Much of the attention this week will no doubt be on how the impending General Motors (NYSE: GM) bankruptcy will shake out, as well as the usual economic concerns: Has the housing market bottomed? Will oil prices keep rising? Is the employment situation getting any better? And so on (see highlights of the economic calendar below).

What probably won't get much attention are quarterly earnings, as the earnings season for this quarter winds down. But there are a few reports that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have high hopes for.

Continue reading The week in preview: DynCorp, Joy Global, Shanda and more

The week in preview: DynCorp, Joy Global, Shanda and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 31 May 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week we got a good look at how the apparel retailers have been doing when JCPenney Inc. (NYSE: JCP), Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), and Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) all reported better-than-expected earnings for the most recent quarter. On the other hand, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EBHI), Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ), and Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) reported quarterly losses, reflecting the ongoing reluctance of consumers to spend.

Continue reading The week in preview: Eye on apparel and tech earnings

The week in preview: Eye on apparel and tech earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 17 May 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Activision Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) beat Q4 expectations and raised its fiscal 2009 guidance.
• Air France-KLM swung to a loss in the fourth quarter and warned of tough times ahead.
• BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) Q1 earnings soared, beating expectations, and it raised its forecast.
• Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) beat Q1 estimates on robust demand and favorable exchange rates.
• Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) Q1 profit declined, hurt by an impairment charge and nearly flat sales.
• Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) beat Q1 earnings estimates by managing costs and inventory.
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) Q1 earnings tumbled on a one-time charge and the housing slump.
• Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) beat Q3 expectations and announced a share buyback program.
• Lenovo Group Ltd. (OTC: LNVGY) Q4 earnings more than doubled on strong global distribution.
• Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) reported a so-so first quater in line with Wall Street expectations.
• NetEase.com Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) Q1 earnings declined due to increased tax burden.
• Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) missed Q1 earnings estimates but beat revenue expectations.
• Solarfun Power Holdings Co. (NASDAQ: SOLF) Q1 revenue surged 529% from the previous quarter.
• Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) Q1 revenues soared and earnings more than doubled.

Additional earnings highlights:
Hewlett-Packard, Target, Barnes & Noble, Campbell, Staples and others
Ford, Hormel, Limited Brands, Intuitive Surgical, PetSmart and others

Upcoming results to watch for include Borders (NYSE: BGP), Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), Big Lots (NYSE: BIG), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), HJ Heinz (NYSE: HNZ), Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), Lions Gate (NYSE: LGF), and Tiffany (NYSE: TIF).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: Home Depot, Gap, Lenovo, Air France, Activision, Suntech and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 May 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NetEase.com (NTES) plunges as earnings fall originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 May 2008 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Piper Jaffray upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $65 target to reflect valuation, improved fundamentals and hidden value in real estate.
• Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) was added to American Technology's Focus List with a $145 target.
• Cowen upgraded shares of DirecTV Group, Inc (NYSE: DTV) and EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) to Neutral from Underperform citing potential cash flow growth and re-capitalization opportunities that will offset competitive risks in the near-term.

• Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens citing a tonnage rebound at the company.
• Bear Stearns transferred coverage and raised its rating of Netease.com, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing valuation.
• Bernstein upgraded its Cardiac Rhythm Management group, which contained Boston Scientific Corp (NYSE: BSX), Medtronic, Inc (NYSE: MDT) and St. Jude Medical, Inc (NYSE: STJ), to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm cited anticipated recovery of the ICD market and easier comps for 2007 and expects the U.S. ICD market to have 10% growth compared to last year's negative growth.
• JP Morgan upgraded Borland Software Corp (NASDAQ: BORL) to Overweight from Underweight, as the firm expects the company to achieve margin targets and named Borland its turnaround pick for 2007.

Analyst upgrades 4-17-07: AAPL, BSX, CNW and COST upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: OSI Restaurant Partners (OSI), D.R. Horton (DHI) and Microsoft (MSFT) top today's list of downgrades.

• OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc. (NYSE:OSI) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Oppenheimer.
• The firm believes the $40 bid is fair and the risk/reward of waiting for a deal outweighs the potential modest increases of other bids. D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at Merrill Lynch. They expect 2007's outlook to be a negative catalyst for the homebuilder.
• Bank of America resumed coverage of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a Neutral, below their previous rating of Buy. They believe Microsoft's core earnings drivers are not all Vista-related and that given the company's valuation, sees few near-term catalysts to drive shares higher.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• C.E. Unterberg downgraded Netease.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) to Market Perform from Buy, citing a lack of near-term growth drivers after reporting weak Q3 results.
• Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIMX) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at Merrill Lynch also following the company's Q3 results.
• Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) was downgraded at A.G. Edwards to Hold from Buy. The firm said shares are trading based on a sale of the company. They believe downside risk is valued at $26-$29 with no sale and upside as much as $40 a share if the company was sold.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst downgrades 11-7-06: Microsoft, D.R. Horton, OSI downgraded originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.