Jim Cramer Blog

For the second day in a row, stocks hovered close to unchanged without any major catalysts emerging to inspire buyers or sellers. All three major indexes managed to close in positive territory bolstered by better-than-expected housing data as well as reports of potential M&A activity in the auto sector.
The National Association of Realtors announced that existing home sales jumped by the biggest amount in almost three years, jumping 3.9% in February to an annual rate of 6.69 million. Analysts had expected a drop in existing home sales. At the same time, however, the median home price dropped year over year for the seventh month in a row and the inventory of unsold homes rose. Earlier this week, the Fed noted that there is an ongoing "adjustment" occurring in the housing market.
In corporate news, DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX - News) spiked 6% higher amid growing speculation that the company will sell off its Chrysler arm. Larger private equity firms like Cerberus Capital Management and Blackstone Group have reportedly been in contact with Chrysler management regarding a deal. The news contributed to a 6% gain in shares of fellow beleaguered automaker General Motors (NYSE: GM - News), which also announced grants of performance-based restricted stock units to executives.
In other M&A news, office-supply firm Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY - News) announced that it will buy Paxar (NYSE: PXR - News), a maker of clothing labels and tags, for more than $1.3 billion. The offer of $30.50 per share represents a 27% premium based on Paxar's closing price on Thursday. Staffing services firm Kronos (Nasdaq: KRON - News) spiked 14% after announcing that it will be acquired by private equity firm Hellman and Friedman for around $1.8 billion.
Footwear and athletic apparel giant Nike (NYSE: NKE - News) reported earnings after the bell yesterday. The company handily beat FQ3 EPS estimates and posted sales just above the consensus. However, the company indicated that gross margins may come under pressure in the current quarter. The stock opened lower but managed to recoup most of those losses during the day. Smaller rival Under Armour (NYSE: UA - News) was up 2% on the day helped by positive comments from Jim Cramer.
Both Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN - News) and Genentech (NYSE: DNA - News) dropped lower today. Amgen was hit after halting a study for colorectal cancer drug Vectibix. ImClone Systems (Nasdaq: IMCL - News), which co-markets competing drug Erbitux with Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY - News), spiked 14% on the news. Genentech dropped after announcing that its Q1 sales will be flat sequentially.

Labels: AMGN, AVY, BMY, DCX, DNA, GM, IMCL, KRON, NKE, PXR, UA

Symbol
Name
Last Trade
Change
Volume
Related Info
JDO
JED OIL INC
2.2199 2:46PM ET
0.6299 (39.62%)
1,135,200
Chart, Profile, More
BELFA
BEL FUSE CL A
37.00 2:47PM ET
7.87 (27.02%)
420,342
Chart, , More
EGR
COMMERCE ENERGY GP
2.45 2:45PM ET
0.40 (19.51%)
414,000
Chart, Profile, More
PXR
PAXAR CP
28.53 2:45PM ET
4.50 (18.73%)
5,188,400
Chart, Profile, More
ASTIW
ASCENT SOLAR TECH
3.38 2:49PM ET
0.54 (19.01%)
770,249
Chart, , More
BSML
BSML INC
1.40 1:53PM ET
0.19 (15.70%)
2,700
Chart, Profile, More
BELFB
BEL FUSE INC CL B
37.93 2:50PM ET
4.69 (14.11%)
313,081
Chart, Profile, More
SMXC
SMITHWAY MOTOR XPR
10.31 2:50PM ET
1.31 (14.56%)
273,917
Chart, Profile, More
KRON
KRONOS INC
53.00 2:51PM ET
6.37 (13.66%)
6,350,062
Chart, Profile, More
IMCL
IMCLONE SYSTEMS
38.34 2:51PM ET
4.46 (13.16%)
21,965,923
Chart, Profile, More
SNX
SYNNEX CORP
22.27 2:46PM ET
2.53 (12.82%)
553,100
Chart, Profile, More
EFUT
E-FUTURE INFORMATION
23.62 2:50PM ET
2.60 (12.37%)
535,917
Chart, Profile, More
ADST
ADSTAR INC
1.92 2:46PM ET
0.21 (12.28%)
51,924
Chart, Profile, More
WPTE
WPT ENTERPRISES, INC
5.40 2:51PM ET
0.59 (12.27%)
163,192
Chart, Profile, More
MWAV
M-WAVE INC
3.6000 2:47PM ET
0.3800 (11.80%)
4,135
Chart, Profile, More
OVTI
OMNIVISION TECH IN
13.37 2:51PM ET
1.30 (10.77%)
4,982,524
Chart, Profile, More
NAVI
NAVISITE INC
6.08 2:51PM ET
0.58 (10.55%)
101,899
Chart, Profile, More
TAGS
TARRANT APPAREL GR
1.56 2:24PM ET
0.15 (10.64%)
79,950
Chart, Profile, More
NBIX
NEUROCRINE BIOSCI
12.33 2:51PM ET
1.03 (9.12%)
750,722
Chart, Profile, More
SIMG
SILICON IMAGE INC
8.90 2:51PM ET
0.77 (9.47%)
3,093,760
Chart, Profile, More
SEED
ORIGIN AGRITECH LIMI
8.65 2:51PM ET
0.72 (9.08%)
138,004
Chart, Profile, More
CTIB
CTI INDS CORP
9.74 2:50PM ET
0.75 (8.34%)
154,470
Chart, Profile, More
HMB
HOMEBANC CORP
3.21 2:46PM ET
0.27 (9.18%)
665,700
Chart, Profile, More
DNDN
DENDREON CORP
4.38 2:50PM ET
0.43 (10.89%)
7,757,206
Chart, Profile, More
PWER
POWER-ONE INC
6.18 2:50PM ET
0.52 (9.19%)
1,035,392
Chart, Profile, More

Labels: ADST, BELFA, BELFB, BSML, CTIB, EFUT, EGR, IMCL, JDO, KRON, MWAV, NAVI, NBIX, OVTI, PXR, SIMG, SMXC, SNX, TAGS, WPTE

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