Jim Cramer Blog

Stocks drifted throughout a generally quiet trading day and finally closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a slim gain, but the broader market averages closed lower. The 10-year Treasury note started off the week by moving higher, while crude oil and natural gas prices continued to climb as cold weather gripped a large portion of the nation.
Private equity investments were once again behind some of the day's sharpest gains. Triad Hospitals (NYSE: TRI - News) surged 15% after announcing that it had agreed to be acquired by CCMP Capital Advisors and GS Capital Partners for approximately $4.7 billion, excluding debt. Investor Carl Icahn, meanwhile, offered $2.8 billion for auto parts maker Lear (NYSE: LEA - News). Investors bid up the stock 11% on news of the $36 a share offer, but one current shareholder told The Wall Street Journal that the offer was "ridiculously low." Fellow auto parts makers like Tenneco (NYSE: TEN - News) and ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM - News) also closed higher.
In other merger news, State Street (NYSE: STT - News) announced that it would acquire Investors Financial Services (Nasdaq: IFIN - News) for $4.5 billion in an all-stock deal. Investors Financial shot up 27% on the announcement, but investors frowned on State Street, knocking its shares down -6% in the belief that it was overpaying. The companies each provide a variety of advisory and back-office services to institutional investors.
Health insurer Humana (NYSE: HUM - News) reported that Q4 earnings more than doubled, driven by strength in its Medicare business. The company reported profits of $155 million, or 92 cents per share, compared to $62 million, or 37 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Humana also raised its 2007 outlook. It now expects to earn $4.00-4.20 a share, up from its previous estimate of $3.90-4.10 per share. The nation's largest health insurer, in contrast, slipped today after UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH - News) cut its 2007 revenue forecast, citing slippage in its Medicare-related health plans.
Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News) rose after the company announced on Saturday that expected January same-store sales exceeded its earlier conservative forecast. Wal-Mart said same-store sales rose 2.2% last month, topping its estimate for an increase of 1-2%. Wal-Mart also said that starting with February's results, it will release same-store sales figures on the first Thursday of the following months, putting it on the same schedule as the majority of U.S. retailers.
Nursing home operator Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND - News) rose 5% after it was upgraded to a "buy" from "hold" by Stifel Nicolaus. Argonaut Group (Nasdaq: AGII - News), which underwrites specialty insurance products, gained 5% after releasing earnings and being upgraded to a "outperform" by Friedman Billings Ramsey. Argonaut reported a profit of $31 million, or 92 cents per share, in Q4, up from $25 million, or 76 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.
By Bullmarket.com Staff

Labels: AGII, ARM, HUM, IFIN, KND, LEA, STT, TEN, TRI, UNH, WMT

Agilysis Inc. (NasdaqGS:AGYS - News) said third-quarter earnings rose 32%, boosted by higher sales of server and storage hardware and software. The Boca Raton, Fla., computer-technology company reported third-quarter earnings of $20 million, or 64 cents a share, up from $15.2 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier.
Amkor Technology (NasdaqGS:AMKR - News) was upgraded to buy from neutral at American Technology Research.
Argonaut Group Inc. (NasdaqGS:AGII - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $31.4 million, or 92 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $25.4 million, or 76 cents a share. Total revenue rose 14.5% at the San Antonio specialty insurer in the three-month period to $243.1 million from $212.4 million in the same period a year earlier.
Asyst Technologies Inc. (NasdaqGM:ASYT - News) was upgraded to buy from neutral at American Technology Research.
Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS - News) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at Prudential Equity Group. The firm said the launch of the final Harry Potter book could be a catalyst to improve lackluster sales. "In addition, for each of the last three Harry Potter books, Barnes & Noble shares have performed nicely in the six months leading up to the release date," Prudential said. The broker added that, like other retailers, Barnes & Noble is offering steep discounts on the book, which is due to be released on July 21. "It seems fair to say, with these massive discounts, that none of these retailers will make any money on the book itself. Historically, however, the release has driven significant traffic into the bookstores," it said.
B/E Aerospace (NasdaqGS:BEAV - News) said its fourth-quarter net income fell to $21.7 million, or 28 cents a share, from $62.1 million, or 96 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast earnings, on average, of 26 cents a share and sales of $299.1 million. The Wellington, Fla., maker of airplane seats and interiors said its sales in the three months ended Dec. 31 rose 44% to $321.6 million from $222.9 million. B/E Aerospace forecast 2007 earnings of $1.40 to $1.42 a share and sales of $1.4 billion. Its 2008 forecast is for $2 a share in earnings and its 2009 profit is forecast to grow 25%.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NasdaqGS:CTSH - News) said fourth-quarter net income rose 21% to $69.5 million, or 46 cents a share, from $57.7 million, or 39 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding stock-based compensation expenses, the provider of information-technology services said Monday it earned 50 cents a share in the latest fourth quarter. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 65% to $424.4 million from $256.9 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on average, expected the Teaneck, N.J., company to earn 43 cents a share on revenue of $405.5 million for the latest fourth quarter.
Crocs Inc. (NasdaqGS:CROX - News) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Robert W. Baird.
Deckers Outdoor (NasdaqGS:DECK - News) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Piper Jaffray. The firm lifted its price target on the stock to $65 from $54.
Shares of Dell Inc. (NasdaqGS:DELL - News) rose after Credit Suisse upgraded the PC maker to outperform from neutral. Analyst Robert Semple said the upgrade was based on the belief that Dell will augment its technology with acquisitions, reduce its cost structure and possibly revise its distribution philosophy for certain products. Semple also thinks the company's core U.S. corporate market has bottomed out, and that the reward vs. risk profile in the shares is positive. He raised his stock price target to $28 from $25.
Hanover Compressor Co. (NYSE:HC - News) and Universal Compression Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UCO - News) said their boards have approved a merger that will create a combined company with a market capitalization of $3.8 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Hanover shareholders will receive 0.325 shares of the new company for each share they own, while Universal stockholders will receive 1 share for each of their shares. The companies said they anticipate that Hanover stockholders will initially own 53% of the new company. The companies added that the deal is expected to boost earnings for stockholders of both companies in 2008 and will achieve annualized pre-tax cost savings of around $50 million.
Hercules Offshore (NasdaqGS:HERO - News) said it returned to a fourth-quarter profit after not having tax expenses related to its initial public offering and on international demand for jackup rigs and liftboats. Fourth-quarter net income totaled $35.5 million, or $1.09 a share, while revenue rose to $114.7 million from $48.0 million.
Hewitt Associates Inc. (NYSE:HEW - News) reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $30.1 million, or 27 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $31.5 million, or 29 cents a share. The latest results included a pre-tax severance charge of $16 million and $6 million in higher compensation expense, according to the Lincolnshire, Ill., provider of human resources outsourcing and consulting services. Reported net revenue rose 4% in the latest three months to $726.6 million from $701 million a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 24 cents a share in the December period on revenue of $701 million. The company's board has approved the buyback of up to $750 million worth of its outstanding common shares over the next 24 months.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - News) said it plans to withdraw the listing of its stock from the Nasdaq Global Select Market to reduce costs of exchange listing fees and administrative burdens related to being listed in two exchanges. The Dow component also agreed to acquire Bristol Technnology, a private company that provides technology to monitor business transactions.
Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM - News) said its fourth-quarter net profit more than doubled to $155 million, or 92 cents a share, from $61.8 million, or 37 cents a share. Revenue for the period rose 53.6% to $5.46 billion, helped by strong growth in Medicare membership. Analysts at Thomson Financial had forecast earnings of 88 cents a share on revenue of $5.74 billion. The firm also raised its earnings guidance for 2007 to a range of $4.00 to $4.20 a share, from its previous forecast of $3.90 to $4.10 a share.
Kindred Healthcare (NYSE:KND - News) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
KLA-Tencor Corp. (NasdaqGS:KLAC - News) reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $90 million, or 44 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $76.6 million, or 38 cents a share. The latest results include pre-tax charges totaling $117 million from asset write-downs, acquisitions, net stock-based compensation and restatement activities. Revenue rose in the latest three months to $649.3 million from $487.7 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 71 cents a share in the December period on revenue of $663.1 million.
Kulicke & Soffa Industries (NasdaqGM:KLIC - News) was upgraded to buy from neutral at American Technology Research.
Lear Corp. (NYSE:LEA - News) shares rallied after the automotive parts supplier said billionaire financier and top shareholder Carl Icahn has made an offer to buy all of the company's outstanding stock. The $36-a-share offer from Icahn represents a 3.8% premium over the stock's Friday closing price.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: AGII, AGYS, AMKR, ASYT, BEAV, BKS, CROX, CTSH, DECK, DELL, HC, HERO, HEW, HPQ, HUM, KLAC, KLIC, KND, LEA, UCO