Archive for March, 2011

Tesla Gets Surprising Upgrade By Morgan Stanley

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Shares of Tesla Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA)  are surging today, Thursday following an aggressive call from analysts at Morgan Stanley. The firm upgraded shares of the maker of electric vehicles to Overweight and set a $70 price target, representing almost 200% upside from Wednesday’s close. The firm contends that Tesla will eventually become the 4th major U.S. Auto manufacturer behind GM, Ford & Chrysler.

In the research note, Morgan Stanley writes, “xEV market entering higher volume and it’s happening right now: We are convinced electric cars will comprise a significant minority of global light vehicle sales medium-term and the majority longer term. Our global xEV model suggests penetration of 5.5% globally by 2020 and >15% by 2025. Even on our forecasts, the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) remains by far the dominant form of propulsion for a very long time.”

Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jones, the analyst who wrote the report, goes on to say, “There are few things in business as risky as starting an auto company – especially one that relies on entirely new technology that is not likely to be competitive vs. the established internal combustion engine for more than a decade. However, conditions are ripe for new entrants and we believe Tesla can be a significant volume player in the auto industry. We believe the market for xEVs (plug-in-hybrids or PHEVs and pure EVs) is underestimated as rising oil prices and government support accelerate the shift away from the internal combustion engine. This shift has made room for entirely new players to join the ranks of currently entrenched OEMs, and has afforded Tesla the opportunity to establish itself as America’s fourth automaker. The biggest risk remains Tesla’s own execution of its plan. Despite its extremely risky profile, the almost 200% upside to our base case $70 price target is enough to justify an Overweight rating.”

Morgan Stanley has a bull case price target of $135, which consists of: “Production far beyond Fremont. Global car market runs at 3.4% CAGR through 2025. Global xEV penetration at 7% by 2020 and 21% by 2025. Tesla EV share peaks at 11% and >8% long term. Pricing similar to base case. Mix stable over time due to higher contribution from Model S and Model X and higher content uptake on Gen 3. Break-even OP reached in 2013, OP margin peak at 23%, normalize at just under 20%.”

If you believe that Morgan Stanley is anywhere close to being right on Tesla, then now looks like a great time to invest in shares, as shares are well below the price target Morgan Stanley and Jones put on the stock.

Shares of Tesla last traded at $27.575, up 17 percent.

DJIA Hits New High Then Pulls Back

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

After coming within 8 points of new-high territory, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 12,350.61) lost some steam in the final minutes of trading, but still ended on a respectable gain of 71.6 points, or 0.6%. What’s more, the blue-chip barometer ended north of 12,300 for the first time since Feb. 18. The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,328.26) ended with a gain of 8.8 points, or 0.7%, notching its first finish atop the 1,320 level since March 9. However, the broad-market barometer retreated in the face of the 1,330 level, which has been conquered just once on a daily closing basis since Feb. 18.

Stocks catapulted higher right out of the gate today, as investors celebrated the latest round of deal-making and encouraging employment data. On the merger-and-acquisition front, Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ (NYSE:VRXhostile bid for Cephalon (NASDAQ:CEPH), as well as Salesforce.com’s (CRM - 134.49) acquisition of Radian6 , sparked optimism about the corporate cash supply on the Street. More notably, though, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) said the private sector added 201,000 jobs in March — in line with expectations, and prompting a collective sigh of relief ahead of Friday’s closely watched payrolls report. As the bullish stars aligned, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) approached multi-year highs, with all three major market indexes ending comfortably north of breakeven.

2 IPO’S For March 30, 2011

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

IPO’s investors have been betting on a bull market. Investors

Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO) American Community Properties Trust (ACPT) develops, builds, owns, and manages primarily residential real estate in Washington, DC; Maryland; and Virginia. The self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) has ownership in more than 20 multi-family apartment communities (about 3,200 units) and 4,000 acres of undeveloped land in a planned residential community in St. Charles, Maryland. More than half of its apartment units participate in low-income housing programs. Subsidiary American Rental Management Company manages apartments for ACPT and for third parties. ACPT was acquired by real estate investment company Federal Capital Partners for $43.6 million in 2009.

Apollo Global sold nearly 30 million shares at $19 each, generating $565 million. Trading in the private-equity firm’s shares begins Wednesday.

Qihoo 360 Technology (NYSE:QIHU) Founded by former executives of Yahoo! China, this young company offers Internet security products free of charge to a massive user base, which has more than doubled in two years to over 300 million. Qihoo’s key product is a safe web browser in China that is rapidly gaining popularity as Internet users search for protection against increasingly pervasive and complex security threats. Originally a reseller of third-party anti-virus software, this young company now offers a suite of proprietary Internet security products under the “360″ brand. Qihoo’s strategy is to attract users by offering free security products and monetize them by driving traffic to its secure web browser, which is second only to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in usage. 360 Safe Browser, which was launched in late 2009, is based on an “open” platform and therefore able to host applications from third-party game developers and e-commerce firms. It generates revenue from online advertising (paid links, automatic search referral fees; 67% of 2010 sales) and additional Internet value-added services (web games, technical support; 26%). Qihoo’s top-line jumped 79% to $58 million last year, driven by a 179% increase in online advertising to $39 million and a boost in Internet value-added services to $15 million (from $2 million). Adjusted operating margins improved modestly to 23% as a favorable mix shift from the discontinuation of its lower-margin reselling business was offset by heavy R&D investments. Qihoo 360 soared more than 112% to $32.18 Wednesday morning as the Internet company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The China-based firm offered to sell 12.1 million shares at a price of $14.50, above its initial range of $10.50 to $12.50.

Waste Management Stocks In Spotlight (ES, RSG, WM, WCN)

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

EnergySolutions, Inc. (NYSE:ES) added 2.24% to $6.85. The stock has a 52-week range of $4.35-$7.75.

The stock has average daily volume of 1.09 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $607.06 million.

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) is up 0.20% to $30.05. Republic Services, Inc. is a provider of services in the domestic non-hazardous solid waste industry.

The stock opened at $30.11 and is trading within the range of $30.05-$30.18.

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) surged 0.22% to $37.25. The stock has a 52-week range of $31.11-$38.58.

The stock has average daily volume of 2.63 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $17.71 billion.

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) gained 0.31% to $28.67. The stock has a 52-week range of $22.01-$29.86.

Notable Wireless Communication Stocks In Focus (PCS, VIP, CLWR, NIHD)

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE:PCS) added 2.91% to $16.27. The stock has a 52-week range of $6.98-$16.41.

The stock has average daily volume of 5.11 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $5.80 billion.

VimpelCom Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:VIP) is up 0.71% to $14.03. VimpelCom Ltd., formerly New Spring Company Ltd., consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed and broadband technologies.

The stock opened at $14.05 and is trading within the range of $13.94-$14.22.

Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) gained 1.09% to $5.56. The stock has a 52-week range of $4.63-$8.82.

The stock has average daily volume of 5.65 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $1.36 billion.

NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NIHD) added 2.01% to $41.65. The stock has a 52-week range of $32.36-$46.32.

Most Active US Stocks (FTR, WIN, Qwest, CTL)

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Frontier Communications Corp (NYSE:FTR) added 1.02% to $7.96. The stock has a 52-week range of $6.96-$9.84.

The stock has average daily volume of 10.69 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $7.92 billion.

Windstream Corporation (NASDAQ:WIN) is up 0.71% to $12.85. Windstream Corporation is a communications and technology solutions provider, specializing in complex data, high-speed Internet access, and voice and transport services to customers in 29 states.

The stock opened at $12.82 and is trading within the range of $12.74-$12.96.

Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE:Q) gained 0.58% to $6.93. The stock has a 52-week range of $4.87-$7.73.

The stock has average daily volume of 18.56 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $12.24 billion.

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:CTL) surged 0.60% to $41.70. The stock has a 52-week range of $14.16-$46.87.

Top US Stocks (EMR, PH, MWA, HEAT)

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) added 1.21% to $57.80. The stock has a 52-week range of $42.69-$62.24.

The stock has average daily volume of 4.08 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $43.58 billion.

Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) is up 0.38% to $94.68. Parker-Hannifin Corporation is a full-line diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, including fluid power systems, electromechanical controls and related components.

The stock opened at $94.74 and is trading within the range of $94.39-$94.99.

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) surged 0.91% to $4.45. The stock has a 52-week range of $2.21-$5.99.

The stock has average daily volume of 2.28 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $691.48 million.

SmartHeat Inc (NASDAQ:HEAT) dropped 7.34% to $3.03. The stock has a 52-week range of $2.97-$12.69.

Consumer Good Stocks Alert (Ford, PG, KO, PEP)

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) surged 0.61% to $14.93. The stock has a 52-week range of $9.75-$18.97.

The stock has average daily volume of 104.66 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $56.48 billion.

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is up 1.00% to $61.89. The Procter & Gamble Company is focused on providing consumer packaged goods.

The stock opened at $61.46 and is trading within the range of $61.38-$61.94.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) added 1.08% to $66.43. The stock has a 52-week range of $49.47-$66.49.

The stock has average daily volume of 8.56 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $152.47 billion.

PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) gained 1.79% to $65.31. The stock has a 52-week range of $60.32-$68.11.

Conglomerate Stocks Movers (GE, NOC, DD, TXT)

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) added 1.76% to $20.21. The stock has a 52-week range of $13.75-$21.65.

The stock has average daily volume of 64.29 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $214.62 billion.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) slid 0.15% to $68.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation is an integrated enterprise consisting of businesses that address the global security spectrum, from undersea to outer space and into cyberspace.

The stock opened at $68.40 and is trading within the range of $67.57-$68.44.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (NYSE:DD) gained 1.65% to $55.49. The stock has a 52-week range of $33.66-$56.19.

The stock has average daily volume of 7.33 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $51.04 billion.

Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) is up 1.07% to $27.28. The stock has a 52-week range of $15.88-$28.87.

Major Tech. Stocks Trading Lower (AAPL, Sprint, CSCO, MU)

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 4.37% to $1.75. The stock has a 52-week range of $1.38-$10.57.

The stock has average daily volume of 3.70 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $2.32 billion.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) lost 1.08% to $4.57. Sprint Nextel Corporation is a holding company, with its operations primarily conducted by its subsidiaries.

The stock opened at $4.60 and is trading within the range of $4.56-$4.64.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) slid 0.23% to $17.40. The stock has a 52-week range of $16.97-$27.74.

The stock has average daily volume of 86.55 million shares. At Current market price, the market capitalization of the company stands at $96.16 billion.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is down 1.28% to $11.61. Micron Technology, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of semiconductor devices, principally dynamic random access memory (DRAM), Nandi Flash memory (NAND Flash and NOR Flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products.