BloggingStocks

Closing bell: The beatings will continue; GM, FRE, FNM, SNDK drop big

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-08-18T16:14:00+00:00

Filed under: After the bell, Major movement, General Motors (GM), Market matters, Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Lowe's Cos (LOW), Lilly (Eli) (LLY), Oil, SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Investors in shares of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) went wild on speculation today that the government would put new funds into the mortgage agencies and wipe out common shareholders. The market was dragged down over 200 points at some point on a ripple of concerns about the financial sector:

Dow: 11,479.88 -1.54%
NASDAQ 2,416.98 -1.45%
S&P 500: 1,278.71 -1.50%
52-Week Lows

Early in the day, the chance of a hurricane moving into the Gulf of Mexico pushed oil up and knocked equities down. Once the storm moved over Florida and away from deep-water rigs, oil went back down.

The trading was so bleak and depressing that most traders probably went home to watch the last few events of the Olympics. Those who stayed saw a few notable moves:

GM (NYSE: GM) said it would offer new incentives to clear out its bloated inventory. The stock promptly fell almost 8% to $10.30.

Word came out of the FDA that Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) diabetes drug Byetta had killed two more people and the stock declined 1.4%.

Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) slightly beat Wall Street expectations and was rewarded by trading up by 0.3% to $24.57.

Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) dropped 10% to $15.89 because no one is going to take over the company. Shareholders were hoping to be put out of their misery.

Otherwise, everything was fine.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Analyst downgrades: TXN, SNDK and BRCD

Eric Buscemi — 2008-07-22T11:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Texas Instruments (TXN), Gilead Sciences (GILD), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Texas Instruments, SanDisk and Brocade were today's noteworthy downgrades:

Merrill Lynch downgraded shares of Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Neutral from Buy after the company reported lower-than-expected Q3 results due to concerns regarding elevated inventory levels and rising raw material and labor costs. Merrill lowered their target to $27 from $32.
Citigroup cut SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Sell from Hold after the company reported a Q2 miss and offered lower-than-expected guidance. Citigroup lowered their target price to $14 from $20.
JMP Securities downgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Market Perform from Outperform following the company's announcement to buy Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY) for $19.25 per share.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

ArthroCare (NASDAQ: ARTC) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair.
JP Morgan downgraded Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO) and Lenovo Group (LNVGY) to Neutral from Overweight.
iStar Financial (NYSE: SFI) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at UBS.
Goldman removed Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) from the Conviction Buy List.

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Before the bell: AAPL, AXP, SNDK, TXN, DD, WB, CAT, XMSR, HAL ...

Melly Alazraki — 2008-07-22T08:04:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Market matters, Caterpillar (CAT), American Express (AXP), H and R Block (HRB), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), duPont(E.I.)deNemours (DD), United Parcel'B' (UPS), Wachovia Corp (WB), Washington Mutual (WM), Merck and Co (MRK), Texas Instruments (TXN), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Stocks futures are lower Tuesday morning, indicating U.S. stock markets will start on a down note following weak outlooks and disappointing financial results from several companies including Apple and American Express. With oil steady and no economic data out today, Wall Street will focus on earnings.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported after the close Monday a record quarter that beat analyst estimates, posting a 31% surge in earnings. Mac and iPod sales satisfied investors, while iPhone sales were somewhat on the lighter side. What concerned investors most was the very weak guidance Apple gave, which was weak even by Apple's standards of lowballing. Other issues included margin squeeze and Jobs health. Apple shares were 10% lower in Frankfurt and premarket trading.

American Express (NYSE: AXP), said late Monday its second-quarter results fell 38% due to the weakening economy. The company, which missed projections, caters to the more affluent who have good credit, and yet even this company felt the pains from the slowing economy. AmEx earned 56 cents per share compared to estimates of 83 cents per share. The company's stock tumbled AXP shares are down over 12% in premarket trading.

Also reporting Monday after the close were Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) and SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK). MRK shares are down over 6.6% in premarket trading as the company said it would stop give guidance of results. TXN shares are also declining over 10.5% in premarket trading after it gave a disappointing forecast. SNDK shares are plunging over 16% in premarket trading after it swung to a Q2 loss, missing analyst estimates.

This morning we'll have another wave of earnings, and already started were DuPont and Wachovia.

DuPont Co. (NYSE: DD) said Tuesday agriculture sales and emerging markets helped fuel a rise in second-quarter profit to $1.08 billion, or $1.18 per share. Net sales rose to $8.83 billion. This beat expectations of $1.07 per share on revenue of $8.47 billion. While DuPont raised its 2008 outlook slightly, it expects earnings in the second half of this year to decline from a year earlier. DD shares are actually nearly 2% higher in premarket trading.

Meanwhile, Wachovia Corp (NYSE: WB) shares are down over 12% in premarket trading after the bank posted an $8.86 billion second-quarter loss and slashed its dividend for a second time this year. Wachovia's results missed analyst estimates.

Also, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) said on Tuesday quarterly earnings rose 34% due to strong growth in emerging economies that offset weakness in North America, Western Europe and Japan. Sales rose 20%. The company handily topped Street estimates.

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) said its second-quarter loss narrowed. Earnings per share came in at 38 cents, better than the loss of 42 cents a share forecast by analysts polled by FactSet Research. Revenue climbed 15% as the satellite radio company posted a 17% increase in subscribers.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) said net income dropped 67% after the sale of the company's stake in engineering unit KBR inflated 2007 earnings, ex-items, profit rose to 68 cents from 63 cents, matching the average of 22 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Reporting after the close are after the close, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) and Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM).

In non-earnings news:

Bush Prods Congress, as Financers Are Inspected - Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said examiners are inspecting the books of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
GM, utilities team up on electric cars - Partnership aims to tackle issues that will crop up when electric vehicles are rolled out.
H&R Block names McDonald's executive CEO
Ford to Make Broader Bet on Small Cars - After two decades focused on trucks, the company is about to drastically shift focus to building smaller cars.

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Early analyst calls (SNDK) (TXN)

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-07-22T07:37:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Texas Instruments (TXN), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Citigroup dropped Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) to "sell" from "hold" according to MarketWatch.

Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) Cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch, according to 24/7 Wall St.

UBS downgraded Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) to "sell" from "neutral", according to Briefing.com.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Closing Bell: Bulls drive autos, yes autos, to win the day

Jon Ogg — 2008-07-01T16:23:00+00:00

Filed under: General Motors (GM), CIT Group (CIT), Fortune Brands (FO), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

The bulls got to lead the first day of the quarter, although we would note that if today was the norm that trading volatility isn't slowing down regardless of the direction. Oil rose again toward session highs on tensions and the usual myriad of reasons we cite for oil rising (yes, it's that routine). Here are today's unofficial closing levels:

DJIA 11,381.77 (+31.51)
S&P500 1284.89 (+4.89)
NASDAQ 2304.97 (+11.99)
10YR T-Note 3.992% (+0.013%)
52-WEEK LOWS

We actually saw many financial sector upgrades from research firms today, which sent many of the corresponding shares higher in what feels like a "for once" statement. We would caution that later in the day an analyst report did note other banks would need more capital (again).

In the land of booze, we had two conflicting reports. For starters, Fortune Brands Inc. (NYSE: FO) shares were down almost 13% at $54.40 to new 52-week lows in the final minutes after the company's earnings warning for 2008. But rival Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) shares were up almost 4% at $20.59 at the end of the day after this wine and spirits maker posted better than expected earnings.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) saw a surge today after the company announced it had sold off its last consumer units to be a pure-play in the commercial finance sector. Shares were up 25% at $8.53 in today's final minutes of trading.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) was the key winner today and you could almost point to this being the key news that drove an oversold market much higher today. Even with -18% sales, this was far "less bad" than expected. Shares were up 3% at $11.92 in today's final minutes with some 81 million shares trading hands.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) was the strange mover today as the company's stock was down big on unusual call option activity. Shares were down over 5.7% at $17.75 in today's final minutes.

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Early analyst calls (FNM) (FRE) (BA)

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-06-20T07:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Boeing Co (BA), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Lehman cut earnings estimates for Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE). according to MartketWatch.

Citi Investment Research lowered its price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) from $37 to $30, according to the AP.

Citigroup downgraded Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) to "hold: from "buy" according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Bank of America resumed coverage of Boeing (NYSE:BA) with a "neutral" rating.

Douglas A. Mcintyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Analyst upgrades: HRB, TLB, SPWR, AG, EBAY, SNDK

Eric Buscemi — 2008-06-16T11:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, eBay (EBAY), H and R Block (HRB), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: H&R Block, Talbots and SunPower were today's noteworthy upgrades:

Oppenheimer believes H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) has shown several catalysts over the past few months, most importantly the sale of its mortgage business. The firm, which upgraded shares to Outperform from Perform, believes the company's strong 2008 tax season will lead to future growth, and they think the stock can appreciate 20%+, as catalysts are not yet fully reflected in the stock.
Friedman Billings upgraded Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company has several sources of cash to avoid a liquidity crisis, charge card EPS contribution provides good visibility, improved merchandise margins, and better merchandising.
Credit Suisse raised SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) to Outperform from Neutral citing strength in Italy and other geographies.

OTHER UPGRADES:

Agco (NYSE: AG) was raised at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.
UBS upgraded Metso Oyg (OTC: MXCYY) to Buy from Neutral.
JMP Securities upgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Market Perform from Underperform.
Stifel upgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Buy from Hold.

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Early analyst calls (T) (VZ) (GE)

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-06-16T07:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, General Motors (GM), AT and T (T), Verizon Communications (VZ), Wendy's Intl (WEN), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

UBS downgraded Verizon (NYSE:VZ) from "buy" to "neutral" and took the same action with AT&T (NSYE:T) according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that JMP upgraded Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) to "market perform" from "underperform".

General Electric (NYSE: GE) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at JPMorgan, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial website also reports that Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) waised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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Analyst initiations: SanDisk, Edison International, Animal Health International

Eric Buscemi — 2008-05-21T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst reports, Burger King Hldgs (BKC), Analyst initiations, SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Edison International, Animal Health International and SanDisk were today's noteworthy initiations:

RBC Capital initiated Edison International (NYSE: EIX) with an Outperform rating and $64 target citing strong rate base growth and the favorable environment at Southern California Edison.
Piper assumed coverage of Animal Health International (NASDAQ: AHII) with a Buy rating and $10 target, as they believe the current valuation is attractive from long-term investors.
Pacific Crest started SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) with a Sector Perform rating and believes the valuation is too high following the recent strength as product margins are trending down.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

Sandler initiated Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ: HTBK) with a Hold rating and $16 target.
Burger King (NYSE: BKC) was initiated with a Buy rating and $34 target at Piper.
RBC Capital assumed U.S. Geothermal (AMEX: HTM) with an Outperform rating and $4 target.

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Closing Bell: Mixed day after earlier gains; big swings for AMZN, LOW, PEIX

Jon Ogg — 2008-05-19T16:07:00+00:00

Filed under: Amazon.com (AMZN), Campbell Soup (CPB), Lowe's Cos (LOW), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Today started out as a good day, but traders went back to "do the opposite of what feels good." The Conference Board showed that April's leading economic indicators were +0.1%. Oil also stayed above $127 per barrel.

Here are the unofficial closing prices for US index levels:

DJIA 13,026.69 (+39.89; +0.3%)
S&P500 1,426.59 (+1.24; +0.1%)
NASDAQ 2,515.82 (-13.03; -0.5%)
52 WEEK LOWS
TOP 10 ANALYST CALLS

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) saw a sharp rise with shares up over 7% at $82.22 late in the day after Goldman Sachs added it to the CONVICTION BUY LIST.

Campbell's Soup (NYSE: CPB) saw a 5% drop by the end of the day to $34.06 after a disappointing result.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW) saw a 2.5% drop to $24.25 by the end of the day after the company's earnings came in line but guidance was weak.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) saw shares rise an unbelievable 49% with shares at $4.78 late in the day after the battered ethanol producer beat earnings expectations.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) was down over 8% at $29.74 in the final minutes today after making cautious comments at a JPMorgan investor conference.

Jon Ogg produces and edits the "10 Stocks Under $10" newsletter and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

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Analyst upgrades: U.S. semiconductors, TOO and OPLK

Eric Buscemi — 2008-05-19T11:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Amazon.com (AMZN), Intel (INTC), Texas Instruments (TXN), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: U.S. semiconductors, Teekay Offshore and Oplink Communications were today's noteworthy upgrades:

Goldman upgraded the U.S. Semiconductor Sector, including Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Attractive from Neutral. The firm believes semi fundamentals are poised to improve in 2H08 and that valuations are reasonable.
Wachovia upgraded Teekay Offshore (NYSE: TOO) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and increased distribution growth outlook following the acquisition of an additional 25% ownership interest in Teekay Offshore Operating, L.P.
Merriman upgraded shares of Oplink Communications (NASDAQ: OPLK) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company is an attractive takeover target following the Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) and Optium (NASDAQ: OPTM) merger, given its low-cost Chinese manufacturing capacity and attractive $140M cash balance.

OTHER UPGRADES:

Goldman upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Buy List.
William Blair raised Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) to Outperform from Market Perform.
Citigroup upgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Buy from Hold.

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Analyst downgrades: Department store sector, SNDK and CNET

Eric Buscemi — 2008-05-16T11:38:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Penney (J.C.) (JCP), Regions Financial (RF), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Nordstrom, Inc (JWN), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Department store sector, SanDisk and CNET Networks were today's noteworthy downgrades:

Goldman downgraded the department store sector to Neutral from Attractive after raising its 2008 oil forecast to $149 from $115, as it believes higher gas prices will impact consumer discretionary spend and sentiment. Goldman downgraded JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) to Neutral and also removed Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) from its Conviction Buy List.
JMP Securities downgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Underperform from Market Perform based on increased competition in NAND, a potential decline in royalty income, valuation, and lack of catalysts from flash-based solid state drives.
CNET Networks (NASDAQ: CNET) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America following the tender offer from CBS (NYSE: CBS).

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

Merrill downgraded Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) to Sell from Neutral.
B. Riley downgraded Exar (NASDAQ: EXAR) to Neutral from Buy.
Albermarle (NYSE: ALB) was lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

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Early analyt calls (JCP) (COST) (SNDK)

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-05-16T07:41:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Penney (J.C.) (JCP), Costco Wholesale (COST), Nordstrom, Inc (JWN), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Goldman Sachs cut the ratings on J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWM) from "buy" to "neutral" due to the rising price of oil, according to MarketWatch.

Morgan Stanley began CostCo (NASDAQ:COST) at "equal weight" according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that JPM downgraded Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) from "market perform" from "underperform".

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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RIM's (RIMM) iPhone killer no threat to Apple (AAPL)

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-05-16T04:02:00+00:00

Filed under: Launches, Competitive strategy, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Research in Motion (RIMM), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Companies from Nokia (NYSE:NOK) to Samsung are trying to create a product to compete with the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone. Now RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) will join the group.

RIM will come out with a touchscreen version of its Blackberry, probably in the third quarter. The decision is based on a false premise, which is that people want to buy an "iPhone" from someone other than Apple.

According to The Wall Street Journal "Dubbed the Thunder, the new BlackBerry is among RIM's strongest moves so far to appeal to the increasing number of consumers opting for multimedia phones."

The market has heard this song before. Over a year ago, both Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) came to market with competition for the iPod. Neither made any progress.

As infantile as the reasoning may seem, Apple built a nearly perfect product, which has been confirmed by strong demand , and plans to improve on it with features like 3G capability. Competition cannot replace what the customer views as irreplaceable.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 newsletter.

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Sandisk (SNDK) soars on Semiconductor Industry report

Brent Archer — 2008-03-31T14:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Major movement, Good news, Industry, Options, Technical Analysis, SanDisk Corp (SNDK), Technology

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) shares are trading higher today after the Semiconductor Industry Association reported that global semiconductor sales rose 1.5% year-over-year in February, helped by growing international demand. The numbers were said to be skewed somewhat in the negative by rapidly declining DRAM prices, but that growth in the overall sector was strong. If you think that the company won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SNDK.

After hitting a one-year high of $59.75 in July, the stock hit a one-year low of $19.54 earlier this month. SNDK opened this morning at $21.65. So far today the stock has hit a low of $21.61 and a high of $22.74. As of 1:15, SNDK is trading at $22.69, up $1.43 (6.7%). The chart for SNDK looks neutral and improving, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a May bull-put credit spread below the $17.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. This particular trade will make an 8.7% return in just 7 weeks as long as SNDK is above $17.50 at May expiration. SanDisk would have to fall by more than 22% before we would start to lose money.

NDK hasn't been below $19 at all in the past year and has shown support around $21 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out in late April) disappoint, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock looks to be forming right around $20, where the chart is flattening out.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in SNDK.

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The trend is your friend (or enemy): 20 stocks to watch

Timothy Sykes — 2008-03-12T10:58:00+00:00

Filed under: eBay (EBAY), Starbucks (SBUX), Motorola (MOT), Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Merrill Lynch (MER), Alcatel-LucentADS (ALU), Broadcom Corp'A' (BRCM), Technical Analysis, Gilead Sciences (GILD), Kinross Gold (KGC), SanDisk Corp (SNDK), Stocks to Buy, Stocks to Sell

Last week, I wrote one article about 10 stocks making new 52-week highs and another about 10 stocks making new 52-week lows. Gold, oil and steel plays made up the majority of stocks making new highs while technology and finance companies were the ones plummeting.

Both articles gave some very basic rules on how to spot reversals while recommending investors cut their losses quickly and let their winners run. And, both articles were released mid-week around the same time of day. Yet the article about stocks making new lows turned out to be more than seven times as popular!

Why do you think that is? Sure, they're slightly more actively traded, but I believe investors are not comfortable buying into or holding commodity plays because they've already gone up so much. But they're perfectly willing to go down with the ship on blue chip brokers and technology plays, sometimes even doubling and worse, tripling up because they're invested in such "quality companies."

If I'm right, as Cher would say, snap out of it! Forget those bubble years of the past; technology -- and certainly financial -- won't be making exponential comebacks anytime soon. The trend is your friend until the trendline breaks -- oh yes, technical analysis works because it pertains directly to your investment's value. Fundamental analysis is all well and good in the long run, but it won't save you from potentially mammoth short-term losses!

I'm listing all 20 stocks, good and bad, because nothing much has changed since. Yes, some stocks have dropped and bounced a bit, but the overarching trends remain intact. So, you suffering longs have no choice but to click these strange stocks to see what uptrending charts look like, and you trend-following investors who are loving life can laugh while you see how the other half lives.

Uptrending = Good!

Downtrending = Bad!

Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM)
Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM)
Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER)
Citigroup (NYSE: C)
Motorola (NYSE: MOT)
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S)
Ebay (NASDAQ: EBAY)
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU)
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX)

Timothy Sykes writes the blog timothysykes.com, is a former hedge fund manager, star of the TV show Wall Street Warriors and author of the book, An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund

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How I would play these 10 horrifically downtrending stocks

Timothy Sykes — 2008-03-05T12:48:00+00:00

Filed under: eBay (EBAY), Starbucks (SBUX), Motorola (MOT), Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Merrill Lynch (MER), Broadcom Corp'A' (BRCM), SanDisk Corp (SNDK), Stocks to Sell

Ahhh, big losers. They exist in every market environment but only show their true colors during bear markets such as this. The only people interested in them are those investors who have lost a ton stubbornly holding for far too long, short sellers who are loving life right now, and those who are looking to bottom fish. I understand the short sellers perspective -- it's a truly great feeling to profit off those sadly naïve or eternally optimistic investors -- but to the other two groups, I say, you aren't playing the odds.

That's right, no matter the company, products, potential, industry or their "long-term value," I'd never be caught invested in any stock whose chart looks like that of:

Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM)
Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM)
Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER)
Citigroup (NYSE: C)
Motorola (NYSE: MOT)
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S)
Ebay (NASDAQ: EBAY)
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU)
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX)

Because I cut my losses quickly before they can cut me sharply. Repeat that phrase over and over until you follow it every time. It all comes down to discipline. Those who have it make money, those who do not, do not. Do not be one of those do notters. It's so important a lesson; I cover it often in blog posts like this.

And experience tells me it's infinitely more difficult for stocks making new lows to turnaround anytime soon -- especially without breaking their perfectly downtrending chart patterns first -- than it is to profit by buying stocks breaking out to new highs

My advice to short sellers: ride your gains. Stubborn longs: cut your losses already and learn to cut them sooner next time. And bottom fishers: draw some rudimentary trendlines and don't buy until the stock breaks above them.

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Before the bell: AAPL, C, BBY, SNDK, EBAY, YHOO ...

Melly Alazraki — 2008-03-04T08:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), eBay (EBAY), Starbucks (SBUX), Citigroup Inc. (C), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Best Buy (BBY), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is scheduled to hold a shareholder vote on nominees to the company's board of directors Tuesday. Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. said investors should elect Chief Executive Steve Jobs , William Campbell , Millard Drexler, Andrea Jung and Eric Schmidt to the board of directors. Due to concerns over backdated options, it said shareholders should withhold votes for former Vice President Al Gore, Arthur Levinson and Jerome York. Other issues are executive compensation.
After declining over 2.6% Monday following a price target cut by RBC, AAPL shares are again lower in premarket trading, down over 1.2%.

The head of Dubai International Capital LLC said Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) may need additional capital from outside investors due to increased losses stemming from the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market. This is after already getting $7.5 billion in November from Abu Dhabi and another $14.5 billion from other investors.
Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch cut Citi's earnings estimates and is now forecasting the bank will earn 24 cents for the year and lose $1.66 a share during the first quarter, compared to a previous forecast for $2.74 per share in annual earnings and 55 cents a share in first-quarter earnings.
Citi shares are down over 2.3% in premarket trading.

Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) shares are down nearly 3.7% in premarket trading after Intel warned of soft memory card prices.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY)'s Skype will be rolling out a version for Sony (NYSE: SNE)'s handheld video game machine, the PlayStation Portable, later this month in Japan. Skype has been available for the PSP in the U.S. and Europe since January.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) said Monday it has replaced its president of U.S. operations, Launi Skinner, with Cliff Burrows, who has served as president of the coffee chain's Europe, Middle East and Africa division. Starbucks also promoted four executives who will head up its U.S. regional field offices.

Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) said Tuesday it is expanding R&D in India, creating a laboratory in Bangalore, India. Yahoo Labs-Bangalore will be responsible for making the Internet more simple and easier for advertisers and users, Yahoo said.

Banc of America downgraded Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) from Buy to Neutral. Shares are down 2.5% in premarket trading.

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Intel margin warning hits flash memory stocks

Jon Ogg — 2008-03-03T19:41:00+00:00

Filed under: Intel (INTC), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) came out Monday night and warned of lower margins, and while the stock was down in after-hours trading, one might actually make the argument that this might not be such bad news for its core operations. It's just hard to be too much like Dr. Pangloss in what looks, feels, and even smells more and more like a bear market each week. The culprit is listed as "lower than expected NAND flash memory chip prices." So Intel said it is now looking for 54% margins, plus or minus 1%. Its previous guidance was 56%, plus or minus 1%. What is at least a bit of relief here is that Intel said that all other expectations are consistent with the prior guidance given with its last outlook.

I would note that Intel had recently been downgraded at Goldman Sachs and at AmTech. Arguably, this is the second warning if you count last quarter. Its 2% drop is fairly appropriate as that is basically how much the stock is down on the news. Intel closed up 0.2% Monday at $20.01, but it was now seeing shares trade down 2.5% at $19.51 in after-hours evening trades.

If you take this at face value, Intel at least has a robust processor business, or at least it has the best processors in the industry. This news is taking a toll on other semiconductor stocks as well, but as the news bit is specific to NAND flash memory chips, it is hitting those flash memory stocks the worst of the others.

Micron Tech (NYSE: MU) is one that won't be liking this as its turnaround seems to be in jeopardy . This may at least make the company pursue more active issues like divesting some assets. SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is perhaps the pure-play for flash memory stocks, and its shares were actually down almost 3.5% at $22.25 in after-hours trading. That was after already hitting a new 52-week low at the close of $23.05 as its trading range over the last year was $23.40 to $59.75. Spansion Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSN) is another go-to stock in flash memory. Its shares were down almost 3% in after-hours trading at $2.82 after having an almost 6% gain today. Unfortunately, it has had a poor year with its 52-week trading being $2.69 to $12.83.

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Analyst downgrades: Banks, VDSI and RATE

Laurie Pasternack — 2008-02-04T10:11:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, American Express (AXP), Comerica Inc (CMA), SanDisk Corp (SNDK)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Certain banks, VASCO Data Security and Bankrate were today's noteworthy downgrades:

UBS downgraded shares of Discover (NYSE: DFS) and Capital One (NYSE: COF) to Sell from Neutral and American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Sell from Buy, as they believe a U.S.-led recession will lead to increased credit losses.
Jefferies downgraded shares of VASCO Data Security (NASDAQ: VDSI) to Hold from Buy to reflect the company's exposure to the financial services market, as they believe 2008 will be a tough year for small companies selling into tightening IT budgets.
Merriman lowered its rating on Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) to Neutral from Buy on valuation, as they believe the stock is pricing in upside from strong website traffic seen in January driven by refinance activity and Fed rate cuts. Citigroup downgraded shares to Hold from Buy on valuation, as they find the risk/reward less compelling at current levels.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

JP Morgan removed SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) from its Top 3 Picks List.
Goldman downgraded CSK Auto (NYSE: CAO) to Neutral from Buy and removed Google (GOOG) from its Conviction Buy List.
Baird lowered Comerica (NYSE: CMA) to Neutral from Outperform.

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