Month: June 2012

The Daily Ticker’s Aaron Task and Henry Blodget discuss Facebook’s email changes, Sheryl Sandberg’s board appointment

LDK Solar announced some bad news today. The China-based solar equipment manufacturer posted an unexpectedly large quarterly loss. It also forecast weak second quarter sales. This move sent company shares plunging more than 8 percent.The company’s first quarter net loss came in at $135.8 million, contrasted with last year’s net profit of $135.4 million. Forecasted second quarter sales are between $220 and $270 million, below the expected $370.4 million. Solar panel prices have plummeted over the past year due to a supply glut, closing down many solar companies. LDK Solar will likely issue new long-term debt to reduce its shorter-term facilities, but experts believe that may not be enough to protect it from bankruptcy.

Agilent (A) today had its estimates and price target increased by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch due to recent acquistion activity that should increase earnings. A buy rating was issued with a $54 price target.

Boeing Company (BA) maintained its quarterly dividend of 44 cents per share. The dividend is payable September 7, 2012, to shareholders of record as of August 17, 2012.

As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy — they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.

In trading on Tuesday, education & training services shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 2.3%. Leading the group were shares of Apollo Group (APOL), up about 9.6% and shares of Strayer Education (STRA) up about 4.8% on the day.

Adobe (ADBE) announced that it earned $0.60 per share for the second fiscal quarter of 2012, beating analyst estimates by one cent. The products segment increased by 5% to $1.12 billion beating estimates by $10 million, and the products segment increased by 5% to $871 million, subscriptions increased by 45% to $159.5 million, while services grew 12% to $93 million.

The Daily Ticker’s Aaron Task and Henry Blodget talk to Douglas Hepworth about the fate of Europe.

Stocks closed considerably lower after A resignation from Greece’s finance minister exacerbated the situation there. Spain’s official request to help its banking system sent stocks down worldwide.

Boeing (BA) was upgraded today by Oppenheimer (OPY) from perform to outperform with a price target of $90 as the 787 program has begun to mature and should add to the bottom line in the coming months. Shares are lower by about 1.2 percent.