Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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JEFF YASTINE: Optimism over the congressional housing package helped keep the bulls in gear on Wall Street today. The Dow churned higher as crude oil prices in New York moved lower. June crude tumbled over $3 on technical selling, but ended the down just $0.10 at $124.21 a barrel. Both the Dow and NASDAQ continue to add to their gains as the Senate Banking Committee moved closer to a deal on the home rescue plan. So the Dow gained 94.28 to end at 12,992.66. The NASDAQ posted its highest closing price since January 3rd, rising 37.03 to 2533.73. The S&P 500 closing up 14.91 to 1423.57. In the bond market, the 10-year note gaining 26/32 to 100 15/32 and the yield down to 3.82 percent.
And starting off our list, EMC Corp (EMC) gaining $1.12 on large volume. No specific news, but some investors want the company to sell more of its majority holdings in VM Ware, symbol VMW, which makes virtual server management software. More than 9,000 people are expected for the big EMC world event in Las Vegas next week. Citigroup (C) gained $0.48.
And General Electric (GE) fell $0.14. Analysts generally applauding GE's move to sell its appliance division.
Bank of America (BAC) falling $0.09.
Ford Motor Co (F) up just a fraction.
Pfizer (PFE) saw small gains as well.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) advancing $1.09.
Wachovia (WB) down $0.04.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) gaining $1.11. The firm will sell or spin off Bear Stearns asset management division as it takes control next month according to Reuters.
ExxonMobil (XOM) gained $1.39. Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson says he sees gasoline demand already slowing because of those record-high gasoline prices.
Agilent Technologies (A) shares climbed nearly $3. Second quarter earnings came to $0.46 a share. That was $0.03 above forecasts. Much of the growth came from expansion in the company's life sciences unit to Asia.
Turning to oil-related issues, Transocean (RIG) surged over $8. UBS says rental rates for drilling rigs are rising because of the need for deep water exploration and that news helped a lot of the other stocks in the peer group.
With Atwoods Oceanics (ATW), Diamond Offshore (DO), Ensco intl (ESV), Noble (NC), Rowan Co (ROC), all doing very nicely today.
Moving to the retailers, JCPenney Co (JCP) rising over $2. First quarter profits were $0.04 above estimates. Those estimates had been reduced by analysts. Same store sales fell 7 1/2 percent, but executives think second quarter results will show improvement.
And speaking of improvement, Tiffany & Co (TIF) sparkled with its gain of $3.03. The luxury retailer boosted its dividend. The CEO says first quarter results should be better than earlier forecasts.
On the downside, Verso Paper (VRS) sliced for a loss of $2. The initial public offering had 14 million shares priced at $12 each. Verso is owned by the private equity firm Apollo Management.
Then moving onto the NASDAQ, a pretty good day for most of the stocks. Apple (AAPL) rising nearly $3.50.
Research in Motion (RIMM) up more than $2.
Google (GOOG) advanced $4.70.
Yahoo! (YHOO) picked up $0.61. Carl Icahn reportedly nominating Mark Cuban as one of the nominees for a group of dissident board members he's trying to get elected. Cuban of course sold his company broadcast.com for billions to Yahoo! back in 1999.
Intel (INTC) gaining $1.13. It really helped move the NASDAQ and the Dow today. Analysts liked the growth prospects with the new atom chip, that's a-t-o-m chip aimed at low-end computers and it's a four and half month high for the stock.
Microsoft (MSFT) rose $0.52.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) gaining $0.75.
And there's CNET Networks (CNET) advancing $3.46 for a 43 percent gain. As you heard, CBS will buy the (INAUDIBLE) technology news service for $11.50 a share.
First Solar (FSLR) losing $1.16.
Baidu.com (BIDU) advanced $3.10.
Then Sina Corp (SINA), another web portal, Chinese firm, gaining more than $3. First quarter profits nearly doubled on a big rise in ad revenues.
Ctrip.com Intl (CTRP) tumbled almost $6. Another Chinese Internet and travel firm. Investor concerns focusing on a potential impact for the Chinese (INAUDIBLE) travel business.
And finally, salary.com (SLRY) falling $2.14. The firm had a wider than expected loss, also missed its revenue estimate and they've also replaced the chief financial officer.
And those are our stocks in the news tonight.
