Jim Cramer Blog

Ameren Corp. (NYSE:AEE - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $61 million, or 30 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $20 million, or 10 cents a share. The latest results included storm-related costs of $28 million, or 13 cents a share. Revenue slid in the latest three months to $1.62 billion from $1.7 billion in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for a profit of 39 cents a share in the December period. Looking ahead, the St. Louis-based electricity and natural gas utility operator said it expects non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings of $3.15 to $3.60 a share for fiscal 2007. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for a profit of $3.85 a share for 2007.
AMR Corp. (NYSE:AMR - News) was downgraded to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs.
Baidu.com Inc. (NasdaqGM:BIDU - News) said fourth-quarter net income rose, as revenue gained, to 122.8 million yuan ($15.8 million), or Y3.54 per share (46 U.S. cents), from Y$24.5 million, or Y0.71 per share, during the same period in the prior year.
Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE:BHI - News) said that fourth-quarter net income rose to $326.2 million, or $1.02 a share, from $257.9 million, or 75 cents a share, a year ago, after charges related to a settlement deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice amounted to 12 cents a share, or $46 million. Analysts had been expecting the drilling and oil services provider to post earnings of $1.19 a share according to data compiled by Thomson Financial. Sales rose 23% to $2.5 billion. Baker Hughes said that it's expecting revenue outside North America to rise by between 17% and 19% in 2007.
Biogen Idec Inc. (NasdaqGS:BIIB - News) said Thursday its fourth-quarter net income more than doubled to $108.6 million, or 32 cents a share, from $55.6 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier. The biotechnology company said Thursday it earned 53 cents a share before items for the latest fourth quarter. Fourth quarter revenue increased 12% to $708.3 million from $632.9 million, driven primarily by sales of its Avonex multiple sclerosis drug and its Rituxan rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on average, expected the San Diego company to earn 55 cents a share on revenue of $714.2 million for the final quarter of 2006. For 2007, Biogen Idec expects net income of $1.69 a share to $1.84 a share. It also expects to earn $2.50 to $2.65 a share before items on revenue growth in the mid-teens on a percentage basis.
Bonso Electronics (NasdaqGM:BNSO - News) reported a loss of $630,000, or 11 cents a share, for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, wider than a loss of $76,000, or a penny per share, in the year-ago period.
Cimarex Energy (NYSE:XEC - News) said fourth-quarter net income dropped 65% to $58.7 million, or 70 cents a share, on a 41% decline in gas prices and a 2% drop in oil prices. It also took $1.4 million, or a penny a share, in repair costs from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 71 cents a share. Oil and gas production averaged 441 million cubic feet from 431 million Mcfe a day in the year-ago quarter. It plans to spend between $800 million and $1 billion on capital spending for 2007 and sees first-quarter production between 435 and 445 million Mcfe a day.
Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - News) agreed to acquire Talx Corp. (NasdaqGS:TALX - News) in a stock and cash transaction valued at $1.4 billion, including the assumption of debt. Equifax, an Atlanta-based information technology company, said the acquisition is aligned with the company's long-term growth strategy of expanding into new markets and acquiring proprietary data sources.
Evergreen Solar (NasdaqGM:ESLR - News) said its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $5.47 million, or 8 cents a share, from $5.04 million, or 8 cents a share, in the same period last year. The Marlboro, Mass.-based maker of solar power products said revenue more than doubled to $32.4 million from $11.6 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected a per-share loss of 8 cents, on revenue of $34 million. For the first quarter, Evergreen sees a net loss of $7 million to $7.5 million.
EXCO Resources Inc. (NYSE:XCO - News) said it is proposing to offer up to $2 billion in preferred stock. The offer includes the private placement of up to $400 million of 6% cumulative convertible perpetual preferred stock, and $1.6 billion of 11% cumulative preferred stock to institutional investors.
Favrille (NasdaqGM:FVRL - News) said that its fourth-quarter net profit widened to $10.2 million, or 35 cents a share, from $9.6 million, or 48 cents, a year ago. Analysts were expecting the company to post earnings of 39 cents a share, according to data compiled by Thomson Financial. Research and development costs rose to $7.7 million, from $7.5 million at the same point a year ago primarily due to extra personnel and non-cash expenses. The company said that it expects total operating expenses for 2007 in a range of $48 million to $52 million, and said it believes that its cash should be sufficient to fund operations for at least 12 months.
Foundation Coal Holdings (NYSE:FCL - News) said it lost $21.9 million, or 48 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, hit by charges related to its Wabash mine and other costs. The company earned $28.6 million, or 61 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding charges, the company would have earned $2.2 million, or 5 cents a share, in the quarter. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for earnings of 23 cents a share. Coal sales revenue rose to $345.9 million from $334.4 million. Thomson Financial was looking for revenue of $343.8 million. The company said it expects revenue of $1.49 to $1.58 billion in 2007 and earnings of 90 cents to $1.50 a share. Thomson is looking for revenue of $1.45 billion on earnings of $2.19 a share.
Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA - News) shares fell after the company unveiled plans for a restructuring in order to improve profits at its Heavy Construction Division projects. The company also said it expects revenue from the Heavy Construction Division to be about $800 million in 2007, down from a total of $1.1 billion in 2006. Granite also posted a provide of $600,000, or 2 cents a share, for the fourth quarter, reflecting a $18 million goodwill write-down. In the year-ago period, the company earned $35.8 million, or 86 cents a share.
Hanover Compressor Co. (NYSE:HC - News) said that it swung to a fourth-quarter net profit of $30.1 million, or 28 cents a share. The company said that it returned to profitability due to favorable markets and a focus of capital return. The results also included a $10.2 million tax benefit. Analysts had been expecting the company to report earnings of 14 cents a share. Last year, the gas compression services company reported a net loss of $4.2 million, or 4 cents a share. Revenue rose 15% to $101.5 million.
Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE:HPY - News) said it expects earnings of 16 to 18 cents a share for the first quarter. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial is for a profit of 20 cents a share in the March period.
Hornbeck Offshore (NYSE:HOS - News) said fourth-quarter net income rose to $17 million, or 64 cents a share, from $15.1 million, or 55 cents a share, with revenue up 14% to $65 million. Excluding the impact of FAS123R accounting rules, it would've earned 66 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 59 cents a share. It expects 2007 earnings between $2.19 and $2.68 a share and first-quarter earnings between 42 and 55 cents a share. Analysts, on average, expected 2007 earnings of $2.55 a share.
Lifetime Fitness (NYSE:LTM - News) said it expects earnings of $1.71 to $1.74 a share for fiscal 2007 on revenue of between $640 million and $650 million. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for a profit of $1.72 a share on revenue of $646 million for the year from the Eden Prairie, Minn., fitness center operator.
Lufkin Industries Inc. (NasdaqGS:LUFK - News) said fourth-quarter net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to $23 million, or $1.52 a share, from $15.4 million, or $1.03 a share in the year-ago period. Operating income increased to $28.2 million from $23.7 million. Revenue rose to $165.6 million from $145.4 million. Two analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast earnings of $1.21 a share, on average. The seller of pumps for oil extraction expects first-quarter profit of 95 cents a share to $1.15 a share, compared with $1.01 a share last year.
Olympic Steel Inc. (NasdaqGM:ZEUS - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $3.8 million, or 35 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $7.3 million, or 70 cents a share. Sales rose 10.4% in the latest three months to $226.1 million from $204.8 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of Thomson Financial was for a profit of 39 cents a share in the December period. "High fourth quarter service center inventories, as reflected by the Metals Service Center Institute, clearly caused a deteriorating market at yearend, said Michael Siegal, the company's chairman and CEO. "We believe that situation will be remediated by the end of the first quarter of 2007, as demand is increasing, imports are being significantly reduced, input costs (such as scrap) are on the rise again, and domestic steel production appears in control."

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BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX - News) named Jon Stonehouse its chief executive. BioCryst, a Birmingham, Ala., drug development company, said Stonehouse succeeds Charles Bugg, the company's founder and CEO. Bugg will become nonexecutive chairman. Stonehouse had been senior vice president of corporate development at Merck KGaA.
Caremark Rx (NYSE:CMX - News) rejected an unsolicited merger proposal from Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX - News) and affirmed its support for a deal with CVS (NYSE:CVS - News).
Compucredit Corp. (NASDAQ:CCRT - News) said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it now expects earnings for the fourth quarter to come about 20% below its previous projections.
Delta Apparel Inc. (AMEX:DLA - News) said it expects second-quarter sales of $72 million to $73 million, down from a previous estimate of $74 million to $78 million, and earnings of 5 cents to 7 cents a share, down from a prior projection of 14 cents to 18 cents a share. Delta Apparel also cut its forecast for the year's sales and earnings.
Dynavax Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:DVAX - News) shares fell after the Berkeley, Calif.-based biotech company said interim one-year data from its two-year ragweed allergy trial indicated that "no meaningful ragweed-specific allergic disease was observed in the study population," making it impossible for the company to measure the impact of its Tolamba treatment. "This result was unexpected, though these challenges are well known to occur in allergy drug development," said Dino Dina, president and chief executive, in a statement. "Due to the fact that no clinically significant disease was seen in the study population, it was impossible to measure the effect of our intervention."
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST - News) was downgraded to hold from buy at BB&T Capital Markets.
Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN - News) was downgraded to neutral from buy at D.A. Davidson due to valuation concerns.
GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (NYSE:GOL - News) said its passenger traffic rose 48% in December while its capacity rose 65% for the month, compared to the same period last year. That caused its load factor, or percentage of seats filled with paying passengers, to fall to 67.4% from 75.2%. The Brazilian low-cost airline also forecast a drop in fiscal year earnings to 3.15 to 3.30 reals a share, down from 3.40 to 3.65 reals a share.
Heartland Payment (NYSE:HPY - News) was downgraded to underweight from market weight at Thomas Weisel Partners.
Hertz (NYSE:HTZ - News) plans to cut roughly 200 jobs in the first of "a series of initiatives" to improve its competitiveness. The layoffs will come at headquarters in Park Ridge, N.J., a service center in Oklahoma City, and in U.S. field operations. The car-rental company expects to save as much as $15.8 million annually from the job cuts and expects restructuring charges of $3.3 million to $3.8 million in the first quarter.
MarineMax Inc. (NYSE:HZO - News) sees a first-quarter loss of 20 cents to 25 cents a share; the First Call-derived average forecast stands at a loss of 6 cents. The company also lowered its profit outlook for fiscal 2007.
Medecision (NASDAQ:MEDE - News) shares plunged after the Wayne, Pa.-based a provider of software and services to healthcare payers said late Friday it expects fourth-quarter revenue of $10.3 million to $10.6 million. MEDecision said it signed five contracts during the quarter, resulting in lower-than expected term license revenue of between $1.1 million and $1.3 million.
Methanex Corp. (NASDAQ:MEOH - News) was downgraded to sector underperformer from sector performer at CIBC World Markets.
Microsemi (NASDAQ:MSCC - News) was downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Lehman Bros. The firm cited a lack of catalysts for the stock.
Molex Inc. (NASDAQ:MOLX - News) lowered its second-quarter earnings and sales outlook citing lower-than-anticipated gross margins, which is due primarily to lower sales and higher price erosion in its mobile phone business. The Lisle, Ill. electronics components maker now expects to earnings of 34 to 37 cents a share vs. its previous forecast of 39 to 43 cents a share. Revenue is expected to be $830 million to $840 million, revised from a previous projection of $830 million to $850 million. The company also sees new orders slowing to $770 million to $780 million.
Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ:MYGN - News) said a clinical trial of MPC-7869, designed to evaluate its safety and potential efficacy in slowing the rate of progression of prostate cancer, didn't show statistical significance in either endpoint. The primary clinical endpoints of the trial were the time to systemic disease progression and the change in velocity of prostate specific antigen levels. The company said it does not intend to pursue further development of the compound in cancer. Myriad said it will continue to concentrate its efforts on the compound's activity in Alzheimer's disease.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM - News) was downgraded to underweight from neutral weight at Prudential, which cited weak earnings power even at optimistic assumptions for metals prices. Analyst John Tumazos also lowered his stock price target to $40 from $50. "While heretofore we have 'disbelieved' how badly the company's costs deteriorated, and expected a future cost turnabout, we have given up hope in large part," Tumazos said in a research note to clients. "We expect a higher gold price outlook owing in part to higher gold mining costs and output erosion, but the profit margin at those higher prices is much lower than envisioned several years ago."
Northwest Airlines Corp. (Other OTC:NWACQ.PK - News) said traffic in December rose 1.1% to 6.38 billion revenue passenger miles. Load factor, or the percentage of the plane filled with passengers, increased by 0.7 percentage points to 80.7%. Capacity rose 0.1% to 7.9 billion available seat miles, the Eagan, Minn.-based carrier said.
Novastar Financial (NYSE:NFI - News) was downgraded to market perform from market outperform at JMP Securities.
Nu Horizons Electronics (NASDAQ:NUHC - News) said net income rose 59% to $2.4 million, or 13 cents a share, for its fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 30 with sales up 26% to $186 million. From the last quarter, however, sales fell at the electronic components distributor, due to a decline in the company's systems business related to a substantial customer-specific decrease, as well as to market weakness related to some end customer and manufacturing channel inventory builds.
Panacos Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PANC - News) named Alan Dunton M.D. its new chief executive. Dunton has also been added to the company's board of directors. Dunton replaces Peyton Marshall, Panacos' chief financial officer, who had served as interim CEO since the sudden death of former Chief Executive Samuel "Skip" Ackerman last June.
P.F. Chang's China Bistro (NASDAQ:PFCB - News) was downgraded to underperform from peer perform at Bear Stearns.
Schnitzer Steel Industries (NASDAQ:SCHN - News) reported first-quarter earnings of $21 million, or 69 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $42 million, or $1.34 a share. The year-ago results included a gain of $34 million related to an asset disposition as well as a charge of $11 million from an investigation reserve. Excluding items, Portland, Ore.-based Schnitzer earned $19 million, or 61 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose in the latest three months to $510 million from $341 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 99 cents a share in the November period on revenue of $511.9 million. The company said it saw lower volumes and higher costs per ton in the latest quarter due to the installation of mega-shredders at its metals recycling facilities in the Oakland and Boston areas. In addition, margins were hurt by higher raw material costs in the quarter, and its auto parts business saw lower vehicle purchases due to higher prices.
Targeted Genetics Corp. (NASDAQ:TGEN - News) agreed to sell 2.18 million shares to institutional investors at a price of $4 each. The transaction includes warrants to purchase up to 763,000 shares, exercisable at price of $5.41 per share. The Seattle-based biotechnology company expects net proceeds of $8.1 million from the transaction, which is expected to close Jan. 11. Targeted Genetics plans to use the funds for working capital and general corporate purposes.
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