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Cramer on BloggingStocks: Geithner's silence means you have to sell

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says until he releases a framework for the banks, all bounces will be short-lived.

I feel better. Now I hope people selling stocks also feel better so they stop selling, so we can get higher prices, so I can sell.

There.

I think everyone agrees with me.

There.

Most important, I hope that everyone who is selling banks or shorting banks takes a bank holiday so we can get through this period.

There.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Geithner's silence means you have to sell

Big stocks fall below $10, 8 reasons to skip black friday sales & great paychecks for retirees - Today in Money 11/13

In the News:

Market Downturn Pushes Top Stocks Under $10
It has been almost impossible for most stocks to avoid the carnage and mayhem of late. These are the latest to fall under $10/share. They include Starbucks, Limited Brands, Southwest Air, Whole Foods and Radio Shack.
http://www.247wallst.com/2008/11/as-market-plu-1.html

8 Reasons You Should Skip Black Friday Sales
Many people look forward to Black Friday and all the deals. But it's important to remember that this event was created to lure customers. The bold fliers with incredible-sounding deals may beckon you to start loosening your wallet strings, but they shouldn't. Black Friday shopping may very well put you in the red.
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/lifestyle/money-sapping-secrets-black-friday-sales

Continue reading Big stocks fall below $10, 8 reasons to skip black friday sales & great paychecks for retirees - Today in Money 11/13

Earnings highlights: Apple, Boeing, Microsoft, Yahoo!, UPS, American Express and others

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

For more earnings highlights from this week, see Amazon, McDonald's, Mattel, Pfizer, AT&T, Sony and others.

Watch for upcoming quarterly reports from Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) , US Steel (NYSE: X), Aetna (NYSE: AET), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Qwest (NYSE:Q), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Kellogg (NYSE: K), Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), MetLife (NYSE: MET), Moody's (NYSE: MCO), Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), Avon (NYSE: AVP), CBS (NYSE: CBS), CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA), Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Washington Post (NYSE: WPO).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

I won't be tuning in to RadioShack

RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) reported earnings for the third quarter the other day, and according to the bullet points of this article, the electronics retailer beat analyst expectations by three pennies. Earnings came in at $0.39 per share. And I say, so what?

Why do I say this? Well, to be honest, RadioShack has never been my favorite retail investment idea. No, I've never had a problem at any of the company's locations, but seriously, how often do you hear people talk about RadioShack? I don't hear many people talk about the place, I can tell you that. Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY), Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) -- these are the retailers people think of first when they think of electronics, fair or not. At least, that's what I've been getting lately. And here's an interesting wrinkle to the earnings report. Sales were driven by those digital converter devices that many households will need to use their television sets once digital broadcasting begins in February 2009. Not that this is an original observation, but when I read that, I immediately thought to myself "well, where does RadioShack go from here?" The company is going to find it tough to stand out among the crowd in the next few months. Brand equity is really going to come into play. The brand equities of the aforementioned competitors will aid them in bringing traffic onto their sales floors. When it comes to a day like Black Friday, which is the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, I think consumers will be most excited about the deals they can get at a Wal-Mart or a Target and not the ones they can get at a RadioShack.

Sure, that might sound obvious, but it's one of the reasons why I wouldn't want to put money down on RadioShack. The company's stock is near a 52-week low, but it's not a buy. Management is trying to improve its standing in the eye of the electronics consumer, but it'll be a long time before that happens. Besides, the bigger stores simply have more to offer both in terms of shopping experience and one-stop buying. There theoretically will always be a place for a RadioShack. But there's not a place for it, at least at this time, in my portfolio.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations

Analyst upgrades:
  • Merrill upgraded Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) to Buy from Neutral citing the company's better near-term pipeline outlook with two potential blockbusters to be approved over the next year. Schering-Plough's target was raised to $23 from $20.
  • Morgan Stanley lifted RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) and Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
Analyst downgrades:
  • Jefferies downgraded shares of Hologic (NASDAQ: HOLX) to Hold from Buy as they see limited near-term catalysts after the company reported a Q3 miss and lowered top-line guidance for FY08. The firm lowered their target to $24 from $28.
  • Baird downgraded California Pizza (NASDAQ: CPKI) to Neutral from Outperform as they see limited near-term upside given the uncertain 2H08/2009 outlook. The company's target was lowered to $15 from $17.
  • JP Morgan downgraded Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) and CB Richard Ellis (NYSE: CBG) to Neutral from Overweight due to the continued challenging economic environment.
Analyst initiations:
  • BC Capital initiated Dollar Financial(NYSE: DLLR) with an Outperform rating and $24 target. The firm likes Dollar's geographically diversified business and valuation.

Ultralife Batteries (ULBI): Share price traces bullish pennant pattern

Ultralife Batteries (NASDAQ: ULBI) provides a range of non-rechargeable and rechargeable batteries, charging systems and communications accessories for use in military, industrial and consumer portable electronics products. The company's non-rechargeable lithium batteries are used to power such diverse devices as radios, emergency radio beacons, search and rescue transponders, portable medical devices and smoke alarms. Its lithium polymer and lithium ion rechargeable batteries are used in such portable devices as laptop computers and cell phones. The US Department of Defense accounts for about twenty percent of Ultralife's sales. Major commercial customers include General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and RadioShack (NYSE: RSH).

The company pleased investors last week, when it issued upside guidance for the current quarter and year. Management sees Q2 revenues of more than $75 million ($60.43M consensus) and FY08 revenues of at least $250 million ($240.27 million consensus). The CEO said the better performance was attributable to "strong shipments to date, strong backlog in most businesses and requests from customers for accelerated deliveries against their orders."

Continue reading Ultralife Batteries (ULBI): Share price traces bullish pennant pattern

Analyst upgrades: SIRI, RSH, MHP, IBKC, BOOM and BRL

MOST NOTEWORTHY: IberiaBank, Dynamic Materials and Barr Pharmaceuticals were today's noteworthy upgrades:
  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of IberiaBank (NASDAQ: IBKC) to Market Perform from Underperform after the company announced that Pulaski has assumed the insured deposits of ANB Financial of Bentonville, Arkansas.
  • KeyBanc upgraded Dynamic Materials (NASDAQ: BOOM) to Buy from Hold citing stability in base business, valuation, and the added benefit associated with a European competitor being acquired.
  • Cowen raised Barr Pharma (NYSE: BRL) to Outperform from Neutral citing the recent pullback.
OTHER UPGRADES:
  • Goldman added McGraw-Hill (NASDAQ: MHP) to its Conviction Buy List.
  • RBC Capital raised RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) to Sector Perform from Underperform.
  • Sirius Satellite (NASDAQ: SIRI) was upgraded at Merrill Lynch to Neutral from Sell.

Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others

Closing Bell: More news than the quiet tape can show

Today was a mixed day, which is evident in the tape. Today we had one of the top food deals announced, yet Warren Buffett came out and said we were in a recession. There were also concerns that the housing market will continue to slide along with general credit conditions, and that black stuff in the barrels was up $0.25 at $118.77 on last look.. Here were the unofficial closing levels:
Bebe Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: BEBE) fell after a downgrade by Roth Capital Partners from a Buy to a Hold rating, citing disappointing sales and conservative guidance. The company reports earnings Thursday. Shares fell by more than 10% to $9.86 on the news.

Continue reading Closing Bell: More news than the quiet tape can show

Radioshack (RSH) lower on lackluster earnings

Shares of electronics retailer Radioshack (NYSE: RSH) are trading lower in premarket trading after putting up less than impressive earnings this morning.

The company was able to slightly come in above analyst estimates, with 30 cents per share compared to the forecast 29 cents per share, but the rest of the report left much to be desired. Compared to its first period last year, earnings were down slightly, as the company was able to show earnings of 31 cents a share last year. Revenue was also lower, by 4.4%.

One area that analysts always look at in judging a company's performance is same-store sales. Radioshack was weak in this area as well, posting a drop of 4% year-over-year. The company blamed this decline on lower demand for its Sprint post-paid wireless contracts and related accessories. Excluding this weak part of its business, Radioshack stated that it would have actually seen a 0.7% increase in its same-store sales.

Continue reading Radioshack (RSH) lower on lackluster earnings

Earnings highlights: Dell, Home Depot, RadioShack, Sears, Sprint and others

Here are a few highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Also, analysts predict that bank losses will be the highest in 20 years. See Jim Cramer's take on Lowe's and Nordstrom results. Timothy Sykes recommends investors not become starstruck by superstar companies such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).

Upcoming results to watch for include Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS), Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST), and Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

RadioShack (RSH) soars after crushing Q4 estimates

RSH logoRadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) shares are trading higher this morning after the company posted a fourth-quarter profit of $101 million, or 77 cents per share, beating analyst expectations of 72 cents per share. RSH was helped by lower operating costs, which counteracted a drop in same-store sales. If you think that the company won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on RSH.

After hitting a one-year high of $35.00 in June, the stock hit a one-year low of $13.31 in January. RSH opened this morning at $17.03. So far today the stock has hit a low of $17.00 and a high of $19.00. As of 10:40, RSH is trading at $18.50, up $2.76 (17.5%). The chart for RSH looks neutral and improving slightly, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an April bull-put credit spread below the $15 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. This particular trade will make an 8.7% return in just two months as long as RSH is above $15 at April expiration. RadioShack would have to fall by more than 18% before we would start to lose money.

RSH hasn't been below $15 by too much in the past year and has shown support around $15.10 recently. This trade could be risky if the US economy continues to worsen, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock might receive due to its positive announcement today.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in RSH.

Ultralife Batteries: Share price in bullish pennant formation

Ultralife Batteries (NASDAQ: ULBI) provides a range of non-rechargeable and rechargeable batteries, charging systems and communications accessories for use in military, industrial and consumer portable electronics products. The company's non-rechargeable lithium batteries are used to power such diverse devices as radios, emergency radio beacons, search and rescue transponders, portable medical devices and smoke alarms.

Its lithium polymer and lithium ion rechargeable batteries are used in such portable devices as laptop computers and cell phones. The U.S. Department of Defense accounts for about 20 percent of Ultralife's sales. Major commercial customers include General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and RadioShack (NYSE: RSH).

Continue reading Ultralife Batteries: Share price in bullish pennant formation

Radio Shack coming in loud and clear

Electronics retailer RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) is on the rebound. The company posted net income of $46.3 million for 3rd Quarter 2007, as opposed to a net loss of $16.3 million in 3Q 2006. Cash generation is up, prepaid wireless system sales are up, GPS system sales are up, gross profit is up, and cash balances are up. On the flip side, better inventory management and a more profitable product mix combined with serious cost control efforts to reduce SG&A expenses by 13%, contributed to the rebound.

Radio Shack managed to post these good numbers despite the fact that total sales fell 9.4% due to large declines in Sprint post-paid wireless systems. CEO Julian Day insists that Radio Shack will continue to focus on both growth and profitability despite continuing problems in post-paid wireless sales. The company is trying to help its bottom line by continuing to repurchase shares, $162 million worth in 3Q 2007 alone, out of $209 million YTD.

Perhaps electronics will be a hot holiday seller this winter, giving Radio Shack a much needed boost. The stock currently trades at $18.21 and will pay a dividend of 25 cents per share.

Earnings highlights: Crocs, Exxon, Kraft, P&G, Sirius, and others

Lots more quarterly reports rolled out this past week, and here are some highlights of earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Crocs, Exxon, Kraft, P&G, Sirius, and others

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Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-223.328,280.74
NASDAQ-49.201,796.52
S&P 500-26.91896.42

Last updated: July 04, 2009: 01:11 AM

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