Shares of Patriot Coal (PCX) surged to a new annual high of $27.54 right out of the gate Tuesday, as traders cheered the energy issue's latest quarterly report.

Patriot announced that its fourth-quarter net profit dwindled 33% to $7.3 million, or 8 cents per share, from its year-ago results of $10.9 million, or 12 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter climbed 5% to $528.2 million, but selling and administrative expenses swelled 35% to $14 million. Likewise, Patriot's operating cost per ton increased 9.5% to $55.70.

Continue reading Patriot Coal Climbs Higher Despite Q4 Revenue Miss

Patriot Coal Climbs Higher Despite Q4 Revenue Miss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• BP (BP) to buy from hold at RBS.
• Symantec (SYMC) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• GenOn Energy (GEN) and Nationwide Health Properties (NHP) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Logitech (LOGI) and Patriot Coal (PCX) to neutral from sell, as well as ARM Holdings (ARMH) to buy from neutral, at Goldman.
• Silvercorp Metals (SVM) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Cinemark (CNK) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Smith & Nephew (SNN) to market perform from underperform at Bernstein.
• Molex (MOLX) to overweight from underweight at JPMorgan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AB, ARMH, BP, DANG, JNS, LOGI, PCX, SYMC, YHOO, YOKU ...

Analyst Calls: AB, ARMH, BP, DANG, JNS, LOGI, PCX, SYMC, YHOO, YOKU ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• InterMune (ITMN) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merill.
• Halliburton (HAL), Cloud Peak Energy (CLD), Patriot Coal (PCX) and Consol Energy (CNX) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Post Properties (PPS) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Airgas (ARG) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Hologic (HOLX) to top pick from sector perform and Sunesis Pharma (SNSS) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AEO, ARG, AXP, FISV, HAL, HBAN, HOLX, ITMN, MFE, PXC ...

Analyst Calls: AEO, ARG, AXP, FISV, HAL, HBAN, HOLX, ITMN, MFE, PXC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Yingli Green (YGE) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• National Semiconductor (NSM) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• DuPont (DD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Blackboard (BBBB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Kindred Healthcare (KND) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Peabody Energy (BTU) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Savvis (SVVS) to buy from neutral and InterActiveCorp (IACI) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BRCM, BTU, DD, EBAY, KR, MRVL, NSM, PCX, SVVS, TWX ...

Analyst Calls: BRCM, BTU, DD, EBAY, KR, MRVL, NSM, PCX, SVVS, TWX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Patriot Coal Corporation (PCX) was in focus Wednesday morning, thanks to some management shake-ups announced late Tuesday night. The company said that Paul Vining, who serves as president and chief operating officer, will step down effective immediately. However, Vining will do his part to ensure a smooth transition by staying on in a senior advisory role, potentially through the end of the year.

In order to fill the two roles left vacant by Vining, CEO Richard Whiting will now add the title of "president" to his resume. Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development Charles Ebetino Jr. scored a promotion to chief operating officer.

Continue reading Patriot Coal Plunges as President and COO Steps Down

Patriot Coal Plunges as President and COO Steps Down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Steve Smith.

Shares of CardioNet (NASDAQ: BEAT) shares are off $0.20 to $18.60 and option volume is three times the daily average. The focus is buying in the June $17.50 put which has seen over 5,100 contracts trade, 90% of which occurred at the ask, and exceeds prior open interest of if 1,018 contracts. This new put buying is driving up implied volatility 14% to the 65% level this morning.

CREE Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) shares are up over 12% to $31.30 after the electronics parts manufacturer pre-announced and raised guidance. Options running 3X the daily average with 85% of trades on the call side. Active strikes are the include June $30 call and July $30 calls, with latter's volume exceeding strike's of 295 exceeding prior open interest. Notable is buying in longer dated series; the Sep $30 call, Dec $35 call and Jan 2010 $30 call have all traded over 200 contracts all of which exceed their strike's prior open interest.

Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) is up 19 cents to $9.15 and 2,500 Jun 10 calls traded. Nearly all the volume has been done at the asking price suggesting this speculative call buying.

Option Action: BEAT, CREE, PCX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 May 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Citigroup upgraded Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) to Hold from Sell on easing credit and liquidity concerns following the company's guidance. The firm raised its target on the stock to $7.50 from $4.
  
• UBS upgraded Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Buy from Neutral and raised their target to $90 from $65 as they expect pent-up replacement demand in enterprise to drive 2010 estimates higher and for the consumer smartphone opportunity to grow in 2009 and 2010.
  
• Goldman upgraded Suncor (NYSE: SU) to Conviction Buy from Sell and raised their target to $33 from $25 citing their bullish view on crude oil for 2H09 and 2010 and in the company's ability to lower operating and capital costs in the oil sands region.
• Canadian National (CNI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Applied Micro Circuits (NASDAQ: AMCC) was lifted at Oppenheimer to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: RIMM, MCD, ORLY, CELG, URBN ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: RIMM, MCD, ORLY, CELG, URBN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While other earnings may have disappointed last week, the news was good for oil giant ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP). In what some took as a good sign for big oil, the Houston-based company reported that third quarter net income surged 41% year over year to $3.39 per share, and that revenue also surged 52% to $70 billion. We'll see whether the good news extends to other petroleum giants scheduled to report quarterly results this week.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for BP (NYSE: BP) profits to have grown 43.2% in the most recent quarter to $2.34 per share on revenue of $109.7 billion, and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) to post earnings up 39.4% to $3.25 per share on revenue of $86.8 billion. Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) likewise are expected to report higher net income of $2.33 per share (sales of $23.4 billion), $2.40 per share (sales of $131.4 billion), and $2.65 per share, respectively. Even Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is expected to post earnings slightly higher to $1.46 per share (sales of $36.4 billion), despite the effects of Hurricane Ike. Among these companies, only BP and Valero beat earnings expectations in the previous quarter. Not surprisingly, analysts on average recommend buying all except Valero, and shares of all of these companies have recently hit 52-week lows.

Continue reading The week in preview: Focus on oil and energy

The week in preview: Focus on oil and energy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Wachovia upgraded shares of Exelon (NYSE: EXC) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect the company's attractive nuclear fleets and strong operational track record.
  
• Jesup & Lamont upgraded Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ORA) to Buy from Hold on valuation and increasing visibility on near-term Products revenue.
  
• RBC Capital upgraded Memc Electronic (NYSE: WFR) to Outperform from Sector Perform on expectations of improved demand growth following the likely eight-year extension of the US solar tax credit program.
• AmBev (NYSE: ABV) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC) was upgraded at Merrill Lynch to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Piper upgraded Anadys Pharma (NASDAQ: ANDS) to Neutral from Sell.

Analyst downgrades:

Continue reading Analyst calls: MER, BAC, EXC, ABV, PPL, BBT . . .

Analyst calls: MER, BAC, EXC, ABV, PPL, BBT . . . originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) is recently up $8.91 to $117.

Freidman Billings says: "we are raising our 2009 and 2010 steam coal price outlook by about 25%."

PCX June option implied volatility of 70 is above its 26-week average of 56 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE), a coal producer, is recently up $5.52 to $70.14.

Freidman Billings upgraded MEE to Outperform from Market Perform.

MEE June option implied volatility of 65 is above its 26-week average of 54, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: Coal producers' volatility elevated as shares rally to record highs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU): The fuel of the future is ... coal?

Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU): The fuel of the future is ... coal? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Cantor initiated shares of FreeSeas (NASDAQ: FREE) with a Buy rating and $10 target, as they expect the company to benefit from the continued strength in the dry bulk market.
  
• JP Morgan resumed coverage of Nektar (NASDAQ: NKTR) with an Overweight rating, as they view weakness from the discontinuation of Exubera as a buying opportunity given the company's base royalty business and pipeline opportunities.
  
• Altus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALTU) was initiated with a Buy rating and $19 target at Jefferies. The firm expects news flow from the company's two lead products over the next 6-12 months that should act as catalysts.
  
• AbitibiBowater (NYSE: ABH) was initiated with a Sell rating and $18 target at Banc of America, as they are cautious on newsprint trends; the firm recommends reducing existing positions.

• Caris initiated Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS) with an Average rating and $18 target and Under Armour (NYSE: UA) with an Above Average rating.
  
• Stifel started shares of Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) with a Hold rating.
  
• PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) was initiated with a Sell rating at Goldman.

Analyst inititations: FREE, NKTR, ALTU and ABH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.