WallStreetBlips - Latest Stocks News Articles

Verizon May Under-Spend Cap Ex Budget; Risk For Telco Equipment Sector

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:02:33 +0000

Setting up a potential risk for the telecom equipment sector, Verizon (VZ) may be spending less on capital equipment in the fourth quarter than it had forecast, according to Auriga USA analyst Chandan Sarkar . In a research note this morning, Sarkar notes that Verizon on its Q3 conference call had indicated it would increase capital spending by 12%-15% sequentially in the fourth quarter. But the analyst notes that in the past few days, two key Verizon vendors - ADC Telecom (ADCT) and Dycom (DY) - have reduced forward revenue guidance. Sarkar says he is “particularly troubled” by Dycom’s report, “since Verizon’s construction spending is often a leading indicator for its future equipment orders.” Sarkar writes that “it is becoming clear to us that Verizon is not going to reach (or even come close to) its cap ex target, as Q4 spending appears to be slowing dramatically.” That should help Verizon hits its year-end cash flow generation ...

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Wedbush Downgrades SAP, Upgrades CRM

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:44:20 +0000

Wedbush analyst Michael Nemeroff this morning made a pair of enterprise software calls, reducing his rating on SAP (SAP) , but turning bullish on Salesforce.com (CRM) . SAP : Nemeroff cut his rating to Underperform from Neutral , with a target price of $49. The analyst says the lower rating reflects “the company’s comparatively weak core business fundamentals,” which he expects to persist for the next few quarters. He thinks that Q4 software revenue estimates could be too high. And he thinks incremental from small on-demand ERP vendors could chip away at the company’s market share and renewal rate among smaller customers. Salesforce.com : The analyst ups his rating to Outperform from Neutral, raising his price target to $74, from $63. The more bullish stance reflects his view that the company’s “strong and stable base of recurring revenue and low and very achievable expectations for growth in FY 2011.” As the economy turns higher, he adds, ...

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National Semi Added To Citi Top Picks List

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:19:35 +0000

National Semiconductor (NSM) shares are trading higher this morning after the stock was added to Citigroup ’s Top Picks Live list. Analyst Terrence Whalen has a price target on the stock of $20, well ahead of yesterday’s close at $13.81. Whalen writes that downside appears limited, given higher exposure to the industrial segment and improving handset activity. He asserts that at 10x calendar 2010 free cash flow, the stock appears “mispriced” ahead of the company’s financial results, which are due December 10. Another positive for the stock: last night’s strong results from rival Analog Devices (ADI) , after similarly strong results from Infineon (IFX) and Maxim (MXIM) . NSM today is up 47 cents, or 3.4%, to $14.28.

Find more top finance news, videos, and blogs on WallStreetBlips: Stocks, Citi Holdings, Citigroup, Infineon Technologies, Maxim Integrated Products Inc.

Stock Picks: Hewlett-Packard, Analog Devices

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:20 +0000

Plus Wall Street analyst opinions on Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Brocade Communications

Find more top finance news, videos, and blogs on WallStreetBlips: Stocks, Kinder-Morgan Energy Partners, Hewlett-Packard

UBS Lifts PC Forecasts For 2009, 2010

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:39:23 +0000

UBS analyst Maynard Um this morning lifted his 2009 PC unit forecast to positive 0.4%, from -2.1%, reflecting an expected 10% year-over-year growth rate in the fourth quarter. “Demand has proven more resilient than expected driven by aggressive consumer pricing and fiscal stimulus,” he writes in a research note. “We expect consumer demand in Q4 to continue to be driven by promotional activity, but believe unit growth is likely to see lower-than-normal seasonality due to component tightness.” (Offsetting that, he thinks Q1 should be better than seasonal.) For 2010, he now sees 12.6% unit growth, up from 8.8% previously. He says growth should be driven by a better economy and “design-focused consumer PCs,” as well as enterprise PC refresh - although he does not expect a meaningful uptick in enterprise until mid-2010. Um says is favorite picks in the PC sector are Apple (AAPL) , Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Seagate (STX) . Among Asian plays, he favors ...

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Tellabs: Soleil Upgrades On Valuation

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:41:55 +0000

Tellabs (TLAB) shares are getting a modest lift from Soleil Securities analyst Michael Genovese , who this morning raised his rating on the stock to Buy from Hold, noting that it is more than 25% below his $7.25 price target. Genoves writes in a research note that the stock trades at 0.7x EV/2010 estimated sales, versus an average 1.4x for peers. On a price ex-cash to operating earnings basis the stock is at 10x estimated 2010 results, the cheapest of the companies he covers. “We view this upgrade as more of a short term trading call than a fundamental change in our long-term view of Tellabs,” he writes. TLAB today is up 15 cents, or 2.6%, to $5.86.

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AOL: No Growth Years Through 2014, Analyst Says

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:24:51 +0000

There may be some perfectly good reasons to pick up shares of AOL , which starts trading today on a when-issued basis in advance of its pending spin-off from Time Warner (TWX) . But growth isn’t one of them. Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth this morning issued a report on the soon-to-be-independent company, which he thinks is fairly valued at $35-$39 a share. That would give the company a market cap of $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion. (For comparison, Yahoo (YHOO) has a market cap of $21.5 billion, with Google (GOOG) at $183.4 billion.) His valuation represents 8-9x 2010 estimates pro forma EPS, and 3-3.5x 2010 EBITDA. Anmuth writes that he expects declining revenue and profits at AOL to continue - with no growth projected in any year through 2014. His model includes 3-year compounded growth of -8% for revenue and -10% for EBITDA. He does say the company should be able to expand margins slightly in 2010, as it cuts staff by a third. And he says the access business should ...

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Apple: Awaiting the Black Friday Sale

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:49:06 +0000

Apple (AAPL) has been e-mailing customers an ad for its annual one-day Black Friday sale, which runs from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, online and in Apple retail stores. No word yet on exactly what will be on sale, although the company on a teaser on its Web site does say that “you’ll find dozens of great iPod, iPhone, and Mac gift ideas — all with free shipping.” So if you were planning to imminently buy a Mac, iPhone or iPod, you might want to wait a few days. Last year , most of the Black Friday price cuts were in the 5%-10% range. Here are some examples of last year’s reductions: 13-inch Macbooks, $101 off. 20-inch iMac, $51 off. 8 GB iPod Nano, $11 off. 8 GB iPod Touch, $21 off. iPod Classic, $21 off.

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More Newspapers Mull Pulling Out Of Google Search

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:30:37 +0000

Following recent discussions between News Corp. (NWS) and Microsoft (MSFT) about a deal which would yank News Corp. publications from the Google (GGOG) search index, other newspaper companies now say they are considering a similar move. Bloomberg reports that MediaNews Group , publisher of the Denver Post , will block Google News when it starts charging readers in Pennsylvania and California for online context next year, CEO Dean Singleton told the wire service in an interview. Early next year, the company will install a “pay wall” on newspapers in Chico, California, and York, Pennsylvania, Singleton said. MediaNews also publishes a number of Bay Area newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury-News and the Oakland Tribune . A.H. Belo (AHC) publisher of the Dallas Morning News , likewise is considering introducing online subscription fees and blocking Google, according Belo EVP James Moroney , publisher of the Dallas paper, Bloomberg reports. But he told ...

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Qualcomm: EU Drops Royalty Probe After Four Years

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:07:32 +0000

The European Commission has dropped a four-year probe into royalty rates charges by Qualcomm (QCOM) after the remaining companies that had brought the complaint withdrew from the case, the Financial Times reports . Left without any complainants, the Commission said that it is no longer appropriate to the invest further resources in the case. The investigation started in 2005, following a complaint from Nokia , Broadcom , Texas Instruments , Ericsson , NEC and Panasonic alleged that Qualcomm had refused to license patents to chipset companies on fair terms, while offering lower rates to customers who buy chipsets exclusively from Qualcomm. But Nokia and Broadcom later settled with Qualcomm. Qualcomm, you will be shocked to learn, is “extremely pleased” by the outcome.

Find more top finance news, videos, and blogs on WallStreetBlips: Stocks, Qualcomm, Nokia, Securities and Exchange Commission, Texas Instruments, Ericsson

Nokia Cutting 220 R&D Jobs In Japan

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:57:39 +0000

Nokia (NOK) this morning said it is cutting 220 R&D related jobs in Japan, part of its plan to better align research and development operations to a more focused future product portfolio. Just a few days ago , Nokia disclosed plans to cut 330 R&D slots in Finland and Denmark. So, where will they cut next?

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Rambus: Antitrust Case Looks Set To Start In January

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:30:17 +0000

Rambus (RMBS) shares are getting a lift after hours from an indication that its antitrust case against the memory chip industry will go forward as scheduled on January 11, 2010. The case, first filed in 2004, alleges that Hynix , Micron (MU) and Samsung “engaged in a concerted and unlawful effort to eliminate competition and stifle innovation in the market for computer memory technology and computer memory chips.” The company said that Judge Richard A. Kramer of the San Francisco Superior Court has issued recommendations that the Rambus case and the Tessera Technologies antitrust case against Hynix be co-ordinated. The company said the judge made clear that he would recommend co-ordination as long it does not delay the start of the Rambus trial now scheduled for January 11. RMBS in late trading is up 49 cents, or 2.9%, to $17.21.

Find more top finance news, videos, and blogs on WallStreetBlips: Stocks, Rambus, Micron Technology, Richard A. Posner

Palm Director Dutta Reportedly To Join Elevation Partners

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:12:10 +0000

Former eBay (EBAY) exec Rajiv Dutta is joining Elevation Partners and will help the firm raise money for a second fund, according to Bloomberg , which cites “a person familiar with the decision.” Dutta is a member of the board at Palm (PALM ), which counts Elevation as by far its largest holder. Elevation already has two Palm board seats. According to the story, Elevation has invested about 75% of its existing $1.9 billion fund. That includes $460 million invested in Palm. In addition to Palm Elevation has investments in Forbes Media , Move Inc . (MOVE) , SDI Media Group and Market Share Partners . In today’s regular session, PALM fell 27 cents, or 2.3%, to $11.47.

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AMD To Sell $500M 8.125% Notes; Priced To Yield 10.204%

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:47:41 +0000

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) this afternoon said it agreed to sell $500 million of 8.125% senior notes due 2017 in a private offering. The deal is expected to close November 30. The deal is priced to yield 10.204%, and is expected to provide proceeds of $439 million. The company will use proceeds along with existing cash to purchase its 5.75% convertible senior notes due 2012. The company had previously announced plans for the offering, but had not previously disclosed terms. In late trading, AMD is down 5 cents, at $6.89.

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HP FY Q4 Results, Q1 Outlook In Line With Guidance

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:42:09 +0000

In something of a non-event, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) this afternoon reported results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended October 31 right in line with the pre-announcement the company provided on November 11 . For the quarter, the company posted revenue of $114.6 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.14, as HP previously said. Revenue was down 8% year-over-year, or 5% on a constant currency basis. EPS was actually up from $1.03 a year ago, thanks to a spike in operating margin to 11.8% from 10.1%, as the company tightened down on costs. Revenues in the quarter were down 3% in the America, 17% in EMEA and 1% in Asia Pacific. Service revenues were up 8%. But enterprise storage and servers were down 17%, HP Software was down 16% and imaging and printing was down 15%. Personal systems group - PCs - was down 12% in revenue, but up 8% in units. Notebook revenue was down 8%, while desktop was down 16%. For Q1, the company repeated its forecast of revenue of $29.6 billion to $29.9 billion, with ...

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First Solar Sells 21 MW Project To NRG Energy

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:14:30 +0000

First Solar (FSLR) this morning said it sold a 21 MW AC solar energy project in Blythe, California, to NRG Energy (NRG ). Terms were not disclosed. First Solar said the project is the largest utility-scale PV solar generation facility in the state, and among the largest in North America. Power from the plant will be sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year agreement. First Solar will provider operations and maintenance services at the site under a long-term contract. FSLR today is up 61 cents, or 0.5%, to $121.79.

Find more top finance news, videos, and blogs on WallStreetBlips: Stocks, Men's Wearhouse, Alliance Capital Management Holdings

Rambus Slides On Worries Over USPTO Patent Review

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:22:10 +0000

Rambus (RMBS) shares are trading sharply lower today on concerns about recent developments in an ongoing review of one of the semiconductor IP company’s patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. So, this is an odd situation. Jeff Schreiner, an analyst with Capstone Investments , says the slide in the shares today is connected with the posting online of a document from the USPTO review of the company’s patent #6,697,295. The document is a response from Rambus to a ruling - which seems not to have been reported before - in which the USPTO has decided to go ahead and review claims 1-51 in the patent. Schreiner notes that this case, originally filed by Samsung , has been unfolding since October 2007 and is far from over; he notes that the typical patent review can take 4-6 years. But he notes that Rambus in the posted filing is apparently responding to a USPTO reversal of an earlier decision in which it had upheld the same set of claims in the patent. I’ve got a ...

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Motorola, RIMM Sued By Klausner Over Visual Voicemail

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:24:10 +0000

Klausner Technologies , a patent licensing firm, today said it filed lawsuits against both Motorola (MOT) and Research In Motion (RIMM ) asserting that the two companies violate Klausner’s portfolio fo 24 patents relating to visual voicemail. The company asserts that its patents are violated by the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and by the Motorola Cliq . The suits were filed in the Eastern District of Texas.

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Google To Acquire Teracent

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:55:28 +0000

Google (GOOG) today in a blog post announced a deal to acquire Teracent , a San Mateo, California, company focused on “intelligent display advertising.” The deal is expected to close this quarter. Terms were not disclosed. The company was funded by New Enterprise Associates . GOOG today is up $12.55, or 2.2%, to $582.54.

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Ciena Confirms It Won Nortel Auction; Holders Not Happy

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:23:52 +0000

Ciena (CIEN) confirmed this morning that it will pay $769 million for the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of Nortel ’s Metro Ethernet Networks business. The purchase price will be $530 million in cash plus $239 million in 6% senior convertible notes due 2017. The interest rate on the notes will ratchet up to 8% if the stock price falls below $13.17, Friday’s closing price. (Which it already has, by the way.) Initial conversion rate on the notes is $16.4625 a share. The company said the assets to be acquired generated $1.36 billion in revenue in 2008, and $556 million in revenue in the 2009 first half. Ciena said the deal should be “significantly accretive” to fiscal 2011 results, and that it will offer jobs to at least 2,000 Nortel employees. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2010. As I noted in a post yesterday , Ciena shares had rallied on the theory that it was not going to win the auction for the Nortel assets - and as expected the stock ...

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Stock Picks: Goldman Sachs, eBay, Penn Virginia

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:14:21 +0000

Plus Wall Street analyst opinions on Eclipsys and THQ Inc.

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eBay: S&P Turns Bullish After Skype Sale

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:01:57 +0000

Standard & Poor’s equity analyst Scott Kessler this morning raised his rating on eBay (EBAY) to Buy form Hold, while keeping his $26 price target. The stock closed Friday at $23.46. The company’s sale of a 70% stake in Skype is “good news,” he writes, as eBay now “can better focus on core operations, re-deploy the proceeds to pursue international growth opportunities via organic investment and/or M&A, and move past uncertainties related to now-resolved Skype-related legal matters.” He thinks eBay “will perform well this holiday season,” and contends the stock is “attractively valued.” EBAY today is up 66 cents, or 2.9%, to $23.45.

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Blockbuster To Combine Share Classes; NYSE Listing At Risk; Reverse Split Ahead?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:31:39 +0000

Blockbuster ( BBI , BBIB ) late Friday announced that it plans to combine its Class A and Class B shares into a single class of common stock. Under the current structure, the A shares have one vote and the B shares have two votes, but otherwise are the same - except for the big gap that has existed in their prices. On Friday, the A shares - BBI - closed at 74 cents, while the B shares - BBIB - closed at 34 cents. There are 122 million A shares outstanding, and about 72 million B shares. The company also said it has been notified by the New York Stock Exchange that it is out of compliance with a listing standard that requires the stock to have a price of at least $1. Blockbuster has six months to bring the stock price above a buck, or it will face delisting. That would suggest a reverse split is almost a sure thing; combining into a single share class would seem to be a step in that direction. No details on how the company will combine the two classes of shares was disclosed. Meanwhile, ...

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THQ Jumps As Wedbush Ups To Neutral

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:45:52 +0000

THQ (THQI) shares are sharply higher after Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter this morning lifted his rating on the company to Neutral from Underperform, although with a new target of $6, down from $7. The stock closed Friday at $4.69. “Investors appear to no longer fear imminent bankruptcy, and they appear to accept that THQ faces an uphill challenge to growing its revenues and profits in the future,” he writes in a research note. Pachter points out that “persistent industry sales declines, a cautious retailer environment and overall weak consumer spending have each weighed on THQ,” with the stock down 30% since the end of September. At the same time, he notes that current guidance is reasonable, and that the company recently raised $100 million in a convertible deal, curing bankruptcy concerns. “We think that THQ’s prospects are much improved, and we expect the company to deliver modest operating leverage as its revenues grow,” he writes. But Pachter ...

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Qwest: Piper Backs Off Bearish Stance

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:35:16 +0000

Piper Jaffray analyst Christopher Larsen this morning raised his rating on Qwest (Q) to Neutral from Underweight, with a new target of $4, up from $3. The stock closed Friday at $3.74. Larsen notes that the stock has underperformed the market since mid-2009 “despite reporting generally in-line results.” He asserts that “given the valuation divergence and the fact that the company is looking more attractive compared to its peers, we no longer recommend being underweight the stock.” He notes that despite declining revenues and access lines, the company “continues to generate strong free cash flows,” thanks to cost cutting and a prudent approach to capital spending. Larsen adds that there is likely to be further consolidation among rural local exchange carriers sector; while Qwest isn’t technically in that category he says the company’s footprint, capital structure and lack of wireless makes it more similar to an RLEC than to the RBOCs ...

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Amazon: Merrill Ups Target; Sees Strong Holiday Sales

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:25:23 +0000

Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analyst Justin Post this morning repeated his Buy rating on Amazon.com (AMZN) , lifting his price target on the stock to $140, from $125, and raising estimates. Post now sees 2009 EPS of $2.68, up from $2.63; for 2010 he goes to $3.45, from $3.30; for 2011 he now sees $4.21, up from $4. While conceding that the stock’s valuation is rich at 38x estimated adjusted 2010 EPS - or 47x GAAP EPS - he contends that there is opportunity for further upside to estimates, which should “sustain stock momentum” in the fourth quarter. For the quarter, he now sees revenue of $9.3 billion, up from $8.9 million, with EPS of 76 cents; the Street sees $8.9 billion and 71 cents. “Amazon should continue to outperform retail as consumers increasingly shift online to find savings,” he writes. Post adds that data suggests Amazon’s growth is accelerating. AMZN today is up $2.94, or 2.3%, to $132.56.

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Tech Data Gains As FY Q3 Tops Street View

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:51:19 +0000

Tech Data (TECD) shares are trading higher after the IT products distributor posted better-than-expected results for its fiscal Q3 ended October 31 . For the quarter, TECD reported revenue of $5.64 billion, down from $6.14 billion a year ago, but ahead of the Street at $5.38 billion. EPS of 84 cents was ahead of the Street at 71 cents. For the fourth quarter, the company said that “assuming the recent signs of improving IT demand continue, combined with the strength of certain foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar,” Q4 sales should be up in the low-to-mid single digit range year over year. TECD today is up $1.14, or 2.7%, to $43.96.

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Family Dollar's Buyback Okay Is A Good Sign (FDO, TGT, WMT, SHLD, BRK.A)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0000

When a company purchases its stock or authorizes a share repurchase, that sends a sign that it thinks the shares in question are a good value.

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Devon Energy A Major Player In North American Onshore (DVN, XOM, EOG, SU)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0000

The company will still have a huge amount of properties to develop once it sheds its international and Gulf of Mexico assets.

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Buckle Bucking The Trend (BKE, ANF, ZUMZ, URBN)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Once again, The Buckle's third-quarter results proved to be an anomaly in the retail sector.

Find more top finance news, videos, and blogs on WallStreetBlips: Stocks, The Buckle, Trend Macrolytics LLC

Smucker's Bold Move Pays Off (SJM, CL, UN, SLE)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Smucker's shares aren't a steal, but they are not at all unreasonably valued.

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Ciena Reportedly Wins Bidding For Nortel Opitcal Assets

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:57:37 +0000

Ciena (CIEN) has reportedly won the bidding for Nortel ’s optical networking and carrier ethernet business for $769 million, beating out an offer from Nokia Siemens Networks ( NOK , SIE) , according to Reuters , which cites simply “sources.” Ciena’s bid consists of $530 million in cash and $239 million in convertible notes, Reuters says, citing anonymous sources. The notes are to be due June 15, 2017, and pay an inerest rate of 6%, possibly increasing to 8% if Ciena’s stock falls, according to the Reuters report, In a statement , Nokia Siemens confirmed that the company and a financial partner did not submit the highest bid for the assets. According to previous reports, Nokia Siemens was partnering on the offer with private equity firm One Equity Partners . Ciena had originally bid $522 million, in an offer that was to consist of $390 million in cash and 10 million Ciena shares. Reuters notes that Ciena has just over $! billion in cash and about $798 ...

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Did Murdoch Just Figure Out How To Save The Newspaper Industry?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:36:12 +0000

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch just may have stumbled onto a way to save the newspaper business. According to the Wall Street Journal (which like this blog is published by News Corp.), Murdoch has had talked with Microsoft (MSFT) about a deal in which News Corp. would remove its newspaper content from Google ’s (GOOG) search engine, while continuing to include it in Microsoft’s Bing search engine. The story is attributed to “people familiar with the matter.” The story said the talks are in a very early stage, and might not result in a deal; a key issue is the price Microsoft would pay News Corp. to feature its content, which includes not just Barron’s and the Journal, but also the New York Post , the Sun , the Times of London , the Australian and various other publications. Unclear is whether the deal might also include MySpace and Fox television properties. The Financial Times, which broke the story on Sunday , writes that Microsoft has ...

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Stocks: Three Overstuffed Turkeys

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:40:20 +0000

Amazon.com, Cerner, and Intuitive Surgical may be profitable and innovative, but their stock valuations are likely too rich for most investors' tastes

Find more top finance news, videos, and blogs on WallStreetBlips: Stocks, Amazon.com, Cerner, Intuitive Surgical

Wall Street: Are Apologies Necessary?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:50:50 +0000

What would J.P. Morgan have said about regret expressed by Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein? History tells us the apology was a savvy investment

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Overstock Violates Nasdaq Listing Rules

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:23:17 +0000

Overstock.com (OSTK) this afternoon said it received a letter from Nasdaq yesterday indicating that OSTK violated Nasdaq’s listing rules when it filed a 10-Q for the September quarter that was not reviewed by an auditor. As reported earlier this week , Overstock fired its auditor Grant Thornton in a dispute over an accounting issue, and decided to file a 10-Q that was not audited or reviewed. Overstock said the Nasdaq letter also indicated that the filing did not contain the certifications required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The company said it now has 60 days to submit a plan to regain compliance; and it has until May 17 to actually regain compliance. The company said it expects to meet the rules well before the deadline.

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Mutual Funds: Does Size Really Matter?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:22:52 +0000

The growth of mutual funds isn't always cause for celebration. Read on to find out why not.

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Decoding DuPont Analysis

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:17:54 +0000

Get a deeper understanding of ROE with these three-step and five-step calculations.

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Teslas Motors Reportedly Planning IPO

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:07:21 +0000

Tesla: Driving toward an IPO? Tesla Motors , the Valley-based maker of electric sports cars, plans to go public soon, according to Reuters , which cites “two people familiar with the situation.” The story said an IPO filing is expected any day. The company declined to comment on speculation. The company’s Roadster (pictured at right) sells for $109,000. Investors in Tesla include Daimler AG , Valor Equity Partners , Technology Partners , Draper Fisher Jurvetson , DBL , The Westly Group and Compass Venture Partners . Among the individual investors in Tesla are CEO and founder Elon Mus k (who also was a co-founder of PayPa l and also runs the rocket start-up SpaceX ), Jeff Skol l (a former eBay exec who now produces movies) , Hyatt hotels magnate Nick Pritzker , Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin , and Elon’s brother Kimbal Musk , the CEO of real-time search engine OneRiot , among others.

Find more top finance news, videos, and blogs on WallStreetBlips: Stocks, AGCO, Technology Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Google

Principal-Protected Notes: Hedge Funds For Everyday Investors

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:01:21 +0000

PPNs guarantee to return at least 100% of the original investment and have the potential to return much more.

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Socially (Ir)responsible Mutual Funds

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:53:06 +0000

Not concerned about being an ethical investor? Maybe "sinful stocks" have a place in your portfolio.

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Picks of the Week: Intel, RIM, Wells Fargo

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:28:12 +0000

Wall Street analysts give their buy, sell, or hold views on various stocks in the news this week

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Synopsys: S&P Turns Bearish, See Tight Chip Sector Spending

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:10:54 +0000

Standard & Poor’s equity analyst Jim Yin today cut his rating on EDA software provider Synopsys (SNPS) from Sell from Hold, trimming his price target by a buck to $21. “Although the economy is improving, we think the recovery will be gradual,” he writes. “We are concerned about weak consumer spending, especially for electronic devices this Christmas shopping season. We believe IT spending in the semiconductor industry will be muted in the first half of 2010, because part of the sequential growth in that industry is driven by inventory restocking.” Yin trims his October 2010 fiscal year revenue estimate by $56 million to $1.37 billion, cutting his EPS forecast to $1.36, from $1.42. SNPS today is down 22 cents, or 1%, to $22.60.

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RIMM: FTN Downgrades; Competitive Worries Spread

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:37:31 +0000

FTN Capital analyst Blaine Carroll today cut his rating on Research In Motion (RIMM) to Neutral from Buy, citing evidence that the company is losing market share in the U.S. smart phone market. Carroll’s downgrade is in connection with his latest monthly survey of the U.S. smart phone market, in which he talked to 100 service reps at the four larges U.S. cellular operators. He RIMM was the best selling vendor, with about 44% market share in October, but notes that was down 10 percentage points from September. The falloff, he says, reflects a flurry of new entrants to the market. “Although we expected the company to see some pressure in our survey, the magnitude of the drop was greater than we originally thought,” he writes. “We feel that some high-end estimates may come down” in the months ahead. Meanwhile, Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette writes today that there are mounting risks to his current forecast for RIMM’s February quarter of 10 million ...

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The Dell Earnings Debacle: The Day After

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:42:06 +0000

Dell (DELL) shares have dropped 10% after yesterday’s highly disappointing earnings report for the fiscal third quarter ended October. As I noted yesterday, the company missed on both the revenue and EPS lines, posting results that suggest the company is continuing to lose share to its computer hardware rivals. As noted, the company reported revenue of $12.9 billion, up just 1% sequentially, down 15% from a year ago, and below the consensus at $13.2 billion. Per-share earnings of 23 cents a share missed by a nickel. There are largely two schools of thinking on Dell right now. The bulls generally focus on the prospects for a 2010 pick-up in IT spending generally and PCs specifically. Since Dell has higher exposure to corporate PC spending than Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) , IBM (IBM ), Apple (AAPL) or more or less anyone else you can think of, the theory is that they are the perfect play on the much-discussed, but yet-to-materialize PC refresh cycle. On the other ...

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Deutsche Telekom Reportedly Seeking Partner For T-Mobile

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:52:56 +0000

Deutsche Telekom (DT) is looking for a partner for T-Mobile , its U.S. wireless unit, according to a story in the German newspaper Handelsblatt which was picked up by Reuters . The piece says the company wants the partner to help finance a multi-billion-dollar build-out of a new 4G network, citing “unidentified people” at the company. Possible partners for the business reportedly include MetroPCS (PCS) , Clearwire (CLWR) and AT&T (T) , as well companies outside the industry. The piece also said that the German company is no longer contemplating a bid for Sprint (S) , a possibility which had been rumored earlier this year.

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Archipelago Learning Moving Higher After IPO

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:39:59 +0000

Archipelago Learning (ARCL) shares are trading higher after the K-12 online education provider this morning went public at $16.50 a share , towards the high end of the price talk range of $15-$17, with an offering of 6.25 million shares. The company is selling half of the shares, with the rest coming from a group of insiders, including Providence Equity Partners . which after the offering still owns 48.9% of the company. The deal was co-managed by BofA Merrill Lynch and William Blair & Co. ARCL today is up $2.28, or 13.8%, to $18.78.

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RealNetworks In Talks On Revamped Deal With MTV

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:16:47 +0000

RealNetworks (RNWK) this morning disclosed in an 8-K filing with the SEC that it is in talks with Viacom ’s (VIA) MTV Networks unit on the possible restructuring of their jointly owned Rhapsody America music service. The company said the talks are focused on the two companies’ “relative economic rights in the joint venture,” and on their ability to control decision-making to enable Rhapsody to operate more independently of either party. The upshot could be an adjustment of the structure of the joint venture which could reduce Real’s stake to below the current 51%, to 50% or slightly less. The company said the discusses are in the preliminary stages. The Real partnership with MTV in 2007 was supposed to make the two companies a more viable competitor to Apple (AAPL) iTunes and other online music service, but subscription music services still haven’t caught fire. RNWK today is down 11 cents, or 3.1%, to $3.47; the stock was trading north of ...

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EU Extends Deadline For Review Of Oracle/Sun Deal

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:51:03 +0000

European Union regulators today extended the deadline for their review of the pending $7 billion acquisition by Oracle (ORCL) of Sun Microsystems (JAVA) , Reuters reports . Oracle requested the extension in order to complete its response to the EU’s concerns, which center on Oracle’s acquisition of Sun’s MySQL database software unit. The new deadline is January 27.

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Stock Picks: Dell, Gap

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:41:02 +0000

Plus Wall Street analyst opinions on RealNetworks and Dress Barn

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