Copper was the darling of commodity traders. The price rallied from about $6,400 per ton to a record $10,190 in the past year, The Financial Times reports. Momentum was strong and it looked like there was no end in sight. But now, prices have dropped off a bit and miners are worried that the rally has hit a brick wall. The main concern is that what drove drove prices skyward -- China's demand -- may be slowing, according to the FT.

One indication of the slowdown is the amount of stocks held in exchange warehouses. At the LME Asia + Shanghai exchange warehouses, copper stocks have increased from below 150,000 to over 325,000 tons. That buildup has worried miners. The companies affected are Freeport MeMoRan (FCX), BHP Billiton (BHP), Xstrada (XSRAF), Anglo American and Brazil's Codelco, according to the Financial Times.

Continue reading Miners Hedge Copper Inventories as Demand from China Slows

Miners Hedge Copper Inventories as Demand from China Slows originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Nvidia (NVDA) to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T), Leap Wireless (LEAP) and MetroPCS (PCS) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Illumina (ILMN) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Sun Bancorp (SNBC) to neutral from sell at Janney Capital.
• American Tower (AMT), SBA Communications (SBAC) and Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALU, BTU, FCX, LEAP, MAR, NTRS, NVDA, PCS, T, VZ ...

Analyst Calls: ALU, BTU, FCX, LEAP, MAR, NTRS, NVDA, PCS, T, VZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Options Update: Freeport-McMoRan Calls Active as Shares Rally on Copper Runup originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Freeport McMoran Copper (FCX) is involved in mining, smelting and refining of coper, gold and molybdenum. The company runs its mining and smelting operations in North and South America, Indonesia and Africa. Freeport competes with other miners such as Southern Copper (SCCO), Codelco and Newmont Mining (NEM).

Freeport's extensive copper mining operations are its biggest source of value - more than 73% of our $63.42 base price estimate for Freeport's stock. Our price estimate currently stands about 25% ahead of market price. The company's mining and production of gold makes up for most of its remaining value. Here we try and explain how the outlook for gold prices in the years to come can affect Freeport's stock price.

Continue reading How Much Glitter Does Gold Add to Freeport's Stock?

How Much Glitter Does Gold Add to Freeport's Stock? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

By now, most investors have heard the rallying cry of this market: "Just buy the dip!" However, the tape has been so strong that it can sometimes be difficult to find substantial dips that provide a good, low-risk entry point to begin building a position. But some potentially promising opportunities do exist. The first of these is an ETF that tracks the Indian stock market -- the iPath MSCI India Index ETN (INP).

This ETF has lost around 13% over the last three months and a little more than 4% during the last month. Year-to-date, it is down more than 14% as Indian stocks have been hurt by interest rate hikes, which have been instituted to try to tame inflation.

Continue reading Buy the Dip: Indian ETF, Freeport-McMoran

Buy the Dip: Indian ETF, Freeport-McMoran originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Heico (HEI) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Eaton (ETN), Silgan Holdings (SLGN), MYR Group (MYRG) and Shaw Group (SHAW) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Infosys (INFY) to buy from Neutral at Nomura.
• Isle of Capri (ISLE) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• NovaGold (NG) to sector perform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• CarMax (KMX) and Rockwell Collins (COL) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• DHT Holdings (DHT) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) to overweight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CB, COL, ETN, FCX, FRO, INFY, KMX, NAT, SHAW, SON ...

Analyst Calls: CB, COL, ETN, FCX, FRO, INFY, KMX, NAT, SHAW, SON ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the surge in copper prices -- and other industrial and precious metals -- it was no surprise that Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) had a great quarter. Net income rose 60% to $1.55 billion or $3.25 per share. Excluding a $0.01 charge, the earnings handily beat the consensus of $3.03. As for the top line, revenues increased 22% to $5.6 billion. The Street estimate was for $5.47 billion.

Despite all this, the stock was off nearly 6% early Thursday. No doubt, one reason is that it has had a strong run over the past few months and the valuation was getting overextended.

Continue reading Freeport-McMoRan's Forecast Overshadows Strong Quarter

Freeport-McMoRan's Forecast Overshadows Strong Quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The earnings season ramps up this week. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters foresee strong reports from such big names as Apple (AAPL), eBay (EBAY), IBM (IBM), General Electric (GE), Google (GOOG), Schlumberger (SLB) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). And fast on the heels of last week's big earnings beat from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), there will be plenty more results from the financial sector to peruse this week.

Among the financials expected to post double-digit earnings growth this week are Capital One Financial (COF), Morgan Stanley (MS), SLM Corp. (SLM) and U.S. Bancorp (USB), but the week's biggest earnings winner may be Wells Fargo (WFC).

Continue reading Week in Preview: Banks in the Earnings Spotlight

Week in Preview: Banks in the Earnings Spotlight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Last year's Chilean earthquake and the recent mine disaster have an important lesson: Countries with really good management should be strongly considered by investors," says Martin Hutchinson.

Hutchinson adds, "Well managed countries will be more efficient. they will use resources and labor better, there will be fewer sink-holes of value destruction in the public sector and the uncompetitive private sector and they will generally be more open to new ideas and new techniques.

Continue reading Investing in Chile: From Mines to Wines

Investing in Chile: From Mines to Wines originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Verisk (VRSK) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Marriott (MAR) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Jefferies upgraded Teekay (TK) and Tsakos Energy (TNP) to Buy from Hold.
• Cadence Design (CDNS) was upgraded to sector perform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded NV Energy (NVE) to buy from underperform and Education Realty Trust (EDR) to neutral from underperform.
• Men's Wearhouse (MW) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel.
• William Blair upgraded Atheros (ATHR) to outperform from market perform.
• Freeport McMoran (FCX) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CTV, CVX, EAT, FCX, ICE, MAR, MW, TRV, WLP ...

Analyst Calls: CTV, CVX, EAT, FCX, ICE, MAR, MW, TRV, WLP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Union Pacific (UNP) and Polycom (PLCM) were upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• LaSalle Hotel (LHO) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Graco (GGG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Valley National (VLY) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Credit Suisse (CS) was upgraded to hold from sell at RBS.
• U.S. Bancorp (USB) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Penn National (PENN) and Riverbed (RVBD) were upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Goodrich (GR) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) upgraded to buy from average at Caris.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMZN, CAKE, CS, EMC, FCX, GR, HOT, K, MAR, TWC, UNP, USB ...

Analyst Calls: AMZN, CAKE, CS, EMC, FCX, GR, HOT, K, MAR, TWC, UNP, USB ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investors will recall the massive rally in the euro which began at the beginning of June when bearish sentiment reached overwhelming levels. Could a similar pattern take place in the U.S. Dollar? If it does, investors who go long the dollar at these levels will be richly rewarded for taking a contrarian stand on the greenback.

The simplest instrument to use in order to gain exposure to a potential dollar rally is likely the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies. The UUP gained 1.70% on Tuesday, potentially signaling a trend reversal. Investors could also consider buying call options on the ETF in order to leverage their upside.

Continue reading Long U.S. Dollar Gains Could Be Substantial If You Buy Now (UUP, GLD, SLV, USO, FCX)

Long U.S. Dollar Gains Could Be Substantial If You Buy Now (UUP, GLD, SLV, USO, FCX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse upgraded AT&T (T) to outperform from neutral and has a $35 target on the stock. Credit Suisse believes the impact from AT&T's loss of iPhone exclusivity will be less than expected and that the stock should benefit from its earnings growth and dividend yield.
• Goldman upgraded Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $94 from $79 based on improving copper fundamentals.
• Benchmark Co. upgraded Valueclick (VCLK) to vuy from hold on expectations Google Instant (GOOG) could drive marketing traffic. The firm raised its target price for Valueclick shares to $15 from $11.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Research In Motion (RIMM) was upgraded to buy from sell at Societe Generale.
• CarMax (KMX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BBY, FCX, KMX, NUE, PRGS, RIMM, T, USG, VCLK, X ...

Analyst Calls: BBY, FCX, KMX, NUE, PRGS, RIMM, T, USG, VCLK, X ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• CLSA upgraded Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to Buy from Sell and has a price target of $85 based on expectations for improved copper prices. The analyst believes China is mostly done with tightening measures and that downside in copper prices is limited.
• Jefferies upgraded Concur Tech (CNQR) to Buy from Hold due to improvements in corporate travel and structural growth drivers from international and SMB. The firm has a price target of $55 on the stock.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded ESCO Technologies (ESE) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company will announce a contract with SoCal Gas within two months. The firm upped its target for shares to $35 from $33.
• Wells Fargo (WFC) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• Human Genome (HGSI) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Brown & Brown (BRO) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.

• Canaccord downgraded Netflix (NFLX) to Hold from Buy following the Q2 report and has a $107 price target on the stock. The firm is growing more cautious on ARPU pricing pressure, higher churn rates and higher SAC.
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Airgas (ARG) to Hold from Buy following the company's Q1 results due to valuation. The firm has a $65 price target for shares. Note shares were also downgraded at Soleil this morning.
• Goldman downgraded Piper Jaffray (PJC) to Neutral from Buy and lowered its price target to $35 from $46. The firm said Piper's ROE remains below peers.
• AMB Property (AMB) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill.
• Odyssey Healthcare (ODSY) was downgraded to Negative from Neutral at Susquehanna.
• Trina Solar (TSL) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James.

• BofA/Merrill started Cognizant Technology (CTSH) with a Neutral rating.
• Stifel Nicolaus initiated Brigham Exploration (BEXP) with a Buy rating and $24 target.
• ThinkEquity assumed Dick's Sporting (DKS) with a Buy rating.
• Petrohawk Energy (HK) was initiated with a Perform rating at Oppenheimer.
• E.ON AG (EONGY) was initiated with a Buy rating at RBS.
• Atlas Energy (ATLS) was initiated with an Outperform rating at BMO Capital.

Analyst Calls: FCX, WFC, HGSI, NFLX, ARG, TSL, CTSH, ATLS, DKS originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Freeport's Pull-Back Continues

Freeport's Pull-Back Continues originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Jefferies upgraded St. Jude (STJ) to buy from hold and raised its target to $49 from $39. The firm cites valuation and the positive impact from the Boston Scientific (BSX) ICD recall for the upgrade. Shares were also upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman, as the firm sees upside for shares into Q1 results.
• RBC Capital upgraded EMC Corp. (EMC) to outperform from sector perform and raised its target to $22 from $21. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and believes the company can meet or modestly beat March quarter expectations.
• Auriga upgraded MetroPCS (PCS) to buy from hold as it believes customer migration away from postpaid to prepaid may be accelerating. The firm raised its target for shares to $9 from $7.
• Caterpillar (CAT) was raised to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• Expedia (EXPE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BBY, CAT, EMC, EXPE, FCX, ICE, NTAP, PCE, STJ, VRTX ...

Analyst Calls: BBY, CAT, EMC, EXPE, FCX, ICE, NTAP, PCE, STJ, VRTX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Freeport McMoRan: Think Copper, Think Profits

Freeport McMoRan: Think Copper, Think Profits originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We recommend Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), which bills itself as "the world's largest publicly-traded copper company". However, it also owns large deposits of gold and molybdenum," says Glenn Rogers.

The contributing analyst to The Internet Wealth Builder adds, "We also recommend BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), an Australian-based mining giant that has diversified into other areas such as crude oil, natural gas, and, most recently, potash in Saskatchewan. Its mineral assets include aluminum, silver, uranium, nickel, iron, diamonds, lead, and more.

Continue reading Material Gains: Freeport (FCX) and BHP Billiton (BHP)

Material Gains: Freeport (FCX) and BHP Billiton (BHP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barrington upgraded Lincoln Electric (LECO) to outperform from market perform to reflect its positive 2010-2012 outlook for the global welding sector. The firm has a $60 price target on shares.
• Merriman upgraded Akamai (AKAM) to buy from neutral as it believes the company's market share losses have stemmed and traffic volume growth should outpace pricing declines.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Blackstone Group (BX) to outperform from perform, citing improving fundamentals and disclosure. The firm set a $20.50 price target on the stock.
  
• Freeport McMoRan (FCX) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Charles River Labs (CRL) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AKAM, BIDU, BX, EXPE, FDX, NFLX, PEP, SPLS, SYA ...

Analyst Calls: AKAM, BIDU, BX, EXPE, FDX, NFLX, PEP, SPLS, SYA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Proshares UltraShort Barc 20 Year Treasury ETF (TBT) closed at $50.01. The Federal Reserve Board raised the rate charged to banks for direct loans by a quarter of a point to 0.75%. TBT March call option implied volatility is at 21, puts at 23; June is at 23, puts at 26; September calls are at 23, puts at 28, below its 26-week average of 32, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Freeport McMoRan (FCX) closed at $76.60. Copper futures are recently down 0.56% according to Bloomberg. March call option implied volatility is at 42, puts at 45; May calls are at 43, puts at 47; verses its 26-week of average of 48, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

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

Options Update: 20 Year Treasury ETF Volatility Low into Rate Hike originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.