Navivest Stocks and Options Blog

Stock Market Report – 04/26/10

Apr 26, 2010 Earnings, Stock Market

Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed off the highs of the day, the trading range for the day was 11,187.65 -11,258.01, the index kept up its slow creep to the upside, extending the number of winning sessions to six straight and making it thirty three up days out of the last forty one sessions. Sixteen Dow stocks closed higher, with fourteen falling. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 closed marginally lower.

The Dow finished the session up 0.75 points to close at 11,205.03; the NASDAQ lost 7.20 points to close at 2,522.95, while the S&P 500 was off by 5.23 points, finishing the session at 1,212.05.

Caterpillar (CAT) was the stand out and kept the Dow in positive territory for the day. The stock rallied $2.87 to $71.65, a 4.17% gain on the company’s 2010 Q1 results, which was released before the markets opened.

For the period, Caterpillar reported a profit of $0.36 per share, a dramatic improvement over the $0.19 loss reported in the year ago first quarter period. Excluding special items, the company reported adjusted profits of $0.50 per share, from $0.39 per share in Q1 2009. Revenue came in at $8.24 billion from $9.23 billion in Q1 2009. Analysts had been looking for the company to report earnings per share of $0.39 on revenue of $8.84 billion.

Among other Dow stocks, 3M (MMM) was up $0.86 to $87.44, IBM (IBM) added $0.74 to $130.73 and Dupont (DD) was up $0.73 to $40.95.

In Broader trading, online movie rental company Netflix (NFLX), rallied $8.44 or 8.46% to close at $108.17 on no news. Last Wednesday, the company reported earnings that sent its stock soaring from $86.98 to $100.25 on Thursday.

Whirlpool (WHR) was another big gainer, climbing $10.20 or 9.98%, to close at $112.42. The company before the bell, reported 2010 Q1 earnings of $2.13 per share, better than the $1.33 per share analysts had been looking for. Revenue came in at $4.27 billion, against forecasts of $3.79 billion.

Tags: caterpillar, dow, dupont, ibm, nasdaq, s&p 500, Stock Market, Stocks

Stocks Add Another Day of Gains

Apr 15, 2010 Company News, Earnings, Stock Market

Stocks finished yet another day higher, with all the major indices closing to the upside, although disappointing jobs numbers reported before the opening bell, put a cap on the gains.

The Labor Department reported this morning that for the week ending April 10, Initial Jobless Claims, which tracks newly unemployed workers filing for benefits for the first time, rose by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 484,000. Economists had been expecting to see a drop to 440,000 from last week’s 460,000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 21.46 points or 0.2%, to close at 11,144.57, the S&P 500 tacked on 1.02 points or 0.1% to finished at 1,211.67, NASDAQ was up 10.83 points or 0.4%, ending the session at 2,515.69 and the Russell 2000 added 1.81 points or 0.25%, to close at 724.21.

17 out of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher, with Chevron (CVX) the biggest point gainer, up $1.01 to $81.59, for 1.25%. Chevron was also the only stock to gain more than a dollar among the Dow stocks. Caterpillar (CAT) was the next best performer, adding $0.94 to $68.22, a 1.40% gain.

Intel (INTC) was the biggest percentage gainer, rising 2.98%, on a $0.70 move to $24.22 in the shares. The stock extended yesterday’s positive earnings-fueled gains in Intel’s shares. The move today, sent Intel to a twenty-month closing high.

The Coca-Cola Company (KO), was the biggest point loser, dropping $0.69 to $54.26, a 1.26% decline.

In the broader markets, positive earnings from trucking companies Landstar (LSTR) and JB Hunt (JBHT) sent transportation stocks higher. JB Hunt rose $0.64 to $37.69, while Landstar was up $2.26 to $45.48. FedEx (FDX) and UPS (UPS) were also big winners, with FedEx up $1.61 to $95.62, while UPS gained $3.44 to $68.89.

Tags: dow, nasdaq, s&p 500, Stock Market

Stocks To Watch – 02/19/2010

Feb 19, 2010 Earnings, Stock Market, Stocks

Apollo Group (APOL)

College Operator Apollo Group, better known for its University of Phoenix, is off $4.11 to $67.34, a loss of 6.34% after announcing that it is anticipating its earnings for its second quarter period ending February 28, will come in between $0.77 and $0.82, with revenue coming in at $1.07 billion. This is below current consensus estimates of revenue of $1.09 billion and an EPS of $0.94.

First Solar (FSLR)

Solar panel maker First Solar is currently the worst performer among S”&P 500 stocks. The stock is off $8.98 or 7.11% to $117.31. First Solar reaffirmed its estimates for this year, announcing that it still expects revenue to come in between $2.7 to $2.9 billion, with EPS coming in at $6.05 to $6.85. Traders were disappointed that the company did not raise its guidance

Intuit (INTU)

Intuit, which makes software for personal and small business use, is up $2.60 to $32.92, a gain of 8.58%. The company reported yesterday, that its fiscal second quarter profits rose 34%. The company also reported selling 10.9 million units of its Turbo Tax software through February 13, which was a million units ahead of last year’s sales.

JC Penney (JCP)

The mall retailer is up $1.73 to $27.69, a 6.66% gain on the company’s latest earnings results. For its latest four quarter period, JCP reported earnings of $200 million, or $0.84 per share on revenue of $5.55 billion, a 3.6% decline over the comparable period a year ago. The earnings was down from $211 million or $0.95 in the same period a year ago.
Analysts had been forecasting revenue of $5.55 billion and an EPS of $0.82.

The company also raised current year guidance, announcing that it anticipates earnings of $1.55 per share, $0.10 better that the current consensus estimates of $1.45.

Smith International (SII)

The oil and gas services company, which is currently the second best performer among the 500 S&P 500 stocks, is up $4.65 or 13.94% to $38, on a report from the Wall Street Journal, that the company is in talks to be acquired by Schlumberger (SLB).

Tags: apollo group, first solar, intuit, jc penney, s&p 500, smith international