Daily Wrap
DJIA +21.73 (+0.14%) to 15,324.53;S&P 500 +6.05 (+0.37%) to 1,654.41;NASDAQ +17.01 (+0.57%) to 3,011.83
After the Unemployment claims number came in slightly higher than expected the futures started to sell off in the pre-market but that soon turned and by the open we were slightly positive and then rallied higher for the remainder of the day until roughly 2:30 pm EST when the highs were seen and we drifted lower into the close. As noted in economic news Unemployment claims rose to $354K and 1st quarter GDP slightly disappointed with a 2.4% reading down from 2.5%.
Dow member Disney (DIS) was in the news after the CEO was rumored to make cautious comments regarding the 3rd quarter. DIS ended up closing down slightly over 2%. DIS is still above the 50 day SMA and on the first test I would look to take a shot at a long for a trade. 50 day SMA is currently $62.09 and climbing.
More merger news today with Clearwire (CLWR) receiving an offer from DISH Network (DISH) for $4.40 per share cash which tops the Sprint (S) offer which is current on the table. Also in merger news, NV Energy (NVE) agreed to be purchase by Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) for $23.75 per share. This represents an over 22% premium to Wednesday’s close.
Two notable names moving lower today on their earnings reports included Big Lots (BIG) and Frontline (FRO) which closed down 8.99% and 7.44% respectively. Neither would be one i would have interest in here but FRO is a name that always interests me. Sometimes these previously hot names never come back but other times they, or at least the stock, resurrects itself for another run. One way to handle there and what I do is put a price alert on the stock and if it triggers I look it over but I don’t waste time watching it closely..
The following noteworthy companies are scheduled to report earnings before tomorrow’s open: GCO, GHM
In analyst notes today, it is Goldman Sachs day. First Solar (FSLR) was upgraded to Buy at Goldman Sachs with $64 price target. MEMC Electronic (WFR) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) were both upgraded to Conviction Buy at Goldman Sachs. On the downside Goldman Sachs downgraded Mondelez (MDLZ) to Buy from Conviction Buy. They also downgraded Textron (TXT) and Triumph Group (TGI) to Neutral. Some of these and other upgrades and downgrades for the day can be found each morning when I post my 9 @ 9 in the Upgrades/Downgrades section.