Jim Cramer Blog

Bullish Calls:
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK - News): 'The whole complex of natural gas is so ridiculously too low. Just because we had a couple of months stored... CHK is a great driller. It's got great assets. I believe that natural gas will come back in vogue.'Wynn Resorts (NasdaqGS: WYNN - News): 'Look, Macau gambling is for real! I've been behind the Macau gambling... I still like Wynn.'Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS - News)Apache (NYSE: APA - News): 'I like APA. It has oil, it has gas, and it's right. It's beaten down, and I would pull the trigger today! 'Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB - News): 'Do you know that Schlumberger is selling at 17x next year's earnings?... This is just a very inexpensive stock... how could I not recommend that unbelievable best-of-breed?...'Helix Energy (NYSE: HLX - News): ' ... as much as I like the HLX... If SLB's selling at 17x earnings, I mean, how could I not recommend that unbelievable best-of-breed?... 'Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR - News): ' ... don't hold me to it, but I think that's going to be good. And SGR is on a remarkable run!... Now, look, understand... We had that horrible bridge tragedy, but all of us know the infrastructure is woefully needing repair. It's SGR. The infrastructure bull market is probably the strongest market on earth!'Fluor (NYSE: FLR - News)McDermott (NYSE: MDR - News)DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX - News)Boeing (NYSE: BA - News): ' ... but I am reiterating absolutely that Boeing is a buy, and the orders will trickle down. It's just that we don't have them right now.'Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO - News): ' ... reported a blowout quarter tonight - as we've been predicting endlessly, and finally it happened... Remember, he did announce the $5 billion buyback at the end of his last quarter... buy, buy, buy - CSCO, even above $31. 'Level 3 Communications (NasdaqGS: LVLT - News)Garmin (NasdaqGS: GRMN - News): ' ... conference call for GRMN was amazing. The guide up was huge... GRMN's a keeper! Stay with GRMN - buy, buy, buy! 'Crocs (NasdaqGS: CROX - News)Under Armour (NYSE: UA - News)Temple Inland (NYSE: TIN - News): ' ... Temple Inland remains my favorite, courtesy of Carl Icaan and his restructuring. '
Bearish calls:
Zebra Technologies (NasdaqGS: ZBRA - News): 'I personally think that the bar code business has peaked. It's just not exciting to me. I don't want to be in it. Don't buy, don't buy.'Haynes International (NasdaqGM: HAYN - News): '... didn't report a good quarter..., is the aerospace bull market caput?... I think that there's a big lag between when the (Boeing) Dreamliner gets built, and all of these stocks blow away their numbers... Now it's still painful ... I think this group is going to be on hold, and the better side is the defense stocks right now..'.Starbucks (NasdaqGS: SBUX - News): ' ... I want good, solid growth... and consistent growth... and SBUX can no longer give that to me. Don't buy, don't buy. At $23, I'll pull the trigger.'Juniper Networks (NasdaqGS: JNPR - News): 'I believe that CSCO is better than JNPR. I am telling you - sell, sell, sell - JNPR.'Weyerhauser (NYSE: WY - News): 'They can't deliver.'
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: APA, BA, CHK, CSCO, DCX, FLR, GRMN, HLX, Jim Cramer, JNPR, Lightning Round, LVLT, LVS, Mad Money, MDR, SBUX, SGR, SLB, WYNN, ZBRA

CEO Interview: Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP - News)
"The stocks are saying there's going to be a slowdown, so it would be wise for you to prepare for it," said Cramer, and while he isn't urging people to sell all their cyclicals yet, he suggests its time to take some profits. He invited Pepsi CEO and chairman Indra Nooyi onto the show to discuss the company's great performance which she said was due to the company's diverse portfolio and stellar management. Nooyi added, in terms of financial resources, Pepsi is not constrained, and in terms of people-resources, North America is growing and the company's international business is "exploding." Cramer mentioned a Wall Street Journal story that Nestle turned down a merger with Pepsi because it considers the latter company junk-food laden. Nooyi pointed out Pepsi's expansion into non-carbonated beverages and healthy snacks and its production process which conserves energy and water. Cramer remarked Pepsi delivered better than expected numbers and is a the right stock to buy.
Remember the AlaMobile: Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - News), Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News), Ericsson (NasdaqGS: ERIC - News), Sony (NYSE: SNE - News), Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI - News), National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM - News)
With back -to-school tech gadgets in production, Cramer discussed TXN which was hit by a selloff; "I don't care about the quarter," he said. "I care about the future, because that is where we're going to make our money." He would use the decline as a buying opportunity, and thinks its mobile business will energize TXN. He added NOK, ERIC, SNE, ADI and NSM are also doing well. Returning to TXN, Cramer predicts the next quarter will be excellent and adds the company has a "massive rest-of-world" exposure.

Go Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO - News)! with Juniper Networks (NasdaqGS: JNPR - News), and Ciena (NasdaqGS: CIEN - News)
Cramer discussed a Financial Times interview during which Cisco CEO John Chambers says he's more enthusiastic about the company than he has been in a decade and the internet is entering a second phase which should last 10 to 15 years. Since Cisco provides the "backbone" for many types of communcation, Cramer doubts Chambers is just trying to sell his company, and notes Cisco rivals are delivering but have less upside than Cisco. Cramer noted Cisco is not expensive, is below its 52-week high, has $22 billion in cash and is protected from the ailing economy with its big international exposure.
Mad Mail: Six Flags (NYSE: SIX - News), Men's Wearhouse (NYSE: MW - News)
Cramer told one viewer not to touch financial stocks. He said he doesn't like SIX's balance sheet, and added the stock will do badly if the weather is not good. He told another mailer he doesn't like Men's Warehouse.
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: ADI, CIEN, CSCO, ERIC, Jim Cramer, JNPR, Mad Money, MW, NOK, NSM, PEP, SIX, SNE, TXN

Bullish Calls:
EMC (NYSE: EMC - News)Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News): 'How about taking a little bit of money out of Target and putting it into Wal-Mart?'Cisco Systems (NasdaqGS: CSCO - News): 'Move into the Cisco.'Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGM: ACAD - News): 'Lots of ways to win. ... However, this group is under a cloud. ... You need to be patient, but I reiterate buy Acadia Pharma.'Omniture (NasdaqGM: OMTR - News): 'There is nothing like Omniture. It is the super-Nielsen of the Web. ... Stick with Omniture.'TOP Tankers (NasdaqGS: TOPT - News): 'All tanker stocks are hitting their 52-week highs. ... Yours doesn't pay the big dividend, but I'm not going to move away from that dry bulk group. It's really terrific.'Frontline (NYSE: FRO - News)Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD - News): 'I like semiconductors. ... Far be it from me to recommend selling any semiconductor stock.'Cal Dive International (NYSE: DVR - News): 'The perfect stock to own going into hurricane season. ... I like that stock, but people know I like the group.'Hercules Offshore (NasdaqGS: HERO - News): 'That symbol is HERO. It is my hero. ... As good as HERO is, I am still going to tell you that RIG, and Schlumberger are better.'Transocean (NYSE: RIG - News)Global Santa Fe (NYSE: GSF - News)Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB - News)Southern Copper (NYSE: PCU - News): 'It's a monster! It's on the move!'Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX - News)
Bearish calls:
Target (NYSE: TGT - News): ' ... 52-week high, took everybody by surprise, up $4. ... I think it's time to do a little schnitzel. ... How about taking a little bit of money out of Target and putting it into Wal-Mart?'Juniper Networks (NasdaqGS: JNPR - News): ' ... 52-week high. ... Swap out of the Juniper. Move into the Cisco.'XM Satellite Radio (NasdaqGS: XMSR - News): 'There's no way we can be in that. ... I'm going to give you a Don'tBuy.'Sirius Satellite Radio (NasdaqGS: SIRI - News)Diageo (NYSE: DEO - News): 'I think Diageo is just okay here.'
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: ACAD, AMD, CSCO, DVR, EMC, FCX, FRO, GSF, HERO, Jim Cramer, JNPR, Lightning Round, Mad Money, OMTR, PCU, RIG, SLB, TOPT, WMT, XMSR

Network equipment maker Juniper Networks Inc. (NasdaqGS:JNPR - News) posted on Monday an anticipated fall in quarterly profit, and its shares fell as it gave a slightly weaker-than-expected 2007 outlook.
Juniper shares fell 4.5 percent in after-hours trade, more than giving back gains posted in the regular session after the company's full-year earnings target came in just short of analysts' consensus estimate.
First-quarter net income fell 12 percent to $66.6 million, or 11 cents a share, from $75.8 million, or 13 cents a share, a year earlier, as the company booked charges related to a stock options investigation. Excluding one-time items, earnings were $112.4 million, or 19 cents per share.

Labels: JNPR, Juniper Networks Inc.

Here are 7 options to watch for today. This list comes directly from the TradingMarkets Options Indicators page. The list is created using OptionVue options analysis software.
Most Underpriced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Baidu.com June 115 Calls (NasdaqGM:BIDU). BIDU's PowerRating is 5.
Most Underpriced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
MedImmune June 50 Puts (NasdaqGS:MEDI). MEDI's PowerRating is 2.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
F5 Networks Inc. May 75 Calls (NasdaqGS:FFIV). FFIV's PowerRating is 5.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
RH Donnelley Corp. May 80 Puts (NYSE:RHD). RHD's PowerRating is 4.
CBOT Holdings June 170 Puts (NYSE:BOT). BOT's PowerRating is 5.
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.
None Today
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.
None Today
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.
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (AMEX:EEM). EEM's PowerRating is 6.
Juniper Networks (NasdaqGS:JNPR). JNPR's PowerRating is 7.
PowerRatings are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: BIDU, BOT, EEM, FFIV, JNPR, MEDI, RHD, stock options

Stocks followed Monday's strong move higher with a somewhat more cautious rally today, though all three major indexes closed in the green. Better-than-expected housing starts numbers accounted for some of the positive bias, while the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which got underway today and will result in a decision tomorrow afternoon, added a note of uncertainty to the day's trading.
With recent data pointing to a potential economic slowdown exacerbated by softness in the housing market but offset by inflation numbers above the Fed's typical comfort zone, investors are keen to get a glimpse into the Fed's thinking with regard to interest rates. The Fed is almost certain to hold rates steady tomorrow, but the accompanying statement will be parsed with an eye for a shift in posture on future policy.
In corporate news, embattled smartphone maker Palm (Nasdaq: PALM - News) was the subject of buyout speculation. Though once a leader in the smartphone space, the company has fallen behind rivals like Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM - News) and engaged Morgan Stanley to pursue strategic options. Reports indicate that Nokia (NYSE: NOK - News) is presently the top bidder, but Motorola (NYSE: MOT - News) as well as private equity firms are also interested.
In other M&A news, IT firm Affiliated Computer Services (NYSE: ACS - News) surged 17% after receiving a $5.93 billion bid from an investment group led by the company's founder and chairman. Meanwhile, jewelry retailer Claire's Stores (NYSE: CLE - News) confirmed an agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Apollo Management for $33 per share. Apollo was reportedly the only remaining buyer after other bidders dropped out of an auction for the retailer.
Accredited Home Lenders Holding (Nasdaq: LEND - News) continued to recover from its recent drubbing, as the subprime lender advanced 20% on news that the company had received a commitment for a $200 million loan from Farallon Capital Management. The funding will give the company more time to track down longer-term funding after a recent credit crunch due to mounting subprime mortgage defaults and late payments.
In tech news, memory chip firm Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS - News) moved 6% higher after the Federal Trade Commission put off restrictions preventing the company from collecting certain royalties. The FTC had planned to limit Rambus' royalty payments after the agency ruled last year that the company had deceived a standards-setting committee. Meanwhile, flash memory maker SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK - News) gained 5% and network equipment maker Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR - News) jumped 4% after each received analyst upgrades.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: ACS, CLE, JNPR, LEND, MOT, NOK, PALM, RIMM, RMBS, SNDK

DeclinersAcco Brands Corp. (NYSE:ABD - News) was downgraded to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse.
Allstate (NYSE:ALL - News) reported a 17% increase in fourth-quarter profit, but the insurer's results missed analyst estimates and the company said it will stop giving profit forecasts.
Calumet Specialty Products (NasdaqGM:CLMT - News) was downgraded to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs.
Celestica (NYSE:CLS - News) shares fell after the company said its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $60.8 million, or 27 cents a share, from $28.2 million, or 12 cents a share, as costs of sales rose. The most recent quarter's results include a $30 million net charge related to an increase in inventory at a Mexico facility and a $59 million restructuring charge. Excluding amortization of intangible assets, among other items, the Canada-based provider of electronics manufacturing services posted per-share earnings of 3 cents vs. 13 cents in the prior year. Revenue rose 9% to $2.26 billion from $2.08 billion. The company sees an adjusted first-quarter per-share loss of 4 to 15 cents, on revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion. The company was also downgraded to underperform from peer perform at Bear Stearns.
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies fell, tracking steep losses in their home market after a senior legislator said the market may be overheated after a 130% gain in 2006. The comments by Cheng Siwei, vice-chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, in an interview with the Financial Times, raised concerns the Chinese government may take official action to cool speculation after the market hit a record high last week. Chinese ADRs such as Guangshen Railway (NYSE:GSH - News), China Mobile (NYSE:CHL - News), Aluminum Corp. China (NYSE:ACH - News), China Life Insurance (NYSE:LFC - News) and Sinopec (NYSE:SNP - News) were all markedly lower.
Electronics For Imaging's (NasdaqGS:EFII - News) fourth-quarter earnings fell 38% to $7.08 million, or 12 cents a share, from $11.4 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. On a non-GAAP basis, the Foster City, Calif., provider of digital controllers said earnings fell to $22.6 million, or 35 cents a share, from $23.1 million, or 36 cents a share. Revenue rose 5.8% to $153.9 million from $145.4 million in the year-ago period. The company expects to delay its Form 10-K filing for 2006 due to its ongoing stock-option grant investigation. The company sees first-quarter non-GAAP earnings of 25 to 27 cents a share on revenue of $140 million to $143 million.
Haemonetics' (NYSE:HAE - News) shares tumbled after the maker of automated blood processing systems provider forecast earnings of adjusted $2.05 to $2.17 per share for fiscal 2007 with revenue expected to rise between 7% and 9%. The company said this view reflect expectations for continued sales declines in its Japanese business.
Juniper Networks Inc. (NasdaqGS:JNPR - News) reported fourth-quarter revenue rose 4% to $595.8 million, from $575.5 during the same period one year ago. The sales figure slightly topped the estimates of Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who had forecast $593 million.
Key Tronic (NasdaqGM:KTCC - News) shares dropped after the Spokane, Wash., provider of electronic manufacturing services posted a second-quarter profit of $300,000, or 3 cents a share, down from a profit of $1 million, or 10 cents a share, last year. The latest results include a charge of $940,000 related to a customer unexpectedly declaring bankruptcy in December. Key Tronic also said that new customer programs weren't enough to offset reduced demand from certain existing customers in the latest quarter.
Manitowoc Co. (NYSE:MTW - News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $43.9 million, or 69 cents a share, compared with $18.2 million, or 30 cents a share, in the same period last year, on strong revenues in the company's crane segment.
NutriSystem (NasdaqGS:NTRI - News) shares fell after the Horsham, Pa., provider of weight management and fitness products and services forecast first-quarter earnings of 82 to 86 cents a share on revenue of between $200 million and $210 million. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for a profit of 94 cents a share in March period on revenue of $214 million.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGM:REGN - News) was initiated with an average rating at Caris & Co.
Repros Therapeutics Inc. (NasdaqGM:RPRX - News) announced the pricing of its public offering of 2.61 million shares at $13.75 each. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 390,000 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any, the company said.
Saifun Semiconductor (NasdaqGS:SFUN - News) shares slumped after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $6.3 million, or 20 cents per share, down from a year-ago profit of $8.6 million, or 15 cents a share. Revenue at the Israeli chip company declined to $14 million in the quarter from $16.7 million a year ago.
SanDisk (NasdaqGS:SNDK - News) said it swung to a fourth-quarter loss from a year ago, hurt by acquisition-related charges, as sales surged amid increased demand for its NAND flash-memory storage chips used in consumer electronics.
Sepracor Inc. (NasdaqGS:SEPR - News) said fourth-quarter earnings rose to $99.1 million, or 85 cents a share, from $36.9 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier. The results include a 12 cents a share charge for stock-based compensation. Revenue increased to $357.2 million from last year's $311.1 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had been expecting earnings of 62 cents a share and revenue of $341.4 million, on average.
Selective Insurance Group (NasdaqGS:SIGI - News) was initiated with a market perform rating at Wachovia Securities, citing concerns about increasing competition.
Silicon Laboratories (NasdaqGS:SLAB - News) forecast revenue of $106 million to $111 million for the fiscal first quarter, below Wall Street's current consensus estimate for revenue of $113.5 million in the March period.
Tekelec (NasdaqGM:TKLC - News) was downgraded to hold at Jefferies & Co.
Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - News) reported fourth-quarter net income of $1.75 billion, or 44 cents a share, up from $1.3 billion, or 28 cents, earned in the same period during 2005. Earnings from continuing operations improved to 43 cents a share from 28 cents, the New York-based media giant's results showed. Backing out one-time items, Time Warner said it would have earned 22 cents a share for the latest quarter. Quarterly revenue reached $12.47 billion from the prior year's $11.52 billion. Analysts were looking for earnings of 22 cents a share on revenue of $12.46 billion, according to estimates compiled by Thomson First Call. The company also said it expects to wrap up a $20 billion stock-buyback program during the first half of 2007.
Tupperware Brands Corp. (NYSE:TUP - News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $39.9 million, or 65 cents a share, up 28% from $31.2 million, or 51 cents a share, during the year-ago period. Earnings after adjustments were 74 cents a share.
Websense (NasdaqGS:WBSN - News) shares tumbled after the company said its fourth-quarter earnings fell 30%, due in part to the cost of starting distribution of its software through Ingram Micro Inc. in North America. The San Diego provider of employee Internet management software had fourth-quarter earnings of $7.78 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with $11.1 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding stock-based compensation expense, the company earned $11.4 million, or 25 cents a share, up 3% from a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 18% to $47.3 million from $40.1 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected, on average, earnings of 25 cents a share on revenue of $48 million. Analyst earnings forecasts typically exclude unusual items. In addition, Websense said it expects first-quarter earnings of 9 to 11 cents a share and first-quarter non-GAAP earnings of 19 to 21 cents a share.
W Holding Co. (NYSE:WHI - News) shares fell after the company posted a profit of $17.9 million, or 5 cents a share, for the fourth quarter, down nearly 41% from last year's earnings of $30.2 million, or 12 cents a share. The holding company for Westernbank Puerto Rico attributed the latest results to increases in its current income tax provision, non-interest expenses, and its provision for loan losses.
YMI Biosciences (AMEX:YMI - News) shares plunged after the company said it's terminating a phase III trial of testmilifene, a proposed advanced breast cancer treatment. The company said the move follows a recommendation from the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board that the trial be stopped because interim analysis indicates "it is very unlikely significant differences in overall survival will be shown" between treatment arms as the data mature. A.G. Edwards downgraded the company to hold from buy following the news.
Published by Michael Baron at MarketWatch

Labels: ABD, ACH, ALL, CHL, CLMT, CLS, EFII, GSH, H. SNDK, HAE, JNPR, KTCC, LFC, MTW, NTRI, REGN, SNP

Acco Brands Corp. (NYSE:ABD - News) was downgraded to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse.
Align Technology (NasdaqGM:ALGN - News) was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Barrington Research, citing valuation.
Allergan Inc. (NYSE:AGN - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $136.8 million, or 89 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $140.1 million, or $1.03 a share. On an adjusted basis, excluding certain charges, the company earned $156.5 million, or $1.02 a share, in the latest quarter. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for a profit of $1.02 a share in the December period. Looking ahead, the Irvine, Calif., medical and healthcare products company said it expects adjusted earnings of $4.27 to $4.31 a share for fiscal 2007 on total product net sales of between $3.46 billion and $3.63 billion. For the first quarter, it sees adjusted earnings of 88 to 90 cents a share on total product net sales of between $830 million and $850 million. Wall Street's current consensus estimates are for earnings of $4.31 a share for the year and 98 cents a share for the March quarter.
Allstate (NYSE:ALL - News) reported a 17% increase in fourth-quarter profit, but the insurer's results missed analyst estimates and the company said it will stop giving profit forecasts.
Buckeye Technologies' (NYSE:BKI - News) said second-quarter net income more than doubled to $3.82 million, or 10 cents a share, from $1.85 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier, as the company cut costs. The Memphis cellulose and absorbent products company's sales dropped 1.9% to $184.7 million from $188.3 million. Costs of goods sold fell 4.2% to $155.7 million from $162.5 million. On average, analysts expected the company to post earnings of 11 cents a share and revenue of $199.5 million, according to Thomson Financial.
Calumet Specialty Products (NasdaqGM:CLMT - News) was downgraded to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs.
Celestica (NYSE:CLS - News) shares fell after the company said its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $60.8 million, or 27 cents a share, from $28.2 million, or 12 cents a share, as costs of sales rose. The most recent quarter's results include a $30 million net charge related to an increase in inventory at a Mexico facility and a $59 million restructuring charge. Excluding amortization of intangible assets, among other items, the Canada-based provider of electronics manufacturing services posted per-share earnings of 3 cents vs. 13 cents in the prior year. Revenue rose 9% to $2.26 billion from $2.08 billion. The company sees an adjusted first-quarter per-share loss of 4 to 15 cents, on revenue of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion. The company was also downgraded to underperform from peer perform at Bear Stearns.
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies fell, tracking steep losses in their home market after a senior legislator said the market may be overheated after a 130% gain in 2006. The comments by Cheng Siwei, vice-chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, in an interview with the Financial Times, raised concerns the Chinese government may take official action to cool speculation after the market hit a record high last week. Chinese ADRs such as Guangshen Railway (NYSE:GSH - News), China Mobile (NYSE:CHL - News), Aluminum Corp. China (NYSE:ACH - News), China Life Insurance (NYSE:LFC - News) and Sinopec (NYSE:SNP - News) were all markedly lower.
Electronics For Imaging's (NasdaqGS:EFII - News) fourth-quarter earnings fell 38% to $7.08 million, or 12 cents a share, from $11.4 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. On a non-GAAP basis, the Foster City, Calif., provider of digital controllers said earnings fell to $22.6 million, or 35 cents a share, from $23.1 million, or 36 cents a share. Revenue rose 5.8% to $153.9 million from $145.4 million in the year-ago period. The company expects to delay its Form 10-K filing for 2006 due to its ongoing stock-option grant investigation. The company sees first-quarter non-GAAP earnings of 25 to 27 cents a share on revenue of $140 million to $143 million.
Haemonetics' (NYSE:HAE - News) shares tumbled after the maker of automated blood processing systems provider forecast earnings of adjusted $2.05 to $2.17 per share for fiscal 2007 with revenue expected to rise between 7% and 9%. The company said this view reflect expectations for continued sales declines in its Japanese business.
Juniper Networks Inc. (NasdaqGS:JNPR - News) reported fourth-quarter revenue rose 4% to $595.8 million, from $575.5 during the same period one year ago. The sales figure slightly topped the estimates of Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who had forecast $593 million.
Key Tronic (NasdaqGM:KTCC - News) shares dropped after the Spokane, Wash., provider of electronic manufacturing services posted a second-quarter profit of $300,000, or 3 cents a share, down from a profit of $1 million, or 10 cents a share, last year. The latest results include a charge of $940,000 related to a customer unexpectedly declaring bankruptcy in December. Key Tronic also said that new customer programs weren't enough to offset reduced demand from certain existing customers in the latest quarter.
Manitowoc Co. (NYSE:MTW - News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $43.9 million, or 69 cents a share, compared with $18.2 million, or 30 cents a share, in the same period last year, on strong revenues in the company's crane segment.
NutriSystem (NasdaqGS:NTRI - News) shares fell after the Horsham, Pa., provider of weight management and fitness products and services forecast first-quarter earnings of 82 to 86 cents a share on revenue of between $200 million and $210 million. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for a profit of 94 cents a share in March period on revenue of $214 million.
Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - News) said its fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations fell to $173 million, or 69 cents a share, from $227 million, or 92 cents, a year earlier. The average earnings estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 74 cents a share.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGM:REGN - News) was initiated with an average rating at Caris & Co.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: ABD, ACH, AGN, ALGN, ALL, BKI, CHL, CLMT, CLS, EFII, GSH, HAE, JNPR, KTCC, LFC, MTW, NTRI, PEG, REGN, SNP

Juniper Networks Inc. Wednesday said it will take at least $900 million in non-cash charges to fix accounting mistakes stemming from misdated stock option grants.
Sunnyvale-based Juniper (NASDAQ:JNPR - News) said its internal seven-month review turned up "serious concerns regarding certain former management," but didn't name who they are. It accused the unnamed managers of "insufficient exercise by management of responsibility for the stock option process."
Juniper said its audit committee found that formal documentation often lagged the referenced grant date, and said "99.9 percent" of the costs relate to options granted between June 9, 1999 and Dec. 31, 2003.
The $900 million in charges is more than Juniper has posted in net income in its history as a public company. In the years in which the company said the options abuses happened, Juniper reported a profit of about $9 million in 1999, $148 million in 2000, a loss of $13 million in 2001, a loss of $120 million in 2002 and a profit of $39 million in 2003. Its profit grew to $354 million in its most-recently completed fiscal year in 2005.
As the company has been unable to report quarterly earnings because of the ongoing options probe, Juniper stock lost about 47 percent of its value between the end of last year and mid-August when it hit a 52-week low of $12.09. It closed Wednesday trading at $19.20, still off about 19 percent from where it was at the end of 2005.
The company said its audit committee and board of directors "expressed their continuing confidence in (Chairman and CEO) Scott Kriens and the current management of the company."
Kriens received two stock option awards with measurement date issues. However, both options were canceled unexercised in 2001 and Kriens has not exercised any stock options since 1998 -- about a year before the company's IPO.
Kriens has been CEO and chairman of the board at Juniper since October 1996.
Marcel Gani was executive vice president and chief financial officer from 1997 through 2004.
In May, Juniper said it received a request from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York for information about its granting of stock options. It was one of 17 companies found at high risk of having backdated options in a report issued that month by the Center for Financial Research and Analysis.
Kriens said in Wednesday's statement about findings of the internal probe: "As the leader of this company, I would like to express our regret, to everyone who relies on Juniper, for the difficulties this situation has caused for us all. In prior years, we should have had better stock option granting processes, controls and oversight in place, and we did not. While we cannot undo the past, we will focus going forward on the filing of our financial statements, further improving the robustness of the company's stock option granting procedures, the ongoing cooperation with government agencies and the continued execution of our business strategy."
Published December 20, 2006 by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal

Labels: JNPR, Juniper Networks Inc.

Networking equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. said late Wednesday that its board has authorized the repurchase of an additional $7 billion in common stock, marking the latest expansion of a massive buyback program launched five years ago.
The San Jose-based company, which makes the routers, switches and other gear that direct traffic on the Internet, already has bought back $36.9 billion in stock since the repurchase program was started in September 2001.
Through the end of Cisco's first quarter, which closed on Oct. 28, the company had repurchased and retired about 2 billion shares at an average price of $18.51 per share, according to the company.
Cisco's board had authorized up to $40 billion in stock repurchases, and the new buyback program is on top of the $3.1 billion remaining in that program.
Cisco said there is no fixed termination date for the repurchase program.

Labels: Cisco, Cisco Stock, CSCO, JNPR