Friday, May 15, 2015

Blackstone Group - Barchart's Chart of the Day

The Blackstone Group (BX) is the Barchart Chart of the Day.  The investment management firm has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 52.40+, gained 48.99% in the last year and paid an 8.36% dividend yield.


The Chart of the Day belongs to the Blackstone Group (BX).  I found the stock by sorting the All Time High list for the stocks with the highest technical buy signals, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts.  Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 3/31 the stock gained 11.34%.

Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment and advisory firms. Their alternative asset management businesses include the management of corporate private equity funds, real estate funds, funds of hedge funds, credit-oriented funds, collateralized loan obligation vehicles (CLOs) and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group also provides various financial advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services.


The status of Barchart's Opinion trading systems are listed below.  Please note that the Barchart Opinion indicators are updated live during the session every 10 minutes and can therefore change during the day as the market fluctuates.  The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com web site when you read this report

Barchart technical indicators:

  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 6 new highs and up 5.58% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 69.40%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 42.52
  • Recently traded at 43.29 with a 50 day moving average of 40.19
Fundamental factors:
  • Market Cap $23.09 billion
  • P/E 9.61
  • Dividend yield 8.36%
  • Revenue expected to grow 10.20% this year and another .30% next year
  • Earnings estimated to increase 8.20% this year, decrease by 5.40% next year and decease annually at a rate of 2.22% for the next 5 years
  • Despite these negative forecasts Wall Street analysts issued 5 strong buy, 9 buy and 1 hold recommendation
The 20-100 Day MACD Oscillator has been a fairly reliable trading strategy for this stock and should continue to be used for entry and exit points.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

DST Systems - All Time High

DST Systems (DST) is the Barchart Chart of the Day.  The computer software company has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 38.40+, gained 31.94% in the last year and paid a 1.04% dividend.

The Chart of the Day belongs to DST Systems (DST).  I found the stock by sorting the All Time High list for the stocks with the highest technical buy signals, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts.  Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 3/31 the stock gained 7.57%.

DST Systems, Inc. provides sophisticated information processing and computer software services and products that help clients improve productivity, increase efficiencies, and provide higher levels of customer service. DST is organized domestically and internationally into three operating segments: Financial Services, Output Solutions, and Customer Management. They operate one of the most advanced data centers in the world, which provides information-processing services to support the products within each operating segment.


The status of Barchart's Opinion trading systems are listed below.  Please note that the Barchart Opinion indicators are updated live during the session every 10 minutes and can therefore change during the day as the market fluctuates.  The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com web site when you read this report

Barchart technical indicators:

  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 5 new highs and up 4.46% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 66.93%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 115.16
  • Recently traded at 118.96 with a 50 day moving average of 112.16
Fundamental factors:
  • Market Cap $4.40 billion
  • P/E 19.67
  • Dividend yield 1.04%
  • Revenue expected to grow .20% this year and another 2.80% next year
  • Earnings estimated to increase 11.20% this year, an additional 10.00% next year and continue to increase at an annual rate of 11.00% annually for the next 5 years
  • Wall Street analysts issued 3 strong buy and 2 buy recommendations on the stock
The most reliable technical trading strategy for this stock has been the price vs the 100 day moving average and should continue to be used to gauge entry and exit points on this stock.

Newlink Genetics = Sell Signals

Today I deleted Newlink Genetics (NLNK) from the Barchart Van Meerten New High portfolio for negative price momentum:


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 72% Barchart technical sell signals
  • Trend Spotter sell signal
  • Below its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 36.83% off its recent high
  • Relative Strength Index 32.33%


BARCHART MORNING CALL 5/14

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS
June E-mini S&Ps (ESM15 +0.50%) this morning are up +0.45% on speculation that Wednesday’s weaker-than-expected U.S. Apr retail sales may keep the Fed from raising interest rates. European stocks are down -0.01% amid a stronger euro as EUR/USD climbed to a 2-3/4 month high. Another negative for European stocks is an increase in the 10-year German bund yield to a 1-week high of 0.755%. Greece's ASE Stock Index is up +1.19% after Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis said his government agrees with its creditors on most issues. Asian stocks closed mostly lower: Japan -0.98%, Hong Kong +0.14%, China +0.06%, Taiwan -1.16%, Australia -0.33%, Singapore +0.08%, South Korea +0.17%, India -0.17%. Most Asian bourses weakened as exporters declined after a weak U.S. retail sales report raised concern about U.S. economic growth and demand for Asian goods.
Commodity prices are mostly higher due to a weaker dollar. Jun crude oil (CLM15 +0.13%) is up +0.12% and Jun gasoline (RBM15 +0.95%) is up +0.72%. Metals prices are mixed. Jun gold (GCM15 -0.14%) is up +0.07% at a 1-1/4 month high. Jul copper (HGN15 -0.24%) is down -0.19%. Agriculture prices are higher.
The dollar index (DXY00 -0.30%) is down -0.51% at a new 3-1/2 month low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.67% at a 2-3/4 month high. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.07% and GBP/USD is up +0.31% at a 5-1/2 month high.

Jun T-note prices (ZNM15 +0.06%) are up +4 ticks.
Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis said that Greece agrees with its creditors on most issues and that Greece "will sink" without reforms. He added that Greece needs a debt "redesigning" that will substantially extend repayment deadlines, with possible solutions including bond swaps. Varoufakis insists that he will reject any deal with international bailout creditors that does not help his country exit its economic crisis. According to an official familiar with the matter, Greece has to raise at least 3 billion euros to meet minimum budget targets acceptable by creditors.
U.S. STOCK PREVIEW
Key U.S. reports today include: (1) weekly initial unemployment claims (expected +8,000 to 273,000 after last week's +3,000 to 265,000) and continuing claims (expected +4,000 to 2.232 million after last week's -28,000 to 2.228 million), (2) April final-demand PPI (expected +0.1% m/m and -0.8% y/y after March's +0.2% m/m and -0.8% y/y) and Apr PPI ex-food & energy (expected +0.1% m/m and +1.1% y/y after March's +0.2% m/m and +0.9% y/y), and (3) the Treasury's auction of $16 billion of 30-year T-bonds.
There are 10 of the Russell 100 companies that report earnings today with notable reports including: Applied Materials (consensus 0.28), Nordstrom (0.71), Kohl's (0.55), Dillard;s (2.78), Symantec (0.44).
U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today include: Landmark Infrastructure (LMRK), Code Rebel (CDRB).
Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Bank of America Merrill Lynch Health Care Conference on Tue-Thu, Jefferies Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Tue-Thu, Morgan Stanley E&P and Oil Services Conference on Tue-Thu, MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit on Wed-Thu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Transportation Conference on Thu, Barclays Biotech CEO/CFO Conference on Thu, Royal Bank of Canada Aerospace & Defense Investor Day on Thu.
OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS
Kohl's (KSS +0.28%) reported Q1 EPS of 63 cents, better than consensus of 55 cents.
Urban Outfitters (URBN -0.27%) was upgraded to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform' at Telsey Advisory.
DuPont (DD -7.37%) was upgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Underperform' at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
J.B. Hunt (JBHT -0.61%) and Ingersoll-Rand (IR +0.89%) were both upgraded to 'Overweight' from 'Sector Weight' at KeyBanc.
Citigroup keeps a 'Buy' rating on Global Payments (GPN +1.23%) and raises its price target on the stock to $118.50 from $110.
CarMax (KMX -0.22%) was initiated with a 'Buy' at Sterne Agee CRT with a price target of $87.
Teekay (TK -0.62%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 22 cents, below consensus of 29 cents.
AOL (AOL +0.49%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Buy' at UBS.
Superior Energy (SPN -0.37%) was upgraded to 'Outperform' from 'Perform' at Oppenheimer.
Duke Energy (DUK -2.44%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Outperform' at Credit Suisse.
J.C. Penney (JCP -1.91%) reported a Q1 EPS loss of -57 cents, a smaller loss than consensus of -77 cents.
Vipshop (VIPS +3.41%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 13 cents, above consensus of 10 cents.
Cisco (CSCO +0.41%) reported Q3 EPS of 54 cents, higher than consensus of 53 cents.
Jack in the Box (JACK -0.05%) reported Q2 operating EPS of 69 cents, better than consensus of 67 cents.
Roundy's (RNDY -1.51%) reported a Q1 EPS loss of -1 cent, a smaller loss than consensus of -3 cents.
MARKET COMMENTS
June E-mini S&Ps (ESM15 +0.50%) this morning are up +9.50 points (+0.45%). Wednesday's closes: S&P 500 -0.03%, Dow Jones -0.04%, Nasdaq +0.13%. The S&P 500 on Wednesday closed little changed. Stocks were undercut by the weaker-than-expected U.S. Apr retail sales report of unchanged and +0.1% ex-autos (vs expectations of +0.2% and +0.5% ex-autos) and by carry-over weakness from European stocks that were hurt by a lower close in German bund prices. Stocks received some support from continued M&A activity as Owens-Illinois offered to buy Vitro SAB for $2.15 billion and Danaher announced the acquisition of Pall Corp. for $13.8 billion. There was also some strength in the technology sector after Microsoft rallied on Deutsche Bank's update to "Buy" from "Hold."
Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM15 +0.06%) this morning are up +4 ticks. Wednesday's closes: TYM5 -2.00, FVM5 +3.00. Jun 10-year T-notes on Wednesday closed lower on carry-over weakness from a lower close in German bund prices. Supportive factors included the weaker-than-expected U.S. April retail sales report of unchanged and +0.1% ex-autos and strong demand for the 10-year T-note auction with foreign buyers taking 60.2% of the auction.
The dollar index (DXY00 -0.30%) this morning is down -0.481 (-0.51%) at a 3-1/2 month low. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0076 (+0.67%) at a 2-3/4 month high. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.08 (+0.07%). Wednesday's closes: Dollar Index -0.917 (-0.97%), EUR/USD +0.0141 (+1.26%), USD/JPY -0.714 (-0.60%). The dollar index on Wednesday fell to a 3-1/4 month low on the weaker-than-expected U.S. April retail sales report and on the as-expected increase in Eurozone Q1 GDP, which was supportive for EUR/USD.
Jun WTI crude oil (CLM15 +0.13%) this morning is up +7 cents (+0.12%) and Jun gasoline (RBM15 +0.95%) is up +0.0147 (+0.72%). Wednesday's closes: CLM5 -0.25 (-0.41%), RBM5 -0.0052 (-0.25%). Jun crude oil and gasoline prices on Wednesday closed lower on the EIA report showing that U.S. crude production rose +5,000 bpd and that the U.S. refinery utilization rate fell sharply by -1.8 points to 91.2%, which will reduce crude oil demand and boost inventories. Supportive factors included the decline in the dollar index to a 3-1/4 month low and the -2.19 million bbl decline in EIA crude inventories (vs expectations of -500,000 bbl).
GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR05/14/2015
US0830 ETWeekly initial unemployment claims expected +8,000 to 273,000, previous +3,000 to 265,000. Weekly continuing claims expected +4,000 to 2.232 million, previous -28,000 to 2.228 million.
0830 ETApr PPI final demand expected +0.1% m/m and -0.8% y/y, Mar +0.2% m/m and -0.8% y/y. Apr PPI ex-food & energy expected +0.1% m/m and +1.1% y/y, Mar +0.2% m/m and +0.9% y/y.
0830 ETUSDA weekly Export Sales.
1100 ETTreasury announces amount of 10-year TIPS to be auctioned May 21.
1300 ETTreasury auctions $16 billion 30-year T-bonds.
JPN0200 ETJapan Apr machine tool orders, Mar +14.9% y/y.
1950 ETJapan Apr PPI expected +0.1% m/m and -2.1% y/y, Mar +0.3% m/m and +0.7% y/y.
U.S. STOCK CALENDAR05/14/2015
CompanyTickerTimeEvent DescriptionPeriodEstimate
Kohl's CorpKSS US7:00Q1 2016 Earnings ReleaseQ1 20160.55
ADT Corp/TheADT US8:00Analyst and Investor DayY 2015
Ford Motor CoF US8:30Annual General MeetingY 2015
Kohl's CorpKSS US8:30Q1 2016 Earnings CallQ1 2016
Norfolk Southern CorpNSC US8:30Annual General MeetingY 2015
Simon Property Group IncSPG US8:30Annual General MeetingY 2015
NiSource IncNI US9:00Business Update Call
Genworth Financial IncGNW US9:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Dow Chemical Co/TheDOW US10:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Nucor CorpNUE US10:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Sealed Air CorpSEE US10:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Exxon Mobil CorpXOM US10:30Executive Compensation Update Call
Apache CorpAPA US11:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Host Hotels & Resorts IncHST US11:00Annual General Meeting
Mosaic Co/TheMOS US11:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Progressive Corp/ThePGR US13:00Investor Relations Conference Call
Union Pacific CorpUNP US13:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Invesco LtdIVZ US13:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Edwards Lifesciences CorpEW US13:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Kohl's CorpKSS US14:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Amgen IncAMGN US14:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Keurig Green Mountain IncGMCR US16:00Analyst MeetingY 2015
Applied Materials IncAMAT US16:30Q2 2015 Earnings CallQ2 2015
Nordstrom IncJWN US16:45Q1 2016 Earnings CallQ1 2016
Symantec CorpSYMC US17:00Q4 2015 Earnings CallQ4 2015
Nordstrom IncJWN USAft-mktQ1 2016 Earnings ReleaseQ1 20160.707
Applied Materials IncAMAT USAft-mktQ2 2015 Earnings ReleaseQ2 20150.279
Symantec CorpSYMC USAft-mktQ4 2015 Earnings ReleaseQ4 20150.439
Baker Hughes IncBHI USAnnual General Meeting
Equifax IncEFX USInvestor Meeting - LondonY 2015
Nucor CorpNUE USAnnual General Meeting
Ventas IncVTR USAnnual General Meeting
AutoNation IncAN USAnnual General Meeting
Yum! Brands IncYUM USInvestor Conference-China-Day 2Y 2015
Republic Services IncRSG USAnnual General Meeting
Cimarex Energy CoXEC USAnnual General Meeting
Wyndham Worldwide CorpWYN USAnnual General Meeting

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Access National - All Time High

Access National (ANCX) is the Barchart Chart of the Day.  The saving bank holding company has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 38.60+, gained 39.12% in the last year and paid a 3.12% dividend.

The Chart of the Day is Access National (ANCX) .  I found the stock buy sorting the All Time High list for the stock with the best technical buy signals, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts.  Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 1/13 the stock gained 11.47%.

Access National Corporation serves as the holding company for Access National Bank and its subsidiaries, Access National Mortgage Corporation and Access National Leasing Corporation.


The status of Barchart's Opinion trading systems are listed below.  Please note that the Barchart Opinion indicators are updated live during the session every 10 minutes and can therefore change during the day as the market fluctuates.  The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com web site when you read this report



Barchart technical indicators:

  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 12 new highs and up 6.33% in the last month 
  • Relative Strength Index 79.02%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 18.85
  • Recently traded at 19.81 with a 50 day moving average of 18.79
Fundamental factors:
  • Market Cap $208.40 million
  • P/E 13.37
  • Dividend yield 3.12%
  • Revenue expected to grow 5.10% next year
  • Earnings estimated to increase at a compounded rate of 8.00% annually for the next 5 years
  • Wall Street analysts have issued 2 hold recommendations on the stock
None of the usual technical trading strategies have worked on this stock so I'd advice you to place a trailing stop loss 10% below the recent high.

5 Terrific Small Caps

Each week Value Line publishes a list of the 400 Small and Mid Cap stocks they feel have the best chance of relative price appreciation from the 3800  stocks in their data base.  I have run these 400 through the Barchart technical indicators to find the stocks with the highest technical buy signals.

Today's list includes Axcelis Technologies (ACLS), Ebix Inc (EBIX), Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Digital Ally (DGLY) and FNB Corp (FNB).

Axcelis Technologies (ACLS)


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 10 new highs and up 17.80% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 74.27
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 2.98
  • Recently traded at 3.11 with a 50 day moving average of 2.64
Ebix Inc (EBIX)


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 8 new highs and up 13.04% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 69.32%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 29.85
  • Recently traded at 32.55 with a 50 day moving average of 28.91


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 9  new highs and up 11.44% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 64.87%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 37.50
  • Recently traded at 39.29 with a 50 day moving average of 34.87
Digital Ally (DGLY)


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 4 new highs and up 28.21% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 68.20%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 15.90
  • Recently traded at 18.36 with a 50 day moving average of 13.75
FNB Corp (FNB)


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 5 new highs and up 1.28% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 59.60%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 13.12
  • Recently traded at 13.44 with a 50 day moving average of 13.13











BARCHART MORNING CALL 5/13

BARCHART MORNING CALL 

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS
June E-mini S&Ps (ESM15 +0.25%) this morning are up +0.27% and European stocks are up +0.85% after global bond markets rallied and after Eurozone Q1 GDP expanded as expected. The British pound fell back from a 4-3/4 month high against the dollar after the BOE cut its 2015 UK GDP forecast and after BOE Governor Carney signaled the BOE may keep interest rates at record lows for longer than expected. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan +0.71%, Hong Kong -0.58%, China -0.58%, Taiwan +0.45%, Australia +0.71%, Singapore +0.31%, South Korea +0.70%, India +1.39%. China's Shanghai Composite Index closed lower after China Apr fixed-asset investment growth grew at the slowest pace in over 14 years and after China Apr industrial production rose less than expected.
Commodity prices are mostly higher. Jun crude oil (CLM15 +0.91%) is up +0.67% and Jun gasoline (RBM15 +0.33%) is up +0.17% ahead of today's EIA data where crude inventories are expected to fall -250,000 bbl. Metals prices are mixed. Jun gold (GCM15 +0.39%) is up +0.07%. Jul copper (HGN15 -0.12%) is down -0.12%. Agriculture prices are mixed.
The dollar index (DXY00 -0.11%) is down -0.04%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.08%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.12%.

Jun T-note prices (ZNM15 +0.20%) are up +8.5 ticks on a rebound in global government bond markets.
The BOE cut its 2015 UK GDP forecast to 2.5% from a 2.9% forecast in Feb and raised its 2015 inflation forecast to +0.6% from a Feb estimate of +0.5%. BOE Governor Carney said that "persistent headwinds continue to weigh on the U.K. economy" and that this may require "not only a more gradual rate of increase in bank rates than in previous cycles, but also require the level of bank rates to remain below average historical levels for some time to come."
Eurozone Q1 GDP rose +0.4% q/q and +1.0% y/y, right on expectations.
China Apr fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) rose +12.0% y/y, weaker than expectations of +13.5% y/y and the slowest pace of investment growth since Dec 2000.
China Apr industrial production rose +5.9% y/y, less than expectations of +6.0% y/y.
U.S. STOCK PREVIEW
Key U.S. reports today include: (1) weekly MBA mortgage applications (last week -4.6% with purchase sub-index +0.8% and refi sub-index -8.3%), (2) Apr retail sales (expected +0.2%, +0.5% ex autos, +0.6% ex-autos and gas after Mar's +0.9%, +0.4%, and +0.5%, respectively), (3) Apr import price index (expected +0.3% m/m and -9.7% y/y after March's -0.3% m/m and -10.5% y/y), (4) March business inventories (expected +0.2% after Feb's +0.3%), and (5) the Treasury's auction of $24 billion of 10-year T-notes.
There are 10 of the Russell 100 companies that report earnings today with notable reports including: Macy's (consensus $0.62), Cisco Systems (0.53), Ralph Lauren (1.32), JC Penney (-0.76).
U.S. IPO's scheduled to price today include: Fortress Transportation (FTAI), Galapagos ((GLPYY), Fenix Parts (FENX).
Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Citi Global Energy and Utilities Conference on Tue-Wed, Jefferies Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Tue-Wed, Oppenheimer Industrials Conference on Tue-Wed, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Health Care Conference on Tue-Thu, Jefferies Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Tue-Thu, Morgan Stanley E&P and Oil Services Conference on Tue-Thu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Small-Mid Cap Conference on Wed, UBS Financial Services Conference on Wed, Credit Suisse Disruptive Technology Conference on Wed, JP Morgan Business Services Conference on Wed, Janney Montgomery Scott - Company Marketing : Biotechnology - Southeast on Wed, MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit on Wed-Thu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Transportation Conference on Thu, Barclays Biotech CEO/CFO Conference on Thu, Royal Bank of Canada Aerospace & Defense Investor Day on Thu.
OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS
Microsoft (MSFT -0.04%) was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Hold' at Deutsche Bank.
Danaher (DHR +2.92%) said it will separate into two independent, publicly traded companies.
Precision Castparts (PCP -0.62%) reported Q4 EPS of $2.94, below consensus of $2.95, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2016 EPS to $12.50-$13.40, below consensus of $13.39.
Piper Jaffray kept its 'Overweight' rating on Acuity Brands (AYI +1.11%) and raised its price target on the stock to $207 from $194.
Vale (VALE -3.79%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Outperform' at Macquarie.
Humana (HUM +4.06%) was downgraded to 'Underperform' from 'Neutral' at Sterne Agee CRT.
American Eagle (AEO -1.40%) was upgraded to 'Outperform' from 'Market Perform' at Cowen.
Jefferies upgraded Magellan Health (MGLN +0.15%) to 'Buy' from 'Hold' with a $78 price target.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB -0.15%) was upgraded to 'Overweight' from 'Equal Weight' at Barclays.
AOL (AOL +18.62%) was upgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Sell' at Goldman Sachs.
Vertex (VRTX -2.61%) jumped over 7% in after-hours trading when it confirmed that an FDA panel voted 12-to-1 to recommend approval of its drug Orkambi for use in people with cystic fibrosis.
American Express (AXP -0.78%) rose nearly 2% in after-hours trading after it authorized a 150 million share repurchase and raised its dividend.
McKesson (MCK +0.44%) reported Q4 adjusted adjusted EPS of $2.94, higher than consensus of $2.75, although Q4 revenue of $44.93 billion was below consensus of $45.04 billion.
MARKET COMMENTS
June E-mini S&Ps (ESM15 +0.25%) this morning are up +5.75 points (+0.27%). Tuesday's closes: S&P 500 -0.29%, Dow Jones -0.20%, Nasdaq -0.41%. The S&P 500 on Tuesday closed lower on the sharp -150,000 drop in March JOLTS job openings and on New York Fed President Dudley's comment that the Fed's first rate increase since 2006 will usher in a "regime shift" that will stir financial markets when it occurs. Supportive factors included M&A activity after Verizon said it would buy AOL for $4.4 billion, and strength in energy producers after crude oil rallied.
Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM15 +0.20%) this morning are up +8.5 ticks. Tuesday's closes: TYM5 +5.00, FVM5 +4.00. June T-notes on Tuesday recovered from a 4-1/4 month low and closed higher on the sharp -150,000 drop in March JOLTS job openings and on strong foreign demand for the Treasury's $24 billion auction of 3-year T-notes after indirect bidders, a proxy for foreign buyers, bought 52.7% of the auction, well above the 12-auction average of 39.3% and the most in 5 years. T-notes posted a 4-1/4 month low early on bearish carry-over from a surge in European and Japanese government bond yields.
The dollar index (DXY00 -0.11%) this morning is down -0.042 (-0.04%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0009 (+0.08%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.14 (-0.12%). Tuesday's closes: Dollar Index -0.477 (-0.50%), EUR/USD +0.00584 (+0.52%), USD/JPY -0.215 (-0.18%). The dollar index on Tuesday closed lower on EUR strength as the rise in European government bond yields boosted the euro's interest rate differentials. EUR also saw some strength after Greece made its 750 million euro payment due Tuesday to the IMF and after Dutch Finance Minister Dijsselbloem, leader of the Eurozone finance ministers, said "we are making faster progress" in Greece's debt negotiations.
Jun WTI crude oil (CLM15 +0.91%) this morning is up +41 cents (+0.67%) and Jun gasoline (RBM15 +0.33%) is up +0.0035 (+0.17%). Tuesday's closes: CLM5 +1.50 (+2.53%), RBM5 +0.0561 (+2.82%). Jun crude oil and gasoline on Tuesday settled higher on a weaker dollar and expectations that Wednesday's EIA report will show that crude inventories fell -500,000 bbl. Oil prices also received a boost after the EIA's monthly drilling report said that U.S. oil production from shale production is set to decline in June to a 5-month low of 5.56 million bpd.
GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR05/13/2015
US0700 ETWeekly MBA mortgage applications, previous -4.6% with purchase sub-index +0.8% and refi sub-index -8.3%.
0830 ETApr retail sales expected +0.2%, +0.5% ex autos, +0.6% ex-autos and gas; Mar +0.9%, +0.4% ex autos, +0.5% ex-autos and gas.
0830 ETApr import price index expected +0.3% m/m and -9.7% y/y, Mar -0.3% m/m and -10.5% y/y.
1000 ETMar business inventories expected +0.2%, Feb +0.3%.
1030 ETEIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
1300 ETTreasury auctions $24 billion 10-year T-notes.
JPN0030 ETJapan Apr bankruptcies, Mar +5.52% y/y.
0100 ETJapan Apr eco-watchers survey current expected +0.1 to 52.3, Mar 52.2. Apr eco-watchers survey outlook expected -0.1 49 53.3, Mar 53.4.
CHI0130 ETChina Apr industrial production expected +6.0% y/y, Mar +5.6% y/y.
0130 ETChina Apr retail sales expected +10.4% y/y, Mar +10.2% y/y.
GER0200 ETGerman Q1 GDP expected +0.5% q/q and +1.3% y/y (nsa), Q4 +0.7% q/q and +1.6% y/y (nsa).
0200 ETRevised German Apr CPI (EU harmonized), previous -0.1% m/m and +0.3% y/y.
UK0430 ETUK Apr jobless claims change expected -20,000, Mar -20.700. Apr claimant count rate expected -0.1 to 2.2%, Mar 2.3%.
0430 ETUK Mar avg weekly earnings expected +1.7% 3-mo avg y/y, Feb +1.7% 3-mo avg y/y. Mar weekly earnings ex-bonus expected +2.1% 3-mo avg y/y, Feb +1.8% 3-mo avg y/y.
0430 ETUK Mar ILO unemployment rate expected -0.1 to 5.5% 3-months through Mar, previous 5.6% 3-month through Feb.
0530 ETBOE Quarterly Inflation Report.
1901 ETUK Apr RICS house price balance expected 22%, Mar 21%.
EUR0500 ETEurozone Mar industrial production expected unch m/m and +1.9% y/y, Feb +1.1% m/m and +1.6% y/y.
0500 ETEurozone Q1 GDP expected +0.4% q/q and +1.0% y/y, Q4 +0.3% q/q and +0.9% y/y.
U.S. STOCK CALENDAR05/13/2015
CompanyTickerTimeEvent DescriptionPeriodEstimate
Macy's IncM USBef-mktQ1 2016 Earnings ReleaseQ1 20160.623
Precision Castparts CorpPCP USBef-mktQ4 2015 Earnings ReleaseQ4 20152.947
Delta Air Lines IncDAL US7:00Delta Air Lines Releases Shareholder Returns Plan
WW Grainger IncGWW US8:00April 2015 Sales and Revenue Call2015
WW Grainger IncGWW US8:00April 2015 Sales and Revenue Release2015
Ingersoll-Rand PLCIR US8:00Analyst and Investor ConferenceY 2015
Ralph Lauren CorpRL US8:00Q4 2015 Earnings ReleaseQ4 20151.317
Anthem IncANTM US8:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
EI du Pont de Nemours & CoDD US8:30Annual General Meeting - Proxy Fight for Board RepresentationY 2015
Williams Cos Inc/TheWMB US8:45Analyst DayY 2015
Macy's IncM US9:00Q1 2016 Earnings CallQ1 2016
Ralph Lauren CorpRL US9:00Q4 2015 Earnings CallQ4 2015
Akamai Technologies IncAKAM US9:30Annual General Meeting
Frontier Communications CorpFTR US10:00Annual General Meeting
Precision Castparts CorpPCP US10:00Q4 2015 Earnings CallQ4 2015
American International Group IncAIG US11:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Southwest Airlines CoLUV US11:00Annual General MeetingY 2015
Hospira IncHSP US11:00Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting - M&A VoteY 2015
Cisco Systems IncCSCO US16:05Q3 2015 Earnings ReleaseQ3 20150.527
Cisco Systems IncCSCO US16:30Q3 2015 Earnings CallQ3 2015
Charles Schwab Corp/TheSCHW US17:00Annual General Meeting
Murphy Oil CorpMUR USAnnual General Meeting
Laboratory Corp of America HoldingsLH USAnnual General Meeting
National Oilwell Varco IncNOV USAnnual General Meeting
Yum! Brands IncYUM USInvestor Conference-China-Day 1Y 2015
Sempra EnergySRE USAnnual General Meeting
Chipotle Mexican Grill IncCMG USAnnual General Meeting

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Axis Capital - All Time High

Axis Capital (AXS) is the Barchart Chart of the Day.  The property and casualty insurer has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 25.80. gained 22.11% last year and paid a 2.11% dividend.

The Chart of the Day is Axis Capital (AXS).  I found the stock by sorting the All Time High list for the stocks with the highest technical buy signals, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts.  Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 5/6 the stock gained 3.90%.


AXIS Capital Holdings Limited is a Bermuda-based global provider of specialty lines insurance and treaty reinsurance.



The status of Barchart's Opinion trading systems are listed below.  Please note that the Barchart Opinion indicators are updated live during the session every 10 minutes and can therefore change during the day as the market fluctuates.  The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com web site when you read this report

Barchart technical indicators:

  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 4 new highs and up 5.98% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 77.11%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 54.51
  • Recently traded at 55.56 with a 50 day moving average of 51.94
Fundamental factors:
  • Market Cap $5.60 billion
  • P/E 10.14
  • Dividend yield 2.11%
  • Revenue expected to grow 3.40% next year
  • Earnings are estimated to decrease at an annual rate of 2.33% for the next 5 years
  • In spite of these weak projections analysts issued 1 strong buy, 5 buy and 7 hold recommendations
I'm not sure how much further upside this stock has so I'd keep a moving stop loss in place 10% below its recent high.



5 Great Large Caps

Each week Value Line publishes their ranking list of stocks broken up by 5 rankings.  The stocks ranked 1 and 2 are the 400 stocks out of the 1700 reviewed that they predict have the best chance of relative price appreciation in the next year.  I've taken that list of 1s and 2s and run them through the Barchart systems to find the stocks with the highest technical buy signals.

Today's list includes Cal-Maine Foods (CALM), Magna International (MGA), United Rentals (URI), Aetna (AET) and Anthem (ANTM).

Cal-Maine Foods (CALM)


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 8 new highs and up 25.84% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 77.12
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 41.29
  • Recently traded at 49.82 with a 50 day moving average of 40.06


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 96% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter  buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 5 new highs and up 4.01% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 66.26%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 55.65
  • Recently traded at 56.54 with a 50 day moving average of 53.24


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 96% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 4 new highs and up 5.47% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 62.46%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 98.64
  • Recently traded at 101.39 with a 50 day moving average of 93.98
Aetna (AET)


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 96% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 3 new highs and up 2.84% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 60.43%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 110.71
  • Recently traded at 110.75 with a 50 day moving average of 106.71
Anthem (ANTM)


Barchart technical indicators:
  • 100% Barchart technical buy signals
  • Trend Spotter buy signal
  • Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
  • 4 new highs and up 3.45% in the last month
  • Relative Strength Index 59.51%
  • Barchart computes a technical support level at 156.69
  • Recently traded at 158.88 with a 50 day moving average of 153.28










BARCHART MORNING CALL 5/12