Jim Cramer Blog

Symantec (SYMC): "Can't recommend it, frankly." Cramer said to swap out of Symantec and into Oracle (ORCL).
Reliance Steel (RS): "Everybody's decided that all the steel stocks have to be SoldSoldSold. ... What Cramer's telling you is to pull the trigger on this weakness after that great quarter. Pretty simple."
Hercules Offshore (HERO): "The reason that it's not kept pace with the group is that it's shallow drilling. ... I cannot get behind that one." Cramer recommended instead deepwater drillers Transocean (RIG) and GlobalSantaFe (GSF).
"Goldman Sachs (GS) is challenged not as a company. ... I'm staying pat with Goldman Sachs for Action Alerts PLUS, my charitable trust." For dividend-paying stocks, Cramer recommended the following: the dry-bulk carriers; Consolidated Edison (ED), for a conservative dividend play; Altria (MO), for more risk; and AT&T (T), on a pullback. He also owns Altria for Action Alerts PLUS.
Flotek Industries (FTK): "I think Flotek is one of the kind of stocks ... that fits into my RIG and GlobalSantaFe thesis. ... This group is so in bull market mode, it is taking up everything!"
Brookfield Asset Management (BAM): "People have been dissin' it," Cramer said, but it depends on your time frame. CEO J. Bruce Flatt "is a great, great investor, and BAM ... should be bought here. I think people dissin' BAM are gonna have to face the music."
AT&T (T): "Reports this week, and I'm not concerned about the quarter." Cramer said that with a buyback or a dividend boost, "this stock goes to $42." But otherwise, he said, it stays where it is. "It's just not that exciting."
Valmont Industries (VMI): "I have been talking about this bull market in lighting, and it's really working here." Cramer said Valmont is at the crux of the agriculture, industrial and infrastructure bull markets. "It's a winner. I would stick with Valmont."
Published By TheStreet.com

Labels: BAM, ED, FTK, GS, GSF, HERO, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, Mad Money, MO, ORCL, RIG, RS, SYMC, T, VMI

Here are 7 options to watch for today. This list comes directly from the TradingMarkets Options Indicators page. The list is created using OptionVue options analysis software.
Most Underpriced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Capital One Financial Corp. Sept 85 Calls (NYSE:COF - News). COF's PowerRating is 5.
Most Underpriced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Baidu.com Sept 160 Puts (NasdaqGM:BIDU - News). BIDU's PowerRating is 3.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Mastercard Inc. Aug 180 Calls (NYSE:MA - News). MA's PowerRating is 7.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Southern Copper Corp. Aug 95 Puts (NYSE:PCU - News). PCU's PowerRating is 4.
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.
Symantec Corp. (NasdaqGS:SYMC - News). SYMC's PowerRating is 5.
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.
Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV - News). HOV's PowerRating is 5.
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.
Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - News). MOT's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: BIDU, COF, HOV, MA, MOT, PCU, stock options, SYMC

It wasn't the strongest advance in recent sessions, but stocks recovered from a meandering start to push higher again today, helped by more upbeat economic news and the generally positive corporate profit picture for the first quarter. As has been the pattern in recent days, crude oil prices and the 10-year Treasury note moved in the opposite direction from stocks, closing lower.
Investors today were encouraged by a good report on inflation and another that showed growth in the services sector. The Labor Department's report on unit labor costs, an indicator of wage growth, rose at a scant 0.6% rate in Q1. The Institute of Supply Management, meanwhile, said its index of non-manufacturing business rose to 56.0 in April from 52.4 in March. Any reading above 50 is considered to show expansion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average marked another record close. The Dow has now risen in 22 of the last 25 sessions, making it one of the index's lengthiest bull runs in years.
The Dow's gain might have been stronger if not for longtime component General Motors (NYSE: GM - News), which reported a whopping -90% drop in Q1 profit. While its domestic auto business continues to suffer in the face of rising gas prices, profit was also hurt by weak results at its 49%-owned finance arm, GMAC, which has been hurt by the weak housing market. GM reported net income of $62 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with $602 million, or $1.06 a share, a year earlier. Excluding assorted charges related to its restructuring efforts, the car company would have earned 17 cents a share, still well short of the 87 cents a share analysts expected. Its shares declined -5.4%.
In the tech sector, increased profits reported by digital audio/video services provider RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK - News) helped boost its stock 8.8%. RealNetworks reported a 60% increase in Q1 profit, driven by strong sales in its music and gaming units and the final payment from a settlement deal with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - News). The company said it would significantly increase its share repurchase program. Security software maker Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC - News), meanwhile, rose 4.8%. Its fiscal Q4 profit fell almost -50%, but that result was nonetheless above expectations. The company was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies.
The sale of ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN - News) got murkier after a Dutch court blocked the bank's plan to sell is Chicago-based LaSalle National Bank subsidiary to Bank of America (NYSE: BAC - News). That transaction was to occur so that ABN could sell itself to Barclay's (NYSE: BCS - News). The court said ABN management must seek shareholder approval to sell LaSalle, making it more likely that the higher competing bid from a group led by Royal Bank of Scotland might win out.
Subprime lending woes led to a -7% profit decline at UBS (NYSE: UBS - News). The Swiss-based bank said it would shutter its Dillon Read Capital Management division, a hedge fund the bank set up in 2006 that ran up a -150 million Swiss franc loss from trading in the U.S. mortgage market.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: ABN, BAC, BCS, GM, MSFT, RNWK, SYMC, UBS

Here are 7 stocks for traders for Thursday from TradingMarkets.com:
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS - News) barely beat earnings on Wednesday afternoon, announcing $0.32 EPS over an expected $0.31 EPS. LVS's PowerRating is 6.
Symantec (NasdaqGS:SYMC - News) beat earnings on Wednesday, with $0.24 EPS over a consensus of $0.20 EPS. SYMC's PowerRating is 4.
International Paper (NYSE:IP - News) announces earnings on Thursday morning; watch for $0.40 EPS. IP's PowerRating is 5.
MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM - News) should report $0.63 EPS in quarterly earnings on Thursday before the market opens. MGM's PowerRating is 6.
Analysts will be watching for OfficeMax (NYSE:OMX - News) to report $0.94 EPS on Thursday morning. OMX's PowerRating is 6.
When Reliant Energy (NYSE:RRI - News) announces quarterly earnings on Thursday morning, look for -$0.06 EPS. RRI's PowerRating is 6.
Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL - News) is expected to report $1.00 EPS tomorrow morning. NBL's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: Hot Stocks, IP, LVS, MGM, NBL, OMX, RRI, SYMC

Here are 7 trading ideas for today. These lists come directly from the TradingMarkets Stock Indicators page and are based upon our latest quantitative research.
Bullish
Laps Down 5% or More: These are stocks that lap down by 5% or more and are trading above their 200-day moving average। Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving average that lap down by more than 5% have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Beckman Coulter (NYSE:BEC - News). BEC's PowerRating is 6.
Stocks Down 10% or More: These are stocks that have lost 10% or more over the past five days and are trading above their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading above their 200-day moving average that have lost 10% or more over the past five days have shown positive returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
CECO Environmental (NasdaqGM:CECE - News). CECE's PowerRating is 7.
Bearish
5+ Consecutive Up Days: These are stocks that have closed up for five or more consecutive days and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that close up for five or more days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Protective Life (NYSE:PL - News). PL's PowerRating is 3.
5+ Consecutive Higher Highs: These are stocks that have made a higher high for five or more consecutive days and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that make higher highs for five or more days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-day, 2-days and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Pacific Ethanol (NasdaqGM:PEIX - News). PEIX's PowerRating is 3.
2-Period RSI Above 98: These are stocks that have a 2-day RSI reading above 98 and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average with a 2-period RSI reading above 98 have shown negative returns, on average, 1-day and 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Symantec (NasdaqGS:SYMC - News) & E.W. Scripps (NYSE:SSP - News). SYMC's PowerRating is 3, and SSP's PowerRating is 3.
Stocks Up 10% or More: These are stocks that have gained 10% or more over the past five days and are trading below their 200-day moving average. Our research shows that stocks trading below their 200-day moving average that have gained 10% or more over the past five days have shown negative returns, on average, 1-week later. Historically, these stocks have provided traders with a significant edge.
Rackable Systems (NasdaqGS:RACK - News). RACK's PowerRating is 2.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: BEC, CECE, Hot Stocks, PEIX, PL, RACK, SSP, SYMC

Sonic Automotive Inc. (NYSE:SAH - News) said Tuesday its fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations rose to $28.4 million, or 63 cents a share, from $26.7 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier. The average earnings estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 60 cents a share. The Charlotte, N.C., automotive retailer said revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to $1.96 billion from $1.84 billion.
Sonic Corp. (NasdaqGS:SONC - News) said it expects fiscal second-quarter earnings to come in at the low end of its previous forecast of 9 cents to 10 cents a share. The Oklahoma City-based restaurant chain also said it expects systemwide same-store sale to be near or slightly below the low end of its target range of a 2% to 4% increase.
Symantec Corp. (NasdaqGS:SYMC - News) said that its security and data management group president, Jeremy Burton, left the company.
Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT - News) said its fourth-quarter profit jumped 19%, helped by robust holiday sales, new store expansion, and its credit card operations.
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE:THC - News) said Tuesday its fourth-quarter loss widened to $386 million, or 82 cents a share, from a loss of $286 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier. The average estimated loss of 18 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 4 cents a share. The Dallas company said revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose 2.6% to $2.18 billion from $2.12 billion.
Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (NasdaqGM:THLD - News) Phase III trial of glufosfamide didn't show significant improvement in overall survival among metastatic pancreatic cancer patients.
United Rentals Inc.'s (NYSE:URI - News) fourth-quarter net income rose 8.2% as revenue rose 5.5% to $939 million.
USEC Inc.'s (NYSE:USU - News) shares slipped after the Bethesda, Md.-based energy company late Monday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $40.1 million, or 46 cents a share, vs. $29.6 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $544.2 million from $549.7 million. USEC forecast a 2007 loss of $10 million to $20 million on revenue of $1.86 billion.
Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO - News) said Tuesday its fourth-quarter funds from operations rose to $211.8 million, or $1.34 a share, from $194.1 million, or $1.26. a year earlier. The Paramus, N.J., real-estate investment trust said net income for the three months ended Dec. 31, fell to $105.4 million, or 69 cents a share, or $105.7 million, 71 cents, a year earlier.
Warnaco Group Inc.'s (NasdaqGS:WRNC - News) fourth-quarter net income nearly tripled to $18.9 million, or 41 cents a share, as the New York apparel company's revenue grew 36% to $480.6 million.
Washington Group International Inc. (NasdaqGS:WGII - News) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $28.9 million, or 95 cents a share, up 42%. Revenue at the Boise, Idaho, provider of design, engineering and construction services was $855.3 million vs. $899.4 million.
WebSideStory Inc.'s (NasdaqGM:WSSI - News) swung to a fourth-quarter loss of 7 cents a share, from profit of 28 cents a share, a year earlier. The San Diego provider of on-demand digital marketing and customer analysis applications said revenue increased 55% to $18.2 million.
Xerox Corp. (NYSE:XRX - News) cut its first-quarter earnings estimate to account for restructuring charges at its 25%-held Fuji Xerox.

Labels: SAH, SONC, SYMC, TGT, THC, THLD, URI, USU, VNO, WGII, WRNC, WSSI, XRX

Most Under Priced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Diamond Offshore Drilling Mar 85 Calls (NYSE:DO - News). DO's PowerRating is 5.
Most Under Priced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Zimmer Holdings Mar 85 Puts (NYSE:ZMH - News). ZMH's PowerRating is 5.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Electronic Arts Feb 50 Calls (NasdaqGS:ERTS - News). ERTS' PowerRating is 4.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Google Mar 450 Puts (NasdaqGS:GOOG - News). GOOG's PowerRating 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.
Harris Group (NYSE:HRS - News). HRS' PowerRating is 6.
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.
None today.
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.
Symantec (NasdaqGS:SYMC - News). SYMC's PowerRating is 6.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: DO, ERTS, GOOG, HRS, SYMC, ZMH

A spate of merger news, a handful of positive earnings reports, and a drop in the price of oil helped keep stocks in the black for the first half of today's session, but stocks weakened over the course of the afternoon, and the S&P 500 closed below the unchanged line, while the Dow Jones and Nasdaq eked out small gains. Many investors, however, were looking ahead to Wednesday when the market will pour over the latest statement from the Federal Reserve. The Fed has kept interest rates unchanged at its last four meetings.
Reflecting the growing unlikelihood that the Fed will lower rates any time soon, bonds showed weakness and the 10-year Treasury note traded lower, pushing the yield higher on the day. Meanwhile, after a brief rally in oil spurred in part by the belated onset of cold weather across much of the U.S., traders took profits and drove the price of a barrel of crude down to below $54 a barrel.
In M&A news, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER - News) said it will pay about $1.8 billion in cash and stock to acquire First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC - News), a 44% premium to First Republic's Friday closing price. Citigroup (NYSE: C - News) announced that it will spend $1.13 billion to buy Egg, the online banking arm of U.K. insurance firm Prudential PLC (NYSE: PUK - News).
Forest products companies Bowater (NYSE: BOW - News) and Abitibi-Consolidated (NYSE: ABY - News) agreed to combine in an all-stock deal. Security software firm Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC - News) said it will pay about $830 million for Altiris (Nasdaq: ATRS - News), a maker of IT software. The offer is a 22% premium to Altiris' closing price on Friday. Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY - News) jumped 5% after a report from a French newspaper said that the company is in merger talks with French conglomerate Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY - News). And, finally, education services provider Laureate (Nasdaq: LAUR - News) agreed to a management-led buyout deal worth $3.8 billion.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ - News) reported fourth-quarter results, posting a year-over-year decline in net income due to charges related to the sale of several non-core businesses. Excluding those charges, Verizon's results beat estimates by a penny. On the conference call, Verizon execs also said that they were happy to have turned down Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL - News) offer to be the exclusive partner for the new iPhone because of the onerous terms dictated by Apple. AT&T (NYSE: T - News; formerly Cingular) ultimately agreed to team with Apple.
Toymaker Mattel (NYSE: MAT - News) also reported fourth-quarter results, with net profit rising 3% year over year to 75 cents per share and revenue gaining 14% to $2.11 billion. The results easily beat analyst estimates. However, the company acknowledged that an impressive showing from toys related to the Disney (NYSE: DIS - News) and Pixar film "Cars" would make for tough comparisons in 2007.
In tech news, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - News) jumped 2% after announcing a technological breakthrough. The world's biggest chipmaker said that it has built working prototypes of new transistors using new materials that improve performance. IBM (NYSE: IBM - News) also announced technology using the new material, the element hafnium. Separately, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ - News) moved up 2% after positive comments from several analysts.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: AAPL, ABY, ATRS, BMY, BOW, C, DIS, FRC, HPQ, IBM, INTC, LAUR, MAT, MER, PUK, SNY, SYMC, T, VZ

Abitibi-Consolidated (NYSE:ABY - News) shares rose after the company agreed to merge with Bowater (NYSE:BOW - News) to form the No. 8 publicly traded global forest-products company. The combined company will have pro-forma annual revenue of US$7.9 billion and an enterprise value of US$8 billion, they said in a statement. The new entity, AbitibiBowater, will be held 52% by Bowater's shareholders and 48% by Abitibi's. In the deal, each Abitibi share will be exchanged for 0.06261 share of the new company. Each Bowater share will receive 0.52 share of AbitibiBowater. David J. Paterson, chairman, president and chief executive of Bowater, will be president and CEO of AbitibiBowater. John W. Weaver, president and CEO of Abitibi-Consolidated, will take the post of executive chairman at the merged entity.
Altiris (NasdaqGS:ATRS - News) shares soared after the company agreed to be acquired by Symantec Corp. (NasdaqGS:SYMC - News) for $830 million, or $33 per share.
British Airways Plc (NYSE:BAB - News) said it welcomed the decision by the cabin crew branch of the T&G union to call off the strikes scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday and for two 72-hour periods next month. BA said the details of the settlement will be released in due course. BA said it will attempt to reinstate as many flights as it can for Tuesday and Wednesday but regrets that the decision to cancel the strikes has come too late to prevent disruption to the travel plans of thousands of customers.
Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC - News) shares extended a recent rally following a report in U.K. newspaper The Financial Times that the company has held talks about an alliance or merger with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - News).
Cummins Engine (NYSE:CMI - News) said its fourth-quarter net income rose to $189 million, or a $3.75 share, from $167 million, or $3.31 a share, a year earlier, helped by higher engine sales. A Thomson Financial survey of analysts, on average, expected earnings of $3.77 a share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates usually exclude items. The Columbus, Ind., maker of engines said revenue rose to $3.03 billion from $2.75 billion a year earlier. The company forecasts 2007 earnings of $11 to $11.50 a share. Analysts expect earnings of $10.02 for the year, on average.
Educate Inc. (NasdaqGS:EEEE - News) agreed to a management buyout at $8 a share, or $535 million. Private equity firms Citigroup Private Equity and Sterling Capital Partners are also taking part in the deal, which values the Baltimore educational services firm at a premium of 39 cents a share, or 5% over its closing price of $7.61 on Friday. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter, is subject to approval by the company's stockholders. Apollo Sylvan, LLC and Apollo Sylvan II, LLC, holders of approximately 53% of the company's common stock, have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the proposed merger.
First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC - News) shares rose after the company agreed to be acquired by Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER - News) in a cash and stock deal worth about $1.8 billion. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, values First Republic at $55 per share. First Republic is a private banking and wealth management firm focused on high net worth individuals and their businesses. According to a joint press release from the two companies, as of September 30, 2006, First Republic had assets of $10.7 billion, loans of $7.6 billion, deposits of $7.9 billion, and assets under management or administration of $16.4 billion.
Gentex Corp. (NasdaqGS:GNTX - News) shares jumped after the auto parts maker posted higher fourth-quarter profit and sales thanks to increased demand for the company's higher margin mirrors. Mirror shipments rose 5% despite the steep automotive production cuts that slammed the domestic auto industry. Gentex posted a profit of $30.8 million, or 22 cents a share, up from $29.6 million, or 19 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 8% to $149.6 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected a profit of 18 cents a share on sales of $145.7 million.
HealthSouth Corp. (NYSE:HLS - News) has agreed to sell its outpatient rehabilitation division facility for about $245 million to Select Medical Corporation, a privately-owned operator of specialty hospitals and outpatient rehabilitation facilities, as part of a strategy to position itself as a pure play post-acute care provider. The deal is expected to close in 60 to 90 days, and is subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC - News) said it has approved a 2-for-1 stock split, to be effected in the form of a stock dividend. The additional shares will be distributed on March 15 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 15.
Laureate Education (NasdaqGS:LAUR - News) said its board has agreed to a $3.1 billion buyout led by Douglas Becker, its founder and CEO, and backed by private equity consortium including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Citigroup Private Equity and hedge fund S.A.C. Capital Management LLC. Under the deal, announced Sunday, Laureate shareholders would receive $60.50 a share in cash, an 11% premium to the closing price of the stock Friday. Including assumed debt, the total value of the deal is $3.8 billion.
Mattel Inc. (NYSE:MAT - News) reported fourth-quarter net income of $286.4 million, or 75 cents a share, up from $279.2 million, or 69 cents, earned in the final three months of 2005. Average shares outstanding were 384 million in the latest quarter, down from 402.5 million a year earlier. Quarterly sales for the El Segundo, Calif.-based toymaker reached $2.11 billion, up 14% from the prior year's $1.84 billion; currency contributed two percentage points to the growth rate. Worldwide gross sales for the company's Barbie doll brand were up 3%, Mattel said. Operating income for the latest quarter came to $388.7 million, up 21%. Analysts, on average, had been looking for Mattel to earn 67 cents a share on revenue of nearly $1.99 billion, according to estimates compiled by Thomson First Call.
Shares of M.D.C. Holdings Inc. (NYSE:MDC - News) rose after analysts at JMP Securities upgraded the company to market outperform from market underperform. "Based on our analysis, we believe M.D.C. is much closer to the bottom than its peers," wrote JMP analyst Alex Barron in a research note Monday. "Its strong balance sheet and free cash flow generation should put the company in a very strong position to start buying land again once the market bottoms and land prices begin to come down hard."
Molecular Devices Corp. (NasdaqGS:MDCC - News) shares rose after the company agreed to be acquired by MDS Inc. (NYSE:MDZ - News) for $615 million. The deal values Molecular Devices' common shares at $35.50 each in cash, compared to Friday's close at $23.88. MDS said the combined company will have more than 1,100 employees. Excluding items, MDS expects the deal to be modestly accretive in 2007 and significantly accretive in 2008 and beyond. MDS anticipates the transaction will close in the second calendar quarter of 2007. Molecular Devices, a Sunnyvale, Calif., provider of bio-analytical measurement systems, posted revenue of $45.5 million for the quarter ended in September.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE:MOS - News) said second-quarter net income rose to $65.9 million, or 15 cents a share, from $55 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier. The average earnings estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Thomson was 15 cents a share for the latest quarter. The Plymouth, Minn., phosphate and potash company said revenue for the three months ended Nov. 30 rose 2% to $1.52 billion.
Published By MarketWatch

Labels: ABY, ATRS, BAB, BAC, BOW, CFC, CMI, EEEE, FRC, GNTX, HLS, JEC, LAUR, MAT, MDC, MDCC, MDZ, MER, MOS, SYMC

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

Rejecting Tech: Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD - News), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC - News), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - News), Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM - News), National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM - News), Marvel (NASDAQ: MRVL - News), MRV Communications (NASDAQ: MRVC - News), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL - News), Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC - News), Rackable Systems (NASDAQ: RACK - News), Brocade Communications (NASDAQ: BRCD - News) and EMC (NYSE: EMC - News), Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM - News)
Since it is mid-January, Cramer tells investors that it is time to get out of tech, with a few notable exceptions. The tech businesses that are particularly troubled are cell phones, handheld products, storage stocks, semiconductors and software. Many of these companies are plagued by competition, which is a more destructive force than the calendar. It is for this reason Cramer suggests staying away from Intel and AMD, which are locked in a fierce price war, and he thinks that even the Vista launch will not propel these stocks. Cramer would also sell TXN, QCOM and NSM. However, he would stay with MRVL which is levered to Apple's iPhone. He also likes MRVC because it is poised to spin off one of its divisions. On the other hand, Cramer said that Symantec was a "disaster" and that it had "one of the ugliest preannouncements that was never supposed to happen." He would also stay away from storage companies RACK, BRCD and EMC. Since the handheld trade is "dead," Cramer would unload Research In Motion.

Playing for Keeps: Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO - News), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL - News), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ - News), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG - News), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - News), Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT - News)
Cramer said that some tech stocks transcend the calendar with "blowaway earnings" and great products. He would stay with CSCO, AAPL, HPQ, GOOG and MSFT or buy them on weakness. Although investors may be tempted to cash in on CSCO, Cramer says that CSCO has a "product-driven story that cannot be denied," its competitors are out of the picture and its three downgrades have taken risk out of the stock. Apple reported a strong quarter, gave "ridiculously low guidance" and should continue going up because of the iPhone, according to Cramer. MSFT's dip is a "big fat gift," and Cramer calls Vista the "single most awaited product story in years." He anticipates a big upside surprise with Google and calls it the best internet stock. For a good speculative internet play, Cramer recommends LVLT.
Published By SeekingAlpha

Labels: AAPL, AMD, BRCD, CSCO, EMC, GOOG, HPQ, INTC, Jim Cramer, LVLT, Mad Money, MRVC, MRVL, MSFT, NSM, QCOM, RACK, RIMM, SYMC, TXN

Major market indices see mixed results Tuesday to start a busy week of economic and earnings news. The Dow ($INDU) closed with an advance of 26.51 points to 12,582.59. The S&P 500 ($SPX) added 1.17 points to 1,431.90. The NASDAQ ($COMPQ) experienced a loss of 5.04 points to close at 2,497.78. Volume was solid with the NYSE trading 1.51 billion shares and the Naz turning over 2.18 billion shares. Market breadth was flat on the Big Board and negative on the Naz by a 14-to-16 margin.Though the Dow was able to close at another record high, tech stocks fell on a disappointing earnings announcement from Symantec (SYMC) and downgrades of several key tech stocks. Shares of SYMC fell 13.1 percent on the session after the security software maker warned that both fiscal Q3 and Q4 earnings would fall short of estimates. Last week, Advanced Micro Device (AMD) and this led to a sharp decline for AMD shares as well.Shares of Cisco (CSCO) fell 3.0 percent Tuesday after being downgraded at both Banc of America and Prudential. Novellus (NVLS) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) were also downgrade this morning, leaving these two stocks down 1.53 percent and 2.80 percent respectively. The Philly Semiconductor Index ($SOX), which both NVLS and KLAC are part of, fell 1.23 percent. Chip giant Intel (INTC) rose 0.77 percent Tuesday ahead of its earnings report after the bell. However, despite beating earnings and revenue expectations, INTC shares are down three percent in after-hours trading. The company stated, much like AMD, that a price war to garner market share did hurt overall results, which saw profits fall to $1.5 billion from $2.45 billion in the year ago period. Oil prices continued to be in the spotlight Tuesday with crude falling to a 20-month low of $50.55 intraday and closing at $51.21. Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters at a conference in India that OPEC did not need to hold a special meeting to cut output again. Mr. al-Naimi believes that the oil market is in much better condition than it was back in October. There is a cut that was announced in December that is supposed to cut another 500,000 barrels a day starting in February. However, there is a lot of debate whether OPEC has much control over the member nations and this has kept oil prices to the downside. There also was some concern today after the release of the Empire State Index. This index measures manufacturing activity in the New York area. However, after hitting a level above 20 last month, this index fell below 10 in a surprise move. This keeps economists concerned about the strength of the economy, although most analysts believe the weak manufacturing sector will not push the economy into a recession or create a hard landing.
Jody Osborne

Labels: AMD, CSCO, INTC, KLAC, NVLS, SOX, SYMC

The stock market drifted today as investors failed to find a clear sign to follow at the start of a holiday-shortened trading week. There were some solid earning results from the banking and financial sector, but they failed to generate much excitement in the overall market, which closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both advanced, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lagged. Oil prices tumbled to less than $51 a barrel after an oil minister in Saudi Arabia suggested there was little need for production cutbacks by OPEC. The 10-year Treasury note edged higher, cutting the yield to 4.75%.
Technology stocks have led recent market gains, and investors seemed to be holding back waiting for results from semiconductor maker Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - News), which is considered a sector bellwether. Intel disappointed investors after the bell, as the company guided for lower-than-expected gross margins. Tech stocks moved lower in the session, paced by declines by Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO - News), which was downgraded by two brokers. Prudential reduced Cisco to "neutral" from "overweight," and Bank of America cut the network equipment maker to "neutral" from "buy." In both cases, the new ratings are equal to a "hold" rating.
Elsewhere in tech, security software maker Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC - News) plummeted -13% after the company reduced its fiscal Q3 and full-year outlook. The company cut its revenue outlook due to weak sales in its data center management business. CIBC World Markets immediately cut its rating on Symantec to "sector perform" from "sector outperform." In other ratings action, J.P. Morgan upgraded Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI - News) and its rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings (Nasdaq: XMSR - News) to "overweight" from "neutral." The former added 1%, while the latter finished only fractionally higher. FedEx (NYSE: FDX - News), meanwhile, added 3%, following a J.P. Morgan upgrade from "neutral" to "overweight."
Online broker TD Ameritrade Holdings (Nasdaq: AMTD - News) gained 4% after the company reported a blowout quarter. For its fiscal Q1 ended December 31st, the company reported a profit of $146 million, or 24 cents a share, up from $86 million, or 21 cents, a year ago. The small increase in EPS was due to a nearly 50% jump in the number of shares outstanding over the last year. Revenue and earnings gains benefited from Ameritrade's acquisition of TD Waterhouse's U.S. business last year. Rival E*Trade Financial (Nasdaq: ETFC - News) added 2%, while Charles Schwab (Nasdaq: SCHW - News) closed lower after trading flat for much of the day.
In the banking sector, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC - News) reported results that were in line with expectations. The bank earned $2.2 billion, or 64 cents per share, in Q4, against $1.9 billion, or 57 cents, a year ago. In a disquieting note, The Wall Street Journal reported that the bank's results raised concerns about credit quality, as Wells Fargo reported an increase in bad loans. Wells Fargo reported -$726 million in net credit losses in the final three months of 2006, up from -$663 million the previous quarter and -$703 million in Q4 2005. Investors seemed unconcerned today as the stock rose 2%.
In other news, General Electric (NYSE: GE - News) said it would buy the aerospace business of Smiths Group, Britain's third-largest aerospace company, for $4.8 billion in cash. GE is already the world's largest manufacturer of aircraft engines. Citigroup (NYSE: C - News), meanwhile, is planning to drop the word "group" from its name along with its red umbrella logo, the New York Times reported. The umbrella logo came over with Travelers Group when it merged with then-named Citibank in 1998. The bank concluded from market research that the umbrella may have worked for an insurer for over 100 years, but it doesn't resonate with banking customers.
By the BullMarket.com Staff

Labels: AMTD, C,