Financial Tides -- A Stock Market Investing Newsletter by Jim Van Meerten: 2015-02-08

Friday, February 13, 2015

Zebra Technologies - Barchart's Chart of the Day

Zebra Technlogies (ZBRA) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. The thermal processing machinery company has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 40.58+ and gained 63.94% in the last year.

The Chart of the Day belongs to Zebra Technologies (ZBRA). I found the stock by sorting today's 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 10/31 the stock gained 22.75%.

Zebra Technologies Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries design, manufacture and support a broad range of direct thermal and thermal transfer bar code label printers, receipt printers, instant-issuance plastic card printers and secure identification printing systems, related accessories, and support software. The company markets its products worldwide principally to manufacturing and service organizations for use in automatic identification, data collection, and personal identification systems.

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 ts 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
13 new highs and up 9.67% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 81.22%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 87.90
Recently traded at 90.52 with a 50 day moving average of 80.82

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $4.61 billion
P/E 24.59
Revenue expected to grow 60.20% this year and another 119.50% next year
Earnings estimated to increase 48.70% this year, an additional 3890% next year and continue to compound at an annual rate of 12.00% for the next 5 years
Wall Street analysts issued 1 strong buy, 1 buy and 4 hold recommendations on the stock

The Trend Spotter has been an extremely reliable technical trading strategy on this stock and should continue to be used for entry and exit points. Although there has been quite a run up in price there still may be some more upside left in this one.

5 More Popular Stocks

In the last week we covered the 10 most popular stocks with the individual investors so today we cover #11-15. The list includes Intel (INTC), Altria Group (MO), Starbucks (SBUX), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Amazon (AMZN):

Intel (INTC)

Barchart technical indicators:

56% Barchart technical sell signals
Trend Spotter sell signal
Below its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
10.01% off its recent high
Relative Strength Index 45.21%
Recently traded at 34.11 which is below its 50 day moving average of 35.79

Altria Group (MO)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
10 new highs and up 7.19% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 62.81%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 54.26
Recently traded at 55.02 with a 50 day moving average of 51.85

Starbucks (SBUX)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
13 new highs and up 12.90% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 68.45%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 89.43
Recently traded at 91.31 with a 50 day moving average of 83.90

Exxon Mobil (XOM)

Barchart technical indicators:

24% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
7 new highs and up 3.38% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 56.97%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 90.38
Recently traded at 92.97 with a 50 day moving average of 91.15

Amazon.Com (AMZN)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
10 new highs and up 29.27% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 79.48%
Barchat computes a technical support level at 370.95
Recently traded at 380.82 with a 50 day moving average of 318.28

BARCHART MORNING CALL 2/13

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Friday, February 13th, 2015View Older Reports

Everything you need to know about the markets in one free daily newsletter.

You will also receive a free subscription to the Barchart family of newsletters.

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

March E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 +0.12%) this morning are up +0.17% at a record high and European stocks are up +0.83% at a 6-1/2 year high after German Q4 GDP expanded +0.7% q/q, more than twice as much as forecast. Also, optimism has increased over Greek debt talks after government officials taking part in Greece's debt negotiations said both sides are signaling willingness to compromise. That sent the yield on Greece's 10-year bond falling to a 2-week low of 9.15% and fueled gains in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese government bonds. Asian stocks closed mostly higher: Japan -0.37%, Hong Kong +1.07%, China +0.78%, Taiwan +0.35%, Australia +2.33%, Singapore +0.21%, South Korea +0.83%, India +1.01%. China's Shanghai Stock Index rose to a 1-week high on signs of stronger credit growth after China Jan new yuan loans rose by the most in 5-1/2 years. Commodity prices are mostly higher. Mar crude oil (CLH15 +1.19%) is up +1.46% and Mar gasoline (RBH15 +0.45%) is up +1.07%. Apr gold (GCJ15 +0.31%) is up +0.28%. Mar copper (HGH15 -0.04%) is up +0.17% at a 1-month high. Agriculture prices are higher. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.16%) is down -0.01%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.09%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.18%. Mar T-note prices (ZNH15 -0.15%) are down -6 ticks.
German Q4 GDP rose +0.7% q/q and +1.6% y/y (nsa), better than expectations of +0.3% q/q and +1.2% y/y (nsa).
The German Jan wholesale price index fell -0.4% m/m, the fourth straight monthly decline, and fell -2.6% y/y, the largest annual decrease in 5 years.
Eurozone Q4 GDP rose +0.3% q/q and +0.9% y/y, better than expectations of +0.2% q/q and +0.8% y/y.
UK Dec construction output rose +0.4% m/m, less than expectations of +2.7% m/m, and on an annual basis rose +5.5% y/y, right on expectations.
China Jan new yuan loans totaled 1.47 trillion yuan, more than expectations of 1.35 trillion yuan and the most in 5-1/2 years.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Today’s preliminary-Feb U.S. consumer confidence index from the University of Michigan is expected to show a +0.1 point increase to 98.2, adding to January’s sharp +4.5 point increase to an 11-year high of 98.1. Today’s Jan U.S. import price index is expected to fall sharply by -3.2% m/m and -8.9% y/y, which would be even weaker than December’s report of -2.5% m/m and -5.5% y/y. There are 6 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today: Excelon (consensus $0.50), JM Smucker (1.51), DTE Energy (1.04), Ventas (1.13), VF Corp (0.98), Interpublic (0.58). There are no equity conferences today.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

CBS (CBS +1.80%) gained nearly 4% in pre-market trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 77 cents, more than consensus of 76 cents.
King Digital (KING +4.24%) soared over 15% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 57 cents, well aboove consensus of 47 cents.
Campbell Soup (CPB -0.23%) slid 4% in after-hours trading after it lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS outlook to $2.32-$2.38, less than consensus of $2.45.
ConAgra (CAG +0.69%) fell 3% in after-hours trading after it lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS to $2.13-$2.18, below consensus of $2.26.
Boyd Gaming (BYD +4.36%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 0 cents, better than consensus of a -4 cent loss.
Regal Entertainment (RGC +0.14%) reported Q4 EPS of 30 cents, above consensus of 29 cents.
Shutterfly (SFLY +0.92%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $2.57, more than consensus of $2.51.
Kraft Foods (KRFT +1.69%) reported Q4 EPS ex-items of 75 cents, higher than consensus of 73 cents.
DaVita (DVA +0.58%) reported Q4 continuing operations EPS of 96 cents, better than consensus of 89 cents.
AIG (AIG +0.38%) fell over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 97 cents, below consensus of $1.05.
Groupon (GRPN -1.58%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 6 cents, twice as much as consensus of 3 cents.
Columbia Sportswear (COLM +3.91%) jumped over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 79 cents, higher than consensus of 67 cents, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS to $2.10-$2.20, above consensus of $2.07.
American Equity (AEL +0.56%) reported Q4 EPS of 63 cents, better than consensus of 54 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 +0.12%) this morning are up +3.50 points (+0.17%) at a new record high. The S&P 500 index on Thursday jumped to a 6-week high and closed higher: S&P 500 +0.96%, Dow Jones +0.62%, Nasdaq +1.18%. Bullish factors included (1) reduced geopolitical risks in Eastern Europe after Russian President Putin said that a cease-fire had been agreed to in Ukraine, and (2) speculation that Greece was making progress on debt talks with its creditors, which eased Greek default concerns. Negatives for stocks include (1) the +24,000 increase in U.S. weekly jobless claims, more than expectations of +9,000, and (2) the +0.2% increase in U.S. Jan retail sales ex autos and gasoline, less than expectations of +0.4%.
Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH15 -0.15%) this morning are down -6 ticks. Mar 10-year T-note futures prices on Thursday recovered from a 5-week low and closed higher. Closes: TYH5 unch, FVH5 unch. Bullish factors included (1) the larger-than-expected increase in U.S. weekly jobless claims, and (2) the weaker-than-expected U.S. Jan retail sales. T-notes had opened lower on reduced safe-haven demand after geopolitical risks eased in Eastern Europe when a cease-fire was agreed upon in Ukraine.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.16%) this morning is down -0.01%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.09%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.18%. The dollar index on Thursday closed lower: Dollar index -0.891 (-0.94%), EUR/USD +0.00688 (+0.61%), USD/JPY -1.334 (-1.11%). Bearish factors included (1) the larger than expected increase in U.S, weekly jobless claims and the larger-than-expected decline in U.S. Jan retail sales, which may prompt the Fed to delay interest rate hikes, and (2) weakness in USD/JPY as the yen rallied on speculation the BOJ may not boost stimulus after people familiar with the talks said that BOJ policy makers view further monetary easing as a counterproductive step for now.
Mar WTI crude oil (CLH15 +1.19%)this morning is up +75 cents (+1.46%) and Mar gasoline (RBH15 +0.45%) is up +0.0171 (+1.07%). Mar crude oil and Mar gasoline on Thursday closed higher: CLH5 +2.37 (+4.85%), RBH5 +0.0523 (+3.39%). Bullish factors included (1) the weaker dollar, (2 the rally in the S&P 500 to a 6-week high, which bolsters optimism in the economic outlook and energy demand, and (3) concern that the ongoing strike by United Steelworkers union who represent employees at more than 200 refineries with 10% of U.S. refining output will start to curtail gasoline and distillate production.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR02/13/2015

US	0830 ET	Jan import price index expected -3.2% m/m and -8.9% y/y, Dec -2.5% m/m and -5.5% y/y.
	1000 ET	Preliminary U.S. Feb University of Michigan consumer confidence expected unch at 98.1, Jan +4.5 to 98.1.
	1330 ET	Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher speaks at a community luncheon in San Antonio.
GER	0200 ET	German Jan wholesale price index, Dec -1.0% m/m and -2.3% y/y.
	0300 ET	German Q4 GDP expected +0.3% q/q and +1.2% y/y (nsa), Q3 +0.1% q/q and +1.2% y/y (nsa).
UK	0430 ET	UK Dec construction output expected +2.7% m/m and +5.5% y/y, Nov -2.0% m/m and +3.6% y/y.
EUR	0500 ET	Eurozone Q4 GDP expected +0.2% q/q and +0.8% y/y, Q3 +0.2% q/q and +0.8% y/y.
	1315 ET	ECB Governing Council member and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann speaks at an event in London on Heading for stability and prosperity Bringing the Eurozone back on track.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR02/13/2015

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Exelon Corp	EXC US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.499
JM Smucker Co/The	SJM US	Bef-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	1.511
DTE Energy Co	DTE US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.043
Ventas Inc	VTR US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.134
VF Corp	VFC US	7:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.984
American International Group Inc	AIG US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Hasbro Inc	HAS US	8:00	Investor Update	Y 2015
JM Smucker Co/The	SJM US	8:30	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015
VF Corp	VFC US	8:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Interpublic Group of Cos Inc/The	IPG US	8:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
DTE Energy Co	DTE US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Assurant Inc	AIZ US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Micron Technology Inc	MU US	10:00	Analyst Conference	Y 2015
Ventas Inc	VTR US	10:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Exelon Corp	EXC US	11:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Mattel Inc	MAT US	13:30	Analyst Meeting - Toy Fair	Y 2015
Interpublic Group of Cos Inc/The	IPG US		Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.579

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Ziopharma Oncology - Barchart's Chart of the Day

Ziopharma Oncology (ZIOP) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. The medical out patient services company has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 117.70+ and gained 125.00% in the last year.

The Chart of the Day belongs to Ziopharm Oncology (ZIOP). I found the stock by sorting the All Time High list for the stocks with the best technical buy signals, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts. Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 10/24 the stock gained 308.33%

ZIOP is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of a diverse, risk-sensitive portfolio of in-licensed cancer drugs to address unmet medical needs. The Company applies new insights from molecular and cancer biology to understand the efficacy and safety limitations of approved and developmental cancer therapies and identifies proprietary and related molecules for better patient treatment.

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
5 new highs and up 68.47% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 72.57%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 8.67
Recently traded at 9.99 with a 50 day moving average of 6.24

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $1.01 billion
Revenue expected to grow 37.50% this year
Earnings estimated to increase 39.40% this year
Wall Street analysts issued 1 strong buy, 2 buy and 1 hod recommendation on the stock
On Motley Fool the individual investor voted 90 to 19 that the stock will beat the market

This is a very volatile and speculative issue. If you're not in already I would not advise trying to get in at this level and if you own it you better have a moving stop loss in place because it can fall just as quickly as it rose.

5 More Popular Stocks

Yesterday we covered the 5 most popular stocks, today we'll cover #6-10. Today's list includes Ford (F), Bank of America (BAC), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Citigroup (C) and Netflix (NFLX):

Ford (F)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
8 new highs and up 7.75% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 69.85%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 15.89
Recently traded at 16.39 with a 50 day moving average of 15.21

Bank of America (BAC)

Barchart technical indicators:

16% Barchart technical sell signals
Trend Spotter sell signal
Above its 20 day moving average but below its 50 and 100 day moving averages
8.73% off its recent high and down .36% on the month
Relative Strength Index 56.10%
Recently traded at 16.64 which is below its 50 day moving average of 16.73

Cisco Systems (CSCO)

Barchart technical indicators:

80% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter hold signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
2 new highs and up 3.28% for the month
Relative Strength Index 64.44%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 26.41
Recently traded at 29.04 with a 50 day moving average of 27.53

Citigroup (C)

Barchart technical indicators:

8% Barchart technical sell signals
Trend Spotter sell signal
Above its 20 day moving average but below its 50 and 100 day moving averages
11.6% off its recent high but up .54% for last month
Relative Strength Index 56.55%
Recently traded at 50.52 which is below its 50 day moving average of 51.41

Netflix (NFLX)

Barchart technical indicators:

72% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
11 new highs and up 43.10% in the last moth
Relative Strength Index 72.47%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 445.50
Recently traded at 456.46 with a 50 day moving average of 373.10

BARCHART MORNING CALL 2/12

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Thursday, February 12th, 2015View Older Reports

Everything you need to know about the markets in one free daily newsletter.

You will also receive a free subscription to the Barchart family of newsletters.

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

March E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 +0.47%) this morning are up +0.41% and European stocks are up +1.23% at a 6-1/3 year high as stock markets around the world rallied after an agreement on a cease-fire in Ukraine was announced. Russian President Putin told reporters that after talks through the night with French, German and Ukrainian leaders in Belarus, a truce in eastern Ukraine is set to start on Feb 15. Greece's ASE Stock Index jumped over 5% on speculation that Greece was making progress on debt talks with its creditors. Eurozone finance ministers met yesterday and postponed decisions on the future of Greece's debt financing until they meet again next week. Asian stocks closed mostly higher: Japan +1.85%, Hong Kong +0.44%, China +0.25%, Taiwan +0.36%, Australia -0.44%, Singapore -0.74%, South Korea -0.28%, India +0.95%. Commodity prices are higher. Mar crude oil (CLH15 +3.15%) is up +2.62% and Mar gasoline (RBH15 +1.07%) is up +0.71%. Apr gold (GCJ15 +0.23%) is up +0.32%. Mar copper (HGH15 +1.71%) is up +1.79%. Agriculture prices are stronger. The dollar index (DXY00 -0.37%) is down -0.35%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.07%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.56%. Mar T-note prices (ZNH15 -0.32%) are down -12.5 ticks at a 5-week low.
Japan Jan PPI fell -1.3% m/m, over twice expectations of -0.6% m/m and the biggest monthly decline in 6 years. On an annual basis, Jan PPI rose +0.3% y/y, less than expectations of +1.1% y/y and the slowest pace of increase in 2-3/4 years.
Japan Dec machine orders jumped +8.3% m/m, more than expectations of +2.3% m/m and the largest monthly gain in 6 months. On an annual basis, Dec machine orders rose +11.4% y/y, better than expectations of +5.6% y/y and the largest annual increase in 8 months.
Eurozone Dec industrial production was unch m/m and fell -0.2% y/y, weaker than expectations of +0.2% m/m and +0.3% y/y.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Today’s initial unemployment claims series is expected to show a +10,000 increase to 288,000, adding to last week’s increase of +11,000 to 278,000. Meanwhile, today’s continuing claims report is expected to edge higher by +1,000 to 2.401 million, adding to last week’s increase of +6,000 to 2.400 million. The Treasury today will sell $16 billion of 30-year T-bonds, concluding this week’s $64 billion coupon package. There are 17 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today with notable reports including: Coca-Cola Enterprises (consensus $0.56), BorgWarner (0.75), Nielsen (0.80), McGraw Hill Financial (0.90), Kellogg (0.92), Kraft Foods (0.73), AIG (1.05), CBS (0.76).
Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference on Tue-Thu, Aviation Festival Asia on Wed-Thu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Insurance Conference on Wed-Thu, Leerink Swann Global Health Care Conference on Wed-Thu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Rates and Currencies Risk Management Conference on Wed-Thu, BB&T Capital Markets Transportation Services Conference on Wed-Thu, and Morgan Stanley Chemicals Corporate Access Day on Thu.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Cisco (CSCO -2.04%) jumped over 6% in pre-market trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 53 cents, better than consensus of 51 cents.
Whole Foods Markets (WFM +0.91%) rose more than 2% in pre-market trading after it reported Q1 EPS of 46 cents, higher than consensus of 45 cents.
Oceaneering (OII -0.57%) fell over 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 99 cents, right on consensus, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS to $3.10-$3.50, well below consensus of $3.92.
Baidu (BIDU -2.17%) dropped 9% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of $1.61, below consensus of $1.65.
Tesla (TSLA -1.61%) slid over 7% in after-hours trading after it reported a Q4 adjusted EPS loss of -13 cents, much weaker than consensus of 31 cents.
Equifax (EFX unch) reported Q4 EPS of $1.02, higher than consensus of $1.01.
Tesoro (TSO -0.92%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.46, below consensus of $1.51.
NVIDIA (NVDA -0.67%) jumped 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 43 cents, well above consensus of 29 cents.
Northeast Utilities (NU -2.51%) reported Q4 EPS ex-items of 72 cents, higher than consensus of 69 cents.
C&J Energy (CJES -0.95%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 54 cents, stronger than consensus of 43 cents.
Catalent (CTLT +5.16%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 44 cents, well above consensus of 34 cents.
NetApp (NTAP +0.89%) slid over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 75 cents, less than consensus of 77 cents.
MetLife (MET +0.76%) reported Q4 operating EPS of $1.38, above consensus of $1.36.
Applied Materials (AMAT -0.08%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 27 cents, right on consensus, although Q1 revenue of $2.36 billion was above consensus of $2.33 billion.
Insight Enterprises (NSIT +0.54%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 55 cents, below consensus of 58 cents.
Skechers (SKX +5.15%) reported Q4 EPS of 43 cents, right on consensus, although Q4 revenue of $569.7 million was better than consensus of $542.75 million.

MARKET COMMENTS

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 +0.47%) this morning are up +8.50 points (+0.41%). The S&P 500 index on Wednesday closed unchanged: S&P 500 unch, Dow Jones -0.04%, Nasdaq +0.38%. Stocks traded lower most of the day after an emergency meeting of Eurozone finance ministers failed to find a solution to Greece's debt problems as Germany remains steadfast in its insistence that Greece comply with the original terms of its bailout agreement. Prices rebounded in late trading, however, and closed little changed after several unnamed Eurozone officials said that the Eurozone finance ministers were closing in on an extension of Greece's rescue agreement with its creditors.
Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH15 -0.32%) this morning are down -12.5 ticks at a 5-week low. Mar 10-year T-note futures prices on Wednesday closed unchanged. Closes: TYH5 unch, FVH5 unch. Bullish factors included (1) increased safe-haven demand as stocks fell early, and (2) strong foreign demand for the Treasury's $24 billion 10-year T-note auction after indirect bidders, a class of investors that includes foreign central banks, purchased 59.5% of the total auction, above the 12-auction average of 46.3% and the most in 3 years. T-notes shed their gains late in the day after stocks recovered.
The dollar index (DXY00 -0.37%) this morning is down -0.333 (-0.35%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is up +0.0008 (+0.07%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.67 (-0.56%). The dollar index on Wednesday rose to a 2-week high and closed higher: Dollar index +0.227 (+0.24%), EUR/USD +0.00139 (+0.12%), USD/JPY +1.017 (+0.85%). Bullish factors included (1) the ongoing Greek debt financing situation along with concern that a failure in the Ukraine/Russian peace talks may lead to an expanding conflict in Ukraine, and (2) the rally in USD/JPY to a 5-week high as a rally in stocks curbed the safe-haven demand for the yen.
Mar WTI crude oil (CLH15 +3.15%) this morning is up +$1.28 a barrel (+2.62%) and Mar gasoline (RBH15 +1.07%) is up +0.0109 (+0.71%). Mar crude oil and Mar gasoline on Wednesday closed lower: CLH5 -1.18 (-2.36%), RBH5 -0.0091 (-0.59%). Bearish factors included (1) the rally in the dollar index to a 2-week high, (2) the +4.87 million bbl increase in EIA crude inventories to a record high of 417.9 million bbl, (3) the +1.98 million bbl increase in EIA gasoline supplies to 242.7 million bbl, a 15-year high, and (4) the +1.2 million bbl increase in crude stockpiles at Cushing, OK, delivery point of WTI futures, to 42.6 million bbl, a 1-1/2 year high.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR02/12/2015

US	0830 ET	Weekly initial unemployment claims expected +9,000 to 287,000, previous +11,000 to 278,000. Weekly continuing claims expected unch at 2.400 million, previous +6,000 to 2.400 million.
	0830 ET	Jan retail sales expected -0.4% and -0.5% ex autos, Dec -0.9% and -1.0% ex autos. Jan retail sales ex-autos and gas expected +0.4%, Dec -0.3%.
	0830 ET	USDA weekly Export Sales.
	1000 ET	Dec business inventories expected +0.2%, Nov +0.2%.
	1100 ET	Treasury announces amount of 30-year TIPS to be auctioned Feb 19.
	1300 ET	Treasury auctions $16 billion 30-year T-bonds.
JPN	0100 ET	Japan Jan machine tool orders, Dec +33.9% y/y.
GER	0200 ET	Revised German Jan CPI (EU harmonized), previous -1.3% m/m and -0.5% y/y.
EUR	0500 ET	Eurozone Dec industrial production expected +0.2% m/m and +0.3% y/y, Nov +0.2% m/m and -0.4% y/y.
UK	0530 ET	BOE releases quarterly inflation report.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR02/12/2015

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Scripps Networks Interactive Inc	SNI US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.971
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc	DPS US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.881
BorgWarner Inc	BWA US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.752
Hospira Inc	HSP US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.418
Avon Products Inc	AVP US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.249
Nielsen NV	NLSN US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.797
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc	CCE US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.562
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc	IFF US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.03
McGraw Hill Financial Inc	MHFI US	7:15	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.9
Apache Corp	APA US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.757
Nielsen NV	NLSN US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
WW Grainger Inc	GWW US	8:00	January 2015 Sales and Revenue Call	2015
WW Grainger Inc	GWW US	8:00	January 2015 Sales and Revenue Release	2015
Kellogg Co	K US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.924
MetLife Inc	MET US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Tesoro Corp	TSO US	8:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Equifax Inc	EFX US	8:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
McGraw Hill Financial Inc	MHFI US	8:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Northeast Utilities	NU US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Martin Marietta Materials Inc	MLM US	9:00	Analyst and Investor Day	Y 2015
Hospira Inc	HSP US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
AGL Resources Inc	GAS US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Avon Products Inc	AVP US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
BorgWarner Inc	BWA US	9:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Kellogg Co	K US	9:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Scripps Networks Interactive Inc	SNI US	10:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc	CCE US	10:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc	IFF US	10:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc	DPS US	11:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Charles Schwab Corp/The	SCHW US	11:30	Investor Conference	Y 2015
Apache Corp	APA US	14:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Kraft Foods Group Inc	KRFT US	16:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.73
CBS Corp	CBS US	16:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Republic Services Inc	RSG US	17:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc	DVA US	17:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Kraft Foods Group Inc	KRFT US	17:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
American International Group Inc	AIG US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.045
Republic Services Inc	RSG US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.481
DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc	DVA US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.896
CBS Corp	CBS US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.762
Assurant Inc	AIZ US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.663
Varian Medical Systems Inc	VAR US	19:30	Annual General Meeting	Y 2015

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Cigna - Barchart's Chart of the Day

Cigna (CI) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. The hospital and medical service plan company has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 49.80+ and gained 48.54% in the last year.

The Chart of the Day is Cigna (CI). I found the stock by sorting today's All Time High list for the stocks with the best technical buy signals, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts. Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 10/29 the stock gained 22.16%.

CIGNA Corporation is an investor-owned employee benefits organizations in the United States. Its subsidiaries are major providers of health care products and services, group life, accident and disability insurance, retirement products and services and investment management. CIGNA conducts its business through the following operating divisions: Employee Health Care, Life and Disability Benefits; Employee Retirement Benefits and Investment Services; International Life, Health and Employee Benefits; and Other Operations.

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
9 new highs and up 6.20% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 67.67%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 110.92
Recently traded at 114.47 with a 50 day moving average of 106.21

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $2994 billion
P/E 14.94
Dividend yield .04%
Revenue expected to grow 9.50% this year and another 7.90% next year
Earnings estimated to increase by 14.10% this year, 10.60% next year and continue to increase at an annual rate of 11.26% for the next 5 years
Wall Street analysts issued 3 strong buy, 9 buy and 8 hold recommendations on the stock.

The 50 - 100 Day MACD Oscillator has been a very reliable technical trading strategy on this stock and should continue to be used to gauge entry and exit points on this stocks

The 5 1/2 most popular stocks

Now that I've got your attention about posting The 5 1/2 Most Popular stocks let me explain. I am sometimes asked if it's better to own the Class A or Class C of a stock: That depends, so I give you both on ( GOOG) and (GOOGL):

Today's list includes Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and (GOOGL), General Electric (GE), Microsoft (MSFT) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ):

Apple (AAPL)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barcart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
Only .05% off its recent high
10 new highs and up 11.03% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 69.72
Barchart computes a technical support level at 119.45
Recently traded at 124.31 with a 50 day moving average of 112.95

In the past 6 months GOOG was down 5.82 while GOOGL was down 6.90%

Google Class C (GOOG)

Barchart technical indicators:

32% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend spotter buy signal
Above its 20 and 50 day moving averages but below its 100 day moving average
11.47% off its recent high
9 new highs and up 7.92% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 57.31%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 523.07
Recently traded at 535.66 with a 50 day moving average of 520.59

Google (GOOGL)

Barchart technical indicators:

32% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20 and 50 day moving average but below its 100 day moving average
12.31% off its recent high
8 new highs and up 7.61% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 56.90%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 524.95
Recently traded at 538.82 with a 50 day moving average of 524.48

General Electric (GE)

Barchart technical indicators:

16% Barchart technical sell signals
Trend Spotter sell signal
Above its 20 day moving average but below its 50 and 100 day moving averages
10.13% off its recent high
4 new highs and up 2.95% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 55.06%
Recently traded at 24.71 which is slightly below its 50 day moving average of 24.80

Microsoft (MSFT)

Barchart technical indicators:

72% Barchart technical sell signals
Trend Spotter sell signal
Below its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
Down 9.98% for the month and 15.11% off its recent high
Relative Strength Index 40.46%
Recently traded at 42.42 which is below its 50 day moving average of 45.87

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Barchart technical indicators:

88% Barchart technical sell signal
Trend Spotter sell signal
Below its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
Down 4.23% for the month and 8.29% off its recent high
Relative Strength Index 42.42%
Recently traded at 100.52 which is below its 50 day moving average of 104.16

BARCHART MORNING CALL 2/11

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015View Older Reports

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OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

March E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 -0.12%) this morning are down -0.11% and European stocks are down -0.53% as Eurozone finance ministers meet in Brussels at an emergency meeting to discuss Greece's financing needs. German Finance Ministry spokesman Schaefer said an agreement with Greece is unlikely at the meeting as the proposals of Greek Prime Minister Tsipras would require approval of the German parliament. German Finance Minister Schaeuble said there are no plans to discuss a new accord or give Greece more time. An impasse risks leaving Greece without funding as of the end of this month when the current tranche of its 240 billion-euro bailout expires, which may push Greece into default and put its Eurozone membership in danger. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan closed for holiday, Hong Kong -0.87%, China +0.80%, Taiwan +0.73%, Australia -0.54%, Singapore +0.30%, South Korea +0.30%, India +0.63%. Commodity prices are mixed. Mar crude oil (CLH15 -0.28%) is down -0.46% and Mar gasoline (RBH15 +0.22%) is down -0.06% as OPEC producers cut their March crude prices to Asia, a sign that the battle for market share is intensifying. Saudi Arabia reduced pricing to Asia last week to the lowest in at least 14 years and Iraq said yesterday it will sell its Basrah Light crude to Asia at a -$4.10 a barrel discount below Middle East benchmarks, the deepest discount since 2003. Apr gold (GCJ15 +0.37%) is up +0.23%. Mar copper (HGH15 +0.53%) is up +0.82%. Agriculture prices are lower. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.03%) is up +0.12%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.14%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.32%. Mar T-note prices (ZNH15 +0.12%) are up +2.5 ticks.
The cost for European banks to fund in dollars, a gauge of financial risk in the Eurozone, rose to the highest since Apr 2013 after the 1-year cross-currency basis swap, the rate banks pay to convert euro payments into dollars, fell to -0.295 below the euro interbank-offered rate, the lowest in 1-3/4 years.
ECB Governing Council member Jazbec said "at the moment, solvency of Greek banks is not in danger, but there's always the risk" that the ECB will have to stop providing emergency assistance to Greek banks.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Today’s Jan monthly budget is expected to show a small deficit of -$3.0 billion, which would be an improvement over last January’s deficit of -$10.25 billion. The Treasury today will sell $24 billion of 10-year T-notes. There are 19 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today with notable reports including: Time Warner (consensus $0.93), Cisco (0.51), MetLife (1.35), PepsiCo (1.08), NVIDIA (0.36), Applied Materials (0.27), Tesoro (1.53), Equifax (1.01), Whole Foods (0.45), TripAdvisor (0.37),
Equity conferences during the remainder of this week include: Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum on Tue-Wed, Stifel Transportation and Logistics Conference on Tue-Wed, Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference on Tue-Thu, Aviation Festival Asia on Wed-Thu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Insurance Conference on Wed-Thu, Leerink Swann Global Health Care Conference on Wed-Thu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Rates and Currencies Risk Management Conference on Wed-Thu, BB&T Capital Markets Transportation Services Conference on Wed-Thu, and Morgan Stanley Chemicals Corporate Access Day on Thu.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

PepsiCo (PEP +2.10%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.12, better than consensus of $1.08.
Time Warner (TWX +0.34%) reported Q4 EPS of 98 cents, higher than consensus of 93 cents.
Genworth (GNW -0.89%) reported a Q4 EPS loss of -84 cents with charges, a much bigger loss than consensus of -13 cents.
Service Corp. (SCI +0.61%) reported Q4 EPS ex-items of 37 cents, better than consensus of 36 cents.
Pier 1 Imports (PIR +1.19%) sank over 20% in after-hours trading after it lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS to 80 cents-83 cents, well below consensus of $1.00.
Rush Enterprises (RUSHA +1.01%) reported Q4 EPS of 60 cents, higher than consensus of 52 cents.
National General (NGHC +1.77%) reported Q4 EPS of 30 cents, well above consensus of 23 cents.
Team Health (TMH -1.55%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 56 cents, better than consensus of 52 cents.
NCR (NCR +2.07%) reported Q4 non-GAAP EPS of 88 cents, above consensus of 78 cents.
Andersons (ANDE -0.37%) reported Q4 EPS of 89 cents, well below consensus of $1.08.
FMC Technologies (FTI +0.05%) reported Q4 EPS with items of 72 cents, below consensus of 79 cents.
Western Union (WU +4.43%) reported Q4 EPS of 42 cents, higher than consensus of 34 cents, and then announced a new $1.2 billion share repurchase plan.
Cerner (CERN +0.81%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 47 cents, right on consensus, although Q4 revenue of $926.03 million was better than consensus of $904.33 million.
Akamai (AKAM +2.05%) climbed 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of 70 cents, better than consensus of 63 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

Mar E-mini S&Ps (ESH15 -0.12%) this morning are down -2.25 points (-0.11%). The S&P 500 index on Tuesday closed higher: S&P 500 +1.07%, Dow Jones +0.79%, Nasdaq +1.54%. Bullish factors included (1) the +181,000 increase in U.S. Dec JOLTS job openings to 5.028 million, better than expectations of +11,000 to 4.983 million and the highest in nearly 15 years, (2) reduced Greek default concerns on speculation Greece will reach a compromise on its debt negotiations when Eurozone finance ministers meet Wednesday in Brussels for an emergency meeting, and (3) positive corporate quarterly earnings results with 77% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings results so far beating estimates.
Mar 10-year T-notes (ZNH15 +0.12%) this morning are up +2.5 ticks. Mar 10-year T-note futures prices on Tuesday slipped to a 1-month low and closed lower. Closes: TYH5 -8.00, FVH5 -4.00. Bearish factors included (1) the larger-than-expected increase in U.S. Dec JOLTS job openings, which brings the Fed closer to raising interest rates, and (2) a rally in stocks which reduced the safe-haven demand for T-notes.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.03%) this morning is up +0.109 (+0.12%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0016 (-0.14%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.38 (+0.32%). The dollar index on Tuesday closed higher: Dollar index +0.309 (+0.33%), EUR/USD -0.00035 (-0.03%), USD/JPY +0.791 (+0.67%). Bullish factors included (1) the larger-than-expected increase in U.S. Dec JOLTS job openings to a 15-year high, which signals labor market strength that may prompt the Fed to raise interest rates sooner rather than later, and (2) the rally in USD/JPY to a 1-month high as a rally in stocks curbed the safe-haven demand for the yen.
Mar WTI crude oil (CLH15 -0.28%) this morning is down -23 cents (-0.46%) and Mar gasoline (RBH15 +0.22%) is down -0.0010 (-0.06%). Mar crude oil and Mar gasoline on Tuesday closed lower: CLH5 -2.84 (-5.37%), RBH5 -0.0141 (-0.89%). Bearish factors included (1) the stronger dollar, (2) expectations for Wednesday’s weekly EIA crude inventories to climb by +3.75 million bbl, and (3) the outlook from the IEA that excess global crude supply will persist to the middle of this year and may test the Aug 1998 record high 2.83 billion bbl.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR02/11/2015

US	0700 ET	Weekly MBA mortgage applications, previous +1.3% with purchase sub-index -2.3% and refi sub-index +2.5%.
	0800 ET	Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher speaks to the Economic Club of New York.
	1030 ET	EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
	1300 ET	Treasury auctions $24 billion 10-year T-notes.
	1400 ET	Jan monthly budget statement expected -$19.0 billion, Dec +$1.867 billion.
JPN	n/a	Japanese markets closed for Foundation Day.
	1850 ET	Japan Jan PPI expected -0.6% m/m and +1.1% y/y, Dec -0.4% m/m and +1.9% y/y.
	1850 ET	Japan Dec machine orders expected +2.3% m/m and +5.6% y/y, Nov +1.3% m/m and -14.6% y/y.
UK	1901 ET	UK Jan RICS house price balance expected 12%, Dec 11%.
EUR	n/a	Eurozone finance ministers hold emergency meeting in Brussels to discuss Greeces financing.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR02/11/2015

Company	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Time Warner Inc	TWX US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.925
Zoetis Inc	ZTS US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.357
Lorillard Inc	LO US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.926
Wisconsin Energy Corp	WEC US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.567
PepsiCo Inc	PEP US	7:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.079
Mosaic Co/The	MOS US	7:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.856
PepsiCo Inc	PEP US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Mondelez International Inc	MDLZ US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.432
Genworth Financial Inc	GNW US	8:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Zoetis Inc	ZTS US	8:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
FMC Technologies Inc	FTI US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	C3 2014
Mosaic Co/The	MOS US	9:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Pioneer Natural Resources Co	PXD US	10:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Mondelez International Inc	MDLZ US	10:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Time Warner Inc	TWX US	10:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Wisconsin Energy Corp	WEC US	14:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
NVIDIA Corp	NVDA US	16:20	Q4 2015 Earnings Release	Q4 2015	0.364
Applied Materials Inc	AMAT US	16:30	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
TripAdvisor Inc	TRIP US	16:30	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Cisco Systems Inc	CSCO US	16:30	Q2 2015 Earnings Call	Q2 2015
NVIDIA Corp	NVDA US	17:00	Q4 2015 Earnings Call	Q4 2015
CenturyLink Inc	CTL US	17:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Whole Foods Market Inc	WFM US	17:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Applied Materials Inc	AMAT US	Aft-mkt	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.271
Northeast Utilities	NU US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.683
AGL Resources Inc	GAS US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.8
NetApp Inc	NTAP US	Aft-mkt	Q3 2015 Earnings Release	Q3 2015	0.769
CenturyLink Inc	CTL US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.627
Tesoro Corp	TSO US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.528
Equifax Inc	EFX US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.013
Whole Foods Market Inc	WFM US	Aft-mkt	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.454
TripAdvisor Inc	TRIP US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.369
Cisco Systems Inc	CSCO US	Aft-mkt	Q2 2015 Earnings Release	Q2 2015	0.514
MetLife Inc	MET US	Aft-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	1.347
NetApp Inc	NTAP US	17:30	Q3 2015 Earnings Call	Q3 2015