24/7 Wall St. Morning Market Roundup
Every morning, 24/7 Wall St. editors cover the news, identifying important events and market-moving stories.
The following are the highlights for our Media Digest 07/01/2010 Reuters, WSJ, New York Times, and Bloomberg:
Reuters: Work on the BP plc (NYSE: B) oil spill will be delayed because of Hurricane Alex.
Reuters: China’s economic growth slowed.
Reuters: Microsoft Corporation killed its Kin phone.
Wall Street Journal: Toyota (NYSE: TM) found engine problems in a number of nameplates, including Lexus, and plans to recall 270,000 cars.
WSJ: Moody’s may downgrade Spain’s Aaa rating.
The New York Times: Documents show Goldman Sachs Group put pressure on American International Group to make insurance payments.
The New York Times: The TARP bailout fund could be phased out earlier than previously scheduled.
Bloomberg: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) sued by consumers over problems with iPhone reception.
Bloomberg: Google’s Chinese plans may push more advertisers to Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU)
These are this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls:
- AFLAC Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
- Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS) Lowered targets by RBS.
- Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Raised to Buy at UBS.
- FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) Raised to Buy at UBS.
- Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
- Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
- United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) Raised to Buy at UBS.
- Some are earnings and guidance and some are not. Today’s big movers are Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN), Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE), Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM), Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC), and TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR).
- Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is getting clipped aggressively this morning after the U.S. government said it will review whether PROVENGE for prostate cancer is reasonable and necessary. This is a move meant to drive down the reimbursement rates after the price tag is so high. Shares are down over 15% at $27.47 on over 500,000 shares. This will be one of the day’s most active stocks for sure.
- Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) is surging this morning on news that it halted a 9 million share secondary offering due to adverse stock market conditions. Shares are up more than you might expect on the news - the stock is up over 13% at $10.50 on about 25,000 shares.
- Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) is down 0.5% this morning and has put in yet another 52-week low. (Stocks hitting 52-week lows tend to keep hitting 52-week lows.) $50 was violated yesterday, now $49 is being violated this morning.
- Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC) is on the move after its lower quarterly earnings were actually above estimates and after its outlook pleased investors. Dirty Harry would be proud. Shares of the gun-maker are up over 7.5% at $4.40 on about 20,000 shares. The 52-week range is $3.75 to $6.98 and average shares per day is over 1 million. Look for volume to pick up as the open gets closer. Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is the other player in guns, but no trades have been seen there yet.
- TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) seeing 52-week lows and is not feeling much love after it lowered estimates. Shares are trading down just over 10% at $3.50 on about 10,000 shares. The prior 52-week range was $3.79 to $7.88 and it trades about 1.1 million shares on average.
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