Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
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JEFF YASTINE: The markets continued their move to the downside again today, in an otherwise quiet session. The Dow opened 60 points lower as investors sold large banks and brokers, like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, all downgraded by analysts because of continuing worries about the credit markets and the economy. The NASDAQ also saw more losses as profit-taking continued on the big tech names. The Dow briefly poked into positive territory in early afternoon before launching into a slow-motion decline into the end of the session. And the Dow finishing off 65.84 to close at 13,248.73. The NASDAQ dropping 17.3 to 2619.83 and the S&P 500 falling 9.63 to 1462.79. And the bond market, the 10-year note again getting more buyers, falling 12/32 to 102 28/32, putting the yield at 3.9 percent.
Citigroup (C) topping our list, dropping $0.51. UBS boosted its fourth quarter loss estimate for Citi to $0.52 a share from $0.15. The analyst believes the stock is still too high given the likelihood of more write offs, a deteriorating credit market and a slowing economy. By the way, Joseph Ackerman at Deutsche Bank was offered the top job at Citi and turned it down.
General Electric (GE) dropping another $0.68.
Ford Motor Co (F) slipping $0.28.
Pfizer (PFE) off a fraction.
Bank of America (BAC) losing $0.76.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) sliding $1.06. Shares down in sympathy as one of its own analysts trimmed earnings estimates on the major Wall Street investment banks and that took a toll on that group, playing up (ph) concerns that mergers and acquisitions activities and the fees generated by them could be slowing in coming months and look at those stocks.
Goldman Sachs (GS), Lehman Brothers (LEH), Merrill Lynch (MER), Morgan Stanley (MS) all dragging the financials and to some degree the broader market lower today.
Then onto EMC Corp (EMC) which gained $0.15.
Motorola (MOT) up $0.24.
Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) dropping a fraction.
And then Advanced Micro (AMD) losing $0.41.
Boeing Co (BA) dropping $1.80. Investors wondering if they're going to hear about more production delays when Boeing gives an update on its 787 Dreamliner program next Tuesday. The aircraft maker by the way securing a $1.7 billion order to build 22 737s for a Jakarta-based airline.
Fannie Mae (FNM) dropping $1.07. After the close, the mortgage lending giant says it will cut its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.35 a share. The stock fell below 34 in late trading.
Transocean (RIG) sliding $7.49. The offshore oil and gas contractor with a series of public offerings totaling $8.5 billion in convertible debt. That money will go to pay for other loans related to the purchase of Global Santa Fe.
Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) shares folded for a loss of $5.65, a profit warning here as the company's CEO issued a cautious fourth quarter forecast and the story is the same as we've heard from all the others in recent days, expectations of poor holiday sales.
On the plus side, shares in LDK Solar Co (LDK) soaring over $8, along with many of the other stocks in that group. A lot of optimism that Congress will pass an environmentally friendly energy bill in coming days with incentives for solar power.
And here's a look at some others in that sector, Canadian Solar (CSIQ), China Sunergy ADR (CSUN), SolarPower Holdings (SOLF), Trina Solar Ltd (TSL) all doing very nicely into the closing bell.
Autozone (AZO) shares surging nearly $21. Sales of higher margin items and more demand from commercial repair shops leading to stronger than expected first quarter profits there.
Then Arrow Electronics (ARW) climbing $1.52. Fourth quarter earnings will likely be in the range of $0.92 to $0.97 a share. That was (INAUDIBLE) forecast was higher than previous ones.
Now over to the NASDAQ where Apple (AAPL) picked up nearly $1. American Technology Research says its channel checks show strong sales of Apple products during this holiday period. They believe Apple will once again outdistance its own earnings guidance.
Research in Motion (RIMM) more profit taking there, losing $3.50.
But Baidu.com (BIDU) climbing nearly $2.50. The Chinese search engine will be added to the NASDAQ 100, one of only a handful of foreign companies in that group.
Google (GOOG) gaining more than $2.50.
And Cisco Systems (CSCO) dropping $0.61.
Microsoft (MSFT) falling $0.15.
Microchip Tech (MCHP) losing $0.40. The firm selling $900 million in convertible debt that will be used mostly to buy back shares from institutional investors.
First Solar (FSLR), one of the few solar stocks heading down today, losing nearly $15. No news though.
Intel (INTEL) gaining a fraction.
Dell (DELL) dropping $0.34, but it will resume its $10 billion stock buyback program, that announced by the company today.
And finally, Echostar Communications (DISH) down $2.05. Analysts at Sanford Bernstein skeptical of recent speculation that AT&T might make a bid for Echostar. That stock rising up to $52 in mid-October on speculation about that potential merger.
Those are our stocks in the news tonight.
