short squeeze posts
FeedPosted Dec 9th 2009 1:50PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Options, Technical Analysis
FuelCell Energy(FCEL) is scheduled to release its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the closing bell tonight. Ahead of the report, analysts are expecting FCEL to report a loss of 19 cents per share, up from its year-ago loss of 35 cents per share. Sales for the fourth quarter are expected to arrive at $28 million.
Historically, FCEL has a relatively solid track record in the earnings spotlight. The firm fell short of Wall Street's consensus expectations with last year's fourth-quarter report, but it has reported narrower-than-expected quarterly losses in each of the three successive quarters.
Continue reading Shorts hedge their bets ahead of FuelCell Energy's 4Q report
Posted Nov 6th 2009 12:20PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Technical Analysis
Shares of The Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) surged to a new 52-week high Friday morning, after the brewmaster reported a third-quarter profit of $10.4 million, or 72 cents per share, on revenue of $108.7 million. The company swung to a loss of 2 cents per share in the third quarter of 2008, but attributed its turnaround to strong shipments and decreased advertising expenses.
The results were better than analysts expected, with consensus estimates calling for Boston Beer to bank a profit of 39 cents per share on $107.5 million. Looking forward, Boston Beer now expects full-year earnings of $1.75 per share to $2.05 per share, a marked increased from its prior forecast for a 2009 profit of $1.40 per share to $1.70 per share.
Continue reading Boston Beer blows away 3Q expectations, hikes 2009 forecast
Posted Oct 6th 2009 4:45PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, PepsiCo (PEP), Options
Snacks-and-soda stalwart PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is scheduled to unveil its third-quarter results before the market opens this Thursday, Oct. 8. Heading into the report, analysts are expecting PEP to bank a profit of $1.02 per share, according to Thomson Reuters, fractionally lower than its year-ago earnings of $1.06 per share.
PepsiCo has a healthy history in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations in each of the previous three quarters. Judging by recent option activity, traders are speculating on another upside surprise from the Frito-Lay firm.
Continue reading Earnings preview: Shorts seem nervous ahead of PepsiCo's 3Q
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 11:50AM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports
CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) rallied to a new 52-week high Tuesday after topping analysts' second-quarter earnings expectations. The used-car retailer reported a quarterly profit of $103 million, or 46 cents per share, while net sales jumped 13% to $2.1 billion. By contrast, analysts were expecting net income of just 18 cents per share on $1.77 billion in revenue.
"The government's CARS, or 'cash for clunkers,' program resulted in a spike in traffic in late July and August," explained CEO Tom Folliard. Same-store used-unit sales for the quarter climbed 8%, bouncing back from a 17% drop in the first quarter.
Continue reading CarMax taps 16-month high after solid 2Q earnings
Posted Jul 24th 2009 12:00PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
In the wake of its second-quarter earnings report, SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) has garnered no fewer than four price-target increases and at least two upgrades. Running through the list, FBR upgraded the shares from "market perform" to "outperform," while Collins Stewart upped the equity from "sell" to "hold." FBR also hiked its price target from $22 to $40, while Citigroup upped its target from $15 to $18. Elsewhere, Credit Suisse raised the stock's price target from $20 to $32, and Canaccord Adams increased its 12-month estimate from $21 to $29.
In fact, Wedbush Morgan is the lone bearish holdout this morning, with the brokerage firm bucking the trend by downgrading SPWRA from "outperform" to "neutral."
Continue reading Analysts impressed by SunPower Corp. earnings
Posted May 29th 2009 12:30PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major Movement, Earnings Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Forecasts, Good news
OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) stepped into the earnings spotlight last night, with the company reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $20.1 million, or 40 cents per share.
Excluding items, the quarterly loss would have been 30 cents per share. Revenue for the period fell 47% to $89.1 million, while gross margin contracted from 27.2% to 17%. Analysts were expecting a wider loss of 46 cents per share on slimmer revenue of $68.3 million.
Looking ahead, OVTI expects a fiscal first-quarter adjusted loss of seven cents to 16 cents per share, with revenue ranging between $90 million and $100 million. The forecast was unexpectedly upbeat; analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting a first-quarter loss of 23 cents per share on $74 million in revenue.
Continue reading Upbeat outlook from OmniVision Technologies sparks short-squeeze rally
Posted Apr 28th 2009 1:00PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Options, Stocks to Buy

Casual restaurant chain
Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:
BWLD) has been on fire this year, with the stock up more than 63% year-to-date. The company could see its positive price action accelerate after its upcoming turn in the earnings spotlight; BWLD is slated to unveil its first-quarter results on Tuesday, April 28, after the close of trading.
Analysts, on average, are expecting BWLD to report a profit of 46 cents per share, up from 36 cents per share in the first quarter of 2008. The company has a mixed history in the earnings confessional: in its previous four reports, the chain has exceeded analysts' estimates twice, met them once, and fallen short on one other occasion.
Continue reading Earnings preview: Buffalo Wild Wings could spark a short-squeeze rally
Posted Feb 19th 2009 9:30AM by Sam Collins (RSS feed)
Filed under: Technical Analysis, S and P 500, DJIA

One by one, the key indices appear to be breaking their support lines.
The Dow Industrials were the first to break, but the S&P 500 has also fallen through its support zone at 800 to 820, and so has the NYSE Composite. Only the Nasdaq is holding above its January low while the others are in a full test of their November bear market bottoms.
But despite the full attack on the bear market low, it would be dangerous to assume that a market sell-off is inevitable.
Continue reading Today's technical outlook: Shorts may feel the squeeze soon
Posted Sep 9th 2008 10:45AM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Two days before its second-quarter earnings report, lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was hit this morning with a steep price-target cut. RBC slashed its price target on LULU from $47 to $30, noting "a 200 basis-point increase in our cost of equity assumption." The analysts tempered their bearish note by reiterating an Outperform rating on the shares.
The brokerage firm's downwardly revised target represents a 64% premium to the stock's closing price Monday. By contrast, the average 12-month price target on LULU is $39.72, according to Thomson Financial. This consensus estimate is 117% higher than yesterday's close, which seems to indicate that further price-target cuts could be in the offing, particularly if second-quarter earnings fail to impress.
During the past four quarters, First Call reports that lululemon has met or exceeded analysts' per-share profit expectations every time. However, it's safe to say that nobody on Wall Street was particularly impressed by LULU's last quarterly earnings report. Since the company announced inline earnings of 12 cents per share on June 2, its shares have shed 43% of their value. Even more compelling, institutional investors have reduced their stake in LULU by a net total of 5% since last quarter.
Continue reading lululemon smacked with price-target cut ahead of earnings
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