MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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9:55 AM Shares of Lowe's (LOW +2.4%) move higher despite a somewhat sluggish Q1 report in light of Home Depot's stellar quarter. Investors seem to be betting that the late quarter strength and positive May momentum referenced by CEO Robert Niblock during the firm's earnings call sets up nicely for Q2. (webcast) Comment!
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9:48 AM Credit Suisse cuts Caesars Entertainment (CZR -1.5%) to a Neutral rating from Outperform on its view valuation is too pricey. SA author Eric Rodawig goes even further, thinking the case for going short CZR looks compelling with the company stuck in a no growth, low cash flow loop. Also, speculating on booming online gaming revenue looks a bit like a roulette bet. Comment!
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9:43 AM CVR Partners (UAN -7.4%) prices its 12M-share secondary offering, from which it will receive no proceeds, at $25.15/share. Albert Alfonso thinks the offering may prove a buying opportunity, noting the offering is not dilutive for UAN and common units outstanding will remain unchanged; global demand for urea ammonium nitrate is strong as farmland per capita decreases. Comment!
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9:39 AM Interxion (INXN -3.5%) falls in early trading after getting hit with a downgrade to Neutral from Buy at Goldman (price target reiterated at $31). In a valuation call, analyst S.K. Prasad Borra says he still likes the stock, but notes the shares have run up 14.3% since their addition to the Buy list in late February. Comment!
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9:38 AM Retail sales in Canada were flat in March to just miss analyst estimates calling for a minor gain, according to Statistics Canada. The biggest category bump was clothing and clothing accessories which rose 3.1% and which included some sales rung up by Target (TGT -3.3%). The retailer gave investors their first look at sales in Canada with its Q1 report, showing solid revenue but also high setup costs. Comment!
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9:31 AM Pandora (P +1.85%) announces a new Facebook (FB) Timeline app which lets users publish music activity automatically to their FB Timeline. P says listeners will have complete control over what they share with their friends and notes that the new offering "builds upon existing Pandora-based social features available on both mobile and the web." (PR) Comment!
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8:54 AM More on Zale's (ZLC) FQ3: As in FQ2, the company reiterates its expectation of a profitable full year. Same-store sales rise 2.6% (constant currency basis and adjusting for February 29) while gross margin and operating margin expand 130 and 80 basis points respectively. YTD earnings are essentially double what they were after two quarters in 2012. The company realizes a $4M reduction in interest rate expense thanks to last year's refinancing. Additionally, ZLC appoints Terry Burman chairman of the board. Shares +26.3% premarket. (PR) Comment!
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8:36 AM Cleantech Solutions (CLNT) +22.2% premarket on news it has become a certified supplier of components to Sinopec (SNP) and China National Petroleum (PTR). As a certified supplier, CLNT is able to market its components to the subsidiary companies of Sinopec and CNPC throughout China, CEO Jianhua Wu says. Comment!
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8:24 AM Kindred Healthcare (KND) +2.25% premarket after getting an upgrade to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna. The shares are up ~20% so far this month after the company beat earnings on May 1. Comment!
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8:21 AM Chesapeake Energy (CHK) +1.7% premarket as Susquehanna upgrades the stock to Positive from Neutral, believing CHK should get a boost from both higher oil and gas prices and its new CEO. The firm boosts its valuations for CHK's oil and gas reserves, saying investors have become more comfortable with higher prices; asset sales so far have been of "mixed quality." Comment!
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8:18 AM Pfizer (PFE) plans to spin off its remaining stake in Zoetis (ZTS) through a tax-free exchange offer in which Pfizer owners can exchange their Pfizer shares for stock in Zoetis owned by Pfizer (got that?). Pfizer has received a waiver of the 180-day lock-up from the book runners of the Zoetis IPO. PFE +2.1%, ZTS -1.2% premarket. (PR) 3 Comments
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8:13 AM Dycom Industries (DY) looks set to be one of today's big winners after its FQ3 earnings and sales beat expectations Tuesday evening. Contract revenues rose 47.7% Y/Y during the quarter although net income was down from the year ago period. The company guided ahead of the Street's estimates for FQ4 saying it sees EPS of $0.40-0.47 on revenue of $455-475M against consensus of $0.38/share on sales of $441M. Shares +22.5% premarket. (PR) Comment!
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8:08 AM Apple (AAPL) gains 1.1% premarket as Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty says iPhone sales are tracking at about 31M units in the June quarter, well ahead of her team's expectation of 26M and Street consensus of 27M. 4 Comments
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7:57 AM CREE +3.5% premarket after an upgrade to Buy with $72 price target at Sterne Agee, the analysts saying their previous estimate cuts were too aggressive. "We overestimated the potential impact from Phillips flexing its muscles at lighting agents." Earlier, Digitimes estimated global LED lighting shipments to increase to 220M units in 2013 to account for 5.5% of the entire lighting market. Comment!
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7:13 AM Saks (SKS) could draw bids from sovereign-wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia along with P-E interest, according to The New York Post. Analysts think a deal price could fall in the $18 to $20 range to give the 41-store chain a valuation of over $2.6B and give 17% stakeholder Carlos Slim a tidy profit on his investment. SKS +17.7% premarket to $16.08. Comment!
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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7:40 PM Baltic Trading (BALT) announces a public offering of common stock. Size and terms weren't disclosed. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for future vessel acquisitions or, to the extent it does not so use them, for working capital and general corporate purposes. Shares +1.8% AH. 2 Comments
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