NYSE:YUM

Insiders Trading Report for Apr. 3

Traders at the NYSEIf traders were looking for a sign of QE3 yesterday they were sorely disappointed. The release of the FOMC minutes showed that the Fed would exercise caution in regards to further easing. The release of minutes sent the precious metals market tumbling and snapped the Dow’s three-day winning streak.

The Dow closed down 65 points to 13,200. Tech stocks fared better with the Nasdaq only down 6 points at the close, and the S&P matched those declines.

Opko Health, Inc. (NYSE:OPK) closed Tuesday down 1.03% at $4.81. OPK saw above average volume today with over 2 million shares traded. Phillip Frost (CEO & Chairman) bought 45,000 shares at $4.68 on April 2. [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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