Daily Markets - Covance Disappoints

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• Covance Disappoints
• Colgate Cautions, Stock Takes Hit
• Negative Surprises In The Recently Passed Financial Reform Law
• Acquisition Pushes Triumph Results
• ExxonMobil Net Nearly Doubles
• Mylan Misses By A Penny
• Initial Jobless Claims Dip
• Pioneer Tops Estimates
• Clear As Mud
• Citrix Systems Posts Mixed Results
• Torchmark Outperforms
• Stock Market News Briefs: Avon Products, Becton, Dickinson And Company, Celanese, Colgate-Palmolive Company, CONSOL Energy, Covidien Ltd., Exxon Mobil, Motorola, Raytheon Company, Southwest Airlines Company, Washington Mutual
• Arris 2Q Falls, Outlook Weak
• Euro Or Not, Siemens Is A Steal
• Concur Slips On Fiscal 3Q
• Based On History, There Is Hope For US Stocks
• Americans Cut Back On Visits To The Doctor, But Increase Visits To Retail Health Clinics By 36%
• Germany’s Unemployment Rate Falls To The Lowest Level Since November 2008, 3 Month Euribor Rate Climbs To Fresh Yearly High
• World’s Largest Steelmaker ArcelorMittal Warns Of Slowing Global Economic Recovery
• Flowserve Ahead Of Zacks Consensus
• Gold And GDX Due For A Bounce Today?
• Reserve Bank Of New Zealand Raises Interest Rate To 3.00%, Signals Go-Slow
• Juniper To Acquire SMobile Systems
• Ameriprise Beats Zacks Estimate
• Cartoon Of The Day
• Poor Performance By Housing In June
• Motorola: Signs Of Turnaround
• Shell Boosted By Volumes, Cost Cuts
• Hot Stock News For Thursday 29 July: BP, Visa, Nvidia, Symantec, Citrix Systems, Royal Dutch Shell, Mylan, Express Scripts, Siemens, Astrazeneca
• Stock Buy: Covenant Transportation
• Bull Of The Day: CSX Corporation (CSX)
• Bear Of The Day: FTI Consulting (FCN)
• Stock Buy: Eaton Corp.
• Stock Buy: China Sunergy Co. Limited
• Stock Buy: Complete Production Services, Inc.
• Mutual Funds: Top 5 Health Funds
• AlphaPro Launches New Actively-Managed Balanced ETF
• Transparency At The SEC? Why Would They Want To Do That?

Covance Disappoints Posted: 29 Jul 2010 08:05 AM PDT Covance (NYSE:CVD) reported an EPS of 49 cents in the second quarter of 2010, down 18.3% from 60 cents in the year-ago period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter was 50 cents.   Net revenues were $475.2 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $480 million, only marginally. However, revenues were 2% higher than the year-ago quarter. The company derives its revenues from two segments, Early Development and Late-Stage Development, which generated sales of $208.2 million … [visit site to read more]

Colgate Cautions, Stock Takes Hit Posted: 29 Jul 2010 08:05 AM PDT Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), one of the leading consumer products companies, recently posted second-quarter 2010 results. The quarterly earnings of $1.17 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and rose 9.3% from $1.07 posted in the prior-year quarter on the heels of increase in volume and pricing, and a gain in market share. However, the world’s largest toothpaste maker cautioned that the weakening of the Venezuelan currency would hurt its fiscal 2010 earnings by 10 cents … [visit site to read more]

Negative Surprises In The Recently Passed Financial Reform Law Posted: 29 Jul 2010 07:45 AM PDT Even just a decade ago, major pieces of legislation in the U.S. Congress would be just a few dozen pages long.  But today, it seems like every time Congress passes an important bill it ends up being over a thousand pages long.  In fact, the final version of the new financial reform law was over 2,300 pages.  Overall, as we wrote about extensively in a previous article, this much-ballyhooed new law does a whole lot of nothing, but it turns out that lobbyists and special interests were … [visit site to read more]

Acquisition Pushes Triumph Results Posted: 29 Jul 2010 07:45 AM PDT Triumph Group Inc. (NYSE:TGI) reported its first-quarter EPS of $1.33, marginally up from $1.30 in the year-ago quarter. Reported EPS surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08. Net earnings were $24.8 million, up 15.3% from $21.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.   Total sales grew to $406.4 million from $316.1 million in the same period of fiscal 2010, reflecting an increase of 29% year over year. This huge jump was fueled by the Vought acquisition. However, organic growth … [visit site to read more]

ExxonMobil Net Nearly Doubles Posted: 29 Jul 2010 07:35 AM PDT The Big Daddy in the integrated oil space — ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) —  posted  outstanding second-quarter earnings of $1.60 per share, compared with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46 and year-earlier earnings of 84 cents. These positive comparisons were driven by higher oil price realizations, improved downstream margins and solid chemical contributions. Total revenue in the quarter increased more than 24% year over year to $92.5 billion, compared with the Zacks … [visit site to read more]

Mylan Misses By A Penny Posted: 29 Jul 2010 07:35 AM PDT Mylan Inc. (NYSE:MYL) reported second quarter earnings per share of 37 cents, a penny below the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but above the year-ago earnings of 32 cents. Revenues increased 7.9% to $1.37 billion, slightly above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.34 billion.   The Quarter in Detail   Both revenue segments at Mylan recorded growth during the second quarter. While Generics accounted for about 91% of the total second quarter revenues, posting sales of $1.24 billion (up 8.6%), … [visit site to read more]

Initial Jobless Claims Dip Posted: 29 Jul 2010 07:20 AM PDT Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance remain in the tight "trading range” they have been in since the start of the year. This week they fell by 11,000 to 457,000. As the graph below shows, great progress was made in reducing initial claims between March of 2009 and the New Year, but since then initial claims have found a high — but bumpy — plateau. There is a fair amount of volatility in the week-to-week numbers, so it makes sense to look at the four-week moving average, which is … [visit site to read more]

Pioneer Tops Estimates Posted: 29 Jul 2010 07:20 AM PDT Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) reported its second-quarter earnings of 43 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents and the year-earlier loss of 10 cents, primarily reflecting growth in Spraberry field, Eagle Ford Shale and Alaska .   Revenues in the quarter jumped significantly to $662.4 million from $273.0 million in the year-ago quarter and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $510 million.   Operational Performance   Total production … [visit site to read more]

Clear As Mud Posted: 29 Jul 2010 07:17 AM PDT Fundamentals Indecision about the state of the global economy has caused Crude Oil futures to get stuck in a rut. Economic data that has been trickling in from the US and abroad has been mixed, making it difficult for traders to gauge where the economy is heading in the intermediate term. Adding to the confusion, inventory data has been equally skittish lately, clouding the supply and demand outlook. Yesterday’s EIA inventory report was a prime example. The report showed an unexpected rise of … [visit site to read more]

Citrix Systems Posts Mixed Results Posted: 29 Jul 2010 07:00 AM PDT Yesterday, after market close, Citrix Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) declared mixed financial results for the second quarter of 2010. Surprisingly, the company has raised its previous guidance of fiscal 2010 revenue by 2.5% although EPS guidance remains weak. As a result, in the after market trade on NASDAQ, share price of Citrix System was up $2.47 (5.22%) to $49.80.   Quarterly net revenue was $458.4 million, up 17% year over year and was well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $437 … [visit site to read more]

Torchmark Outperforms Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:50 AM PDT Torchmark Corporation (NYSE:TMK) reported second-quarter net operating income of $1.58 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.52 by 6 cents. It also increased 3% from $1.53 in the second quarter of 2009. Net operating income was $130.8 million, up 3.6% from $126.2 million in the prior-year quarter.   Including realized losses on investments of $3.6 million or 4 cents per share and Medicare Part D adjustment of $1.2 million or 1 cent per share, Torchmark reported net income of … [visit site to read more]

Stock Market News Briefs: Avon Products, Becton, Dickinson And Company, Celanese, Colgate-Palmolive Company, CONSOL Energy, Covidien Ltd., Exxon Mobil, Motorola, Raytheon Company, Southwest Airlines Company, Washington Mutual Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:50 AM PDT  Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) reported a one-cent second quarter beat with earnings of $1.17 on revenues up 1.8% to $3.8, shy of Street projections of $3.94 billion  Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) topped consensus expectations by a nickel with fiscal third quarter earnings of $1.29 on a 3.1% revenue increase to $1.87 billion, which topped estimates of $1.85 billion  Celanese (NYSE:CE) reported a 4-cent earnings miss at $1.01 for the second quarter on revenues that climbed 21.9% to $1.51 … [visit site to read more]

Arris 2Q Falls, Outlook Weak Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:50 AM PDT Arris Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRS) declared its second-quarter 2010 financial results that fell below the Zacks Consensus Estimate. GAAP net income in the second quarter was $19.7 million or 15 cents per share compared with a net income of $22.9 million or 18 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted (excluding special items) earnings per share (EPS) in the reported quarter were 20 cents, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents.   Revenues   Total revenue of $280.4 million … [visit site to read more]

Euro Or Not, Siemens Is A Steal Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:46 AM PDT The euro is up but Wall Street remains almost universally bearish on anything European. Of course, one person's junk is another one's treasure. There are still significant opportunities to be had out there. For instance, Germany, the world's second largest exporter, has actually come out on top. The Euro's fall has made its industrial goods even more competitive. Just take Siemens AG ADR (NYSE:SI). It has increased its bottom line by 50% from last year's levels. And it raised its 2010 … [visit site to read more]

Concur Slips On Fiscal 3Q Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:35 AM PDT Concur Technologies Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CNQR) revenues for the third quarter of 2010 reached an all-time high at $75 million, up 20% year over year. Net income in the quarter was $3.7 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents. The company surpassed the Zacks Consensus revenue estimate for the quarter of $74 million. The growth in revenues was driven in part by faster-than-expected deployments of new customers and in part, by stronger-than-expected … [visit site to read more]

Based On History, There Is Hope For US Stocks Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:30 AM PDT Volatility has hamstrung U.S. stocks recently, but history suggests there’s a reason for hope on the horizon. The past week and a half has been a welcome reprieve from the extreme volatility we’ve seen over the past few months. There have been no fewer than 19 days this year in which up or down volume has accounted for more than 90% of total volume. The rapid up-and-down, all-or-nothing nature of the stock market has confounded even the most talented, highly paid and well informed … [visit site to read more]

Americans Cut Back On Visits To The Doctor, But Increase Visits To Retail Health Clinics By 36% Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:24 AM PDT From today’s WSJ article “Americans Cut Back on Visits to Doctor”: Insured Americans are using fewer medical services, raising questions about whether patients are consuming less health care as they pick up a greater share of the costs. Doctor visits have declined each month this year, including a 7.6% drop in May 2010 from May 2009. The drop in usage is showing up as health-care companies report financial results. Insurers, lab-testing companies, hospitals and doctor-billing concerns say that … [visit site to read more]

Germany’s Unemployment Rate Falls To The Lowest Level Since November 2008, 3 Month Euribor Rate Climbs To Fresh Yearly High Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:23 AM PDT Germany's unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent for the month of July from 7.7 percent the previous month to mark the lowest since November 2008. At the same time, the number of people out of work tumbled 20K, following a revised 20K decline in June. Fundamental Headlines • Banks Get Pitches on Overdraft Protection – Wall Street Journal • Jobless Claims Fall – Wall Street Journal • Stocks Struggle To Hold Gains After Fed Auction - Financial Times • Unemployment Claims in U.S. … [visit site to read more]

World’s Largest Steelmaker ArcelorMittal Warns Of Slowing Global Economic Recovery Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:15 AM PDT Lakshmi Mittal, the chairman of ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT), the world’s largest steel company, yesterday (Wednesday) issued a warning about the slowing pace of the global economic recovery and lowered his company’s third-quarter forecast. ArcelorMittal posted a 146% rise in net profits in the second quarter compared with the same period last year as demand recovered. However, the company warned third quarter results would slump by as much as 30% - hit by a seasonal dip in demand during the … [visit site to read more]

Flowserve Ahead Of Zacks Consensus Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:15 AM PDT Flowserve Corp. (NYSE:FLS) reported second quarter 2010 earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.72, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.65.  Earnings per share, excluding realignment charges of 10 cents, were higher primarily due to an improvement in gross margin by 30 basis points and a reduction of $30 million in SG&A expenses compared with the prior-year quarter. Order bookings increased to $1.13 billion, up 9.5% or 10.6%, excluding currency benefits. The … [visit site to read more]

Gold And GDX Due For A Bounce Today? Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:12 AM PDT This is a pre-market peek at where we closed Gold and its GDX (GDX) miners yesterday. It appears that Gold and GDX are both due a bounce today. Gold sports a short term RSI (5) reading that is oversold and has been a clue for recent bounces.  Gold also is flirting with the lower Bollinger Band which, statistically, does not favor a further drop in price without at least some sideways or upward price movement. This is the daily GDX chart.  It also shows a couple of … [visit site to read more]

Reserve Bank Of New Zealand Raises Interest Rate To 3.00%, Signals Go-Slow Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:08 AM PDT The RBNZ (Reserve Bank of New Zealand) increased the official cash rate at its July meeting 25bps to 3.00%, and signaled that further rate rises will likely be on the go-slow. It noted that policy normalization may be more moderate going forward, but of course with the caveat of monitoring the economic environment and financial market developments: “Given this, some further removal of monetary policy stimulus is appropriate at this stage. Even after today’s move, the level of the OCR is … [visit site to read more]

Juniper To Acquire SMobile Systems Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:05 AM PDT Leading networking infrastructure products and services provider Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:JNPR) recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire mobile-security solutions provider SMobile Systems Inc., for a total consideration of $70.0 million. Columbus, Ohio-based SMobile Systems is a privately held company offering security solutions for mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. With the acquisition, Juniper will enrich its Junos Pulse software platform with SMobile’s product … [visit site to read more]

Ameriprise Beats Zacks Estimate Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:05 AM PDT Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s (NYSE:AMP) second quarter 2010 operating earnings per share of $1.10 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents. The earnings also surpassed the prior quarter's 81 cents and the prior-year quarter's 47 cents.   Operating results for the quarter exclude realized net investment gains/losses, non-recurring integration costs and impact of new accounting standard. The results also include the performance of the company’s recently acquired long-term asset … [visit site to read more]

Cartoon Of The Day Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:02 AM PDT Gary … [visit site to read more]

Poor Performance By Housing In June Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:45 AM PDT After May hit a 47-year low in U.S. home sales, a somewhat recovered June came second. As compared with the previous month's figures, home sales jumped 23.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 330,000 units in June from 267,000 units in May. Though the percentage increase in sales over the previous month was the highest in the last 30 years, June's performance in absolute terms was not up to the mark, given that the previous month had experienced a historic decline of … [visit site to read more]

Motorola: Signs Of Turnaround Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:45 AM PDT Supported by increasing market traction of 3G Android-based smartphones, Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today declared excellent results for the second quarter 2010. Net profit soars in the reported quarter. Quarterly net income was $162 million or 7 cents per share, compared to net income of $26 million or 1 cent per share in the prior-year quarter. Second quarter 2010 adjusted (excluding special items and amortization of intangible assets) EPS was also 7 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of … [visit site to read more]

Shell Boosted By Volumes, Cost Cuts Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:45 AM PDT Europe's largest oil company Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A) reported strong second quarter 2010 results, buoyed by a robust operating environment, production growth and cost cutting initiatives.    Earnings per ADR (on a current cost of supplies basis), excluding one-time items and gains or losses from inventories, came in at $1.37, which were quite ahead of the year-ago result of $1.03 and also exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.34. Revenues were up 41.8% to $90.6 … [visit site to read more]

Hot Stock News For Thursday 29 July: BP, Visa, Nvidia, Symantec, Citrix Systems, Royal Dutch Shell, Mylan, Express Scripts, Siemens, Astrazeneca Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:38 AM PDT BP (NYSE:BP) - Co. may permanently shut the well that caused the worst off-shore oil spill in US history as early as Monday, co. said as speculation grew over assets it might sell to cover mounting costs. In other news, SEC probing trading in co. shares from April 20 to late June, says CNBC’s Kelly. Elsewhere, co. is in discussions with its Russian subsidiary, TNK-BP, regarding the potential sale of USD 1bln of Venezuelan assets. (RTRS/Sources/Times) UK Royal Dutch Shell (RDS-A) - … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Covenant Transportation Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVTI) has made a big turn around and is not trading at multi-year highs. Analysts are making drastic estimate revisions on the heels of the most recent earnings report. Company Description Covenant Transportation offers premium transport services and brokerage, mainly in the continental US. Revenues Up 17% The company released earnings results on Jul 21 that included a 17% revenue increase, to $169 million. Net income came in at $2.9 million, or 20 cents … [visit site to read more]

Bull Of The Day: CSX Corporation (CSX) Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT We are upgrading our recommendation on CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX) to Outperform from Neutral based on the solid second-quarter results and an improving outlook along with overall volume gains in various commodity businesses. The company’s second-quarter results surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate on higher volumes. Strong cost-control measures will likely to support margin expansion on volume improvement driven by the ongoing economic recovery. Intermodal is expected to be the company’s … [visit site to read more]

Bear Of The Day: FTI Consulting (FCN) Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT We are downgrading our recommendation on FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN) to Underperform from Neutral as the company trimmed its fiscal year 2010 outlook. The revised outlook is due to dramatic deceleration expected in Corporate Finance and Restructuring, less-than expected recovery in Merger and Acquisition activity and the struggling Technology segment. Additionally, progress in its other segments such as Economic Consulting, Strategic Communications and Forensic and Litigation Consulting businesses … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Eaton Corp. Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Eaton Corp.’s (NYSE:ETN) better-than-expected second-quarter results were driven by continued strength in its end markets. The company also expanded its profit margins, which helped boost its earnings growth. Moreover, management anticipates solid global growth to drive its results in the second half of 2010. Business Eaton Corp. operates as a power management company primarily in the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides electrical components and systems … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: China Sunergy Co. Limited Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT China Sunergy Co. Limited (NASDAQ:CSUN) is in the volatile solar industry which has seen its fortunes reverse course in 2010 as the industry has slowly recovered from the global recession. China Sunergy is cheap, trading at just 7.2x forward estimates, well below its industry at 13.4x. China Sunergy manufactures solar cell and module products in China. is a specialized manufacturer of solar cells from silicon wafers and other module products in China. It sells the products to Chinese and overseas … [visit site to read more]

Stock Buy: Complete Production Services, Inc. Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Complete Production Services, Inc. (NYSE:CPX) is fresh off the heels of an awesome 567% earnings surprise that sent shares blasting past a key level of resistance to a new multi-year high. Estimates jumped higher on the news, with the next year now projecting bullish 81% growth. Company Description Complete Production Services, Inc. provides specialized services and products to develop hydrocarbon reserves for oil and gas companies in North America and southeast Asia. The company was founded in … [visit site to read more]

Mutual Funds: Top 5 Health Funds Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT When markets are sailing through troubled waters, investors often depend on the healthcare sector to protect their valuable investments. Healthcare and related services continue to remain in demand during difficult market conditions and are a safe haven in tough times. Several pharmaceutical companies also pay out regular dividends, which help in combating losses from falling share prices. Mutual funds are the perfect choice for investors looking to enter this sector since they posses the … [visit site to read more]

AlphaPro Launches New Actively-Managed Balanced ETF Posted: 29 Jul 2010 04:13 AM PDT On 28th July, Horizons AlphaPro began trading another new actively-managed ETF on the Toronto Stock Exchange called the AlphaPro Global Balanced ETF (HAA). This new fund will look to provide a consistent rate of return through current income and long-term capital growth, achieved by investing Canadian equities, income trusts and debt securities. Funds with balanced mandates are some of the most popular investment options in Canada. According to the IFIC, balanced funds in Canada held in excess … [visit site to read more]

Transparency At The SEC? Why Would They Want To Do That? Posted: 29 Jul 2010 04:10 AM PDT Is the SEC's Office of Inspector General David Kotz looking for a new job? How about SEC head Mary Schapiro? Is she also looking for a new job? Why do I ask? Is America aware that the new Financial Regulatory Reform bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama will effectively close the doors and shut the blinds at the SEC in terms of people being allowed to gain access to information. Why and how do situations like this happen? Let's navigate. Fox News … [visit site to read more]

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