Cascade (NYSE:CAE) reported fiscal Q4 EPS of $0.21, beating estimates by $0.02. Revenues in the quarter rose 8.8% year-over-year to $506.7 million, missing estimates by $6 million. SmarTrend currently has Cascade in an Uptrend. Since 2008, SmarTrend subscribers trading Cascade using our alerts outperformed the stock by 54%. We are monitoring these developments and will alert subscribers to any change in trend.
Arch Coal (ACI) was upgraded today by Goldman Sachs (GS) from sell, as the stock has sold off during the last few months, and is now below the $8 price target set by the firm. Shares are lower by abouot 1.75 percent.
In trading on Thursday, hospital & medical practitioners shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.4%. Leading the group were shares of Community Health Systems (CYH), up about 3.7% and shares of Amerigroup (AGP) up about 3.5% on the day.
Tiffany (TIF) announced first-quarter results that were below Wall Street expectations. The company reported a profit of $81.5 million, or 64 cents a share, last quarter, versus a profit of $81.1 million, or 63 cents a share, in the same period last year.
This is what’s in the news for Tuesday May 22, 2012. The Wall Street Journal reports JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE:JPM) recent trading mistakes are becoming a boon for some of its major competitors, including Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), who have scored profits that could total $500M-$1B on trades that sometimes put them directly against J.P. Morgan’s chief investment office. The Wall Street Journal also reports the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development today cut its forecasts for growth across the euro zone for this year and next, and warned that the area’s debt crisis could pull it into a downward spiral without the right policy action. Reuters reports China can now bypass Wall Street when buying U.S. government debt and go directly to the U.S. Treasury, in what is the Treasury’s first direct relationship with a foreign government. Reuters also reports just before Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) $16B IPO, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), the deal’s lead underwriter, unexpectedly delivered negative news to major clients: The bank’s consumer Internet analyst, Scott Devitt, was reducing his revenue forecasts for the company. Bloomberg reports the types of derivative swaps said to have led to a loss of at least $2B at JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) may be the first for which the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission would require guarantees by clearinghouses under the Dodd-Frank Act, according to the CFTC chairman Gary Gensler. Finally, Bloomberg also reports Metlife (NYSE:MET) may target annuities and U.S. retail life insurance for cost cuts as CEO Kandarian unveils his plan to improve returns.
Starbucks (SBUX) was upgraded today by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (BAC) to buy from neutral, as the recent pullback represents a buying opportunity. A $68 price target was issued on the stock.
Concerns over troubles in Greece and the country’s possible exit from the euro zone, sent the markets lower today. In economic news, the Commerce Department is reporting a 3.3 percent increase in new home sales in April, to a seasonally adjusted 343,000 annual rate.
Bargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned cash to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today we look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.
The Daily Ticker’s Aaron Task and Henry Blodget interview economist Joel Prakken
The Daily Ticker’s Aaron Task interviews David Kirkpatrick about Facebook’s IPO
