Archive for February, 2010
(V) Visa Beats on Higher Transactions
Visa Inc.’s (V) fiscal first quarter (ended Dec 31, 2010) earnings of $1.02 per class A common share were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 91 cents. This compares favorably with the earnings of 74 cents per class A common share in the year-ago quarter. The...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MA) MasterCard Incorporated Misses Expectations Badly
MasterCard Incorporated’s (MA) fourth-quarter earnings (excluding special items) of $2.24 per share came in substantially below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.47. However, this compares favorably with the earnings of $1.85 per share in the year-ago quarter. Earnings for...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AGN) Allergan Beats The Street – Outlook Disappoints
Allergan, Inc. (AGN) reported fourth quarter earnings of 78 cents per share, a cent above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. While earnings increased 2.6% from the year-ago quarter, revenues increased 15.9% to $1,224.3 million. Allergan also declared a fourth quarter dividend of 5...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($BRCM) Broadcom Exceeds Analysts Expectations
Broadcom Corporation (BRCM) reported revenues of $1.34 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, up 7.1% from the prior quarter and up 19.2% from the year-ago quarter. The sequential revenue growth in the quarter was a result of overall strength in broadband and enterprise businesses,...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MCO) Moody’s Incorporated Beats in Fourth Quarter
Moody’s Inc.’s (MCO) fourth-quarter earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents per share. Excluding restructuring charges, quarterly earnings stood at 42 cents, up 13.5% from 37 cents in the year-ago period. The results reflected improvement in the credit market...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(K) Initial Jobless Claims Rise Again!
Bad news on the Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance front. Last week initial claims rose for the third week in a row, rising 8,000 to 480,000. In addition, last week’s numbers were revised up by 2,000. The 4-week moving average of claims, which given the inherent...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued($T) AT&T U-verse Lures 1 Million Subscribers
AT&T’s (T) “U-verse Voice” Voice-over-IP (VoIP) service, which is being delivered over the carrier’s fiber-rich IP network, has reportedly reached 1 million customers in aggregate. Ma Bell added 730,000 new customers in 2009 for this popular digital home phone...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(F) Fleet Sales Drive Autos in January
Sales in the U.S. auto industry grew 6% to 698,990 vehicles in January, driven by strong fleet sales (sales to rental companies as well as corporate and government houses) and redesigned vehicles in the market. Ford Motor Co. (F) ruled among the U.S. automakers, while Nissan...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AKAM) Akamai Technologies Beats Forecasts – Outlook Disappoints
Akamai Technologies (AKAM) beat the Zacks Consensus expectation of $233.0 million in revenue and 35 cents in adjusted (normalized) earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009. The company reported $238.3 million in revenue and 46 cents a share in earnings. Despite a difficult consumer...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(YUM) China Helps Yum! Brands Beat Expectations
The operator of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC fast food chains, Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM), recently reported fourth-quarter 2009 results that modestly surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on the heels of commodity deflation, lower costs and growth across China and International...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(STO) Statoil ASA to Spin off Retail Arm
The Board of Directors of Norwegian oil major Statoil ASA (STO) has decided to spin off the group’s energy and retail (E&R) business for creating a new ownership structure. The company said that the step will strengthen this business with the new company’s direct access...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(HNT) Health Net Beats Expectations Marginally
Health Net (HNT) reported fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) of 69 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 67 cents and the year-ago quarter’s 61 cents. For the full year 2009, EPS came in at $2.25 compared to $1.85 of 2008. This is excluding $137.3 million in...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(LLL) L-3 Communications Holdings Raises Dividend
L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (LLL) increased its regular quarterly cash dividend by 14% from 35 cents to 40 cents per share. The dividend is payable on March 15, 2010, to shareholders of record at the close of business as of March 1, 2010. L-3 Communications’ strong balance...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BCE) BCE Incorporated Beats expectations – Outlook Favorable
BCE Inc (BCE), Canada’s largest telephone operator, announced results for fourth-quarter 2009 with adjusted (excluding restructuring and special items) earnings per share of 51 Canadian cents (48 US cents per ADS), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 Canadian cents (46...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BKC) Burger King Holdings’ Profit Climbs
Despite the macroeconomic headwinds faced by Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC), the second largest hamburger chain after McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), its second-quarter 2010 profit climbed 13% year-over-year to $50.2 million on the heels of “Value Menu” offerings...
4Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PFE) Pfizer Reports Earnings In-Line – Guidance is Down
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) reported fourth quarter earnings of 49 cents per share, in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate and 25% below the year-ago earnings of 65 cents. Full year earnings came in at $2.02, a cent above the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but 17% below the year-ago earnings...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JLL) Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated Quarterly Revenue Rises
Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL), a leading full-service real estate firm that provides corporate, financial, and investment management services, reported fourth quarter 2009 net income of $52.0 million or $1.19 per share compared to $41.2 million or $1.17 in the year-earlier...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MIL) Millipore Corporation’s Earnings Report Tops Estimates
Millipore Corp. (MIL) reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.00, seven cents above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.93. Fourth quarter earnings increased 5.2% from the year-ago period. Earnings for the full year 2009 came in at $4.00, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BRE) BRE Properties’ Fund From Operations Plummets
BRE Properties Inc. (BRE), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that operates apartment communities, has reported a decline in fourth quarter 2009 FFO (fund from operations) to $16.0 million or 29 cents per share compared to $36.1 million or 69 cents per share in the year-earlier...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CEO) CNOOC Limited Releases 2010 Outlook
China’s largest offshore oil explorer CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) has released its 2010 business strategy and development plan. The company is highly optimistic about its production growth this year. Based on new projects that will come online, CNOOC expects its net production will increase...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MXIM) Maxim Integrated Products Reports Robust Results
Maxim Integrated Products Inc.’s (MXIM) second quarter earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6 cents. Two of its close competitors, Linear Technology Corp (LLTC) and Intersil Corp, also beat the Zacks Consensus by a wide margin. We expect Semtech Corp (SMTC) to report...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(VRSN) Core Businesses Grows at VeriSign
VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) reported revenues of $263 million from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2009, up 5.6% from a year ago. Core businesses of Naming Services and Authentication Services generated revenues of $262 million, up 2% from the prior quarter and up 5%...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AUXL) Auxilium Pharmaceuticals’ Xiaflex Awarded FDA Approval
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AUXL) recently received a major boost when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to Xiaflex for the treatment of adult Dupuytren’s contracture patients with a palpable cord. The approval comes several months after an...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MAT) Barbie is Back – And She’s Going Global
by Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research Wednesday, February 3, 2010 In 1959, Barbie Millicent Roberts made a name for herself at the New York toy fair and five decades later, she’s still around; though she goes by just Barbie these days. It’s a name that Mattel (Nasdaq:...
3Feb2010 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(TWX) Time Warner Beats Consensus Estimates
Time Warner Inc. (TWX) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2009 results that topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate, on the heels of record profits at its Studio and Networks segments. The quarterly earnings of 55 cents a share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BK) Bank of New York Mellon Mellon Acquires PNC Financial Services Group Unit
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) announced on Tuesday that it is in the process of buying the global investment servicing unit of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC) for $2.31 billion. On completion, the deal will help BNY Mellon become the second-largest provider of fund...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMX) America Movil Misses Earnings Estimates
Latin American telecom giant America Movil (AMX) reported results for fourth-quarter 2009 with earnings per ADS of 61 cents missing the Zacks Consensus Estimates of 85 cents while falling 13.6% from the year-ago earnings per ADS of 71 cents. Net profit slipped 17.2% year over...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GS) Wall Street’s Stock Oversights: How to Profit With This Unconventional Investment Strategy
by Marc Lichtenfeld, Advisory Panelist Wednesday, February 3, 2010: Issue #1189 When I was an analyst at the uber-contrarian Avalon Research Group, we only initiated coverage on a stock if our opinion went against the consensus, or it was barely (or not at all) followed by...
3Feb2010 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(JPM) U.S. Banks Stock Update – February 2010 – Industry Outlook
After enduring extraordinary shocks in 2008, the U.S. banks entered an exceptional state of turmoil in 2009. Starting as a credit issue in the subprime segment of the mortgage market, the sticky situation infected almost the entire financial services industry, and all corners...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ATHR) Atheros Communications – Revenues Reported Up 89%
Atheros Communications, Inc. (ATHR) analysts can not raise estimates fast enough following the recent quarterly report. Despite missing estimates last quarter, growth projections are in the double digits for the next few years. Company Description Atheros makes wireless and wired...
3Feb2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued