Jim Cramer Blog

American Express Co. said Monday its profit slumped nearly 10 percent in the fourth quarter as it set aside more money to prepare for cardholder defaults.
American Express' customers tend to spend more and have stronger credit histories than the average cardholder, so the company looks better shielded against a tough 2008 than many other lenders. Still, investors appeared concerned that AmEx is girding for deteriorating credit conditions and slower U.S. spending.
American Express shares fell 2.7 percent in after-market trading, having risen $1.96, or 4.3 percent, to close at $47.40 Monday. Last week, its shares hit a four-year low.
The credit-card issuer posted net income of $831 million, or 71 cents a share, down 9.9 percent from $922 million, or 75 cents a share, in the previous year's fourth quarter.

Labels: American Express Company, AXP

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Monday from TradingMarkets.com:
Tiffany's (NYSE:TIF - News) sank 9.8% after reporting a decline in same-store U.S. holiday sales. TIF's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - News) fell over 6% today, on an overwhelmingly negative Dow Composite atmosphere. MCD's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - News) fell 7.7% on Friday after cutting its 2007 EPS forecast by 30 cents. AB's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - News) slumped 10.1% today, after the company announced it would take a $440 million charge in Q4. AXP's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
FCStone (NasdaqGS:FCSX - News) reports earnings on Monday before the market opens; look for $0.33 EPS. FCSX's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB - News) announces quarterly results Monday morning, with traders expecting $1.63 EPS. MTB's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Genentech (NYSE:DNA - News) is expected to report $0.67 EPS after the market closes on Monday. DNA's PowerRating (for Traders) is 3.

Labels: AB, AXP, DNA, FCSX, Hot Stocks, MCD, MTB, TIF

Victors: Apple (AAPL) crushed Wall Street estimates by reporting a 67% jump in profits. Najarian says it's an amazing number and everything is working. He owns the stock and continues to stay long. American Express (AXP) beats expectations and trades higher after hours. Merck (MRK) reports a 62% jump in third quarter profits and the stock trades higher. Macke continues to be bullish on Merck. Adami suggests looking at Pfizer (PFE) on a valuation basis.Homebuilding stocks were strong on Monday with the Homebuilders ETF (XHB) trading up 3%. Finerman mentions that a private equity group Hellman & Friedman bought Goodman Global (GGL) for $2.65 billion and tells viewers to trade off that news by going long MDC Holdings (MDC).
Victims: Texas Instruments (TXN) shares dip on the chip maker's outlook that was below Wall Street estimates. Najarian hinted that Texas Instruments isn't managed as well as Apple (AAPL) and he would rather own Apple. Adami counsels investors to buy Intel (INTC) off the TXN numbers. Alos, crude oil and gold both fell 1% Monday as the dollar gains strength.
Merrill Lynch (MER) is set to report earnings on Wednesday. CNBC's Charlie Gasparino discussed his take on Merrill. Insiders at Merrill tell him that some are calling for CEO Stan O'Neal's head. Even outside shareholders want him out. Macke tells investors not to bother buying this stock. Gasparino is now giving O'Neal 8-to-1 odds of being removed as CEO.
SanDisk Corporation (SNDK) co-founder, president and COO Sanjay Mehrotra joined the shpw to discuss his firm's prospects. Mehrotra says demand remains strong especially for the mobile phone segment of the business. He sees continued growth for SanDisk in 2008 and higher profitability.
OIL: Higher oil prices may actually cause BP (BP) and Exxon (XOM) to report a decline in profit for the first time in 5 years. Finerman wants to short tanker stocks like Teekay (TK) because of declining tanker rates.
Retail: Amazon.com (AMZN) is set to report earnings Tuesday after the bell. Macke loves the stock and thinks they will blow out the earnings. Finerman prefers Target (TGT) and Wal-Mart (WMT) and she hopes they trade lower so that she can buy more for her hedge fund. Adami is partial to United Parcel Services (UPS)
Pops & Drops
Pops- Altria (MO) trades up 1% after a UBS upgrade. Finerman is bullish on Altria.
Kimberly Clark (KMB) trades up 5% after posting strong profit numbers.
ExpressJet Holdings (XJT) trades up 16% after the firm announced possible plans of going private.
Sears Holdings (SHLD) popped 4% after a positive mention in Barron's. Finerman would rather be long Target (TGT).
Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) traded up 8% after reporting strong profits. The stock is working for Macke.
Radiation Therapy Service exploded higher by 44% after Vestar Capital Partners took the company private.
Lululemon Athletica (LULU) traded up 5% after the firm raised third-quarter estimates and Adami would buy it.
Final Trade
Macke counsels investors to buy Short Dow30 ProShares (DOG).
Adami likes Intel (INTC).
Finerman recommends Covidien (COV).
Najarian offers up Yahoo! (YHOO) for a play on Alibaba.

Labels: AAPL, AMZN, AXP, CNBC, Fast Money, Fast Money Recap, GGL, INTC, MDC, MER, MRK, pfe, SNDK, TXN, XHB, XOM

By TradingMarkets Research
Stocks celebrated the 20th anniversary of "Black Monday" by plunging, with the Dow losing nearly 367 points. On October 19, 1987, the Dow lost 508 points, which represented a 22.6% decline, the largest ever one-day loss on a percentage basis.
Here are 7 stocks to watch for Monday:
Apple (NasdaqGS:AAPL - News) reports earnings after the close, with analysts expecting $0.85. AAPL's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
Dow component American Express (NYSE:AXP - News) also reports after the close, with analysts looking for $0.85. AXP's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Check Point Software Technologies (NasdaqGS:CHKP - News) earnings are due before the open on Monday, look for $0.38. CHKP's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Haliburton (NYSE:HAL - News) is expected to report earnings of $0.64 before the open. HAL's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Netflix (NasdaqGS:NFLX - News) reports after the close, with analysts expecting $0.15. NFLX's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Schering-Plough (NYSE:SGP - News) is also due before the bell, $0.30 is the magic number. SGP's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN - News) reports after the close, with $0.50 being the target. TXN's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.

Labels: AAPL, AXP, CHKP, HAL, Hot Stocks, NFLX, SGP, TXN

Cramer began Friday's show by sharing his CEO Hall of Shame. These are stocks that he thinks would be better off if the CEO quit or was forced out.
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): Cramer thinks the CEO was given an ultimatum to deliver results now.
Marsh McLennan (MMC): The company should be broken up, and that splitting the company up is the only way shares will increase unless the CEO leaves.

Next, Cramer took some phone calls about other stocks with bad CEOs, like Pall (PLL). He also told people that he can't recommend buying Sirius (SIRI) now because it's too expensive, and that he thinks you should stay away from Palm (PALM).
Next, Cramer did a "Speculation Friday" segment, where he recommends high risk stocks. BioMarin (BMRN), a small biotech firm. It has developed a drug for pheylketonuria that will be the only drug on the market, protecting it from generic competition until 2015 in the US and 2018 in Europe. Cramer thinks the drug will be approved by the end of the year, but if it doesn't, it will be a risky investment.
Other calls: La-z-boy (LZB): Cramer doesn't like, and Sangamo BioSci (SGMO):He thinks is very risky.

After the lightning round, Cramer discussed what stocks he think will take the Dow to his year end target of 14,548. They are American Express (AXP), AIG (AIG), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), DuPont (DD), Altria (MO), Boeing (BA), and Caterpillar (CAT).

In the last segment, Cramer answered some emails. He changed his mind on GigaMedia (GIGM), making it a buy now, and told viewers to wait for a pullback on (AMZN) since it's "marked up heavily."

Labels: ALU, AMZN, AXP, BA, BMRN, CAT, DD, Jim Cramer, JPM, Mad Money, Mad MOney Recap, MMC, PALM, Pll, SIRI

On today's show, Cramer started off by talking about the good news that General Motors (GM) received with the completion of their labor talks that he thinks will move the stock to $45, and the rumors that Warren Buffet is buying a stake in Bear Stearns (BSC) that will move it higher, along with other financial stocks Citigroup (C), AIG (AIG), J.P. Morgan (JPM), and American Express (AXP).

Cramer then started talking about buying inexpensive oil stocks when there is a pullback in oil prices. His stock choice is Gardner Denver (GDI) that will profit from higher oil prices and a weaker dollar. Compared with similar stocks such as Baker Hughes (BHI), National Oilwell Varco (NOV) and Schlumberger (SLB), Gardner Denver's multiple is too low.

Energy Stocks:
Transcanada (TRP): Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) is better.
Valero (VLO): Refining margins are killing the stock.
Transocean (RIG): He thinks the stock will go up when the GlobalSantaFe (GSF) merger is complete. Cramer also mentioned some Canadian Energy Trusts that he likes. The stocks are Canetic Resources (CNE), Pengrowth (PGH), Baytex (BTE), International PBX Ventures (PBX), Penn West Energy (PWE), and Advantage Energy (AAV).

Are You Diversified?:
Cramer recommended Caterpillar (CAT) to his first callers portfolio. He told his second caller to get rid of NYSE Euronext (NYX). Cramer told his third caller to hget rid of Pfizer (PFE).

Cramer spoke to the CEO of Genesis Lease (GLS) which Cramer recommended at $26. He said he was wrong to call the stock a buy then, but you should "back up the truck" now that it's at $22.

Finally, Cramer took three call in Sudden Death. He is unsure about Layne Christensen (LAYN), he likes Life Partners Holdings (LPHI) but is concerned about the large short interest, and thinks Danaher (DHR) is one of the best performing stocks in the S&P.

Labels: AIG, AXP, BHI, BSC, GDI, GM, Jim Cramer, JPM, Mad Money, Mad MOney Recap, NOV, SLB, TRP

Stocks opened the session sharply lower, but quickly rallied as upbeat economic data sent bears to the sidelines. At the close, all major indexes closed with small gains. Oil prices finally sold off, as crude eased -99 cents to finish the week at $79.10 a barrel.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose less than forecast for the month of August. Sales rose 0.3% in August, following a revised 0.5% increase in July. Purchases excluding autos unexpectedly fell -0.4%. Industrial output, meanwhile, rose 0.2%, with factory output declining for the first time since February. Elsewhere, a report from the University of Michigan said that consumer confidence increased.
The subprime mess is being felt overseas, as Europe's 3rd largest mortgage lender Northern Rock sought emergency funding from the European Central Bank (ECB). The bailout is the nation's biggest in more than 30 years. Rising credit costs left the lender unable to make new loans. News sent customers scrambling to its branches to get their money out. Northern Rock currently has 1.4 million depositors and approximately 800,000 mortgage customers.
In Wall Street news, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER - News) told investors that credit market conditions have continued to remain challenging. The company said it made "fair value adjustments" for potential losses to date on holdings and finance commitments as it prepares to conclude its current quarter. Shares declined -0.7% on the day.
Next week officially kicks off the earnings parade for investment banks, including Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - News), Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH - News), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS - News) and Bear Sterns (NYSE: BSC - News). Subscribers can read our thoughts on the upcoming investment bank earnings reports in today's issue. Meanwhile, Merrill downgraded shares of American Express (NYSE: AXP - News) to "neutral" from "buy" citing consumer spending concerns and disruptions in the financial markets.
In the technology arena, Internet giant Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO - News) saw shares rise by 4.3% after a Bernstein analyst said the stock could fetch $45 if the company were to outsource search advertising, cut jobs, and restructure its display advertising business. Yahoo also noted that it purchased news aggregation site BuzzTracker. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - News) shares fell -1.7% after a Merrill Lynch analyst downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy," citing valuation concerns. Also seeing analyst action was mobile handset maker Palm (Nasdaq: PALM - News) as Morgan Keegan upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "market perform" noting that Palm's strategic focus is improving and that new product launches should offset recent weaknesses in other areas. Shares advanced 4%.

Labels: AXP, BSC, GS, INTC, LEH, MER, MS, PALM, YHOO

The major market averages all closed decidedly lower on the session, with the Dow closing down -226 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq losing nearly -51 points. The broader S&P 500 also ended the session lower by -30 points. Equities sold off amid continued weakness in the mortgage markets as was evident with earnings news out by one of its largest players. Investors did not get much of a boost from a sell-off in the price of crude, as prices ended down -$1.33.
Corporate earnings continued to stream in on the day. Chemical giant DuPont (NYSE: DD - News) reported earnings of $972 million, or $1.04 a share, compared to earnings of $975 million, or $1.04 a share, a year ago. Sales grew 6% to $7.9 billion in the period ended June 30th. Analysts were expecting the company to report EPS of $1.06 a share on sales of $7.86 billion. It cited weak auto and housing industries that contributed to the miss on both EPS and revenue. Shares finished the session down -6.3%.
The biggest U.S. mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC - News), reported a -33% drop in earnings to $485 million, or 81 cents a share, compared to earnings of $722.2 million, or $1.15 a share, last year. Revenue fell -15% in the latest quarter to $2.55 billion. The lender also slashed its 2007 profit forecast to $2.70-3.30 a share, down from its April estimate of $3.50-4.30 a share.
Not all earnings were lackluster, however, as beverage giant PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP - News) said earnings rose to $1.56 billion, or 94 cents a share. Total revenues rose 10% to $9.61 billion, from 8.71 billion a year ago. The results easily topped Wall Street analyst estimates of 89 cents a share. The company now sees 2007 EPS of $3.35, compared to previous estimates of $3.30. In the defense arena, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News) said profits rose citing strength in all four of its major divisions. For the second quarter, the company reported earnings of $778 million, or $1.82 a share, up from $580 million, or $1.34 a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $10.65 billion. The results handily beat analyst estimates of a profit of $1.53 a share. The defense contractor also raised its 2007 profit forecast to $6.65-6.80 a share, up from $6.20-6.35 a share, and upped its sales guidance to $41-41.75 billion, up from its previous view of $40.35-41.35 billion. Shares rose 3.6% on the session.
Elsewhere, financial services company American Express (NYSE: AXP - News) posted a 12% rise in quarterly profit fueled by cardmember spending. Net income totaled $1.1 billion, or 88 cents a share, up form $945 million, or 77 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue net of interest expense rose 9% to $7.1 billion, up from $6.5 billion. Analysts were looking for EPS of 86 cents. Shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX - News), meanwhile, rose 6.9% after the firm reported results that beat analyst EPS estimates by 5 cents. Earnings rose 7% to $141.3 million, or 73 cents per share, up from $132 million, or 66 cents per share, a year ago.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: AXP, CFC, DD, DGX, LMT, PEP

American Express Co., the nation's third-largest credit card brand, said Monday that record spending had fueled a 12 percent jump in profit.
The New York-based company also boosted the amount of money it has reserved for loan losses, as have many other financial services companies, to brace for an ongoing deterioration in credit quality.

Net income rose to $1.06 billion in the second quarter, or 88 cents per share, from $945 million, or 76 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Income from continuing operations also totaled 88 cents per share in the latest period, up from 78 cents per share a year ago.
The results were helped by a surge in overseas profit, and a $65 million tax benefit related to the treatment of card fee income in certain previous years.
Revenues including interest expense rose to $7.13 billion from $6.54 billion a year ago. Excluding interest expense, revenue rose to $8.20 billion from $7.29 billion.
The card and travel service company's results beat Wall Street forecasts. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial projected earnings of 86 cents per share on $7.49 billion of revenue.

Labels: American Express Company, AXP

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Tuesday from TradingMarkets.com:
American Express (NYSE:AXP - News) beat earnings expectations, announcing $0.88 EPS versus expectations of $0.86 EPS. AXP's PowerRating is 6.
AT&T (NYSE:T - News) reports quarterly earnings on Tuesday before the market opens; look for $0.66 EPS. T's PowerRating is 6.
Commerce Bancorp (NYSE:CBH - News) announces earnings early Tuesday, with analysts watching for $0.40 EPS. CBH's PowerRating is 7.
When DuPont (NYSE:DD - News) reports earnings on Tuesday before the bell, look for $1.06 EPS. DD's PowerRating is 5.
Analysts are watching for Jetblue (NasdaqGS:JBLU - News) to report $0.11 EPS tomorrow morning. JBLU's PowerRating is 5.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - News) should report $1.53 EPS on Tuesday morning before the stock market opens. LMT's PowerRating is 5.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - News) is looking to announce $1.23 EPS on Tuesday morning. NOC's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings (for Traders) are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: AXP, CBH, DD, Hot Stocks, JBLU, LMT, NOC, T

By the BullMarket.com Staff
The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all started the week up despite some concerns that China and the factory orders report would drive U.S. stocks down. New highs again marked the close of both the Dow and S&P 500, and all three indices are on track to post their best quarter in at least three years. Stocks in Shanghai took another tumble as the government continues to try and control the stock market. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped -8.3% overnight, but the effect seemed minimal as most other Asian markets closed up, including five record highs. Factory orders grew in April, but the gains were weaker than expected. New orders increased by only 0.3%, which was the smallest gain in three months. Analysts had expected gains of up to 0.8%. While the overall gains were weak, analysts were encouraged by the 2.1% growth for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft. This sub-metric is considered a good read on business investment.

M&A news once again dominated the headlines. Palm Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM ) signed a deal with private equity firm Elevation Partners for the firm to buy 25% of the smartphone manufacturer. As part of the deal, two Palm executives will resign and shareholders will receive a special $9 per share distribution. Analysts have noted that Palm is facing more competition in the smartphone market lately and it will only get worse as Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone prepares to release at the end of the month. Palm is also adding former Apple hardware engineer Jon Rubenstein to its board as executive chairman. Mr. Rubenstein has settled with the SEC in an investigation surrounding his role in Apple's backdating issues. He paid a fine without admitting guilt. Mr. Rubenstein most notably ran the iPod division from 2004-2005.
Private equity fund Lone Star V LP has entered into an agreement to buy Accredited Home Lenders (Nasdaq: LEND) for $15.10 per share, or a total of approximately $400 million in cash. This is a 10% premium over the stock's Friday close of $13.76. Accredited offers loans to high-risk borrowers, more commonly known as subprime mortgages. This industry, of course, recently suffered a well-publicized collapse.
Telecommunications equipment company Avaya (NYSE: AV), meanwhile, is said to be near closing its deal with private equity firms TPG Capital LLP and Silver Lake Partners. While the deal is not finalized and Avaya could still fall to another suitor, the private equity group seems to be in the leading position.
News Corp (NYSE: NWS) Chairman Rupert Murdoch met with the Bancroft family, who own a controlling interest in Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ), publishers of the The Wall Street Journal. The Bancroft family has been reluctant to meet with Mr. Murdoch, who has made overtures of late trying to buy the company. While the family has been reluctant to sell its stake, this meeting may represent a warming towards the purchase.
According to reports, American Express (NYSE: AXP) is planning to sell its private banking unit within the next one to two weeks. The unit could be worth between $1 and $2 billion. While no suitors have been named publicly, analysts believe that a large international bank could be the purchaser.
Struggling Puerto Rican lender Doral (NYSE: DRL), who last month agreed to be bought out by a private equity fund run by Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), has received a rival bid. Privately held FBOP Corp. has made an offer of $1.41 per share in order to take an 80% stake in the lender. This is more than twice what Bear Stearns offered in May.

Labels: AAPL, AV, AXP, BSC, DJ, iPhone, LEND, NWS, PALM

Strong earnings reports from bellwether companies like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG - News) helped propel a broad advance to close out the week, with the Blue Chip Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing the 12,900 point mark for the first time in its history. Advancing stocks led decliners by roughly a 3-to-1 margin on the NYSE and 2-to-1 on Nasdaq on above-average volume. Crude oil futures also jumped to close above $63 a barrel, while the 10-year Treasury note eased fractionally.
The Dow's gain was fueled by American Express (NYSE: AXP - News), up 3.5% on the day after posting a 21% increase in Q1 profit to a record $1.06 billion. Subscribers can read a detailed analysis of Amex's results in today's issue. Also contributing strongly was Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - News), which closed 4.7% higher. The heavy equipment maker said its Q1 profit fell to $816 million from $840 million a year earlier, though net income rose on a per-share basis to $1.23 compared with $1.20 per share as a result of share repurchases. The housing slump in North America continues to hamper Caterpillar's results, but expectations for continued strong growth outside of the U.S. encouraged the company to raise its full-year forecast to between $5.30 and $5.80 a share, from between $5.20 and $5.70 a share in its previous forecast.
Other Dow components reporting results today included McDonald's (NYSE: MCD - News) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - News). McDonald's said its Q1 earnings rose 22% to $762 million, or 62 cents a share, while Pfizer reported a -17% drop in earnings due to the impact of restructuring charges. Pfizer also cut its full-year forecast to reflect the loss of exclusivity of its blood-pressure medication Norvasc last month. The company had originally thought it would retain market exclusivity through September, but it lost a court challenge on the matter. Subscribers can read a detailed analysis of the results from McDonald's and Pfizer in today's issue.
Google once again blew by its own forecast, and its shares added 2.3% after it announced results last night. The Internet company's ubiquitous search engine continues to be its engine for growth as net income jumped a healthy 69% to $1 billion, or $3.18 a share, from $592 million or $1.95 a share a year earlier. Another top technology name, Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD - News), slipped -0.8% after reporting that it had swung to a wider-than-expected loss in the most-recent quarter. Elsewhere, oilfield services provider Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB - News) added 1.2% after the company reported a 63% jump in profits as a result of strong oil and natural gas activity by firms worldwide. The company's net income rose to $1.2 billion, or 96 cents a share, from $722.5 million, or 59 cents a share, a year ago.
In other company news, Circuit City (NYSE: CC - News) and Napster (Nasdaq: NAPS - News) announced that they had teamed up to launch their own music download service. Subscribers will be able to download songs to their computers or music players for either a monthly fee of $14.95 or for 99-cents a song. Circuit City's shares rose 2.9%, but Napster traded essentially unchanged. Shares of H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) closed up 3.3% after the company succeeded in finding a buyer for its troubled subprime lending unit, Option One Mortgage. A newly formed subsidiary of the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management will buy the mortgage firm for the value of its net assets minus $300 million. The final price will be determined when the deal closes later this year.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: AMD, AXP, CAT, CC, GOOG, HRB, MCD, NAPS, pfe, SLB

American Express Co., the nation's third-largest credit-card brand, said Thursday heavier use of its cards by more customers helped drive first-quarter profit up 21 percent to a record $1.06 billion.

The quarterly profit was 87 cents per share, from $873 million, or 69 cents per share, a year ago.

Total revenue grew 14 percent to $7.63 billion from $6.72 billion last year. After interest expense, revenue totaled $6.67 billion, up 10 percent from $6.05 billion in the prior-year period.
Results surpassed Wall Street projections for earnings of 80 cents per share on $7.17 billion of revenue, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Labels: American Express Company, AXP

Here are 7 options to watch for today. This list comes directly from the TradingMarkets Options Indicators page. The list is created using OptionVue options analysis software.
Most Under Priced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Sears Holdings Mar 185 Calls (NasdaqGS:SHLD - News). SHLD's PowerRating is 7.
Most Under Priced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Bank of America Corp. May 50 Puts (NYSE:BAC - News). BAC's PowerRating is 5.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Lehman Brothers Mar 75 Calls (NYSE:LEH - News). LEH's PowerRating is 7.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Lamar Advertising Apr 65 (NasdaqGS:LAMR - News). LAMR's PowerRating is 6.
Stocks with Abnormal Call Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual call option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Call Volume Alerts list suggests a possible takeover, extraordinarily good earnings report, or other news which may favorably affect the stock.
Amgen (NasdaqGS:AMGN - News). AMGN's PowerRating is 6.
Stocks with Abnormal Put Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual put option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Put Volume Alerts list suggests an extraordinarily negative earnings report, or other news which may negatively affect the stock.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - News). AXP's PowerRating is 6.
Abnormal Put/Call $ Volume: These stocks have the highest dollar put volume in relation to their call volume. These high ratios are indicative of extreme bearish sentiment in the underlying stock.
SanDisk (NasdaqGS:SNDK - News). SNDK's PowerRating is 6.
PowerRatings are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: AMGN, AXP, BAC, LAMR, LEH, SHLD, SNDK, stock options

Shares of American Express Co. were the heaviest weight on the Dow Jones industrial average on a down day for the markets at midday Monday.
The index of 30 leading copanies was down 9.69, at 12,571.22.
Shares of New York-based American Express were down 97 cents to $56.56 as concerns about credit quality continued to spread across the financial services industry following announcements last week from mortgage companies about increasing defaults, and a report early Monday on increased foreclosure activity in January.
Shares of The Walt Disney Co. were down 45 cents, to $33.91, despite an upgrade from CIBC World Markets to "Sector Performer," from "Underperform."
Boeing Co. shares edged down 62 cents, to $80.39. Lehman Brothers analyst Joseph Campbell reiterated an "Overweight" rating and a $105 price target on the shares Monday, but wrote in a client note the shares were valued well above average for the industry, and outlined concerns about the risks the company faces trying to ramp up its 787 aircraft program on schedule and on budget.
On the upside, shares of alumina maker Alcoa Inc. added 65 cents, or 2 percent, to $33.17 on news that Canadian aluminum producer Novelis Inc. is being acquired by Hindalco Industries of India. Morgan Stanley analyst Marke Liinamaa noted the $6 billion deal highlights the value of Alcoa's downstream operations.
Shares of Home Depot Inc. gained 53 cents, to $41.53, on news the Atlanta-based home improvement chain is considering selling its Home Depot Supply business, which it bought last year for $3.2 billion.
And shares of Coca-Cola Co. were up 52 cents, to $48.28, as Wall Street speculated it may beat expectations when the Atlanta-based beverage company reports fourth-quarter results on Wednesday.
Published by AP

Labels: AA, AXP, BA, DIS, HD, KO, MS, NVL

Citigroup (NYSE: C - News): On the news that Citigroup finance chief Sallie Krawcheck will become CEO of the bank's wealth management unit, Cramer commented that the only thing that will make him bullish is the departure of CEO Chuck Prince. "Prince leaving is worth 5 (points), and a breakup of the bank is worth 2." He added that Citigroup needs a banker, not a lawyer and would like to see Wells Fargo's Richard Kovacevich, "America's greatest banker, or JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon fill the position.
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB - News), Eaton (NYSE: ETN - News), Cummins Engine (NYSE: CMI - News): Cramer is bullish on KMB since analyst estimates of the stock are based on crude oil at $70 a barrel and not on the recent $51. He added that, given the lackluster numbers from ETN and CMI, the stocks should be lower; 'There's ETN slapping you in the face like a day-old fish from Chinatown, saying 'listen, trucking is bad...' And CMI just kind of stands there.'
American Express (NYSE: AXP - News) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - News): Cramer feels good about Monday's market with AXP at the head of the pack in the financial sector. He sees nothing more than a tech trade from "merchant of doom" TXN's postclose numbers.
Published by SeekingAlpha

Labels: AXP, C, CMI, ETN, Jim Cramer, KMB, TXN

A mixed bag of earning reports, continued skepticism about the state of the technology sector, and the downgrade of a major manufacturer spooked investors today. Stocks opened weakly and then sank rapidly with the weakness evident across the board. Oil prices initially resumed moving upward after cold weather finally settled in across the Northeast, but crude futures reversed course to close under $52 a barrel while the 10-year Treasury note gained slightly, sending the yield -1 basis point lower.
Pharmaceutical heavyweight Pfizer (NYSE: PFE - News) beat analyst expectations for earnings and announced additional cost-cutting and restructuring efforts. Both seemed to disappoint investors as the stock sank as low as $26.66 in mid-afternoon trading but recovered some lost ground in the final hour of trading. The company earned $9.5 billion, or $1.32 a share, on revenue of $16.6 billion, up sharply from Q4 2005 earnings of $2.73 billion, or 37 cents a share. The results were buoyed by Pfizer's sale of its consumer unit to Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ - News). The drugmaker also said it will cut a total of 10,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, by the end of the year. Subscribers can read our analysis of Pfizer's results in today's issue.
Credit card provider and American Express (NYSE: AXP - News) ended little changed after the company reported a Q4 profit of $922 million, or 75 cents a share, up from $745 million, or 59 cents a share, a year earlier on a 13% gain in revenue to $7.2 billion. The company attributed the results to strong consumer spending on its cards during the holiday season. Citigroup (NYSE: C - News), meanwhile, edged up after it announced management changes and an acquisition. Prudential Securities also upgraded the company's stock to "overweight" from "neutral."
While Pfizer put some pressure on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, there were far bigger anchors dragging the index down. Aircraft maker Boeing (NYSE: BA - News) was downgraded to "market perform" from "outperform" by Wachovia Securities, sending the stock off by -3%. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - News) and United Technologies (NYSE: UTX - News) both lost -2%, while Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) slipped -1%.
Microsoft rival Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW - News), meanwhile, announced it would begin to buy microprocessors from Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - News) for use in its servers. Intel, in turn, will endorse Sun's Solaris operating system and Java software. The deal is a blow to Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD - News), which previously had been Sun's exclusive supplier. Sun said it would still make machines based on AMD's chips, but AMD still finished down -1%.
Weakness in the technology sector was highlighted by poor performances today from some of the sector's bellwethers, including Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL - News), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG - News), and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL - News), all off -2%, and eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY - News), which ended the day -1% lower. Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News) continued the slide it saw on Friday when the company reported weak Q4 results and announced job cuts. The stock lost -3% in today's trading.

Labels: AMD, AXP, BA, C, CAT, INTC, JNJ, MSFT, pfe, SUNW, UTX

American ExpressBusiness Risk: Below AverageEconomic Moat: WidePrice/Fair Value Ratio*: 0.83
American Express (NYSE:AXP - News) has a fantastic business model. Because Amex cardholders tend to spend more, on average, the company is able to levy a higher per-transaction fee on participating merchants. What's more, since Amex uses its own network to process transactions, it has access to the cardholder and merchant side of any transaction. As such, the company issues the card and maintains the customer relationship, keeps the entire fee it levies on merchants, owns the associated credit card receivable and the interest thereon, and has access to detailed spending data. Morningstar analyst Ryan Batchelor thinks the firm's late 2005 spin-off of its advisory unit, Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - News), has allowed Amex's flagship card-related business to really shine in 2006, and he sees a very bright future.
Wm. Wrigley Jr.Business Risk: Below AverageEconomic Moat: WidePrice/Fair Value Ratio*: 0.85
Wm. Wrigley Jr.'s (NYSE:WWY - News) significant miscalculation regarding the strength of acquired confectionery brands from Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT - News) has caused consternation among investors. However, Morningstar analyst Mitchell Corwin believes the firm is taking positive steps, such as shuffling top management, improving innovation, and boosting advertising to revive the purchased brands and cement its U.S. leadership position in chewing gum. A slowly improving domestic business and continued international prosperity paint a bright long-term picture, in Corwin's view.
* Price/fair value ratios calculated using fair value estimates and closing prices as of Friday, Jan. 19, 2007.
Published by Jeffrey Ptak, CPA, CFA

Labels: AMP, AXP, KFT, WWY