technical Analysis posts

Feed

Best Buy Singled Out for a Ratio Call Spread Ahead of Earnings

Best Buy (BBY) logoBest Buy (BBY) is scheduled to unveil its fourth-quarter results Thursday morning, with analysts anticipating a profit of $1.85 per share -- little changed from the big box retailer's year-ago earnings of $1.82 per share. Best Buy has been hot-and-cold on the earnings front; during the past four quarters, the company has topped consensus bottom-line estimates twice, and fallen short on two other occasions.

Ahead of the quarterly report, one options player built a bullishly biased spread on BBY. Right after the opening bell Wednesday morning, the trader purchased 358 April 32 calls, and simultaneously sold 716 April 35 calls. In other words, two April 35 calls were sold for every one purchased April 32 call. This strategy is known as a ratio call spread, and it's typically used by traders who are bullish on the underlying equity -- but with a very specific upside target in mind.

Continue reading Best Buy Singled Out for a Ratio Call Spread Ahead of Earnings

Long-Term Puts are Popular on Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) logoNatural gas giant Chesapeake Energy (CHK) has been in the headlines lately, with the stock attracting attention due to a substantial asset sale earlier this week. Plus, just Friday morning, CHK scored an upgrade to buy at Canaccord Genuity. The shares have gained ground as a result, with the equity up more than 13% from last Friday's close. However, bearish bets were the options of choice on CHK this morning.

Within the first hour of Friday's session, more than 5,000 puts were exchanged on CHK's January 2012 35-strike put. The majority of these puts traded near the ask price, indicating they were most likely purchased. With CHK hovering just shy of $35 at last look, these long-term options are right at the money.

Continue reading Long-Term Puts are Popular on Chesapeake Energy

ValueClick Earnings Preview

ValueClick (VCLK) logoOnline marketing specialist ValueClick (VCLK) is scheduled to unveil its fourth-quarter earnings after Tuesday's closing bell. Ahead of the announcement, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating a profit of 23 cents per share, on average, which would represent an improvement over ValueClick's year-ago earnings of 18 cents per share.

ValueClick has a strong history in the earnings spotlight, having surpassed analysts' bottom-line expectations in each of the past four quarters. However, a quick scan of the stock's sentiment backdrop reveals a nearly palpable pessimism among both traders and analysts.

Continue reading ValueClick Earnings Preview

Avon Products Pulls Back After Q4 Report

Avon (AVP) logoCosmetics giant Avon Products (AVP) unveiled its fourth-quarter earnings this morning, and the results fell short of Wall Street's expectations. AVP's quarterly profit slipped 15% to $229.5 million, or 53 cents per share. Excluding restructuring expenses, earnings from continuing operations declined to 59 cents per share from 68 cents in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 1.2% to $3.18 billion.

By contrast, analysts were looking for a profit of 67 cents per share on revenue of $3.28 billion. AVP's fourth-quarter performance was negatively impacted by currency fluctuations, as well as higher product costs.

Continue reading Avon Products Pulls Back After Q4 Report

Betting Against Retail with an XRT Put Spread

A parade of retailers reported their January same-store sales figures on Thursday morning, and the results were actually much better than expected. The aggregate 4.2% rise in monthly sales easily surpassed analysts' expectations, leading to a solidly bullish session for the SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

However, not everyone was won over by January's stronger-than-forecast sales data. Around midday on Thursday, one skeptical options trader initiated a long put spread on the XRT, in an attempt to capitalize on expected weakness in the retail-based fund.

Continue reading Betting Against Retail with an XRT Put Spread

Level 3 Dives Following Earnings Release

Level 3 (LVLT) logoShares of Level 3 Communications (LVLT) have taken a turn for the worse, after the firm's fourth-quarter earnings report landed with a thud. The company confessed to a net loss of $52 million, or 3 cents per share, narrowed from its year-ago deficit of $182 million, or 11 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter declined to $921 million from $924 million.

The results actually surpassed Wall Street's consensus forecast, which called for a net loss of 10 cents per share on revenue of $920.1 million. However, traders seem none too pleased with Level 3's earnings performance, as the stock plummeted roughly 7% Wednesday morning. In particular, it seems the market may be taking issue with Level 3's warning that it expects free cash flow to be negative for fiscal 2011.

Continue reading Level 3 Dives Following Earnings Release

Straddle Player Bets on Big Volatility for PowerShares QQQ Trust

tradersIn the wake of Friday's drastic pullback in the stock market, it looks like at least one trader is banking on more short-term volatility. Bright and early Monday, a spread speculator constructed a long straddle on the PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ), with the trader hoping to capitalize on a substantial price swing over the next several weeks.

Specifically, the trader purchased a block of 1,205 February 56 calls, and simultaneously bought a matching block of 1,205 February 56 puts. QQQQ was hovering right at $55.69 at the time of these transactions, placing both strikes very near the money.

Continue reading Straddle Player Bets on Big Volatility for PowerShares QQQ Trust

Dissecting a Long-Term Bullish Bet on Lowe's Companies

Lowe's logoWithin the first hour of Thursday's session, call volume on Lowe's Companies (LOW) skyrocketed to about 41,000 contracts -- or nearly seven times the equity's expected daily call volume. Checking out the major block trades of the morning, it looks as though a single trader is responsible for much of this option activity.

Specifically, a block of 13,000 contracts changed hands at the ask price of $1.18 on LOW's January 2012 30-strike call, suggesting they were purchased. At the same time, a matching block of 13,000 contracts traded on the equity's January 2012 35-strike call, but these options crossed the tape at the bid price of $0.31 -- indicating they were sold.

Continue reading Dissecting a Long-Term Bullish Bet on Lowe's Companies

Juniper Networks Jumps Higher After Q4 Earnings Beat

Juniper Networks (JNPR) is on the upswing, with the stock catching a 6% boost Wednesday morning on the heels of a well-received fourth-quarter earnings report. Juniper reported a quarterly profit of $190.2 million, or 35 cents per share, substantially improved from its year-ago results of $22.9 million, or 4 cents per share. Excluding items, earnings improved to 42 cents from 32 cents per share on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, revenue for the quarter increased 26% to $1.19 billion. Gross margin retreated slightly, falling to 66.6% from 67.1%.

Continue reading Juniper Networks Jumps Higher After Q4 Earnings Beat

McDonald's Dips After Weak December Sales

McDonald's (MCD)Blue-chip burger baron McDonald's (MCD) was in focus Monday morning after the company unveiled its fourth-quarter earnings. The fast-food chain reported net income of $1.24 billion, or $1.16 per share, slightly improved from its year-ago profit of $1.22 billion, or $1.11 per share. Revenue for the quarter climbed 4% to $6.21 billion.

The fourth-quarter results were more or less in line with Wall Street's expectations, but the same can't be said of its December sales. Global same-store sales rose 3.7% across the board, led by an 8.9% gain in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA). U.S. same-store sales increased 2.6% in December, while sales at restaurants open at least 13 months declined 0.5% in Europe.

Continue reading McDonald's Dips After Weak December Sales

Bank of America Posts $1.24 Billion Loss for Fourth Quarter

Early Friday morning, Bank of America (BAC) reported a fourth-quarter loss of 16 cents per share ($1.2 billion). This includes the company's previously announced goodwill impairment charge of $2 billion that was related to its home loans and insurance business. Taking this charge out of the equation, BAC earned 4 cents per share. It could be an interesting morning for BAC, as experts predicted earnings of 18 cents per share.

Shares of BAC were down more than 2% as we await the opening bell. This drop should push the stock low enough to mount a serious challenge to the support of both BAC's 20-month moving average and the $14 level.

Continue reading Bank of America Posts $1.24 Billion Loss for Fourth Quarter

Seagate Technology Earnings Meet Expectations

After the closing bell sounded Wednesday, Seagate Technology (STX) reported its second-quarter results. The tech firm announced that it logged non-GAAP earnings of 33 cents per share ($159 million). The firm's earnings of 33 cents per share matched the consensus estimate, as did the firm's quarterly revenue of $2.72 billion.

STX also reported its performance during the six-month period that ended on Dec. 31, 2010. During this time, the firm's GAAP basis revenue was $5.4 billion, gross margin was 19.9%, net income totaled $299 million, and diluted earnings hit 61 cents per share.

Continue reading Seagate Technology Earnings Meet Expectations

State Street Takes a Hit After Q4 Report

Financial services firm State Street Corp. (STT) reported this morning that its fourth-quarter profit fell 84% to $81 million, or 16 cents per share, from its year-ago earnings of $498 million, or $1 per share. However, ex-items earnings arrived at 87 cents per share, up from 71 cents on a year-over-year basis. Revenue for the period slipped 10% to $2.04 billion, but rose 9.6% to $2.28 billion on an operating basis.

The adjusted results surpassed analysts' expectations, which called for a profit of 86 cents per share on revenue of $2.14 billion. However, traders seem less than pleased by STT's quarterly results. The stock gapped lower with the sound of Wednesday's opening bell, falling to a loss of about 4% in early trading.

Continue reading State Street Takes a Hit After Q4 Report

Spread Speculator Bets on Additional Upside for Nvidia

The shares of Nvidia (NVDA) have been tearing up the charts in 2011, thanks to a lucrative settlement with Intel (INTC) and a high-profile new partnership with ARM Holdings (ARMH). The month of January isn't quite half-over yet, but the stock is already sitting on a year-to-date gain of 51.6%.

Judging by at least one headline hitting the wires, the stock's rapid rise is making some analysts nervous. However, on Wednesday, one upbeat options trader placed a bet on additional upside from NVDA during the near term.

Continue reading Spread Speculator Bets on Additional Upside for Nvidia

LeapFrog Takes a Nosedive on Weak FY Forecast

LeapFrog (LF) logoLeapFrog Enterprises (LF) plummeted more than 25% this morning, after the company warned that its full-year earnings will fall below Wall Street's expectations. The maker of educational toys expects to bank a profit of 3 cents to 6 cents per share for fiscal 2010, way below analysts' consensus estimate of 28 cents per share.

"After a solid start to the holiday season, demand softened late in the quarter relative to our expectations," explained CEO Bill Chiasson. "While sales of interactive reading products continued to grow at retail, the growth was less than we had forecasted and contributed to lower earnings growth than expected."

Continue reading LeapFrog Takes a Nosedive on Weak FY Forecast

Next Page >

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 12, 2012: 08:30 AM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

18.875-0.255(-1.33)

Alcoa

10.29-0.35(-3.29)

Apple Inc

493.42+0.25(+0.05)

Google Inc 'A'

605.91-5.55(-0.91)

Bank of America

8.07-0.11(-1.34)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.90-0.06(-0.10)

Exxon Mobil Corp

83.80-1.08(-1.27)

Ford

12.44-0.25(-1.97)

Citigroup

32.925-0.735(-2.18)

IBM

192.42-0.71(-0.37)

Yahoo

16.14+0.14(+0.88)

Starbucks

48.82-0.38(-0.77)

Microsoft

30.495-0.275(-0.89)

Home Depot

45.33+0.06(+0.13)

DailyFinance Headlines

AOL Business News

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Sponsored Links

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

Page Loaded in 1329053439661 ms.