Online 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

ValueClick Earnings Preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thursday morning, GPS specialist Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) said it lost a patent dispute with Japanese firm Pioneer Corp. The District Court of Dusseldorf in Germany found that two patents owned by Pioneer were infringed by a certain functionality in Garmin's software.

However, Garmin says it has already worked out "minor software revisions that eliminate the narrow functionality at issue in the litigation." As a result, the company doesn't expect any significant impact on its ability to import and sell its navigational products.

Continue reading Garmin Slumps After Patent Defeat

Garmin Slumps After Patent Defeat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lennar Corp. (LEN) just can't seem to win much respect on Wall Street. Despite well-known fundamental issues within the housing sector, LEN has tallied a year-to-date advance of roughly 35% -- easily topping the 11.4% gain collected by the S&P 500 Index (SPX).

Wall Street seems less than impressed by this technical outperformance, though. Earlier today, S&P Equity downgraded the stock to hold from strong buy, joining six other analysts who maintain a tepid rating on the shares.

Continue reading Outperforming Lennar Shrugs Off Downgrade

Outperforming Lennar Shrugs Off Downgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) will take its turn in the earnings confessional bright and early tomorrow morning, Dec. 9. Analysts are expecting the athletic apparel firm to report a third-quarter profit of 25 cents per share, up from 20 cents per share in the year-ago period. LULU has an impressive track record in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded Wall Street's consensus profit expectations in each of the past four quarters.

The stock has also established itself as a technical outperformer, with LULU rising 82.5% so far in 2010. This impressive ascent has been underlined by reliable support at the stock's 10-week, 20-week, and 50-week moving averages, which have guided LULU higher since July 2009.

Continue reading Can Lululemon Athletica Top Earnings Estimates Again?

Can Lululemon Athletica Top Earnings Estimates Again? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Will TiVo Pop or Drop After Its Q3 Report?

Will TiVo Pop or Drop After Its Q3 Report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mela Sciences (MELA) gapped higher right out of the gate Monday, with the shares surging roughly 12% on Monday morning. Over the weekend, Barron's noted that the stock is "worth a close look ahead of a regulatory vote on Nov. 18," and traders are apparently taking the suggestion to heart.

The financial publication described its opinion on the shares as "cautiously optimistic," explaining that analysts believe MELA could double if its MelaFind device receives the OK from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel this Thursday. However, warned Barron's, a regulatory thumbs-down "could cut the shares in half."

Continue reading Mela Sciences Surges Ahead of FDA Panel

Mela Sciences Surges Ahead of FDA Panel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN) was wallowing in red ink Friday morning, after the fast-food firm confessed to a third-quarter loss and warned that its full-year earnings would arrive at the low end of its previously forecast range. Even more troubling, the restaurateur said it's not yet prepared to offer financial guidance for 2011.

For the recently concluded quarter, Wendy's swallowed a net loss of $900,000 -- which translates to a negligible per-share deficit -- down from its year-ago profit of $14.69 million, or 3 cents per share. Revenue for the period slipped 4.7% to $861.2 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were anticipating a profit of 4 cents per share on $882.6 million in revenue.

Continue reading Wendy's/Arby's Group Sinks After Q3 Loss

Wendy's/Arby's Group Sinks After Q3 Loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading GOP's Gain Could Be First Solar's Loss, Warns JPMorgan

GOP's Gain Could Be First Solar's Loss, Warns JPMorgan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Century Aluminum (CENX) took a dive right out of the gate Wednesday morning, as traders panned the commodity concern's third-quarter results. Tuesday night, CENX confessed to a quarterly loss of $16.8 million, or 18 cents per share, down substantially from its year-ago profit of $40.1 million, or 45 cents per share. Sales for the quarter climbed to $279.2 million, but CENX's bottom line was dented by a $12.2 million mark-to-market loss on forward contracts.

The aluminum issue managed to exceed analysts' consensus revenue forecast of $269.5 million, but the quarterly loss fell well short of Wall Street's prediction for a net profit of 8 cents per share.

Continue reading Century Aluminum Gaps Lower After Q3 Report

Century Aluminum Gaps Lower After Q3 Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Low Expectations for PepsiCo's 3Q Report

Low Expectations for PepsiCo's 3Q Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) is scheduled to take the earnings stage after Wednesday's closing bell, with Wall Street expecting the homebuilder to report a fiscal third-quarter loss of 52 cents per share. This would mark a notable improvement over Hovnanian's year-ago loss of $2.16 per share, but there's no guarantee the company can match analysts' expectations. During the past four quarters, Hovnanian has fallen short of consensus earnings estimates on two occasions.

Accordingly, speculators have been loading up on bearish bets as Hovnanian's quarterly report approaches. The International Securities Exchange (ISE) reports that traders have bought to open 4.64 puts for every call on HOV during the past 10 days, revealing a strong bias toward pessimistically oriented options.

Continue reading Puts Popular Ahead of Earnings from Hovnanian Enterprises

Puts Popular Ahead of Earnings from Hovnanian Enterprises originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bearish sentiment is nearly palpable as Toll Brothers (TOL) prepares to unveil its fiscal third-quarter results. Ahead of the open on Wednesday, Toll Brothers is expected to report a quarterly loss of 14 cents per share -- significantly improved from the homebuilder's year-ago deficit of $2.93 per share.

The company has a dismal track record in the earnings spotlight though, having fallen short of Wall Street's consensus expectations in three of the past four reporting periods. And, judging by recent increases in short interest and buy-to-open put volume, traders are bracing for another disappointing report from Toll Brothers.

Continue reading Low Expectations Ahead of Earnings from Toll Brothers

Low Expectations Ahead of Earnings from Toll Brothers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) attracted a heavy dose of put volume on Friday, with approximately 16,000 contracts crossing the tape. This flurry of activity represented about 19 times the stock's expected daily put volume.

Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE) confirms this bearish bias, with CHRW racking up a single-day put/call volume ratio of 11.62 on the exchange. In other words, traders on the ISE bought to open nearly a dozen puts for every call on Friday.

Continue reading Puts Popular Ahead of Earnings from C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Puts Popular Ahead of Earnings from C.H. Robinson Worldwide originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Weyerhaeuser Strangled Ahead of Earnings

Weyerhaeuser Strangled Ahead of Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hartford Financial Services (HIG) attracted unusually heavy put volume on Wednesday, with 1.7 times the expected number of puts crossing the tape. About 10,000 put options were traded on the insurance issue during the course of yesterday's session, compared to fewer than 8,000 calls that changed hands.

Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE) points to a strongly bearish bias. On Wednesday, options traders on the ISE bought to open 2,554 puts on HIG, while only 339 calls were purchased. The equity's single-day ISE put/call volume ratio of 7.53 underscores a distinct preference for pessimistically oriented options.

Continue reading Options Traders Add Bearish Bets on Hartford Financial Services

Options Traders Add Bearish Bets on Hartford Financial Services originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 May 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Put Spread Players Target Cree

Put Spread Players Target Cree originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 May 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earnings season is winding down, but there are still a few companies that have yet to take their turn in Wall Street's spotlight. Ahead of Monday's opening bell, for-profit education issue Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL) is scheduled to unveil its fiscal second-quarter results.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting Apollo to report a profit of 81 cents per share, up from 77 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Sales for the period are projected to arrive at $1.07 billion.

Continue reading Wall Street Awaits Q2 Earnings from Apollo Group

Wall Street Awaits Q2 Earnings from Apollo Group originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On Thursday, the shares of Crocs, Inc. (CROX) shuffled to a new 52-week high for the second time in as many sessions. The equity topped out at $8.47 on an intraday basis, marking its best price since July 2008. But with the stock hovering near a 20-month peak, can the shares continue to climb -- or are they due for a pullback?

If today's drop of more than 2% is any indication, it seems that CROX's positive momentum is cooling. The stock's Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 63, not far from overbought territory, so this modest retreat isn't terribly surprising.

Continue reading Can Crocs Continue Its Quest for New Highs?

Can Crocs Continue Its Quest for New Highs? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After the closing bell, SunPower Corporation (SPWRA) will take the spotlight to reveal its fourth-quarter earnings. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting the solar concern to report net income of 49 cents per share, down from its year-ago profit of 70 cents per share. Sales for the period are expected to arrive at $491 million.

SunPower has a solid history in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations in three of the past four reporting periods. Judging by a recent uptick in call buying, some traders appear to be anticipating another upside surprise.

Continue reading What's in Store for SunPower After Earnings?

What's in Store for SunPower After Earnings? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) slipped into the red right out of the gate Wednesday morning, as traders reacted to the company's latest round of clinical drug data. HGSI said that its experimental lung cancer drug, mapatumumab, was well-tolerated by patients in a study, but the drug fared no better than a placebo in disease response or progression-free survival.

Full results of the study will be presented "at an appropriate scientific meeting later in 2010," according to a company release.

Continue reading Human Genome Sciences Sags on Downbeat Drug Data

Human Genome Sciences Sags on Downbeat Drug Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.