Click to enlarge
You wouldn't have figured it from the sharp, persistent drop in prices and the obligatory Doomsday articles in Seeking Alpha's top ten, but there was actually a staggering amount of buyers in the market (NYSEARCA:SPY) on Friday.
In fact, the ratio of buyers to sellers was the highest we've seen in over a year. The implication is... sorry, what was that? Oh, of course. We thought you might ask.
"How can there be 'more buyers than usual?'"
Right. So you probably subscribe to the usual wisdom that "there's a buyer for every seller."
stock market broker: Deckers Outdoor Corporation(DECK)
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Ben Levisohn]
Oppenheimer put out a note yesterday called “Retail Bloodbath Continues,” which focused on the extreme drops in Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Chico’s FAS (CHS) yesterday. Today, all that seems forgotten, as companies that sell and make retail products like Big Lots (BIG), Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA) and Deckers Outdoor (DECK) have surged today following earnings releases. Are there any conclusions that can be drawn from their outperformance?
stock market broker: Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc(VRX)
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Teresa Rivas]
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) gave up its early gains on news that Joseph Papa will be its new CEO, and was trading down on Monday afternoon.
Bloomberg News Citi��s Murali Ganti notes that the company also received additional notices of default from bondholders of four new tranches, in addition to notices it received on April 12.
The new notices of default represent some $6.5 billion of unsecured indebtedness, or about a third of the total unsecured debt structure, Ganti writes. Yet while he calls the development ��notable,�� he doesn��t think it meaningfully changes the company��s situation ahead of the 10K it must file by May 27 to avoid default. ��If anything, we are somewhat surprised it took bondholders this long to file such notices, although we concede that gathering the required approvals can sometimes be a lengthy process.��
As for the new CEO, Ganti is pleased with the news:
The hiring of Joe Papa represents a significant positive development on multiple fronts. For one, the speed with which the process was executed demonstrates that the Board is serious about making critical decisions expeditiously. Secondly, Mr. Papa is an experienced pharmaceutical CEO who is well known to the investment community. We believe his appointment will go some way in restoring credibility with investors who have lost confidence in the current management team. Finally, we think the optics surrounding a potential fresh start incrementally stabilizes sentiment. We continue to remain mindful, however, that as a new incoming CEO that Mr. Papa could distance himself from previously issued guidance and reset expectations lower for the year.
Valeant share are down 1.2% to $35.56 in recent trading.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Mizuho’s Irina Koffler and Andrew Galler argue that Valeant Pharmaceutical International’s (VRX) “non-core” assets might fetch $1.7 billion…if it’s lucky. They explain:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
It was a big day for specialty pharmaceutical companies. We dug into Valeant Pharmaceutical International’s (VRX) 25% surge following its guidance and the�beginning of its asset sales, and Endo International’s (ENDP) 22% rise following its own earnings.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) has fallen 1.7% to $25.05 after its Salix unit admitted to paying doctors and agreed to pay a $54 million fine.
stock market broker: WPX Energy, Inc.(WPX)
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Ben Levisohn]
As oil nears $50, some investors fret that a new round of production could begin, undermining the nascent recovery. Not so, say Guggenheim’s Subash Chandra and Marshall Coltrain, who expect good things from WPX Energy (WPX), Devon Energy (DVN) and Continental Resources (CLR). They explain why:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Usually, when a company announces that it will sell more shares, its stock prices drops (dilution and all that). Not so WPX Energy (WPX), which announced that it would sell 49.5 million shares worth nearly $500 million. Citigroup’s Jeanine Wai and team explain why investors haven’t been put off by the offering:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Iron Mountain has gained 2.6% to $26.55 at 3:05 p.m., making it the fourth-best performer in the S&P 500, ahead of WPX Energy (WPX), which has gained 2.4% to $19.94, Pinnacle West Capital (PNW), which has gained 2.3% to $53.55 and Dominion Resources (D), which has risen 2.1% to $59.85.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
The large cap E&Ps we cover raised ~ $6.5 billion of equity in 2015 and are likely to consider additional issuance in 2016. Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) raised $1.3 billion on January 5th and Hess Corp. (HES) raised $1.5 billion of equity/equity-linked earlier this month. We think highly leveraged companies such as Devon Energy,�Encana and�Range Resources (RRC) and companies with a large deficit (before asset sales), such as�Anadarko Petroleum and Devon Energy, are most likely to consider raising equity. Additionally, we believe companies such as WPX Energy (WPX), Southwestern Energy (SWN), Marathon Oil, Continental Resources (CLR),�Noble Energy and Newfield Exploration (NFX) could issue equity while several levered companies may be unwilling or unable to access equity markets. We do not think Apache, Canadian Natural Resource, EOG Resources (EOG), Occidental Petroleum or�Pioneer Natural Resources are likely to issue equity this year.
stock market broker: Vaalco Energy Inc(EGY)
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Monica Gerson]
VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) is expected to post a quarterly loss at $0.11 per share on revenue of $18.59 million.
B2Gold Corp (NYSE: BTG) is estimated to post its quarterly earnings at $0.00 per share on revenue of $135.84 million.
stock market broker: The Charles Schwab Corporation(SCHW)
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Ben Levisohn]
The fifteen stocks that Bianco contends could benefit from a trump win are: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ),�Pfizer (PFE),�Medtronic (MDT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), L-3 Communications (LLL), Halliburton (HAL), Dow Chemical (DOW), Duke Energy (DUK), For Motor (F), Martin Marietta Materials (MLM), Verizon Communications (VZ), Comcast (CMCSA),�Charles Schwab (SCHW), Wells Fargo (WFC), Delta Air Lines (DAL).
- [By Lee Jackson]
Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) also had a famous investor selling stock this past week. The chairman of the company, Charles Schwab, continues to sell stock at an orderly pace. This week the iconic discount brokerage executive and the CEO of the company combined to sell a block of 400,000 shares at prices between $35.43 and $35.46. The total for the trades came to a whopping $14 million.�As we have noted in the past, Mr. Schwab is past 80 years old, and clearly much of his selling over the years has been for estate planning purposes. The shares ended�Friday at $37.48 so a fair amount left on the table.
- [By Javier Hasse]
The other big earnings call of the day was that of Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE: SCHW), which delivered in-line first quarter EPS of $0.29, on revenue of $1.76 billion, which beat estimates by $10 million.
- [By Matthew Smith]
Although we were not surprised by the move yesterday we did not take an overly aggressive stance in positioning the portfolio to benefit from the Fed not tapering. We were long, but we did not initiate any trades solely for the purpose to benefit from the announcement. We are more interested in the long-term wealth building of portfolios right now and as such believe that readers should look to our recent winners that had pullbacks yesterday as buying opportunities. Specifically, we like Ameritrade (AMTD), Charles Schwab (SCHW) and MetLife (MET) which all saw pullbacks ranging from 2.5% to a bit over 5.5% in yesterday's session. We highlighted the discount brokers as a sector to watch right before the latest takeoff and our belief is that although rates remain unchanged the brokerage business will continue to perform strongly. The next big move up will be as rates rise, but even if one has to wait for this move it will be well worth it for one's portfolio.
stock market broker: Xcel Energy Inc.(XEL)
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Shauna O'Brien]
Jefferies announced on Wednesday that it has raised its rating on Xcel Energy Inc (XEL).
The firm has upgraded XEL from “Hold” to “Buy,” and has raised the company’s price target from $31 to $32.50. This new price target suggests a 15% upside from the stock’s current price of $27.72.
Analyst Paul B. Fremont commented: “The stock is currently trading at an 8% P/E discount to our 2015E group average multiple.”
“Despite a difficult political environment in Minnesota the company was able to achieve a reasonable outcome in its NSP-Minnesota rate case,” the analyst added.
Looking forward, the firm has increased its FY2014 outlook from $1.95 to $2.00 per share.
Xcel Energy shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock has been mostly flat YTD.
