Continue reading Schlumberger's Shares Continue to Head North on Oil's Rise

Schlumberger's Shares Continue to Head North on Oil's Rise originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I first wrote about Schlumberger (SLB) here on May 6, 2009, at a price of $56.09. Shares of oil and natural gas servicer have jet-streamed toward major, psychological resistance at $100, easily clearing $90 on the way. It goes without saying that if you haven't already, now would be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table.

However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position and go for an even bigger gain, as SLB will likely continue to head north.

Further, I'd raise the sell/stop loss to $68 from $63.

Continue reading Schlumberger Vectors Toward $100 a Share

Schlumberger Vectors Toward $100 a Share originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A little over a week ago the chart players took short positions in the oil sector. Since then the world has changed dramatically.

Egypt is engulfed in a civil uprising and protesters are clamoring for President Hosni Mubarak to step down. Uncertainty is the new state of affairs. Uncertainty breeds fear and fear has taken over the energy sector.

The chart guys quickly covered their shorts and now the bulls have the market. This is fundamental. Three million barrels of oil a day pass through the Suez Canal and the Sumed pipeline. You can throw the charts out the window.

Continue reading Brent Crude Oil Holds Above $100 per Barrel

Brent Crude Oil Holds Above $100 per Barrel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On Friday, oil field giant Schlumberger (SLB) posted a 31% profit for the fourth quarter, as reported in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Earnings rose to $1.04 billion, or 76 cents per share, from $795 million, or 65 cents per share, a year ago.The acquisition of Smith International contributed revenue of $2.49 billion and earnings of $275 million in the quarter.

CEO Andrew Gould said that an increase in global demand should drive growth in deepwater drilling around the world and revive onshore activity.

Continue reading Schlumberger Sees Increasing Demand, Global Opportunities for Drilling

Schlumberger Sees Increasing Demand, Global Opportunities for Drilling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oil/natural gas servicer Schlumberger (SLB), which I first wrote about on May 6, 2009, at a price of $56.09, continues to move higher, so if you haven't already -- now would be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table.

Further, I'd raise the sell/stop loss to $63 from $57 at this juncture.

However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position and go for an even bigger gain.

Continue reading Schlumberger Continues to Move Higher

Schlumberger Continues to Move Higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:00:00 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.

The shares of oil/natural gas servicer Schlumberger Limited (SLB), first written about here on May 6, 2009, at a price of $56.09, have vaulted higher this fall, from about $59 to $80. Now would be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table.

However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position and go for an even bigger gain.

The removal of the U.S. deepwater offshore oil drilling moratorium and an oil price that never seems to dip for too long -- it's averaged better than $70 per barrel for months -- spell good things for Schlumberger, and institutional investors have piled in to the stock.

Continue reading Schlumberger: Time to Take Some Profits off the Table?

Schlumberger: Time to Take Some Profits off the Table? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Silver futures are recently trading near 30-year highs. iShares Silver Trust (SLV) December 31 and January 35 calls are active on overall call option volume of 180K,(73K puts). Option implied volatility of 43 is above its 26-week average of 35, according to Track Data, suggesting traders are pricing in large movement.

Schlumberger (SLB) volatility has decreased as shares have trended to 27-month highs. Crude oil futures are recently up 0.59% to $88.31, according to Bloomberg. Overall option implied volatility of 32 is below its 26-week average of 35, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

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

Options Update: iShares Silver Trust Option Prices Expensive on 30-Year High Silver originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Macquarie upgraded Intel (INTC) to outperform from neutral and Advanced Micro (AMD) to neutral from underperform.
• Pfizer (PFE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Capstead Mortgage (CMO) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Halliburton (HAL) to outperform from perform.
• Gilead (GILD) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Skilled Healthcare (SKH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Citigroup upgraded CapitalSource (CSE) to buy from hold.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMD, COL, EL, GILD, HAL, INTC, PFE, SLB, SPLS ...

Analyst Calls: AMD, COL, EL, GILD, HAL, INTC, PFE, SLB, SPLS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Tyco International to Be Added to S&P 500

Tyco International to Be Added to S&P 500 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Schlumberger Limited (SLB) is the biggest oil services company, hands down. As such, the firm's operations extend into just about every imaginable oil or gas-producing region of the world," says energy industry specialist Elliott Gue.

The editor of The Energy Strategist asserts, "The company, in our view, is in the sweet spot of the oil-services cycle.

"Despite Schlumberger's exposure to the Gulf, the hit to the company's bottom line shouldn't be too dramatic, nor will it affect long-term growth prospects. At this valuation the stock already prices in these headwinds.

Continue reading Schlumberger: A 'Must-Own' Oil Services Stock

Schlumberger: A 'Must-Own' Oil Services Stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Energy Favorites: Apache, Schlumberger and others

Energy Favorites: Apache, Schlumberger and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"I continue to regard the dip in oil-levered and select energy stocks as a massive buying opportunity," says energy sector specialist Elliott Gue.

The editor of The Energy Strategist explains, "Among individual stocks, I see an opportunity with Baker Hughes (BHI), Schlumberger (SLB), Weatherford International (WFT). All of these companies garner just 5 to 10 percent of their revenues from the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Continue reading Triple Play in Oil Services: BHI, SLB and WFT

Triple Play in Oil Services: BHI, SLB and WFT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) lower Q1 earnings were better than expected but it lowered its full-year outlook.
• McDonald's Corp. (MCD) solid Q1 numbers were driven by its value menu, McCafe, and strength overseas.
• Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) topped Q1 earnings expectations and cash from operations rose, but shares declined.
• Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shares were lifted after its strong Q1 earnings beat consensus estimates.
• PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) fell short of Q1 revenue estimates but beat earnings per share expectations by a penny.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: McDonald's, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Raytheon, Starbucks, Yahoo! ...

Earnings Highlights: McDonald's, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Raytheon, Starbucks, Yahoo! ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Apr 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Eight Positive Weeks in a Row (ACUR, AAPL, SLB, DOV, XRX)

Closing Bell: Eight Positive Weeks in a Row (ACUR, AAPL, SLB, DOV, XRX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: DJIA 11,000 ... Not Yet (AAPL, ENER, SLB, SII, TSO, MPEL)

Closing Bell: DJIA 11,000 ... Not Yet (AAPL, ENER, SLB, SII, TSO, MPEL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: When Confusion Is Felt by All (APOL, CPST, DELL, FSLR, SII, SLB)

Closing Bell: When Confusion Is Felt by All (APOL, CPST, DELL, FSLR, SII, SLB) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Schlumberger: Well-Positioned Oil Services Company

Schlumberger: Well-Positioned Oil Services Company originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

Energy sector expert Elliott Gue turns to Weatherford International (WFT) as his top pick for the coming year.

In his The Energy Strategist, he explains, "As with most oil services firms, Weatherford's North American business has been hit hard and the stock now trades at a deeply discounted valuation."

Continue reading Top Picks for 2010: Weatherford (WFT)

Top Picks for 2010: Weatherford (WFT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's exposure to a potential upturn in international drilling. The firm raised its target on shares to $80 from $56.
• UBS upgraded Allegheny Tech (NYSE: ATI) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $43 from $31 and believes the end of jet engine and other destocking will result in an initial recovery into 2010, even before an order ramp into 2011.
• Merriman upgraded Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) to Buy from Neutral based on the favorable FDA panel outcome and set a $30-$33 target range on the stock. Baird upgraded Acorda to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $28 from $24. Following the panel review, Baird expects Amaya to be approved in 1H10 and would be buyers into the mid/high $20s.
• Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• PG&E (NYSE: PCG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ACOR, BHI, HAL, LAZ, SLB, TRV ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ACOR, BHI, HAL, LAZ, SLB, TRV ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.