Specialized Consumer Services

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc (NASDAQ: PNFP) was downgraded by Wunderlich from “buy” to “hold.” PNFP’s shares lost 8.97% to $16.33 at 10:04 am. Pinnacle Financial Partners’ quarterly EPS growth is -138.72%. HSBC Securities downgraded Southern Copper Corp (NYSE: SCCO) from “overweight” to “...

Pre-Paid Legal Services (NYSE: PPD) announced today that it had received an additional subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 13, as a part of an ongoing inquiry by the commission. The subpoena has requested them to provide “documents relating to certain membership...

Shares of Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) are moving higher today on heavier than normal volume. The stock has gained 1.69% and is currently trading at $38.54. In early trading, over 600,000 shares have traded hands, compared to a daily average of under 550,000. It would appear that ACOR may...

One old trader used to say "High beta is bettah!", meaning that a high beta on a stock is better for trading. Beta is the relation of the percentage change of a stock with that of the stock market as a whole. In other words, if a stock has a beta of 1, then the stock generally follows the market...

Forget the Dogs of the Dow. How about the Dead Cat Bounces of the Standard & Poor's 500? A dead cat bounce takes place when a generally bad stock drops substantially and has a little bounce in price after the big drop. If you take a look at the stocks of the S&P 500 that have greatly...

If you like to trade growth stocks, you probably want stocks with strong earnings growth and significant revenue growth. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to have a high return on equity. And it would be nice if the stock paid a decent dividend. A search of companies with revenue and earnings growth over...

Cabot Microelectronics Corporation (NASDAQ: CCMP) shares added 1.30% to create a new 52-week high of $38.11. CCMP’s quarterly earnings growth stands at 11213.80% y/y. Read more about this company here. Capella Education Company (NASDAQ: CPLA) shares gained 0.64% to $93.72, creating a new 52 week...

As the market traded higher across the board Monday on lighter volume, there were many stocks which traded higher/lower on above average volume. Today's breakout report is for Monday March 22, 2010. If this is your first time reading one of my breakout reports you'll want to read the section...

Below are the top services stocks on the NASDAQ in terms of dividend. Inergy Holdings LP (NASDAQ: NRGP) pays a dividend of $3.76 per share. NRGP’s shares closed at $76.25 yesterday. Read more about this company here. Strayer Education Inc (NASDAQ: STRA) pays a dividend of $3 per share. STRA’s...

Scott Schneeberger, Bhupender Bohra, and Jim Giannakouros of Oppenheimer gave a dreary outlook for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX). Jackson Hewitt delivered F3Q10 adjusted EPS of $0.46 (-38% y/y), which was down compared to their estimate of $0.43 and consensus of $0.48. Reported EPS...

Shares of Jackson Hewitt Tax Services (NYSE: JTX) were down 8% in afternoon trading, after the no. 2 tax preparer swung to a 3rd quarter loss and announced that it was in danger of breaching financial covenants. Jackson Hewitt Tax Services reported a 3rd quarter loss of $279 million, or $9.75 per...

• H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) reported fiscal third quarter results after the close. The company reported earnings of 16 cents, versus 20 cents a year ago, and ahead of Zacks estimates of 14 cents, on revenues of $935 million, slightly below Zacks estimates of $938 million • A FT report says Marsh...

According to Bloomberg, the shares of the following companies may see some unusual movements in trading today. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASY), which owns convenience stores in the Midwest, reported EPS of $0.34, excluding items, for the third-quarter, missing the average analyst EPS...

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) projected an EPS of $0.15 for the latest quarter. HRB reports results after the market closes. HRB gained 0.14% to $16.71 in after hours trading. Read more about this company here. Analysts are expecting MAKO Surgical (NASDAQ: MAKO) to have earned $0.27 per share for the...

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only...