NASDAQ:RIMM

US Futures Modestly Higher after Mixed Italian Auction. Stocks to Watch: YHOO, RIMM, BAC, AAPL, LPL, PEIX

December 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Stock Futures are clinging to the smallest of gains after a weak Italian bond auction. Currently Dow futures are up 29 points to 12,110. Nasdaq futures are tacking on nearly 6 points to 2,265, while S&P futures are adding 3.75 to 1,248.25.

The Italian bond auction overnight was decidedly a mixed bag. It was encouraging to see borrowing costs drop, but the tepid demand is worrying to analysts long-term. It shows that the stresses that plagued Italy in recent months are still there and need to be addressed if there is to long lasting stability in that market. Maximize Your Trades With Profitly

The economic data calendar is stacked today with jobless claims slated for 8:30am EST release. Last week’s claims came it at 364,000, a positive sign in the labor market. Expectations are for a rise to 374,000, but this will keep it under the 400,000 threshold most economists view as a stable job creation for the US.

In Europe the markets have handed back some of their gains after the mixed Italian auction. The banking heavy Stoxx 600 Europe has moved into a mostly flat trading range in late trading, up around .18% currently. The French CAC 40 is up .3%, while the German Dax is adding .4%.

Asia was mostly lower in overnight trading as investors continued to be concerned about the viability of the EU going into 2012. A report by the ECB that showed it had boosted lending to banks dramatically sent the EUR/USD to a 15 year low. This helped drive Asian markets lower as investors sit on the sideline.

Closing out the remainder of the market week volume is expected to continue to be thin. Traders should be mindful of this cause any swing can be abrupt and extreme in price action.

Stocks to watch today include Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), LG Display Co. (NYSE:LPL) and Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX)

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is up 1.46% in pre market trading at $16.01. YHOO trades 27 million shares a day on average. Alibaba Group has hired a US lobby firm, the latest sign the Chinese internet group is considering a bid for Yahoo. The company has a market cap of 19.57 billion.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) is up 1.05% in pre market trading at $14.40. RIMM trades 22.9 million shares a day on average. RIMM has been trending higher over the past week or so. The company has a market cap of 7.35 billion.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is up 0.85% in pre market trading at $5.33. BAC trades 261.31 million shares a day on average. BAC is looking to start the day higher alongside the overall market after falling more than 3% yesterday. The company has a market cap of 53.57 billion. Maximize Your Trades With Profitly

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up 0.39% this morning at $404.20. AAPL trades 12.40 million shares a day on average. Apple has been in a steady uptrend since mid December. It did take a slightly hit yesterday though as the stock market finished lower. The company has a market cap of 374.22 billion.

LG Display Co. (NYSE:LPL) is up 4.8% in pre market trading at $10.48. LPL trades just shy of a million shares a day on average. LPL has been trading flat much of the month and has hovered very close to $10 a share in that time. The company has a market cap of 7.16 billion.

Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ:PEIX) is up 4.35% in pre market trading at $1.20. PEIX trades nearly 12 million shares a day on average. PEIX heated back up yesterday as day traders poured in to make some quick profits. The company has a market cap of 88.67 million.

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Stocks Rallying In Midday Trading: PARL, SGMS, SSN, CMM, RIMM, TAT

December 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Parlux Fragrances Inc. (NASDAQ:PARL) is up 74.35% today at $6.05. PARL stock is up today on news that Perfumania will buy Parlux for $170 million. PARL has traded 1.2 million shares so far today, well above its daily average of 27 thousand shares. The company has a market cap of 122.75 million.

Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ:SGMS) is up 13.41% in midday trading at $9.30. SGMS has traded 666 thousand shares so far today, above its daily average of 524 thousand shares. SGMS is up about $1.30 a share over the past few days. The company has a market cap of 855.95 million. Maximize Your Trades With Profitly

Samson Oil & Gas Limited (AMEX:SSN) is up 10.10% today at $2.18. SSN has traded 1.6 million shares so far today, more than twice its daily average. SSN filed an 8-K today. The company has a market cap of 193.31 million.

China Mass Media Corp. (NYSE:CMM) is down 74% today at $6.22. CMM previously closed at $23.66. CMM began trading a little after market open around the $1.60s and quickly shot up to nearly $8. There was no news catalyst that I could find today, but traders have been all over this earlier today. The company has a market cap of 14.73 million.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) is up 6.14% in midday trading at $14.77. RIMM has traded 19.3 million shares so far today and trades 23 million shares a day on average. RIMM has jumped more than $2 a share over the past five trading days. The company has a market cap of 7.62 billion. Maximize Your Trades With Profitly

TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. (AMEX:TAT) is up 5.08% today at $1.24. TAT has traded 1.2 million shares so far today, well above its daily average of 1 million shares. TAT stock is up nearly $0.20 since Friday. The company has a market cap of 453.51 million.

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Futures Shed Gains as Oracle Misses. Stocks to Watch: DFG, ORCL, RIMM, ECYT, INHX, NKE, AAPL

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After being up up nearly 100 points after an ECB announcement, the Dow futures are currently up 9 points to 12,040. Nasdaq futures are flat, while S&P futures are down half a point to 1235.50. The major driver holding the markets down is Oracle missing analysts expectations.

The ECB came out out overnight and announced the participation rate in its funding program. Over 500 banks participated to the tune of $641 billion. This far exceeded the numbers Reuters had come up with earlier. It showed a deeper liquidity that previously realized.

The announcement was a catch 22. It showed that liquidity needs were more than being met, but it exposed that a greater number of banks were having short term liquidity issues.

As the market winds down going into the Christmas holiday the economic data calendar is becoming sparse. Today’s major data is existing home sales and is expected at 10am EST. This is on the heels of better than expected housing starts data yesterday.

Commodity prices continued to rally after their drubbing last week. Gold is up $9 to 1$1626. Crude oil is adding 44 cents to $97.69.

On the currency front, the dollar index continues to be a choppy trade. The DXY is up right now .1% to 79.90.

Stocks to watch today include Delphi Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:DFG), Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL), Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECYT), Inhibitex, Inc. (NASDAQ:INHX), Nike, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Delphi Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:DFG) is up 72.63% in pre market trading at $43.90. DFG has traded one thousand shares so far this morning and averages 261 thousand shares a day. Tokio Marine Holdings and Delphi Financial Group announced today that Tokio Marine Holdings will acquire all outstanding shares of Delphi Financial Group for $2.7 billion. Delphi has a market cap of 1.39 billion.

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) is down 8.91% in pre market trading at $26.57. ORCL has traded 29 thousand shares so far in pre market and trades 26.11 million shares a day on average. Earnings for the company fell short for the first time in 10 years. Oracle posted an EPS of $0.54, while analysts were expecting $0.57. The company has a market cap of 147.15 billion.

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) is up 7.83% in pre market trading at $13.50. RIMM has traded 375 thousand shares so far today and trades 21.96 million shares a day on average. News that Microsoft and Nokia had thought about acquiring the company in recent months is sending stocks up this morning. The status of these talks unclear. Research In Motion has a market cap of 6.56 billion.

Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECYT) is up 4.43% in pre market trading at $3.30. ECYT trades 676 thousand shares a day on average. Endocyte has a market cap of 112.93 million.

Inhibitex, Inc. (NASDAQ:INHX) is up 0.67% in pre market trading at $10.59. INHX trades 4.12 million shares a day on average. INHX stock has recovered somewhat after having a massive sell off last Friday. The company has a market cap of 823.65 million.

Nike, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is up 1.71% in pre market trading at $95.23. NKE has trades 2.38 million shaers a day on average. Nike shares are up early after the company announced earnings. Nike saw profits rise for the third straight quarter. Nike has a market cap of 43.41 billion.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is down slightly in pre market trading at $393.93. AAPL trades 13.94 million shares a day on average. AAPL stock jumped more than $13 a share yesterday after the market wide rally saw the Dow gain more than 300 points. Apple has a market cap of 368 billion.

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US Futures Up as Traders Await Home Building Data. Stocks to Watch: AAPL, AMZN, DELL, T, GM, SIRI, RIMM

December 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Dow Jones futures are up a modest 48 points at 11,826. Nasdaq futures are tacking on 14 points at 2247. The S&P is showing a relatively modest increase of 6.25 to 1217.25.

Over night Asia markets were rocked by the death of Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea. When the news of his death broke, South Korea immediately put their military forces on alert. The region is expected to remain in focus as the world watched for any sign of instability.

European markets and the futures here stateside are mostly muted towards the death. This news was almost expected sometime soon, and the North Korean government was trying to complete a live transfer of power to his son before his death.

A bounce in European markets is helping the US stay positive as trader wait for home building data that is set to release at 10am EST. With Christmas week volume expected to be thin at best most agree the markets will stay range bound through the rest of 2011.

Early European losses have been reversed with the Stoxx 600 up .66% to 235. In France, the CAC 40 shook off the late Friday report of an outlook negative rating. Currently it is up nearly 1 percent.

Commodity prices continued to muddle through with crude oil up 59 cents to $94.12. Gold continues to lose its price luster, down another 3.25. This is below the $1600 price threshold.

The Dollar Index (DXY) is experiencing a slight rise this morning against major currencies. It is sitting at 80.263 this morning.

Stocks to watch today include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) and Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM)

Apple Inc. (NASDASQ:AAPL) is up slightly in pre market at $382.14. AAPL trades 14.02 million shares a day on average. AAPL stock sold off the latter part of last week and finished down more than $10 on the week. Apple has a market cap of 354.12 billion.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is up 0.46% in pre market trading this morning at $182.10. AMZN trades 6.59 million shares on average every day. AMZN stock bounced back some last week after it sold off on Tuesday and some of Wednesday. The stock opened the week around $190 and finished at $181.26. Amazon is hoping to have a good holiday season as it enters the last week before Christmas. The company has a market cap of 82.43 billion.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) closed Friday down 0.13% at $15.03. DELL trades 20.72 million shares a day on average. The stock finished last week down about $0.50 a share. Dell has a market cap of 27.00 billion.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is down slightly in pre market trading at $28.80. T trades on average 24.42 million shares a day. T stock traded mostly flat last week, only trading down about $0.15 a share. AT&T and T-Mobile talks over potential asset sales as part of the effort to get the get approval of the deal have gone cold according to the Wall Street Journal. The company has a market cap of 170.97 billion.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) closed Friday up 0.25% at $20.15. GM trades 11.38 million shares a day on average. GM ended last week relatively flat, only losing about $0.40 a share. The company has a market cap of 31.53 billion.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) is up 0.56% in pre market trading at $1.78. SIRI trades 57.33 million shares a day on average. SIRI ended last week flat and the stock is down about $0.15 on the month. Sirius XM has a market cap of 6.64 billion.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) is up slightly in pre market trading at $13.45. RIMM trades 22.29 million shares a day on average. RIMM stock took a massive hit on Friday after the company announced poor financial results and delayed the launch of their new BlackBerry. The company has a market cap of 7.04 billion.

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Stocks Heading South In Pre Market Trading: RIMM, INHX, IDIX, CVC, SINA

December 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) is down 10.11% in pre market trading at $13.60. RIMM has traded 615 thousand shares so far this morning and averages 20.77 million shares a day on average. RIMM is down after reporting disappointing earnings yesterday. The company has a market cap of 7.93 billion.

Inhibitex, Inc. (NASDAQ:INHX) is down 42.73% in pre market trading at $7.69. INHX has traded 55 thousand shares this morning and trades 4.3 million shares a day on average. INHX is down this morning after Pharmasset said it will amend the design of its QUANTUM Phase 2b trial. Pharmasset said it detected laboratory abnormalities with liver function in patients receiving PSI-938 once daily. This news from Pharmasset has caused stock of companies who develop hepatitis C treatments like Inhibitex to drop. Inhibitex has a market cap of 1.02 billion.

Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IDIX) is down 16.24% in pre market trading at $6.50. IDIX trades 1.02 million shares a day on average. IDIX is down this morning for the same reason INHX is down. The company has a market cap of 746.14 million.

Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) is down 7.04% in pre market trading at $12.95. CVC trades 2.57 million shares a day on average. CVC stock is down today after being downgraded to Hold by ISI Group. Cablevision has a market cap of 3.89 billion.

Sina Corporation (NASDAQ:SINA) is down 5.21% in pre market trading at $50.05. SINA has traded 150 thousand shares this morning and trades 4.85 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 3.48 billion.

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Stock Futures Rise With A Major IPO and CPI Numbers for Friday; Stocks To Watch: AAPL, AMZN, BAC, RRR, RIMM, ADBE

December 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Futures on the Dow Jone Industrial Average are up 39 points to 11,861. S&P 500 futures are currently up nearly 6 points to 1217.50. Nasdaq 100 futures are adding nearly 10 points in early pre-market trading at 2,233.

Investors are anxiously awaiting a second round of economic data after yesterday’s data dump. The economic data calendar for today is fairly light with CPI numbers releasing at 8:30am EST.

Financial stocks are likely to be under the gun today after Fitch’s late-Thursday downgrades of several big US banks. Ban of America, Barclays and Goldman Sachs all saw their long-term debt ratings slashed. While not a catastrophic move by Fitch, this will end up costing the banks as they continue to navigate the sovereign debt crisis still gripping the EU.

One bright spot on the market today is the IPO of Zynga, the social game maker. With the initial pricing at $10 it is expected to be one of the most heavily traded stocks as investors get a chance to trade a company that works closely with Facebook. It is widely expected that Facebook will have its own IPO in the coming year. Possibly in the spring.

European markets continue to mired in their sovereign debt crisis with major markets turning negative this morning. Germany’s DAX 30 Index is modestly lower at this hour, losing about .30% to 5,715.

Asian markets rebounded overnight with the Shanghai Composite leading the charge, up nearly 2%. Most of the gains were due to strong US economic data and relief buying after a string of losses. Trading was thin, however, as investors worried over the EU going into the weekend.

Gold is ending the week by edging higher after this week’s rout in prices. Currently up nearly $11 to 1,588 the metal is working to recover after steep losses throughout the week. It is expected the pricing of gold can be resilient thanks to strong physical purchases and the looming threat of QE 3. Any additional monetary easing out of Europe will also help stabilize the price.

Stocks to watch today include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), RSC Holdings Inc. (NYSE:RRR), Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up slightly in pre market trading at $381.43. AAPL trades 14.13 million shares a day on average. Apple is struggling to take a bigger share of China’s booming smartphone market. While their share has risen dramatically in the past few years, other companies such as Samsung are doing better than Apple in China. This is due in part because the network infrastructure there doesn’t fully support the iPhone and iPad capabilities. AAPL has a market cap of 352.19 billion.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) closed yesterday up 0.5% at $181.26. AMZN trades 6.51 million shares a day on average. AMZN has recovered some over the past two trading days after hitting a low of around $170 a share on Wednesday. Amazon.com has a market cap of 82.43 billion.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is up 1.33% in pre market trading at $5.33. BAC trades 263.89 million shares a day on average. Fitch downgraded Bank of America by one notch yesterday. Look for BAC stock to continue to follow the overall market trend. The company has a market cap of 53.31 billion.

RSC Holdings Inc. (NYSE:RRR) closed yesterday up 3.36% at $11.37. RRR trades 910 thousand shares a day on average. United Rentals, Inc and RSC Holdings announced this morning that United Rentals will acquire RSC at $18 per share, valuing the deal at $4.2 billion. The company has a market cap of 1.18 billion.

Reserach In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) is down 9.45% in pre market trading at $13.70. RIMM trades 20.77 million shares a day on average. RIMM is heading down this morning after announcing third quarter earnings fell 71%. The company also delayed the release of a new generation of BlackBerry devices. Research In Motion has a market cap of 7.93 billion.

Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) is up 5.56% in pre market trading at $27.93. ADBE trades 6.66 million shares a day on average. Adobe announced quarterly results yesterday that beat Wall Street’s expectations. The company has a market cap of 12.99 billion.

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Optimism Over Europe’s Debt Crisis Pushes U.S. Stock Futures Higher. Pre-Market Stocks to Watch: SFSF, AAPL, AMZN, PEIX, ALXA, RIMM, BAC

December 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

U.S. stock futures rose as optimism over Europe’s ability to contain its debt crisis gained momentum with France’s Sarkozy meeting with Germany’s Merkel meeting today just ahead of the European Union summit. Italy also announced further measures to rein in its spending. Investors are also hopeful more economic data from the U.S. this week will bring more good news and keep the steady trend of a U.S. recovery alive.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 104 points, or 0.9%, to 12,104. Futures for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 11.7 points, or 1%, to 1,255.20.
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 19.25 points, or 0.8%, to 2,322.50.

The Dow closed up 7% last week, the biggest weekly point gain in three years. The gains followed November data that showed a drop in the U.S. unemployment rate. Today, more data will come streaming in as the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing report for November will be released. That report is due to be released at 100:00 am ET.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.7% to 242.53, led by banks, after the Italian government Sunday announced more austerity measures. That news helped bring the 10-year Italian government-bond yield lower.

The FTSE 100 Index added 32.2 points to 5584.2, a rise of 0.5% after climbing 7.5% last week during its best performance for nearly three years. The Dax and Cac 40 were both higher in Frankfurt and Paris respectively as news of a Sarkozy-Merkel meeting were welcomed.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.2% to 78.515.

Gold futures for February delivery dropped $7.70 to $1,741.50 an ounce.

Oil futures for January delivery rose 62 cents to $101.58 a barrel. Earlier, Asian shares traded higher as investors were optimistic about Europe also. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished 0.7% higher, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6%, South Korea’s Kospi traded up 0.4%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%. The Shanghai Composite Index bucked the regional trend, however, losing 1.2%.

Stocks to watch this morning include SuccessFactors Inc. (NYSE:SFSF), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX), Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXA), Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC).

SuccessFactors, Inc. (NYSE:SFSF) is up 52.38% in pre-market trading at $40.00. Earlier SAP, a German enterprise applications software giant, said it will buy SuccessFactors for $40 per share. This is a 52% premium of the company’s closing price on Friday. SuccessFactors provides cloud-based management applications. The deal has already been approved by SuccessFactors’ board and should close in the first quarter of 2012. SFSF has traded 559 thousand shares in pre-market trading and trades 1.78 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 2.21 billion.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up 0.72% in pre-market trading at $392.51. Apple lost a bid to have U.S. sales of Samsung’s Galaxy phones halted in the latest legal battle between the two companies. Samsung surpassed Apple as the world’s top smartphone maker in the third quarter. Apple and Samsung have been trying to have each other’s products banned over patent infringements all over the world recently. AAPL stock rose nearly $20 a share last week. AAPL trades 15.41 million shares daily and has a market cap of 362.19 billion.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is up 1.39% in pre-market trading at $198.76. Last week, AMZN started the week off sluggish but finished strong, up more than $5 a share from its low of the week. Amazon.com has been propelled by fantastic sales of its Kindle Fire and overall sales numbers from Black Friday. AMZN trades 7.57 million shares a day on average and has a current market cap of 7.57 million.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX) closed Friday up 10.37% at $1.49. Last week, PEIX had a sell off for the first half of the week, but quickly turned it around after announcing an increased ownership of 7% in New PE Holdco LLC. Following this news, PEIX jumped from $1.10 on Wednesday to nearly $1.60 intraday on Friday. PEIX trades 15.26 million shares daily and has a market cap of 114.88 million.

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXA) closed Friday up nearly 3% at $1.02. ALXA has an FDA decision coming up next week and should see trading action ahead of this news. ALXA stock is up $0.10 from its low last week. ALXA trades 483 thousand shares a day on average and has a market cap of 73.58 million.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) is down 1.07% in pre-market trading at $16.59. RIMM continues to get hammered after the company had to write down a $485 million charge on its Playbook tablet. RIMM is having big promotion with reduced pricing for its tablet after it experienced poor sales throughout the year. On Friday RIMM fell from $18.5 to $16.77. RIMM trades 20.98 million shares a day on average and has a market cap of 8.79 billion.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) is up 2.30% in pre-market trading at $5.64. Last week, BAC bounced back more than $0.60 from its low after the coordinated action by central banks to ease banks’ borrowing rates. BAC trades 269.40 million shares a day on average and has a market cap of 57.17 billion.

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Active Stocks to Watch in the Pre-Market: LOW, F, MSFT, GOOG, RIMM

December 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After a euphoric week on Wall Street investors should be wary of any hangover that pops up going into the new trading week. Stocks gave up their rally late Friday to end mostly flat. After a relatively week jobs reports it appears economic headwinds remain. Investors should watch for news out of Europe as they continue to address sovereign debt concerns that have reached the EU core.

Stocks to watch in pre-market trading include Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW), Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM)

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW) closed Friday up 1.84% at $24.31. LOW finished last week up nearly $1.50 after opening the week at around $23 a share. LOW stock traded 19.2 million shares on Friday, 3.2 million shares more than its daily average volume. Lowe’s is holding an investor and analysts conference on Tuesday and reports are the company will talk about how its been turning things around. Following the close on Friday, Lowe’s has a market cap of 30.63 billion.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) closed up nearly 3% on Friday at $10.90. Friday’s move capped a 90 cent per share rally during the week. Volume on Friday was slightly above average with Ford shares trading over 67 million shares, up from an average of 61 million shares. Ford’s rally was boosted company sales reports that saw a 20% increase in retail sales in November. The company has a market cap of 41.42 billion.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) finished last week slightly lower at $25.22, a loss of 0.24%. For the week, Microsoft closed $0.40 higher than were it started. MSFT traded average volume on Friday with 52.2 million shares traded, just below the 56 million shares a day the stock trades on average. Microsoft has a market cap of 212.16 billion.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) capped a week-long rally by finishing up just over 1% at $620.36. GOOG traded heavily on Friday with over 4 million shares changing hands. Google’s recently announced deal to rent movies via YouTube and expected ad revenue growth during the holidays should work in the stock’s favor as it continues to rally into the holiday season. The company has also begun to ramp up marketing efforts for its new product offerings and to solidify its market share in search and the Bing-Yahoo search merger completes.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) closed Friday down 9.74% at $16.77. RIMM fell after the company announced a $485 million write down on the company’s Playbook tablet. Sales of the Playbook tablet have been very poor this year and Research In Motion is having a big promotion with heavily marked down prices to move inventory. RIMM traded 60 million shares on Friday, more than double its daily average volume of 23.2 million shares. The company has a market cap of 8.73 billion.

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Biggest Losers in Today’s Rally: RIMM, BIG, UVV, GTE, CSIQ, EK

December 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Despite the market rally earlier today, there are some stocks getting hit pretty hard today by investors. These stocks include Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), Big Lots Inc. (NYSE:BIG), Universal Corp. (NYSE:UVV), Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (AMEX:GTE), Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) and Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:EK).

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) is down 8.67% today at $16.97. RIMM is falling after the company announced it won’t meet financial targets after a huge write down on its PlayBook tablet. The total write down is $360 million. RIMM has traded 44 million shares so far today following this news, more than double its daily average volume.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE:BIG) is down 8.41% at $36.36 with about 2 hours left in the trading day. BIG has traded 4.2 million shares so far today, well above its daily average of 1.3 million shares. Big Lots fell today after its third quarter income fell 76% due to a loss related to its newly acquired Canadian operations and the slow down in the U.S. The company did however raise its full year outlook. The company has a current market cap of 2.39 billion.

Universal Corp. (NYSE:UVV) is down 8.66% at $41.67 today. UVV has traded 947 thousand shares so far today, more than 4 times its daily average. UVV started selling off around midday yesterday. The company has a current market cap of 976.59 million.

Gran Tierra Energy, Inc. (AMEX:GTE) is down 6.42% today at $5.83. GTE has traded 1.3 million shares so far today, more than double its daily average volume. The company gave an update on drilling programs in South America earlier today, but it looks like investors didn’t like what they heard. Gran Tierra has a current market cap of 1.61 billion.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) is down 9.62% today at $2.82. CSIQ has traded 838 thousand shares so far today and is on track to trade its normal volume of 1.1 million shares. CSIQ is dipping today after running up all week long from $2.40 to $3.20. The company has a current market cap of 121.48 million.

Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:EK) is down 3.30% today at $1.0250. EK has traded 4.7 million shares so far today and trades 12.4 million shares a day on average. Eastman Kodak has a current market cap of 276.70 million.

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U. S. Stock Futures Post Sharp Gains Today As Euro Zone Prospects Look Brighter Along With Jobs In USA. Stocks to Watch: LULU, AAPL, PEIX, BIOF, TXI, RIMM, KR

December 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

U.S. stock futures rose sharply on news that Germany and France are taking the lead in getting the euro zone crisis under control. Also, investors are looking for a good report from the Labor Department on nonfarm payrolls.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 153 points to 12,156, S&P 500 futures gained 17 points to 1,260 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 31.3 points to 2,340. The blue chips have added close to 800 points since Monday and are now more than 3% to the upside for the year. Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 and Nasdaq have trimmed their year-to-date losses to 1%.

Investors were glad to hear proposals by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. After the matket closed on Thursday, Sarkozy proposed tighter fiscal integration for euro zone countries, and for the creation of a European Monetary Fund, which would be able to aid ailing countries before hand. The proposed body would be able to make decisions based on a majority vote instead of a unanimous one, which would make the process of providing rescue aid much quicker.

Wall Street is also waiting on the monthly employment jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect the economy will have added 122,000 jobs in November from the month prior. “We expect this report to be better than the last, but not a blockbuster,” Andrew Tilton, an economist at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a note to clients.

Benchmark crude traded in New York jumped $1.01, or 1%, to $101.22 a barrel. Wholesale RBOB gasoline soared 7 cents, or 2.8%, to $2.63 a gallon.

Gold gained $17.00, or 0.98%, to $1,757 a troy ounce. U.S. Treasury yields continued rising as equity markets have rallied. The benchmark 10-year note yields 2.128% from 2.003%.

European blue chips jumped 1.9%, the English FTSE 100 rallied 1.5% to 5,574 and the German DAX climbed 1.7% to 6,137.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 edged higher by 0.54% to 8,644 and the Chinese Hang Seng rose 0.2% to 19,040.

Stocks to watch today include Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ:PEIX), BioFuel Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:BIOF), Texas Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TXI), Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) is up 3.58% in pre- market trading this morning after falling yesterday. LULU stock took a bit of a hit yesterday after the company’s revenue forecasts missed estimates. LULU trades 2.73 million shares a day on average. The company has a current market cap of 5.95 billion.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is up nearly 1% in pre-market trading with more than 60 thousand shares traded so far this morning. AAPL trades 15.62 million shares a day on average. Shares of Apple are up more than $10 so far this week. Apple Inc. has a current market cap of 360.55 billion.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX) is up 3.7% in pre-market trading at $1.40. PEIX had a great day yesterday, jumping from $1.10 to over $1.30. PEIX has traded 122 thousand shares so far today and trades 14.64 million shares a day on average. Pacific Ethanol has a current market cap of 104.09 million.

BioFuel Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:BIOF) is up 7.69% in pre-market trading at $0.70. BIOF began turning around yesterday after it had a bit of a sell off at the beginning of the week. BIOF trades 3.65 million shares a day on average. The company has a current market cap of 80.09 million.

Texas Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TXI) closed yesterday at $27.61 after hitting an intraday high of nearly $35. TXI trades on average 486 thousand shares a day. The company has a current market cap of 770.05 million.

Reserach In Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM) is down nearly 6% in pre-market rading at $17.48. RIMM announced this morning it will take a $485 million charge for poor PlayBook sales. RIMM has traded 1.52 million shares so far this morning and trades 19.37 million shares a day on average.

The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) finished Thursday at $23.37. KR announced third quarter results yesterday and they beat expectations. The company also raised their fiscal year forecast. KR trades 5.15 million shares a day on average. Kroger Co. has a current market cap of 13.36 billion.

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China Helps Stock Futures Rise With A Cut In Bank Reserve Requirements. Stocks to Watch: AAPL, AMZN, NFLX, SIRI, BAC, GLW, RIMM

November 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The news of the day will be China surprising the markets with its first cut in banks’ reserve requirements in nearly three years, moving into easing mode as Beijing looks to soften the country’s economic slowdown. The move proved to a reversal of fortune for investors after a wide-ranging cut in financial sector ratings by Standard & Poor’s added to worries about the fallout of the euro zone’s debt problems as time runs out for policymakers to quiet ongoing debt crisis.

Late on Tuesday, euro zone finance ministers meeting in Belgium agreed to boost the firepower of the regional bailout fund, and Standard & Poor’s downgrade of a number of leading banks fuelled an early sell-off.

Stock futures had fallen earlier after Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services late Tuesday lowered its ratings on more than a dozen global banks, as the ratings company applied its revised criteria to 37 banks in total. Several large U.S. banks, including Bank of America (BAC), J.P. Morgan & Chase (JPM) and Citigroup (C) had their credit ratings lowered
The China move, which lowers the reserve ratio for China’s biggest banks to 21%, will free up cash for small firms crippled by credit market strains. The move came just after Chinese stocks posted their biggest one day slide since August on the belief the Chinese government was not going to ease monetary policy.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65 points to 11,630 after trading down around 50 points. The blue-chip Dow index closed up 0.3% on Tuesday, gaining for a second session.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index gained 8 points to 1,204.5 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 17.75 points to 2,230.2.
The euro was little changed at $1.3325. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, edged lower to 78.997, paring its earlier gains.

Stocks to watch today include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) and Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ:RIMM)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed Tuesday down 0.78% at $373.20. AAPL is currently up 1% in pre-market trading at $376.95. AAPL trades on average 17.40 million shares a day. Over the past 5 trading sessions, AAPL stock has traded in the range of $365 to around $375. Apple Inc. has a current market cap of 346.86 billion.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) closed Tuesday down 2.97% at $188.39. AMZN is up in pre-market trading at $191.38, a gain of 1.59%. AMZN trades on average 7.29 million shares a day. AMZN started the week off in good shape following better than expected Black Friday holiday sales. Amazon.com has a current market cap of 85.67 billion.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) closed Tuesday down 3.40% at $67.57. NFLX is currently up slightly in pre-market trading at $67.75. On average, NFLX trades 8.86 million shares daily. NFLX had a bit of a sell of yesterday following S&P’s downgrade of the company’s credit rating. Netflix has a current market cap of 3.55 billion.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) closed Tuesday down 2.55% at $1.72. SIRI on average trades 64.15 million shares a day. Besides Monday’s market wide rally, SIRI has been in a slow downtrend the past 5 trading sessions falling from $1.90 to $1.75. Sirius has a current market cap of 6.45 billion.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) closed Tuesday down 3.24% at $5.08. BAC is currently up 1.77% in pre-market trading at $5.17. BAC trades 265.31 million shares a day on average. The company’s shares fell yesterday after S&P downgraded most major financial stocks. Bank of America has a current market cap of 51.49 billion.

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) closed Tuesday down 10.76% at $13.19. GLW shares fell yesterday after the company downgraded its fourth-quarter outlook. GLW trades 20.75 million shares a day on average. Corning has a current market cap of 20.73 billion.

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) closed Tuesday up 5.40% at $17.37. RIMM is up slightly in pre-market trading at $17.40. RIMM trades on average 18.65 million shares a day. The stock has jumped up more than $1 per share in the past two trading sessions. Research In Motion has a current market cap of 9.10 billion.

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