Positivo e Negativo a NY - Giorgia

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Giovedì 26 Giugno 2003 17:05

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Thursday June 26th 7:51--WW Grainger was upgraded to buy at Merrill Lynch. 7:43--Playtex Product cut its Q2 profit outlook to 8c-10c/sh vs. 23c/sh consensus. Cut full-year profit outlook to 42c-45c/sh vs. 74c/sh consensus. 7:41--Esperion was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Piper Jaffray. 7:33--The two numbers offset each other, with the claims indicating that the labor market is strengthening while the GDP indicates that the economy was weaker-than-expected. 7:30--Q1 GDP was revised to a final +1.4% from +1.9%. Expectations were for an unchanged reading of +1.9%. 7:30--Initial Claims were -22K to 404K vs. 415K expected. Last week was revised up 5K to 426K from 421K initially reported. 7:20--RGR Technical is liquidating its long yen position at current 8430 level. Position was entered on May 30th at 8350. RGR Technical was stopped out of long Swiss franc position with a -$718.90 loss. Yen trade resulted in a $1000 gain. 7:19--Snap-On lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 36c/sh vs. 49c/sh consensus. 7:17--Pharmacists at American Stores’ Osco affiliated with the teamsters have authorized a strike. 7:16--AMR was upgraded at CSFB. 7:15--Empresa Bras was downgraded to underperform from peer perform at Bear Stearns. 7:12--Taiwan Semiconductor filed to sell 79 mln ADS’s. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +2.00, Nasdaq +4.00. -Dollar higher today after yesterday’s Fed rate cut. Traders see better chance of economic growth. -2 US soldiers were killed by an Iraqi ambush. -Palestinian negotiators said they secured a commitment from militants for a 3-month truce. -Nikkei -0.1%, FTSE -0.6%, DAX +0.6%. Positive: -3Com Q4 loss was -11c/sh vs. -12c/sh expected. Revenue was $175M vs. $169.8M consensus. Gross margins were 36%, but margin guidance was for the low-to-mid 30’s. -Manugistics Q1 loss was -4c/sh vs. -9c/sh consensus. Revenues were $65M vs. $61M consensus. Company affirmed forward guidance. -Research In Motion Q1 pro forma loss was -1c/sh vs. -9c/sh consensus. Revenues were $104.4M vs. $95.0M consensus. -ConAgra Q4 EPS was 42c/sh vs. 41c/sh consensus. Company affirmed guidance. -GlaxoSmithKline received approval from the FDA for its Wellbutrin drug. Upgrades: -Morgan Stanley was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. -AMR was upgraded to neutral from outperform at Smith Barney. -CNET was upgraded to outperform from underperform at Smith Barney. Negative: -WD-40 Q3 EPS was 35c/sh vs. 36c/sh consensus. Revenues were $55M which was as expected. -Crown Castle announced a $200M convertible. -Alliant Energy filed a 15 mln share shelf offering. Downgrades: -Research In Motion was downgraded to sell from hold at Needham. Neutral: -SPX Corp affirmed its forward guidance.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Mercoledì 25 Giugno 2003 17:02

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Wednesday June 25th 7:56--General Mills Q4 EPS was 64c/sh vs. 63c/sh consensus. Company said it sees full-year revenues in the high end of its guidance range. Raised full-year EPS guidance to $2.85-$2.90/sh vs. $2.63/sh consensus. 7:54--Paychex was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Raymond James. 7:31--Goldman Sachs Q2 EPS was $1.36/sh vs. $1.19/sh consensus. Company is doubling its dividend. 7:30--May Durable Goods were -0.3% vs. +1.0% expected. Orders ex-transportation were +0.2%. Ex-Defense was +0.3%. Machinery -0.9%. Electrical Appliances -2.2%. The number is bullish bonds and bearish stocks. 7:29--ATI Tech was upgraded to outperform at Soundview. 7:28--Amkor Tech was upgraded to outperform at Soundview. 7:25--CNF was downgraded to equal weight at Morgan Stanley. 7:24--Priority Healthcare was upgraded to neutral at Bank of America. 7:23--ConMed was downgraded to neutral at First Albany. 7:16--Lehman unveiled 10 uncommon values and include Amgen, Cisco, HP, JetBlue, and US Bancorp among others. 7:14--Not that it will or should move the markets, the Homeland Security Dept. is suggesting that the terror level will be raised to orange near the 4th of July holiday. 7:11--EDS’s debt was downgraded 1 notch at both Moody’s and Fitch. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +1.00, Nasdaq +2.00. -Euro higher after German June IFO survey rose to 88.8 vs. 88.0 expected and 87.6 previously. -Italian June Business Confidence rose to 91.6 vs. 90.5 expected and 90.3 in May. -ECB’s Welteke said that he sees no recession or deflation in Germany. Said ‘monetary policy is not hindering recovery.’ Said euro level is ‘no cause for great concern.’ -Bank of Japan left overnight rates unchanged. -Israel killed 2 Palestinian militants in Gaza. -Nikkei +0.2%, FTSE +0.0%, DAX -0.3%. Positive: -Microsoft won a $478M 6yr contract with the army (biggest contract ever). -Palm Q4 loss was -30c/sh vs. -91c/sh consensus. Revenues were $225.8M vs. $187.7M consensus. -ATI Tech Q3 EPS was 7c/sh vs. 4c/sh consensus. Revenues were $342.1M vs. $307.7M consensus. Company raised revenue guidance to $335M-$365M vs. $320M consensus. -HGSI won FDA approval for human trials of its anthrax drug. -Harrah’s entered a joint venture with a UK company to build 8 casinos worth $1B. Upgrades: -AOL Time Warner was upgraded to in line from outperform at Smith Barney. Price target also raised to $17 from $11/sh previously. -Global Payment was upgraded to outperform from inline at Smith Barney. -Rite Aid was upgraded to equal-weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley. Negative: -Verity Q4 EPS was 12c/sh vs. 13c/sh consensus. -HB Fuller Q4 EPS was 43c/sh vs. 44c/sh consensus. Revenues were $324M vs. $327.7M consensus. -DuPont Photomask warned that the company’s revenues will be at the low end of its previous guidance range. CEO also announced that he is resigning. -EDS announced the offering of $600M in convertible notes. -Pulitzer guided full-year EPS to $1.95/sh vs. $1.99/sh consensus. Downgrades: -FedEx was downgraded to neutral at JP Morgan. -Chartered Semiconductor was downgraded to sell from hold at Deutsche Bank. Neutral: -Tribune affirmed its Q2 EPS guidance. -Paychex Q4 EPS was 19c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $289.8M vs. $293.3M consensus. -Freddie Mac set a comprehensive remediation program. They are restating profit higher by as much as $4.0B, but it will take away from future earnings. -XO is offering $495M for Global Crossing’s $2.25B in debt.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Lunedì 23 Giugno 2003 17:01

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Monday June 23rd 7:33--BorgWarner affirmed its full-year EPS guidance of $6.20-$6.35 vs. $6.24/sh consensus. 7:27--Northern Trust is cutting 700 jobs and will take a $51.5M pretax charge, or 14c/sh. 7:25--WSJ said that big banks are in the mood to take over ‘super-regionals.’ 7:22--Trimtabs said there are 34 new offerings of stock and debt in the pipeline worth $7.4B, which is the highest since 2/00 and 3/02. Said that that many offerings will make a crash worse. 7:20--JB Hunt and CH Robinson were upgraded at Morgan Stanley. 7:12--Walgreen’s Q3 EPS was 29c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $8.33B vs. $8.36B consensus. 7:04--Immunomedics said they have seen progress on their cancer therapy. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq +1.00. -Euro down after ECB’s Domingo Solans suggested that there may be additional easing based on the slow economic outlook. Said he was unsure if EU would achieve growth targets. -Speculation of a US rate cut is also giving support to the dollar against the euro. -Japanese LDP official suggested Japan needs to borrow 5T yen to revive the economy. That crashed JGB’s, but the yen is slightly higher against the dollar. -There have been 2 explosions at Iraqi oil pipelines in the last 3 days due to sabotage. That suggests that Iraq will have trouble exporting and will keep OPEC production high. -ThisisLondon.com said Iraqis handed US troops a surrender letter from Saddam. However, there’s almost no credibility to that source. -Nikkei +0.2%, FTSE -0.7%, DAX -0.2%. Positive: -Apollo Group Q4 EPS was 39c/sh vs. 35c/sh consensus. Company affirmed Q4 EPS guidance but raised full-year. -University of Phoenix Q3 EPS was 27c/sh vs. 25c/sh consensus. Upgrades: -Altria’s and Carolina Group’s price targets were raised at Morgan Stanley. -Advanced Fibre Comm was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Lehman. -Deere & Co. was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. Negative: -Tenet Healthcare lowered Q2 EPS guidance to significantly below analyst’s consensus. -AveryDenison lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 68c-72c/sh vs. 79c/sh consensus. Downgrades: -RJR was downgraded to underweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley. Neutral: -IDEC Pharma will acquire Biogen for 1.15 IDEC shares or about $44.81/sh. Biogen then warned on Q2 earnings guidance.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Venerdì 20 Giugno 2003 16:57

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Friday June 20th 7:54--Valero Energy warned Q2 EPS would be $1.00-$1.10 vs. $1.58/sh consensus. 7:46--Express Scripts disclosed in its 8-K that it received a NY Atty Gen’l subpoena regarding antitrust issues. 7:42--Business Objects was downgraded to neutral from buy at Merrill Lynch. 7:33--Solectron was downgraded to underperform from perform at CIBC. 7:29--Looks like a slow morning. No economic releases scheduled today or Monday, nice weather in Chicago…adds up to the possibility of four-day weekends. 7:16--PeopleSoft rejected Oracle’s merger bid. Cited problems with regulatory approval. Said that Oracle undervalued company in offer. Affirmed commitment to JD Edwards deal. 7:14--Darden Restaurants was downgraded to underperform from in line at Smith Barney. 7:12--GE affirmed 2003 EPS guidance of $1.55-$1.70/sh. Consensus is $1.61/sh. 7:10--Carmax Q1 EPS was 34c/sh which was as expected. Company raised Q2 EPS guidance to 33c-35c/sh vs. 33c/sh consensus. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +3.00, Nasdaq +7.00. -Dollar slightly higher again this morning on continued expectations of stronger US growth. -WSJ reporting that the Fed will only cut by 25 bps next Wednesday rather than the 50 bps suggested by yesterday’s Washington Post. That’s causing slight weakness in short-end and slight strength in long-end. The prospect that the economy only needs 25 bps is lending support to the dollar. -Palestinian gunmen shot and killed one Jewish settler in a car. -Iran refused to back down to international pressure to stop its nuclear weapons program. Bush administration official said that the US reserves the right to take military action to stop Iran. -The NYT cites US officials as suggesting that Saddam is still alive. -Nikkei +0.1%, FTSE +0.8%, DAX +0.3%. Positive: -KB Home Q2 EPS was $1.94/sh vs. $1.64/sh consensus. Company raised full-year guidance to $8.20 vs. $8.09/sh consensus. -King Pharmaceuticals won FDA approval for its Atropen drug. -Heinz received comments in Business Week that suggested it may be a takeover target. -American International received positive comments in Business Week. Upgrades: -GM was upgraded to buy from sell at Prudential (upgrade made before debt announcement--maybe they’ll want to take it back). Negative: -Cognos Q1 EPS was 14c/sh which matched earnings expectations. Revenues were $150.6M vs. $148.1M consensus. Company lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 15c-18c/sh vs. 19c/sh consensus. Guided Q2 revenues to $155M-$159M vs. $158M consensus. -Solectron Q3 loss was -10c/sh vs. -3c/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.82B vs. $2.68B consensus. Company lowered Q4 loss guidance to 2c-6c/sh vs. -1c/sh consensus. Sees revenues of $2.6B-$3.0B vs. $2.8B consensus. -Halliburton is cutting its earnings guidance due to asbestos liability. -Saba Software Q4 loss was -18c/sh vs. -19c/sh consensus. Revenues were $10.6M vs. $10.4M consensus. Company lowered forward guidance. -Tibco Software Q2 EPS was break-even vs. +1c/sh consensus. Revenue was $61.5M vs. $62.2M consensus. -Georgia Gulf lowered its earnings guidance to below consensus. -GM said its pension was $19.3B underfunded at the end of 2002. Will raise $3B in debt as part of 2003 funding plan. Will sell $10M in bonds total. GM yesterday said that they see auto sales near the top end of their expected range. GM also said it hopes to reduce incentives next year. -Citigroup granted Chairman Sandy Weill 503,121 stock options. Downgrades: -Research In Motion was downgraded to underweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley. -Martin Marietta was downgraded to reduce from neutral at UBS. -Pacer International was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. -Inco Ltd was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. Neutral: -Bed Bath & Beyond is acquiring Christmas Tree Shops for $200M in cash. Company raised full-year EPS guidance to $1.23/sh vs. $1.21/sh consensus. -Darden Restaurants Q4 EPS was 35c/sh vs. 34c/sh consensus. Company guided full-year EPS to $1.42-$1.47/sh vs. $1.46/sh consensus.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Giovedì 19 Giugno 2003 18:18

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Thursday June 19th 9:00--May LEI was +1.0% vs. +0.6% expected. The Conference Board said the LEI “finally points to a recovery.” The number is a slight positive for stocks even though LEI rarely moves the market (all the components have been released already; Conference Board just pastes them together). 8:35--Kohl’s was raised to outperform at Bernstein. 8:35--Best Buy’s price target was raised at US Bancorp. 8:22--GM’s debt was downgraded at Fitch. Said incentives and pension problems were the reason for the downgrade. Said outlook remains negative. 8:20--American Power Conversion is initiating a dividend of 8c/sh. 8:11--UTStarcom won a $28M order from China Netcom. 8:09--LSI Logic was upgraded to equal-weight from underweight at Lehman. Price target was raised to $8 from $6. 8:06--Fairchild Semiconductor was downgraded to equal-weight from overweight at Lehman. 8:04--Qatar finally confirmed that they are ordering 18 planes from Airbus worth $5.1B. There was speculation on the order early Tuesday. It was expected to be announced by yesterday. It was originally speculated to be worth about $4.5B. 8:03--Forest Lab’s said their Alzheimer drug didn’t aid cognition. 7:51--GE estimates are also being cut now at JP Morgan. They were cut earlier by Merrill Lynch. 7:49--Wyeth was upgraded to buy at Merrill Lynch. 7:47--Leapfrog was downgraded to neutral at Merrill Lynch. 7:44--Biolase will offer 2.5 million shares of stock in a secondary offering. The proceeds will be used to repay $1.8M in debt. 7:42--EDS was downgraded to neutral at Soundview. EDS announced late yesterday that it is cutting 2,700 jobs, or 2% of its workforce. 7:40--AG Edwards Q1 EPS was 35c/sh vs. 30c/sh consensus. Revenues were $552.0M vs. $523.5M consensus. 7:38--Bed Bath & Beyond was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Wachovia. 7:35--St. Jude Medical was downgraded to sector outperform from sector perform at CIBC. 7:31--The decline in claims is a positive for the stock market and small negative for bonds. Bonds will find some solace because claims remain above the “magic” 400K level. The current account indicates that less bonds will have to be bought by foreigners to finance the US current account deficit which is bond bearish. 7:30--Initial Claims were -13K to 421K vs. 425K expected. Last week was revised to 434K from 430K previously. 7:30--Q1 Current Account Balance was -$136.1B vs. -$142.0B consensus. 7:27--Wyeth was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. 7:25--CVS was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. 7:21--Lehman Q2 EPS was $1.67/sh vs. $1.17/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.29B vs. $1.72B consensus. 7:19--Micron was upgraded to neutral from reduce at UBS. 7:18--Spring PCS was downgraded to sell from hold at Deutsche Bank. 7:16--GE estimates were lowered at Merrill Lynch. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +2.00, Nasdaq +4.00. -Dollar slightly higher this morning on expectations of stronger US growth. -Washington Post’s Berry said that a 50 bps rate cut is more likely than a 25 bps cut. -Yen lower after Japanese MOF officials said they are watching the yen closely. JGB market also weakened overnight. -Nikkei +0.2%, FTSE -0.7%, DAX -0.7%. Positive: -Micron Q3 loss ex-items was about -36c/sh vs. -53c/sh consensus. Revenues were $733M vs. $730.5M consensus. -Jabil Circuit Q3 EPS was 19c/sh ex-items vs. 18c/sh consensus. Q3 revenue was $1.2M which was as expected. Guided Q4 EPS to 19c-21c/sh vs. 20c/sh consensus. Guided Q4 revenue to $1.25B-$1.30B vs. $1.29B consensus. -Entergis Q3 EPS was 5c/sh vs. 3c/sh consensus. Company affirmed forward guidance. -GTech Q1 EPS was 68c/sh vs. 63c/sh consensus. Company raised guidance. -Michael’s Stores declared its first dividend. Upgrades: - Negative: -Freddie Mac could restate earnings by $1B-$3B according to WSJ. -Chicago Mercantile priced a 1.22 mln share secondary offering. Downgrades: -Morgan Stanley was downgraded to underweight from neutral at JP Morgan. -Schering-Plough was downgraded to equal-weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley. Neutral: -Bed Bath & Beyond Q1 EPS was 19c/sh vs. 18c/sh consensus. Revenues were $893.9M vs. $911.1M consensus.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Mercoledì 18 Giugno 2003 17:09

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Wednesday June 18th 7:58--Hasbro was downgraded to hold from buy at Jeffries. 7:45--Bear Stearns Q2 EPS was $2.05/sh vs. $1.72/sh consensus. Company is boosting its quarterly dividend to 20c from 17c/sh. Net EPS number is $2.59/sh but includes a $1.04/sh gain. 7:41--CNET is withdrawing the $100M convertible offering it announced just yesterday. 7:38--Clorox lowered Q4 EPS guidance to 67c-68c/sh vs. 69c/sh consensus. Said that wet spring weather has reduced consumer demand. 7:30--Apple Computer was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham. 7:24--Morgan Stanley’s net number was 55c/sh. Ex-items, it was 71c/sh which beat consensus by 3c/sh (7:17 comment). Company said that the business environment is still ‘very difficult.’ Company took a $287M pretax aircraft asset impairment charge. 7:22--Allergan was downgraded to neutral from overweight at JP Morgan. 7:19--EDS affirmed its guidance of 33c-38c/sh vs. 34c/sh consensus. 7:19--Millennium Chemical was downgraded to underperform from outperform at Smith Barney. 7:17--Morgan Stanley Q2 EPS was 71c/sh vs. 68c/sh consensus. 7:16--Best Buy raised Q2 EPS guidance to 27c-32c/sh vs. 27c/sh consensus but affirmed full-year EPS guidance. 7:14--Baker Hughes was downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America. 7:11--EDS said they will take a full-year charge of $425M-$475M for asset write-downs and restructuring. 7:05--Best Buy Q1 EPS was 21c/sh vs. 20c/sh consensus. 7:03--Eastman Kodak lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 5c-25c/sh vs. 60c-80c/sh previously guided. Sees continuing operations guidance of 25c-35c/sh. 7:03--The New York Times lowered its Q2 EPS guidance to 43c-47c/sh vs. 54c/s consensus. 7:01--Electronics For Imaging raised its Q2 EPS guidance to 15c-16c/sh vs. 14c/sh consensus. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +0.00, Nasdaq +2.00. -The dollar is sharply higher against the euro based on continued speculation that the Fed will not cut rate by 50 bps or perhaps not at all. That speculation started with yesterday’s CPI and housing starts data. -BOE MPC minutes showed a 6-3 vote to leave rates unchanged. -Iraqi soldiers staged a violent protest in Baghdad. Two protesters were killed and two were wounded by US soldiers. -May Book-to-Bill ratio was -1.0% to 0.89 -Microsoft fell to the third largest company based on market cap behind ExxonMobil and Pfizer. -Nikkei +0.7%, FTSE +0.4%, DAX +0.1%. Positive: -Oracle is raising its bid for PeopleSoft to $19.50/sh or $6.3B (even after Larry Ellison said he would not do so). Oracle also filing suit against PeopleSoft and JD Edwards. -Actuant Q3 EPS was 82c/sh vs. 72c/sh consensus. Company lowered Q4 EPS guidance to 75c-80c/sh vs. 83c/sh consensus but affirmed full-year guidance. Upgrades: -Watson Pharmaceutical was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Piper Jaffray. -AMR and America West were upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. Negative: -Leggett & Platt lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 22c-25c/sh vs. 30c/sh consensus. Lowered full-year EPS guidance to $1.05-$1.20/sh vs. $1.20/sh consensus. -Tupperware lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 20c-23c/sh vs. 31c/sh consensus. Downgrades: -Electronic Arts was downgraded to peer perform from outperform at Bear Stearns. -Host Marriott was downgraded to reduce from neutral at UBS. -UT Starcom was downgraded to sell from buy at Deutsche Bank. -MedImmune was downgraded to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank. -Mattel was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. Neutral: -

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Martedì 17 Giugno 2003 17:10

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Tuesday June 17th 7:41--Altria’s price target was raised at CSFB. 7:38--Payless Shoes cut its Q2 EPS guidance to a nominal loss/slight profit vs. +31c/sh consensus. 7:32--Keep in mind, April housing starts were 1.632M, so the increase in May is sharp. 7:31--The gain in housing starts is bullish for stocks/bearish for bonds. The CPI data are slightly stronger-than-expected, but not enough to change the Fed’s mind on rate cuts. 7:30--May CPI was unchanged vs. -0.1% expected. Core CPI was +0.3% vs. +0.1% expected. 7:30--May Housing Starts were +6.1% to 1.732M vs. 1.700M expected. Housing Permits were +3.7% to 1.788M vs. 1.724M previously. 7:23--Bausch & Lomb was downgraded to inline from outperform at Goldman Sachs. 7:19--Pfizer raised 2004 EPS guidance to $2.13/sh vs. $2.06/sh consensus. Revenue guidance was raised to $54.0B vs. $52.3B consensus. 7:12--Columbia Sportswear was downgraded to sector perform from outperform at RBC Capital Markets. 7:10--Qatar will likely buy $4.5B worth of Airbus aircraft. The major order will be announced on Wednesday. 7:09--Morgan Stanley’s chief economist Galbraith is cutting his stock weighting to 65% from 70%. Raised cash weighting to 15% from 5%. Bond weight was cut to 20% from 25%. 7:02--Circuit City Q1 loss was -21c/sh vs. -24c/sh consensus. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +2.00, Nasdaq +2.00. -Dollar up slightly on thoughts of greater US economic growth sparked by rate cut expectations. -German ZEW survey was 35.5 vs. 29.5. -Japanese downgraded its economic outlook in its June report. Japan’s Econ Min Takenaka said the Japanese economy is at a turning point and that he doesn’t see the economy worsening. Said the economy is on a plateau amid an overall recovery. -Following market speculation yesterday that China would free-float its yuan currency (which is pegged to the dollar), the Chinese government denied that it is considering it. Speculation arose yesterday after US Treas Sec Snow backed such a move to a freely floated yuan. -Crude oil down slightly after Norwegian oil minister said that oil demand is just not what was expected. -Nikkei +2.2%, FTSE +0.6%, DAX +0.9%. Positive: -Progress Software Q2 EPS was 18c/sh vs. 17c/sh consensus. Revenues were $77.6M vs. $75.7M consensus. -JM Smucker Q4 EPS was 51c/sh vs. 47c/sh consensus. -Amdocs’ billing solution was selected by Vodafone Hungary. Upgrades: -Stericycle was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. -Northwest Airlines and Airtran were upgraded to overweight from equalweight at Lehman. -Charter Communication was upgraded to neutral from reduce at UBS. Negative: -Tyco is restating already disclosed charges. -Biomara’s breast cancer drug failed to meet expectations in testing. -Lattice Semiconductor announced a $200M convertible offering. -Biomarin filed a $250M convertible offering. -MGI Pharmaceutical filed a $150M mixed shelf offering. Downgrades: -AT&T was downgraded to sell from neutral at Merrill Lynch. -Harley-Davidson was downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America. -Delta Airlines was downgraded to equal-weight from overweight. -Maytag’s debt was downgraded at Moody’s. -Trimeris was downgraded to peer perform from outperform at Bear Stearns. -Tyco was downgraded to hold from buy at Legg Mason. Neutral: -Pier 1 Q1 EPS was 21c/sh which was as expected. Company affirmed forward guidance.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Lunedì 16 Giugno 2003 17:24

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Monday June 16th 8:22--PeopleSoft and JD Edwards are reaffirming their commitment to combine. Said they may amend the deal to speed the closing. 8:20--Parker-Hannifin was upgraded to outperform from neutral at CSFB. 8:00--Alliance Gaming was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. 7:59--AmerisourceBergen’s price target was raised at Merrill Lynch. 7:57--American Express confirmed that it is acquiring Thread Needle Asset Mgmt holdings from Zurich. 7:56--Shuffle Master was downgraded to hold from buy at Wells Fargo. 7:55--Comcast was downgraded to hold from buy at Legg Mason. 7:54--Hamas leader said now is not the time for peace with Israel. 7:43--priceline.com declared a 1-for-6 reverse stock split. Company then raised guidance to 12c-18c/sh vs. 10c/sh consensus. 7:41--Choice Hotels was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. 7:38--Alkermes and Eli Lilly announced positive phase 1 data for its growth hormone. 7:36--Applied Biosystems was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Lehman. 7:32--Boeing won a lease for 26 777-300ER jets from Emirates worth $6.8B. The lease will be conducted by GE Capital Aviation Services. Emirates ordered $12.5B for 41 jets from Airbus. 7:26--ICOS announced a $250M convertible offering. 7:19--British Petroleum and ExxonMobil were downgraded to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank. 7:19--Royal Dutch was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. 7:17--Checkpoint Software was upgraded to overweight from equalweight. 7:15--Amgen announced that its rheumatoid arthritis offered significant relief to patients. 7:09--Frontier Airlines was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq -2.00. -Egyptian mediators summoned all Palestinian militia on Monday, and said that a truce may be near. -Yen down slightly after Japanese intervention took place overnight. Mizoguchi said he sees no reason for the yen to strengthen. -British Pound sharply higher after BRC retail sales showed a +15% rise. -Bonds slightly higher on continued talk of Fed rate cuts. Primary dealer survey showed 13 of 22 expect a 25 bps cut on June 25th while 9 of 22 expect a 50 bps cut. -Empire State survey was +26.8 vs. +8.75 expected and vs. +10.6 previously. -Nikkei -1.6%, FTSE +0.1%, DAX -0.1%. Positive: -E-Loan raised Q2 EPS guidance to 10c-11c/sh vs. 8c/sh consensus. Raised full-year EPS guidance to 35c/sh vs. 29c/sh consensus. -Amylin Pharmaceuticals announced positive Phase 3 trials for its diabetes drug. -Cell Therapeutics received fast-track approval for their lung cancer treatment. Upgrades: -Yahoo was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Soundview. -PMC-Sierra was upgraded to sector perform from underperform at CIBC. Negative: -Priority Healthcare lowered Q2 EPS guidance to $1.16-$1.22/sh vs. $1.29/sh consensus. -IBM subject of Sunday NY Times report that the company may pose bigger risks to investors than the company has disclosed. -Iron Mountain announced a $150M debt offering. -Toll Brothers CEO filed to sell 1 mln shares. Downgrades: -Allergan was downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America. Neutral: -Tribune affirmed guidance.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Venerdì 13 Giugno 2003 17:14

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Friday June 13th 8:01--AT&T was downgraded to underperform from hold at Jeffries. 7:52--Several generic drugmakers’ price targets were raised at Bank of America. 7:48--Northrop Grumman is affirming full-year EPS guidance of $3.80-$4.20/sh vs. $4.00/sh consensus. Affirmed full-year revenues of $25B-$26B vs. $25.5B consensus. 7:47--Robert Mondavi was downgraded to reduce from neutral at UBS. 7:44--USF lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 24c-34c/sh vs. 46c/sh consensus. 7:42--GM’s long-term debt rating was downgraded one level to Baa1 at Moody’s. 7:40--Novartis AG won FDA approval for its Parkinson’s treatment. 7:38--Biomarin was downgraded to outperform from market perform at SG Cowen. 7:37--Omnivision filed to sell 3.1 mln shares. 7:35--Ameritrade raised its earnings guidance. 7:32--The numbers are slightly positive for bonds because PPI was a tenth below expectations. That’s about it. The number is very close to being a neutral for all markets. 7:30--May PPI was -0.3% vs. -0.2% expected. Core PPI was +0.1% vs. +0.1% expected. Intermediate Goods -0.8%. Crude Goods +1.7%. Passenger cars were +0.2%. Computers were -0.6%. Energy prices were -2.6%. 7:30--April Trade Balance was -$42.03 vs. -$42.0B expected. Exports were $81.0B vs. $125.7B. Imports were $123.03B vs. $82.84B. 7:23--Illinois Tool affirmed EPS guidance. 7:20--AT&T Wireless received cautious comments from Bear Stearns. 7:18--Mandalay Resorts was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. 7:17--El Paso was downgraded to sell from hold at AG Edwards. 7:16--ConocoPhillips was downgraded to hold from buy at AG Edwards. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq -1.00. -The House passed $82B in tax cuts that deal with child tax credits. Action is awaited in the senate. -Euro down slightly on lack of talk by ECB members of further rate cuts. Worries over Germany’s growth also being cited this morning. -BOJ Gov. Fukui said that the outlook for the economy was unchanged. -Nikkei +0.7%, FTSE +0.2%, DAX -0.1%. Positive: -Oracle Q4 EPS was 16c/sh vs. 14c/sh consensus. Revenues were $2.83B vs. $2.75B consensus. Oracle’s Q4 operating margin was 45% vs. 44%. Oracle’s CFO said business trends are getting better. -Honeywell won a $1.3B aircraft order. Upgrades: -Oracle was upgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America. It was also upgraded at Prudential. -Adobe was upgraded at WR Hambrecht. -Federated was upgraded at UBS. Negative: -Adobe Q2 EPS was 28c/sh vs. 26c/sh consensus. Revenues were $320.1M vs. $312.9M consensus. Guided Q3 revenue to $300M-$315M vs. $309M consensus. Guided Q3 EPS to 22c-25c/sh vs. 26c/sh consensus. -Delphi lowered Q2 earnings guidance to $85M-$95M from $160M-$200M previously. -Winnebago Industries Q3 EPS was 50c/sh vs. 71c/sh consensus. -Exelixis will sell 10 mln shares in a secondary offering. Downgrades: -Intel was downgraded to buy from neutral at Deutsche Bank. -El Paso was downgraded to sell from hold at AG Edwards. -Beazer Homes was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. -Darden Restaurants was downgraded at Lehman. -General Dynamics was downgraded at Merrill Lynch. Neutral: -

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Giovedì 12 Giugno 2003 16:52

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Thursday June 12th 7:50--Goodrich’s price target was raised to $25 from $20 at Bank of America. 7:46--Freddie Mac was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Wachovia. 7:41--Israel’s Sharon said he won’t wait for Abbas to stop militants. 7:38--US military said an F-16 crashed yesterday southwest of Baghdad and the pilot ejected safely. Said attack helicopters were engaging Iraqi irregular forces. 7:35--CNBC commentator said numbers are in line but help slightly the argument for monetary stimulus by the Fed. 7:31--The data seem to be a bust for the markets. Retail sales were very near expectations. Initial claims were down a net 12K, and the often ignored import prices fell. We still haven’t seen business inventories. 7:30--May Retail Sales were +0.1% vs. unchanged expected. Sales ex-autos were +0.1% vs. +0.2% expected. 7:30--Initial Claims were -17K to 430K vs. 425K expected. Last week was revised +5K to 447 from 442K previously. 7:30--April Business Inventories were _ vs. +0.2% expected. 7:30--May Import Prices were -0.3% vs. unchanged expected. Prices ex-oil were -0.2%. 7:25--Charles River Q2 EPS was 30c/sh vs. 24c/sh consensus. Revenues were $40M vs. $35M consensus. 7:23--Baxter filed a $1B securities shelf. 7:19--Whirlpool affirmed full-year ’03 EPS guidance of $5.90-$6.10/sh which is above consensus of $5.56/sh. 7:17--Angiotech Pharmaceutical’s price target was raised to $46 from $22 at Lehman. 7:15--Esimates for PeopleSoft and JD Edwards were reduced at CIBC due to their potential merger. 7:13--Oracle’s debt outlook was downgraded to negative from stable at Moody’s. 7:12--Coca-Cola Entertainment was upgraded to in-line from underperform at Smith Barney. 7:11--United Technologies is acquiring Chubb PLC for $1B. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +6.00, Nasdaq +8.00. -US jets struck a terrorist training camp in Iraq. -ECB’s Duisenberg said that rates could be cut even if inflation remains below 2%. Yesterday, he said it was too early to discuss rate cuts. -SIA is projecting 16.8% growth for 2004 global semiconductor sales. Sees global semiconductor sales +10.1% in 2003. Projects annual growth of +9.8% from 2003-2006. -Nikkei +0.3%, FTSE +0.7%, DAX +2.2%. Positive: -Omnivision Q4 EPS was 24c/sh vs. 18c/sh consensus. Revenues were $39.9M vs. $32.4M consensus. Company guided Q1 EPS to 18c-19c/sh vs. 19c/sh consensus. Guided Q1 revenues to $41M-$43M vs. $36M consensus. Company announced a proposed public offering of stock. -Autozone will repurchase an additional $500M in stock. -Kinder Morgan is boosting its quarterly dividend to 40c/sh from 15c/sh. -General Dynamics won a 10-yr $1.95B contract from the military. Upgrades: -Boston Scientific was upgraded to buy from hold at Prudential. Negative: -H&R Block Q2 EPS was $2.71/sh vs. $2.83/sh consensus. Revenue was $1.92B vs. $1.88B previously (there are no estimates). -Intermune lowered full-year revenue guidance to $145M-$165M from $170M-$195M previously guided. -Winn-Dixie lowered guidance. -Heinz Q4 EPS was 52c/sh vs. 53c/sh consensus. Company affirmed full-year guidance. Downgrades: -Starwood and Hilton hotels were downgraded at Merrill Lynch. -Novellus was downgraded to reduce from neutral at UBS. -MedImmune was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. Neutral: -

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Mercoledì 11 Giugno 2003 17:06

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Wednesday June 11th 7:58--Sprint PCS was downgraded to outperform from strong buy at SG Cowan. 7:56--Taiwan Semiconductor was downgraded to neutral from buy at Merrill Lynch. 7:42--Ericsson was downgraded to sell at Fulcrum. 7:38--Horizon Organic was downgraded to hold from buy at AG Edwards. 7:28--Amgen’s price target was raised at CSFB. 7:24--CTS Corp was downgraded to hold from buy at Needham. 7:22--Silicon Labs’ EPS estimates were lowered at Morgan Stanley. 7:04--Kuwaiti Oil Minister said OPEC may cut production in July if the price is down. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq -8.00. -Euro up after ECB’s Duisenberg said on TV that it is too early to discuss further rate cuts. -German Industrial Production was -1.0% which was weaker-than-expected. -British Pound up despite UK Jobless Claims +9K, which was higher-than-expected. -Israel’s Sharon vowed to continue pursuit of militants. -A US paratrooper was killed by hostile fire in Iraq late yesterday. -Nikkei +1.2%, FTSE +0.8%, DAX +0.9%. Positive: -Lennar Q2 EPS was $2.05/sh vs. $1.70/sh consensus. Company raised guidance. -Scripps said they expect Q2 EPS to be near the upper end of its forecast. Upgrades: -IBM was added to Merrill Lynch’s focus list. -St Jude Medical was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. -Earthlink was upgraded at First Albany. Negative: -Texas Instruments lowered Q2 EPS guidance to 6c/sh plus or minus a few cents vs. 8c/sh consensus. Lowered revenue guidance to +5% sequentially vs. +7% previously guided. -Cymer lowered Q2 revenue guidance to $58M-$61M vs. $67.6M previously guided. -Alcan Aluminum filed a $1B mixed shelf. -Safeway will cut 940 of its 7,000 administrative jobs. Downgrades: -Texas Instruments was downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America. -Texas Instruments was downgraded to sell from hold at Deutsche Bank. -Semiconductor sector was downgraded to inline from attractive at Morgan Stanley. -Vodafone PLC was downgraded to inline from outperform at Goldman Sachs. -UTI Worldwide was downgraded to neutral from overweight at JP Morgan. Neutral: -Cognizant Tech affirmed its Q2 guidance. -Microchip affirmed its Q1 revenue guidance.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Martedì 10 Giugno 2003 17:17

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Tuesday June 10th 8:02--Cumulus Media was downgraded to neutral at Merrill Lynch. 8:00--Ericsson was downgraded to sell from hold at Wells Fargo. 7:57--Nokia was downgraded to sell from hold at Wells Fargo. 7:38--Motorola extended its supplier agreement with Broadcom for set-top cable box chips through 2004. 7:32--JetBlue ordered 100 Embraer 190 jet aircraft for $3B. 7:29--Wal-Mart is rolling out its own rental DVD program for $15.54. The program would compete with Netflix, which slightly raised guidance yesterday afternoon. 7:26--Boeing was upgraded to buy from neutral at Bank of America. 7:18--Homebuilders price targets were raised at Lehman. 7:17--Nokia said they see no sign of a market recovery yet in networks. Sees phone market shipments up slightly in Q2 vs. Q1. 7:12--L-3 will pay $90M for a Bombardier unit. 7:11--Business Objects’ intelligence platform was selected by KMart. 7:02--Nokia affirmed its Q2 guidance, however also said that its Q2 sales growth in handsets will be at the lower end of its forecast 4%-12%. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +3.00, Nasdaq +4.00. -British Pound higher after Tony Blair said he thinks there could be a referendum on euro adoption in 2004. Tony Blair also said the cabinet will be involved in future decisions on the euro. Additionally in UK, the trade gap narrowed. -Japanese Machinery orders were -5.0%, but yen is ignoring it. -SEC’s Donaldson said there is a disconnect between corporate salaries and companies; suggesting that CEO’s are overpaid. -US troops killed 4 attackers in eastern Afghanistan. -Sec of Defense Rumsfeld reiterated that time is needed in WMD search in Iraq. -There is talk that Iraq will increase production by 1.5M bbls. -Nikkei -0.4%, FTSE -0.1%, DAX +1.2%. Positive: -Netflix slightly raised its Q2 revenue guidance to $62M-$64M from $60M-$64M and vs. $63.5M consensus. Company also raised its income guidance. -Oracle said that PeopleSoft is threatening a lawsuit. -UTI Worldwide Q1 EPS was 26c/sh vs. 23c/sh consensus. Revenues were $326.8M vs. $321.5M consensus. -Dell’s reselling agreement with EMC was extended an additional two years to 2008. -IBM and Infineon are jointly developing a new MRAM chip to replace DRAM and SRAM. -Cell Therapeutics is advancing one of its drugs to Phase II testing due to successful testing so far. -Deutsche Bank said it has no intention of selling its stake in DaimlerChrysler. It owns 20% of DaimlerChrysler. Upgrades: -Jones Apparel was upgraded at Merrill Lynch. -American Barrick Gold was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JP Morgan. -SAP AG was upgraded at UBS. It was upgraded yesterday at Soundview. -Caremark, Advance PCS, and Express Scripts were upgraded at Piper Jaffray. -Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was upgraded to equal-weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley. Negative: -US Judge blocked SBC rate hike okayed by IL legislature. -American Woodmark Q4 EPS was 91c/sh which matched expectations, but company lowered Q1 EPS to $0.95-$1.00/sh vs. $1.05/sh consensus. -Mercury Interactive will acquire a private company for $225M. -Guitar Center announced a $90M convertible offering. Company affirmed its Q2 EPS guidance. Downgrades: -Gilette, Colgate, and Alberto-Culver were downgraded to neutral from buy at Merrill Lynch. -Applied Materials, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, and Novellus were downgraded to neutral from buy at Bank of America. -Newmont Mining was downgraded to neutral from overweight at JP Morgan. -Biogen was downgraded to reduce from neutral at UBS. -Chubb was downgraded to underperform from market perform at Wachovia. -Ciena and Tellabs were downgraded to reduce from neutral at UBS. Neutral: -Oracle bumped up its earnings release date to Jun 12th from Jun 17th.

 

  By: LaSignoraMaria on Lunedì 09 Giugno 2003 17:08

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Monday June 9th 8:03--Northrop Grumman affirmed its full-year EPS guidance of $3.80-$4.20/sh vs. $4.02/sh consensus. 8:01--General Dynamics is buying Veridian for $1.5B. 7:58--Business Objects was downgraded to sector perform from sector outperform at RBC Capital. 7:55--Smith Int’l was downgraded to underweight from neutral at JP Morgan. 7:53--Axcelis Tech affirmed its Q2 loss of 10c-12c/sh vs. -10c/sh consensus. Said revenues would be $120M-$130M vs. $81.8M consensus. 7:49--Spinnaker Exploration was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. 7:46--More on Freddie Mac -- Its CEO, COO, and CFO were all terminated. COO was terminated because of serious questions about his cooperation and candor involving the audit process. Said the restatement may not be completed until later in Q3. 7:39--CNBC cited a John Berry article as a reason for the bond rally, but we can’t find any signs of one. There was one last Wednesday that CNBC maybe forgot to preface. 7:36--The resignation of the Freddie Mac CFO and an impending probe of the company is being spun as a positive for the credit markets as a potential for rate cuts if a crisis develops. 7:35--Providian was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Raymond James after the stock reached its $10 price target. 7:32--Safeway was added to JP Morgan’s Focus list. 7:29--Alcoa was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. 7:22--GlobalSantaFe was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan. 7:20--Trimtabs bearish on the market, saying that corporate insider selling is running $2B/day. Said hot money is supporting the market. 7:19--SAP AG was upgraded to outperform at Soundview. 7:16--Alcoa was downgraded to reduce from neutral at UBS. 7:14--Adobe was downgraded to underperform from in-line at Smith Barney. 7:12--Masco was downgraded to neutral from outperform at CSFB. However, price target was raised to $27 from $25. 7:04--Crude Oil -48c/bbl after OPEC officials suggested that producers would defer production cuts until later this year because prices are rising and Iraqi output has been delayed. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq -1.00. -British pound is lower after UK Treasury released 18 studies that suggest that the pound must fall substantially before the UK could join the euro. The studies were released hours before Finance Minister Brown was due to present the results of the 5 economic tests. -4 were killed in Israel on Saturday after a suicide bombing. -Nikkei +0.4%, FTSE -0.3%, DAX -0.1%. Positive: -E*Trade will offer portable mortgages. -Briggs & Stratton received positive comments in Barron’s. Upgrades: -SBC was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Lehman. -Sun Micro was upgraded to in-line from underperform at Goldman Sachs. -Sprint PCS was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch. Negative: -Motorola cut its Q2 EPS guidance to break-even vs. +4c/sh consensus. Lowered revenue guidance to $6.0B-$6.2B vs. $6.4B consensus. Company said guidance was lowered due to SARS and excess inventories. -Remec Q1 loss was -12c/sh vs. -11c/sh consensus. Revenues were $81.3M vs. $77.8M consensus. Downgrades: -Lehman downgraded ADCT, NT, SONS, and TLAB to underweight from equal-weight due to excessive valuation. -QLogic was downgraded at Goldman Sachs. -Checkpoint Software was downgraded to underperform from neutral at CSFB. -RSA Security was downgraded to neutral from outperform at CSFB. -Integrated oil sector was downgraded to negative from neutral at Lehman. Neutral: -WorldCom will ask permission to exit bankruptcy this week, which is before the full extent of its accounting problems are known.

 

  By: Moderatore on Giovedì 05 Giugno 2003 17:18

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Thursday June 5th 8:13--BP was downgraded to inline from outperform at Goldman Sachs. 8:05--Sirius Satellite completed its secondary offering of 75 mln shares at $1.80. Offering was announced earlier this week and was done because competitor XM Satellite also raised cash. 8:03--Convergys announced a multi-year customer care agreement with Comcast for its internet and phone operations. 7:58--Symbol Tech was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JP Morgan. 7:50--Finish Line raised Q1 EPS guidance to 26c-28c/sh vs. 22c/sh consensus. Raised full-year EPS guidance to $1.15-$1.20/sh vs. $1.14/sh consensus. 7:45--Procter & Gamble sees Q4 sales growth at the high end of range and sees EPS equal with consensus view. Said they are benefiting from weaker dollar. 7:30--Initial Jobless Claims were +16K to 442K vs. 420K expected. Last week was revised to +2K to 426K vs. 424K previously. The number is a net +18K, which suggests that the labor market deteriorated. It will be bullish for credit markets and bearish for stocks. 7:25--Veritas Software was downgraded to hold from buy at Legg Mason. 7:21--Best Buy raised Q1 revenue guidance to $4.67B vs. $4.53B consensus. Raised EPS guidance to 19c-21c/sh vs. 17c/sh consensus. 7:16--Gymboree affirmed Q2 loss expectations of 2c-4c/sh. Consensus is -2c/sh. Company also affirmed full-year EPS guidance of 94c-1.00/sh vs. 98c/sh consensus. 7:12--Carmax raised Q1 EPS guidance to 34c/sh from 30c/sh consensus. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P -1.00, Nasdaq -1.00. -ECB cut its benchmark interest rate 50 bps to 2.00% from 2.50%. -BOE left rates unchanged at 3.75% - a 48 year low. -Richmond Fed President Broaddus said that he does not see deflation now. Said that the Fed could ease further if deflation develops. -Japanese official said that the Japanese do not need to buy foreign bonds. Shiokawa said that the Japanese favor FX stability. -Nikkei +1.2%, FTSE -0.1%, DAX -0.7%. Positive: -CSK Auto reported Q1 EPS of 17c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were light at $377M vs. $383M consensus. Company raised full-year guidance, however, to $1.03-$1.06 vs. $1.01/sh consensus. -Wal-Mart May same store sales were +2.1%. -Tommy Hilfiger Q4 EPS was 31c/sh vs. 28c/sh consensus. Revenues were $498M vs. $473M consensus. Company raised forward guidance. -Bebe Stores raised its Q4 EPS guidance to 6c-9c/sh vs. 3c-6c/sh consensus. -Brinker Int’l affirmed its Q4 EPS forecast of 55c-56c/sh. Company is boosting its buyback by $100M. Upgrades: -Advo was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan. -Sprint PCS was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wachovia. Negative: -Albertson’s Q1 EPS was 47c/sh vs. 50c/sh consensus. Company lowered its full-year profit forecast to $1.70-$1.75/sh vs. $2.01/sh consensus. -Roadway cut Q2 EPS guidance to 33c/sh vs. 73c/sh consensus. -Maxim Integrated lowered Q4 revenue guidance while affirmed EPS guidance. -Western Wireless is considering a $100M convertible bond offering. Downgrades: -Johnson & Johnson’s price target was lowered to $49 from $59 at Morgan Stanley. -EDS was downgraded to underperform from inline at Smith Barney. -SAP AG was downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Lehman. -Intuit was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. -McGraw Hill was downgraded to neutral from buy at Merrill Lynch. Neutral: -Xilinx said June qtr revenue will be up 1%-5% sequentially. Q4 was $305.5M so it equates to Q1 being $308M-$320M vs. $315M consensus. Target gross margin remains about 60%. Company is lowering its FY04 tax rate. -Fairchild Semiconductor reaffirmed its Q1 EPS guidance.

 

  By: Moderatore on Venerdì 30 Maggio 2003 17:02

Aggiorniamo il commento finanziario americano migliore che abbiamo: Friday May 30th 7:54--Halliburton said that it has reached a class action lawsuit settlement. Said the settlement is immaterial and will not affect earnings. 7:50--Scientific-Atlanta was downgraded to buy at Needham. 7:43--Schering-Plough is saying that it received a letter from the US Atty’s office that it is the target of a federal grand jury investigation. Said it has already released this information in Nov and Feb. Probe relates to mis-branded drugs, sales of unapproved drugs. 7:39--Vintage Petroleum was upgraded at CIBC. 7:30--April Personal Income was unchanged vs. unchanged expected. PCE was -0.1% vs. +0.1% expected. March Personal Income was unrevised, while PCE was revised to +0.8% from +0.4%. The data are slightly negative for the bond market and slightly positive for stocks, but rarely have a large effect on the markets. 7:22--Penn National Gaming was downgraded to neutral from buy at Merrill Lynch. 7:18--Duke Energy is affirming its EPS guidance and its dividend. 7:11--The Japanese bought $10B in treasuries in the last week and $40B in the last four weeks. 7:09--Monster was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. 7:02--Angiotech Pharmaceutical was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. 7:00--Stocks are: S&P +2.00, Nasdaq +3.00. -Pres. Bush said the US policy on the dollar is in favor of a strong dollar. The Pres made the comments on his way to Russia. Said he’s confident that US economic policies will result in a stronger dollar. -Japanese government will take control of Esona Holdings after a $16.5B bailout. Esona is the country’s 5th largest bank. -Japanese unemployment was unchanged at 5.4%. Consumption was -1.0%. CPI was -0.4% vs. -0.6%. -Japanese Finance Minister Shiokawa talked down the yen by saying that he considers current levels too strong relative to purchasing power parity. Thought dollar should be at 150 yen. -Nikkei +0.6%, FTSE -0.6%, DAX +0.9%. Positive: -AOL +4% after AOL and Microsoft agreed to collaborate on digital media initiatives. Will settle pending litigation. MSFT will pay AOL $750M and license media technology. -Dollar Tree Q1 EPS was 29c/sh vs. 27c/sh consensus. Revenues were $615.6M vs. $611.5M consensus. Company slightly lowered Q2 revenue guidance. -Michael’s Stores Q1 EPS was 30c/sh vs. 29c/sh consensus. Revenues were $656.4M vs. $655.1M consensus. -JD Edwards Q2 pro forma EPS was 1c/sh which was as expected. Revenues were $203.5M vs. $202.1M consensus. -McData Q1 EPS was 6c/sh vs. 5c/sh consensus. Revenue was $103.2M vs. $102.4M consensus. Company guided Q2 EPS to 6c-7c/sh vs. 6c/sh consensus. Guided Q2 revenue to $106M-$110M vs. $106.2M consensus. -SLM Corp is doubling its dividend to 51c/sh from 25c/sh. -Home Depot will repurchase $500M in stock. -Guitar Center received positive comments in Business Week. Upgrades: -Norfolk Southern was upgraded to equal weight at Lehman. -NVidia was upgraded to buy from reduce at UBS. Negative: -Mandalay Resorts Q1 pro forma EPS was 70c/sh vs. 79c/sh consensus. Revenues were $616.5M vs. $641.4M consensus. -3Com lowered Q4 revenues to $165M-$175M vs. $208M consensus. -Bank One will buy Zurich Life for $500M in cash. Downgrades: -Quest Software was downgraded to neutral from outperform. -Dow Chemical was downgraded to equal weight at Lehman. -Altiris was downgraded to neutral at CSFB. -Citigroup was downgraded to outperform from strong buy at Piper Jaffray. -Conmed was downgraded to neutral from buy at UBS. -Xilinx and PMC Sierra were downgraded at Morgan Stanley. Neutral: -Molex will cut 550 jobs. Will take a Q4 restructuring charge of $38M-$40M pretax. Will downsize two facilities and close two facilities in Europe. Expects Q2 EPS ex-items of 15c-16c/sh vs. 14c/sh consensus. Expects Q4 revenue at the higher end of its forecast. Expects full-year 58c-59c/sh vs. 57c/sh consensus. -Novellus reaffirmed its Q2 guidance of 5c/sh and $238M in revenues. -Gateway reaffirmed its EPS guidance and said it will not go private. -Integrated Devices reaffirmed its Q1 EPS guidance.