sothebys posts
FeedPosted Mar 9th 2010 12:00PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Sotheby's (BID)

The second largest cigarette maker in the world is making some waves in the
art market. British American Tobacco (
BTI) sold several paintings last night at a Sotheby's (
BID) auction in the Netherlands, picking up $18.5 million last night. This contributed to a
record night for the auction firm's Netherlands office.
Previously known as the Peter Stuyvesant Collection, the BATartventure Collection includes more than 1,400 pieces and doubled the upper end of its presale estimate, yet another sign that strength is returning to the art market this year – after a year and a half of agony.
Continue reading Cigarette Company Finds Money in Art
Posted Mar 6th 2010 3:10PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, AutoZone Inc (AZO), Ciena Corp (CIEN), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Take-Two Interactive (TTWO)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:
- AutoZone Inc. (AZO) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, as well as sales and gross margin growth.
- Big Lots Inc. (BIG) beat Q4 earnings expectations, raised its guidance, and lifted its share repurchase program.
- Carmike Cinemas Inc. (CKEC) swung to better-than-expected profit in Q4 and reported strong sales growth.
- Ciena Corp. (CIEN) reported a bigger-than-expected Q1 net loss and some revenue growth, and offered guidance.
- DISH Network Corp. (DISH) posted a year-over-year increase in Q4 revenue but also a decline in per-share earnings.
Continue reading Earnings Highlights: AutoZone, Ciena, Fannie Mae, PetSmart, Sotheby's ...
Posted Feb 11th 2010 9:30AM by Paul Foster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Darden Restaurants (DRI), Sotheby's (BID), Options
Sotheby's (BID) closed at $22.45. Sotheby's and Christie's hosted postwar and contemporary art sales in London this week. BID is expected to report Q4 EPS in late February. March option implied volatility is at 63; April is at 58; above its 26-week average of 55, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.
Darden Restaurants (DRI) closed at $38.05. Darden is hosting an investor meeting on February 17. March option implied volatility is at 31, July is at 34, below its 26-week average of 36, according to Track Data suggesting decreasing price movement.
Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.
Posted Aug 8th 2009 9:40AM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Caterpillar (CAT), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Procter and Gamble (PG), Amer Intl Group (AIG), News Corp'B' (NWS), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Sotheby's (BID), , World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: AIG, Caterpillar, Cisco, News Corp., Procter & Gamble ...
Posted Aug 5th 2009 4:05PM by Jon Ogg (RSS feed)
Filed under: Whole Foods Market (WFMI), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Sotheby's (BID)

The markets closed down in negative territory, but today will feel like a win to many traders. Each day the news keeps getting a set up for a sell-off and nothing materializes. Bears are even getting frustrated because of no substantial pullbacks. The weaker employment data had little dent, but then the weaker services market kept the rally from emerging today.
Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 9,280.97 -39.22 (-0.42%)
S&P 500 1,002.68 -2.97 (-0.30%)
Nasdaq 1,993.05 -18.26 (-0.91%)
Top Analyst UpgradesTop Analyst DowngradesContinue reading Closing Bell: The down day that didn't feel too down (USU, WFMI, BID, ERTS, TIVO)
Posted Aug 5th 2009 10:00AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Sotheby's (BID)
An embittered Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) has turned in its first quarterly profit in a year, showing signs that the worst of the art market slump may be over. The company, which has seen contemporary art auction prices fall 76.2% from May 2008 to today, reported a decline of 87% in earnings for the second quarter, but company CFO William Sheridan says that the worst of this market is behind us. Sell-through rates are up, with more inventory moving likely to help with sagging revenues.
But commission revenue seems to be headed in the wrong direction. For Q2, Sotheby's reported commission revenues at 21.3%, up from 41% year-over-year. Unfortunately, this isn't the measure you want to go up. Lower-priced pieces tend to have higher commission rates, meaning that the auction house's Q2 performance was dragged down by less desirable inventory.
Continue reading Sotheby's reports loss but hopes for recovery
Posted Aug 3rd 2009 3:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Rants and Raves, Russia, Sotheby's (BID), Personal Finance, Headline News, Recession, Financial Crisis
Damien Hirst has gotten to the point where the sound of his own voice isn't good enough – now he needs a record of his thoughts for the ages. He and fellow artist Richard Prince (who actually has some talent) discuss the pains of the art market in Requiem II, which is scheduled to be published by Other Criteria this fall. Of course, Hirst is one of the publishing house's founders, making one wonder if this is the only most effective way for him to get a book published.
If a recent interview with ArtNews is any indication, Requiem II will contain the insights you'd come to expect from an artist of Hirst's caliber. My personal favorite: "Yeah, we ain't gonna sell as much art, art shows are gonna get better now the focus shifts away from money."
Brilliant.
Continue reading Art market sucks, Hirst and Prince turn to books
Posted Jan 21st 2009 12:20PM by Zac Bissonnette (RSS feed)
Filed under: Bad News, Personal Finance, Financial Crisis

If you were planning to sell that Damien Hirst in your closet to help pay the mortgage, think again. According to a
recent piece in Portfolio, "To capitalize on the past few boom years in the art market, Hirst's studio churned out works at a speed that many feared would overwhelm demand, pushing down prices further."
Daniel Komala, president and co-founder of Larasati Auctioneers
tells Bloomberg that art prices could fall 40% in 2009. Bloomberg adds that "Confidence levels in the contemporary-art market have fallen 81 percent since May 2008 and may take between three and five years to recover, according to a survey released by research company ArtTactic Ltd. this week. Almost half the respondents to the survey expected auction prices would fall by 30 to 50 percent from their May 2008 highs."
What is ailing the art market seems to be the same thing that's ailing housing. For instance: Speculative buying drove up prices for hot contemporary artists (or houses), leading to a flood of new works (construction) hitting the market. Then consumer confidence took a plunge and now people are freaking out.
Prices for more artists with longer track records -- like Monet -- are not expected to be impacted nearly as much. Shares of leading auctioneer
Sotheby's (NYSE:
BID) have already been pulverized by concerns about the market, taking another big dive yesterday. But with its solid balance sheet and strong moat, the stock might even be interesting as the ultimate contrarian play right.
Posted Dec 14th 2008 11:40AM by Michael Rainey (RSS feed)
Filed under: Entrepreneurs
This post is part of our feature on Money Winners of 2008. See all 20.
Hedge fund managers weren't the only ones making buckets of money during the great boom of the early 21st century. So too were the artists whose work the newly rich love to buy. And no one has made more money selling paintings and sculptures to private equity bigwigs and Russian oligarchs than British artist Damien Hirst.
Until recently, Hirst was famous largely for his conceptual sculptures of dead animals floating inside glass-walled boxes. Much of his work displays an obsession with death, including a human skull encrusted with 8,000 diamonds and a box filled with flies feasting on a rotting cow's head. And his art isn't cheap. The asking price for the skull, titled "For the Love of God," was $100 million.
But like all modern visionaries, Hirst saved his greatest innovations for the marketplace itself. In the summer of 2008, Hirst organized his own art auction, neatly bypassing the dealers whose commissions typically claim a good chunk of the sale price of a piece of art. Sotheby's hosted the sale, waiving its usual fee to do so. Over 20,000 people viewed the show in just two days, and when it was over, Hirst had sold $198 million worth of art, a new record for a single-artist auction.
Hirst's profits may be puny compared to the financiers who buy his work, but $200 million in two days is a pretty good haul by most standards. And it sets the bar higher for the next generation of artists who create the shiny trophies that billionaires so love to collect.
Be sure to check out more Money Winners of 2008.
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