Post Market Update
Market Levels
• US: Dow: 13112.40 (0.15%), S&P 500: 1417.25 (0.22%), NASDAQ: 2999.66 (0.59%)
• Europe: CAC: 3448.50 (-1.27%), DAX: 7326.47 (-0.51%), FTSE: 5839.06 (-0.51%).
• Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4474.10 (0.31%), China: 2114.03 (-0.14%), Hong Kong: 22006.40 (-0.48%), India: 5704.20 (0.11%), Japan: 9007.44 (-0.49%).
• Metals: Gold: 1683.20 (0.48%), Silver: 31.13 (0.88%), Copper: 3.47 (-0.33%)
• Energy: Crude Oil: 85.65 (0.93%), Natural Gas: 3.55 (0.00%)
• Commodities: Corn: 7.35 (-0.54%), Soya Bean: 15.03 (-1.54%), Wheat: 8.66 (0.17%)
• Currency: Euro (€) / US Dollar ($) (EURUSD): 1.2791 (-0.32%), British Pound Sterling (UK£) / US Dollar ($) (GBPUSD): 1.5977 (-0.28%), US Dollar ($) / Japanese Yen (¥) (USDJPY): 80.3000 (-0.16%)
• 10 year US Treasury: 1.679% (-0.036)
Market and Economy News Update
U.S. markets end modestly higher: U.S. markets eked out modest gains on Monday after trading narrowly mixed for most of the session, with investors reluctant to make major moves ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) gained of 19.28 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 13,112.44. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) squeezed out a gain of 3.05 points, or 0.22 percent, to finish at 1,417.25, while the NASDAQ Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose 17.53 points, or 0.59 percent, to end at 2,999.66.
Oil prices rise: Crude prices gained in a choppy session on Monday after last week’s steep drop, but investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election. Crude oil for December delivery added 0.9 percent, to settle at $85.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent oil for December settlement jumped 2.3 percent to $108.06 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Stocks in Focus
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed 1.4 percent higher after it sold a better-than-expected 3 million iPad minis over the weekend.
• Zillow Inc (NASDAQ:Z) reported third quarter diluted profits of 7 cents a share, in line with estimates. Revenue came in at $31.9 million, slightly higher than the consensus estimate of $31.7 million. The company provided current quarter and full-year revenue outlook that trailed estimates.
• Internet content and media company Demand Media Inc (NYSE:DMD) reported third quarter adjusted profit of 11 cents a share, on revenue of $92.8 million. Analysts had projected earnings of 10 cents a share on $91.5 million in revenue.
• The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MHP), owner of Standard & Poor’s, fell 4 percent after an Australian federal judge ruled that the credit rating agency misled investors by giving its highest credit grade to financial products that collapsed in the build-up to the 2008 global economic crisis.
• Industrial conglomerate Dover Corporation (NYSE:DOV) closed 3.8 percent higher after it said it will buy back $1 billion of its shares and sell business units that serve the electronic assembly and test markets.
• Online brokerage E Trade Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC) gained 4.4 percent as it announced plans to sell $1.31 billion in senior notes to refinance higher-cost debt.
• Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) said third-quarter profit fell 46 percent to $337.1 million, or $1.89 per share, from $628.1 million or $3.53 per share in the year-ago period. Revenue declined 13 percent to $2.96 billion from $3.39 billion a year earlier. Analysts were looking for earnings per share of $2.01 on revenue of $3.39 billion.
• Health insurer Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT) reported third quarter profit of $18 million, or 22 cents a share, down from $61.8 million or 70 cents in the same period last year. Revenue rose 3.3 percent to $2.8 billion. Separately, Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT) said it has resolved Medicaid disputes with the state of California.
• US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE:LCC) said consolidated traffic rose 3.1 percent in October from the year-ago period as domestic traffic growth offset declines in its Atlantic and Latin business segments.
• Specialty-materials company Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) said third-quarter earnings quadrupled to $59 million, or $3.46 a share, from $14.4 million, or 85 cents, a year earlier. Sales fell 12 percent to $130.2 million. The company provided better than expected fourth quarter adjusted earnings outlook.
• True Religion Apparel, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRLG) said third quarter net income rose 2 percent to $12.3 million, or 49 cents per share, while revenue increased 9 percent to $118.5 Analysts were expecting the clothing company to earn 45 cents per share on revenue of $113.2 million.
• Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) reported better than expected third quarter earnings and revenue, and said that its board has authorized a new $300 million stock repurchase program.
• Pharmaceutical company Endo Health Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ENDP) fell 8.6 percent as the company cut its full-year earnings and revenue outlook, amid a modest decline in quarterly revenue.
• Dutch genetic testing specialist Qiagen NV (NASDAQ:QGEN) reported third quarter earnings excluding items of 26 cents a share, up from 24 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue gained 5.3 percent to $304.3 million.
• Industrial automation specialist Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) closed 3.3 percent higher after fourth quarter earnings and revenue beat Street estimates. Profit came in at $195.2 million, while revenue stood at $1.66 billion. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.32 a share on revenue of $1.62 billion.
• Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX) plunged 14 percent amid reports that the insurance software company is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission over its accounting practices.
• FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL) soared 13 percent after receiving a $181 million order from its South Korean partner POSCO Energy.
• Troubled Chinese solar equipment maker LDK Solar Co., Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:LDK) named its chief operating officer, Xingxue Tong, as its new chief executive.
Hedge Fund News Update
• Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) adopted a poison pill defense to protect against a hostile takeover after activist investor Carl Icahn acquired an almost 10 percent stake in the streaming video and DVD-by-mail subscription service.
• Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Group Inc. will acquire a stake in U.S. natural gas fields from Exco Resources Inc (NYSE:XCO) for $373 million, according to a Bloomberg report.
• Hedge funds managers reduced their bullish wagers on commodities by the most since June as prices slumped to a three-month low, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
• Bahrain-based alternative asset manager, Investcorp has agreed to pay $140 million to buy Danish luxury retailer Georg Jensen, according to a Reuters report.
• Hedge funds slashed their bullish oil bets to the lowest level in almost five months in the week ended October 30 as Hurricane Sandy forced closure of East Coast refineries, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report showed.
Brokerage Upgrades and Downgrades on Monday, November 05, 2012
• Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE:ARO) was lifted to “outperform” from “market perform” by analysts at FBR Capital with a target price of $16.
• AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) was upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral” by analysts at JPMorgan Chase with a target price of $61.
• Buckeye Partners, L.P. (NYSE:BPL) was raised to a “buy” rating from a “hold” rating by analysts at Deutsche Bank with a target price of $60.
• CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) was lifted to “overweight” from “equal weight” by analysts at Barclays Capital with a target price of $42.
• Demandware Inc (NYSE:DWRE) was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Lazard.
• Enbridge Inc (USA) (NYSE:ENB) was raised to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Goldman Sachs with a target price of $46.
• Equity One, Inc. (NYSE:EQY) was lifted from “outperform” to “market perform” by analysts at Raymond James with a target price of $23.
• Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG) was upgraded to “outperform” from “market perform” by analysts at Oppenheimer with a target price of $7.50.
• Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) was raised to “overweight” from “neutral” by analysts at Piper Jaffray with a target price of $21.
• NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) was lifted to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Citigroup with a target price of $26.
• Oneok Partners LP (NYSE:OKS) was upgraded to “neutral” from “sell” by analysts at Goldman Sachs with a target price of $66.
• QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) was raised to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Nomura with a target price of $70.
• Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) was lifted to “outperform” from “market perform” by analysts at Wells Fargo & Co.
• State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) was upgraded to “overweight” from “equal weight” by analysts at Evercore Partners.
• Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) was raised to “overweight” from “neutral” by analysts at JPMorgan Chase with a target price of $76.
• The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was lifted to “buy” from “hold” by analysts at Argus with a target price of $60.
• Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” by analysts at Goldman Sachs with a target price of $66.
• Avago Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO) was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” by analysts at DA Davidson with a target price of $38.
• Berry Petroleum Company (NYSE:BRY) was lowered to “neutral” from “buy” by analysts at Sterne Agee.
• E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) was cut to “neutral” from “overweight” by analysts at Piper Jaffray with a target price of $51.
• Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) was downgraded to “undeperform” from “market perform” by analysts at JMP Securities with a target price of $26.
• Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) was lowered by analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) was cut to “sector perform” from “outperform” by analysts at Pacific Crest.
• Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (NYSE:NKA) was downgraded to “sell” from “neutral” by analysts at Goldman Sachs with a target price of $11.
• Penn West Petroleum Ltd (USA) (NYSE:PWE) was lowered by analysts at Canaccord Genuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• Rowan Companies PLC (NYSE:RDC) was cut to “hold” from “buy” by analysts at Dahlman Rose.
• Rock-Tenn Company (NYSE:RKT) was downgraded to “neutral” from “overweight” by analysts at JPMorgan Chase.
• Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) was lowered by analysts at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating with a target price of $37.
• West Coast Bancorp (NASDAQ:WCBO) was cut to “market perform” from “outperform” by analysts at Raymond James.
• Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) was downgraded to “neutral” from “overweight” by analysts at JPMorgan Chase.
