Continue reading Closing Bell: The Bulls Just Keep Coming Back, Again and Again (CIEN, UNH, C, INTC, PEIX)

Closing Bell: The Bulls Just Keep Coming Back, Again and Again (CIEN, UNH, C, INTC, PEIX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Kicking Off Earnings Season, With a Thud (AA, MMR, EXXI, AOL, PEIX, CYCC, MNKD)

Closing Bell: Kicking Off Earnings Season, With a Thud (AA, MMR, EXXI, AOL, PEIX, CYCC, MNKD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Barron's sees ethanol stocks poised for a rebound

Barron's sees ethanol stocks poised for a rebound originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Lehman initiated the Retail Hardlines Sector with a Neutral. The firm initiated coverage of Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) with Overweight ratings and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) and Williams Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) with Equal Weight ratings.
  
• Oppenheimer initiated Aventine Renewable (NYSE: AVR), Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) and VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE) with Perform ratings. The firm is cautious on the industry due to higher feedstock costs.
  
• UBS initiated Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) and Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) with Buy ratings and an $11 target and $62 target, respectively. The firm views valuation as attractive.

• Morgan Stanley assumed coverage of International Flavors (NYSE: IFF) with an Overweight rating.
  
• Wachovia initiated CGI Group (NYSE: GIB) with a Market Perform rating.
  
• Leap Wireless (LEAP) was initiated at RBC Capital with a Sector Perform rating and $55 target.

Analyst initiations: U.S. retail hardlines, biofuels, IPG and OMC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will ethanol be able to keep getting funding? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX), the largest West Coast-based marketer and producer of ethanol, closed at $4.64 on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs said on November 27: "We are adding PEIX to the Americas Sell List, as we believe that ethanol equities will continue to lag the energy sector and broader stock market." PEIX overall option implied volatility of 75 is above its 26-week average of 50 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE) operates as an ethanol producer. VSE closed at $10.14 on Tuesday. Friedman Billings says: "Sources tell us House staff hope to complete draft energy legislation today with hopes of a Floor vote next week. Proposed RFS increases exceed existing expectations for near-year corn ethanol legislative demand increases." VSE overall option implied volatility of 64 is above its 26-week average of 53 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE: AVR) a producer, marketer and end-to-end distributor of ethanol. Corn futures are down 0.56% to 398.50 and WTI Crude futures are at 94.48 according to Bloomberg. AVR overall option implied volatility of 75 is above its 26-week average of 57 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

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

Option update: Ethanol producers volatility up as shares at record lows originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) recently received an unexpected call from a "prominent investment banker" inquiring about a merger with Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); it was rejected outright, and Citi instead turned to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a part of the Abu Dhabi government, for a $7.5B cash infusion, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• As ethanol demands forced up food prices, and with questions about its capacity to be a significant oil substitute, demand has slowed, according to the Wall Street Journal, which doesn't help the prospects of newly public companies such as VeraSun Energy Corporation (NYSE: VSE) and Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ: PEIX).
• The Financial Times reported that the SRM hedge fund increased its stake in British bank Northern Rock to 8.5% yesterday, probably in order to block Virgin Group from taking over the lender. SRM and RAB Capital, with a combined stake in Northern Rock of more than 15%, are backing a rival bid for the bank by British private equity fund Oilvant.

• A federal agency has subpoenaed Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC), in an attempt to determine whether the company abused the bankruptcy system in two Florida foreclosure cases, according to the New York Times.

• MarketWatch's Herb Greenberg believes Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ: LULU) CEO Bob Meers may have "exaggerated a bit" about his job history. While it's true Mr. Meers was employed by Reebok International, he was not president and CEO of the brand for the length of time he stated, nor was he the president of the Rockport shoe and Greg Norman brands.

Newspaper wrap-up: Demand slows for ethanol, forcing up food prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman added BAE Systems (OTC: BAESY) to its Conviction Buy List, as they believe the company's defensive growth characteristics will lead to outperformance.
• Jefferies upgraded shares of VASCO Data Security International Inc (NASDAQ: VDSI) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent sell-off in the stock.
• Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE: CRM) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Piper to reflect the company's strong cash flow generation and the firm's belief that CRM is a core holding in the enterprise application market.
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Tempur Pedic International Inc (NYSE: TPX) to Buy from Hold, as they believe double-digit sales growth and margin expansion will drive 25% EPS growth over the next few years.
• SunTrust raised its rating on Fidelity National Information Services Inc (NYSE: FIS) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.

• JP Morgan raised its rating on Mattel Inc (NYSE: MAT) to Overweight from Neutral.
• Broadpoint upgraded Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ: PEIX) to Underperform from Sell.
• Merrill upgraded Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) to Buy from Neutral.
• CIBC upgraded Acuity Brands Inc (NYSE: AYI) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.

Analyst upgrades: BAESY, VDSI, CRM, TPX and FIS originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not so long ago, ethanol was all the rage, and stocks like Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) were soaring. So about a year ago, I called in on Jim Cramer's Mad Money and asked when the ethanol bull market would be over -- he pronounced it dead on that show, and it was a good call.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the true driver of the ethanol boom could be in jeopardy [subscription]. As more and more corn gets used for ethanol, consumers are seeing a surge in the price of food. With ethanol production approaching the Congressionally mandated quota, the growth could be over unless Congress decides to make another push for it.

Anyone investing in, or thinking about investing in, ethanol stocks should do so with the awareness that it's an industry that exists largely because of government subsidies -- it's a speculative political play as much as anything else.

And it looks like the political tide could be turning against ethanol.

Rising corn prices make ethanol a risky investment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Friedman Billings downgraded Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE: AVR) and Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ: PEIX) to Underperform and VeraSun Energy Corporation (NYSE: VSE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform. The firm said the ethanol market has become increasingly challenging as spot market prices have declined by 30% in the past few months and expect pressure to remain through 2008 as the industry's growing pains continue.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Underweight from Equal Weight on valuation and regulation uncertainty ahead of Ofcom's first consultation document next week.
  
• AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman to reflect the company's U.S. exposure as they expect the U.S. economy to slow.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Kyphon Inc (NASDAQ: KYPH) to Neutral from Buy on valuation as the spread on the acquisition by Medtronic Inc (NYSE: MDT) has now narrowed.

• Pepsi Bottling Group Inc (NYSE: PBG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• ThinkEquity downgraded BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX) to Accumulate from Buy.
  
• Merrill Lynch downgraded Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: Ethanol sector, BT, AMR and KYPH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How to play Congress' environmental policymaking originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Remember that no politician in their right mind could try and jump in front of the pro-ethanol train. In doing so, they would risk losing the agricultural lobby, angering his constituents, and even being "less environmentally concerned" than the mighty George W. Bush. As a result of these factors, I'm going to leave the anti-ethanol arguments aside from here on and focus on how to profit from the seemingly imminent increase in the United States ethanol mandate. The pure-play on this is Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX).

Pacific Ethanol has certainly had its fair share of excitement. About a year and half ago, the ethanol frenzy was full-on and the stock quickly moved from $10 per share to $45 per share. However, like many irrational, bubble-like trading patterns, this move was proceeded by a fall back to the $12-20 range, a range the stock has been "stuck" in for the last year.

However, I think that an increase in the ethanol mandate is enough to send the stock out of its range, or at least to the top of its range. Due to the stock's significant short position at about 18% of the float, any piece of good news probably will cause a short squeeze, forcing shorts to cover their positions and run for the hills. When short squeezes occur, speculators tend to also buy the stock, thus forcing even more volatility upon the stock.

Continue reading Is Pacific Ethanol ready to pop?

Is Pacific Ethanol ready to pop? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Following Q1 results, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Papa John's Int'l, Inc (NASDAQ: PZZA) to Buy from Neutral, citing better-than-expected revenue growth, improved margins and acquisitions.

• Soleil upgraded shares of ExpressJet Holdings (NYSE: XJT) to Hold from Sell with a $7 target due to the likely absence of any real news until at least August.

• Deutsche Bank assumed shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) with a Buy, up from Hold, as the firm believes Vista will accelerate NVDA's growth rates making their 2008 estimates conservative.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Georgia Gulf Corp (NYSE: GGC) to Buy from Sell based on an improved near-term outlook.

• MasterCard (NYSE: MA) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Stifel based on the lenders impressive Q1 results and pricing power...

• Baird upgraded Barnes Group Inc (NYSE: B) to Outperform from Neutral.

• Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ: PEIX) was raised to Hold from Sell at Hambrecht.

• LCA-Vision Inc (NASDAQ: LCAV) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Oppenheimer.

• Bernstein raised Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NYSE: BRL) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

Analyst upgrades 5-10-07: B, MA, NVDA and PZZA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 May 2007 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

His official name is Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson. But, of course, he is certainly not stuffy.

He has incredible vision, and tremendous business skills, and he likes to challenge conventional widsom. And the formula has padded his bank account with a net worth in excess of $3 billion.

Now Branson wants to give it away to deal with the challenges of global warming. Over the next 10 years he is going to invest up to $3 billion to attack the problem. The proceeds will come from 100% of profits from a variety of his businesses at Virgin.

Basically, he will focus on renewable energy systems and technologies.

I'm sure Branson's email inbox is overflowing right now with pitches. With soaring oil prices, there has been an influx of startup companies trying to find ways to provide alternative energy approaches. This should also be good news for the long-term prospects of ethanol companies such as VeraSun (VSE) and Pacific Ethanol (PEIX), which has Microsoft's Bill Gates as an investor.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.

Branson's $3 billion to save the world originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.