MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
-
Today - Sunday, May 27, 2012
-
3:47 PM Bullish on gold? You may look to out-of-favor producers like Newmont (NEM) that have been in the doldrums. The gap between the metal and the miners is at an all-time high, but producers are focused on bringing down costs. And though gold's down to around $1,568/ounce, Morgan Stanley argues factors driving the recent gold bull market are still in place. Comment!
-
9:05 AM Though academic research suggests that the stocks of companies that make political donations perform worse than ones that don't, this year's elections could see corporate political spending skyrocket with a Supreme Court ruling having opened the door for unlimited spending on campaigns. Shareholders at Boeing (BA), IBM, PepsiCo (PEP) and BofA (BAC) seem to get the picture - having put forward motions to curb political spending. But their resolutions failed, so execs may squander more resources on campaigns with no benefit to investors. 15 Comments
-
Saturday, May 26, 2012
-
9:25 AM Considering coming out of cash and and wading back into the markets? Look at energy, says Real Money's Daniel Dicker, particularly offshore drilling companies. Offshore profitability is almost entirely based on crude oil pricing, and Dicker is convinced that crude oil prices will find a bottom well above $100/bbl. This will make the most challenging offshore operations, using the deep and ultra deep water rigs owned and leased by companies like SeaDrill (SDRL), Transocean (RIG), Ensco (ESV) and Rowan (RDC) increasingly profitable through 2012-13. 9 Comments
-
Friday, May 25, 2012
-
7:00 PM Want to buy banks? Look at some of the regionals, says Dick Bove. The big universals are dealing with a multitude of issues that impede their competitiveness, while community banks are being weighed down by regulations that are driving them out of the business. Firms in the middle tier however, are growing their key commercial and industrial lending portfolios while their competitors have had to pull back. His picks: US Bancorp (USB), PNC Financial (PNC) and Capital One (COF). 7 Comments
-
6:52 PM Buying Nokia (NOK) under $3 today is like buying Ford under $2 in '09, argues SA's Jacob Steinberg. As was the case with Ford back then, Nokia commentary is filled with talk about market share losses, cash burn, and credit rating downgrades. However, also like Ford back then, Nokia maintains a powerful brand and significant cash reserves, and is rolling out compelling new products. 8 Comments
-
5:48 PM May has been a truly awful month for stocks. How awful? The Dow has enjoyed only four up days so far this month, the first month with so few positive trading days since September 1903. Recent history doesn't offer much hope for near-term relief, as the S&P has shed more than 2% during the four trading days after Memorial Day in each of the last two years. Comment!
-
5:10 PM The sharp fall in crude oil prices typically is seen as a negative for equities, since it reflects worries over weakening global economies, but the outperformance of the Dow Transports hints that falling crude eventually may be a boon for stocks. If crude’s sharp drop really reflected slowing demand, shouldn't transports be falling at least as fast as the broad market, as they did in late 2008 and mid-2011? 2 Comments
-
4:47 PM ARM (ARMH) can hold its own against Intel (INTC) as the latter company enters the mobile app processor market, argues UBS' Gareth Jenkins, who's upgrading shares to Buy. Among Jenkins' arguments: 75% of the top smartphone apps are specifically written with ARM-based processors in mind; the company continues to innovate with solutions such as its big.LITTLE architecture; and Intel has to compete with 15+ app processor vendors (most of whom use ARM CPU cores). (also) 3 Comments
-
3:24 PM Cowen says when you consider the potential of Threshold Pharmaceuticals (THLD -0.2%) pancreatic cancer drug TH-302, the stock is definitely undervalued. The firm estimates the sales potential for the drug in the U.S. alone is close to $1.5B. Comment!
-
2:17 PM Not much equivocation from Marc Faber, who sees a "100% certainty" of a global recession in 2013. Though global stocks are ready to rebound in the short term, and markets would launch a relief rally if Greece exits the euro, a recession is sure to come thanks less to Europe's travails but from a "meaningful slowdown" in India and China. 2 Comments
-
2:17 PM Though Pandora (P -1.3%) rocketed higher yesterday on the back of an FQ1 beat and better-than-expected guidance, Jim Edwards sees the continued surge in Pandora's operating expenses as more evidence its business model isn't working. Pandora's royalties to copyright owners, which roughly increase in proportion with its listener hours, rose 91% Y/Y in FQ1, well above revenue growth of 58%. Better ad monetization is Pandora's only hope for eliminating this gap. Comment!
-
2:00 PM Legal software firm EPIQ Systems (EPIQ +4.9%) jumps after William Blair starts coverage with an Outperform. The firm notes EPIQ now generates 2/3 of its revenue from the growing e-discovery software market, rather than its legacy bankruptcy administration solutions. Guidance Software (GUID) also participates in the e-discovery market. (Q1 results) Comment!
-
1:11 PM Riverbed (RVBD +6.1%), which was down 44% from the time it issued a bleak Q1 report and Q2 guidance, is rallying after Gabelli's Hendi Susanto started coverage with a Buy and $30 PT. The firm is bullish due to the growth potential of the WAN optimization hardware market, in which Riverbed has a ~50% share, and which the company estimates is only 15%-20% penetrated. Susanto also notes rival Blue Coat was sold at much higher multiples than what Riverbed currently trades at. 1 Comment
-
11:13 AM EMC (EMC +0.9%) edges higher following a positive Barron's column. The storage giant's cloud exposure, recent product refresh, 80% VMware (VMW) stake, and ability to weather a recession are praised. EMC slumped yesterday on account of rival NetApp's (NTAP) disappointing July quarter guidance. 1 Comment
-
11:12 AM Analysts at Pritchard Capital say insiders at energy companies such as Newfield (NFX), W&T Offshore (WTI), Bill Barrett (BBG), Swift Energy (SFY) and Hess (HES) have been buying shares. While not a guarantee of a bottom, the firm finds the trend encouraging and "a sign that the stocks are presenting some very good values at current levels." 1 Comment
-
10:26 AM Salesforce.com (CRM +1%) rises a little on an upgrade to Outperform from Oppenheimer. The firm strikes a bullish tone on the enterprise cloud software space in general, and praises its favorites in the group for having "disruptive technologies." It also sees the flurry of M&A activity witnessed in the space over the last year continuing. Other recommended names: CNQR, KNXA, CTCT, DWRE, CARB, and (though cloud is only a small % of its sales) ORCL. Comment!
-
10:24 AM Chesapeake (CHK +1.8%) shares open higher on news of Carl Icahn's bet on the company, but Antoine Gara reminds that the Icahn rumors aren't a reason for investors to start buying. With or without Icahn, asset sales are the make or break issue as CHK tries to bridge a big funding gap. Also worth noting: The last time Icahn held a big CHK stake, he was in and out with barely a ripple. 1 Comment
-
10:03 AM Piper's Gene Munster details the reasons he sees Apple (AAPL -0.6%) reaching $1,000 over the next couple of years. Among them: a completely redesigned iPhone; an Apple TV set going for $1,500-$2,000; limited iPhone subsidy cuts (partly due to the low churn rates of iPhone users); continued margin strength; China demand; soaring tablet sales; and enterprise Mac/iOS adoption. 23 Comments
-
9:43 AM Gulfport Energy (GPOR +2.9%) is upgraded to Outperform by RBC Capital, which notes shares have been cut nearly in half due to concerns over GPOR's Utica shale play. But Utica drilling is going well, the firm says, and should ultimately bring good economics with even relatively modest assumptions. GPOR has the most leverage to Utica of any public E&P, with 62,500 net acres. Comment!
Latest Long & Short Ideas
