Boiler Room: The Official Stock Market Discussion

[Domingo Halliburton]

Nasdaq looks like a major top here. Options volume really low.

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

ECONOMIC REPORTS

Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Durable goods orders for February at 8:30--consensus up 0.2%
DOE petroleum inventory reports for week of March 20 at 10:30

ANALYST RESEARCH

Upgrades

Alliant Energy (LNT) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird
American Water (AWK) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird
Aqua America (WTR) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird
Artesian Resources (ARTNA) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird
Estee Lauder (EL) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray
General Dynamics (GD) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital
Hawaiian Holdings (HA) upgraded to Outperform from In-Line at Imperial Capital
Middlesex Water (MSEX) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird
Otter Tail (OTTR) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird
PNM Resources (PNM) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird
Xcel Energy (XEL) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird

Downgrades

AB InBev (BUD) downgraded to Reduce from Overweight at HSBC
BreitBurn Energy (BBEP) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS
Finish Line (FINL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley
iDreamSky (DSKY) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan
ING Groep (ING) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Informatica (INFA) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho
Kofax (KFX) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord
LRR Energy (LRE) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS
Orbital ATK (OA) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo
PCTEL, Inc. (PCTI) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley
SJW Corp. (SJW) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at RW Baird
Sonus (SONS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich
Tesla (TSLA) downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at CLSA

Initiations

Aerie Pharmaceuticals (AERI) initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital
Brunswick (BC) initiated with a Buy at Stifel
Fox Factory (FOXF) initiated with a Buy at DA Davidson
Harley-Davidson (HOG) initiated with a Buy at Stifel
Jason Industries (JASN) initiated with a Buy at Stifel
Micron (MU) initiated with a Neutral at MKM Partners
Neff (NEFF) initiated with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo
Polaris Industries (PII) initiated with a Buy at Stifel
Stericycle (SRCL) initiated with an In-Line at Imperial Capital
Ultragenyx (RARE) initiated with a Buy at CRT Capital
United Rentals (URI) initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo

COMPANY NEWS

Kraft Foods (KRFT), H.J. Heinz announce definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by both Heinz and Kraft's boards, Kraft shareholders will own a 49% stake in the combined company and shareholders will receive stock in the combined company and a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share. The aggregate special dividend payment of approximately $10B is being fully funded by an equity contribution by Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and 3G Capital
Lexmark (LXK) to acquire Kofax (KFX) for $11 per share in cash, or a total enterprise value of approximately $1B
Great Wolf Resorts, which is currently controlled by funds affiliated with Apollo Global (APO), to be acquired by affiliate of Centerbridge Partners
Stamps.com (STMP) said it intends to acquire Endicia from Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) for $215M in cash
Rocket Fuel (FUEL) appointed Monte Zweben as interim CEO and reiterated Q1 non-GAAP revenue guidance
Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) said Chief Regulatory Officer Dr. Gautam Shah is departing company
Lpath (LPTN) said Phase 2a Asonep study did not meet primary endpoint
Merck (MRK) announced new $10B share repurchase program

EARNINGS

Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
Leidos (LDOS), Sonic (SONC), Christopher & Banks (CBK), HealthEquity (HQY), Christopher & Banks (CBK), Sonic (SONC), Steelcase (SCS)

Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
Yingli Green reports Q4 adjusted EPS (49c)

Companies that matched consensus earnings expectations include:
Turquoise Hill (TRQ), EXFO Inc. (EXFO)

Sonic (SONC) sees 25%-27% EPS growth in FY15
Christopher & Banks (CBK) sees Q1 revenue $90M-$94M, consensus $108.18M, sees FY15 revenue $422M-$432M, consensus $438.56M
HealthEquity (HQY) sees FY16 EPS 28c-30c, consensus 32c
Leidos (LDOS) sees FY15 EPS $2.20-$2.45, consensus $2.53
Steelcase (SCS) sees Q1 adj. EPS 13c-17c, consensus 15c

NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES

Google (GOOG) working on project to add bill pay function to Gmail, Re/code reports
Apple Watch (AAPL) has faced yield, manufacturing issues "at every stage of the development," AppleInsider reports
YouTube (GOOG) to relaunch livestreaming platform, Daily Dot says (AMZN)
Nielsen says to unveil way to measure Netflix viewing by midyear, Bloomberg reports
Facebook (FB) leaks announcements from F8 conference, including Parse for IoT, Messenger as a platform, Business Insider reports

SYNDICATE

Cellectis (CLLS) 5.5M share Secondary priced at $41.50
EnLink Midstream (ENLK) files to sell 22.8M common units representing limited partners
La Quinta (LQ) 20.75M share Secondary priced at $23.71
Mast Therapeutics (MSTX) files $150M mixed securities shelf
Nationstar (NSM) files to sell 17.5M shares of common stock
Novavax (NVAX) files to sell $175M in common stock
Southern Missouri Bancorp (SMBC) files $75M mixed securities shelf
Unit Corp. (UNT) files automatic mixed securities shelf
ZS Pharma (ZSPH) 4.01M share Secondary priced at $46.25

 

[Ohene]

good start for GoPro

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

Heinz needed more debt after the LBO a few months back

edit: S&P placed them on credit watch

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

good start for GoPro

seems like it's bounced off the downward trend line it was on. can it break above the 50 day though?

 

[Ohene]

seems like it's bounced off the downward trend line it was on. can it break above the 50 day though?

thats the key. its gonna be tough but if it does
perhaps it will trend towards there in time for earnings which will decide where it goes

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

crude inventories coming in 5 minutes


edit: inventories rise by 8.2 million barrels. more than expected. haven't seen much price action though. USD weakness may be having some effect.

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

so I guess being investigated by regulators is a good thing in Lumber Liquidiators' case? up 9%.

way oversold and I think the market has had way too much of an overreaction.

 

[CosbyMadeMeSellDrugs]

How many contracts did you buy and the amount if you don't mind me asking?

Its just a couple but I think it was around 1.6

 

[OSUBaneBrowns]

B

crude inventories coming in 5 minutes


edit: inventories rise by 8.2 million barrels. more than expected. haven't seen much price action though. USD weakness may be having some effect.

Brought 43 shares of a 3x leveraged crude oil ETF this morning. I still believe that oil will go back up by the summer time. It was only a $100 investment on my end if I am wrong.

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

B

Brought 43 shares of a 3x leveraged crude oil ETF this morning. I still believe that oil will go back up by the summer time. It was only a $100 investment on my end if I am wrong.

you buy UWTI?

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

big buyer of Comcast call spreads Jan 2017 $55/$57

 

[CosbyMadeMeSellDrugs]

New logo for the site

Had the clock hands / parts of the K point from about 9:30 to 4... time of the market... with $ signs instead of dashes at those spots to indicate $$$ time

Just an idea, but a chatroom for more current things during trading hours would be neat

 

[OSUBaneBrowns]

you buy UWTI?

Yes. Scared money doesn't make any money. Worst case scenario is that I lose about $100 .

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

man, people are dumping eMini's today. Like 2000 at a time.

It's not Waddell & Reed dumping eMini's but it's sizable.