Continue reading Closing Bell: Buffett Cheers Up Equity Markets

Closing Bell: Buffett Cheers Up Equity Markets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Profit Taking Wednesday (FDX, YRCW, AIG, FDO, C)

Closing Bell: Profit Taking Wednesday (FDX, YRCW, AIG, FDO, C) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

YRC Worldwide (YRCW) is preparing to release its fourth-quarter results, with the company's earnings report scheduled to hit Wall Street before the market opens on Friday, Feb. 5. Analysts are expecting YRCW to swallow a loss of $1.74 per share, wider than the company's year-ago loss of $1.63 per share.

The transportation issue has fallen short of consensus earnings expectations in each of the previous four quarters, which may explain why bearish speculation is on the rise in the days leading up to YRCW's report.

Continue reading Heavy Pessimism on YRC Worldwide Ahead of 4Q Earnings

Heavy Pessimism on YRC Worldwide Ahead of 4Q Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

At long last, trucking company YRC Worldwide (YRCW) announced that it completed its debt-for-equity swap, wiping out $470 million in debt in the process. The deadline on the exchange was extended numerous times, with the firm attempting to defer payment of $19 million in fees and interest and gain access to $159.8 million in revolver reserves.

As of 11:59 PM Wednesday, a total of 88% of the notes had been tendered, up from 81% the previous day. Thanks to the eleventh-hour success of the debt-for-equity swap, YRCW said it "will be open for business as usual on Monday." Previously, the trucking issue warned that it might face a bankruptcy filing unless it addressed its serious liquidity problems.

Continue reading YRC Worldwide Completes Debt-for-Equity Swap, Finally

YRC Worldwide Completes Debt-for-Equity Swap, Finally originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: FOMC keeps the euphoria going (C, JASO, YRCW, NOK, TOL)

Closing Bell: FOMC keeps the euphoria going (C, JASO, YRCW, NOK, TOL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, YRC Worldwide and Syniverse were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Soleil upgraded shares of Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) to Buy from Hold on improving fundamentals, as they believe the economic stimulus package should drive consumer demand in 2H08.
  
• Stephens upgraded shares of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Overweight from Underweight as they believe management is making meaningful changes.
  
• Syniverse (NYSE: SVR) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan. The firm upgraded shares based on accelerating organic growth from consumer wireless data usage.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Buy from Hold.
  
• VASCO Data Security (NASDAQ: VDSI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  
• Goldman upgraded Lukoil (OTC: LUKOY) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, YRC Worldwide, Syniverse originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 May 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

YRC Worldwide is ready for the long haul originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Goodrich (NYSE: GR), a supplier of components, systems and services to the commercial and general aviation airplane markets, is recently up $1.14 to $68.20 on unconfirmed takeover chatter. GR has market of $8.4 billion with long term debt of $1.7 billion. GR October 70 calls have traded 41 times on transaction volume of 884 contracts above its open interest of 449 contracts. GR October option implied volatility of 29 is above its 26-week average of 25 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW), a transportation holding company with brands including Yellow Transportation, Roadway, Reimer Express, Meridian IQ, New Penn, USF Holland and USF Reddaway, is recently up $0.45 to $28.25 on unconfirmed chatter Deutsche Post has made a $41 bid for YRCW. YRCW has a market cap of $1.5 billion with $903 million in long-term debt. YRCW call option volume of 5,697 contracts compares to put volume of 319 contracts. YRCW October option implied volatility of 45 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

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

Option update: Goodrich (GR) & YRC Worldwide (YRCW) call volume & volatility up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FedEx cuts fuel surcharge 25% amid soaring energy prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• BWS Financial cut Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares to Sell from Hold on valuation.

• YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) was assumed with an Underweight rating, down from Neutral, as JP Morgan is cautious on the industry's L-T-L pricing.

• UBS downgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.

• Gabelli downgraded shares of Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) to Hold from Buy to reflect their expectation of increasing competition for some of the company's key titles.

• Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at HSBC on valuation.

• Matrix believes the prolonged weakness in the housing market is eliminating economic profits and cut KB Home (NYSE: KBH) to Strong Sell from Sell...

• Citigroup and ABN Amro cut Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RTP) to Hold from Buy.

• Merrill Lynch downgraded J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM) to Sell from Neutral.

• First Albany downgraded shares of Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) to Neutral from Buy.

• Matrix downgraded Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) to Hold from Buy.

• AG Edwards downgraded Aetna (NYSE: AET) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades 7-16-07: AMZN, ATVI, RTP, SNDK and YRCW originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia downgraded YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Market Perform from Outperform citing the challenging LTL freight environment and continued integration issues.

• UBS downgraded shares of BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Neutral from Buy on valuation as they believe expectations for a takeover or investor activism is already priced into shares.

• Matrix believes Isle of Capri (NASDAQ: ISLE) is expensive on a performance-adjusted basis and recommends investors sell shares into the recent rally, downgrading shares to Sell from Hold.

• JP Morgan cut Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO) to Underweight from Neutral on valuation.

• JMP Securities downgraded Avaya (NYSE: AV) to Market Perform from Strong Buy, as the firm doesn't expect a superior offer to the Silver Lake/TPG bid...

• MicroChip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Baird downgraded Authorize.net Holdings (NASDAQ: ANET) to Neutral from Outperform.

• Morgan Keegan downgraded Inter-Tel Inc (NASDAQ: INTL) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Stifel cut Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment (NYSE: DDE) to Sell from Hold.

Analyst downgrades 6-19-07: AV, BEAS, CCE and YRCW originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)

This week's rumor round-up: Will Amazon overpay for Netflix? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Online's "Inside Scoop" column reported that Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) CEO John Hess recently bought more $1M worth of Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), and now directly owns 23,350 DOW shares.
• The Financial Times reported that the European Union is concerned that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) may be skirting European privacy laws by keeping data on Internet searches for too long.

• The U.S. Navy awarded an $11.9M contract to Force Protection Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) to build and deliver 14 next-generation armored vehicles, according to the Associated Press.
• From BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" section:
  
• In spite of its problems, Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a long-term value play, according to Joseph Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck's Washington Crossing Advisors unit.
• Bioenvision Inc (NASDAQ: BIVN) is attracting big investors because the company has teamed up with biotech biggie Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) to develop clofarabine, a treatment for leukemia in children.
  
• Big truckers see YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW) as a tempting asset play with "compelling earnings power and potential value," according to Justin Yagerman of Wachovia Securities.

Newspaper wrap-up 5-25-07: Google being looked at by EU originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 May 2007 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• CA World 2007 to be held in Las Vegas
• L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LLL) to report Q1 earnings, conference call at 10 a.m.

• Defense companies Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) to report Q1 earnings.
• Low-cost airline Jetblue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) to report Q1 earnings. Will Jetblue follow Southwest Airlines Co.'s (NYSE: LUV) disappointing report (which caused two analyst downgrades)? Or is the recent increased investment buy George Soros a sign that Jetblue is doing better?
• Alternative Energy Conference, hosted by Friedland Investment Events, to be held in NY.

• The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:30 a.m. Will Boeing discuss Airbus's decision to halve the price of its A350 planes in order to become more competitive with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner?
• Market darling Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will also report Q2 earnings, conference call at 5 p.m.

• XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10 a.m. Investors will look for any comments relating to the state of the potential merger with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI).

• YRC Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30 a.m.

Market highlights for next week: Apple one of many co's reporting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Prudential started YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW) with an Underweight rating and $41 target. The firm said recent organizational changes could be a distraction in what it expects to be a challenging first-half of 2007.

• Susquehanna views Baidu.com Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) as a strategic holding in its China portfolio and expects the company's massive brand value to drive continuous growth; shares were initiated at Susquehanna with a Positive rating.

• Oppenheimer initiated three e-commerce names today:
  
• eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) was initiated with a Buy rating and $38 target
• Overstock.com, Inc (NASDAQ: OSTK) and Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) were initiated with Neutral ratings.

• In addition to YRC Worldwide, Prudential initiated several companies in the transportation sector:
  
• Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW) was started with an Underweight rating and $47 target
  
• Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) were initiated with Overweight ratings
  
• Canadian National Railway (NYSE: CNI) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $47 target.

• Jefferies initiated Forest Oil Corp (NYSE: FST) with a Buy rating and $42 target.

• Citigroup believes aQuantive, Inc (NASDAQ: AQNT) will be one of the key beneficiaries of the strong secular growth in online advertising and they note that shares are trading in the lower half of its 52-week range; shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $33 target.

Analyst initiations 3-06-07: eBay, Amazon.com & YRC Worldwide initiated today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded shares of Nokia Corp ADS (NYSE: NOK) to Buy from Neutral and added the company to their Conviction Buy List. Goldman believes Nokia's profit cycle has bottomed and shares could rebound from current levels. In addition, the broker expects Nokia to report solid fourth-quarter earnings.

• JP Morgan upgraded Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings 'A' (NASDAQ: XMSR) to Overweight from Neutral as they believe retail and competition fears are largely understood and that both companies will grow subscribers due to deals with automakers.

• Wachovia upgraded YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) to Outperform to Market Perform citing the trucker's recent realignment actions in its regional and long-haul LTL's, the timing cycle to buy trucking stocks and valuation.

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) to Overweight from Neutral, citing valuation.

• Prudential upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch Co 'A' (NYSE: ANF) to Overweight from Neutral and raised their target to $89 from $66, citing valuation and easier comps.

Analyst upgrades 1-16-07: Nokia gets the call originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Magazine (subscription required) highlighted a number of possible M&A targets, along with a few stocks it believes to be undervalued:
• M&A is expected to continue in Europe: possible large cap targets include Barclays (NYSE: BCS), Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN), Volkswagen (OTC: VLKAY), Koninklljke (NYSE: KPN) and Swisscom (NYSE: SCM); possible small-mid cap targets include Hellenic Telecom (NYSE: OTE).
  
• There may still be upside in shares of Xerox (NYSE: XRX), says James Benson, a partner and securities analyst at Harris Associates.
• Shares of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) may be undervalued by as much as 50%, says Barron's "Bottom Line," which writes that shares could climb above $60.
• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) featured an article on Pfizer's new CEO and his strategic plan.
• Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) new CEO, Jeffrey B. Kindler, is preparing to detail his strategic vision for the company that will likely involve more job cuts.
• Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is claiming a nanotechnology research breakthrough that would bring big benefits in performance.
• According to a Nomura report, Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE) will reach only 75% of its global target for PlayStation 3 sales this fiscal year through March.
• The New York Times had an article highlighting the possibility of New York funding stem cell research.
• New York Governor Eliot Spitzer called for the passage of a $2B 10-year bond initiative for research and development, at least half of which would be set aside to pay for stem cell research.
• Citigroup (NYSE: C) may shorten its name to Citi and drop its umbrella logo.

• The UK Times wrote that Ford (NYSE: F) may have trouble selling its Aston Martin unit after potential buyers found problems in the divisions books while doing due diligence.
• El Pais wrote that Fidel Castro is in "very grave" condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection known as diverticulitis.

Newspaper wrap-up 1-16-07: Fidel Castro in "very grave" condition originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Circuit City (CC), Best Buy (BBY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) top today's list of downgrades.

• Prudential downgraded Circuit City Stores Inc. (NYSE:CC) to Underweight from Neutral, with a $22 target, citing concerns of flat-panel TV price erosion and the high cost structure as compared with Best Buy and other retailers.
• In addition, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) was also downgraded by the firm to Neutral from Overweight with a $50 target, citing third-quarter margins that were below expectations.
• Credit Suisse removed Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) from their U.S. Focus List.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded L-T-L transporters JB Hunt Transportation Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) and YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:YRCW), citing valuation.
• Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) was downgraded at Bernstein to Market Perform from Outperform, based on the lower subs forecasts and the fact that Sirius is more reliant in the retail after-market than competitor XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:XMSR).
• AG Edwards downgraded Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU) to Sell from Hold, citing the DRAM pricing risk; the firm said prices are currently running at more than twice its projected trend and it sees a risk of a correction in the next few months.

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

Analyst downgrades 12-13-06: Best Buy, Sirius, Eli Lilly originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Prudential is hitting the large electronics sellers after Best Buy numbers disappointed yesterday. The firm cut Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) to Neutral and Circuit City (NYSE:CC) to Underweight.

Staples Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS), Orthfix (NASDAQ:OFIX), and Office Max Inc. (NYSE:OMX) were all initiated with a Buy at Banc of America.

Trucker valuations are a concern at Deutsche Bank: YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ:YRCW) and J.B.Hunt (NASDAQ:JBHT) were both cut to Hold because of excessive valuation despite the private equity and management buyouts in the sector.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods announced a competing call by starting American Express (NYSE:AXP) as an Outperform and MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA) as an Underperform (MA trading down almost 0.5% on this rating call).

Full list of research calls here.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St, LLC. He dows not own securities in the companies he covers.

Pre-market analyst calls 12-13-06: Best Buy and Circuit City downgraded originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 08:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Notable companies downgraded today include Tyco Int'l (TYC), 3M Co (MMM) and Yum! Brands (YUM):

• Prudential downgraded Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE:TYC) to Underweight from Neutral with a $26 target, expecting catch-up reinvestment to impact near-term value after the first-quarter break-up;
• 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight with a $84 target at Prudential, as they believe it will take some time for the company to regain its premium valuation as economies in Europe and North America slow;
• additionally, Wachovia downgraded Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM) to Market Perform from Outperform, citing slowing sales momentum in the U.S. as well as the sales impact from the E. coli/Taco Bell outbreak, which could affect sales significantly.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:YRCW) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus and BB&T, and to Neutral from Outperform at Robert Baird; the downgrades reflect the slowing freight-market demand.
• Integrated Device Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:IDTI) was downgraded to Sell from Source of Funds at ThinkEquity, citing near-term trends, the softer-than-expected outlook for March and expectations for increased competition in AMBs.

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

Analyst downgrades 12-8-06: 3M, Tyco downgraded to Neutral, Yum! to Market Perform originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Dec 2006 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.