Option volume has ramped up today on KeyCorp (KEY), with activity rising well beyond the usual level on both the call and put side of the tape. Taking a closer look at some of the major block trades on this regional banking issue, it appears that a single spread strategist is responsible for a healthy portion of this option volume.

Specifically, the trader purchased a block of 10,000 June 10 calls for $0.50 each, and simultaneously sold 10,000 June 8 puts for $0.25 each. The result was a net debit of $0.25 per pair of contracts -- which means the speculator can begin collecting profits on those purchased calls if KEY rallies beyond $10.25 by June expiration.

Continue reading Buyout Buzz Inspires Bullish KeyCorp Spread

Buyout Buzz Inspires Bullish KeyCorp Spread originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Qualcomm (QCOM) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Walgreen (WAG) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Rockwell (ROK) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Carnival (CCL) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• SunTrust (STI) and TD Bank (TD) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Hawaiian Electric (HE) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Essex Property Trust (ESS) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Amgen (AMGN) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: EBAY, ERIC, MMI, MSI, NKE, QCOM, RL, ROK, SWY, WAG ...

Analyst Calls: EBAY, ERIC, MMI, MSI, NKE, QCOM, RL, ROK, SWY, WAG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Black Friday has come and gone and the holiday shopping season is off and running. In addition to keeping on eye on how retailers are doing, there will be plenty of other economic data for analysts and investors to peruse on this week.

• Monday: Chicago Fed's Midwest Manufacturing Index
• Tuesday: Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, S&P/Case-Schiller Home Price Index for Q3, Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index

Continue reading Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Fed's Beige Book, Canadian Banks

Week in Preview: Unemployment Rate, Fed's Beige Book, Canadian Banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Nov 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Investing in Canada Pays Off

Investing in Canada Pays Off originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Three of Canada's big five banks reported quarterly results last week. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's (CM) profit surged, topping consensus estimates. However, Royal Bank of Canada (RY) missed estimates for the fourth straight time. And though Bank of Montreal's (BMO) net income grew, it too fell short of expectations.

So what does that do for expectations for Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) and Toronto-Dominion (TD), which are scheduled to report this week?

Continue reading Earnings Previews: Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion

Earnings Previews: Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"This month we are beefing up our Northern exposure with a Canadian bank: Toronto-Dominion (TD)," says growth and income specialist Stephen Leeb.

The editor of The Complete Investor explains, "Financial institutions offer leveraged exposure to the entire economic system. With Canada's upside greater than most, adding another bank makes good sense. By total assets, market cap, and adjusted net income, Toronto-Dominion is Canada's second-largest bank.

"And it's not only a force to reckon with in Canada, it has a large and growing presence in the U.S., where it ranks among the top 15 banking companies. It also has the distinction of being one of only three Aaa-rated banks on the NYSE and was the rare bank to not cut its dividend during the financial crisis.

Continue reading Toronto-Dominion (TD): Northern Exposure

Toronto-Dominion (TD): Northern Exposure originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Both Walmart (WMT) and BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) reported strong quarterly results last week, suggesting that discount retailers are still doing well even as the economy seems to be coming around. This week, Costco (COST) and Big Lots (BIG) take their turns in the earnings spotlight, and analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect a strong showing from them as well.

And we'll round out this preview of the coming week with a look at expectations for AutoZone (AZO), Canada's big banks, and Trina Solar (TSL).

Continue reading The Week in Preview: A Look at Costco, AutoZone, Canadian Banks, and more

The Week in Preview: A Look at Costco, AutoZone, Canadian Banks, and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 23 May 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve's next Beige Book report is scheduled to be released this week. This report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts, and it is released eight times a year. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The previous report, released in January, showed some improvement in most districts and growth in consumer spending over the holiday period, though unemployment remained high. The December report showed modest improvement in eight of the districts.

Retailers were in the earnings spotlight last week and for the most part made a strong showing of it. Even as the earnings season winds down, some more retailers are scheduled to release quarterly results this week.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Fed's Beige Book, More Retail Earnings and Canadian Banks

The Week in Preview: Fed's Beige Book, More Retail Earnings and Canadian Banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been reported that Canadian banks have fared better than their U.S. and European counterparts recently. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) did report strong fourth-quarter results last week. This week, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect competitor Royal Bank of Canada (RY) to post modest earnings growth as well, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) and Toronto Dominion Bank (TD) are expected to post earnings declines.

Analysts are looking for $0.98 per share (+6.1%) earnings from RBC, $1.25 per share (-7.4%) from Toronto Dominion and $1.36 per share (-21.8%) from Canadian Imperial. The long-term EPS growth forecast for these three banks is for ranges from 10% and 12%, which is in the same ballpark as U.S. rivals Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC). Earnings multiples for these Canadian banks are 10x to 12x, but only Toronto Dominion has a First Call consensus recommendation of buy. The Motley Fool, though, recently commented on Royal Bank's steady income and reliability. All three banks are trading near their 52-week highs, and shares of all are up well more than 100% since March lows.

Continue reading The week in preview: Canadian banks, Aeropostale, Shanda Interactive ...

The week in preview: Canadian banks, Aeropostale, Shanda Interactive ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for EPS for these banks to have fallen from 15% to 25% from a year ago. Their long-term EPS growth forecast is for between 10% and 12%, which is in the same range as U.S. rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), but better than Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C). Earnings multiples for these Canadian banks are 10x to 12x, but none of them have a First Call consensus recommendation is to buy. The Motley Fool, though, considers TD as a value stock and RY a stock poised to pop. All of them are trading much closer to their 52-week highs than lows, and shares of all are up more than 100% since March lows.

Continue reading The week in preview: Canadian banks in the earnings spotlight

The week in preview: Canadian banks in the earnings spotlight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After the Memorial Day holiday in the United States, the earnings spotlight turns to Canadian banks: Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM), Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) are all scheduled to report their second-quarter results.

While banks north of the border of generally have held up better than their U.S. counterparts, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the four listed above to report that earnings declined between 20% and 30% since the same period of last year. All four have P/E ratios around 10, and they are paying dividends. Shares of all four have surged 50% to 83% in the past three months, but are still 26% to 38% lower than a year ago.

Continue reading The week in preview: Canadian and U.S. banks, and more

The week in preview: Canadian and U.S. banks, and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 24 May 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In what could be the most watched private equity deal of the year, a consortium of buyout firms led by billionaire investor Wilbur L. Ross has set its sights on BankUnited Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: BKUNA), says the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). The consortium includes Carlyle Group and Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX).

Earlier this year, federal regulators declared that the Florida-based lender was "critically undercapitalized" and demanded that it find a buyer or raise new capital. While regulators have traditionally favored other lenders in sales of banks, if Ross's group is successful, it would not only be one of the largest acquisitions in the financial-services sector made by private equity, but could also signal a shift in the government's attitude toward private-equity buyers of banks.

Continue reading BankUnited deal to open the door to private equity acquiring banks?

BankUnited deal to open the door to private equity acquiring banks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 May 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Q. Gordon, since we last spoke, global markets have lost nearly half their value, and the Toronto Stock Exchange's Composite Index has dropped from more than 15,000 to just over 8,700. Have we hit bottom?

A. We are cautiously optimistic, but the recent trillion-dollar bond purchase plan announced by the Federal Reserve is great news for Canada. The flood of cash will likely spur inflation, drive down the value of the US dollar, and raise the price of commodities. It's no surprise that gold [rose] almost $60 an ounce and oil [got] back over $50 a barrel. The Canadian stock market is heavily weighted to commodities, so we are seeing a big lift. I still expect a lot of volatility in the coming months. However, the March 6th TSE low of 7,480 may turn out to have been the bottom for this cycle.

Continue reading Global Q&A: Has Canada turned the corner?

Global Q&A: Has Canada turned the corner? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Canadian markets halted due to a glitch -- can it happen in the U.S.?

Canadian markets halted due to a glitch -- can it happen in the U.S.? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week, Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), one of Canada's oldest and largest banks, reported growth in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. But it may be the only one that does, as at least two of the Canadian banks scheduled to report fourth-quarter numbers this week have already released preliminary results that warn of lower earnings due to debt write-downs and trading losses.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Toronto-based Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM) to post earnings 42.6% lower than a year ago, or $1.28 per share. CIBC beat estimates by a penny in the third quarter, but missed by a penny in the period before that. The bank faces a class-action lawsuit related to investments in collateralized debt obligations consisting of U.S. subprime mortgages. Shares have climbed 20.7% from a recent 52-week low of $39.52, but are down 37.8% in the past three months.

Toronto Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD), Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), and Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) are expected to report more modest earnings declines of $1.01 per share, $0.73 per share, and $0.83 per share, respectively. All three Toronto-based banks topped estimates in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion and RBC have recently announced plans to offer shares in order to raise capital. Toronto Dominion and Scotiabank have been trading near 52-week lows, and their share prices are down around 39% in the past three months. But only Toronto Dominion has a consensus buy recommendation from analysts.

Continue reading The week in preview: Canadian banks, homebuilders, Sears and food producers

The week in preview: Canadian banks, homebuilders, Sears and food producers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Results for the tech stocks in last week's preview were a mixed bag, some beats, some misses, some in line. By and large, expectations for tech companies reporting results this week remain high, though. Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are anticipating in the way of earnings, as compared to the same period of the previous year.

• Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: SOLF): $1.48 EPS (+73.0%) on sales of $1.3 billion (+171.0%)
• Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL): $0.21 EPS (+71.4%) on sales of $836.7 million (+27.4%)
• Solera Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SLH): $0.29 EPS (+51.7%) on sales of $137.0 million (+11.8%)
• Applied Signal Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: APSG): $0.14 EPS (+42.9%) on sales of $46.4 million (+17.4%)
• China Finance Online Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JRJC): $0.14 EPS (+42.6%) on sales of $13.3 million (+131.5%)
• OSI Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIS): $0.38 EPS (+36.8%) on sales of $162.0 million (+6.0%)
• LaBarge Inc. (AMEX: LB): $0.27 EPS (+33.3%) on sales of $71.6 million (+10.4%)
• Esterline Technologies Corp. (NYSE: ESL): $0.69 EPS (+11.6%) on sales of $374.6 million (+14.8%)
• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL): $0.36 EPS (+11.1%) on sales of $15.9 billion (+7.8%)
• HEICO Corp. (NYSE: HEI): $0.46 EPS (+13.0%) on sales of $147.1 million (+10.5%)
• Daktronics Inc. (NASDAQ: DAKT): $0.17 EPS (flat) on sales of $141.5 million (+17.0%)
• Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL): $0.05 EPS (flat) on sales of $241.4 million (-0.7%)
• Omnivision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI): $0.29 EPS (-17.1%) on sales of $172.5 million (-0.4%)
• Sigma Designs Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGM): $0.39 EPS (-18.8%) on sales of $58.7 million (+37.9%)

Continue reading The week in preview: Earnings expectations for techs, Canadian banks

The week in preview: Earnings expectations for techs, Canadian banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Friedman Billings downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Market Perform from Outperform citing soft comps which could impact EPS expectations in 2H08 and SG&A investing.
  
• China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse and to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley as the company's phone asset sales garnered a lower-than-expected price.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Toronto Dominion (NYSE: TD) to Sector Perform from Outperform citing expense initiatives in domestic retail banking which are hurting operating leverage, loan losses in U.S. banking, and muted capital markets revenues.

• William Blair cut Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Linear Tech (NASDAQ: LLTC) was downgraded at UBS to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Abiomed (NASDAQ: ABMD) was lowered to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

Analyst downgrades: ANF, CHU, TD, LFUS, LLTC, ABMD originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Mattel (NYSE:MAT) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) reports Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.
• Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Toronto-Dominion (NYSE:TD) t o hold conference call about the acquisition of Commerce Bancorp (CBH) at 11:00am.

• Wyeth (NYSE:WYE) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:00am.
• The Federal Reserve to host a meeting regarding the Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC) takeover by Bank of America at 9:30am.
• AT&T (NYSE:T) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
• Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 11:00am.
• Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.

• Biovail (NYSE:BVF) PDUFA date for NDA of BVF-033 for the treatment of depression.
• UPS (NYSE:UPS) to report quarterly earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• General Motors (NYSE:) to hold conference call on 1Q08 global sales at 9:00am.
• Delta (NYSE:DAL) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
• Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.

• Hershey (NYSE:HSY) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5:30pm.

• Wendy's (NYSE:WEN) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.

Market highlights for next week: HAL, T, LMT and MSFT reporting earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Almost untouched by the subprime scandal and the subsequent credit fallout, Canada's banks are strong and their risk of writeoffs are consider by most analysts as minor," notes Genia Turanova and Gregory Dorsey in Leeb's Income Performance Letter.

Here, they look at two favorites in the Canadian banking sector: Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD) and Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY).

"Toronto-Dominion and its subsidiaries, collectively known as TD Bank Financial Group, serve more than 14 million customers. The group offers a full range of financial products and services including wholesale banking securities, personal and business banking, wealth management and U.S. personal and commercial banking.

"TD Bank is looking to expand its US presence by acquiring New Jersey-based Commerce Bancorp. After the acquisition is completed, TD's US banking operations will double. As for the hot topic of all financials these days - its subprime exposure - Commerce Bancorp's $16 billion loan portfolio has no subprime exposure.

Continue reading Income expert banks on Canada

Income expert banks on Canada originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

My recent Investing in Ontario post took a look at the Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), Manulife Financial Corp. (NYSE: MFC), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD); three public companies examined by the Motley Fool this past summer.

However, Ontario is more than just Canada's financial center. Its abundance of resources and location on Great Lakes have made Ontario a manufacturing powerhouse, including steel production and automobile manufacturing in southern Ontario, and mining and forestry in the north. Toronto is Canada's film and media center, as well as an important tourism destination. Niagara Falls is one of world's most popular tourist destinations. Other Ontario companies the Motley Fool liked include Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM), Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE: NT), and IMAX Corp. (NASDAQ: IMAX).

Research in Motion (RIM), Canada's largest public company, is well know for its BlackBerry smart phones, but it also provides software development tools and produces radio-based modems used in portable devices. The consensus recommendation of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is to buy RIM, and has been since April. RIM met analysts' earnings per share estimate when it reported second quarter FY2008 earnings in early October, and Wall Street expects EPS of 62 cents in the third quarter, double the 31 cents actual from a year ago. RIM has a five-year EPS growth rate of 73.5%, easily beating the S&P 500 and the technology sector average. RIM's share price has been climbing since a share split in August, to reach a 52-week high of $128.36 on Tuesday; it opened today at $124.75. Also this week, RIM announced plans to sell the BlackBerry in China, and introduced Facebook for the BlackBerry as well. For more on Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) challenge to RIM and other RIM-related news, see Bloggingstocks' RIM coverage.

Continue reading Investing in Ontario: Research in Motion (RIMM), Nortel Networks (NT), and IMAX (IMAX)

Investing in Ontario: Research in Motion (RIMM), Nortel Networks (NT), and IMAX (IMAX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.