Smith & Wesson Holding Corp: Value Trap, Demand Cliff, 50%+ Short Profit [View article]
In this market isn't a 10 times p/e discounting quite a bit? Don't forget Alliant Techsystems just paid 5.5 time EBITDA for Savage Sports. 6 months after Newtown guns & ammunition are still difficult to obtain. I believe recent gov't policies (gun laws, IRS & NSA issues) have put a quite strong impetus for people to accumulate more weapons not less. And whether their right or wrong Sturm Ruger is looking to acquire more space to manufacture. And Cabela's the biggest seller has it's stock at all time highs. Why it gets the premium p/e I don't quite understand. Other than the fact that the manufacturers have held their wholesale prices steady. While their wholesalers & retailers have marked up their prices and thus expanded their margins..
Lululemon (LULU) Chairman Dennis Wilson sold $49.5M worth of the company's stock as part of a prearranged 10b5-1 plan on Friday, the day that the board was notified that CEO Christine Day intended to leave. Shares plummeted 17% on Tuesday after Lululemon announced Day's departure the day before. Wilson had no influence on the trades that were made, Lululemon said. [View news story]
The logic of a sale of CIT Group to a deposit-rich bank is "obvious," says CEO John Thain, speaking on Bloomberg. "The big banks are awash in assets and they can't generate attractive assets ... (We) are able to generate very high-yielding attractive assets." Not going further than those comments, Thain says, "We're doing very well by ourselves." The Fed last month lifted sanctions restricting CIT's buybacks, dividends, and hiring. Yesterday, Thain presented at the Morgan Stanley conference (transcript) (slides), but stuck to operations. [View news story]
Can't this thing stay publicly traded? Why is it always a takeover candidate & then a puke out?
Fidelity now owns 54M shares of Juniper (JNPR -0.3%), which is good for a 10.6% stake in the networking vendor. The firm owned 44.4M shares at the end of Q1. Juniper had a rough start to Q2, thanks in part to its the guidance given with its Q1 report, but has gradually rallied since late April. CEO Kevin Johnson's BofA/Merrill conference remarks last week definitely didn't hurt. (13G) [View news story]
Some guy named Greenspan joins CNBC this morning and says "markets need to be prepared for a faster-than-expected rise in interest rates." He thinks the Fed ought to move to cut asset purchases even if the economy isn't as strong as hoped, and implies QE is actually hindering stock prices. "Our ability to forecast is far less than we understand." We're not making this up. [View news story]
Why did they pull Greenspan out of the dementia ward. Please put him back.
Conn's (CONN) vs. RadioShack (RSH): The shift by Conn's away from consumer electronics into furniture and mattresses continues to pay dividends as the retailer puts in another quarter which would have to make execs with RadioShack green with envy. Though the mobile strategy of RadioShack looked appealing to some because of the company's retail footprint and the boom in smartphone sales, Conn's made the right call by heading to where the margins were lusher. [View news story]
Not sure I can see RSH selling furniture & mattresses.
If easy credit is necessary to fuel a bubble, then the current frothy housing market - national prices up 10% Y/Y - does not constitue one, according to Wells Fargo (WFC) CFO Tim Sloan. Lenders are maintaining standards, he tells Bloomberg, and the subprime lending in vogue pre-2007 is non-existent today. [View news story]
Just with interest rates as low as they are courtesy of the Fed is creating it's own disaster. What do you do with 30 year loans when rates are higher and deposit costs equal or exceed the interest earned on those loans? Looking for banks to suffer in the years ahead in that area.
Utilities are getting a bit of a reprieve after taking a beating over the past few days. Option implied volatility has been increasing as investors rotate out of high dividend yield positions in the wake of a rise in treasury yields: AEE +1.7%, D +0.3%, DTE +1.9%, EIX +0.6%, ETR +1.3%, EXC +0.7%, FE +0.9%, NEE +1.7%, PEG +0.8%, PPL +0.5%, SRE +1.3%, TE +0.5%, AEP +0.8%, DUK +0.6%, ED NU +1.6%, PCG +1.2%, SO +0.4%, XEL +1.3%. [View news story]
I thought it had more to do with Warren Buffett buying NVE for a premium.
Hospira's (HSP) quality control problems continue, with the FDA sending the company a warning latter about problems at its facility in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Hospira has faced several regulatory issues since 2010, and earlier this year, it withdrew its 2013 guidance after the FDA blocked the import of some of its products. [View news story]
Time for management to either fix things or get out of Dodge!
California's got a new problem: Too much money. This year's expected surplus of $1.2B-$4.4B comes three years after the state faced a deficit of nearly $60B. Governor Brown - arguing the surplus is the result of a flood of capital-gains realizations ahead of higher 2013 tax rates - wants to put the money aside. The legislature - dominated by Brown's own party - wants to spend it. [View news story]
Always spending other people's money. Disgraceful.
Sears Holdings (SHLD) gets slammed in after-hours trade following a disappointing first quarter that was much worse than analysts expected. In its conference call, CEO Eddie Lampert says the performance is "not acceptable,” adding that “a company of our size and with our assets should be generating a significant profit.” Shares -12% AH. [View news story]
First their was Icahn vs. Ackman in HLF. Maybe we need Icahn vs. Lampert in SHLD.
Sears Holdings (SHLD) gets slammed in after-hours trade following a disappointing first quarter that was much worse than analysts expected. In its conference call, CEO Eddie Lampert says the performance is "not acceptable,” adding that “a company of our size and with our assets should be generating a significant profit.” Shares -12% AH. [View news story]
Blah, blah blah, Eddie we've heard it too many times before.
The NYSE rules to let stand all trades in American Electric Power (AEP -1%) and NextEra Energy (NEE -1.2%) but prices for certain "aberrant" trades will be excluded from the high and low prices in data feeds. There were hundreds of trades early this morning in AEP at or below $46.03 and in NEE at or below $76.19, more than 50% below yesterday's closing prices. [View news story]
Thank you high frequency traders, penny spreads & the lack of a specialist.
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp: Value Trap, Demand Cliff, 50%+ Short Profit [View article]
Lululemon (LULU) Chairman Dennis Wilson sold $49.5M worth of the company's stock as part of a prearranged 10b5-1 plan on Friday, the day that the board was notified that CEO Christine Day intended to leave. Shares plummeted 17% on Tuesday after Lululemon announced Day's departure the day before. Wilson had no influence on the trades that were made, Lululemon said. [View news story]
The logic of a sale of CIT Group to a deposit-rich bank is "obvious," says CEO John Thain, speaking on Bloomberg. "The big banks are awash in assets and they can't generate attractive assets ... (We) are able to generate very high-yielding attractive assets." Not going further than those comments, Thain says, "We're doing very well by ourselves." The Fed last month lifted sanctions restricting CIT's buybacks, dividends, and hiring. Yesterday, Thain presented at the Morgan Stanley conference (transcript) (slides), but stuck to operations. [View news story]
Fidelity now owns 54M shares of Juniper (JNPR -0.3%), which is good for a 10.6% stake in the networking vendor. The firm owned 44.4M shares at the end of Q1. Juniper had a rough start to Q2, thanks in part to its the guidance given with its Q1 report, but has gradually rallied since late April. CEO Kevin Johnson's BofA/Merrill conference remarks last week definitely didn't hurt. (13G) [View news story]
Some guy named Greenspan joins CNBC this morning and says "markets need to be prepared for a faster-than-expected rise in interest rates." He thinks the Fed ought to move to cut asset purchases even if the economy isn't as strong as hoped, and implies QE is actually hindering stock prices. "Our ability to forecast is far less than we understand." We're not making this up. [View news story]
Conn's (CONN) vs. RadioShack (RSH): The shift by Conn's away from consumer electronics into furniture and mattresses continues to pay dividends as the retailer puts in another quarter which would have to make execs with RadioShack green with envy. Though the mobile strategy of RadioShack looked appealing to some because of the company's retail footprint and the boom in smartphone sales, Conn's made the right call by heading to where the margins were lusher. [View news story]
As Global Warming Momentum Slows, Is Kandi Ready To Soar? [View article]
If easy credit is necessary to fuel a bubble, then the current frothy housing market - national prices up 10% Y/Y - does not constitue one, according to Wells Fargo (WFC) CFO Tim Sloan. Lenders are maintaining standards, he tells Bloomberg, and the subprime lending in vogue pre-2007 is non-existent today. [View news story]
JAKKS Pacific Commences Self-Tender at $20 Per Share [View article]
Utilities are getting a bit of a reprieve after taking a beating over the past few days. Option implied volatility has been increasing as investors rotate out of high dividend yield positions in the wake of a rise in treasury yields: AEE +1.7%, D +0.3%, DTE +1.9%, EIX +0.6%, ETR +1.3%, EXC +0.7%, FE +0.9%, NEE +1.7%, PEG +0.8%, PPL +0.5%, SRE +1.3%, TE +0.5%, AEP +0.8%, DUK +0.6%, ED NU +1.6%, PCG +1.2%, SO +0.4%, XEL +1.3%. [View news story]
Hospira's (HSP) quality control problems continue, with the FDA sending the company a warning latter about problems at its facility in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Hospira has faced several regulatory issues since 2010, and earlier this year, it withdrew its 2013 guidance after the FDA blocked the import of some of its products. [View news story]
California's got a new problem: Too much money. This year's expected surplus of $1.2B-$4.4B comes three years after the state faced a deficit of nearly $60B. Governor Brown - arguing the surplus is the result of a flood of capital-gains realizations ahead of higher 2013 tax rates - wants to put the money aside. The legislature - dominated by Brown's own party - wants to spend it. [View news story]
Sears Holdings (SHLD) gets slammed in after-hours trade following a disappointing first quarter that was much worse than analysts expected. In its conference call, CEO Eddie Lampert says the performance is "not acceptable,” adding that “a company of our size and with our assets should be generating a significant profit.” Shares -12% AH. [View news story]
Sears Holdings (SHLD) gets slammed in after-hours trade following a disappointing first quarter that was much worse than analysts expected. In its conference call, CEO Eddie Lampert says the performance is "not acceptable,” adding that “a company of our size and with our assets should be generating a significant profit.” Shares -12% AH. [View news story]
The NYSE rules to let stand all trades in American Electric Power (AEP -1%) and NextEra Energy (NEE -1.2%) but prices for certain "aberrant" trades will be excluded from the high and low prices in data feeds. There were hundreds of trades early this morning in AEP at or below $46.03 and in NEE at or below $76.19, more than 50% below yesterday's closing prices. [View news story]