Post Market News: MSFT: FB, BA, BBY, WPI, SKS, EBAY, STSI, LOW, TOT

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Post Market Update

Post Market News: MSFT: FB, BA, BBY, WPI, SKS, EBAY, STSI, LOW, TOT

Market Levels

•    US:  Dow: 12816.70 (0.01%), S&P 500: 1380.00 (0.01%), NASDAQ: 2904.25 (-0.02%)
•    Europe: CAC: 3411.65 (-0.35%), DAX: 7168.76 (0.07%), FTSE: 5767.27 (-0.04%).
•    Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4448.00 (-0.31%), China: 2079.27 (0.49%), Hong Kong: 21430.30 (0.21%), India: 5683.70 (-0.04%), Japan: 8676.44 (-0.94%).
•    Metals: Gold: 1727.70 (-0.18%), Silver: 32.38 (-0.45%), Copper: 3.47 (0.65%)
•    Energy: Crude Oil: 85.57 (-0.58%), Natural Gas: 3.57 (1.91%)
•    Commodities: Corn: 7.22 (-2.66%), Soya Bean: 14.05 (-3.19%), Wheat: 8.57 (-3.24%)
•    Currency: Euro (€) / US Dollar ($) (EURUSD): 1.2712 (0.01%), British Pound Sterling (UK£) / US Dollar ($) (GBPUSD): 1.5885 (0.04%), US Dollar ($) / Japanese Yen (¥) (USDJPY): 79.4650 (-0.04%)
•    10 year US Treasury: 1.606% (-0.000)

Market and Economy News Update

U.S. markets end largely unchanged: U.S. markets closed flat in lackluster trading on Monday with many traders out for the Veterans Day holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) added 1.31 point to 12,816.70. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) index gained a fraction to 1,380.00. The NASDAQComposite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) fell just over half a point to 2,904.26.

Oil prices fall: Crude prices declined on Monday amid concerns about the U.S. fiscal cliff and the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone. Crude oil for December delivery lost 0.6 percent, to settle at $85.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent oil for December settlement slid 0.4 percent to $108.92 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Stocks in Focus

•    Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) slumped 2.1 percent after chief executive Steve Ballmer told French daily Le Parisien that sales of its new Surface RT tablet were “modest.”
•    Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) hit a three-week low in intraday trading, but recovered to end 4.5 percent higher. Investors are concerned that shareholders will start selling their shares once restrictions on the potential sale of 804 million shares lift on November 14.
•    The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) gained 0.6 percent after the US plane maker said it has increased the production rate of its Dreamliner 787.
•    Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) said former Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) executive Sharon McCollam will become its new chief financial officer, succeeding James Muehlbauer.
•    Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:WPI) gained 0.1 percent after it received approval to sell a generic version of Pfizer Inc.’s pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Revatio.
•    Saks Inc (NYSE:SKS) fell 1.7 percent after an analyst at Deutsche Bank said the department-store operator may have been hard hit by Superstorm Sandy.
•    eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) has entered into a deal with Chinese online fashion retailer Xiu.com to make its products available in the country.
•    Star Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:STSI) fell to a 52-week low after the dissolvable tobacco maker warned that it may need to seek out additional funding to sustain its operations early next year.
•    Chinese solar panel maker Trina Solar Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TSL) cut its third-quarter guidance on Monday, citing high inventory levels and lower prices.
•    Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) and Canadian retailer Rona Inc. (TSE:RON) both denied a report in the Quebec newspaper La Presseon that they were back in takeover talks.
•    French oil major Total S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT) (EPA:FP) is in talks to sell some assets in Nigeria, Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie told journalists.
•    Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI) surged 5.6 percent on Monday as an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus said demand for titanium will likely rise by the end of the decade.
•    Foreign exchange broker FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM) said the U.K. Financial Services Authority has opened an investigation into its trading practices.
•    Consumer products company Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) will acquire a majority stake in privately held skin care technology company Shaser Bioscience for $50 million in cash.
•    Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS) plunged 41 percent after the company said its pancreatic cancer drug CO-101, failed in a clinical trial.
•    Cloud services provider J2 Global Inc (NASDAQ:JCOM) has acquired privately held technology publisher Ziff Davis Inc for $167 million in cash.
•    Industrial-goods supplier W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) said October daily sales increased 6 percent from the year-ago period amid higher sales of hurricane-related products.

Hedge Fund News Update

•    Hedge fund managers slashed their bullish commodity wagers by the most in five months, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.
•    Currency hedge funds dropped in October, according to data from Parker Global Strategies.
•    Boston Red Sox co-owner and hedge fund manager John Henry will close his firm due to declining assets, which fell from its peak of $2.5 billion in 2004 to less than $100 million.
•    Wallace Weitz’s Weitz Funds raised its stakes in DirectTV (NASDAQ:DTV), Liberty Interactive Corp (NASDAQ:LINTA) and Sapient Corporation (NASDAQ:SAPE), and cut its positions its Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), according to a regulatory filing.

Brokerage Upgrades and Downgrades on Monday, November 12, 2012

•    Arch Coal Inc (NYSE:ACI) was lifted to “market perform” from “underperform” by analysts at BMO Capital Markets with a target price of $8.
•    BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT) was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Bank of America with a target price of $32.
•    Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was raised to a “neutral” rating from a “sell” rating by analysts at Citigroup with a target price of $28.
•    DTS Inc. (NASDAQ:DTSI) was lifted to “neutral” from “underweight” by analysts at JPMorgan Chase with a target price of $19.50.
•    Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP) was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Bank of America with a target price of $48.
•    Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. (ADR) (NYSE:FMS) was raised to “conviction buy” from “buy” by analysts at Goldman Sachs.
•    Highwoods Properties Inc (NYSE:HIW) was lifted to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Bank of America with a target price of $36.
•    Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was upgraded to “outperform” from “market perform” by analysts at BMO Capital Markets with a target price of $33.
•    Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV) was raised to “outperform” from “neutral” by analysts at Robert W. Baird with a target price of $30.
•    Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP) was lifted to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Goldman Sachs with a target price of $38.
•    SL Green Realty Corp (NYSE:SLG) was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Bank of America with a target price of $85.
•    Catamaran Corp (USA) (NASDAQ:CTRX) was raised to “overweight” from “equal weight” by analysts at Morgan Stanley with a target price of $55.
•    Telephone & Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS) was lifted to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Citigroup with a target price of $27.
•    United Microelectronics Corp (ADR) (NYSE:UMC) was upgraded to “neutral” from “sell” by analysts at Goldman Sachs.
•    United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE:USM) was raised to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Citigroup with a target price of $42.
•    The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) was lifted to “neutral” from “underperform” by analysts at DA Davidson.

•    Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc (NYSE:ARE) was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by analysts at Bank of America.
•    Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) was lowered to “market perform” from “outperform” by analysts at BMO Capital Markets with a target price of $37.
•    EV Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:EVEP) was cut to “outperform” from “strong buy” by analysts at Raymond James with a target price of $68.
•    Inteliquent (NASDAQ:IQNT) was downgraded to “underweight” from “equal weight” by analysts at Morgan Stanley with a target price of $2.
•    Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was lowered by analysts at Jefferies Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating with a target price of $75.
•    Kilroy Realty Corp (NYSE:KRC) was cut to “neutral” from “buy” by analysts at Bank of America with a target price of $47.
•    Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” by analysts at Jefferies Group with a target price of $8.
•    Ryanair Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:RYAAY) was lowered by analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating.
•    SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD) was cut to “neutral” from “buy” by analysts at Global Hunter Securities with a target price of $5.
•    Strayer Education Inc (NASDAQ:STRA) was downgraded to “neutral” from “overweight” by analysts at JPMorgan Chase.
•    Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) was lowered by analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating with a target price of $83.
•    Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) was cut to “neutral” from “outperform” by analysts at Credit Suisse with a target price of $48.

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