Archive for October, 2010
(FDO) Family Dollar Stores Analyst Upgraded to Outperform
We recently upgraded our recommendation on Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO) to Outperform with a price target of $50.00. Earlier we had a Neutral rating on the stock. The better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2010 results and an optimistic outlook for fiscal 2011 compelled us to...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MDR) McDermott International Earns New Contract From Vetco Gray Australia
Energy-focused engineering and construction firm McDermott International (MDR) announced that one of its units has received a subsea infrastructure contract from Vetco Gray Australia Pty Ltd. The transaction, valued in excess of $50 million, will be included in McDermott’s...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BLK) Company News for October 11, 2010 – Corporate Summary
• Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will unveil its Windows Phone 7 at a NY press event, initially thought to be offered on AT&T’s (NYSE:T) network • Reports say Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is testing its driverless car • China’s CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) is undertaking its first...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AA) Stock Market News for October 11, 2010 – Market News
Expectations that the policy makers will act to keep the economy afloat helped investors brush aside some gloomy economic posts and send the Dow average above 11,000 for the first time since May 3. Even as unemployment rate remained at a grueling 9.6%, the latest jobs report...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DUK) Duke Energy Finishes Construction of Fourth Wind Farm in Wyoming
Duke Energy Corporation(DUK) completed the construction of its fourth wind farm in Wyoming. The 200-megawatt (MW) wind farm titled Top of the World, located in Converse County will supply wind energy to PacifiCorp under the terms of a 20-year power purchase agreement. The 110...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CMCSA) Comcast Announces Expansion of Xfinity WiFi
In a major move to counter the competitive threat from other communications service providers, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) recently launched its WiFi services called “Xfinity WiFi” on its home turf of Philadelphia, New Jersey, and northern Delaware. Comcast’s existing Xfinity...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SUP) Superior Industries International – Bull of the Day
Superior Industries International (SUP) has a wide customer base. Moreover, its long-term business agreements with clients helped the company maintain its financial stability. At the same time, with its strategic acquisition, divestment and relocation, the company is well positioned...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(STP) Suntech Power Holdings Company Betting Big on Smart Panel
Suntech Power Holdings Company Ltd.(STP) has entered a collaboration agreement with three companies to boost its offering of Smart Panel Technology. The company has entered an agreement with Azuray Technologies, Enphase Energy and National Semiconductor. Suntech Power aims to...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(COV) Covidien Raises Quarterly Dividend by 11%
Covidien plc (COV), a leading healthcare products maker, recently enhanced shareholder returns by raising its quarterly dividend by 11% to 20 cents a share from 18 cents. The revised quarterly dividend is payable on Nov 8, 2010, to shareholders of record as on Oct 4, 2010. This...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(PXP) Plains Exploration & Production Company Buys Eagle Ford Shale Acreage
With a strong focus on eliminating its offshore exposure, Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP) continues to build on new onshore oil-producing prospects. The company expects average sales volumes of 89 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MDCO) The Medicines Company Shares Uppgraded to Outperform
We recently upgraded The Medicines Company (MDCO) to Outperform based on our improved outlook on the stock. In August 2010, The Medicines Company received good news when the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RGS) Regis Corporation – Bear of the Day
Regis Corp.’s (RGS) fourth quarter 2010 earnings fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, due to a decline in revenues. Slower traffic and limited new product introduction due to economic concerns remain a drag on same-store sales. Moreover, same-store sales are unlikely...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AAPL) Company News for October 12, 2010 – Corporate Summary
• Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) took the veil off its new line of smartphones based on its Microsoft 7 operating system on AT&T (NYSE:T) networks. Early reviews were positive • Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) announced plans to start selling Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPads on Friday • Rumors...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AAPL) Stock Market News for October 12, 2010 – Market News
Stocks closed with slender gains as traders refrained from placing bigger bets ahead of a busy earnings week. With focus turning toward the earnings season, market participants appeared less interested in Fed’s expected intervention to help bring the economic growth back on...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AAPL) Verizon iPhone Expected Soon
The wireless industry is buzzing with rumors that Verizon Wireless will be selling Apple Inc.‘s (AAPL) iPhone by early 2011. Verizon Wireless is a venture between Verizon Communications (VZ) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD). If Verizon starts selling the iPhone, AT&T Inc....
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(QLGC) QLogic Raises Second Quarter Outlook
A leading supplier of high performance network infrastructure solutions, QLogic Corp. (QLGC) reported preliminary results for its second quarter 2011. QLogic raised its revenue and earnings per share outlook for the second quarter 2011 and expects the results to beat the Zacks...
12Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CMCSA) Comcast-NBC Deal Gets Arbitration Consideration from Federal Communications Commission
Last year, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), the largest cable MSO of the world, entered into an agreement to buy a 51% stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co (GE), subject to government approval. Now, the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are considering...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BAC) Short-Sighted Foreclosure Plans Are Backfiring Now
In the rush to get out of the foreclosure crisis, have we dug a bigger hole for ourselves? The biggest lenders have already discovered enough paperwork flaws to suspend their foreclosure processing. As a precautionary measure, lawmakers have asked several other lenders to halt...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(STO) Statoil ASA and Talisman Energy Form Joint Venture in South Texas
The Eagle Ford Shale play in south Texas created big news yesterday. Statoil ASA (STO) and Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) entered into a definitive agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture for the acquisition of additional acreages in this play. The news follows a deal between the...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JPM) America Facing Another Foreclosure Crises? – Pausing and Rewinding
Are we facing the specter of another foreclosure crisis? That is what the decision taken by three major lenders to stall foreclosures would seem to suggest. Hot on the heels of General Motors Acceptance Corporation (“GMAC”) Mortgage LCC, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MCD) U.S. Employment Report in Depth (part 2)
Demographics of Joblessness This recession has hit men harder than it has hit women. However, over the past year, things seem to be “evening out” between the genders. In another piece of the “no change” meme is that this month, the unemployment rates for both men and...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AIB) Allied Irish Banks Announces Sale of M&T Bank Stake
In an effort to generate sufficient capital, Allied Irish Banks plc (AIB) announced yesterday that it would sell its 22.4% shareholding in M&T Bank Corporation (MTB). The sale involves a public offering of 26.7 million notes that are exchangeable for the shares of common...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AAPL) August Video Game Sales Plummet
Following flat sales in the month of July, video game sales plunged in August, according to market research firm NPD Group. NPD does not include sales from PC games in its monthly game sales data. Overall US revenues decreased 10.0% year over year to $818.9 million, in sync with...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(COST) Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports Earnings Rise
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), one of the leading U.S. warehouse club operators, recently posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2010 results. The quarterly earnings of 97 cents pershare topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 95 cents, and rose 14.1% from 85 cents earned...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JAKK) JAKKS Pacific Analyst Downgrades Shares to Neutral
We are downgrading our rating on JAKKS Pacific Inc. (JAKK), which designs and markets a broad range of toys and consumer products, to Neutral from Outperform based on a host of factors. These include a decline in revenues in the second quarter, loss of the WWE consumer license,...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CSX) CSX Analyst Downgrades Shares to Neutral
We are downgrading our recommendation on CSX Corp. (CSX), one of the leading U.S. transportation suppliers, to Neutral from Outperform. We downgraded the stock on concerns that new pricing may reduce profitability of the company. Currently, the stock has a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold). The...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(COST) Costco Wholesale Corporation Earnings Preview
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), one of the leading U.S. warehouse club operators, is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2010 financial results before the bell on Wednesday, October 6, 2010. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is 95 cents a share. Third-Quarter...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NVTL) Novatel Wireless Analyst Upgrades Shares to Neutral
We upgrade our recommendation to Neutral for Novatel Wireless Inc. (NVTL), which means the stock will perform mostly in line with the broader market. According to our analysis, proper execution of cost structure and expected launch of 4G (LTE) embedded products are likely to...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(FDO) Family Dollar Stores – Flurry of Estimate Revisions
Family Dollar Stores (FDO) has received a flurry of estimate revisions following its earnings announcement last week. Company Description Family Dollar Stores operates almost 7,000 stores across the U.S. The retailers offer a variety of items ranging from clothing to hardware,...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMSC) American Superconductor – Good Earnings History
American Superconductor (AMSC) analysts continue to raise estimates, even as the company nears its next quarterly report. The growth rates and long-term outlook are fantastic for this Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy). Company Description American Superconductor provides technologies...
11Oct2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued