Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals

Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc (NYSE: POT) was upgraded by Gleacher from "neutral" to "buy." POT's shares closed at $60.00 on Friday. POT's trailing-twelve-month operating margin is 38.03%. Davenport upgraded WellPoint Inc (NYSE: WLP) from "neutral" to "buy.” WLP's shares closed at $66.52 on...

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company's (NYSE: SMG) $500 million stock repurchase plan, which was to be executed over a four-year period from F2011 to F2014, is likely to be mostly carried out by the end of F2011, J.P. Morgan reports. “Scotts intends to use the entire $190 million in net proceeds from the...

Jefferies & Co. has a Hold rating on shares of Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON). Jefferies writes, "Very strong seasonality, with most of earnings generated in Q2 and Q3 and cash generated in Q4." Shares of Monsanto lost 37 cents yesterday to close at $70.54, a loss of 0.5%.

The markets are lower today but some sectors remain strong. The agriculture and solar sectors are particularly strong in an otherwise dismal market. Why would these sectors be so strong in the face of the markets third consecutive sell off? The answer is simple. While oil has run up and people fear...

Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) is trading higher today. At the time of posting, shares of IPI were trading at $37.96, up 6.36% from Wednesday's close.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) reported 4Q10 EPS of $0.24, $0.04 above Oppenheimer's estimate, up 170.7% yoy, with volumes and pricing as pre-announced on 1/20. The upside resulted primarily from lower COGS, as the company operated mines at higher operating rates. As Oppenheimer wrote in its 3Q note,...

On CNBC's Mad Money, Jim Cramer said during the Lightning Round that Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) is “steady and goes great.” He added, “I am not happy with Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM). That was a bad conference call." Cramer said that Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) is a “high-multiple...

CNBC Fast Money's Jon Najarian said on the show that he bought The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) today, and he is still holding this stock. The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) gained 1.45% in the regular trading session, and it added 2.24% in the after hours. JJ Kinahan and Brian Kelly both like Monsanto...

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) shares have charged back towards the flat line, down 27 cents, after being down as much as $8.50 per share earlier this morning. At last check, shares of CF were trading at $131.73, a loss of 0.2%. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. manufactures and distributes...

We might have seen the lows in the agricultural space, which has been slammed in recent trading sessions. The leading names have all turned after seeing some panic selling just an hour or so ago. The move in the stocks has coincided with a rally in grain futures. This could be a tremendous entry...

The U.S. chemical industry consists of 170 major companies with several of them having international operations. The products manufactured by these companies span a wide range … from chemicals used in household products like soaps and detergents to agrichemicals and specialty chemicals used in...

Crude oil is near $100 per barrel. The markets are getting crushed for the second day in a row. The conclusion is simple to draw. Sharp spikes in oil prices hurt all but oil stocks. While Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is having a monster day, plays like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Potash...

Gabelli & Company maintained its Monsanto (NYSE: MON) Buy rating in a research report published today. In the report, Gabelli states, "Monsanto has acquired Divergence Inc., a private St. Louis-based biotechnology research company. Divergence products are primarily in the research and...

Sellers are rushing for the exits in shares of Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT) on Tuesday. The stock, which has been a high flier in recent months, has lost around 5% and is trading at $171.34. The move coincides with a significant sell-off in agricultural commodities. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan...

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is raising its price target on shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) to $150 from $130, and has a Neutral rating on shares. In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan writes, "CF is both a fertilizer stock and a means of investing in the benefits that accrue to global...