So the video-game data report for February is out. According to InvestorPlace's survey of NPD figures, consoles systems saw a 10% increase in sales. Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 was particularly robust. The Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii didn't do badly, either.

As you might imagine, there were other companies mentioned in the article. Electronic Arts (ERTS) scored pretty well, as did Activision Blizzard (ATVI). In fact, the latter's latest Call of Duty entry is apparently still selling a bunch of copies in retail shelves even though the holiday season is long gone.

Continue reading Video Games Do All Right in February: Which Stock Should an Investor Buy?

Video Games Do All Right in February: Which Stock Should an Investor Buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO) reported earnings for the fiscal third quarter yesterday after the bell. Today, the market expressed its pleasure with the results. In fact, a new 52-week high of $15.50 was set this session.

At the time of this writing, the quote going across my screen was $14.82, a price that was representative of a 2% gain. Volume conviction is definitely present. Looking at the one-year chart, it can be seen that the uptrend in the shares continues on following the making of a low point near the end of August.

Continue reading Take-Two Trades Up on Earnings News

Take-Two Trades Up on Earnings News originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Disney (DIS) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Pike Electric (PIKE) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Kindred Healthcare (KND) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• UBS (UBS) to hold from sell at Canaccord.
• Avery Dennison (AVY) and Take-Two (TTWO) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Mercer (MERC) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AVY, CSUN, DIS, INTU, KBH, KEY, LEN, NVTL, UBS, USNA ...

Analyst Calls: AVY, CSUN, DIS, INTU, KBH, KEY, LEN, NVTL, UBS, USNA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Signal Lower Start on Wall Street

U.S. Stock Futures Signal Lower Start on Wall Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Things look to be pretty quiet on the economic calendar this week. Here are the highlights:

• Tuesday: Weekly chain-store sales
• Wednesday: Federal budget balance for January
• Thursday: Wholesale trade data in December
• Friday: Trade balance in December and the weekly inflation survey

However, three iconic companies -- Walt Disney (DIS), Coca-Cola (KO) and Hasbro (HAS) -- highlight this week's quarterly results. Here's a look at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating from these and others.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Coca-Cola, Disney and Hasbro Earnings

Week in Preview: Coca-Cola, Disney and Hasbro Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Is Take-Two a Trade?

Is Take-Two a Trade? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Take-Two Has a Great Quarter: Should You Buy?

Take-Two Has a Great Quarter: Should You Buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Lower as Investors Await Leading Indicators Data

U.S. Stock Futures Lower as Investors Await Leading Indicators Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AIG (AIG) closed up on an interview with The Deal magazine and AIG Chairman Robert Miller, who said the insurer was beginning to think about acquiring insurance operations instead of selling them. December 55 and January 66 calls are active on total call option volume of 168K contracts (90K puts). January call option implied volatility is at 43, February is at 41, May is at 38, versus its 26-week average of 45, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) is scheduled to report Q4 EPS on December 16. December 12 straddle is priced at $1.00, January is at $1.60, according to Track Data, suggesting larger near-term price movement.

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

Options Update: AIG Options Active on Low Volatility as Shares Rally 8% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Smith Micro (SMSI) to overweight from neutral and raised its price target to $15 from $9, citing the release of a WiFi iPad with MiFi from Verizon and Apple.
• Jefferies upgraded Whole Foods (WFMI) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $45 from $36, citing checks that indicate sales are accelerating and the company has been focused on expense control.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Ensco (ESV) and raised its price target to $54 to $56 from $46 to $47, citing valuation, the lifted deepwater drilling ban and higher oil prices.
• Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich, citing the company's Moqueta oil discovery as well as other near-term exploration opportunities, and raised its price target to $12.50 from $7.00.
• Chico's FAS (CHS) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc and set a $13 price target.
• UR-Energy (URE) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMSC, CBOE, ERTS, ESV, JCP, PDE, SMSI, TTWO, UAL, WFMI ...

Analyst Calls: AMSC, CBOE, ERTS, ESV, JCP, PDE, SMSI, TTWO, UAL, WFMI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Insiders Snapping Up Hain Celestial, Ulta Salon and More

Insiders Snapping Up Hain Celestial, Ulta Salon and More originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Franklin Resources (BEN) to outperform from market perform and raised its target price for shares to $127 from $105 to reflect its belief the company is well positioned in the current environment.
• UBS upgraded Nuance (NUAN) to buy from neutral and has an $18 price target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and believes the company could be an acquisition target.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded DryShips (DRYS) to equal weight from underweight and has a $5.50 target on the stock. The firm cites the firmer ultra-deepwater drilling market for the upgrade.
• Becton Dickinson (BDX) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Edwards Lifesciences (EW) was upgraded to market perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
• Arkansas Best (ABFS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BCR, BEN, DRYS, INT, ISRG, NKE, NOK, NUAN, VCLK, ZMH ...

Analyst Calls: BCR, BEN, DRYS, INT, ISRG, NKE, NOK, NUAN, VCLK, ZMH ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you are looking for clues telling you which stocks have a good chance of increasing in value, you might want consider watching what insiders are doing. After all, talk is cheap, but when insiders put their own money on the line, you should sit up and take note.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO) topped the insider-buying charts for the week ending July 9 as insiders snapped up 427,900 shares of company stock at a market value of $4,093,939. During the past six months, insiders have increased their overall holdings in the company by 64.15% and now own 2.74% of TTWO stock.

Continue reading Insiders Snapping Up Take-Two Interactive, Icahn Enterprises and More

Insiders Snapping Up Take-Two Interactive, Icahn Enterprises and More originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Unemployment Pink-Slips the Bears (BRCD, CPB, ZQK, TTWO, PBR, ULTA)

Closing Bell: Unemployment Pink-Slips the Bears (BRCD, CPB, ZQK, TTWO, PBR, ULTA) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Hudson Square upgraded Take-Two (TTWO) to buy from hold, citing the better-than-expected Q3 report and increased guidance.
• Keybanc upgraded The Buckle (BKE) to hold from underweight given the potential for a special dividend in the near term.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded K-Sea Transportation (KSP) to hold from sell, citing KA First Reserve's $100M equity investment.
• Gold Fields (GFI) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• James Hardie NV (JHX) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AEO, BKC, BKE, GRA, KSP, MFE, PSS, TTWO, VPRT ...

Analyst Calls: AEO, BKC, BKE, GRA, KSP, MFE, PSS, TTWO, VPRT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Should You Take a Position in Take-Two?

Should You Take a Position in Take-Two? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Video Game Sales Continue Decline

Video Game Sales Continue Decline originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), whose competitors in the video-game industry include Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (ERTS), is doing good business with its Red Dead Redemption title. But is that enough to make you want to buy the stock?

According to the AP, the game sold 1.5 million copies in the month of May. That's relatively impressive, but it unfortunately did not meet the expectations of Michael Pachter, who is an analyst for Wedbush Morgan. He was thinking 1.8 million copies was doable. Even so, you have to hand it to management for a robust launch.

Continue reading Take-Two Interactive: Buy or Sell?

Take-Two Interactive: Buy or Sell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO), whose competitors include Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) and Electronic Arts, Inc. (ERTS), has traded in a narrow range over the last twelve months. The 52-week low on the stock is an even $7; the 52-week high is $12.57. The stock closed Tuesday's session at $10.52. After the bell, the video-game publisher reported results for the second quarter. Shareholders can be thankful that the bottom line experienced a significant improvement.

On an adjusted basis, the company made 34 cents per share from continuing operations versus a loss of 4 cents per share from continuing operations in the year-ago period. Net revenue jumped over 50%.

Continue reading Take-Two Interactive Bounces Back with Adjusted Q2 Profit

Take-Two Interactive Bounces Back with Adjusted Q2 Profit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve's next Beige Book report is scheduled to be released this week. This report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts, and it is released eight times a year. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The June report is expected to show strengthening signs of expansion, though results could be mixed across the 12 districts.

Economic data due out this week include:

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Beige Book, Federal Budget, Retail Sales

The Week in Preview: Beige Book, Federal Budget, Retail Sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.