Jim Cramer Blog

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
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.
Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI - News). HBI'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.
Endurance Specialty Holdings (NYSE:ENH - News). ENH'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.
United Rentals (NYSE:URI - News). URI's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Bearish
Laps Up 5% or More: These are stocks that lap up by 5% or more and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that lap up by more than 5% have shown negative returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC - News). CFC's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
5+ Consecutive Up Days: These are stocks that have closed up 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 close up for five or more days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Progress Energy (NYSE:PGN - News). PGN's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
5+ Consecutive Higher Highs: 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.
Jabil Circuit (NYSE:JBL - News). JBL's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
2-Period RSI Above 98: These are stocks that have a 2-day RSI reading above 98 and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average with a 2-period RSI reading above 98 have shown negative returns, on average, 1-day and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - News). MS's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
PowerRatings (for Traders) are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: CFC, Countrywide Financial Corp., ENH, HBI, Hot Stocks, JBL, MS, PGN, URI

The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all closed up on the day, as the Fed started a two-day meeting to decide the direction of interest rates. The Commerce Department announced today that durable goods orders had declined -2.8% for the month of May, much lower than the -1% that economists had expected. Non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, seen as an indicator of business development, dropped -3%, its biggest decline since January, when it went down -4.4%.
Musical equipment retailer Guitar Center (Nasdaq: GTRC) announced that it had agreed to be taken private by an affiliate of Bain Capital Partners LLC. Bain Capital will pay $1.9 billion in cash for the company. The company has been part of many takeover rumors ever since it hired Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to put itself up for auction. Shareholders will be paid $63 per share, and the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Guitar Center was up 19.8% on the news.
People's United Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBCT), Connecticut's third-largest bank by deposits, has agreed to buy Chittenden Corp. (NYSE: CHZ) in a cash and stock deal worth an estimated $1.9 billion. Current Chittenden Corp. shareholders will be offered a choice of taking stock in People's United or cash for their stock. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) announced that it would increase its stock buyback program by $4 billion to $5.5 billion, replacing a previous $1.5 billion program. It also announced that it would increase its quarterly dividend from 10 cents per share to 13 cents per share. Best Buy was up 3.7% on the day.
ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announced earnings today with a strong profit that seemed only minimally hurt by a recall of Peter Pan peanut butter. ConAgra Foods reported earnings of $192 million, or 39 cents per share, on revenues of $3.33 billion. The earnings represented a 324% increase over last year's $59.2 million. The stock was up 4.5% on the news.
HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI) announced that it would close nine factories and cut 5,300 jobs. The company will shift some of its manufacturing to Asia and Africa in order to cut costs. The company, maker of Hanes underwear, is attempting to increase its operating profit to between 6-8%. The company has already cut 2,000 jobs this year.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: BBY, CAG, CHZ, GS, GTRC, HBI, PBCT

Bullish calls:
Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS - News): 'I'd rather see you in DKS.'Diageo (NYSE: DEO - News): 'DEO's one of my best picks... even though they hit their 52-week high ... they are unbelievable, charging for a ridiculously bad blend... That stock, moving into China, I think DEO, at $80, goes to $100 in the next 18 months. I want you to stick with DEO.'Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC - News): 'I think NOC is unbelivable; they're a great company. The war has lasted a long time, and that defense appropriation budget is gigantic. Two thumbs up, way up, for all the defense contractors, including the big three of NOC, GD, and LMT.'Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News)General Dynamics (NYSE: GD - News)Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - News): 'I would much rather see you ... in GS, at $214 ... let's stick with best.'Six Flags (NYSE: SIX - News): 'That stock - 5-6, 5-6... When we get to summer, that stock goes to $8.'Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI - News): ' I think HBI is very cheap ... I think HBI is a slow, plodding stock that will go higher. It's not exciting ... but it won't hurt you. I'm giving it one thumb up, but not way up.'Lowe's (NYSE: LOW - News): 'I want you to stay with LOW.'Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM - News): 'XOM is one of those stocks that Wall Street just absolutely loves... It returns a lot of money in dividends... It returns a lot of money in buybacks. My problem is that it's singularly unexciting ... But, that said, every money manager and his brother is into XOM.'Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN - News): 'If you want to get into oil that has a great future, I would go with DVN.'Chevron (NYSE: CVX - News): 'If you want to get into oil that is going from bad to good - and it is bad - go into CVX ... I think CVX will make you more money [than XOM.]'
Bearish calls:
Cabela's (NYSE: CAB - News):' I thought it would take off. It is still at $24. My bad ... I am distinctly now in the 'don't buy, don't buy' camp.'Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News): 'HD is run by a guy who may or may not be good ... I want you to sell HD.'Hudson City BankCorp (NasdaqGS: HCBK): ' Just added to the index - spiked up - came right back down ... Here's the problem: When you have an inverted yield curve, where the short rates are too high, and the long rates aren't that high, that's a bad environment for savings and loans in general.'Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB - News): 'That's a major league short ... Sell, sell, sell!'

Labels: CAB, CQB, CVX, DEO, DKS, DVN, GD, GS, HBI, HD, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, LMT, LOW, Mad Money, NOC, SIX, XOM

8x8 Inc. (NasdaqCM:EGHT - News) shares slid after the Santa Clara, Calif.-based provider of internet-based telephony products posted a fiscal third-quarter net loss of $3.06 million, or 5 cents a share, vs. a net loss of $6.79 million, or 12 cents a share, for the same period last year. Excluding stock-based compensation, the company posted a loss of 4 cents a share. Revenue rose to $13.2 million from $8.48 million.
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (NYSE:ADS - News) said fourth-quarter net income rose, as revenue gained, to $39.6 million, or 48 cents a share, from $31.3 million, or 38 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year.
Andrew Corp. (NasdaqGS:ANDW - News) swung to fiscal first-quarter loss of $2.55 million, or 2 cents a share, from year-earlier net income of $14.8 million, or 9 cents a share. The maker of communications systems said loss for the latest quarter reflects an aggregate charge of 10 cents a share for restructuring, amortization, litigation costs and a provision for a quality issue. First-quarter total sales increased to $522.2 million from $514.7 million, as wireless-infrastructure sales increased 3% to $499 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on average, expected the Westchester, Ill., company to earn 12 cents a share on sales of $552.4 million for the first quarter ended Dec. 31. Analysts' estimates typically exclude unusual items.
Applebee's International Inc. (NasdaqGS:APPB - News) said its January system-wide domestic sales at restaurants open at least one year fell 5.8%. Comparable sales for domestic franchise restaurants decreased 5.5% for the four-week period ended Jan. 28.
Apache (NYSE:APA - News) said its fourth-quarter net income fell to $520.8 million, or $1.56 a share, from $788.2 million, or $2.35 a share, a year ago, reflecting lower gas prices. A Thomson Financial survey of analysts, on average, expected earnings of $1.60 a share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates usually exclude items.
Archstone-Smith (NYSE:ASN - News), the Denver real-estate investment trust focused on apartments, reported fourth-quarter net income fell 5.8% on 30% higher revenue. Earnings were $306.6 million, or $1.36 a share, compared with $325.4 million, or $1.52, in the year-earlier period. Per-share funds from operations reflecting gains and losses rose 5% $1.46 from $1.39. In 2007, the company expects to earn $2.20 to $2.50 a share and report FFO of $2.24 to $2.38.
Comcast Corp. (NasdaqGS:CMCSA - News) said fourth-quarter net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 nearly tripled to $390 million or 18 cents a share, from $133 million, or 6 cents a share in the year-ago period. Income from continuing operations rose to 20 cents a share from 5 cents a share. Adjusted income in the latest quarter was 21 cents a share. Operating cash flow increased to $2.59 billion from $2.04 billion. Revenue climbed to $7.03 billion from $5.42 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of 24 cents a share and revenue of $7.13 billion. For 2007, Comcast (NasdaqGS:CMCSK - News) forecasts consolidated revenue growth of at least 11% on an adjusted basis and consolidated operating cash flow growth of at least 13%.
CRM Holdings Ltd. (NasdaqGS:CRMH - News) said it expects fourth-quarter earnings of 23 to 27 cents a share for the fourth quarter, including charges of 11 cents a share and gains totaling 14 cents a share. For the year ended Dec. 31, the company sees earnings of 87 to 89 cents a share. The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial is for a profit of 24 cents a share in the December quarter.
Gevity HR (NasdaqGS:GVHR - News) shares slipped after the company said it expects revenue of about $156 million for the fourth quarter, lower than a previous forecast for revenue of between $167 million and $177 million due to higher client attrition and lower client production than anticipated.
Goodrich Corp. (NYSE:GR - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $98.9 million, or 78 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $69.6 million, or 56 cents a share. Sales rose in the latest three months to $1.54 billion from $1.4 billion in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for a profit of 67 cents a share in the December period on revenue of $1.49 billion. Looking ahead, the Charlotte, N.C., aerospace and defense systems provider lifted its outlook for fiscal 2007 to earnings of $2.95 to $3.15 a share from a prior projection of $2.90 to $3.10 a share. It sees sales of between $6.2 billion and $6.4 billion for the year. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for earnings of $3.06 a share in 2007.
Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI - News) said net income in the quarter ending Dec. 30 fell 78% to $23.8 million as sales fell 4.3% to $1.13 billion. The company said the fall in profit was largely due to a higher interest expense, reduced operating profit and higher income tax. Revenue was down due to weakness in the innerwear segment and the intentional discontinuance of low-margin product lines. The company said its results also include items associated with restructuring and its spin-off as an independent company. Hanesbrands was previously a division of Sara Lee Corp.
Hartes-Hanks Communications (NYSE:HHS - News) was downgraded to neutral from outperform at Robert W. Baird.
JDS Uniphase (NasdaqGS:JDSU - News) shares slid after the fiber optics networking company said it swung to income in the second quarter of $23.2 million or 10 cents a share. During the same period in the prior year, the San Jose, Calif.-based company reported a net loss of $42.1 million, or 20 cents a share. Before items, quarterly per-share income was 13 cents. In the prior year's period, the pro forma per-share loss was 2 cents. JDSU said quarterly revenue rose to $366.3 million from $312.9 million in the prior year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for $363 million. For the third quarter, the company sees revenue of $333 million to $353 million, while Wall Street is looking for $351 million.
Shares of NeuroMetrix Inc. (NasdaqGM:NURO - News) fell after the Waltham, Mass.-based medical device company reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $1.21 million, or 9 cents a share, up from $805,451, or 6 cents a share, last year. Excluding items, the company posted a per-share profit of 14 cents compared with 7 cents. Revenue rose to $14.2 million from $10.3 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting a per-share profit of 12 cents on revenue of $15.7 million.
Playboy Enterprises (NYSE:PLA - News) was downgraded to sector perform from outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
QuickLogic (NasdaqGM:QUIK - News) shares fell after the company posted a non-GAAP loss of $7.7 million, or 27 cents a share, for the fourth quarter, down from a year-ago equivalent profit of $3.9 million, or 14 cents a share. Revenue at the Sunnyvale, Calif., provider of programmable logic memory products dropped 28% to $34.9 million in the latest three months. Wall Street's consensus estimate was for a loss of 5 cents a share in the March period.
Rofin-Sinar Technologies (NasdaqGS:RSTI - News) shares slid after the Plymouth, Mich.-based maker of laser beam sources reported fiscal first-quarter net earnings of $11.49 million, or 75 cents a share, up slightly from $11.36 million, or 75 cents a share, last year. Revenue rose to $111.7 million from $95.4 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting a per-share profit of 76 cents on revenue of $105.1 million.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (NYSE:SMI - News) swung to a fourth-quarter profit, boosted by an 80% decline in operating expenses and a $41.7 million gain on the sale of properties. The Shanghai semiconductor foundry on Tuesday posted net income of $1.33 million, or less than a penny per ADS, from a year-earlier loss of $14.8 million, or about 4 cents per ADS. Semiconductor Manufacturing said quarterly revenue rose 15% to $383.8 million from $333.1 million in the year-earlier period. Operating expenses fell to $10.6 million from $51.8 million a year earlier. Semiconductor said it expects continued growth and improved profitability in 2007. The company said it expects controlled capital expenditures of about $720 million in 2007.
SI International (NasdaqGS:SINT - News) was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Wachovia Securities.
SRA International Inc. (NYSE:SRX - News) reported second-quarter net earnings of $16.7 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with $15.9 million, or 28 cents a share, in the same period the prior year, on the back of higher revenue.
Telular Corp. (NasdaqGM:WRLS - News) said its first-quarter loss widened to $2.1 million, or 12 cents a share, from a year-ago loss of $1.3 million, or 8 cents a share. The latest results included amortization and goodwill charges of $2 million.
TJX Cos. (NYSE:TJX - News) said January same-sales rose 4%, helped by growth in most of its smaller divisions and Marmaxx's in-line performance and it expects fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 48 cents to 50 cents a share. The Framingham, Mass., clothing retailer said total sales for the four weeks ended Jan. 27, increased 8% to $1 billion from $900 million a year earlier. The company also anticipates a fourth-quarter charge of about 1 cent a share related to an unauthorized intrusion into its computer system process. The company said it doesn't yet have enough information to estimate losses related to the intrusion.
Tractor Supply Co. (NasdaqGS:TSCO - News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $29.5 million, or 72 cents a share, compared with $30.9 million, or 75 cents a share, in the same period last year, as expenses rose.
Ultralife Batteries (NasdaqGM:ULBI - News) said it expects to report an operating loss of about $1.5 million for the fourth quarter on revenue of between $30 million and $30.5 million. The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call is for a profit of 7 cents a share in the December period.
Under Armour (NYSE:UA - News) shares fell after the company posted a fourth-quarter profit of $11.9 million, or 24 cents a share, up from year-ago earnings of $7 million, or 8 cents a share. The latest results included a tax credit-related gain of $1 million, or 2 cents a share. Revenue rose 55% in the three-month period to $135.3 million from $87.3 million a year earlier. Wall Street's consensus estimate was for earnings of 25 cents a share.
Verso Technologies (NasdaqCM:VRSO - News) disclosed a $2 million private placement of common shares and five-year warrants.
W.P. Stewart & Co. (NYSE:WPL - News) said Chairman William Stewart is returning to the chief executive officer post at the company, replacing John Russell, who served in the role on an interim basis. In addition, Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to sell from neutral, citing a drop in assets under management.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: ADS, ANDW, APA, APPB, ASN, CMCSA, CRMH, EGHT, GR, GVHR, HBI, HHS, JDSU, NURO, PLA, QUIK, WRLS