Jim Cramer Blog

Here are 7 options to watch for today.
Most Under-Priced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most under-priced individual calls.
salesforce.com Dec 65 Calls (NYSE:CRM - News). CRM's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Most Under-Priced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most under-priced individual puts.
Illumina Dec 50 Puts (NasdaqGM:ILMN - News). ILMN's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most overpriced individual calls.
Alliance Data Systems Dec 175 Calls (NYSE:ADS - News). ADS's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most overpriced individual puts.
Goldman Sachs Dec 190 Puts (NYSE:GS - News). GS's PowerRating (for Traders) 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.
Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE - News). SEE's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
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.
Nucor (NYSE:NUE - News). NUE's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
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.
Moody's (NYSE:MCO - News). MCO's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.

Labels: ADS, CRM, GS, ILMN, MCO, NUE, SEE, stock options

Bullish
Proctor and Gamble (PG), better play than Unilever in this sector.
ValueClick (VCLK), Cramer thinks that this stock is still a buy.
UPS (UPS), bullish on the stock over the long term despite the current slowdown in the economy.
Omniture (OMTR), Cramer is bullish on the stock, and thinks that it will get bought out in the next year.
Aecom (ACM), still a great infrastructure play and that it is still cheap.
KBR (KBR),
Foster Wheeler (FWLT),
Salesforce.com (CRM) - likes their product and their sales model
Oracle (ORCL).

Bearish
Taser (TASR) - it is time to cash out
Smith & Wesson (SWHC).

Labels: ACM, CRM, FWLT, Jim Cramer, KBR, Lightning Round, Mad Money Lightning Round, OMTR, ORCL, PG, VCLK

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Wednesday from TradingMarkets.com:
Applied Materials (NasdaqGS:AMAT - News) beat earnings on Tuesday after the close, announcing $0.35 EPS over an expected $0.32 EPS. AMAT's PowerRating is 7.

Copa Holdings (NYSE:CPA - News) should report $0.71 EPS before the market opens on Wednesday. CPA's PowerRating is 5.
When Daktronics (NasdaqGS:DAKT - News) announces earnings on Wednesday morning, look for $0.14 EPS. DAKT's PowerRating is 5.
Analysts are watching for Deere (NYSE:DE - News) to report $1.99 EPS when the company reports earnings on Wednesday morning. DE's PowerRating is 6.
Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE - News) is expected to announce $0.14 EPS before the market opens on Wednesday. SLE's PowerRating is 4.
PETsMART (NasdaqGS:PETM - News) and salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM - News) report earnings Wednesday afternoon, so watch for heightened price action and volatility ahead of the close. PETM's PowerRating is 4, and CRM's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings (for Traders) are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: AMAT, CPA, CRM, DAKT, DE, Hot Stocks, PETM, SLE

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY - News)
The "tireless Cassandra" of the sub-prime crisis is now the "last man standing," said Cramer, praising Mike Farrell, CEO of NLY. Farrell commented on Mad Money that he saw the crisis on the horizon and pulled back from the residential mortgage business. As a result, NLY has survived where others have fallen. Concerning its $3 rise, Cramer said, "you ain't seen nothing yet" and predicted the stock would double. While NLY is involved in risk, it carries the more benign interest rate risk rather then the hazardous credit risk which has destroyed so many lenders. Since the media fails to make the distinction between the two kinds of risk, it has missed out on reporting on NLY's success, according to Cramer.

Paper Trail: Sappi (NYSE: SPP - News)
Cramer recommends Sappi as a way to play the antisubsidy and antidumping tariffs the U.S has imposed on glossy, coated paper from China. SPP has 10% global market share, and coated paper accounts for 70% of its sales. The company was hurt by the Chinese, but the new legislation should mean a short term increase for the stock, perhaps into the $20s. However, Cramer sees SPP as a trade rather than investment, because he ultimately believes the Chinese will win the paper war.Sell Block: Vonage (NYSE: VG - News), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ - News), Friedman Billings Ramsey Group (NYSE: FBR - News)
Cramer has one more reason to hate Vonage; while at first glance it may seem to be a good thing that CEO Mike Snyder is leaving, he is being replaced by Jeffrey Citron, who in 2003 was banned from the securities industry and in Cramer's opinion, should not be a CEO of a publicly traded company. On the other hand, a company Cramer liked but has disappointed him is JNJ, over which he lamented "there are very few blue chips left." He is unhappy with the company's fundamentals, its "anemic" pipeline, the fact its big money maker, Risperdal, is going generic, and that its latest product launch has gone "pathetically." Cramer says FBR is "trying to turn lead into gold" and should be avoided; "It's got some really heinous sub-prime exposure," he adds.
CEO Interview: Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM - News)
Marc Benioff said his company is "trying to recreate the software industry by delivering a set of Internet services that replace traditional enterprise software." He noted major contracts CRM has signed with Merrill Lynch, Dell and Cisco and commented his company was preferred over Oracle and Microsoft. When Cramer suggested other companies have achieved the same thing and failed, Marc Benioff replied that the openess to change the company's technology and business models would win CRM more high-profile clients. Cramer declared he was neutral on the stock and suggested viewers decide for themselves.
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: CRM, FBR, Jim Cramer, JNJ, Mad Money, NLY, SPP, VG

Bullish calls:
Celgene (NasdaqGS: CELG): ' ... down $3 - where Bob Hugin [CEO] came on our show and assured us that things are good. So I'm going... CELG, particularly if you can get it under $50, which would be a gift.'AT&T (NYSE: T - News): ' Tomorrow morning, T - It would be a gift if that stock opened down. It's got yield protection. It's got a buyback. It's got superb management. It fits all my criteria. 'J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP - News): 'I think you can possibly own a JCP, which is buying back stock and people think it missed the quarter, but Mike Ullman [CEO] is saying good things.'Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG - News)Colgate (NYSE: CL - News)Diageo (NYSE: DEO - News)Wyndham (NYSE: WYN - News): 'I've been doing a lot of work on WYN, which is a spinoff of Cendant. I like that more [than CHH].'Hilton (NYSE: HLT - News): 'You know I've been a big fan of HLT.'
Bearish calls:
Pain Therapeutics (NasdaqGM: PTIE): ' ... even though PTIE seems to have really good earnings power coming up next year, I think it's too risky. I honestly would rather see you in a CELG.'Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM - News): 'I think the stock should be lower. I do not get why that stock hangs in in this bad market. I don't want to own CRM, and I don't want anyone else to either. I invite the CEO if he wants to come on and talk about his stock selling.'Retail Ventures (NYSE: RVI - News): 'In this market, when you're worried, and you have a stock that's a point off its 52-week high, we are strictly in a no-prisoners mode. You take that, and you ring the register.'Playtex Products (NYSE: PYX - News): 'I like the cohort. I believe that that kind of consumer-related business is not going to have a slowdown here... But why do you need to be in PYX - a point off its high - when you can be in PG? When you can be in CL? When you can be in DEO, which just reported a great quarter?'Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH - News): 'It's a franchiser of hotels ... I don't think I need to go down in the food chain to your name. I've got a bunch of them that I think are cheaper and better, and those are the ones that I want to go with.'
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: CELG, CHH, CL, CRM, DEO, HLT, JCP, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, Mad Money, PG, PTIE, PYX, RVI, WYN

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - News) fourth-quarter profit rose 20% as sales climbed 18% but the New Albany, Ohio, teen-wear retailer warned that first-half results would be pressured. Same-store sales in the quarter dropped 3%.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings available to common- share holders of $1.59 a share, compared with $1.18 in the year-earlier period. Revenue at the Cleveland producer of iron-ore pellets rose to $622.6 million from $468.9 million.
EDO Corp. (NYSE:EDO - News) said its fourth-quarter net profit fell 44% to $4.2 million, or 22 cents a share, from $7.4 million, or 37 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue for the period ending Dec. 31 rose 29.4% to $258.7 million, due to acquisitions including engineering group CAS Inc. and Impact Science & Technology. Organic growth slipped 8.8% due to lower sales in its electronic-force-protection division, as margins and profit were hit by one-time items including legal costs and write-offs. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 45 cents a share on revenue of $261 million. EDO said it expects 2007 revenue, excluding the impact of acquisitions, to be between $960 million and $1.01 billion.
EMC Insurance Group Inc. (NasdaqGS:EMCI - News) reported fourth-quarter net income fell 40% on 2.7% lower revenue. Earnings were $11.5 million, or 84 cents a share, against $19 million, or $1.40, in the year-earlier period. Operating earnings were 78 cents compared with $1.34. Revenue fell to $114.8 million from $118 million. Premiums earned decreased 3.7% to $102.8 million. Investment income increased 8.3%to $11.9 million. For 2007, EMC expects operating earnings of $2.25 to $2.50 a share, compared with the $3.70 posted for 2006.
G-III Apparel Group Ltd. (NasdaqGM:GIII - News) said it expects fiscal 2007 earnings of 90 cents to 95 cents a share on revenue of $425 million to $428 million.
ICT Group Inc. (NasdaqGM:ICTG - News) reported fourth-quarter net income of $5.1 million, or 32 cents a share, up from $4 million, or 30 cents, earned in the last three months of 2005. Quarterly revenue generated by the Newtown, Pa.-based services outsourcing company reached $117.2 million from the prior year's $110.4 million. Analysts, on average, had been looking for earnings of 32 cents a share on revenue of $116 million, according to estimates compiles by Thomson Financial. For 2007, ICT Group said it's shooting for earnings in a range of $1.43 to $1.50 a share; analysts' average stands at $1.49 a share. However, the company pegged first-quarter earnings at 20 cents to 23 cents a share, compared to a 30-cent average estimate among analysts who follow ICT Group.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEW - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $223 million, or 50 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $62 million, or 14 cents a share. On a continuing operations basis, Denver-based Newmont earned $215 million, or 48 cents a share, in the latest quarter, up from last year's equivalent profit of $69 million, or 16 cents a share. Revenue rose in the latest three months to $1.46 billion from $1.29 billion in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for a profit of 40 cents a share in the December period. Newmont said its consolidated gold sales for the fourth quarter reached 2 million ounces at costs applicable to sales of $322 per ounce and an average realized price of $619 per ounce. Looking ahead, the company said it expects capital spending of between $1.8 billion and $2 billion for 2007.
Patterson Cos. (NasdaqGS:PDCO - News)reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of 43 cents a share, up from 39 cents in the year-earlier period. The latest results reflect an income tax benefit of a penny a share and stock-based compensation expense of a penny a share. Sales rose 4% to $709.5 million from $682.4 million. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was profit of 44 cents.
Quicksilver Resources Inc. (NYSE:KWK - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of 24 cents a share, down from 43 cents in the year-earlier period. The Fort Worth, Texas, oil and gas company posted revenue of $102 million vs. $102.9 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had forecast earnings of 27 cents a share on revenue of $104 million.
Reddy Ice Holdings Inc.'s (NYSE:FRZ - News)fourth-quarter net loss widened to 23 cents a share from 20 cents while revenue rose 1.2% to $61.6 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a loss of 17 cents on revenue of $61 million. Reddy said it expects 2007 revenue to range $360 million to $370 million. Net income is expected to range 87 cents to $1.06 a share. The company also said Jimmy Weaver will succeed William Brick as CEO. Brick will become executive chairman.
Rogers Corp. (NYSE:ROG - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of 72 cents a share, up from 62 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue at the Rogers, Conn., maker of specialty material-based products rose to $122.7 million from $98 million. The company expects first- quarter earnings of 48 cents to 52 cents a share on revenue of $108 million to $112 million.
Ruth's Chris Steak House Inc. (NasdaqGS:RUTH - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled to 46 cents a share from 18 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 51% to $88 million.
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE:CRM - News) fourth-quarter profit fell 91%, while revenue surged 58%, roughly in line with expectations.
Safeway Inc.'s (NYSE:SWY - News) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 77% to $307.9 million or 69 cents a share, from $173.5 million, or 39 cents a share, boosted by 8-cents a share in favorable tax items. The year-earlier quarter was hampered by a net of 10 cents a share because of store-exit activities, employee buyouts that were only partially offset by favorable tax items. The Pleasanton, Calif., food and drug retail chain said Thursday that revenue grew 3.8% to $12.5 billion from $12.05 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Identical-store sales, or sale at stores open for more than a year, climbed 3.5%.
Symbion Inc. (NasdaqGS:SMBI - News) said fourth quarter earnings fell to $4.5 million, or 21 cents a share, from $5.6 million, or 25 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted fourth quarter earnings of 22 cents a share. Revenue rose 10% to $78.9 million from $71.5 million as same-store net patient service revenue climbed 8%.
Synopsys Inc.'s (NasdaqGS:SNPS - News) fiscal first-quarter net income surged to 16 cents a share from a penny a share in the year-earlier period. The Mountain View, Calif., software company's revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 31 increased 15% to $300.2 million.
Toll Brothers, (NYSE:TOL - News) the Horsham, Pa., luxury-home builder, reported fiscal first-quarter net income fell 67% on 19% lower revenue.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: ANF, CLF, CRM, EDO, EMCI, FRZ, GIII, ICTG, KWK, NEW, PDCO, ROG, RUTH, SMBI, SNPS, SWY, TOL

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Thursday:
Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM - News) beat earnings Wednesday after the bell, with $0.10 EPS over a consensus of $0.07 EPS. CRM's PowerRating is 7.
Abercrombie (NYSE:ANF - News) matched earnings expectations Wednesday after the market closed, announcing $2.14 EPS. ANF's PowerRating is 6.
Whole Foods (NasdaqGS:WFMI - News) missed earnings on Wednesday afternoon barely missing with $0.38 EPS versus an expected $0.40 EPS. WFMI signed an agreement to acquire Wild Oats Markets (NasdaqGM:OATS - News) after hours on Wednesday. WFMI's PowerRating is 5.
Ballard Power (NasdaqGM:BLDP - News) is expected to report -$0.15 EPS on Thursday before the market opens. BLDP's PowerRating is 3.
JC Penney (NYSE:JCP - News) announces quarterly earnings on Thursday morning; watch for $1.97 EPS. JCP's PowerRating is 5.
Analysts are looking for Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - News) to report $1.13 EPS on Thursday before the market opens. SRE's PowerRating is 6.
When Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM - News) reports quarterly earnings on Thursday morning, look for $0.38 EPS. NEM's PowerRating is 4.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: ANF, BLDP, CRM, Hot Stocks, JCP, NEM, OATS, SRE, WFMI

For earnings hounds, the abbreviated work week is going to be made even shorter. Aside from the Q4 earnings season tapering off, market movers of note are limited with Tuesday and Wednesday being the headliners. Key reports include Home Depot (HD), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Hewlett Packard (HPQ).For economic watchdogs, Wednesday will be in the spotlight. Last week’s less influential PPI came in “just right” in matching expectations, so traders will be focused on what inflation at the consumer level ushers in. With relief over dovish Fed testimony last week, the report should prove to be a market mover. Stronger price readings would likely generate out-the-gate profit taking, as the primary catalyst behind last week’s triumphant rise would be deemed suspect. With the Fed still maintaining a vigilant watch over inflation, a turn in investor psychology isn’t a stretch with strong profits on the table. On the other hand, benign data would confirm investors’ newfound convictions over a more Street-friendly Fed. That being said, while a rallying point might be expected, a sell the news response at this juncture still seems more likely, unless the evidence presented is truly persuasive to bulls and bears alike.Elsewhere, the wild card of energy prices and the influence of index component sectors (XLE, OIH) might get a bit more interesting. Twelve sessions of mostly lateral testing slightly below the $60-a-barrel level and key moving averages should be nearing a technical conclusion. Milder temperatures late last week had bears breaking lateral supports in Thursday’s trading. However, an intraday reversal and follow-through in Friday’s session sent the March contract rallying back towards resistance within the established trading range.
Tuesday
Economic: NA
Earnings: Alltel (AT), Boyd (BYD), Home Depot (HD), Wal-Mart (WMT), Century Aluminum (CENX), Hewlett Packard (HPQ), Medtronic (MDT), Ultra Petrol (UPL), Sealy (ZZ), Powerwave (PWAV)
Wednesday
Economic: CPI & Core (.1%, .2%), Leading Indicators (.2%), Weekly Crude, FOMC Minutes
Earnings: Jack Box (JBX), Mittal (MT), Nice Systems (NICE), Orbital (ORB), Perficient (PRFT), TASER (TASR), Abercrombie (ANF), Agnico Mines (AEM), Analog Devices (ADI), Gen Maritime (GMR), Oceaneering Intl (OII), Pan Am Silver (PAAS), Salesforce (CRM), Whole Foods (WFMI)
Thursday
Economic: Weekly Claims (320K)Earnings: Barrick (ABX), Berry Petrol (BRY), JC Penney (JCP), K-Swiss (KSWS), Newmont (NEM), OfficeMax (OMX), Patterson (PDCO), Toll Bros (TOL), Aventine (AVR), Cabela’s (CAB), Dynamic Matls (BOOM), GFI Group (GFIG), H & R Block (HRB)
Friday
Economic: NA
Earnings: Clear Channel (CCU), Domino’s (DPZ), Lowe’s (LOW), NICOR (GAS)

Labels: AT, BOOM, BYD, CENX, CRM, GAS, HD, HPQ, JBX, MDT, MT, NICE, ORB, PAAS, PWAV, UPL, WMT, ZZ

Interesting article in Business Week on NetSuite’s potential IPO. NetSuite is a Larry Ellison-backed software company that is like Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM - News) in the sense that it’s web based, but unlike Salesforce.com which focuses on sales planning and account management, NetSuite helps small and medium sized businesses with accounting and financial statements, the “underpinning of a business,” according to Oracle’s (NASDAQ: ORCL - News) Ellison.
For one thing, it’s odd that Oracle’s board has not raised an issue with Ellison owning well over 50% of a company (after a potential IPO, he owns much more now, having invested the bulk of the $100M NetSuite has raised) that is technically competing in a space that Oracle should have a foothold in, but alas…
Second, the article has an interesting stat that is explained partially by Sarbanes Oxley making it more expensive for companies to go public, and by the fact that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG - News) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - News) have continued to scoop most companies early on before they scale enough to file for an IPO.
Anyway, the stat: in 1999, there were 323 IPOs which raised $31.6 billion, compared to a paltry $4.9 billion raised in 2006 through a mere 32 IPOs.
Of course, there’s also much less VC money being invested, and 1999 was the beginning of the before the Nasdaq bubble… but still; that’s 90% less IPOs a mere seven years later.
The company’s 2006 revenues were in the $70M range, backing what I have been saying for some time, when it comes to IPOs, $50M is the new $100M (at least for online companies).
-Ashkan Karbasfrooshan

Labels: CRM, GOOG, IPO, Larry Ellison, MSFT, ORCL

Sales software maker Salesforce.com Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter profit fell sharply from last year, as operating expenses surged.
Income for the quarter ended Oct. 31 was $339,000, or break-even per share, down from a profit of $13.1 million, or 11 cents per share, last year. Earnings included roughly 6 cents per share in stock-based compensation and amortization expenses.
Revenue for the quarter was $130.1 million, up 57 percent from $82.7 million last year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected the company to post earnings, on average, of 5 cents per share on $129 million in revenue.

Labels: CRM, Salesforce.com Inc.

Shares of Salesforce.com Inc., which makes Web-based sales and customer support software, soared to a new one-year high Monday in anticipation of a strong earnings report on Wednesday.
"We have learned that Salesforce.com and IBM have just recently formed an alliance to target the small-medium business market, yet another indicator of Salesforce.com's tremendous momentum," Roth Capital Partners analyst Nathan Schneiderman wrote in a note to investors.
Schneiderman maintained a "Buy" rating on the stock and raised his price target to $50 from $43, implying he expects the share price to rise 18.5 percent in the next year..
The analyst wrote Salesforce.com might beat the Street with its revenue report. Overall, he said he expects the company to report an adjusted profit of 5 cents per share on $129 million in revenue. Compared with the year-ago quarter, that's a two-cent drop in earnings and about a 56 percent rise in revenue.

Labels: CRM, IBM, Salesforce.com Inc.