Market Downturn Pushes Top Stocks Under $10 It has been almost impossible for most stocks to avoid the carnage and mayhem of late. These are the latest to fall under $10/share. They include Starbucks, Limited Brands, Southwest Air, Whole Foods and Radio Shack. http://www.247wallst.com/2008/11/as-market-plu-1.html
8 Reasons You Should Skip Black Friday Sales Many people look forward to Black Friday and all the deals. But it's important to remember that this event was created to lure customers. The bold fliers with incredible-sounding deals may beckon you to start loosening your wallet strings, but they shouldn't. Black Friday shopping may very well put you in the red. http://www.mainstreet.com/article/lifestyle/money-sapping-secrets-black-friday-sales
Jefferies upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Hold from Underperform on valuation. The stock has gone down 40% since they initiated coverage on September 19. The firm maintains a $29 target.
Barclays upgraded Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Equal Weight from Underweight citing the $425M private equity investment, which reduces liquidity risk, and its reduced cost structure.
tw telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
AmeriCredit (NYSE: ACF) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
Analyst downgrades:
Jefferies downgraded Macquarie Infrastructure (NYSE: MIC) to Hold from Buy to reflect the company's sensitivity to the economic slowdown and funding risk. The firm lowered their target to $9 from $40 after the company announced a dividend reduction.
Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was cut to Sell from Neutral at UBS due to the company's exposure to potential generic competition and a lack of new products.
Friedman Billings downgraded Cleveland Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered their target to $42 from $50 to reflect the risk of further production cuts.
Credit Suisse lowered Acme Packet (NASDAQ: APKT) to Neutral from Outperform.
Delta Petroleum (NASDAQ: DPTR) was downgraded at Deutsche Bank to Sell from Hold.
Siemens (NYSE: SI) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at UBS.
Analyst initiations:
Goldman initiated Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) with a Buy rating and $27 target as they believe it is making progress in becoming a mid-sized specialty biopharmaceutical company. The firm expects the company to be active in M&A and to spin-off or divest its slow-growth or fast-growing assets, such as virology and oncology.
Goldman believes Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) needs a "radical transformation" and restructuring that includes a break up, spin and merger in order to outperform over the next several years. Shares were assumed with a Sell rating and $19 target.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $65 target at Banc of America. The firm prefers to be on the sidelines given uncertainties surrounding 2009 revenue growth and the potential for negative rhetoric out of Washington on pharma costs.
Acorda (NASDAQ: ACOR) was started at RBC Capital with an Outperform rating and $30 target.
Citigroup upgraded shares of Sovereign Bancorp (NYSE: SOV) to Buy from Hold on their belief Sovereign will merge with Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) according to the terms on their October 13 agreement.
Jefferies upgraded Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Hold from Underperform on valuation as they believe the capital infusion from Leonard Green limits downside risk. The company's target was raised to $11 from $9.50.
Banc of America upgraded Max Capital (NASDAQ: MXGL) to Buy from Neutral on valuation, the company's strategic changes to lower earnings volatility and their belief it is well positioned to benefit from an improved P&C marketplace.
Qimonda (NYSE: QI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Cowen.
Health Net (NYSE: HNT) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) was lifted to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.
Yuppie organic food market, Whole Foods (NYSE: WFMI) has been struggling with the slow economy. After all, the company that has jokingly been referred to as Whole Paycheck for its high prices has lost business as people have cut back on spending. Now, a private equity firm has stepped in to do a rare Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) deal -- buying 17% of its shares which boosted Whole Foods stock 19.8% after-hours.
Who would do such a thing? An affiliate of Leonard Green Partners, Green Equity Investors V, spent $425 million for its Whole Foods PIPE. Why did Leonard Green do this? Does it expect to take an active role in managing the company and somehow pull it out of its growth slump? Or is its 17% stake simply a passive investment -- and a bet that Whole Foods has bottomed out?
I think Leonard Green may have gotten a bargain. Whole Foods stock fell 6.2% during regular trading after it lowered its 2009 EPS estimates from $1.04 to between $0.95 and $1 -- it earned 82 cents a share in 2008. And based on that lower growth rate, Whole Foods trades at a PEG ratio of 0.6 -- on a P/E of 9.8 with earnings forecast to grow 16% in 2009.
The maker of Celestial Seasonings tea, Soy Dreams soy milk and Earth's Best line of food for children yesterday reported good earning considering the state of the economy. The Melville, New York-based company earned earned $7 million, or 17 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, profit was 28 cents. Revenue surged a better-than-expected 22 percent.
Hain is going to be a stock to watch in an Obama administration.
Democrats are eager to push for sustainable agriculture practices and will vigorously promote organic products. Healthy foods have made their way into the mainstream. I buy organic milk because it's healthier for my two-year-old son. Same thing for fruit.
Mind you, I am not a zealot. I will not buy everything with the organic label slapped on it. Some of the stuff is ungodly expensive. I swear that you can spend $2 for an apple at Whole Foods. That company's prices and its aggressive expansion plans are the source of its troubles.
Hain Celestial has many reasonably priced products that fit within my family's budget. That's why the company performed well and will continue to do so.
Crummy economic data from October ISM Manufacturing and September Construction Spending didn't manage to kill overseas gains that led to more mixed rallying in U.S. equity markets. Ahead of tomorrow's elections, it seems that the markets are just going into a holding pattern. U.S. auto sales were atrocious.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) had its 27,000 union machine workers start returning to their jobs this weekend after a 57-day labor strike that shut down production of its jet manufacturing operations. The stock was up 1.3% at $53.12 in today's final minutes.
SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was down almost 9% at $0.30 right before the close. A class action suit was filed by a holder who has joined with over 500 shareholders to oust management and to protect holders by keeping the company from being taken private or from a reverse split.
There is no hard evidence that organic food is any better for people than beer and burgers. There are some studies that show all the good side effects of eating well, but they were probably paid for by companies that produce milk straight from cows or wild salmon.
It does not matter much if the entire organic thing is a hoax, when people don't have money to buy fancy food, they are going to have to settle for Spam and Cheese Wiz, whether they like it or not.
One company that will be hurt by the eating retrenchment is Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI), a favorite of the upper middle class who wants to look down their noses at people who go to regular grocery stores. According toThe Wall Street Journal, "Analysts say the upscale grocer probably will have to trim its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year and announce further cuts to capital spending or new-store plans."
The real question is how long it will take WFMI to recover from any downturn. Its customers may decide that they like cheap, fatty food and never return. Whole Foods has watched its shares go from a 52-week high of $51 to $10. Those stock certificates may become so worthless that people will have to eat them as part of a healthy meal. At least they will cost less than the Whole Foods produce.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
B. Riley upgraded S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ: STBA) to Buy from Neutral and lowered its target to $35 from $38 on valuation, as they believe the sell-off post-Q3 results is overdone.
Jefferies upgraded GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC) to Buy from Hold on valuation after Q4 revenue guidance was reset lower. The firm lowered their target to $13 from $18.
JP Morgan upgraded shares of DHT Maritime (NYSE: DHT) and General Maritime (NYSE: GMR) to Overweight from Neutral on the company's valuation and dividend stability.
Analyst downgrades:
HSBC cut Prudential (NYSE: PUK) to Neutral from Overweight as they believe capital has eroded and debt refinancing is increasingly difficult.
JP Morgan lowered its 2009 North American light vehicle production estimate by 13% to 11.2M and Europe by 10% to 19M. The firm upgraded Borg-Warner (NYSE: BWA) to Overweight from Neutral citing balance sheet and revenue growth.
Jefferies upgraded shares of Kroger (NYSE: KR) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $32 from $28 as they expect the company's value image to benefit in the current environment.
Leerink upgraded AMAG Pharma (NASDAQ: AMAG) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe current data is sufficient for some form of first cycle approval of Ferumoxytol.
Watsco (NYSE: WSO) was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
UBS upgraded Invitrogen (NASDAQ: IVGN) to Buy from Neutral.
Analyst downgrades:
Jefferies downgraded shares of Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Underperform from Buy and lowered its target to $9.50 from $23 on the worsening macro environment, which they believe is "overwhelming" the company's ability to drive even flat comps in Q4 and FY09.
Deutsche Bank cut Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $19 from $28 following the company's worse-than-expected outlook, as they expect shares to be range bound.
Banc of America downgraded the Dry Bulk Shipping sector to Equal Weight from Overweight to reflect the "depressed" charter rate environment, tighter credit markets and the weakening macroeconomic outlook. The firm downgraded Britannia Bulk (NYSE: DWT), Navios Maritime (NYSE: NM) and TBS International (NASDAQ: TBSI) to Neutral from Buy.
Eaton (NYSE: ETN) was lowered to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
AXA (NYSE: AXA) was downgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Overweight.
Aracrus (NYSE: ARA) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
7 Great Companies for $7 or Less These battered stocks are ripe for a rebound. They include Animal Health International, Build-a-Bear Workshop, Blockbuster, Global Cash Access Holdings, Great Wolf Resorts, Hackett Group and Spansion. http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2008/11/7_cheap_stocks.html Biggest Losers: 15 Stocks That Have Plummeted This Year The following list is of selected familiar names and large stocks that have plunged significantly over these time periods. It does not include the obvious names such as AIG, Wachovia, GM and the likes, but decent stocks we all liked and knew over the years. Among them are Alcoa, American Express, Apple, Boeing, Citigroup, Dell, eBay, General Electric, Google, Merck, Motorola, Sprint Nextel, Research in Motion, Sirius XM and Whole Foods are all down significantly more than 25% which is what the Dow is off in 2008. http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/06/big-losers-15-large-stocks-that-have-plummeted/
After Monday, there are probably no more doubters left. We are in a bear market and we are in a recession and anyone arguing otherwise is living in a made-up world. The only thing left to argue over is how to get out of this dire situation, and how long it will last. Looking at stocks since the beginning of the year, and over the past month since the feds seized Fannie and Freddie, the picture isn't pretty. Many familiar names have vanished, many -- luckily -- have just seen their market value cut about in half. What once were some large stocks are now some of the smaller ones, including some DJIA components.
The following list is of selected familiar names and large stocks that have plunged significantly over these time periods. It does not include the obvious names such as AIG, Wachovia, GM and the likes, but decent stocks we all liked and knew over the years. By comparison, the Dow industrials is down 25% year-to-date, the S&P 500 down 28% during the same time and the Nasdaq Composite down nearly 30%. Over the past month (since the Fannie/Freddie rescue), the Dow declined over 11%, the S&P 500 declined nearly 15% and the Nasdaq declined over 17%.
Alcoa (NYSE: AA) -- aluminum giant Alcoa is feeling the pains of a global economic slowdown and higher costs even as aluminum prices remain high. Alcoa shares hit a 10-year low Monday. YTD, AA market value has been cut in half, and over the past month alone Alcoa lost 36% of its value.
American Express (NYSE: AXP) -- the credit card company had large exposure to bad loans that affected its results. With analysts expecting credit card debt to be the next shoe to drop, AXP may see its stock fall more than the 42.2% it already has YTD. It plunged 23.68% this past month.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) -- even this consumer tech darling couldn't escape the claws of the bears as worries over demand for its products increased. AAPL, one of the stocks that actually had a positive day Monday and closed at $98.14, is down 50.45% YTD, 38.73% this past month.
Baird upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation, new product cycles, and confidence in 2H08 results.
Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Repsol (NYSE: REP) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they believe the potential sale to Sacyr Vallehermoso SA could lead to a restructuring.
Stanford lifted National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) to Buy from Hold citing valuation. In addition, the firm, which set a target of $70, thinks most of the drop in commodity prices is now over.
Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was raised to Hold from Sell at Societe Generale.
Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) was upgraded at Piper to Neutral from Sell.
Argus downgraded shares of Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) to Hold from Buy post-close given the volatility in the stock as they can no longer recommend CEG until concerns over its capital and liquidity are resolved. Shares were also downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
Collins Stewart downgraded Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE: LYG) to Hold from Buy following the acquisition of HBOS (OTC: HBOOY) as they expect short-term weakness in the stock.
Much of the U.S. economy -- save the oil/oil services sector -- is in a consolidation and right-sizing mode, or something resembling it. Retail chains, home builders, auto manufacturers etc. are all thinning their employee and production ranks, in anticipation of a period ahead with lighter demand. And most investors and readers all familiar with the consolidation in the investment banking sector.
Add another sector to the list: the grocery store sector. After more than a decade of building bigger and bigger stores (and superstores) retailers are experimenting with considerably smaller grocery stores that feature prepared meals in gourmet delis, and fresh produce, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
How the World Spends Its Money Ever wondered how global consumers spend their hard-earned incomes? Data from the World Bank's most recent study breaks global individual consumption into 11 buckets--from food and clothing to health care and recreation. While just 6% of U.S. income goes to food China residents spend 24% and Ethopians a whooping 55%. At the other extreme, Americans spend 18% of its income on healthcare, which is much higher than most other countries. How The World Spends Its Money - Forbes.com
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Yuppie organic food market, 
People are not giving up 
Crummy economic data from October ISM Manufacturing and September Construction Spending didn't manage to kill overseas gains that led to more mixed rallying in U.S. equity markets. Ahead of tomorrow's elections, it seems that the markets are just going into a holding pattern. U.S. auto sales were atrocious. 
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After Monday, there are probably no more doubters left. We are in a bear market and we are in a recession and anyone arguing otherwise is living in a made-up world. The only thing left to argue over is how to get out of this dire situation, and how long it will last. Looking at stocks since the beginning of the year, and over the past month since the feds seized Fannie and Freddie, the picture isn't pretty. Many familiar names have vanished, many -- luckily -- have just seen their market value cut about in half. What once were some large stocks are now some of the smaller ones, including some DJIA components..gif){kind=logo}
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