Jim Cramer Blog

Stocks traded aimlessly again today as investors waited for the start of earnings season, which traditionally kicks off with an announcement from aluminum producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA - News). The major market averages all managed to post modest gains. Oil prices were also higher, as was the 10-year Treasury note, which saw its yield drop to 4.72%.
Housing was once again in the spotlight as homebuilder D.R Horton (NYSE: DHI - News) announced that is Q2 sales orders fell 37% overall, paced by even steeper declines in the formerly booming California and the Southwest markets. The company's net orders totaled 9,983 homes, down from 15,771 homes last year. Horton's Q2 ended March 31st. The stock closed -1.5% lower.
In corporate news, Swedish telecom equipment maker LM Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC - News) signed a deal to manage a portion of the European network of Vodafone (NYSE: VOD - News). Ericsson's shares added 3.6% on the news. Citigroup (NYSE: C - News) was up 1.6% as investors waited for the results of its long-anticipated cost review. Generic drugmaker Mylan Laboratories (NYSE: MYL - News) rose 2.8% after it raised its 2007 profit forecast to a range of $1.60 to $1.63 a share, up from its previous guidance of $1.50 to $1.55 per share. Mylan cited strength in its generics business, including new product launches, for its upbeat forecast.
The flip side of the drug business was exemplified by biopharmaceutical company Adolor (Nasdaq: ADLR - News), which saw its shares plunge -58.7% after it announced that it stopped a study of a new drug to treat opioid-induced (OIC) constipation over safety concerns. The drug, Entereg, was being developed in association with British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK - News). Several analysts swiftly issued downgrades for Adolor, while Brean Murray Carret reiterated its "sell" recommendation. Progenics Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PGNX - News), which submitted its own OIC compound for FDA approval last Friday along with partner Wyeth (NYSE: WYE - News), added 1.5% today.
Shares of ImClone Systems (Nasdaq: IMCL - News) also slid -6.4% on poor trial results. The company said a late-stage trial of its cancer drug Erbitux failed to extend survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. Erbitux is already approved for treatment of colorectal cancer, and head and neck cancer.
In M&A news, Biosite (Nasdaq: BSTE - News) said it will enter merger talks with Inverness Medical Innovations (NYSE: IMA - News), which last week offered $90 a share for the maker of medical diagnostic tests. IMA's bid topped an earlier offer from Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC - News) of $85. All three companies are in the business of making medical test products.

Labels: AA, ADLR, BEC, BSTE, C, DHI, ERIC, GSK, IMA, IMCL, MYL, PGNX, VOD, WYE

Symbol
Name
Last Trade
Change
Volume
Related Info
ADLR
ADOLOR CORP
3.68 1:29PM ET
5.04 (57.80%)
18,117,425

GSX
GASCO ENERGY INC
1.93 1:24PM ET
0.46 (19.25%)
3,157,376

HPOL
HARRIS INTERACTIVE
5.12 1:29PM ET
0.99 (16.20%)
1,241,159

CORT
CORCEPT THERAPEUTICS
1.65 1:29PM ET
0.31 (15.82%)
337,125

HCTL
HEALTHCARE TECH LTD
1.47 1:17PM ET
0.18 (10.90%)
118,643

AGEN
ANTIGENICS INC
3.75 1:29PM ET
0.56 (12.99%)
2,181,292

CPBRW
CLEARPOINT BUS WTS
1.10 1:29PM ET
0.15 (12.00%)
4,100

VHI
VALHI INC
17.17 1:25PM ET
2.39 (12.22%)
188,500

KT
KATY IND INC
1.86 1:23PM ET
0.11 (5.58%)
8,100

QFAB
QUAKER FABRIC CP
1.07 1:08PM ET
0.11 (9.32%)
5,917

CIPH
CIPHERGEN BIOSYSTE
1.20 1:26PM ET
0.14 (10.45%)
205,045

IAX
INTL ABSORBENTS INC
3.5318 1:14PM ET
0.2682 (7.06%)
29,200

IMH
IMPAC MTG HLDGS INC
4.65 1:25PM ET
0.45 (8.82%)
1,097,800

AHM
AMER HOME MTG INVT
19.98 1:25PM ET
1.94 (8.85%)
3,149,100

CEGE
CELL GENESYS INC
6.23 1:30PM ET
0.63 (9.18%)
22,348,231

RGR
STURM RUGER AND CO
12.51 1:24PM ET
1.19 (8.69%)
767,000

KAD
ARCADIA RESOURCES
1.35 1:24PM ET
0.13 (8.78%)
142,400

CMRO
COMARCO INC
6.76 12:30PM ET
0.64 (8.65%)
34,910

STX
SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY
21.45 1:25PM ET
2.01 (8.57%)
24,450,300

LBIX
LEADING BRANDS
2.424 1:29PM ET
0.226 (8.53%)
80,399

BPG
BPI ENERGY HLDGS
1.17 1:24PM ET
0.14 (10.69%)
844,600

Labels: ADLR, AGEN, AHM, BPG, CEGE, CIPH, CMRO, CORT, CPBRW, GSX, HPOL, IAX, IMH, KAD, KT, LBIX, QFAB, RGR, STX, VHI

Stocks were narrowly mixed Tuesday as investors refrained from major moves ahead of first-quarter earnings reports that begin with Alcoa Inc.'s results after the closing bell.
The aluminum producer is expected to post a profit of 75 cents per share. Wall Street looks to results from the component of the Dow Jones industrial average to not only gauge the pace of earnings for the quarter but as a proxy for the health of the overall economy.
Stocks also showed little overall movement Monday as investors awaited news of how companies fared during the first quarter, and also their expectations for the coming quarters. In the fourth quarter, Standard & Poor's 500 companies snapped an 18-quarter streak of double-digit profit gains, and Wall Street expects profit growth to remain in the single digits for the first three months of the year. In midday trading, the Dow fell 13.17, or 0.10 percent, to 12,555.97.
Broader stock indicators were slightly higher. The S&P 500 edged up 0.44, or 0.03 percent, to 1,445.05, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.75, or 0.11 percent, to 2,471.93.
Bonds continued to recover, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.71 percent from 4.75 percent late Monday. Gold prices rose, while the dollar was mixed against other major currencies after the United States filed two complaints against China at the World Trade Organization over copyright policy. The currency is at a two-year low against the euro.
Oil prices rose after selling off Monday following doubts about Iran's comments about its uranium-enrichment achievements. A barrel of light, sweet crude for delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 36 cents to $61.87. Investors were also awaiting minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting at which it left short-term interest rates unchanged for the sixth straight time. In corporate news, Dow Chemical Co. fell $1.23, or 2.6 percent, to $45.40 after the chemical and plastics maker said it has had no discussions about a leveraged buyout. Citigroup Inc. rose 52 cents to $52.10 ahead of a major restructuring announcement, where some 26,000 workers will be reassigned or their jobs eliminated, according to a report in The New York Times. D.R. Horton Inc., the nation's largest homebuilder by deliveries, said its second-quarter sales orders fell 37 percent, led by even steeper declines in California and the Southwest. Shares fell 33 cents to $21.71.
Adolor Corp. fell $5, or 57.3 percent, to $3.72 after the biopharmaceutical company stopped clinical studies and withdrew an application for a constipation-relief drug, leading to a series of downgrades.
Shares of drug maker Mylan Laboratories Inc. jumped 65 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $21.85 after the company raised its profit forecast, citing continued strength in its generics business and new product sales.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 9 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 551.4 million shares.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.61, or 0.32 percent, to 814.25.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.45 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.32 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.94 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.43 percent.
Source: AP

Labels: AA, ADLR, C, DHI, DOW, MYL