Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Thursday, May 31, 2007
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PAUL KANGAS: An opening $10 jump in AG Edward's stock on that Wachovia takeover had Wall Street heading into record high ground this morning. The Dow rose 35 points early on, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 14. But then a downward revision to only 0.6 percent GDP growth in the first quarter and a smaller- than-expected 0.1 percent rise in April construction spending cooled the bulls, as did caution ahead of tomorrow's employment report. So stocks closed on a mixed note. The Dow Industrial Average ended down 5.44 at 13,627.64. The NASDAQ gained 11.93 to 2604.52. Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.39 and that was a new record high of 1530.62. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note fell 6/32 to 96 30/32 putting the yield at 4.89 percent.
New York Exchange volume leader on 19.8 million shares, General Electric (GE) moving down $0.15. And then Motorola (MOT) with a $0.09 loss. Motorola plans to cut 4,000 workers in the second half of the year. That's more than double the amount previously announced.
Time Warner (TWX) an $0.18 loss.
Pfizer (PFE) moved up $0.08.
And then Kraft Foods (KFT) in there with a $0.15 gain.
EMC Corp (EMC) was down $0.11.
Micron Tech (MU) $0.28 gain.
ExxonMobil (XOM) fell $0.83.
AT&T (T) a $0.36 gain.
And then Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) moved up $0.25 a share.
AG Edwards (AGE) the star of the day, up $11.01, traded as high as $90.44. Wachovia's buyout bid consists of $35.80 a share in cash plus .98 share of Wachovia stock. The deal as of today is worth $88.91, given the fact that Wachovia stock fell $0.36 to $54.19. But the news in the brokerage sector really helped a lot of the stocks in that group.
Jefferies Group (JEF), Raymond James (RJF), although Raymond James says it wants to remain independent, but a good gain of $2.26.
And Stifel Financial (SF) up $4.47 in that strong sector.
Ceridian (CEN) up $1.18. Management services company said it has agreed to be taken over by Thomas Lee Partners which will acquire it for $36 a share along with Fidelity national financial.
Newmont Mining (NEM), gold stocks strong today. Gold in New York, the August contract up $7.40 to $666.70 an ounce and nice move in most of the other stocks there too.
Jo-Ann Stores (JAS) up $2.77. First quarter cut its loss to only $0.07 from $0.28 last year, but that was just in line with estimates, but the company is also the subject of some takeover speculation. That seemed to be helping the stock.
Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (JTX) up $1.44. Fourth quarter adjusted earnings came in at $2.04 a share, $0.09 better than the Wall Street consensus.
And Heico (HEI), which manufactures jet engine parts, up $1.90. Second quarter earnings nicely higher at $0.35 from $0.28 a year ago. Sales jumped 32 percent.
Big Lots (BIG), this is the close out retailer, had a big loss, off $4.10. First quarter earnings more than doubled from last year, $0.26 versus $0.12. However, the company sees second quarter earnings falling to only $0.07 to $0.10.
Blyth (BTH) off $2.78. First quarter earnings higher, $0.30 versus $0.20 last year, but the company cut its 2008 guidance from $1.17 a share at best down to $1.12 at best.
And then Red Hat (RHT) up $1.61. The Baird brokerage upgraded it from "neutral" to "out perform."
Topping the active list on NASDAQ, Apple (AAPL) up $2.42. Analysts are talking up the company's set top boxes. Lehman Brothers set a $146 a share target for the stock.
Google (GOOG) down $0.69.
Microsoft (MSFT) $0.42 loss.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) gained $0.53.
Research in Motion (RIMM) down, I should say up $1.42.
Amgen (AMGN) up $1.19.
Intel (INTC) edged up a dime.
And then Dendreon (DNDN) up $1.81. The FDA decided data being compiled from ongoing clinical trials can be used to support a new drug application from the company's prostate cancer drug called Provenge.
Qualcomm (QCOM) $0.13 gain there.
And then Dell (DELL) as you heard on the better than expected earnings, up $0.69 and up another 6 percent after hours.
Ciena (CIEN), this is a telecomm equipment maker, a turnaround. Second quarter earnings of $0.14 versus a loss of $0.02 last year. Excluding items, the earnings were $0.26 a share, a penny above the Wall Street estimate, nice gain in the stock.
Those are the stocks in the news tonight.
