Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
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PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street opened sharply higher as investors were reassured by a resurgence of M&A activity and the belief the Fed's recent moves to pump liquidity into the system are working. Thirty minutes into trading, the Dow vaulted 101 points and the NASDAQ was up 24 points. That news from Citi and others that they were in fact, tapping the discount window further boosted bullish enthusiasm, taking stocks higher right into the closing bell. The Dow Industrial Average rose 145.27 points, ending at 13,236.13. The NASDAQ Composite jumped exactly 31.50 points to 2,552.80, while the Standard & Poor`s 500 Index gained 16.95 points to end at 1,464.07. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note fell 14/32 to par and 25/32, putting the yield at 4.65 percent.
For the second day in a row, EMC Corp (EMC) topped the active list today on 17 million shares, the stock moving up $0.55. And then came General Electric (GE) with a $0.79 gain.
Followed by Pfizer (PFE) up $0.41.
Countrywide Financial (CFC) closed up just $0.03 a share. Yesterday it was up nearly $2 on speculation Warren Buffett`s Berkshire Hathaway might bid for parts of Countrywide. But the "Wall Street Journal" reported late today that Bank America is making a $2 billion equity investment in Countrywide via the purchase of preferred Countrywide stock yielding 7 1/4 percent and that stock is convertible and to common (ph) at $18 a share. In after hours trading, Countrywide stock was trading just about $25 a share, quite a move.
Citigroup (C) up $0.37. As you heard, the company borrowed $500 million from the Fed for its clients.
Ford Motor Co (F) a $0.07 drop.
Followed by JPMorgan Chase (JPM) another company that went to the discount window, a $0.20 loss there.
Bank of America (BAC) up $0.35.
And then Time Warner (TWX) a $0.29 gain.
Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) $0.67 drop, tenth in volume.
MGM Mirage (MGM) up $6.62. As you heard, the company has approved a deal in which Dubai World will acquire eventually 9 1/2 percent stake in the company for $5 billion.
BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP), this is a big Australian mining conglomerate. The company reported full year earnings up 28 percent and the company said turmoil in the global markets are posing no threat to the China-driven commodities boom behind its growth. That was a plus for other metal producers.
Let`s have a look at some of the majors. Alcan (AL), Alcoa (AA) doing well.
And Freeport-McM C&G (FCX) very well, up $4.30
And Kaiser Aluminum (KAIU) gained $1.53.
Target (TGT) up $3.48. Yesterday it had better than expected earnings. Today, Goldman Sachs upgraded it from "neutral" to a "buy" recommendation.
JW Nordstrom (JWN) up $1.61. The company will buy back up to $1.5 billion of its own stock.
Tween Brands (TWB) big loser, down $11. The girls apparel retailer had second quarter earnings all the way down to $0.07, from $0.18 a year ago. Same store sales dropped 2 percent and the company cut its full year earnings estimates on top of that.
Toll Brothers (TOL), the home builder, up $1.06, even though third quarter earnings plunged 85 percent from last year to only $0.16 a share versus $1.07, but the Street was looking for only a nickel a share. The company did decline to give any fourth quarter earnings guidance because of all the uncertainties in the housing business.
Campbell Soup Co (CPB) up $1.38. UBS financial upgraded it from "neutral" to "buy" on the belief the company will grow its earnings annually by 9 percent for the next several years.
Centurytel (CTL) up $2.95 on news it plans to buy back up to $750 million of its own stock.
And then as we touched on Nymex Holdings (NMX) up $7.28. The company in talks to sell itself for what it says is a meaningful premium.
Apple (AAPL) topped the active list on NASDAQ, up $4.94. The "Financial Times" is reporting the company is in agreements with three European firms to sell its iPhone.
Research in Motion (RIMM) down $0.11.
But Google (GOOG) jumped $6.14.
Intel (INTC) $0.26 gain.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) was up $0.16.
Then Microsoft (MSFT) $0.15 rise there.
Qualcomm (QCOM) up $0.37.
Baidu.com (BIDU) a gain of $7.29.
Dell (DELL) edged up $0.79.
And Comcast "A" (CMCSA) was up $0.48.
And finally, shares in Blue Coat Systems (BCSI) soared nearly $17 1/2 on a first quarter turnaround. Profits at the Internet security company jumped to $0.14 cents per share from a loss of $0.22 per share a year ago.
