (ILMN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• F5 Networks (FFIV) to buy from neutral at Gleacher.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALTR, BHI, CL, CLX, FFIV, GS, HCBK, LLTC, PG, STT, TYC ...

Analyst Calls: ALTR, BHI, CL, CLX, FFIV, GS, HCBK, LLTC, PG, STT, TYC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Investors Lighten Up Before Earnings (AA, BBVA, MRO, MRK, MU, WAVX, WFMI)

Closing Bell: Investors Lighten Up Before Earnings (AA, BBVA, MRO, MRK, MU, WAVX, WFMI) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• NYSE Euronex (NYX) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• General Dynamics (GD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Deere (DE), Parker-Hannifin (PH) and ExlService (EXLS) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Aflac (AFL) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Amdocs (DOX) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Juniper (JNPR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Rudolph Tech (RTEC) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Hershey (HSY) and Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Micron (MU) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AFL, DE, DOX, GD, GS, HSY, ITT, MS, NYX, TXN, UBS, WYNN ...

Analyst Calls: AFL, DE, DOX, GD, GS, HSY, ITT, MS, NYX, TXN, UBS, WYNN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Options Update: Volatilities at Low End of Range on Higher Trending Markets

Options Update: Volatilities at Low End of Range on Higher Trending Markets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

U.S. stock futures are mixed Thursday morning as investors are awaiting economic data ahead of the Christmas holidays. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points at 11,498.00 and S&P 500 index fell 0.4 point to 1,254.10. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 3.50 points to 2,232.50.

U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow Industrials Average gaining 0.23%, the S&P 500 index rising 0.34% and the Nasdaq Composite index moving up 0.15%.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Mixed as Investors Await Economic Data

U.S. Stock Futures Mixed as Investors Await Economic Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (S) January 5 and February 5 calls are active with total option volume of 240K contracts. December option implied volatility is at 41, January is at 48, February at 53, according to Track Data. Large call volume suggests larger price movement..

Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) January 10 calls are active with total call option volume of 160K contracts (47K puts). December and January option implied volatility is at 54, January is at 49, according to Track Data. Large call volume suggests traders positioning for upside.

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

Options Update: Sprint Shares Rally 6% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earnings season has kicked off and Wall Street has decided to ignore the bad jobs numbers from this morning in favor of quantitative easing coming from Ben Bernanke and friends at the Fed. Today we also finally broke 11,000 on the DJIA and are within about 3% of a year high now.

Here were today's closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,006.48 +57.90 (0.53%)
S&P 500 1,165.15 +7.09 (0.61%)
Nasdaq 2,401.91 +18.24 (0.77%)

TOP ANALYST CALLS

Continue reading Closing Bell: Dow Breaks 11,000 (BAC, AA, IMGN, MU, TSN, KLIC, FO, NDN)

Closing Bell: Dow Breaks 11,000 (BAC, AA, IMGN, MU, TSN, KLIC, FO, NDN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I was scanning through stocks that made substantial pre-market moves to bring to your attention and I found just that in Micron Technology (MU).

The tech firm was more than 3% lower before the bell thanks to a downgrade from Goldman Sachs. The brokerage cut MU to neutral from buy. Goldman noted that it "underestimated the impact tablets would have on the PC supply chain, with tablets cannibalizing notebooks faster and to a greater degree than we [the brokerage] had expected." Goldman Sachs also stated that MU was negatively impacted by Inotera's delay of its 50mm transition.

Continue reading Goldman Sachs Downgrades Micron Technology

Goldman Sachs Downgrades Micron Technology originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Coca-Cola (KO) to overweight from neutral due to valuation and expectations that developed market volume should improve. The firm raised its target price for shares to $66.
• BB&T upgraded Nordson (NDSN) to buy from hold and has an $82 price target on the stock. The firm believes certain drivers of Nordson's Advanced Tech unit are becoming more secular vs. cyclical and that the company's EBIT margins can go higher.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Embraer (ERJ) to outperform from underperform, citing the positive announcements from the Famborough Air Show. The firm raised its price target to $37 from $21.
• Universal Health (UHS) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Mead Johnson (MJN) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Coventry Health (CVH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Leerink.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALU, CHL, EXC, GENZ, KO, NDSN, NSW, SJM, TXN ...

Analyst Calls: ALU, CHL, EXC, GENZ, KO, NDSN, NSW, SJM, TXN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Sneaking in a Win (AAPL, BP, GOOG, GLD, MU, GENZ)

Closing Bell: Sneaking in a Win (AAPL, BP, GOOG, GLD, MU, GENZ) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: When Bulls Eat Crow (BIDU, GOOG, C, MU, POT, BA)

Closing Bell: When Bulls Eat Crow (BIDU, GOOG, C, MU, POT, BA) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Micron Way Down Following Earnings Release

Micron Way Down Following Earnings Release originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Another Grab Bag Day (MO, AMZN, BP, NE, JASO, MU, AAPL, OREX)

Closing Bell: Another Grab Bag Day (MO, AMZN, BP, NE, JASO, MU, AAPL, OREX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Collins Stewart upgraded BP (BP) to buy from hold after the company canceled its dividend payments and agreed to put $20 billion in a claims escrow fund.
• Credit Suisse upgraded First Solar (FSLR) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $150 from $110.20. The firm raised estimates given expectations for strong demand and lower costs and believes pricing upside for Q2/Q3 is not reflected in valuation.
• Argus upgraded EMC (EMC) to buy from hold, citing valuation and notes that the company's VMware (VMW) stake is undervalued.
• Rio Tinto (RTP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Societe Generale.
• Sunoco (SUN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• UBS (UBS) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Macquarie.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AAPL, AMZN, BP, DTV, EMC, FSLR, LMT, NOK, RTP, SNDK, UBS ...

Analyst Calls: AAPL, AMZN, BP, DTV, EMC, FSLR, LMT, NOK, RTP, SNDK, UBS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.