Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Thursday, August 21, 2008
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PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street was still under the black cloud of the troubled financial sector, as stocks opened broadly lower today. And making matters worse for the bulls -- that $6 spike in oil prices. At 11:00 a.m., the Dow posted a 64-point loss and the NASDAQ was off 23 points. Over the next several hours, the market remained mired in red ink, thanks in part to a weak dollar. But gains in the oil and other commodity-related stocks resulted in a mixed close. The Dow Industrial Average ended up 12.78 at 11,430.21. The NASDAQ lost 8.70 ending at 2,380.38. But the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 3.18 ending at 1,277.72. Over in the bond market, the 10- year note fell 8/32 to 101 12/32, putting the yield at 3.83 percent.
Topping the big board's active list on nearly 15 million shares, Fannie Mae (FNM) moving up $0.45. That's the first closing gain in a week for Fannie Mae stock.
Ford Motor Co (F) slipped in there with a $0.19 loss.
And then Freddie Mac (FRE) down $0.09.
Citigroup (C) a $0.02 loss.
And then Lehman Brothers (LEH) a penny down. Analyst Dick Bove of Ladenburg Thalman says the stage is being set for a hostile takeover of Lehman Brothers.
Moving along in the active, Bank of America (BAC) down $0.25.
Pfizer (PFE) moved up $0.09.
General Electric (GE) a $0.10 gain.
Washington Mutual (WM) down $0.20.
And then came Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) losing $0.48.
American Intl Group (AIG) down $1.02. Citigroup cut its price target from $42 to $40.50, a little bit higher than where the stock is now.
The one group that was really strong was the golds and that's because the New York December gold contract jumped $22.70 an ounce to $839 an ounce even. Agnico Eagle (AEN) and Barrick Gold (ABX) and Freeport McMoran C&G (FCX), Newmont Mining (NEM) and Spdr Gold Trust (GLD) on the big board up $2.16 there.
Salesforce.com (CRM) plummeted $12.05. The business software firm did report second quarter earnings much higher, $0.08 versus only $0.03 last year and revenues jumped 49 percent. But the stock is down on concerns that revenue growth is slowing and the company may be losing business to Oracle. So Piper Jaffray brokerage downgraded the stock from "buy" to "neutral." Standard & Poor's cut its price target from $70 to $65.
Then came Burger King Holdings (BKC) down $1.95. Fourth quarter earnings higher, $0.37, versus $0.29. Worldwide sales were up 5.3 percent, but renovation costs and higher food prices are hurting profit margins. That's why the stock was down.
Cato Corp (CTR), the women's apparel retailer, down $1.41. Second quarter earnings were higher, $0.41 versus $0.39 last year, but that was a penny below the Street estimate and the company warned its full year will be about the same as the previous year.
Limited Brands (LTD) up $2.31 on big volume. Second quarter earnings, $0.27, up from $0.20 last year, $0.07 above the Street estimate and the company did give an upbeat outlook.
Then came Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) up $2.63, lower earnings there, second quarter, $0.39, down from last year's $0.41, but that was $0.03 above the Wall Street estimate.
And then Bally Technologies (BYI) up $2.57. Fourth quarter earnings, $0.54, well above last year's $0.33. Revenues jumped 22 percent. The company makes casino equipment.
Apple (AAPL) topped the NASDAQ active, down $1.55.
Research in Motion (RIMM) up $2.02, a positive reaction to the unveiling of its new Blackberry Bold smart phone today.
Google (GOOG) $1.53 gainer.
Intel (INTC) $0.34 loss there.
$0.11 drop in Microsoft (MSFT). That was fifth in NASDAQ volume.
First Solar (FSLR) up $6.28.
Qualcomm (QCOM) $0.24 loss.
And then Cisco Systems (CSCO) no change there.
Amazon.com (AMZN) gained $1.13.
And Oracle (ORCL) down $0.36.
Nice gain for Thermage (THRM), this is a company that makes medical devices to treat wrinkles and the company received a $5.50 per share cash buyout offer from a party it did not name.
And then JDS Uniphase (JDSU) down $1.48. Fourth quarter earnings in at $0.07, $0.03 below the Street estimate and the company sees first quarter revenues below most analyst estimates by at least $6 million.
Those are the stocks in the news tonight.
