A relief rally recovery is how you would describe Monday. The no-fly zone success of Libya over the weekend and the 'no more bad news' out of Japan were the two major contributors today. The US even announced that it would begin selling off the Treasury's $142 billion mortgage-backed securities portfolio.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels today:

Dow Jones 12,036.53 +178.01 (1.50%)
S&P 500 1,298.38 +19.18 (1.50%)
Nasdaq 2,692.09 +48.42 (1.83%)

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

Continue reading Closing Bell: How Do You Spell Relief? (T, SCHW, OXPS, C, GE, EWJ, TIF)

Closing Bell: How Do You Spell Relief? (T, SCHW, OXPS, C, GE, EWJ, TIF) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF - option chain) shares are rising after the company reported Q4 2010 earnings Monday morning, posting a profit of $181.22 million, or $1.41 per share. Excluding one-time items, Tiffany earned $1.44 per share on revenue of $1.10 billion, while analysts had forecast a profit of $1.39 per share on revenue of $1.10 billion.

Tiffany cut its Q1 earnings forecast to 57 cents per share, down from a previous forecast of 62 cents per share, due to an anticipated decline in sales in Japan in the wake of the recent earthquake. However, that is still above analysts' forecasts of 55 cents per share, which is a good sign for the stock. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on TIF.

Continue reading Tiffany & Co. Posts Strong Q4 Earnings, Q1 Forecast

Tiffany & Co. Posts Strong Q4 Earnings, Q1 Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Stock Futures Higher on AT&T-T Mobile Deal

Stock Futures Higher on AT&T-T Mobile Deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Quarterly reports from Oracle (ORCL), Discover (DFS) and Tiffany (TIF) will highlight news on the earnings front this week.

Elsewhere on the economic calendar, the focus will be on housing, with existing home sales data due from the National Association of Realtors on Monday, new home sales numbers from the Census Bureau on Wednesday and data on housing starts released on Thursday.

Also watch for durable goods orders in February and the final GDP for the fourth quarter.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Housing Data and Late Season Earnings (ORCL, DFS, TIF)

Week in Preview: Housing Data and Late Season Earnings (ORCL, DFS, TIF) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Tiffany (TIF) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Kellogg (K) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Citizens Republic (CRBC) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Research in Motion (RIMM) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• MWI Veterinary Supply (MWIV) and Elster (ELT) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Paetec Holding (PAET) and Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• New Gold (NGD) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Aviat Networks (AVNW) to buy from hold at Needham.
• Abiomed (ABMD) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Animal Health (AHII) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• PNM Resources (PNM) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: COMV, FSLR, K, LDK, NGD, PTEN, RIMM, STD, TIF ...

Analyst Calls: COMV, FSLR, K, LDK, NGD, PTEN, RIMM, STD, TIF ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF) has had an interesting trading day. With a little over two hours to go before the end of the session, shares are off by 1.1% to $60.26. Earlier this morning, the stock was at a higher level. TheFly says there was some speculation about the jewelry retailer being a potential acquisition candidate. I'm not sure if the company will be acquired or not, but I enjoyed reading a bit of good news on the fundamental front.

According to the Associated Press, Tiffany experienced an 8% rise in same-store sales for the months of November and December (this stat is adjusted to take into account changes in exchange rates). Also, the net-income outlook for the full fiscal year has been upgraded: the new range of between $2.83 and $2.88 replaces the old range of between $2.72 and $2.77.

Continue reading Tiffany Trading Lower: Buy or Sell?

Tiffany Trading Lower: Buy or Sell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Boeing (BA) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Office Depot (ODP) and Staples (SPLS) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Kennametal (KMT) and Polyone (POL) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Airgas (ARG) to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• EchoStar (SATS) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, BA, BP, BSX, COH, GM, INTC, NSM, STJ, TIF, TSN, UA ...

Analyst Calls: AA, BA, BP, BSX, COH, GM, INTC, NSM, STJ, TIF, TSN, UA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tiffany & Company (TIF) was up over 5% to $61.30 late in the afternoon session. Excellent volume backed the move. Shareholders are certainly happy with today's action, especially since a new 52-week high was made during the intraday activities (as of now, that high was set at $61.58).

This stock has been doing very well since it bottomed out in July, as the chart indicates. With such a sharp move to the upside, is it time for traders to exit their profitable positions?

Continue reading Tiffany Sees a Bid After Earnings Release

Tiffany Sees a Bid After Earnings Release originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Pre-Holiday Market Cheers (ARMH, INTC, IRE, CREE, EWY, TIF, TIVO, USO)

Closing Bell: Pre-Holiday Market Cheers (ARMH, INTC, IRE, CREE, EWY, TIF, TIVO, USO) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Face-Off on Stocks: Tiffany, Coach and Polo Ralph Lauren

Face-Off on Stocks: Tiffany, Coach and Polo Ralph Lauren originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Tiffany Shares Take a Hit Following Q2 Results

Tiffany Shares Take a Hit Following Q2 Results originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: When Bad News Is Good News (INTC, TBT, PAR, NBG, SPWRA, TIF, F)

Closing Bell: When Bad News Is Good News (INTC, TBT, PAR, NBG, SPWRA, TIF, F) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Most of the S&P 500 companies have already reported earnings results for the most recent quarter. But scheduled to release their results this week are Medtronic (MDT) and Novell (NOVL), which analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to post earnings per share (EPS) about same as last year, as well as JDS Uniphase (JDSU), Patterson Companies (PDCO) and Tiffany & Co. (TIF), for which analysts foresee year-over-year earnings growth. Of these, the expectations are highest for Tiffany.

During the three months that ended in July, Tiffany launched an iPhone app and increased its quarterly dividend. Analysts expect the New York-based specialty retailer to report that earnings per share came to 53 cents, a 26.4% increase from a year earlier. Second-quarter revenue is expected to have grown 12.8% to $690.8 million. So far, analysts predict full-year earnings of $2.61 per share (+22.9%) on $3.0 billion (+11.8%) in revenue. Earnings results topped consensus estimates in four of the past five quarters, by 11 cents per share in the first quarter.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Eye on Tiffany, Canadian Banks, Semtech

The Week in Preview: Eye on Tiffany, Canadian Banks, Semtech originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Tiffany Down In Afternoon Trading: Buying Opportunity?

Tiffany Down In Afternoon Trading: Buying Opportunity? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 May 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded UPS (UPS) to overweight from neutral with a $79 price target following the company's better-than-expected Q1 results.
• SunTrust believs Zions Bancorp's (ZION) tangible book value is around $20/share, making any future capital raise not as dilutive as the firm previously expected. The firm upgraded shares to buy from neutral and has a $26 target on the stock.
• FBR Capital upgraded J.B. Hunt (JBHT) to outperform from market perform following the company's better-than-expected Q1 results. The firm raised its target price for shares to $43 from $40.
• American Superconductor (AMSC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Global Payments (GPN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BP, EV, JBHT, SY, TIF, UPS, XOM, ZION ...

Analyst Calls: BP, EV, JBHT, SY, TIF, UPS, XOM, ZION ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the 2004 counterfeit goods lawsuit brought against online auction giant eBay (EBAY) by Tiffany & Co. (TIF), a New York appeals court has ruled in favor of eBay. The suit stemmed from an independent investigation conducted by Tiffany, where an investigatory sampling determined that more than 70% of supposed Tiffany items on eBay were found to be fakes. Tiffany maintains that eBay bears responsibility for cleaning out those counterfeit items.

Yes, eBay bears some responsibility in this matter, but that responsibility begins and ends at the removal of offending listings when they are reported or discovered. Any random examination of listings by eBay for potential rule violations or illegal activities falls under the heading of good faith, not due diligence.

Continue reading Court Sides with eBay in Tiffany Counterfeit Case

Court Sides with eBay in Tiffany Counterfeit Case originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Apr 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) reported that Q1 revenue was up but earnings declined sharply, and it offered guidance.
• Best Buy Inc. (BBY) shares rallied after it topped Q4 earnings expectations and offered encouraging guidance.
• Brinker International Inc. (EAT) raised its outlook for fiscal 2010 and also increased its quarterly dividend.
• China Automotive Systems Inc. (CAAS) reported that its revenue had doubled and it beat earnings expectations.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) Q3 earnings matched estimates and revenue was flat, and it reaffirmed its outlook.
• Finish Line Inc. (FINL) shares rallied after it reported that Q4 earnings came in better than analysts' expected.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Adobe, Best Buy, General Mills, Oracle, Tiffany, Walgreen ...

Earnings Highlights: Adobe, Best Buy, General Mills, Oracle, Tiffany, Walgreen ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Baidu (BIDU) to buy from hold and raised its target price for shares to $690 from $540 after Google (GOOG) said it has stopped censoring its search services on Google.cn in China. The firm believes the Chinese government is likely to restrict access to Google's site now, a move that would benefit Baidu.
• Baird upgraded Autoliv (ALV) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $60 from $47. The firm cites valuation and strong revenue performance for the upgrade.
• Jesup & Lamont upgraded Tiffany (TIF) to buy from hold following the company's Q4 results and better-than-expected guidance. The firm has a $55 price target for shares.
• Automatic Data Processing (ADP) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Cowen.
• American Superconductor (AMSC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Saks (SKS) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADP, BEC, BIDU, IRM, IBM, LH, SKS, TIF, WSM ...

Analyst Calls: ADP, BEC, BIDU, IRM, IBM, LH, SKS, TIF, WSM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Tiffany Quadruples Earnings But Misses Analyst Estimates

Tiffany Quadruples Earnings But Misses Analyst Estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The coming week will bring late-season earnings reports from Best Buy Inc. (BBY), ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Walgreen Co. (WAG), all of which are expected to post earnings and revenue growth, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Below is a closer look at a few other companies reporting this week for which expectations are high.

In the three months that ended in January, Williams-Sonoma (WSM) saw strong holiday sales, declared a quarterly dividend, and announced the retirement of its CEO. Analysts expect the San Francisco-based home products retailer to report that fiscal fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from the same period of last year to $0.74 per share. Revenue for the period is expected to be 6.2% higher to $1.1 billion. For the full year, the forecast calls for earnings of $0.81 per share (+56.8%) on $3.1 billion in revenue (-8.3%). Williams-Sonoma earnings results have been better than expected in recent quarters -- beating consensus estimates by more than 200% in the third quarter.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Eye on General Mills, Tiffany, Williams-Sonoma and more

The Week in Preview: Eye on General Mills, Tiffany, Williams-Sonoma and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.