Energy
In afternoon trading: Shares of Solazyme (SZYM) are up about 14.5%. Shares of ATP Oil & Gas (ATPG) are up about 14.5%. Shares of James River Coal (JRCC) are up about 8.75%. Shares of Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) are up about 8.25%. Shares of Berry Petroleum (BRY) are up about 8.25%. Shares of Petroleum Development (PETD) are up about 8%. Shares of HollyFrontier (HFC) are up about 7.5%. Shares of Basic Energy Services (BAS) are up about 7%.
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) was trading at $66.60 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 4.00% on the day – down 2.42% year-to-date.
Materials
Monsanto (MON) is now Neutral from Buy at Ticonderoga with an objective of $80. Norilsk Nickel (NILSY) is moved to Sell from Neutral at UBS. Ecolab (ECL) is lowered to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup. In afternoon trading: Shares of China Shen Zhou (SHZ) are up about 25.5%. Shares of China GengSheng (CHGS) are up about 10%. Shares of Avalon Rare Metals (AVL) are up about 9.5%. Shares of Senomyx (SNMX) are up about 9.25%.
The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) was trading at $33.48 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 2.64% on the day – down 12.84% year-to-date.
Industrials
Valmont (VMI) beat estimates by 6 cents on revenue of $672M. J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) reported Q3 EPS of $0.57 (in-line) and revenue of $1.17B (in-line). Fastenal Company (FAST) reported Q3 EPS of $0.33 (in-line), while beating revenue by $4.75M. Barclays begins Overweights on General Electric (GE) – $20 target price and Honeywell (HON) – $69 target price.. Its Equal Weights include 3M Co. (MMM), Tyco (TYC), and Ingersoll Rand (IR). Norfolk Southern (NSC) is now Hold from Buy at BB&T Capital. RailAmerica (RA) is reduced to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus. In afternoon trading: Shares of Excel Maritime Carriers (EXM) are up about 11%. Shares of JB Hunt are up about 7.75%. Shares of Genco Shipping (GNK) are up about 7.5%.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was trading at $32.19 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 1.80% on the day – down 7.69% year-to-date.
Consumer Discretionary
Like a misfiring midseason show, Hulu’s auction has been cancelled, with the New York Times reporting that most of the bids didn’t exceed the $2B the owners thought they could get in an IPO last year. Officially, the shareholders – which include News Corp. (NWS), Disney (DIS) and Comcast (CMCSA) – have decided to keep the online video site because of its “unique and compelling strategic value. In a world where everything seems to be highly correlated, here’s a new one: IBM’s (IBM) retail analytics practice has uncovered a strong connection between the VIX and jewelry sales. Stocks worth watching include Zale (ZLC), Signet (SIG), Tiffany (TIF), Harry Winston Diamond (HWD). Mattel (MAT) beat estimates by a penny and revenue by $30M. Sony Ericsson (SNE) (ERIC) reported Q311 pretax profit €31M (versus €27M expected) and revenue of €1.59B (versus €1.60B). Winnebago (WGO) beat FQ4 earnings beat by 8 cents on revenue of $131M. PetSmart (PETM) raised guidance, citing comparable store sales growth improving to 5.5%-6% in Q3 from a previous range of 3%-4%. The company now sees EPS for the quarter in a range of $0.46-$0.48, from a previous level of $0.41-$0.45. Gap Inc (GAP) is cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo. National Cinemedia (NCMI) is cut by both JP Morgan (Neutral from Overweight) and Piper Jaffray (also to Neutral from Overweight). In afternoon trading: Shares of National Cinemedia are down about 18.5%.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was trading at $38.67 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 1.63% on the day – up 3.37% year-to-date.
Consumer Staples
Safeway (SWY) beat estimates by 3 cents and revenue by $260M. Mead Johnson (MJN) reported preliminary Q3 revenue of $934M and EPS of $0.76-$0.78 (compared with a consensus of $925M and $0.66). Corn Products (CPO) is a new Neutral at Goldman Sachs. J.M. Smucker (SJM) is started with a Hold at Stifel Nicolaus. In afternoon trading: Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride (PPC) are up about 8.25%. Shares of Overhill Farms (OFI) are up about 7%. Shares of Diamond Foods (DMND) are up about 5.9%. Shares of Imperial Sugar (IPSU) are up about 5.6%.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was trading at $30.87 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 0.78% on the day – up 5.32% year-to-date.
Healthcare
Cantel Medical (CMN) reported FQ4 revenue of $86M and EPS of $0.27 (missing consensus by $5.4M and $0.04). Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA) is initiated with an Outperform at Rodman & Renshaw with a target of $15. In afternoon trading: Shares of Depomed (DEPO) are down about 20%. Shares of Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (KERX) are down about 10.5%. Shares of AEterna Zentaris (AEZS) are down about 8.75%. Shares of Complete Genetics (GNOM) are up about 20.5%. Shares of GTx Inc (GTXI) are up about 18%. Shares of Archillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) are up about 15.5%. Shares of Cerus Corp (CERS) are up about 10.5%.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was trading at $32.88 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 0.95% on the day – up 4.38% year-to-date.
Financials
Fitch went on a downgrade spree yesterday, cutting the ratings of UBS (UBS), RBS (RBS) and Lloyds (LYG), and putting several other major U.S. and European institutions on credit watch negative. These include Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Goldman Sachs (GS). JPMorgan (JPM) beat estimates by 8 cents and revenue by $700M. People’s United Financial (PBCT) is picked up with a Hold at Jefferies. Green Dot (GDOT) gets initiated with an Outperform at JMP Securities. BNP Paribas (BNPQY) is downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. Commerzbank AG (CRZBY) is now Neutral from Buy at Goldman. FXCM Inc. (FXCM) is downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup. In afternoon trading: Shares of FXCM Inc are down about 12.75%.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was trading at $12.60 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 1.20% on the day – down 21.00% year-to-date.
Information Technology
Shrugging aside fears of a global slowdown, Google (GOOG) once again slayed expectations (EPS by 98 cents and revenue by $300M) in Q3 2011 as EPS jumped 27% to $9.72 and sales surged 33% to $9.7B. Shocker: Apple (AAPL) fans have been queuing round the block in cities across the globe to buy the iPhone 4S, which today goes on sale in stores in several major countries. The roll out of Apple’s (AAPL) iCloud service and iOS 5 software has been less successful, with glitches leading to problems accessing email and long installation delays. SAP (SAP) was able to brush off the world’s economic problems in Q3 2011 as underlying profit jumped 23% to €1.13B ($1.5B) and sales at its key software and services business rose 16% to €2.69B. It’s looking good for Samsung (SSNLF) in one of a U.S. IP cases with Apple (AAPL) after a judge says that while Galaxy tablets do infringe iPad patents, Apple has a problem proving the validity of those patents. Sony Ericsson (SNE) (ERIC) reported Q311 pretax profit €31M (versus €27M expected) and revenue of €1.59B (versus €1.60B). Google (GOOG) says 190M Android devices have been activated, and its mobile business is now on a $2.5B annual run rate (up from $1B a year ago). Microchip (MCHP) is preannouncing FQ2 revenue of $340.6M and EPS of $0.45-$0.47 (below a consensus of $362M and $0.52). Fairchild Semiconductor Intl. (FCS) beat estimates by 2 cents, but missed revenue by $1M. International Business Machines (IBM) is begun with an Outperform and $210 price objective at Macquarie. ISI Group assigns IBM a less bullish Hold, along with Dell Inc (DELL), and Brocade Communications Systems (BRCD). It begins Buys on Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Apple Inc (AAPL), EMC Corp (EMC), Juniper Networks (JNPR), F5 Networks (FFIV), NetApp (NTAP), and VMware (VMW). Quest Software (QSFT) is assigned a Hold rating and $20 target with Wunderlich. Marvell (MRVL) is a new Outperform at Cowen & Company. ADTRAN (ADTN) gets a Buy-from-Hold boost at Jefferies. In afternoon trading: Shares of Omnivision (OVTI) are down about 10.5%.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) was trading at $26.00 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 1.76% on the day – up 3.22% year-to-date.
Telecommunications Services
AT&T (T) has provided “almost nothing” to support its claim that its proposed $39B acquisition of T-Mobile (DTEGY) would create 55,000-96,000 jobs. Clearwire (CLWR) reported preliminary Q3 revenue of $332M, beating consensus by $9.4M. In afternoon trading: Shares of Sprint Nextel (S) are down about a half of a percent. Shares of Level 3 Communications (LVLT) are down about 5.2%. Shares of AT&T (T) are down slightly. Shares of Clearwire are up about a half of a percent. Shares of Verizon (VZ) are up about 0.6%. Shares of Frontier Communications (FTR) are down about 1.5%.
The NASDAQ Telecommunications Index (IXTC) was trading at $199.26 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 1.99% on the day – down 11.59% year-to-date.
Utilities
In afternoon trading: Shares of Duke Energy (DUK) are up about a quarter of a percent. Shares of Genon Energy (GEN) are up about 1.5%. Shares of AES Corp (AES) are up about 1.25%. Shares of Exelon (EXC) are up about 0.8%. Shares of NiSource (NI) are up about a half of a percent. Shares of Southern (SO) are up about 0.4%. Shares of PPL Corp (PPL) are up about 0.3%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) was trading at $33.98 at 4:00 PM on Friday, up 0.95% on the day – up 8.42% year-to-date.
STOCKS: SZYM, ATPG, JRCC, CRZO, BRY, PETD, HFC, BAS, MON, NILSY, ECL, SHZ, CHGS, AVL, SNMX, VMI, JBHT, FAST, GE, HON, MMM, TYC, IR, NSC, RA, EXM, GNK, NWS, DIS, CMCSA, ZLC, SIG, TIF, HWD, MAT, SNE, ERIC, WGO, PETM, GAP, NCMI, SWY, MJN, CPO, SJM, PPC, OFI, DMND, IPSU, CMN, ARIA, DEPO, KERX, AEZS, GNOM, GTXI, ACHN, CERS, UBS, RBS, LYG, BAC, MS, GS, JPM, PBCT, GDOT, BNPQY, CRZBY, FXCM, GOOG, AAPL, SAP, SSNLF, MCHP, FCS, IBM, DELL, BRCD, HPQ, CSCO, EMC, JNPR, FFIV, NTAP, VMW, QSFT, MRVL, ADTN, OVTI, T, DTEGY, CLWR, S, LVLT, VZ, FTR, DUK, GEN, AES, EXC, NI, SO, PPL
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