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Titanium Metals Corp. (TIE) Stock Sinks

Titanium Metals Corp. (NYSE:TIE - News) shares sank 7% after the company reported third-quarter net earnings of $54.2 million, up 49% from $36.3 million during the same period a year ago. Income attributable to common shareholders was $52.7 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with $33.4 million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago. The Dallas-based producer of titanium metal products posted revenue of $271.8 million vs. $190 million. Additionally, the company said it expects 2006 operating income of $350 million to $365 million and revenue of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion.

Technitrol Inc. (TNL) Earnings Disappoint

Technitrol Inc. (NYSE:TNL - News) shares fell 17% after the Philadelphia-based maker of electronic components late Monday reported third-quarter net earnings of $15.2 million, or 38 cents a share, up from $4.49 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding certain items, the company reported a profit of 49 cents a share. Revenue rose to $257.7 million from $147.2 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast a per-share profit of 43 cents. Technitrol expects fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $244 million to $247 million, and operating profit of $21.5 million to $23.5 million. Technitrol also said it has agreed to acquire Radiall/Larsen Antenna Technologies from France-based Radiall SA. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Omnicare (OCR) Shares Drop On Earnings News

Omnicare (NYSE:OCR - News) shares dropped 11% after the company said it earned $52.2 million, or 43 cents a share, in the third quarter, down from $58.5 million, or 54 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The Covington, Ky. healthcare company said excluding special items, it earned 63 cents a share in the quarter. Sales rose to $1.59 billion from $1.46 billion. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for earnings of 72 cents a share on revenue of $1.67 billion. The company said earnings were hurt by the "challenging" environment in which it is operating and forecast that fourth-quarter earnings would be roughly equivalent to the third-quarter figure.

Greenbrier Cos. (GBX) Shares Loose Ground On Nasty Quarter

Greenbrier Cos. (NYSE:GBX - News) shares dropped 6.2% after the company said fourth-quarter net income rose to $12.3 million, or 76 cents a share, from $0.6 million, or 68 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had been expecting earnings of 63 cents a share. Revenue at the transportation equipment company was flat at $265 million, after lower-than-expected new railcar deliveries and equipment sale gains were offset by expanding manufacturing margins. The company said that it's anticipating revenues for fiscal 2007 in a range of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion and earnings in a range of $3.10 to $3.40 per share.

C&D Technologies (CHP) Shares Plummet ON Announcement Of Loss

C&D Technologies (NYSE:CHP - News) shares plummeted 24% after the Blue Bell, Pa., maker of electrical power storage and conversion products said it now expects losses for its third quarter to be worse than previously anticipated. The company also said it expects losses to continue at least through the end of its fiscal year on Jan. 31. It previously forecast a profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. The company cited continued rapid escalation of lead costs to historically unprecedented levels for the poor outlook, as well as softness in certain end markets for its power electronics division.

Avanir Pharmaceuticals' (AVNR) Shares Cut In Half

Avanir Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:AVNR - News) shares plunged 46% after the San Diego-based company said it has received an approvable letter from the Food and Drug Administration for Zenvia for the treatment of involuntary emotional expression disorder. The company submitted a new drug application for Zenvia in January 2006. "We will be working closely with the agency to determine the next steps required for the drug to receive marketing approval," said Eric Brandt, Avanir's president and chief executive, in a statement.

Amerigroup (AGP) Shares Plunge After Negative Jury Verdict

Amerigroup (NYSE:AGP - News) shares dropped 15% Tuesday after a jury found against and an Illinois unit in qui tam legislation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The company said it plans to appeal the verdict, saying it believes a number of court rulings constitute reversible error and impacted the jury's findings. The verdict, which found that the company's Illinois unit inappropriately worked to avoid or discourage the enrollment of third-trimester pregnant women between 2000 and 2003, calls for Amerigroup to pay damages of $144 million.

WMS Industries (WMS) Reports Positive Quarter

WMS Industries (NYSE:WMS - News) shares gained 14% after the Waukegan, Ill., gaming machine company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $7.1 million, or 20 cents a share, on revenue of $110.6 million. The latest results include severance-related charges of $1 million, or 3 cents a share. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 21 cents a share in the September period. Looking ahead, WMS sees revenue of between $130 million and $135 million for the second quarter.

Trammell Crow (TCC) Agrees To Be Acquired By CB Richard Ellis (CBG)

Trammell Crow (NYSE:TCC - News) shares jumped 25% after the company agreed to be acquired by CB Richard Ellis Group (NYSE:CBG - News) for $49.51 a share in cash. Including assumed debt, the deal values Tramell Crow at $2.2 billion. The commercial real estate firm will have combined pro-forma 2006 revenue of approximately $4.4 billion and 21,000 employees. Trammell Crow closed Monday at $39.10. CB Richard Ellis plans to issue $2.2 billion of term loans to finance the transaction, and will also amend or refinance its existing $600 million revolving credit facility. The company said the deal will lift percentage earnings per share "in the low teens" when stripping out transaction and integration costs.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals (SCLN) Narrows 3Q Loss

SciClone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SCLN - News) shares climbed 13% after the company narrowed its third-quarter loss to $1.31 million, or 3 cents a share, from $3.09 million, or 7 cents a share, with revenue from its lead product, Zadaxin, up 18% to $8.27 million. Contract revenue slipped to $26,000 from $134,000 last year. It's expecting a slight profit for 2006 and revenue above $32 million for the year, as fourth-quarter product revenue should rise compared to the third quarter. It's holding onto cash guidance of $38 million by the end of the year.

Regal-Beloit Corp. (RBC) Beats The Street

Regal-Beloit Corp. (NYSE:RBC - News) shares moved up 5.5% after the company said its third-quarter net income rose to $29.7 million, or 89 cents a share, from $18.5 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier. The average earnings estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call was 82 cents a share. The Beloit, Wis., maker of motion control and power generation products said sales for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose 21% to $419.3 million from $345.9 million.

Rackable Systems (RACK) Swings Another Loss

Rackable Systems (NASDAQ:RACK - News) shares gained 7.3% after the company swung to a quarterly loss from a year ago, hurt by charges, as sales rose 40% amid demand for corporate server and technology storage products. Rackable reported a third-quarter loss of $389,000, or 1 cent a share, due to stock-based compensation expenses and other charges related to its acquisition of Terrascale Technologies.

Nuance Communications' (NUAN) Guides Higher

Nuance Communications' (NASDAQ:NUAN - News) shares rose 5.8% after the Burlington, Mass., provider of speech and imaging technology products forecast non-GAAP earnings of 13 to 14 cents a share for the September quarter, above a previously disclosed outlook for non-GAAP earnings of 11 to 12 cents a share. For the first quarter, the company expects revenue to be at or slightly above the high end of analyst estimates with earnings projected within Wall Street's range.

Navarre Corp. (NAVR) Post Solid Quarter

Navarre Corp. (NASDAQ:NAVR - News) shares added 6.6% after the company reported fiscal second-quarter net earnings of $1.61 million, or 4 cents a share. In the same quarter last year, the company posted a net loss of $75,000, or breakeven a share. Excluding items, the Navarre reported a profit of $3.8 million, or 11 cents a share.

Lumera (LMRA) Stock Surges On Harvard Medical School News

Lumera (NASDAQ:LMRA - News) shares rose 38% after the Bothell, Wash.-based nanotechnology company announced that Harvard Medical School researchers are now building discovery and diagnostics methods with Lumera's ProteomicProcessor biosensor. Lumera said Harvard has served as a beta site for Lumera's biosensor platform since mid-2006. The Harvard collaboration is focused on integrating their Nucleic Acid Programmable Protein Array technology with Lumera's ProteomicProcessor, the company said. "We now have a solid foundation on which to begin our development efforts," said Dr. Joshua LaBaer, director of the Harvard Institute of Proteomics, in a statement. "Among our first areas of investigation will be probing a family of 200 kinase proteins for their interaction with and among drug families relevant to cancer research."

Intevac (IVAC) Stock Surges Tuesday

Intevac (NASDAQ:IVAC - News) shares rose 23% after the maker of disk-drive manufacturing gear reported better-than-expected third-quarter results. On Monday, Intevac posted a profit of $9 million, or 41 cents a share, on revenue of $54.8 million, figures that were all above Wall Street analysts' estimates. Brean Murray analyst Mark Miller raised his rating on Intevac's stock to hold from sell.

Group 1 Automotive (GPI) Beat Wall Street Consensus

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - News) shares climbed 8.4% after the company reported third-quarter earnings of $26.4 million, or $1.10 per share, on revenue of $1.6 billion. This profit performance bested Wall Street's consensus estimate for a profit of $1.02 per share in the September period. Looking ahead, the Houston automotive retailer lifted its outlook for 2006 to earnings of $3.65 to $3.75 per share from a prior view of $3.40 to $3.70 per share.

FTI Consulting (FCN) Beats The Street

FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN - News) shares gained 7.4% after the Baltimore consulting services provider reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 32 cents a share on revenue of $162.1 million. The profit was in line with Wall Street's consensus estimate. The company also said it still expects earnings of $1.26 to $1.35 a share in 2006, excluding a special termination charge but including the impact of its Financial Dynamics' acquisition and stock option expense.

Faro Technologies (FARO) Shares Leap On Earnings

Faro Technologies (NASDAQ:FARO - News) shares leapt 13% after the company reported third-quarter earnings of $3.2 million, or 22 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $2.6 million, or 18 cents a share. The latest results include $900,000 in pre-tax expenses from follow-up on an internal investigation and patent litigation. Sales jumped 17.8% for the three months ended Sept. 30 to $38.4 million from $32.6 million in the same period a year earlier. Looking ahead, the Lake Mary, Fla., developer of measurement technology products maintained its outlook for sales of between $150 million to $157 million for 2006, and said it expects continued net income improvement in the fourth quarter.

Comtech Group (COGO) Shares Jump On Deal With Microsoft (MSFT)

Comtech Group (NASDAQ:COGO - News) shares jumped 14% after the company said it has formed a partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - News). The deal allows Comtech to license net generation software technology from Microsoft's IP Ventures program. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Celanese Corp. (CE) Reports Positive Quarter

Celanese Corp. (NYSE:CE - News) shares gained 5.2% after the company reported third-quarter earnings of $109 million, or 64 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $45 million, or 26 cents a share. Sales rose 10% in the latest three months to $1.69 billion. Looking ahead, the Dallas-based chemicals company lifted its low end of its outlook to earnings of $2.70 to $2.80 per share from a prior projection for a profit of $2.50 to $2.80 per share.

Bioject Medical Technologies (BJCT) Shares Surge On Expanded Agreement

Bioject Medical Technologies (NASDAQ:BJCT - News) shares jumped 22% after the company said it has expanded its agreement with an unnamed European biotechnology company. Portland, Ore.-based Bioject said it entered into the next phase of development for a new needle-free drug delivery system with the company for an undisclosed indication. Although financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Bioject said the expanded agreement includes the payment of an upfront fee, as well as additional milestone payments.

Biogen (BIIB) Stock Surges On Earnings Release

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:BIIB - News) shares gained 8.4% after the company reported substantially higher third-quarter earnings, due to increased drug sales and hefty accounting charges taken during the 2005 quarter.

Jim Cramer's Mad Money Stock Recap

Cramer talked about scary stocks and that stock is Hansen Natural Corp. (HANS). It has moved so high it is time to get out of the stock. All they sell is a typical drink at a premium price. Cramer says, "Get out before they report earnings." Even the bulls are worried about this stock and that is a good sign that you should get out. Also bad press is beginning to come out about energy drinks and it has caused people to begin thinking. HANS is a momentum stock that has lost its momentum. Bottom Line: HANS is scary, Cramer doesn't think you should own it. However, Cramer likes Brazil. The stock he likes is CVRD (RIO). They have just reached their 52 week low on Sept. 25 and Cramer thinks RIO will see a turnaround next month. Cramer thinks this is the stock to buy when looking for an undervalued mineral play. Bottom Line: Cramer thinks RIO is a buy and will see a turnaround within the next two months before the suits annoint it.
Lightning Round
Bulls: SU, CSCO, SHLD, CTV, TWX, EP, EEP, PCU, MET, BBY, AZO
Bears: TLAB, PEIX, GT, LU
Cramer thinks the housing market is due for a turnaround. Housing stocks bottom when things are looking worse. Bottom Line: Cramer thinks there is a bottom in homebuilders, it is time to get back in them. Cramer also likes Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) because it has a good growth strategy. They have more restaurants in the pipeline for the first quarter than they ever had. Bottom Line: Cramer is sticking by TXRH.

Jim Cramer
Mad Money

7 Hot Stocks To Watch For Wednesday

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Wednesday for TradingMarkets.com:
Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - News) beat earnings Tuesday afternoon, announcing $0.65 EPS vs an estimated $0.56 EPS. WTS's PowerRating is 5.
Kforce Inc (NASDAQ:KFRC - News) missed earnings late Tuesday, announcing $0.21 EPS vs a consensus of $0.22 EPS. KFRC's PowerRating is 6.
McKesson (NYSE:MCK - News) beat earnings, with $0.66 EPS vs an expected $0.58 EPS. MCK's PowerRating is 4.
LECG Corp (NASDAQ:XPRT - News) matched earnings, with $0.25 EPS. XPRT's PowerRating is 6.
Dominion (NYSE:D - News) reports earnings Wednesday before the open; look for $1.56 EPS. D's PowerRating is 6.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA - News) announces earnings early Wednesday, with analysts expecting $1.08 EPS.
Ultra Petroleum (NYSE:UPL - News) reports Wednesday morning; expect $0.33 EPS. UPL's PowerRating is 6.

IAC InterActive Corp. (IACI) Stock Needs To Be Bought

IAC/InterActiveCorp. (IACI), owner of Ticketmaster and the HSN home shopping network channel, Tuesday said that third-quarter profit rose 10.1 percent on a modest rise in retailing and strong growth in ticket sales.
The New York-based company, run by former media executive Barry Diller, reported that net income available to common shareholders increased to $74.95 million, or 24 cents per share, from $68.08 million, or 20 cents per share, last year.
"The lending and real estate segments continue to face challenging macro headwinds ... and retailing continues to have anemic growth," Goldman Sachs Analyst Anthony Noto wrote. "Thus, it is increasingly important that solid trends continue in businesses such as Ask.com, personals and ticketing."
IAC also owns Citysearch, Evite and other Web sites.
Excluding noncash compensation expenses and other costs, IAC earned 35 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of earnings of 33 cents per share, according to a poll by Thomson Financial. Revenue missed the $1.61 billion estimate.

This is one of our favorite companies on Wall Street. They own all the websites that people need. With web advertising to double over the next few years IAC is perfectly placed. Ask.com is also an issue. This is the second best web search engine behind Google (GOOG) in terms of asthetics. Their major marketing campaign which initiated this year has proven to be very effective. This is a better more innovative company than Yahoo (YHOO) and will begin to ween into Yahoo's traffic dominance. Yahoo is on its way out. This stock is a strong buy.

CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) Profit Up, But Warns For The Year

CNOOC Ltd., China's largest offshore oil producer by output, Tuesday said its third-quarter revenue jumped 25 percent on surging crude prices, but the company warned that meeting its full-year output target would be challenging.
Storms have damaged some of CNOOC's offshore oil fields in southern China, including one in Liuhua that was wrecked by a typhoon in May and would remain closed until next June, said Yang Hua, the firm's chief financial officer.
"Bad weather and typhoons impose very big pressure on us" in meeting output targets, Yang said in a media teleconference. "Those are the things we can't control."

Baidu.com Inc. (BIDU) Profit Up Ten-fold, Stock Tanks On Outlook

Chinese language Internet search provider Baidu.com Inc. (BIDU) said Tuesday its third-quarter profit and revenue surged as customer traffic increased.
The company earned $10.8 million, or 32 cents per American Depositary share, up more than tenfold from the year-ago period and up 46 percent sequentially.
Excluding stock options costs, the company earned 37 cents per ADS.
Sales totaled $30.3 million, up from $11.3 million in the year-ago period.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 26 cents per ADS on sales of $30.1 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Jim Cramer Blog

Tuesday, October 31, 2006