Jim Cramer Blog

Buoyed by falling oil prices, stocks shrugged off mixed holiday retail numbers and meandered higher today in light trading. As is typical of the markets this time of year, there were few catalysts to move stocks, and investors looked ahead to next year. The three major indices all ended the session up around 0.5%.
Among the biggest movers was drugmaker Telik (Nasdaq: TELK - News), which plummeted -71% after the company's cancer drug failed to show improvement in patients in two late-stage trials. The news prompted downgrades from a number of analysts.
Three Wall Street analysts initiated coverage on recent IPO Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ - News). Lehman Brothers started the car rental company with an "overweight" rating -- the equivalent of a "buy" rating -- and a $20 price target. Goldman Sachs also started Hertz with a "buy" and a $20 target, based on the company's ability to benefit from favorable pricing from its car suppliers. JP Morgan, meanwhile, started the stock with a "neutral" rating based on valuation concerns.
Elsewhere, news of a pair of minor deals hit the wires. Internet networking company Savvis (Nasdaq: SVVS - News) agreed to sell its content delivery network assets to Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT - News) for between $125-130 million, and oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC - News) said it will sell two Louisiana gas fields to EXCO Resources (NYSE: XCO - News) for $1.6 billion. Meanwhile, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX - News) received antitrust clearance in its takeover of Phelps Dodge (NYSE: PD - News)
In tech news, reports emerged of security flaws in Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) new Vista operating system, but investors shrugged off the news and pushed the stock higher. Microsoft added 1%. News of Amazon.com's (Nasdaq: AMZN - News) "best ever" sales for this year's holiday shopping season met with the opposite reaction, as the stock closed down -1%.
Microsoft is a Bull Market Report Recommended List stock.

Labels: AMZN, APC, FCX, HTZ, LVLT, MSFT, PD, SVVS, TELK, XCO

Drug companies commanded the spotlight in the premarket electronic trading session Tuesday, with several companies reporting results of key drug tests.
Shares of Telik Inc. plunged in premarket trading after the Palo Alto, Calif.-based drug developer said studies showed its Telcyta drug didn't show a significant improvement in survival rates for lung cancer patients.
Chief Executive Michael Wick said in a statement the results were "extremely disappointing."
Shares plunged $11.75, or 72 percent, to $4.51 in the premarket session, after closing the Nasdaq Friday at $16.26. Should the drop be sustained in the regular session, shares would open well below the stock's 52-week bottom of 414.37.
A licensing deal worth as much as $10 million sent Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based drug developer EpiCept Corp.'s shares vaulting in premarket trading.
EpiCept Corp. said early Tuesday it agreed to license Durect Corp. to market a patch containing a drug called Bupivacaine, which treats back pain. The deal is worth at least $1 million to EpiCept, which booked less than $1 million revenue in 2005.
EpiCept's shares added 18 cents, or 13 percent, to $1.57 in premarket trading. The stock closed the Nasdaq Friday at $1.39 after hitting a 52-week low earlier in the day. Durect shares closed Friday at $4.49 on the Nasdaq.
Shares of Sciclone Pharmaceuticals Inc. in the early session continued an ascension that began Friday when the San Mateo, Calif.-based drug developer said a trial showed the company's Zadaxin drug helped patients with skin cancer survive longer.
The stock rose 23 cents, or 7.3 percent, to $3.36 in premarket trading after closing Friday on the Nasdaq at $3.13.
Savvis Inc. agreed to sell its content delivery network services business for $135 million, sending the Town & Country, Mo.-based information technology company's stock higher in premarket trading.
Savvis, which sold the business to Level 3 Communications Inc., also forecast 2007 revenue of $815 million to $835 million, compared with Wall Street forecasts for revenue of $852.6 million.
Savvis shares rose $1.08, or 3 percent, to $37 in premarket trading after closing on the Nasdaq Friday at $35.92. Level 3 Communications shares added 2 cents in the early session from their Friday close to $5.66.
Late Friday, AMR Corp., which operates American Airlines, warned in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing it will lose money in the fourth quarter, while analysts were forecasting for profit of 50 cents per share.
The stock fell $1.05, or 3.5 percent, to $29.20 in premarket trading after closing the Big Board Friday at $30.25.
JPMorgan Securities analyst Jamie Baker said investors "may be reasonably forgiving of AMR's quarterly loss and steep variance to consensus" estimates because the numbers don't suggest weaker demand. The loss stems from fuel costs and maintenance expenses, he said.
Shares of Taylor Devices Inc. jumped in premarket trading after an earthquake off southwestern Taiwan triggered a tsunami heading toward the Philippines. The North Tonawanda, N.Y.-based company, which makes equipment and devices protecting buildings from natural disaster, typically trades heavily after natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis.
Taylor Devices' stock rose 34 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $6.41 in premarket trading after closing on the Nasdaq Friday at $6.07.

Labels: AMR, DRRX, EPCT, LVLT, SCLN, SVVS, TAYD, TELK