-
Benzinga’s Top Upgrades (HAL, PDE, BP, PGR)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 - 10:21am | 158Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) was upgraded by Barclays Capital from “equal weight” to “overweight.” HAL’s shares closed at $25.74 on Friday. Halliburton’s earnings may grow by 45.07% in the next year. Barclays Capital upgraded Pride International Inc (NYSE: PDE) from “equal weight” to “overweight...
-
Deutsche Bank Reiterates Hold Rating on Allstate Corp. (ALL)
Thursday, July 1, 2010 - 11:49am | 255Deutsche Bank is out with a research report this morning, where its analysts reiterated its Hold rating on shares of Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL); it has a $32.00 price target on the stock. The DB analysts said, “Following our meeting with management, we remain concerned about 2Q10 results,...
-
Risk Reversal Trades on Assured Guaranty LTD (AGO)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - 3:07pm | 143Shares of Assured Guaranty LTD (NYSE: AGO) are higher on the session by 2.66%, currently trading at $13.60. The stock has been trading lower after a sharp sell off in May. Options traders are betting that the stock could rally. The July $12.50 put was sold 1,100 times, on the bid, for $0.40 and...
-
Q2 Wrap Up Holding Market Steady 06-30-2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - 3:04pm | 847Cusick’s Corner The bulls are trying to build some momentum into the Midday, looking to get out of this oversold segment and push into the green. This has been challenged, with the shorts just pounding back these bulls, so watch the 1042 level on the SPX to hold if the long side is going to have...
-
Calls Sold on XL Capital (XL)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - 12:01pm | 147Shares of XL Capital LTD (NYSE: XL) are lower on the session by 0.43%, currently trading at $16.10. The stock has been trading lower over the past three months and has recently broken down through the 200-day moving average, which is a bearish sign. Options traders are selling calls on XL today....
-
Stocks Going Ex Dividend the First Week of July 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010 - 10:59pm | 657Here 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...
-
Benzinga’s Top Downgrades (RIMM, AMSF, LXU, BAP)
Friday, June 25, 2010 - 9:38am | 147Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) was downgraded by Robert W Baird from “outperform” to “neutral.” RIMM’s shares closed at $58.58 yesterday. Research In Motion’s 52-week trading range is $54.30-$88.08. Oppenheimer downgraded Amerisafe Inc (NASDAQ: AMSF) from “outperform” to “perform.” AMSF’...
-
June 24, 2010: 21 Large Cap/Low PE Stocks
Thursday, June 24, 2010 - 7:02pm | 224Occasionally, investors shake the tree with a broad screen to see what securities fall to the ground. Today,I programmed a Standard and Poors Large Cap screen. The following large cap ($10-50b) securities have a four or five star S&P rating coupled with a low PE and PEG valuations. For brevity...
-
Shorts In Control 06-24-2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010 - 3:57pm | 769Cusick’s Corner The shorts continue to be in control into the Midday and now entering into the After Hours. The economic news this morning just showed that while things are not on a vertical trajectory, there is some life in the consumer and business. Not enough for the market to take off to the...
-
Protection Purchased on Allstate Corp. (ALL)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 11:46am | 113Shares of Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) are lower on the session by 0.49%, currently trading at $30.40. The stock has been struggling to regain the 200-day moving average as of late; this comes after a hard sell off in May. Options traders are picking up protection on the name. The October $28 put...
-
What is Warren Buffett Buying and Selling?
Saturday, June 19, 2010 - 10:46pm | 286Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B), is one of the three richest people in the world and a top trader and investor. The latest SEC report came out on Berkshire and shows his latest moves as of the end of March. What is most significant about this list is not what he is buying...
-
Stock Market News for June 18, 2010 - Market News
Friday, June 18, 2010 - 9:57am | 295Stocks started the day on a down note but pared losses towards the end to close with slim gains as a rally in commodity and consumer related stocks helped offset some dour economic reports. The euro’s rise to three-week highs also caught market participants’ attention as they wondered if it was...
-
Piper Jaffray Reiterates Neutral Rating on Progressive (PGR)
Friday, June 18, 2010 - 9:41am | 186Piper Jaffray is out with an analyst note this morning, where they reiterated their Neutral rating on shares of Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR); they have a $20.00 price target on the stock. Piper analysts are citing a recent investor day, where Progressive's management team told the story of a...
-
Small Caps Missing Bounce 06-15-2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 - 3:13pm | 790Cusick’s Corner The market has bounced nicely into the Midday, with Finance, XLF, and Energy, XLE, sectors leading the advance in challenging the longer-term resistance represented by the 200 Simple Moving Average [SMA]. What is concerning about this rally is that we are not getting bullish...
-
Huge Options Volume on Allstate (ALL)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 - 2:05pm | 205Shares of Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) are higher on the session by 1.27%, currently trading at $30.33. The stock has been running lower for the past three months, but appears to be finding some support around the $29-30 level. Options volume is running at 12x the daily average today with the vast...