Jim Cramer Blog

Shares of Altera Corp. tumbled nearly 17 percent Wednesday afternoon after the programmable chip maker posted third-quarter revenue below Wall Street's expectations, and said its fourth-quarter sales may decline.
The company said Tuesday the third quarter proved "more challenging than anticipated" and sales to the communications and industrial markets were below expectations.
"Communications weakness was evident from high profile misses by equipment providers (Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Tellabs, Nokia-Siemens) and was a cause of pre-quarter concerns," wrote Citi Investment Research analyst Glen Yeung in a note to investors. "Industrial weakness, a point highlighted by analog chip companies, is likely a consequence of the slowing economic environment."
Sales to the communications market, the analyst noted, comprised 40 percent of the company's revenue, and the industrial revenue was 33 percent.

Labels: Altera Corp., ALTR

Here are 7 trading ideas for today. These lists come directly from the TradingMarkets Stock Indicators page and are based upon our latest quantitative research.
Bullish
Laps Down 5% or More: These are stocks that lap down by 5% or more and are trading above their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving average that lap down by more than 5% have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI - News). BMI's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
5+ Consecutive Down Days: These are stocks that have closed down for five or more consecutive days and are trading above their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving average that close down for five or more days have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Chattem (NasdaqGS:CHTT - News). CHTT's PowerRating (for Traders) is 7.
5+ Consecutive Lower Lows: These are stocks that have made a lower low for five or more consecutive days and are trading above their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving average that make lower lows for five or more days have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Altera (NasdaqGM:ALTR - News). ALTR's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
2-Period RSI Below 2: These are stocks that have a 2-period RSI reading below 2 and are trading above their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving with a 2-period RSI reading below 2 have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - News) & Elan (NYSE:ELN - News). CAT's PowerRating (for Traders) is 7, and ELN's PowerRating is 8.
Bearish
5+ Consecutive Up Days: These are stocks that have made a higher high for five or more consecutive days and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that make higher highs for five or more days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - News). ALL's PowerRating (for Traders) is 3.
Stocks Up 10% or More: These are stocks that have gained 10% or more over the past five days and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that have gained 10% or more over the past five days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Gateway (NYSE:GTW - News). GTW's PowerRating (for Traders) is 2.
PowerRatings (for Traders) are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: ALL, ALTR, BMI, CAT, CHTT, ELN, GTW, Hot Stocks

Summary: Activist investor Carl Icahn recently disclosed a 1.4% stake in Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT - News) and set out to force the company to buy back its shares at what he sees as cheap prices. Combined with recent buyouts of Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL - News) and Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG - News), astute investors are eyeing telecom and chip companies with similar cash reserves, which may soon find themselves under the radar of impatient shareholders or buyout firms. Zhiping Zhao of CreditSights: "Both events represent... pressure from shareholders for these companies to return excess cash, as well as optimize capital structure and create shareholder value." Cash represents 19.1% of semiconductor companies' market cap, vs. only 6.1% and 4.9% for consumer and industrial companies -- and chip/telecom equipment companies have little or no debt. He thinks companies like Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI - News), Linear Technology Corp. (NasdaqGS: LLTC), Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (NasdaqGS: MXIM), Altera Corp. (NasdaqGM: ALTR) Xilinx Inc. (NasdaqGS: XLNX), and Infineon Technologies (NYSE: IFX - News) are potential buyout targets. Companies that could face shareholder pressure to optimize balance sheets and unlock value include Ericsson (NasdaqGS: ERIC), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK - News), Sycamore Networks Inc. (NasdaqGM: SCMR) and Tellabs Inc. (NasdaqGS: TLAB).
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: ADI, ALTR, ERIC, FSL, IFX, LLTC, MOT, MXIM, NOK, PHG, SCMR, TLAB, XLNX

Altera (NASDAQ: ALTR - News), Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL - News): Cramer sees Altera's performance as evidence that tech is strong: "Altera blows up; the stock doesn't even go down,"Cramer said,"I mean, what does that tell you about what's happening here?" The fact that the chipmaker's stock did not suffer after lowering its estimates shows that "the tech trade is still very much alive," said Cramer, "and I decide that it's alive not by how much upside there is but by the limit on the downside." Cramer suggested that investors stay with ORCL in spite of a Lehman Brother's downgrade, and to at least "open the books and take a look" at how the company is really doing.
Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR - News), Deere (NYSE: DE - News), and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - News): Cramer believes that housing's biggest enemy is rampant negativity, which affects IR, DE, CAT, and other stocks related to housing. He adds certain areas are becoming attractive spots for building homes, and a decline in mortgage rates is opening up new possibilities: "There is demand, we are still a growth country and people will still buy houses with mortgage rates this low because they don't want to lose the rates," Cramer said.
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - News) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - News): Oil is going to go down a bit, says Cramer, and drug stocks are stalled. However, he believes that PFE's failure is company-specific and does not bode ill for the entire sector. Finally, Cramer says that if he were an analyst, he would suggest clients buy GS because the Street's numbers are too low.

Labels: ALTR, CAT, DE, GS, IR, Jim Cramer, Market Minute, ORCL, pfe

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Wednesday from TradingMarkets.com:
Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR - News) revised Q4 estimates to see a 5-7% decline in sequential sales, more than the 2-5% decline that was previously expected. ALTR's PowerRating is 5.
Novell (NASDAQ:NOVL - News) beat earnings on Tuesday afternoon with $0.05 EPS over an estimated $0.04 EPS. NOVL's PowerRating is 4.
Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT - News) announced its Q4 revenue, up almost $1 million from the comparable quarter last year, about 21% higher.
Blyth Industries (NYSE:BTH - News) reports earnings before the bell Wednesday morning; look for $0.33 EPS. BTH's PowerRating is 6.
Korn/Ferry (NYSE:KFY - News) announces earnings Wednesday before the open, with analysts looking for $0.31 EPS. KFY's PowerRating is 5.
Universal Technical Institute (NYSE:UTI - News) and Veritas (NYSE:VTS - News) both report on Wednesday after the bell, so watch for increased volume and price action ahead of the close. UTI's PowerRating is 4, and VTS's PowerRating is 5.

Labels: ALTR, BTH, Hot Stocks, KFY, NOVL, UTI, VSNT, VTS