Archive for October, 2010
Stealth Stocks Weekly Market Update with Dennis Slothower – 25 October 2010
Recommendations We remain 100% in cash / money market funds. Market Commentary Stocks saw modest gains as comments out of the G20 Summit this weekend suggested a compliant majority of nations willing to let their currencies rise against the dollar. What does the U.S. Fed hold...
25Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ED) Consolidated Edison Breaks Ground on 20 Megawatt Solar Facility
Consolidated Edison Inc.’s (ED) wholly owned subsidiary, Con Edison Development and Panda Power Funds broke ground on a 20-megawatt solar electric generating station in Pilesgrove, New Jersey. The 71,400-panel solar farm — touted to be one of the largest in the U.S. —...
25Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CELG) Celgene Buys Abraxis BioSciences for $2.9 Billion
The spate of acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry continued with Celgene Corporation (CELG) completing the purchase of Abraxis BioScience Inc. for $2.9 billion in cash and stock. Celgene aims to bolster its cancer portfolio through this acquisition. The deal, which is...
25Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AAPL) Apple’s iPad Continues to Lead Its Rivals
by Tony D’Altorio, Investment U Research Monday, October 25, 2010 Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) reported sales of only 4.2 million units in its most recent quarter. That disappointed some investors, who then took it out on the stock. But they forgot that iPad sales still look decent...
25Oct2010 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(JASO) JA Solar Holdings Analyst Upgrades Shares to Outperform
We recently upgraded our recommendation for JA Solar Holdings Company Ltd. (JASO) from Neutral to Outperform. Leading pure-play solar cell company JA Solar caters to a geographically-diverse pan-continental customer base, which spans Germany, Italy, the U.S., Spain, India, Korea,...
25Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MRO) Marathon Oil Signs Agreement With Iraq
Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) has signed an exploration deal with the government of Iraq, which marks the company’s foray into the country’s oil and gas industry. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Under the terms of the production sharing contracts (PSCs),...
24Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DRI) Darden Restaurants Signs Middle East Development Agreement
Florida-based Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) recently announced that it has inked a development agreement with food service franchise operator, Americana Group of Kuwait to enter the Middle East market. Americana Group will develop and operate all three of Darden’s brands...
23Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(OKS) ONEOK Partners L.P. Raises Cash Distribution Again
Master limited partner (MLP), ONEOK Partners L.P. (OKS) hiked its third quarter cash distribution by 1 cent to $1.13 per limited partner unit, implying a 0.9% rise from the previous distribution of $1.12 per unit. This brings the partnership’s annualized distribution to $4.52...
23Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CVX) Chevron Plans $7.5 Billion Gulf of Mexico Drilling Investment
U.S. energy behemoth Chevron Corp. (CVX) has approved a multibillion-dollar deepwater project in the Gulf of Mexico (“GoM”), just days after the federal government decided to lift its drilling moratorium in the region. The company plans to invest approximately $7.5 billion...
23Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NTRS) Northern Trust Quarterly Earnings Report Lags Estimates
Northern Trust Corporation’s(NTRS) third quarter earnings of 64 cents per share were below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 72 cents per share, attributed to low interest rate environment and lingering economic recovery. Last year, the company reported a gain of 77 cents per...
22Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AAPL) Putting Financial Statistics In Context – AAII Investor Update
A bit of volatility returned to the stock market earlier this week following China’s surprise rate hike and disappointment with some of the details within Apple’s (AAPL) earnings report. The approximate 1.6% drop in the S&P 500 turned heads because stocks had...
22Oct2010 | Shawn | 0 comments | Continued(ETF) Income Strategies for a Low Yield Environment – AAII Investor Update
The Federal Reserve continues to be the enemy of savers. The minutes of the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, released earlier this week, signaled the possibility of new actions to bring long-term interest rates down further. Specifically, several committee...
22Oct2010 | Shawn | 0 comments | Continued(QLGC) QLogic Second Quarter Report Marginally Beats Expectations
A leading supplier of high performance network infrastructure solutions, QLogic Corp. (QLGC) reported second quarter 2011 results (both earnings and revenues) that marginally beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues of $146.5 million were slightly above the Zacks Consensus...
22Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AXP) American Express Quartely Report Beats The Street by a Nickel
Yesterday, American Express Company (AXP) reported third quarter income from continuing operations of $1.1 billion or 90 cents per share, well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents. Results in the year-ago quarter were $640 million or 54 cents, excluding a loss of...
22Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(ATHN) Athenahealth Quarterly Earnings Beat All Expectations
Leading medical billing and records software provider Athenahealth Inc (ATHN) has reported third-quarter fiscal 2010 adjusted earnings (excluding amortization charges) of 12 cents per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 cents. Net income more than tripled year-over-year...
22Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AXP) Stock Market News for October 22, 2010 – Market News
Equities staged a modest advance as investors weighed another batch of strong earnings reports and a stronger dollar. Investors’ confidence also got a boost after Caterpillar and eBay raised their earnings forecasts and McDonald’s came out with better-than-estimated earnings. Stocks...
22Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMZN) Company News for October 22, 2010 – Corporate Summary
• American Express (NYSE:AXP) posted after-the-close interims of $0.90 for the third quarter, a 5 cents, on a 16.9% revenue jump to $7 billion, above Zacks estimates of $6.8 billion • Baidu.com (NASDAQ:BIDU) reported third quarter earnings of $0.46, a 4-cent beat on revenues...
22Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(FSLR) First Solar Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Preview
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) is slated to release its third quarter 2010 results on Thursday, October 28, 2010. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter is $1.92 per share, representing an annualized growth of 7.3%. Previous Quarter Performance First Solar posted...
22Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CMG) Chipotle Mexican Grill Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Preview
Fast food restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) is slated to release its third quarter 2010 results on Thursday, October 21. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter is $1.30 per share, representing an annualized growth of 20.3%. With respect to...
21Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(STRA) Strayer Education Analyst Places Neutral Rating on Shares
Strayer Education Inc. (STRA) is a prominent playerin the for-profit post-secondary education industry. The company’s sustained effort to expand educational programs and open new campuses has boosted enrollments and the top line. Total revenues in second-quarter 2010 grew 26%...
21Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CME) CME Group Adds Transparency – Begins OTC Swaps Clearing
In order to guard the financial system from defaults and ensure more transparency, CME Group Inc. (CME) has launched a new service for providing clearing services to the $400 million over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate swaps through its CME Clearing. Until now, such derivatives...
21Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(EIA) Coal Industry Outlook – October 2010 – Industry Outlook
The outlook for the coal industry has revived materially from the weakness experienced in 2008 and 2009, driven by several powerful trends in the U.S. and Asia. Various recent economic indicators suggest that the U.S. economy regaining its stability, bringing about a rebound...
21Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MON) Monsanto Company – Bear of the Day
We are downgrading our recommendation on Monsanto Company (MON) from Neutral to Underperform based on the weak results that the company posted for fiscal 2010 with an EPS of $2.41, almost halved from $4.41 in fiscal 2009. The increases in cost were the icing on the cake. We believe...
20Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AEP) Company News for October 19, 2010 – Corporate Summary
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported earnings of $1.23, versus Zacks estimates of $1.15, as revenues dropped 0.7% to $14.98 and missed estimates of $15.22 billion • Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) posted third quarter results of $1.55, versus Zacks estimates of $1.58,...
20Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | ContinuedOct 19: Housing Starts – Economic Highlights
Housing Starts in September increased by 0.3% to an annual pace of 610,000 higher than the expected level of 580,000, from the revised figure of 608,000 in August (originally reported at 598,000). Over the year the figure has increased by 4.1% from the September 2009 rate of...
20Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AA) Stock Market News for October 20, 2010 – Market News
China’s surprise decision to raise interest rates took a toll on global markets as concerns mounted the move would slow the country’s economy and have a ripple-down effect. With the foreclosure crisis keeping investors on tenterhooks, Beijing’s decision to tighten rates...
20Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SLB) Schlumberger Limited and Eurasia Drilling Form Drilling Coalition in Russia
Schlumberger Limited (SLB) and Eurasia Drilling Co. (Russia’s major oil and gas driller) have joined hands for an asset swap deal and a strategic coalition in Russia. Under the terms of the deal, Schlumberger will sell all its drilling, sidetrack and workover rigs operating...
20Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PPS) Post Properties Announces $150 Million 4.75% Note Offering
Post Properties Inc. (PPS), a leading operator and developer of multifamily properties across the U.S., has recently announced an offer to sell 4.75% senior unsecured notes worth $150 million. Wells Fargo Securities LLC, part of Wells Fargo & Company (WFC); Deutsche Bank...
20Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JCP) J.C. Penney Has Long-term Plan for New Retail Locations
J.C. Penney Company Inc. (JCP), in an attempt to drive sales, plans to open new locations in under-penetrated markets and renovate existing stores. These store openings are part of the company’s long-term plan of opening new locations through 2014 to support sales growth of...
20Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BSX) Boston Scientific Quarterly Earnings Double Estimates
Boston Scientific (BSX) reported adjusted EPS of 12 cents, far ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 6 cents. However, earnings were flat on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted EPS includes intangible asset impairment charges, restructuring-related charges and discrete tax items,...
20Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued