From Briefing.com: 4:20 pm : Today's session started on a down note. After a brief rise into positive territory, the S&P 500 turned negative at midday. The S&P 500 then recovered, but the index closed unchanged on the day.
Energy was one of today's top performers as coal stocks paced the advance.
Alpha Natural Resources (ANR 7.25, +0.95) surged 15.1% after yesterday's 9.0% drop following the company's disappointing earnings report. James River Coal (JRCC 2.52, +0.29) missed revenue forecasts by $2 million and reported a loss which was narrower than analysts had expected. Despite the mixed report, the stock soared 13.0%. Arch Coal (ACI 7.42, +0.49) advanced 7.1% as it benefited from the significant gains of other coal-related names.
The consumer discretionary sector was generally weaker, but post-earnings buying lifted some restaurant stocks within the space.
Red Robin Gourmet (RRGB 32.24, +3.56) jumped 12.4% after beating earnings expectations. The company also reported in-line revenues and expects comparable net restaurant sales for the remainder of the year. Competitor Brinker International (EAT 34.43, +1.87) climbed 5.7% after reporting in-line revenues and issuing upside guidance for fiscal year 2013. Shares of the company are at a 52-week high, and are approaching record highs near $35.50.
Consumer staples were today's main laggard. Monster Beverage (MNST 61.20, -6.57) plunged 9.7% after missing earnings expectations by $0.02 and missing revenue forecasts by $3 million. Monster peers Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS 45.01, -0.47) and Coca-Cola (KO 79.24, -0.32) shed 1.0% and 0.4% respectively.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average, which often serves as the bellwether for overall economic health, underperformed the broader market. Airlines weighed on the index with Delta Airlines (DAL 9.07, -0.32) down 3.4%, United Continental Holdings (UAL 17.89, -0.43) lower by 2.4% and JetBlue (JBLU 5.02, -0.11) off 2.1%.
In M&A news, Robbins & Myers (RBN 59.63, +12.83) announced it will be acquired by National Oilwell Varco (NOV 76.98, +0.64) for $60.00 per share in cash, representing a 28% premium to yesterday's closing price for RBN. Shares of Robbins & Myers soared 27.4% on the news.
Crude oil spent most of its session trading in choppy fashion. It stayed mostly in positive territory despite a stronger dollar. Crude set a session high of $94.21 per barrel in late morning action, but gave up its gains as it headed into the close. The energy component slid to a session low of $93.08 and recovered in time to settle just above the unchanged line at $93.42.
As the second quarter earnings season nears its end, few notable companies have yet to report. Educational services provider DeVry (DV 19.87, +0.19), fashion retailer Nordstrom (JWN 55.08, -0.37), and chipmaker NVidia (NVDA 14.71, +0.48) will report after today's close. In addition, department store operator J.C. Penney (JCP 22.10, +0.70) will report its quarterly results before Friday's open.
Today's volume was well below average as just over 575 million shares changed hands.
The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 361,000, which was lower than the expected 375,000. The tally was also down from the prior week count of 365,000. As for continuing claims, they rose to about 3.332 million from 3.272 million.
The trade deficit narrowed to $42.9 billion during June after an upwardly revised prior month deficit of $48.0 billion. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected that the June deficit would come in at $47.5 billion.
Wholesale inventories were down 0.2% in June which is lower than the increase of 0.3% that had been broadly forecasted.
Tomorrow's economic data releases are limited to export prices ex-agriculture and import prices ex-oil. These will be reported at 8:30 AM ET. In addition the Treasury budget will be announced at 2 PM ET.DJ30 -10.45 NASDAQ +7.39 SP500 +0.58 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1368/1.63 bln/1097 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1649/575.8 mln/1354
3:30 pm : Crude oil spent most of its pit session trading in choppy fashion. It mostly stayed in positive territory despite a stronger dollar. Crude set a session high of $94.21 per barrel in late morning action but gave up its gains as it headed into the close. It slid to a session low of $93.08 per barrel and recovered just in time to settle just above the unchanged line at $93.42 per barrel.
Natural gas popped to a session high of $3.12 per MMBtu following bullish inventory data that showed a build of 24 bcf when a build of 30 bcf was anticipated. However, it sold-off moments before pit trade closed and gave up most of the day's gains, settling just 0.3% higher at $2.94 per MMBtu. The plunge took prices down ~ 6% in just a matter of minutes.
Gold oscillated between positive and negative territory in today's pit trade. Moves came in response to weak Chinese data, better-than-expected U.S. weekly jobless claims and a narrower trade deficit.
Silver climbed out of the red in late morning action but lost momentum after it peaked at $28.15 per ounce. It spent the afternoon pit session near the unchanged line and settled 0.1% higher at $28.11 per ounce.DJ30 -4.51 NASDAQ 7.87 SP500 1.40 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1363/1357.2/1074 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1671/377 mln/1305
4:25PM NVIDIA beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q3 revs above consensus ( NVDA) 14.71 +0.48 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.22; revenues rose 2.7% year/year to $1.04 bln vs the $1.01 bln consensus. Q3 non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be flat relative to the prior quarter, at 52.0 percent. Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $1.15-1.25 bln vs. $1.1 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co also sees non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to be approximately $350 million. Q3 GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates are expected to be approximately 20 percent, plus or minus one percentage point, excluding any discrete tax events that may occur during the quarter, which, if realized, may increase or decrease our third quarter GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates. If the U.S. research tax credit is reinstated into tax law, the co estimates annual effective tax rate for the fiscal year 2013 to be approximately 16 percent. They estimate depreciation and amortization for the third quarter to be approximately $57 million to $59 million. Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $30 million to $40 million.
4:12PM Amtech Systems beats by $0.21, beats on revs; guides Q4 revs below consensus ( ASYS) 4.11 +0.15 : Reports Q3 (Jun) loss of $0.31 per share, $0.21 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.52); revenues fell 66.2% year/year to $24.3 mln vs the $19.27 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $15-$17 mln vs. $22.78 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co states, "The supply/demand imbalance for solar cells and modules continues to negatively impact the entire solar supply chain... Gross margin percentage in the September quarter is expected to be similar to the June quarter. Total SG&A and R&D expenses are expected to be lower. The company expects to incur a net loss in the fourth quarter."
4:02PM Amtech Systems announces further cost reductions; expects annual expense savings of $6-$7 million in Fiscal 2013 ( ASYS) 4.11 +0.15 : The savings will come primarily from selling, general and administrative, and non-essential research and development costs.
4:03PM Brooks Automation misses by $0.05, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus ( BRKS) 9.57 +0.00 : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.14 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.19; revenues fell 24.6% year/year to $140.4 mln vs the $144.25 mln consensus.
Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.00-0.16 vs. $0.19 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Revenues are expected to decrease between 15 and 20%.
"While we achieved the bottom end of our revenue guidance in an increasingly difficult market environment, the mix of those revenues resulted in our net income slightly below our earnings guidance."
NDS, part of Cisco (CSCO), and Canal Digital, the leading DTH pay-TV provider in the Nordics, today announced that they are collaborating to launch a next-generation TV platform as a hosted, managed service. Enabling both satellite and Over-the-Top service delivery, the new platform will allow Canal Digital subscribers to access content anytime, anywhere and on multiple devices, whether in the home or on the go.
ARM (ARMH) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) announced the availability of the first in a series of combined solutions enabling designers to improve performance, power and time-to-market for ARM Cortex-A series processor-based system-on-chips
O2Micro International (OIIM) announced that it was issued 20 claims under United States patent number 8,219,333 for its Battery Management System Protection invention. Analog Devices (ADI) introduced two multiplexers that are able to guarantee latch-up prevention in high-voltage industrial applications operating up to 22 V.
09:08 am Apple initiated with a Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; tgt $825: . Stifel Nicolaus initiates AAPL with a Buy and price target of $825 saying the co's off-balance sheet inventory and manufacturing investments, which have a historically high correlation with forward revenue/shipments, imply material upside to their/consensus estimates; indicative of significant/positive fall product transition story. Firm also says a major near-term catalyst is Apple's widely-anticipated iPhone 5 launch in September/October. As part of this release, the firm will be focused on an LTE support at China Mobile, the world's largest carrier at +683 mln mobile subs (67 mln 3G subs). Based on Apple's success at China Unicom (~30% 3G penetration), they model China Mobile to offer as much as $6 of incremental EPS in 2013.
10:56 am Technology Sector is trading higher today along with the broader market
The tech sector is trading higher today, ahead of slight gains in the broader market. Semiconductors are showing relative strength with the SOX trading 0.6% higher. Within the chip index, WFR (+7.5%) is again a notable standout. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.1% higher today, while the QQQ and the NASDAQ are trading 0.3% higher on the session. Among tech bellwethers, CSCO (+2.4%) is showing notable strength, while T (-0.7%) is under moderate pressure today.
In earnings last night, SGI (+22.7%) posted a mixed quarter, but offered upside guidance. CTL (+2.2%) reported upside EPS and inline revs, while the company generally guided inline. This morning, HIMX (+5.4%) raised its guidance, while FXCM (-7.2%) posted a mixed quarter, CCOI (-4.7%) missed ests and OSIS (+6.9%) posted a beat. In news, VRNG (-3.5%) announced a $31 mln offering, as well as announced that it had entered into a Patent Purchase Agreement with NOK (+3.4%). Among rumors, Samsung shot down recent speculation that it was interested in RIMM (+1.8%).
Among notable analyst upgrades this morning in the tech space, CSCO (+2.4%) was upgraded to Overweight at Piper Jaffray, it was also added to Conviction Buy List. On the other end, NTAP (-1.2%) was downgraded to Hold at Cantor. NVDA (+0.8%) is the only notable name in tech scheduled to report quarterly results today after the close. |
