Jim Cramer Blog

Here are 7 options to watch for today.
Most Under-Priced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most under-priced individual calls.
Lam Research Dec 65 Calls (NasdaqGS:LRCX - News). LRCX's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Most Under-Priced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most under-priced individual puts.
Business Objects Nov 60 Puts (NasdaqGS:BOBJ - News). BOBJ's PowerRating (for Traders) is 3.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most overpriced individual calls.
SanDisk Oct 55 Calls (NasdaqGS:SNDK - News). SNDK's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most overpriced individual puts.
Deere & Company Dec 125 Puts (NYSE:DE - News). DE's PowerRating (for Traders) 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.
Vonage (NYSE:VG - News). VG's PowerRating (for Traders) is 1.
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.
NL Industries (NYSE:NL - News).
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.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE:KKD - News). KKD's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
Published By TradingMarkets.com

Labels: BOBJ, DE, KKD, LRCX, NL, SNDK, stock options, VG

Ryanair Holdings PLC, Logitech International SA and CH Robinson Worldwide Inc. combined efforts to weigh down the Nasdaq 100 in Monday midday trading.
The Nasdaq 100, which includes 100 of the largest non-financial securities traded on the Nasdaq, lost 11.04 points to 1,828.73. The broader Nasdaq composite slipped 13.59 to 2,501.51.
U.S. shares of Irish budget airline Ryanair Holdings fell $3.07, or 3.2 percent, to $93.87, following the airline sector down.
Logitech International, a computer mouse maker, declined 59 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $27.88.
Shares of logistics provider CH Robinson Worldwide lost $1.45, or 2.7 percent, to $52.46. A Bear Stearns analyst said in a note on that shippers could gain a wider pricing advantage in 2007.
Research In Motion Ltd. surged $6.20, or 4.4 percent, to $146.20 after a RBC Capital Markets analyst upgraded the Canadian handheld wireless device maker, saying the company's strong sales outweigh competitive concerns. Shares earlier hit an all-time high of $146.50.
Level 3 Communications Inc. rose 16 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $6.71 after the communications network operator said it received valid consents from the holders of all its outstanding 12.25 percent senior notes due 2013 to amend the debt.
LAM Research Corp. rose 64 cents, to $46.43 after the semiconductor equipment maker said it plans to buy back up to $750 million of its stock.
Published by AP

Labels: CHRW, LOGI, LRCX, LVLT, RIMM, RYAAY

A slug of disappointments in technology caused a rotation from “the rotation.” Elsewhere though, strength in the energy complex and less lofty expectations helped keep the schnitzeling to a minimum and the bull at large still hanging in there. For the four-day period, the S&P500 ($SPX) and NASDAQ Composite ($COMPQ) are showing very mixed results from a virtually unchanged decliner of just -.02%, to a much larger -2.06% bit of expired bull.The past week brought home the fact that the market is indeed made up of individual stocks. Large-cap tech—an area of late that’s seen a heavy rotation by institutional money in search of a new home—took the path less traveled. The quick workout on heavyweight tech contenders started off with a sales warning from security software powerhouse Symantec (SYMC), an influential downgrade of key players in the semis (SMH, KLAC, LRCX, NVLS), and two brokers chiming in with reductions to “neutral” on networking giant Cisco (CSCO). A narrowing of gross margins and lackluster guidance by Intel (INTC) didn’t help matters for tech bulls, nor did Apple’s (AAPL) earnings disappointment Wednesday evening. The current crown jewel beat bottom line estimates by 36 cents. However, guidance was reduced by management and shipments of the ever-popular iPod and Mac products were seen as being at the low end of expectations. In Friday’s session, reduced margins resulting in a ‘light’ penny beat at Big Blue (IBM) didn’t compute for bulls. In each case, the individual issues experienced what many might call an inflated disappointment, with investors simply looking to focus on the worst that each report had to offer. With all of the aforementioned being at or near 52-week highs, or better, and Wall Street having made an ‘all in’ move into the group of late, some might also call the action deserved. Black Gold (USO) pushed lower and hit below $50 a barrel for the first time in more than two years. On the week, the futures contract finished down a point at 51.99. Interestingly enough, the ‘profit-engine’ of the energy complex (XLE, OIH) managed to find a bid for the four-day period after its own severe slide. Value hunters and shorts covering were helped along in Friday’s trade by Schlumberger’s (SLB) better-than-expected earnings and a group whose bearish consensus outlook is fertile ground for contra trend reactions. The broader market as represented by the S&P500 can certainly thank the influence that the energy complex carries with it, in keeping profit-taking to a bare minimum. Lowered expectations of earnings (outside of technology) has also helped somewhat. Reactions on the week were generally mixed and the reports themselves didn’t offer up any type of unified and strong guidance for investors. However, Wall Street was able to keep the pains felt in tech names an isolated condition. That might be seen as a small victory for bulls. Names offering up decent results this past week include Wells Fargo (WFC), Harley (HOG), Johnson Controls (JCI) and Capital One (COF). Economic data this past week continued to hint at a slightly stronger economy than expected—focused on inflation pressures, but not reacting to the news either way. Better-than-expected reports on housing starts, industrial production and regional manufacturing reflected underlying growth. Also, weakening trends in energy and commodity prices helped keep price concerns muted and the bulls somewhat supportive of market prices. Other data however, hindered any further rally attempts. A tighter-than-expected labor market via the weekly claims report [sub 300K second week] is keeping the theme of wage-based inflation on traders’ minds. Further, neither the CPI nor PPI releases were able to show any type of clear moderation in prices of yet. With a year-over-year reading of the core CPI at 2.6%, that figure remains elevated, but not significant enough to warrant the Fed to shift policy. All said and done, with the widely followed 10-Year unchanged on the week at 4.77% and the S&P500 virtually unchanged, traders’ will have plenty of fresh catalysts this week to inspire. ON TAP THIS WEEKHeading into the week, potential market catalysts are riding heavily on 4th quarter earnings reports. This week will be the first of the season offering a full five days of corporate results and a calendar filled with promise from the likes of Texas Instruments (TXN), Bank of America (BAC), Yahoo (YHOO), Occidental (OXY), Amgen (AMGN), Caterpillar (CAT), Ford (F) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Thus far, Reuter’s estimates that fourth quarter operational earnings for the S&P500 are on track for an increase of 9.3%. That’s roughly in-line with analysts estimates seen heading into the season, but more than 85% of S&P500 companies are still on tap to report. Further, an in-line Q4 after thirteen periods of double digit growth and a market at multi-year highs doesn’t sound like the basis for bullish behavior in 2007. MondayEconomic: Leading Indicators (.2%)Earnings: Pfizer (PFE), Eaton (ETN), A.O. Smith (AOS), Lee (LEE), Sify (SIFY), Plantronics (PLT), Texas Instruments (TXN), CSX (CSX)TuesdayEconomic: NAEarnings: Bank of America (BAC), EMC (EMC), Jacobs (JEC), J & J (JNJ), Precision Cast (PCP), Rediff (REDF), UAL (UAUA), Advanced Micro (AMD), Citrix (CTXS), Centex (CTX), QLogic (QLGC), Steel Dynamics (STLD), Supertex (SUPX), Yahoo (YHOO), Seagate (STX), RFMicro (RFMD)WednesdayEconomic: Weekly CrudeEarnings: Alleghany (ATI), Conoco (COP), Corning (GLW), General Dynamics (GD), Piper Jaffray (PJC), Waters (WAT), eBay (EBAY), F5 Net (FFIV), Netflix (NFLX), Novellus (NVLS), Qualcomm (QCOM), Rambus (RMBS), Symantec (SYMC), Varian Med (VAR)ThursdayEconomic: Weekly Claims (310K), Existing Home Sales (6.30M)Earnings: Applied Bio (ABI), AT&T (T), BJ Srvc (BJS), Dow Chem (DOW), Ford (F), Imclone (IMCL), Legg Mason (LM), Potash (POT), Occidental (OXY), Nokia (NOK), Quest Diag (DGX), SunPower (SPWR), Union P (UNP), Peabody (BTU), Amgen (AMGN), Harman (HAR), Bebe (BEBE), Columbia (COLM), MEMC (WFR), Microsoft (MSFT), Stryker (SYK), Tempur-Pedic, (TPX), VistaPrint (VPRT), Western Digital (WDC)FridayEconomic: Durable Orders (3.5%), New Home Sales (1.05M)Earnings: Carpenter Tech (CRS), Caterpillar (CAT), Fortune Brands (FO), Halliburton (HAL), Honeywell (HON), T. Rowe (TROW), CDW Corp (CDWC), FPL Group (FPL)
Published By Optionetics

Labels: AAPL, AMGN, BAC, COF, CSCO, HOG, IBM, INTC, JCI, KLAC, LRCX, NVLS, OXY, SLB, SMH, SYMC, TXN, USO, WFC, YHOO

Acuate Corp. (NASDAQ:ACTU - News) was downgraded to market perform from market outperform. The firm cited expectations for transitional issues as the company moves toward an open source model.
Cardica Inc. (NASDAQ:CRDC - News) said in a regulatory filing that it is initiating a voluntary recall of 55 units of its C-Port xA blood vessel connection system used in heart bypass operations after internal testing showed a manufacturing defect. The Redwood City, Calif., company said the recall will hurt the company's revenue for the quarters ended March 31, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2006, but did not specify by how much.
Centex Corp. (NYSE:CTX - News) said it expects to swing to a third-quarter loss from continuing operations of $2.00 per share, from a profit of $2.52 a share a year ago. The company said it will record land valuation adjustments of around $300 million due to the declining housing market. It has also decided not to exercise land option contracts on 37,000 lots, which will result in walk-away costs of around $150 million. Centex plans to increase its provision for taxes by around $60 million in connection with its ongoing federal tax audit. Excluding these costs, Centex expects adjusted earnings for the quarter of 75 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting earnings of 81 cents a share. For the quarter, Centex said home closings fell 12% to 8,360 and net orders fell 24% to 6,139.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - News) was downgraded to neutral from buy at Banc of America Sec., due primarily to valuation. Analyst Tim Long said he believes the networker's business is "as good as it gets," and therefore sees limited upside to the shares. In addition, Prudential Equity Group lowered its rating on the networking giant's stock to neutral weight.
Commerce Bancorp (NYSE:CBH - News) shares fell after the bank said it's been advised that an investigation is being conducted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in conjunction with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Commerce has further been advised that the scope of the investigation will include but not be limited to transactions with its officers, directors and related parties, including transactions involving bank premises," the company said. "Commerce is fully cooperating with the OCC and the Federal Reserve with respect to the investigation." The company also reported its fourth-quarter results, saying net income jumped 68% to $78.7 million, or 40 cents a share.
Edge Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ:EPEX - News) said it plans to sell 9.2 million common shares. The deal includes an over-allotment option for the sale of an additional 1.38 million common shares. Houston-based Edge also plans to concurrently offer 2 million shares of Series A cumulative preferred stock. The company anticipates it will use the proceeds to finance its pending acquisition of certain properties from Smith Production Inc. and to refinance its existing revolving credit facility.
Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $441.6 million, or $1.99 per share, down from a year-ago profit of $478.3 million, or $2.19 a share. Revenue rose in the latest three months to $1.64 billion from $1.49 billion in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of $2.12 a share on revenue of $1.72 billion. Looking ahead, Freeport-McMoran said it expects to close in merger agreement with Phelps Dodge in early March. It anticipates sales for the first quarter will be "the highest of the year" with about 400 million pounds of copper and 850,000 ounces of gold.
Goodrich Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:GDP - News) definitively agreed to sell substantially all its assets in south Louisiana for $100 million, effective as of July 1, 2006. The deal is subject to conditions including a due-diligence financial review by the buyer, which a news release identified as a private purchaser. The purchase price will be adjusted for cash flow to the closing date, which Goodrich estimated as Feb. 27, 2007. Goodrich said the deal enables it to focus on developing its Cotton Valley trend acreage and to reduce operating costs.
Headwaters Inc. (NYSE:HW - News) said it plans to sell $125 million worth of convertible senior subordinated notes due 2014 through a private placement. The deal includes an over-allotment option for the sale of an additional $25 million worth of notes.
Indymac (NYSE:NDE - News) said it expects fourth-quarter net income of 97 cents a share, lower than its earlier forecast of $1.30-$1.40 a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of $1.34 a share, on average, for the period. "This shortfall reflects the challenging times being faced by the mortgage and housing industries and the difficult nature of forecasting earnings in our business," the Pasadena, Calif., financial services company said.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC - News) shares were lower ahead of the Dow component's quarterly report, which is due after the closing bell. The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call is for a profit of 25 cents a share on revenue of $9.44 billion.
KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC - News) was downgraded to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank.
Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - News) was downgraded to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank.
Lamson & Sessions (NYSE:LMS - News) took down its profit outlook due to a slump in the price of PVC pipe due at least in part to a weaker-than-expected residential construction. The company now sees earnings of $2.42 to $2.43 a share for 2006. "This segment's operating loss is due to an industry-wide inventory reduction in the fourth quarter following a mild hurricane season along with lower energy costs," the company said. That meant "an accelerated decline in selling prices that outpaced a decrease in raw material costs. In addition, the residential construction market was much weaker than expected." Previously, the company had been expecting to earn $2.50 to $2.53 a share for the year but, Lamson noted, even the lower number is still a record. On the top line, its still expects to bring in sales of $560 million to $561 million.
Marchex (NASDAQ:MCHX - News) was downgraded to market perform from market outperform at JMP Securities. The firm cited a deceleration of the company's direct navigation business.
Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:MDCO - News) plans to sell six million shares of its common stock. The company also intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 900,000 shares of common stock. Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. The company was also downgraded to reduce at UBS.
Mesabi Trust (NYSE:MSB - News) declared a distribution of 31.5 cents per beneficial unit late Friday, payable on Feb. 20 to shareholders of record on Jan. 30. The company's distribution was 47 cents per unit for the same period a year earlier, a decline Mesabi attributed to significantly lower shipments of iron ore pellets in the calendar fourth quarter of 2006.
Novellus Systems (NASDAQ:NVLS - News) was downgraded to sell from hold at Deutsche Bank.
Sterling Construction Co. (NASDAQ:STRL - News) forecast earnings of $13.4 million to $15 million, or $1.13 to $1.26 per share, for fiscal 2007 on revenue of between $285 million and $310 million. The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call is for a profit of $1.30 a share for the year on revenue of $300.9 million. Also, as of Dec. 31, the company's backlog stood at about $395 million, up 29% from year-ago levels. Shares of the Houston-based civil construction company closed Friday at $20, down 2.4%.
Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ:SYMC - News) said it was lowering its third-quarter earnings and revenue forecast, citing a weaker-than-anticipated performance by its data center management business and higher deferrals than expected as a result of a greater proportion of enterprise maintenance contracts. The Cupertino, Calif. security software company cut its earnings estimate to 10 to 11 cents a share from 14 to 15 cents a share and his revenue forecast to $1.29 billion to $1.31 billion from $1.315 billion from $1.149 billion. Excluding non-recurring items, the company lowered its earnings estimate to 24 to 25 cents a share from 29 to 30 cents, and its revenue projection to $1.30 billion to $1.32 billion from $1.325 billion to $1.355 billion. For the fiscal fourth-quarter, the company expects adjusted earnings of 18 to 20 cents a share, below the average analyst estimate compiled by Thomson First Call of 32 cents.

Published By MarketWatch

Labels: ACTU, CBH, CRDC, CSCO, CTX, EPEX, FCX, GDP, HW, INTC, KLAC, LMS, LRCX, MCHX, MDCO, MSB, NDE, NVLS, STRL, SYMC