TechnicalAnalysis posts
FeedPosted Nov 16th 2009 2:00PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Good news, Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Options, Technical Analysis

Sprint Nextel (
S) reported this morning that it
paid off an outstanding loan worth $1 billion on its $4.5 billion revolving credit facility. As a result, the wireless company no longer has an outstanding balance on its revolving credit facility. At the end of the third quarter, Sprint had $5.9 billion on hand in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, plus $1.6 billion in borrowing capacity under its revolving bank credit facility.
In other Sprint news this morning, Sprint shares were upped from "neutral" to "outperform" at Credit Suisse. Analyst Jonathan Chaplin set his price target at $6, asserting that the company will benefit from cost cutting, stronger sales of prepaid service, and improved customer retention trends. Sprint's stock settled Friday at $3.10, so Chaplin's price target implies expected upside of nearly 94%.
Continue reading Sprint Nextel scores upgrade, pays off $1B loan
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 9:45AM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Polo Ralph Lauren'A' (RL)

This morning,
Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE:
RL) reported that its second-quarter earnings
checked in at $178 million. This profit comes out to $1.75 per diluted share compared to $1.58 per diluted share for the same quarter last year. For the first six months of fiscal 2010, RL saw net income drop a percentage point, to $254 million. Per-share income totaled $2.51 per share, which was equal to those from a year ago.
RL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Lauren, noted that the results "confirm the resilience and vitality of our strategy and demonstrate the superb execution of our management team." The company noted that results have exceeded its expectations for the first half and upped its sales projections for the remainder of the year.
Continue reading Polo Ralph Lauren sees second-quarter income increase
Posted Oct 7th 2009 2:20PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Good news, Costco Wholesale (COST), Options

Wall Street is cheering the latest earnings report from
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:
COST), with the shares adding more than 3% within the first hour of trading. This morning, as Tom Johansmeyer reported, the wholesale club reported a 6% slide in
fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, but the results nevertheless exceeded analysts' expectations.
In the wake of COST's report, analyst Brian Sozzi of Wall Street Strategies reiterated his Buy rating and $66 price target on the equity. "In our view, 4Q09 will go a long way in supporting a higher valuation for Costco," wrote Sozzi in a research note this morning. "The company has managed to control costs, drive traffic to its warehouses consistently throughout the economic downturn, paid $300 million in annual dividends in FY09 (payout ratio of 26.0% second to only Wal-Mart in the sector), and has catalysts on the horizon to showcase earnings power above currently modeled for consensus EPS."
Continue reading Costco Wholesale surges after topping 4Q expectations
Posted Oct 6th 2009 4:45PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, PepsiCo (PEP), Options
Snacks-and-soda stalwart PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is scheduled to unveil its third-quarter results before the market opens this Thursday, Oct. 8. Heading into the report, analysts are expecting PEP to bank a profit of $1.02 per share, according to Thomson Reuters, fractionally lower than its year-ago earnings of $1.06 per share.
PepsiCo has a healthy history in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations in each of the previous three quarters. Judging by recent option activity, traders are speculating on another upside surprise from the Frito-Lay firm.
Continue reading Earnings preview: Shorts seem nervous ahead of PepsiCo's 3Q
Posted Oct 1st 2009 10:30AM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Activision Inc (ATVI), Technical Analysis
Bright and early this morning, Goldman Sachs downgraded gaming guru Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) from Conviction Buy to Buy. In a note to clients, the brokerage firm explained that it sees greater relative potential for near-term price appreciation in other stocks. Goldman maintains a six-month price target of $16 on ATVI, implying expected upside of more than 29% from the shares' closing price on Wednesday.
ATVI is a ripe target for downgrades, if only because analysts are so lopsidedly optimistic toward the "Guitar Hero" parent. Zacks reports that the equity has attracted no fewer than 18 Strong Buy recommendations, plus two Buys -- with not a single Hold, Sell, or Strong Sell to be found.
Continue reading Activision Blizzard booted from Conviction Buy list
Posted Aug 26th 2009 2:45PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, Earnings reports, Bad news
Isle of Capri Casinos (NASDAQ: ISLE) is getting hammered today in the wake of its latest earnings report. This morning, the company reported that it swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit of $900,000, or 3 cents per share, while revenue for the period slipped 6.3% to $259.9 million. The results were far worse than expected, with consensus estimates on Wall Street predicting a profit of 13 cents per share on $273 million in revenue.
On the cost-cutting front, ISLE's previously planned departure from the international market is on pace, reported Chairman and CEO James B. Perry. "... we remain on track to exit our international operations in the near term, as we will exit the Bahamas no later than October 31, and expect to exit our remaining UK operations by the end of the calendar year."
Continue reading Bears punish Isle of Capri Casinos after disappointing earnings
Posted Aug 19th 2009 3:00PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Rumors, Citigroup Inc. (C), Federal Reserve, Financial Crisis

A report today in
Financial Times suggests that "U.S. regulators put direct pressure on
Citigroup (NYSE:
C) to replace its finance chief only weeks before his surprise departure." As part of a June-dated agreement with regulatory officials, Citi reportedly agreed to consider replacing CFO Ned Kelly prior to October, says the newspaper. Upon learning of the pact, Kelly tendered his resignation. (He later accepted a new role as the bank's vice chairman.)
Neither Citigroup nor regulatory officials have publicly confirmed or denied the reports of government meddling. However, it would hardly be the first time that the U.S. has clamped down on Citi, in which it now holds a 34% stake. Earlier this year, the banking issue opted not to accept delivery of a new corporate jet, following a rather strong suggestion from President Obama.
Continue reading U.S. regulators reportedly pressured Citigroup to oust CFO
Posted Aug 11th 2009 9:50AM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, SEC filings, Bad news, CIT Group (CIT)
As if there weren't sufficient causes already to refer to CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) as "beleaguered," the list just got longer. This morning, the financial services firm delayed filing its second-quarter report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), citing the ongoing restructuring of its debt as a mitigating factor.
Specifically, CIT told the regulatory agency that it could not meet Monday's 10-Q deadline "without unreasonable effort and expense," since executives have been spending most of their time lately attending to restructuring needs. The company is expecting a second-quarter loss in excess of $1.5 billion, thanks in large part to a loss totaling $2.1 billion from its discontinued home-lending operations.
Continue reading CIT Group plummets on going concern doubts, Chapter 11 threat
Posted Jul 27th 2009 2:40PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Deals, Options, Commodities
El Paso Corporation (NYSE:
EP) reported this morning that Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) has agreed to
invest $700 million in EP's Ruby Pipeline project, which will transport natural gas from the Rocky Mountain region to the Western United States. Under the terms of the deal, GIP will receive a 50% equity interest in three major traunches of the project.
News of the lucrative investment has propelled EP to a gain of 1.7%, despite a downside bias in the broader equities market. The shares are positioned above support at their 10-week and 20-week moving averages, but potential resistance lies overhead in the $11 region. This area previously capped the stock's rally attempt in mid-June.
Continue reading El Paso scores $700M pipeline investment
Posted Jul 17th 2009 1:00PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Southwest Airlines (LUV), Options
Late Thursday, Moody's Investors Service announced that it might downgrade its credit ratings for Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV). In a statement, the ratings agency said the airline's Baa1 senior unsecured rating is at risk, due to the likelihood of weak demand trends persisting into 2010.
The downgrade warning comes shortly after LUV slashed airfares dramatically to remain competitive, with some one-way flights running as low as $30 during a recent promotion. "Even with the benefits of Southwest's advantageous cost structure, the current yield environment is likely to challenge Southwest to restore credit metrics to levels supportive of the current rating," said Moody's in a statement.
In addition to the fundamental concerns cited by Moody's, LUV is also facing some challenges on the charts. The stock has shed 52.8% during the past 52 weeks, and long-term resistance from its 10-month moving average looms directly overhead. This trendline hasn't been toppled on a monthly closing basis since September 2008.
Continue reading Southwest Airlines warned of possible Moody's downgrade
Posted Jul 16th 2009 12:00PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Cypress Semiconductor (CY), Options
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY) joined the parade of companies reporting their latest quarterly results today. The firm swallowed a second-quarter loss of $45.3 million, or 32 cents per share. Excluding items, CY recorded a net loss of just 3 cents per share, besting analysts' consensus expectations for a loss of 9 cents per share. Revenue also came in better than expected, arriving at $155.8 million, compared to Wall Street's forecast of $152.0 million.
In the wake of this upside surprise, CY surged to a new multi-decade high of $9.83 early in today's session. It seems that bearish bettors were caught off-guard by the stronger-than-expected results; during the 10 days leading up to the report, option traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 6.75 times more puts than calls on CY. Speculative investors on the ISE have purchased the stock's puts over calls at faster pace just 3% of the time.
Continue reading Cypress Semiconductor hits multi-year high after earnings
Next Page >