Archive for March 23rd, 2008
Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), Adobe Systems (ADBE), FedEx Corp (FDX), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), General Mills (GIS), Morgan Stanley (MS), NIKE, Inc’B’ (NKE), Lehman Br Holdings (LEH)
Here are some highlights from this past week’s earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Also, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is recession proof? Ted Allrich wonders if there are any safe stocks. Jim Cramer doesn’t expect much from tech stocks. And Aaron Katzman looks at the effect of rising grain prices.
Upcoming results to watch for include Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF), Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), ConAgra (NYSE: CAG), and KB Home (NYSE: KBH).
Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.
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According to an analyst covering Bank of America the banking giant may provision up to $6.5 billion for mortgage-related losses when it announces its quarterly earnings at the end of April. Nevertheless the company is expected to post a profit for the quarter.From Market Watch on Bank of America’s $6.5 billion credit writedown:
Bank of America Corp. could tally a $6.5 billion provision in the first quarter to cover potential losses in its home equity and mortgage portfolios, Punk Ziegel and Co. analyst Richard Bove was quoted as saying by the Bloomberg news agency.
The analyst also wrote that he doesn’t foresee an economic slide that would create the need for Bank of America’s record reserve buildup, citing the change in the value of the dollar and steps by the Federal Reserve as likely to ease the credit crisis, the report said.
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Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, China, Scandals
I first started slamming China Finance Online (NASDAQ: JRJC) on October 3, when I asked How can China Finance online possibly not be overvalued?
To me — and Citron Research — there was no possible way that the stock wasn’t heinously overvalued. But for some odd reason, the Wall Street analysts just couldn’t get enough of it. Brean Murray slapped a $35 target on the stock, while the more conservative JPMorgan valued it at $29, which is the same target as Standard & Poor’s. What are/were they thinking?
Now the stock has pulled back to $13.28 from its high of over $47 a share — which was reached, incidentally, the day that I first mentioned the company. Now investors who bought into the hype are left wondering what happened. Is China Finance Online a buy now? I seriously doubt it. The market cap is still around $300 million on pretty tiny revenue: $25 million in 2007. More than 10 times sales for a company that sells stock newsletters in China using a sales force of telemarketers. Is that a joke?
With China’s stock market down more than 17% this year, you have to think that the enthusiasm for stock pick newsletters will be waning after the stock market mania that enveloped the country last year. Playing the stock market has a way of becoming less fun when you’re losing money hand over first.
Even after the precipitous drop, I’d still give China Finance Online wide berth.
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Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, China, Scandals
I first started slamming China Finance Online (NASDAQ: JRJC) on October 3, when I asked How can China Finance online possibly not be overvalued?
To me — and Citron Research — there was no possible way that the stock wasn’t heinously overvalued. But for some odd reason, the Wall Street analysts just couldn’t get enough of it. Brean Murray slapped a $35 target on the stock, while the more conservative JPMorgan valued it at $29, which is the same target as Standard & Poor’s. What are/were they thinking?
Now the stock has pulled back to $13.28 from its high of over $47 a share — which was reached, incidentally, the day that I first mentioned the company. Now investors who bought into the hype are left wondering what happened. Is China Finance Online a buy now? I seriously doubt it. The market cap is still around $300 million on pretty tiny revenue: $25 million in 2007. More than 10 times sales for a company that sells stock newsletters in China using a sales force of telemarketers. Is that a joke?
With China’s stock market down more than 17% this year, you have to think that the enthusiasm for stock pick newsletters will be waning after the stock market mania that enveloped the country last year. Playing the stock market has a way of becoming less fun when you’re losing money hand over first.
Even after the precipitous drop, I’d still give China Finance Online wide berth.
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Filed under: Earnings reports, Walgreen Co (WAG), Tiffany and Co (TIF)
Leading drug store chain Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) and upscale specialty retailer Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) are scheduled to report earnings tomorrow. Here’s a quick peek at them ahead of results.
 Walgreen has beat earnings estimates in four of the past five quarters. When the company reported first-quarter results back in November, earnings came to 46 cents per share, two cents less than the consensus forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, and up from the 43 cents in the same period of the previous year. For the current quarter, analysts expect 67 cents per share, compared to 65 cents in the year-ago quarter.
The company’s earnings per share growth forecast for this year is 9.42%, which is better than the industry average but less than the 30.68% of rival CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS). The analysts’ consensus recommendation is to hold Walgreen, and has been for the past three months. Shares have risen since hitting a 52-week low of $32.50 in January, and closed Friday at $36.78.
For news about Walgreens that could influence the earnings results, see BloggingStocks’ Walgreen coverage.
Continue reading Earnings previews: Walgreen and Tiffany
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Filed under: Earnings reports, Walgreen Co (WAG), Tiffany and Co (TIF)
Leading drug store chain Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) and upscale specialty retailer Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) are scheduled to report earnings tomorrow. Here’s a quick peek at them ahead of results.
Walgreen has beat earnings estimates in four of the past five quarters. When the company reported first-quarter results back in November, earnings came to 46 cents per share, two cents less than the consensus forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Financial, and up from the 43 cents in the same period of the previous year. For the current quarter, analysts expect 67 cents per share, compared to 65 cents in the year-ago quarter.
The company’s earnings per share growth forecast for this year is 9.42%, which is better than the industry average but less than the 30.68% of rival CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS). The analysts’ consensus recommendation is to hold Walgreen, and has been for the past three months. Shares have risen since hitting a 52-week low of $32.50 in January, and closed Friday at $36.78.
For news about Walgreens that could influence the earnings results, see BloggingStocks’ Walgreen coverage.
Continue reading Earnings previews: Walgreen and Tiffany
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Filed under: Mutual funds
 This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think Abigail Johnson should take up the reigns of Fidelity, and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.
I covered the mutual fund business for about six years in the 1990s, when Fidelity Investments was all the rage. It had the most star managers, the best performing funds and by far the most assets. It had the awe-inspiring Fidelity Magellan! And that was nothing to sneer at back then.
So it was with great interest when I learned that Abigail Johnson, the daughter of CEO ‘Ned’ Johnson (himself an heir to Fidelity), and a woman near my age (she’s 46), was being primed to take over the company. I have been cheering for her ever since. (Even as I wonder if the only way a woman can get to the top of a major financial services firm is by having her father run the place).
Continue reading Heir apparent: Abby Johnson could take reins at Fidelity from dad one day
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Filed under: Mutual funds
This post is one of several on business heirs apparent. Let us know in the comments whether you think Abigail Johnson should take up the reigns of Fidelity, and be sure to check out the other heir apparent posts.
I covered the mutual fund business for about six years in the 1990s, when Fidelity Investments was all the rage. It had the most star managers, the best performing funds and by far the most assets. It had the awe-inspiring Fidelity Magellan! And that was nothing to sneer at back then.
So it was with great interest when I learned that Abigail Johnson, the daughter of CEO ‘Ned’ Johnson (himself an heir to Fidelity), and a woman near my age (she’s 46), was being primed to take over the company. I have been cheering for her ever since. (Even as I wonder if the only way a woman can get to the top of a major financial services firm is by having her father run the place).
Continue reading Heir apparent: Abby Johnson could take reins at Fidelity from dad one day
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Filed under: Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Home Depot (HD), Best Buy (BBY), Circuit City Stores (CC)
It may not occur to customers, but big retailers are willing to negotiate prices. That would seem to make intuitive sense in a period when shoppers are a scarce as hen’s teeth.
According to The New York Times, “Shoppers are discovering an upside to the down economy. They are getting price breaks by reviving an age-old retail strategy: haggling.” The paper says this kind of transaction is now common place at Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Circuit City (NYSE: CC), and Home Depot (NYSE: HD).
There is a real danger to the practice. While it may keep customers in stores and get rid of inventory, the retailers are already faced with tight margins. Selling products at or near cost may not help large stores. It may hurt them by encouraging large portions of their customer bases to ask for much better prices. By going from chain to chain, a smart buyer can work a price way down.
National chains may want to look at the math. Letting customers walk out the door may be better than driving a culture where everyone thinks he can get a deal.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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Filed under: Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Home Depot (HD), Best Buy (BBY), Circuit City Stores (CC)
It may not occur to customers, but big retailers are willing to negotiate prices. That would seem to make intuitive sense in a period when shoppers are a scarce as hen’s teeth.
According to The New York Times, “Shoppers are discovering an upside to the down economy. They are getting price breaks by reviving an age-old retail strategy: haggling.” The paper says this kind of transaction is now common place at Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Circuit City (NYSE: CC), and Home Depot (NYSE: HD).
There is a real danger to the practice. While it may keep customers in stores and get rid of inventory, the retailers are already faced with tight margins. Selling products at or near cost may not help large stores. It may hurt them by encouraging large portions of their customer bases to ask for much better prices. By going from chain to chain, a smart buyer can work a price way down.
National chains may want to look at the math. Letting customers walk out the door may be better than driving a culture where everyone thinks he can get a deal.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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