MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Monday, May 20, 2013
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7:53 PM TiVo (TIVO): Q1 beats across the board on narrower losses as the TV set-top box maker continues to boost its subscriber rolls and rack up stronger revenue. The company has now posted subscriber increases for seven straight quarters, following a four-year streak of declining subscriber numbers. In the latest period, TiVo added a net 255K subscribers, compared with the 206K subscribers gained in the prior year period. Shares +1.1% AH. Comment!
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7:36 PM More on Urban Outfitters (URBN): Q1 beats on a per share basis but comes up short on revenue. Net profit rose 39% Y/Y as the clothing retailer posted record revenue and margins widened to 36.8% from 35.6% on fewer markdowns at Anthropologie. Comp retail sales, including catalog and online businesses, rose 9%, including 6% growth at its namesake brand, 8% at Anthropologie and 44% at Free People. Direct-to-consumer comp net sales were 14% higher, while sales at the company's wholesale business jumped 16%. Shares -4.1% AH. Comment!
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5:38 PM Carnival (CCL) -4.5% AH after warning it expects 2013 EPS of $1.45-$1.65, below prior guidance of $1.80-$2.10 and a consensus of $1.97. The cruise line operator says its net revenue yield will be down 2%-3% in 2013, worse than prior guidance for flat growth, thanks to soft ticket pricing, higher-than-expected trip cancellations, and higher sales/admin costs. It looks as if Hedgeye was right. RCL -1.5% in sympathy. NCLH could also end up falling. Comment!
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5:09 PM Wausau Paper (WPP) sells its specialty paper business to a new company sponsored by KPS Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm with significant experience in the paper industry. The new company will be known as Expera Specialty Solutions. Shares +1% AH. Comment!
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4:53 PM TCP Capital (TCPC) commences a 4M share public offering, with a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares to cover overallotments, if any. The offering of the shares will be made under the company's existing shelf registration. The company intends to use the proceeds to repay amounts outstanding under its $116M revolving credit facility. Deutsche Bank, Keefe, Bruyette and Raymond James are acting as joint book-runners. Shares -45 AH. Comment!
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4:28 PM Marketing and customer service software/services firm SoundBite (SDBT +4.2%) is getting acquired for $5/share by private Genesys (now a unit of P-E firm Permira). The price represents a 67% premium to SoundBite's close today. Shares +52% AH to $4.55. (PR) Comment!
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4:27 PM More on hhgreg (HGG) FQ4 earnings: Comparable store sales off 9.8% Y/Y. FY2014 EPS guidance of $0.75-$0.90, comparable store sales of flat to negative 2.5%, net sales growth of 1-3.5%, 5 new stores to open. CC at 5:30 ET. Shares -8.1% AH. An SA Pro article set to come off embargo at dawn tomorrow says the company's decision to expand rapidly will prove a mistake thanks to cutthroat competition from e-commerce and other bricks-and-mortar stores (Sears, Best Buy) now in survival mode. (PR) Comment!
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4:27 PM Kosmos Energy (KOS) -16.1% AH after announcing its Sipo-1 exploration well on the Ndian River block in Cameroon failed to encounter commercial reservoirs. Due to the well results, KOS will record ~$75M against exploration expenses in its Q2 earnings. 2 Comments
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4:10 PM Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT +4.4%) gained after upping the monthly distribution to $0.088/share from $0.06 previously, as higher oil production and prices offset more than offset lower gas prices. Gas production numbers continue to be affected by prior period adjustments, but the underlying level of output is about flat month-to-month. (PR) Comment!
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4:09 PM Affymetrix (AFFX +1.4%) finishes higher after earlier appointing Gavin Wood to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Wood joined AFFX in 2006, having served most recently as VP Finance, International Controller based in the United Kingdom. Tim Barabe, the current CFO, is expected to retire effective June 28, 2013. Comment!
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3:59 PM EV Energy (EVEP +3.2%) is initiated with a Buy rating and $46 price target at Ladenburg Thalmann. Although there have been delays and any potential Utica Shale acreage monetizations this year are likely to be significantly lower than originally expected, the firm still believes EVEP is likely to sell at least 20K net operated acres in the wet gas window of the play in 2013. Comment!
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3:43 PM Talisman Energy (TLM +2.6%) says it produced its first oil from the Hai Su Trang and Hai Su Den development offshore Vietnam, where gross production is expected to reach 15K bbl/day once facilities are fully commissioned. TLM says the debut came in ahead of schedule and under budget, less than 18 months after the project was sanctioned. Comment!
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3:40 PM Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT +2.3%) gains after presenting positive results from ongoing Phase 2a trials of its treatment for primary bile acid diarrhea with obeticholic acid at the Digestive Diseases Week Conference. The initial results demonstrate that treatment with the acid is associated with statistically significant increased levels of fibroblast growth factor 19 and improvement in clinical symptoms in patients with PBAD. Comment!
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3:37 PM Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST +11.3%) spikes to session highs. The move appears relates to an apparent Markman ruling on Hospira (HSP +0.7%, which has a generic version of Cubist's drug Cubicin. Seeking Alpha contributor PropThink noted last week that the ruling would likely be a 'clearing event' for the company. Comment!
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3:28 PM Shares of Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol (EC -1.8%), whose earnings continue to disappoint as it struggles to make new discoveries, hit a new 52-week low and fall below 4K pesos for the first time in 18 months. EC has ~2B boe in proven reserves and a $97B market cap, which makes its ratio of market value to reserves much more expensive than neighboring Brazil's Petrobras (PBR). Comment!
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3:10 PM The two-day rally in James River Coal (JRCC +14.3%) reaches 25% after Friday's news that it would exchange $243M of existing debt for $123M in new debt, pushing back the maturity of some of the debt by three years. Sterne Agee reiterates its Buy rating, saying the move buys time for JRCC and increase its financial flexibility. Iberia Capital upgrades shares to Outperform with a $5 price target. Comment!
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