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.
Men's Warehouse (NYSE:MW - News). MW'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.
Infineon Technologies (NYSE:IFX - News). IFX'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.
Integra Lifesciences (NasdaqGS:IART - News). IART's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Bearish
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.
Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - News). CAH's PowerRating (for Traders) is 3.
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.
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE - News). PFE'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.
Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN - News). TSN's PowerRating (for Traders) is 3.
Stocks Up 10% or More: These are stocks that have gained 10% or more over the past five days and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that have gained 10% or more over the past five days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Interoil Corporation (NYSE:IOC - News). IOC's PowerRating (for Traders) is 3.
Published By TradingMarkets.com

Labels: CAH, Hot Stocks, IART, IFX, IOC, MW, pfe, TSN

Bullish Calls:
Mueller Water Products (NYSE: MWA - News): 'A very inexpensive stock. I remember when this thing was first spun off from Becker, the fertilizer company... It shouldn't be at $14. I have to buy that. That is a very consistent grower.'Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB - News): 'We've had a nice pullback here... I know that, if you own it, it doesn't feel nice... It's, at one point, a 10-point pullback ... I would pull the trigger on SLB ... Best quarter I have seen of the whole oil complex...'Costco (NasdaqGS: COST - News): 'Oh man, look at that... That was a 52-week high today ... I know why that hit a 52-week high... Because some of us are Gold Star members!'Goldcorp (NYSE: GG - News): 'why am I not backing away from gold? I think gold belongs in everyone's portfolio, so I am not saying anything bad about GG.'Yamana (NYSE: AUY - News): 'I know Yamana's been bad ... I'm sticking with AUY. It's a growth stock.'Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - News): 'I think that phone - despite the fact that everyone is blasting it - is a fantastic phone! I still like AAPL. I like the new Apple computers. I think AAPL's had its pullback, and is ready to rock again.'Dell (NasdaqGS: DELL - News)Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ - News)Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NasdaqGS: GMCR - News): 'Now, up $4 bucks, I'm like reluctant to hit this (bull button), because then people t say he's just chasing momentum... But I've got to tell you, I think this is a pretty good stock...'Bankrate (NasdaqGS: RATE - News): 'That was unfairly knocked down this week. That was a clean quarter.'Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO - News): 'I think Cisco Systems is going to be a good quarter. At one point, that stock was down 50 cents today. I was surprised.'Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - News): ' I want to own MSFT, and I want to own tech... 'CV Therapeutics (NasdaqGM: CVTX - News): 'You found the gem. It's a little $8 buck stock. It's really down on its luck... I'd pull the trigger. I think you're right. I think there's value there.'
Bearish calls:
Movado Group (NYSE: MOV - News):'You know, there's been insider buying of MOV... I know that the last quarter was good. I felt personally burned by MOV... I cannot get behind MOV.'Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM - News): 'TSM is a supplier. I want to buy the finished guys.'Infineon Technologies (NYSE: IFX - News) The Knot (NasdaqGM: KNOT - News): 'I've got some internet companies that are en feugo and KNOT is not one of them... '
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: AAPL, AUY, COST, CSCO, CVTX, DELL, GG, GMCR, HPQ, IFX, Jim Cramer, KNOT, Lightning Round, Mad Money, MOV, MSFT, MWA, RATE, SLB, TSM

Bucyrus International (NasdaqGS: BUCY): 'These companies sell 'round the world. ... So I say ... buy BUCY down here.'Gilead Sciences (NasdaqGS: GILD)Celgene (NasdaqGS: CELG): 'It's at 64. I think it goes to 74.'Fuel-Tech (NasdaqGM: FTEK): 'This is a speculative stock, but it is speculative Friday, so I will endorse it.'Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN)Qualcomm (NasdaqGS: QCOM)Textron (NYSE: TXT)L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL)Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)Raytheon (NYSE: RTN)Halliburton (NYSE: HAL): 'I think that it's better to go with the drillers. ... King Hal ... that's what I want you in.'Molson Coors Brewing (NYSE: TAP)Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO)PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP)Edison International (NYSE: EIX): 'One of the great utilities. ... It is at a 52-week high. ... Let's take a little off the table and let the rest run.'McDonald's (NYSE: MCD): 'McDonald's and Disney are my two favorite stocks to buy for kids.'Disney (NYSE: DIS): ' Bob Iger has done a remarkable job. I think people who didn't like that quarter, I think they're nuts. ... I'm sticking with Iger. I think the stock is an up stock.'
Bearish calls:
Amgen (NasdaqGS: AMGN): 'I still think there's another 3 or 4 downside points to Amgen.'Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)Infineon Technologies (NYSE: IFX): 'second-rate tech company... we don't like the semiconductor group.'Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD ): 'They've got real major problems. ... Their numbers are high ... 'Comtech Telecommunications (NasdaqGS: CMTL): 'I've been looking at this stock for a long time, and it just goes up and up ... Ring the register.'Rayonier (NYSE: RYN): 'I'm not gonna jump up and down about it.'
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: BUD, DIS, EIX, HAL, IFX, Jim Cramer, JNJ, KO, Lightning Round, LLL, Mad Money, MCD, PEP, RTN, RYN, TAP, TXN, TXT

Adeza Biomedical Corp. (NasdaqGS:ADZA - News) agreed to be bought by Cytyc Corp. (NasdaqGS:CYTC - News) for $24 a share, or approximately $450 million, Cytyc will fund the purchase through existing cash, the cash on Adeza's balance sheet, and existing credit facilities. The deal, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed before the end of March. Cytyc said that, excluding one-time costs related to the acquisition, it expects the acquisition to be break-even to earnings in 2007 and at least accretive by 5 cents to 2008 earnings per share.
Adobe Systems (NasdaqGS:ADBE - News) was upgraded to buy from Oppenheimer & Co., which cited valuation.
Align Technology (NasdaqGM:ALGN - News) shares rose after Piper Jaffray upgraded the teeth misalignment treatment company to outperform from market perform, citing evidence of growing demand for its Invisalign product. Analyst Raj Denhoy also raised his stock price target to $21 from $15, his forecast for 2007 revenue from orthodontists to $85 million from $79 million. "Overall, orthodontists expect their use of Invisalign to increase by approximately 13.4% over the next 12 months; we had previously modeled just 10.6%," Denhoy said in a research note.
Apogee Enterprises (NasdaqGS:APOG - News) lifted its outlook for fiscal 2007, saying it now sees earnings of $1.04 to $1.10 a share. Its previous projection was for a profit of 98 cents to $1.04 a share for the year. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial is for a profit of $1.01 a share in 2007. The Minneapolis-based glass products maker anticipates it will post revenue growth near the top of its prior range of 12% to 15%. For fiscal 2008, Apogee forecast earnings of $1.20 to $1.30 a share on revenue growth of 8% to 11%. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for a profit of $1.19 a share in fiscal 2008.
Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS:AAPL - News) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup, which cited several meaningful product catalysts and expectations of significant gross market upside due to declines in flash memory and DRAM (dynamic random access memory) pricing. Analyst Richard Gardner kept his 12-month price target at $105.
Asta Funding (NasdaqGS:ASFI - News) agreed to acquire a portfolio with a face value of $6.9 billion for a purchase price of $300 million. Asta said the portfolio is made up of primarily credit card accounts.
Brush Wellman (NYSE:BW - News) said its fourth-quarter earnings jumped to $30.3 million, or $1.48 a share, from $4.1 million, or 93 cents a share, a year earlier, boosted by a $21.3 million benefit related to the reversal of the company's deferred tax valuation allowance. The Cleveland supplier of metal products and engineered material systems said excluding the allowance, the company earned 44 cents a share. Revenue rose 48% to $207.8 million from $140.6 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected, on average, earnings of 41 cents a share on revenue of $189 million. Analyst earnings forecasts typically exclude unusual items. In addition, Brush Engineered said it expects 2007 sales to rise 25% to 30%to $950 million to $1 billion, with earnings of $3 to $3.75 a share, including a $1-per-share benefit from the sale of inventory.
Cell Therapeutics (NasdaqGM:CTIC - News) said it plans to form a new company, Aequus BioPharma, Inc., and spin it off. The company didn't provide details of whether the spin-off will be in the form of an initial public offering or a dividend to its shareholders.
Ciena Corp. (NasdaqGS:CIEN - News) was upgraded by Credit Suisse to outperform from neutral, citing the networking company's strong competitive position in the rebounding optical infrastructure market. Analyst Paul Silverstein also lifted his stock price target to $36 from $29.25, his 2007 earnings estimate to 93 cents a share from 91 cents and his 2007 revenue forecast to $715 million from $710 million. The stock was up 2.2% at $28.90 in pre-open trading. "We expect to see further sustained increase in demand due to increasing bandwidth consumption and the concomitant need for network re-architecture driven primarily by increasing amounts of video on service provider and enterprise networks," Silverstein said in a research note.
Digital Music Group (NasdaqGM:DMGI - News) signed a revenue-sharing content agreement with YouTube. The deal calls for certain components of Digital Music's video and music catalog to be made available by YouTube. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
Diversa Corp. (NasdaqGM:DVSA - News) shares gained after the San Diego-based maker of specialty enzymes said it has agreed to merge with privately held Celunol Corp, a developer of technology for producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass feedstocks. Under the terms of the deal, Diversa will issue 15 million shares to acquire the outstanding equity of Celunol. Diversa will also provide Celunol with up to $20 million in debt financing to fund its operations prior to the closing of the transaction. Diversa stockholders will own roughly 76% of the combined company, and Celunol stockholders and option holders will own 24%. The deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.
Express Scripts (NasdaqGS:ESRX - News) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies & Co. The firm boosted its price target on the stock to $90 from $77.
Grubb & Ellis Co. (NYSE:GBE - News) said its second-quarter net income rose to $6.1 million, or 23 cents a share, from $4.9 million, or 36 cents, a year earlier. The average earnings estimate of four analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 9 cents a share. The Chicago real-estate services company said revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to $145.8 million from $140.6 million.
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD - News) said its board has decided to evaluate strategic alternatives for its HD Supply business, including a possible sale, spin-off or initial public offering. The Atlanta-based retailer said there can be no assurance that any deal will occur or its timing. Home Depot said it hired Lehman Brothers as its financial advisor and it does not expect to update its progress or disclose developments with respect to the exploration of HD Supply strategic alternatives unless the board of directors has approved a definitive transaction.
Hydril (NasdaqGS:HYDL - News) shares leapt after the manufacturer of pressure control products for oil and gas production agreed to be acquire by Tenaris S.A. for $97 a share in cash. The offer represents a premium of roughly 17% to Hydril's closing share price last Friday. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. Certain members of the Seaver family have agreed to vote Hydril shares, representing roughly 22% of the combined votes rights, in favor of the merger, Luxembourg-based Tenaris said.
Infineon AG (NYSE:IFX - News) was approached by at least three private equity groups in the last six months, according to a report in the Financial Times newspaper. The firm's management do not want a deal, but some potential bidders remain hopeful a deal could still be possible this year, the newspaper said, citing a person familiar with the situation. If Infineon, which has a market capitalization of 8 billion euros ($10.4 billion), were bought, it would be the largest private equity deal ever in Germany, the FT added.
Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT - News) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at UBS.
Kronos Inc. (NasdaqGS:KRON - News) was upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham & Co. The firm lifted its price target on the stock to $50.
Lamson & Sessions (NYSE:LMS - News) said its board hired Perella Weinberg Partners as financial adviser to explore "a range of strategic and financial alternatives" for the company. The Cleveland thermoplastics company said the potential actions include the sale of certain assets or the entire company, formation of joint ventures, a change to the company's capital structure, or a continuation of the company's business plan.
LCA-Vision Inc. (NasdaqGS:LCAV - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $7.1 million, or 34 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $6.6 million, or 30 cents a share. Revenue jumped 26% in the latest three months to $58.8 million from $46.8 million a year ago. The Cincinnati-based provider of laser vision correction services also said it's increased its quarterly dividend by 50% to 18 cents a share from 12 cents. Looking ahead, LCA-Vision forecast earnings of $2.05 to $2.15 a share for 2007 on revenue growth of 20% to 25%.
Published By Michael Baron of MarketWatch

Labels: AAPL, ADBE, ADZA, ALGN, APOG, ASFI, BW, CIEN, CTIC, CYTC, DMGI, DVSA, ESRX, GBE, HD, HYDL, IFX, KRON, LCAV, LMS

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

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

Drop in energy prices push the Dow ($INDU) to the flat line. This blue chip index ended the session with a gain of just 0.56 points to 12,666.87. The S&P 500 ($SPX) added 2.02 points to 1,450.02. The NASDAQ ($COMPQ) was the best performer of the day, up 19.01 points to close at 2,490.50. Volume remained moderate with the NYSE trading 1.48 billion shares and the Naz turning over 2.23 billion. Market breadth was positive by a 19-to-14 and 19-to-12 ratio on the Big Board and Naz respectively.Volatility in oil prices created volatility in the Dow Wednesday. Crude rose to a high of $59.84 today, but closed with a loss of $1.17 a barrel to $57.71. Oil inventory levels fell 0.4 million barrels, but distillates and gasoline reserves saw much larger declines of 3.7 million and 2.6 million barrels respectively. As a result, Exxon Mobil (XOM) shares fell 0.47 percent and the AMEX Oil Index ($XOI) fell half a percent as well. Tech stocks fared well Wednesday following a strong report by Cisco Systems (CSCO). The networking giant saw a 40 percent rise in profits and provided an outlook that was very optimistic. This led to a gain of 2.97 percent for CSCO, with the stock closing at $28.09. Nonetheless, the stock did close off its intraday high at $28.85. Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) tacked on 1.9 percent today after it announced a partnership with TiVo (TIVO). He deal will allow AMZN to offer movies and TV shows that can be sent to a TiVo device. This news really helped out TIVO shares, which gained 8.9 percent on the session to close at $5.97. Shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) fell 0.6 percent after Infineon Tech (IFX) received a contract to supply chips to Nokia (NOK). Though IFX states the deal will not end their relationship using TXN chips, it was taken as bad news for TXN. However, IFX shares rallied 10.5 percent on the announcement. In economic news, fourth-quarter productivity was strong at growth of 3.0 percent. This is above estimates for a reading of 2.0 percent and well above an adjusted third-quarter decline of 0.1 percent. Unit labor costs, a key measure of inflation, came in at 1.7 percent, which was 3-tenths below estimates. This data points to an economy that is showing moderate strength, while avoiding inflationary pressures due to strong productivity growth.
Jody Osborne

Labels: AMZN, CSCO, IFX, NOK, SPX, Tivo, TXN, XOI, XOM

Stocks traded mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day flat. The broader market averages posted modest gains, while technology stocks showed strength today. After initially spiking higher, crude oil prices retreated to slip below $58 a barrel. Bonds moved higher with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipping to 4.75%.
The day's economic news was mostly positive. The Labor Department reported that U.S. productivity grew during the final three months of last year. Non-farm productivity grew at a 3.0% rate in Q4, which reversed a revised -0.1% decline in the previous quarter. The National Association of Realtors, meanwhile, said it believes the housing market bottomed out in the fourth quarter and that sales of existing homes will grow over the course of the current year. New home sales are forecasted to slide again during the current quarter before the trend gradually turns positive.
In business news, Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO - News) paced technology stocks today after posting better-than-expected fiscal Q2 results after last night's market close. Cisco also guided higher for the current quarter, calling increased use of video-downloading services the driver behind growth of its Internet equipment business. Semiconductor stocks were also strong. Market leader Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - News) was up modestly, while smaller players recorded sharp gains. Infineon Technologies (NYSE: IFX - News) gained 10% after announcing that it had won a contract to supply chips to mobile phone maker Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News). Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM - News) added 5% on the eve of its earnings announcement, which is scheduled for tomorrow night. The company was also upgraded to "overweight" by Morgan Stanley.
Health insurer Cigna (NYSE: CI - News), whose shares have risen sharply since the middle of last year when concerns over costs sent the stock into a brief tailspin, reported record Q4 profits. The market cap of the Philadelphia-based insurer rose 2% today and reached a new 52-week high in intraday action. Strong enrollment in its medical plans powered earnings of $232 million, or $2.28 a share, which was up 10% from $210 million, or $1.67 a share, a year earlier. Analysts also noted the company's attention to cost discipline, as Cigna's medical cost ratio beat analyst expectations in the quarter. Another major health insurer, Aetna (NYSE: AET - News), will report its earnings tomorrow before the opening bell. An unexpected spike in Aetna's medical cost ratio last year also caused a sharp sell-off from which the stock has partly recovered. Aetna ended up 1% today.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NYSE: NWS - News) posted a bottom-line earnings decline of -24% in its fiscal Q2, but the previous year's quarterly results contained a gain from the sale of assets. The company reported profits of $822 million, or 26 cents a share, down from $1.1 billion, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier, but 1 cent better than expected. Revenue rose 18% to $7.8 billion. Profits at appliance maker Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR - News) declined -13%. The company said costs from discontinued operations, higher raw material costs, and reduced demand for home appliances contributed to the weak results. Whirlpool earned $109 million, or $1.37 a share, down from $126 million, or $1.83 a share, a year earlier. The loss from discontinued operations in the quarter was -30 cents per share. Revenue was sharply higher, rising to $5.0 billion from $4.0 billion, aided in part by its acquisition of Maytag.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: AET, BRCM, CI, CSCO, IFX, INTC, NOK, NWS, WHR

Acco Brands (NYSE:ABD - News) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $800,000, or a penny per share, down from a year-ago profit of $26.2 million, or 48 cents a share. The latest results include restructuring and non-recurring after-tax costs of about $20.9 million, or 39 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, excluding items, the company earned $27.3 million, or 50 cents a share, in the latest quarter. Sales edged 1% higher in the latest three months to $520.6 million from $513 million a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 46 cents a share in the December period. Looking ahead, the Lincolnshire, Ill., office products seller said it expects to generate EBITDA of between $230 million and $240 million for 2007.
The Andersons Inc. (NasdaqGS:ANDE - News) said it expects to "slightly exceed" its previous 2006 earnings forecast of $1.90 to $2.10 a share. The Andersons is based in Maumee, Ohio.
Apollo Group (NasdaqGS:APOL - News) said that its first-quarter net income dropped to $115.6 million, or 66 cents a share, from $130.8 million, or 73 cents a share, a year ago following higher costs. Analysts had been expecting the education program provider to post earnings of 62 cents a share, according to data compiled by Thomson Financial. Revenue rose by 6.3% to $668.2 million. The company said that it's expecting accounting changes to have a material adverse impact on previously reported results. Apollo said that it's preparing to restate its financial statements and said that this situation could also affect the latest set of financial statements and information.
Aspen Technology (NasdaqGM:AZPN - News) shares gained after the Cambridge, Mass.-based software provider late Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $96.4 million, up 26% from last year. Aspen said income from operations came in at $25.8 million in the quarter. The company also said it expects to restate its previously issued financial statements for fiscal 2004 through 2006 and the first quarter of fiscal 2007, relating primarily to non-cash adjustments in its reported non-operating income.
Brightpoint Inc. (NasdaqGS:CELL - News) said fourth-quarter net income rose, as wireless devices handled gained, to $9.74 million, or 19 cents a share, from $8.85 million, or 18 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year.
British Airways (NYSE:BAB - News) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch.
Brooks Automation (NasdaqGM:BRKS - News) swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit of $22.1 million, or 30 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $11.7 million, or 18 cents a share, on higher revenue from core hardware business along with acquisitions. The company had expected GAAP earnings of 24 cents to 28 cents a share in the first quarter. Excluding certain items, non-GAAP earnings in the most recent quarter were 35 cents a share. The Chelmsford, Mass., automation products provider's revenue for the first quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 76% to $191.4 million from $108.5 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected, on average, quarterly revenue of $187 million. Meanwhile, the company had forecast first-quarter revenue of $185 million to $190 million. Brooks expects second-quarter GAAP earnings of 25 cents to 30 cents a share, including 5 cents a share of charges, and revenue of $185 million to $190 million.
Cisco (NasdaqGS:CSCO - News) reported that quarterly profit surged 40%, boosted by its acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta and surging demand for Internet equipment among telecom companies and small businesses.
Consolidated Graphics (NYSE:CGX - News) said fiscal third-quarter net income rose to $16.4 million, or $1.17 a share, from $9.9 million, or 71 cents a share. Sales rose to $269.6 million from $226.2 million. Analysts, on average, expected it to earn $1.02 a share on revenue of $243 million, according to Thomson Financial. For the March quarter, the commercial printing company expects quarterly revenue to increase 15% from the prior year to $255 million, with earnings per share increasing 39% to $1.03. Analysts polled by Thomson expect it to earn 95 cents a share on revenue of $229 million, on average.
Digital River (NasdaqGS:DRIV - News) was initiated with a buy rating at American Technology Research.
DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE:DTV - News) said fourth-quarter net income rose to $356 million, or 29 cents a share, from $121.2 million, or 9 cents a share. El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV said revenue rose to $4.18 billion from about $3.6 billion. Analysts, on average, expected it to earn 30 cents a share on revenue of about $4.1 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
Domino's Pizza (NYSE:DPZ - News) said it offered to buy back up to 13.9 million shares of its common stock, as part of plan to recapitalize the company. The Ann Arbor, Mich. pizza delivery service said it would pay no less than $27.50 a share and no more than $30 a share for each stock it buys back. The company also said it was offering to repurchase the outstanding 8 1/4% debt, due 2011, and will repay all of its outstanding borrowings under the existing credit facility. The company said it was negotiating an asset-backed securitized facility of up to $1.85 billion.
Edge Petroleum (NasdaqGS:EPEX - News) was upgraded to strong buy at Raymond James.
FEI Co. (NasdaqGM:FEIC - News) said it swung to net income in the fourth-quarter, as bookings remained solid and operating expenses declined, of $14.7 million, or 36 cents a share. During the same period in the prior year, the net loss was $30.7 million, or 92 cents a share.
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. said fourth-quarter net income rose, as revenue gained, to $75.1 million, or 39 cents a share, from $45.5 million, or 35 cents a share, during the same period in the prior year.
Horace Mann Educators Corp. (NYSE:HMN - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $28.6 million, or 64 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $16.1 million, or 35 cents a share. Looking ahead, the Springfield, Ill., insurance provider forecast net income before realized investment gains and losses of $1.80 to $1.95 per share in 2007.
Infineon Technologies (NYSE:IFX - News) said it will provide an integrated system-on-chip for Nokia's (NYSE:NOK - News) entry-level phones. Nokia said it's aiming to further improve the power performance in entry level phones and reduce their size.
Intevac (NasdaqGM:IVAC - News) said its fourth-quarter net income more than doubled to $21.3 million, or 97 cents a share, from year-earlier earnings of $9.93 million, or 46 cents a share, helped by higher sales and a larger margin. Results included a $1.1 million reversal of tax costs. The Santa Clara, Calif., maker of flat-panel display manufacturing equipment saw revenue rise 82% to $95.9 million from $52.7 million a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected, on average, earnings of 70 cents a share on revenue of $86.5 million. Gross margin improved to 40.8% from 34.9% a year earlier. The stock was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham & Co.
Keane (NYSE:KEA - News) agreed to be acquired by Caritor Inc., a private San Ramon, Calif., information technology services provider, for about $854 million. The deal values Keane shares at $14.30 each in cash, a 19% premium to Tuesday's closing price of $12. The parties, which expect the transaction to close in the calendar second quarter, said the resulting private company would have anticipated annual revenue of more than $1 billion. Keane, based in Boston, posted revenue of $232 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.
Lazard Ltd. (NYSE:LAZ - News) said fourth-quarter earnings rose to $36.6 million, or 78 cents a share, from $21.7 million, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had been expecting earnings of 63 cents a share, on average. Revenue rose to $498.3 million from last year's $391.9 million, as strong merger and acquisition performance helped boost revenue in its financial advisory business.
Multi-Fineline Electronix (NasdaqGS:MFLX - News) said its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 79% to $3.65 million, or 14 cents a share, from $17.3 million, or 69 cents a share, a year earlier, hurt by price reductions and reduced sales. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected, on average, earnings of 20 cents a share and sales of $130.7 million. The Anaheim, Calif., provider of flexible printed-circuit and component-assembly services said sales for the period ended Dec. 31 fell 11% to $123.9 million from $139.7 million from the year-ago period.
Published By Michael Baron

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