NASDAQ:CSTR

Stock Futures Pull Back on Chinese Data. Stocks to Watch

Wall Street signIf investors were looking for a continuation of winning sessions, the futures are not helping matters. Chinese data coupled with bank earnings are helping drive the market lower in pre-market trading. Dow futures are down 63 points to 12,887. Nasdaq and S&P futures are also negative, down 12 and 7 respectively.

GDP numbers out of China overnight saw the country growing at a 8.1% pace. This was below the consensus expectation of 8.3%. This marked the slowest pace in growth in 11 quarters for the country.

The numbers out of China had a cascading effect on European markets. The EU also had to digest the news that Spain sharply increased its borrowing from the ECB in March.

In earnings news, the banking sector kicked it off this morning with beats. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) reported better than expected earnings. While JPMorgan and Chase (NYSE:JPM) saw profits decline, it was not as bad as predicted by many analysts. This was due in part to their lending arm. [Read more...]

After Hours Report for April 12

Wall StreetUS stocks extended their gains into a second session as traders eyed the Fed for possible further stimulus. Loan data out of China also gave rise to the hopes of just a soft-landing for the country versus a hard. This will help the US economy deal with any recession that emerges out of Europe. Earnings season is also helping thanks to a significantly lowered bar. If you go in expecting nothing to beat, any beats are pleasant surprises.

European concerns also moderated after yields dropped across the region. Still a concern, but investors kind of shrugged off Europe in favor of earnings season and Fed hints of further stimulus. Or at the very least their accommodative monetary policies will be in place for quite a while yet.

All the major indices closed higher on the day. The Dow jumped 181, the Nasdaq 39 and the S%P 19. [Read more...]

Futures on Edge As Greek Talks Stall. Stocks to Watch: CSTR, S, BPAX, BAC, YUM, BMTI, HGSI

Another day, more Greek talks. In what has become more annoying than a pop song playing endlessly on the radio, Greek debt talks are continuing today. If the past is any indication for the future here’s how it will play out: First, an unfounded rumor that there might be a deal. Second, an actual fact based report that yep, still no deal. Rinse and repeat. Until they figure out this is completely unsustainable and Greece exits the EU.

Futures are edging lower on this long running saga. Dow futures are currently off 17 points to 12,759. The Nasdaq 100 futures are following that lead, down 7.50 points to 2,518. S&P 500 futures are rounding out the slight decline, off 3.50 points to 1,335.50.

In episode 835 of the Greek soap opera, you have the Greek officials pushing back against austerity measures. Their fear is that anymore cuts will lead to further social unrest. On the other side you have the IMF and EU demanding further budgetary action for the second round of bailout money. This all leads to the drop-dead point in march in which Greece will default without the money.

The fear with a Greece default is that somehow this has been priced into the market and will not act as a contagion. Of course that ignores systemic budgetary issues across the whole of Europe and more than likely is way too rosy of prediction.

Domestically all eyes will be on the Bernanke testimony in front of the Senate Budgetary Committee. Expect the normal grandstanding by the Senators mixed with Bernanke saying the same thing he said last week. CNBC will be on hand to tell you what he meant by ‘is’ so it should be a fun watch.

In commodities oil continues its slow fall. Nymex futures are off another 63 cents today down to the $96 level.

Stocks to watch today include Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTR), Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S), BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPAX), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMTI) and Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI).

Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTR) is up 17.54% in pre market trading at $59.52. CSTR shares are rallying after the company announced fourth quarter earnings. Coinstar reported EPS of $1 a share on $520 million in revenue, estimates were $0.65 a share on $498 million in revenue. Verizon and Redbox are also teaming up for a joint DVD, streaming service to take on Netflix. The company has a market cap of 1.53 billion.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) is up 3.66% in pre market trading at $2.55. Sprint announced this morning it is partnering with Orange Business Services to provide Sprint with global machine to machine connectivity outside the U.S. S shares are up $0.40 a share since last Wednesday. The company has a market cap of 7.37 billion.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPAX) is up 10.48% in pre market trading at $1.16. BPAX shares have been trending higher since mid December when shares fell from $2.50 to $0.50 after an after hours announcement of the company’s disappointing LibiGel phase III results. The company has a market cap of 115.51 million.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is down 0.25% in pre market trading. BAC shares are slightly lower this morning as the market is set to open a little lower on Greek fears. BAC will remain in a bit of a holding pattern until something in the market happens. Whether in Greece, or news closer to home. The company has a market cap of 83.97 billion.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) is up 2.23% in pre market trading at $64.60. YUM shares are up this morning after posting strong fourth quarter profit yesterday. EPS came in at $0.75, beating estimates of $0.74. The big gains for Yum come thanks to China growth beating expectations. The company has a market cap of 29.10 billion.

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:BMTI) is up 10.24% at $2.26. BioMimetic announced yesterday the results of its Canadian augment rotator cuff graft clinical trial. They said the product “achieved its primary safety endpoint.” The company has a market cap of 57.51 million.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:HGSI) is up 2.88% in pre market trading at $11.08. HGSI shares are up more than $1 since Friday. The stock has traded 50 thousand shares this morning and trades 6.3 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 2.14 billion.

After Hours Winners and Losers: CSTR, YUM, SPF, PMCS, SREV, VECO

Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTR) is up 12.84% in after hours trading at $57.10. CSTR shares are up after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results. Revenue was up 33.2% from a year ago at $520.5 million. Profits came in at $1 per share, beating estimates of $0.64 per share. Coinstar announced earlier today, they are teaming up with Verizon to take on Netflix. The company has a market cap of 1.53 billion.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) is up 2.53% in after hours trading at $64.78. YUM shares are rising after Yum Brands reported a jump in fourth quarter profit. The company earned $356 million or $0.75 a share. Estimates were for the company to earn $0.74 a share. The company has a market cap of 29.10 billion.

Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE:SPF) is up 7.16% in after hours trading at $4.34. SPF shares are rising after the company announced fourth quarter results. Standard Pacific beat estimates by $0.03 and beat on revenue. The company has a market cap of 803.80 million.

PMC Sierra (NASDAQ:PMCS) is down 6.53% in after hours trading at $6.30. PMCS shares are falling because of the company’s fourth quarter results. EPS was in line with estimates, but revenue fell below analysts’ expectations. Revenue came in at $152.6 million, analysts were expecting $155.4 million. The company has a market cap of 1.56 billion.

ServiceSource International, Inc. (NASDAQ:SREV) is down 2.37% in after hours trading at $17.29. SREV beat EPS estimates by $0.04, but shares are falling after guidance came up short. The company has a market cap of 1.26 billion.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) is down 4.72% in after hours trading at $25.86. VECO shares are down this afternoon on weak first quarter and fiscal year 2012 guidance. EPS beat consensus by $0.05. The company has a market cap of 1.05 billion.

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