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Domesticity diva Martha Stewart aims to parlay her authoritative voice on everything about lifestyle to the millions of women who surf the Internet with the relaunch of her namesake Web site.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. -- which scaled back its Web operation as a catalog/e-commerce business in 2005 -- is set to officially relaunch marthastewart.com Tuesday as an information portal.
The overhauled site, quietly unveiled late last month, features more than 700 videos, including daily episodes of Stewart's TV shows and how-to clips, provides a community where users can chat about such ideas as the latest recipe for chocolate cake, and features a retooled search engine that allows users to browse either by interest such as the latest scrapbooking techniques or by media property from magazines to TV shows. It also allows users to search across 700 other Web sites to get the best resources.

Labels: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., MSO

Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS:AAPL - News) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Lehman Bros., due primarily to valuation. The stock closed Wednesday up 0.8% at $84.61, after falling 6.2% over the previous three sessions. At Wednesday's close, the stock had lost 13% since reaching an all-time high of $97.80 on Jan. 10. Analyst Harry Blount said the stock's recent pullback "provides an attractive entry point and a favorable reward vs. risk ratio in front of an anticipated product cycle in 2007." Blount also sees lowered component pricing leading to additional potential operating margin expansion and the likelihood of PC market share gains.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE:CTB - News) said its fourth-quarter loss widened to $27.6 million, or 45 cents a share, from $6.85 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier, hurt by restructuring charges and the write-off of goodwill and intangible assets. The Findlay, Ohio, tire-maker said sales rose 29% to $739.1 million from $572.4 million in the year-ago period, helped in part by the addition of operations of Cooper Chengshan Passenger Tire Co. and Cooper Chengshan Tire Co. in China. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected, on average, breakeven earnings for the quarter.
DealerTrack Holdings (NasdaqGM:TRAK - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $5.7 million, or 14 cents a share, as revenue grew 37% to $45.7 million.
Del Monte Foods Co.'s (NYSE:DLM - News) third-quarter earnings fell 10%, due to lower sales volumes for consumer products, higher costs, and higher marketing and interest expense. The San Francisco canned food company had third-quarter earnings of $46.5 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with $51.9 million, or 26 cents a share, a year earlier. Del Monte said revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 28 rose 15% to $907.2 million from $789.6 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected, on average, earnings of 22 cents a share on revenue of $943 million.
EchoStar Communications (NasdaqGS:DISH - News) said fourth-quarter net income rose to $153 million, or 35 cents a basic share, from $133 million, or 30 cents a basic share, with revenue up 17% to $2.58 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 32 cents a share on revenue of $2.54 billion. The operator of the DISH Network added 350,000 net new subscribers during the quarter, giving it a total of 13.1 million subscribers.
Greif Inc. (NYSE:GEF - News) reported fiscal first-quarter net earnings of $34 million, or $1.15 per Class A share, up slightly from $33.4 million, or $1.13 per Class A share, in the year-ago period. Revenue at the Delaware, Ohio-based industrial packaging company rose 29% to $750.8 million from $582.3 million.
Hana Biosciences (NasdaqGM:HNAB - News) was upgraded to buy from hold at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Leading Brands (NasdaqCM:LBIX - News) said its TrueBlue Blueberry Juice brand is now listed with The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - News).
Longs Drug Stores' (NYSE:LDG - News) fiscal fourth-quarter net income fell 24% to $26.9 million, or 71 cents a share, from $35.4 million, or 93 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 25 increased 8% to $1.34 billion from $1.24 billion a year ago.
ManTech International Corp. (NasdaqGS:MANT - News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $13.9 million, or 41 cents a share, up 33% from $10.4 million, or 31 cents a share, during the year-ago period. The company posted revenue of $290.7 million vs. $261 million.
Martha Stewart Omnimedia (NYSE:MSO - News) was upgraded to equal-weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - News) said it has been notified that certain Carl Icahn entities have filed to acquire additional shares of Motorola stock. The Schaumburg, Ill.-based telecommunications company said the notice stated that Icahn and Icahn Partners LP are each filing to acquire between $119.7 million and $500 million worth of Motorola stock, while Icahn Partners Master Fund LP and Icahn Partners Master Fund II LP are each filing to acquire more than $500 million, but less than 25% of Motorola's outstanding stock.
New Century Financial Corp. (NYSE:NEW - News) was upgraded to peer perform from underperform at Bear Stearns.
Oracle Corp. (NasdaqGS:ORCL - News) confirmed that it was buying business performance management software maker Hyperion Solutions Corp. (NasdaqGS:HYSL - News) in a deal valued at $3.3 billion, or $52 a share. The per-share bid represents a 21% premium to Hyperion's closing price of $42.84 on Wednesday. Oracle said the acquisition, which is expected to close in April, should to add 1 cent a share to fiscal 2008 earnings on an adjusted basis, and 4 cents a share to fiscal 2009 results.
Parallel Petroleum (NasdaqGM:PLLL - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $11.1 million, or 29 cents a share. In the same period a year earlier, the company earned $8.4 million, or 24 cents a share. The latest results include a $9 million pre-tax gain on an asset sale, and a $2.8 million gain related to the fair market value of derivative instruments and ineffective portion of hedges.
PharmaNet Development (NasdaqGS:PDGI - News) posted adjusted earnings of $6.8 million, or 36 cents a share, for the fourth quarter, and forecast an adjusted profit of $1.06 to $1.21 a share for fiscal 2007.
PRG-Schultz International (NasdaqGM:PRGX - News) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $2.9 million, or 43 cents a share, narrower than a year-ago loss of $175.8 million, or $28.32 a share.
Smith Micro Software Inc.'s (NasdaqGM:SMSI - News) fourth-quarter net income rose 63% to $3.61 million, or 14 cents a share, from $2.21 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier. The Aliso Viejo, Calif., developer and marketer of software products and services said revenue more than doubled to $17.2 million from $8 million a year ago.
Stats Chippac Ltd. (NasdaqGS:STTS - News) shares surged after Temasek Holdings Ltd. said it would launch a cash offer, through its subsidiary Singapore Technologies Semiconductors Ltd., for the remaining shares in Stats Chippac that it does not already own. Temasek currently holds a 35.6% stake in the semiconductor test company. Temasek, Singapore's state-owned investment company, is offering S$1.75 per share and S$17.50 per American Depositary share in cash. If the offer results in Temasek owning more than 90% of Stats Chippac, Temasek will raise the offer price to S$1.88 per share and S$18.80 per ADS.
Sun-Times Media Group (NYSE:SVN - News) said it received a favorable review on its international tax liability from representatives of a foreign taxing authority.
Todco (NYSE:THE - News) said its fourth-quarter net income roughly tripled to $64.1 million, or $1.11 a share, from $21.2 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter rose 73% to $260.1 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of $1.01 a share on revenue of $255 million. Todco said the improved performance was largely due to improved utilization and higher day-rates.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: AAPL, CTB, DISH, DLM, GEF, HNAB, HYSL, KR, LBIX, LDG, MANT, MOT, MSO, NEW, ORCL, PDGI, PLLL, PRGX, STTS, TRAK

Stocks staged a partial recovery from yesterday's massive sell-off, buoyed by bargain hunting and some soothing words about the economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. After opening strongly, stocks traded unevenly. They briefly dipped lower only to rebound sharply by mid-morning before settling into a comfortable trading range for the rest of the day. Bonds reversed course as well. The 10-year Treasury note pulled back, adding 4 basis points after dropping -12 bp yesterday. The benchmark bond closed yielding 4.55%. Crude oil prices inched higher.
Testifying before the House Banking Committee today, Bernanke said "there didn't seem to be any single trigger" to yesterday's sell-off and that he didn't see much point in revisiting individual news events from yesterday. More important for today's market action is that he re-affirmed the comments he made before the Congress earlier in the month. Bernanke said the Fed is still "looking for moderate growth in the economy going forward." He also said that while the central bank is concerned enough about the subprime mortgage market to provide "guidance to lenders about proper procedures for underwriting," he added that the Fed didn't see any signs that problems in the subprime arena were spreading into the broader mortgage market, or dampening sales activity.
Housing, however, remains a murky picture. Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes accelerated at their fastest pace in seven months, spurred on by falling prices. However, the Commerce Department reported today that sales of new homes continue to suffer, plummeting -16.6% in January from December, the sharpest one-month decline in 13 years. The economy also grew more slowly in Q4 of last year than previously forecasted, the Commerce Department said in a separate report. GDP grew a revised 2.2% last quarter, not the 3.5% initially forecast. The downward revision was expected.
Home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) added to the housing picture by saying it doesn't expect the residential construction market to start improving until the end of this year and early next year. As a result, the company predicted that its earnings will decline between -4% to -9% this year and that sales growth will be flat to up 2%. The company nonetheless plans to invest up to $2.2 billion this year in improvements to its business. The figures were contained in a news release distributed in conjunction with an investor meeting today.
Among the day's top-performing stocks was Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S - News). The stock added 5% after the company announced better-than-expected results. The wireless carrier delivered a 32% increase in its Q4 profit. While the company increased its overall subscriber count, many were less-profitable "pay-as-you-go" customers. Monthly subscribers, which are more profitable, continue to defect from Nextel, which has suffered from quality issues and outdated phones. Subscribers can read our full analysis of Sprint's results in today's issue.
Merck (NYSE: MRK - News) produced a solid advance today after the drugmaker said it anticipates better-than-expected Q1 earnings and raised its full-year EPS guidance. The stock gained 2% in today's trading. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO - News), meanwhile, delivered a five-fold increase in its Q4 profit. The company said new products and strength in all of its businesses helped produce earnings of $16.2 million, or 31 cents a share, compared to $2.95 million, or 6 cents a share, last year. Revenue rose 15% to $97 million.
Published by BullMarket.com

Labels: HD, MRK, MSO, S

Stocks staged a partial recovery from yesterday's massive sell-off, buoyed by bargain hunting and some soothing words about the economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. After opening strongly, stocks traded unevenly. They briefly dipped lower only to rebound sharply by mid-morning before settling into a comfortable trading range for the rest of the day. Bonds reversed course as well. The 10-year Treasury note pulled back, adding 4 basis points after dropping -12 bp yesterday. The benchmark bond closed yielding 4.55%. Crude oil prices inched higher.
Testifying before the House Banking Committee today, Bernanke said "there didn't seem to be any single trigger" to yesterday's sell-off and that he didn't see much point in revisiting individual news events from yesterday. More important for today's market action is that he re-affirmed the comments he made before the Congress earlier in the month. Bernanke said the Fed is still "looking for moderate growth in the economy going forward." He also said that while the central bank is concerned enough about the subprime mortgage market to provide "guidance to lenders about proper procedures for underwriting," he added that the Fed didn't see any signs that problems in the subprime arena were spreading into the broader mortgage market, or dampening sales activity.
Housing, however, remains a murky picture. Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes accelerated at their fastest pace in seven months, spurred on by falling prices. However, the Commerce Department reported today that sales of new homes continue to suffer, plummeting -16.6% in January from December, the sharpest one-month decline in 13 years. The economy also grew more slowly in Q4 of last year than previously forecasted, the Commerce Department said in a separate report. GDP grew a revised 2.2% last quarter, not the 3.5% initially forecast. The downward revision was expected.
Home improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) added to the housing picture by saying it doesn't expect the residential construction market to start improving until the end of this year and early next year. As a result, the company predicted that its earnings will decline between -4% to -9% this year and that sales growth will be flat to up 2%. The company nonetheless plans to invest up to $2.2 billion this year in improvements to its business. The figures were contained in a news release distributed in conjunction with an investor meeting today.
Among the day's top-performing stocks was Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S - News). The stock added 5% after the company announced better-than-expected results. The wireless carrier delivered a 32% increase in its Q4 profit. While the company increased its overall subscriber count, many were less-profitable "pay-as-you-go" customers. Monthly subscribers, which are more profitable, continue to defect from Nextel, which has suffered from quality issues and outdated phones. Subscribers can read our full analysis of Sprint's results in today's issue.
Merck (NYSE: MRK - News) produced a solid advance today after the drugmaker said it anticipates better-than-expected Q1 earnings and raised its full-year EPS guidance. The stock gained 2% in today's trading. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO - News), meanwhile, delivered a five-fold increase in its Q4 profit. The company said new products and strength in all of its businesses helped produce earnings of $16.2 million, or 31 cents a share, compared to $2.95 million, or 6 cents a share, last year. Revenue rose 15% to $97 million.
Published by BullMarket.com

Labels: HD, MRK, MSO, S

Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS:AAPL - News) Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook reiterated that the company remains on track to release its iPhone mobile-phone product in June, and that Apple expects to sell 10 million of the devices in 2008.
Audible Inc. (NasdaqGM:ADBL - News) reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $700,000, or 3 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $2.18 million, or 9 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue at the Newark, N.J.-based provider of Internet audio content rose to $23.3 million in the latest quarter from $18.3 million a year ago. The stock was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies & Co.
BEA Systems (NasdaqGS:BEAS - News) was upgraded to peer perform from underperform at Bear Stearns.
CDC Corp. (NasdaqGM:CHINA - News) lifted its financial outlook for 2007, saying it now expects adjusted net income of $57 million to $62 million, above its prior forecast of $55 million to $60 million. The company expects revenue of $415 million to $420 million for the year, a boost from its previous estimate of $401 million to $411 million.
Ciena (NasdaqGS:CIEN - News) was upgraded to overweight from neutral by J.P. Morgan, as the broker said the recovery in the optical market is greater than it first expected.
Deckers Outdoor Corp.'s (NasdaqGS:DECK - News) preliminary fourth-quarter results indicate net income nearly doubled to $23.5 million, or $1.82 a share, from $12.1 million, or 94 cents a share, a year earlier. The Goleta, Calif., maker of outdoor footwear and apparel said net sales increased 37% to $124.4 million from $91 million a year ago.
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE:DTG - News) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $2.7 million, or 11 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $8.2 million, or 31 cents a share. The latest results include 10 cents a share in transition costs related to the outsourcing of information technology services and a charge of 5 cents a share from a decrease in the fair value of derivatives, while last year's performance reflects a gain of 11 cents a share from an increase in the fair value of derivatives. Revenue rose 11.5% in the three months ended Dec. 31 to $392.8 million from $352.4 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for a loss of a penny per share in the December period. The company said the latest results reflect a very strong pricing environment, as well as significantly higher vehicle depreciation and interest costs compared to last year. Looking ahead, the Tulsa, Okla., car rental company sees earnings of $2.50 to $2.90 a share in 2007. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for a profit of $2.62 a share for the year.
Dollar Tree Stores Inc.'s (NasdaqGS:DLTR - News) fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose to $97.6 million, or 96 cents a share, from $86.5 million, or 81 cents a share, a year ago. A Thomson Financial survey of analysts, on average, predicted earnings of 94 cents a share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates usually exclude items. The Chesapeake, Va., discount retailer's net sales for the quarter ended Feb. 3 rose 22% to $1.32 billion from $1.08 billion a year ago, boosted by an extra sales week in the current quarter. The company expects first-quarter earnings of 32 cents to 35 cents a share on sales of $935 million to $955 million.
Dycom Industries Inc. (NYSE:DY - News) shares rose after the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based engineering and construction services provider reported fiscal second-quarter net earnings of $5.59 million, or 14 cents a share, up from $3.87 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $258.3 million from $237.1 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting a per-share profit of 13 cents on revenue of $253.4 million. Dycom forecast fiscal third-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 23 cents to 28 cents a share on revenue of $275 million to $295 million. Analysts are looking for a per-share profit of 24 cents on revenue of $275 million.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE:GT - News) plans to record a charge of $65 million in the first quarter of 2007 for changes to its benefit and pension plans. The Akron, Ohio-based tire maker said, among other changes, current and future salaried retirees will contribute more toward the cost of their medical benefits and that the company would freeze its defined benefit pension plan for current salaried employees, replacing it with 401(k) retirement accounts. The changes will be phased in over a two-year period, and Goodyear expects savings of $80 million to $90 million in 2007, $100 million to $110 million in 2008, and $80 million to $90 million in 2009 and beyond.
Hospira (NYSE:HSP - News) reported a nearly 80% jump in fourth quarter profit Wednesday on higher product volumes, higher prices and favorable currency exchange. The company earned $47.4 million, or 30 cents a share, on the period - up from $26.6 million, or 16 cents. On an adjusted basis, Hospira said it would have earned 43 cents a share, vs. 32 cents in the last three months of 2005. Revenue came in at $706.5 million, a gain of 9.3%. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for Hospira to earn 38 cents a share on $674 million in revenue.
Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (NYSE:KCP - News) reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $7.99 million, or 39 cents a share, up 6.9% from $7.48 million, or 37 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue in the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose to $122.4 million from $119.8 million.
King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:KG - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $37 million, or 15 cents a share, up from a year-ago loss of $95 million, or 39 cents a share. Excluding items, such as charges from asset impairment and an arbitration settlement, the company earned $98.8 million, or 41 cents a share, in the latest quarter. Revenue rose in the three months ended Dec. 31 to $512.9 million from $423.3 million in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was for a profit of 37 cents a share in the December period on revenue of $480.6 million.
Komag (NasdaqGS:KOMG - News) shares rose after American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu lifted his rating on the hard-disk maker's stock to neutral from sell. Wu said Komag is benefitting from more sales to its largest customer, Seagate Technology , which accounts for 37% of Komag's revenue. However, Wu warned that Komag faces other fundamental challenges as it deals with rising costs and competition involving a shift to newer disk-recording technologies.
L-3 Communications (NYSE:LLL - News) was upgraded to neutral from underweight by J.P. Morgan, with the brokerage saying the stock should have limited downside given its high free cash flow yield. "We believe 2007 could be a more challenging year for defense stocks, and given L-3's more modest valuation, we no longer expect it to underperform the group," the broker said.
Leap Wireless International (NasdaqGS:LEAP - News) shares advanced after the San Diego-based provider of wireless communications services reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $39.4 million, or 60 cents a share. In the same quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of $4.95 million, or 8 cents a share. Revenue rose to $315.5 million from $228.9 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting a per-share loss of 35 cents on revenue of $316 million. Leap said it added 262,000 net new customers in the fourth quarter, and expects to add 260,000 to 320,000 net new customers in the first quarter.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE:MSO - News) said fourth-quarter net income jumped to $16.2 million, or 31 cents a share, from $2.9 million, or 6 cents a share in the year-ago period. Total revenue rose to $97 million from $84.6 million. Analysts, on average, expected it to earn 25 cents a share on revenue of $95 million, according to Thomson Financial. For 2007, the company is expecting revenue in the range of $330 million to $340 million, operating income in the range of $5.5 million to $8.5 million and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $32 million to $35 million, including an investment of $8 million in "Blueprint" magazine.
Medical Action Industries (NasdaqGS:MDCI - News) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Sidoti & Co.
Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK - News) said it expects its first-quarter profit will be 63 to 67 cents a share, excluding restructuring charges related to site closures and position eliminations, and targets reported first-quarter earnings per share of 58 cents to 64 cents. Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck cited early revenue trends across Merck's range of products. The company also raised its anticipated 2007 earnings forecast range to $2.55 to $2.65 a share, excluding items related to site closures and position eliminations, and its full-year 2007 reported earnings range to $2.40 to $2.55 a share. Analysts, on average, expect it to earn 60 cents a share for the first quarter and $2.62 a share for the year, according to Thomson Financial. Merck said its forecasts do not reflect the establishment of any reserves for any potential liability relating to the Vioxx litigation.
Midwest Air Group Inc. (AMEX:MEH - News) , citing its own growth forecasts, urged its shareholders again Wednesday to reject a takeover offer from AirTran Holdings Inc. "AirTran's low-cost carrier business model is in trouble. By virtually any metric, AirTran's business is deteriorating," according to a letter Midwest sent to its shareholders.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: AAPL, ADBL, BEAS, CHINA, CIEN, DECK, DLTR, DTG, DY, GT, HSP, KCP, KG, KOMG, LEAP, LLL, MDCI, MEH, MRK, MSO