Archive for December, 2010
(LMT) Lockheed Martin Teams with DRS Technologies on CIRCM Program
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) has teamed up with DRS Technologies Inc. to focus on the development of the U.S. Army’s Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) Technical Development requirement. The CIRCM program will provide laser defeat capability to rotary-wing aircraft...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DYN) Dynegy Just Got Pricier
Houston-based merchant generator, Dynegy Inc. (DYN) just got dearer for Private Equity firm The Blackstone Group (BX), its suitor. Faced with a lukewarm response from shareholders for the deal, Blackstone on Tuesday raised its bid for Dynegy by 11% to $5 per share from the earlier...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MRO) Marathon Oil Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Scorecard
Earlier this month, Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) – the fifth largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products in the U.S. – reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010. Now that the analysts have had some time to ponder over the quarterly...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(TGT) Target Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Beat Estimates
Target Corporation (TGT), the operator of general merchandise and food discount stores in the United States, recently posted third-quarter 2010 results. The quarterly earnings of 74 cents a share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents, and rose 28.5% from 58 cents delivered...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(RIG) Transocean Agrees to Pay $195 Million for New Rig
World’s largest offshore driller Transocean Inc. (RIG) has agreed to buy a shallow water jackup rig being built by Singaporean outfit Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary, PPL Shipyard for $195 million. The high-specification jackup, which is scheduled for delivery in the fourth...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(STJ) St. Jude Medical Strikes Marketing Pact with ZONARE
Medical devices major St. Jude Medical (STJ) has struck a development and marketing pact with leading ultrasound system provider ZONARE Medical Systems. The financial terms of the deal have not been divulged by the entities. The agreement will mark the integration of St. Jude’s...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CPNO) Copano Energy, Kinder Morgan Energy and Chesapeake Energy Enter Joint Venture
Through a joint venture (JV) with Copano Energy LLC (CPNO), Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) entered in to a long term Eagle Ford Shale gas services agreement with Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK). This is a 14-year term agreement. As per this agreement, Eagle Ford Gathering...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(JNJ) Bayer and Johnson & Johnson Blood Thinner Xarelto Performs Well
Germany’s Bayer (BAYRY) received a huge boost when its blood thinner Xarelto (rivaroxaban), co-developed with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), fared well in a pivotal, double-blind, late-stage study (n=14,264). Data from the study, presented at the annual meeting of the American...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AZO) Autozone Incorporated – First Quarter Revenues Rise 13%
Autozone, Inc. (AZO) continues to trade near its all-time high after reporting strong Q1 results in early December that included a 10% earnings surprise. With a discounted valuation and bullish growth projection, this Zacks #1 rank stock offers a nice tune up for the momentum...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MCD) McDonald’s Reports 4.8% Sales Growth in November
McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) posted global comparable sales growth of 4.8% in November, on the heels of strong sales of beverage and core menu products. Although comparable sales growth stepped up from 0.7% recorded in November 2009, the momentum slowed down sequentially. Last...
13Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(NSM) National Semiconductor Earnings Beat – Revenues Disappoint
National Semiconductor Corporation’s (NSM) earnings for the second quarter ended November 2010 came in 2 cents over the Zacks Consensus estimate of 32 cents. National Semi’s revenues clearly disappointed, with a corresponding negative impact on the gross and operating margin...
12Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GOOG) What’s Next for the Netflix Growth-Monster?
by David Fessler, Advisory Panelist Friday, December 10, 2010: Issue #1405 Here’s an easy one for you: Name any growth stock. Which names spring to your mind? Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is an obvious one. Or perhaps Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). But how about another company that has carved...
12Dec2010 | InvestmentU | 0 comments | Continued(NOC) Northrop Grumman Wins $323 Million Navy Contract
Defense operator Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) announced a contract worth $323.6 million won from the U.S. Navy to continue work on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier CVN 79. As per the current contract Northrop will work to increase the aircraft sortie generation rates...
11Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(DOW) U.S. Trade Deficit Tumbles – Good News!
The Trade Deficit fell in October to $38.71 billion from $46.60 billion in September. The fall in the trade deficit is very good news for the economy. The trade deficit was also smaller than the $44.5 billion consensus expectation. On a year-over-year basis, the total trade deficit...
11Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(WFSL) Washington Federal Analyst Lowers Shares to Underperform
We have recently downgraded our recommendation on Washington Federal Inc. (WFSL) to Underperform from Neutral based on its sizable exposure to risky loan portfolios and rising costs. Washington Federal’s fiscal fourth-quarter 2010 earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate...
11Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SUP) Superior Industries International Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Scorecard
Superior Industries International Inc. (SUP) reported its third quarter earnings for 2010 on November 5, 2010, that was slightly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents per share. The market reacted positively, with share prices rising in the subsequent days. Analysts...
11Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(UAL) Airline Industry on Track for Profitable 2010
The U.S. airline industry is on track for a profitable year after a drought of two years. Airline traffic in 2010 has shown an improvement with a surge in business travel and premium service demand from the year-ago levels. We expect demand for air travel to continue showing...
10Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(MDCO) The Medicines Company Receives Good Patent News
We recently reiterated our Outperform recommendation on The Medicines Company (MDCO). In August 2010, The Medicines Company received good news with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordering the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to treat The Medicines...
10Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 1 comment | Continued(GOOG) Google Online Bookstore Will Push Digitalization Trends
Google Inc’s (GOOG) online bookstore is likely to hasten the digitization of paperbacks and hard covers, dramatically increasing the availability of online books. In addition to the 200,000 odd titles from leading publishers, such as Random House, Penguin Group, Simon &...
10Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AIG) Insurance Industry Update – December 2010 – Industry Outlook
After enduring stress with respect to pricing pressure and reduced insured exposure through mid-2009, the overall health of the U.S. insurance industry has started improving. Though the market turmoil forced many companies to take immense write-downs, the worst of the crisis...
10Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AIG) Stock Market News For December 10, 2010 – Market News
On Thursday, markets registered modest upward movement. The blue chip index was led slightly lower primarily due to a weak forecast from DuPont (NYSE:DD), but the S&P 500 closed at its two year high, while Nasdaq moved to its highest level since December 2007. The major...
10Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(BEC) Company News For December 10, 2010 – Corporate Summary
• China’s Petrochemical agreed to purchase Occidental Petroleum’s (NYSE:OXY) oil and gas holding in Argentina for $2.45 billion • Community Health (NYSE:CYH) made an offer for Tenet (NYSE:THC) for $3.3 billion, or $6 per share, which the firm declined • Beckman...
10Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CRM) Salesforce.com Announces Aquisition of CloudApp Provider
Leading on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) and cloud computing company Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire cloud-based application solution provider, Heroku. The deal has already received approval from Heroku’s...
9Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(GD) General Dynamics Corporation Wins Contract to Build Saudi Tanks
Defense contractor General Dynamics Corporation (GD) received a $19 million contract to convert 15 of Saudi Arabia’s M1A1 tanks into the M1A2S model. The contract adds to the company’s existing $58 million contract entered in 2008, and modified in 2009. The contract was...
9Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AGL) Stock Market News for December 8, 2010 – Market News
Agreement on extending the Bush-era tax cuts for another two years did little to boost stocks Tuesday as concerns over European finances and a sharp jump in bond yields tempered investors’ enthusiasm. The Dow Jones industrial average, after rising as much as 89 points, closed...
9Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(COST) Company News for December 8, 2010 – Corporate Summary
• Costco (NASDAQ:COST) posted fiscal first quarter earnings $0.02 higher than estimated at $0.71, as revenues jumped 11.2% to $19.24 billion, up from estimate of $18.81 billion • H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) posted a fiscal second quarter loss of $0.35 a share, versus an expectation...
9Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AIG) American International Group Implements Recapitalization Plan
After much mulling over the past several weeks, yesterday American International Group Inc. (AIG) gave its thumbs up to execute the recapitalization plan for exiting the US taxpayers loan curriculum, as per the regulatory filing agreed and signed by the two parties. The US federal...
9Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(CEO) China National Offshore Oil Corporation Captures Coal Seam Stake
While China is exploring various alternatives to secure the country’s future gas supply, CNOOC’s (China National Offshore Oil Corp.) latest decision to take a 50% stake in Australia’s Exoma Energy Ltd. should be treated as a welcome development. CNOOC will spend A$50 million...
9Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(SMP) Standard Motor Products – Earnings Beat Estimates by 48%
Standard Motor Products Inc. (SMP) is in a good position to benefit from the aging car population as Americans hold on to their vehicles longer. The company, which manufactures and distributes automotive replacement parts, recently reported strong third quarter results driven...
7Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued(AMAT) Applied Materials Earnings Beat – Outlook Weakens
Applied Materials’ (AMAT) fourth quarter earnings beat the Zacks Consensus by 5 cents, or 16.1%. Revenue came in much higher than expectations, exceeding the Zacks Consensus by 11.3%. All except the Applied Global Services (“AGS”) segment outperformed management guidance....
7Dec2010 | vitalstocks | 0 comments | Continued