Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News
Friday, May 26, 2006
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PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street enjoyed its third straight upturn this morning as April personal income, spending and consumer prices all rose in line with estimates. Buyers were also encouraged by analyst upgrades on Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and General Motors. At noon, the Dow posted a 56 point gain. NASDAQ was up 11. Those early bullish developments were enough to carry the market to a higher close this afternoon. Dow Industrial Average gained 67.56 ending at 11,278.61 today. For the week, the Dow was up three times, down two, had a net overall gain of 134.55 points. The NASDAQ Composite closed up 12.13 at 2210.37 today. It also rose three times and fell twice this week, had an overall gain of 16.49 points. The Standard & Poor`s 500 Index ended the day up 7.28 at 1280.16. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note gained 6/32 to par and 18/32, putting the yield at 5.05.
New York exchange volume leader on 13.7 million shares, Pfizer (PFE) moving up $0.15.
Followed by General Electric (GE) down $0.09.
Ford Motor (F) up $0.16.
Then a new issue, Mueller Water (MWA), this is a company that makes water control products, 25 million shares offered to the public at $16, opened at $16.50, high of the day, $17.20, backed down a little, but still had a positive debut on Wall Street.
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) was a $0.20 gainer today, fifth in big board volume.
General Motors (GM) up $0.18, but it traded as high as $29.03 this morning after Prudential equities upgraded it from "neutral" to "over weight," that third brokerage upgrade General Motors this week incidentally.
El Paso Corp (EP) a $0.07 rise.
Lucent Tech (LU) a penny gain.
And then Citigroup (C) up $0.50.
Tenth in volume was Time Warner (TWX) rising a nickel a share.
Merck & Co (MRK) up $0.17. The FDA has approved the company`s shingles vaccine called Zostavax.
Then we look at Merrill Lynch (MER) up $1.31. Wachovia securities upgraded it from "market perform" to "out perform."
Another big investment house getting the nod, Goldman Sachs Group (GS) up $5.62 after UBS financial upgraded it from "neutral" to "buy," citing the company`s attractive business mix.
Navistar Intl (NAV) did well, up $4.16. MarketScope Europe reports Germany`s M-a-n or Man Corporation is thinking of taking a stake in Navistar stock.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS), there you see it, up $5.96. As you heard, Singapore`s government selects the company to build and operate the Marina Bay resort and casino.
Big loser, Rex Stores Corp (RSC) down $1.58. The consumer electronics retailer had sharply lower first quarter earnings of $0.13, down from $0.48 in the same period a year ago. Revenues declined by 2 percent.
Another loser was Cooper Companies (COO), the maker and marketer of health products. The Piper Jaffray brokerage said second quarter earnings will likely fall short of Wall Street estimates due to product delays. There were rumors around the company had cut its contact lens sale force because it`s losing market share there.
Unisys (UIS) moved up $0.37, a little better than a 6 percent rise. Morgan Stanley, an analyst there, believes management may start to focus on maximizing shareholder value.
Google (GOOG) topped the active list, down $1.64.
Then Microsoft (MSFT) with a $0.02 loss.
Intel (INTC) moved up $0.17.
Apple Computer (AAPL) down $0.78.
Fifth in dollar volume, eBay (EBAY) edging up $0.32.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) a $0.21 loss there.
Dell (DELL) up $0.51.
Broadcom (BRCM) gained $1.21.
A dime rise in Yahoo! (YHOO).
And Qualcomm (QCOM) down $0.03.
Then we see Charles Schwab (SCHW) up $0.39, traded as high as $17.04 after Banc America upgraded it from "hold" to "buy" on the company`s promising outlook.
Then we see Hummingbird Ltd (HUMC), stock hovering almost around $28, up $4.78. The Canadian software company will be acquired for $26.75 a share by California symphony technology group. Then Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) up $4.30. The company got preliminary FDA approval for its treatment for staph infections.
And those are the stocks in the news tonight.
