Data Feed

08:17 UA Under Armour: Weather capping near-term upside but checks point to ongoing brand strength, long-term thesis intact_ Thomas Weisel (57.18 )

Thomas Weisel says unseasonably warm weather from late Sept through the late weeks of October has kept many fall sports athletes from transitioning to cold weather apparel. The firm says FY guidance is achievable but upside potential seems less likely. Firm says given the inventory position at retail exiting the fall sports season, they expect 4Q reorders of Under Armour seasonal core styles such as ColdGear will suffer accordingly and are trimming 4Q estimates. Softness in reorders may limit upside. Firm cuts their 4Q rev and EPS ests to $168.5 mln and $0.32 from $182.4 mln and $0.38. (consensus is $180.39 mln and $0.34)
08:17 NOC Northrop Grumman beats by $0.08 ex gain; guides FY07 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (79.53 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.35 per share, excluding $0.06 gain, $0.08 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.27; revenues rose 6.7% year/year to $7.93 bln vs the $7.95 bln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $5.10 vs. $5.05 consensus; reaffirms FY07 revs of $31.5 bln vs. $31.61 bln consensus.
08:16 INSID Insider trading disclosed in filings after the close yesterday

Buyers: National Coal (NCOC 3.16) 10% Owner J-K Navigator Fund bought 2,549,324 shares at $3.00… Comsys IT Partners (CITP 17.53) 10% Owner Amalgamated Gadget LP bought 30,700 shares at $16.37… Main Street Capital (MAIN 14.69) CEO bought 6,600 shares at $14.69… Knology (KNOL 16.70) 10% Owner Farallon Capital Partners bought 28K shares at $15.78… STAAR Surgical (STAA 3.02) 10% Owner Broadwood Partners bought 40K shares at $2.95… Platinum Energy Resources (PRGI.OB 7.76) CEO bought 1,883,913 shares at $7.77… Sellers: Northern Trust (NTRS 72.29) Director sold 69,998 shares at $69.38- $69.70… Arena Pharma (ARNA 10.05) 10% Owner Deerfield International sold 25K shares at $10.51… Mac-Gray (TUC 13.76) 10% Owner S. MacDonald sold 87,400 shares at $13.90… Seagate (STX 27.77) Officer sold 16,400 shares at $27.27… Landec (LNDC 15.00) Director sold 52,604 shares at $14.79… Renasant (RNST 23.07) Officer sold 40K shares at $22.70… Marvell Technology (MRVL 18.03) Dircector sold 27,200 shares at $17.88 – $18.04.
08:15 AN AutoNation beats by $0.01, misses on revs (17.37 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.38; revenues fell 5.2% year/year to $4.6 bln vs the $4.69 bln consensus. Co authorizes an additional share repurchase of $250 mln. Co has $11.6 mln remaining under the $500 mln share repurchase program authorized in April 2007.
08:13 AN authorizes an additional share repurchase of $250 mln

08:13 AN prelim $0.39 vs $0.38 Reuters consensus; revs $4.6 bln vs $4.69 bln Reuters consensus

08:12 NSC Norfolk Southern beats by $0.05, misses on revs (54.00 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.97; revenues fell 1.7% year/year to $2.35 bln vs the $2.4 bln consensus. CEO says, “Softness in certain segments of the economy resulted in reduced traffic volumes, which we were substantially able to offset through pricing gains and cost control. We remain confident in the overall strength of our franchise, and we continue to take a long-term perspective as we plan new traffic corridors, improve technology, and support our workforce with the tools necessary to provide superior service.”
08:12 AMG Affiliated Managers beats by $0.01, beats on revs (131.50 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.56 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.55; revenues rose 23.2% year/year to $345.6 mln vs the $339.5 mln consensus.
08:12 MOT Motorola: Credit Suisse expects share and margin improvement in Q4 (18.95 )

Credit Suisse continues to believe MOT is well positioned for growth and margin expansion through handset cost reductions and accelerating growth in other segments; however, they believe challenges in the handset business are likely to persist near-term.
08:11 HPQ Hewlett-Packard: Credit Suisse believes Lexmark exit of 30% of inkjet business good for HPQ (51.86 )

Credit Suisse believes Lexmark’s decision to exit 30% of its inkjet printer business, a scenario that is reminiscent of early 2006 when Lexmark exited the low-end inkjet market, will provide Lexmark’s competitors with incremental market share opportunities. And given HPQ’s inkjet product portfolio and market dominance, they believe HPQ is best positioned to win this business. More importantly, if these share gains come smoothly for HPQ, they believe the pricing environment will improve and will drive margin improvement in IPG as well.
08:11 NOV Natl Oilwell Varco beats by $0.08, beats on revs (74.77 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.02 per share, $0.08 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.94; revenues rose 45.1% year/year to $2.58 bln vs the $2.47 bln consensus.
08:10 SLAB Silicon Labs beats by $0.06, ex items, beats on revs; guides Q4 revs above consensus (41.33 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.36 per share, excluding option expense as well as a $0.07 tax gain, $0.06 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 20.5% year/year to $87.9 mln vs the $83 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $93-97 mln vs. $90.00 mln consensus.
08:10 CBR Ciber appoints new Executive VP/Chief Financial Officer (7.74 ) -Update-

Co announces that Peter Cheesbrough will join the co on October 31, 2007 as Executive Vice President/CFO.
08:10 KMT Kennametal beats by $0.05, beats on revs; raises FY08 EPS guidance above consensus (82.58 )

Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $1.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.00; revenues rose 13.3% year/year to $615 mln vs the $600.3 mln consensus. Co raises guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $5.60-5.70 vs. $5.48 consensus. Worldwide market conditions support Kennametal’s expectations of continued top-line growth during the balance of fiscal 2008. Based on global economic indicators, the co believes that the softness in the North American market will persist. The company also believes that the European market will remain favorable, and that business conditions will continue to be strong in developing economies. While there remain some uncertainties and risks related to the macro-economic environment, fundamental drivers for global demand appear to be stable.
08:10 PCAR PACCAR beats by $0.04, beats on revs (50.38 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.81 per share, $0.04 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.77; revenues fell 12.9% year/year to $3.45 bln vs the $3.21 bln consensus. PCAR to increase quarterly dividend by 8% to $0.18.
08:09 PRSP Prosperity Bancshares downgraded to Hold at Stifel (30.84 )

Stifel downgrades PRSP to Hold from Buy following earnings and given a more subdued outlook for earnings growth next year combined with a relatively full valuation at a time when they believe bank stocks will be hard-pressed to achieve any meaningful semblance of valuation improvement over the foreseeable future.
08:09 AMG prelim $1.56 vs $1.55 Reuters consensus, $1.54 First Call; revs $345.6 mln vs $339.46 mln Reuters consensus

08:08 NVGN Novogen NV-128 induces novel mode of cell death in cancer cells (7.70 )

Laboratory studies presented late yesterday at the annual AACR/EORTC/NCI Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics conference demonstrate that the Novogen drug candidate NV-128 induces autophagy, a novel mode of cell death in multi-drug resistant ovarian cancer cells. The data were presented by Gil Mor, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yale University School of Medicine. NV-128 is a derivative of phenoxodiol, an investigational drug licensed by NVGN to Marshall Edwards (MSHL) that is now in Phase III clinical development for patients with late stage ovarian cancer.
08:08 FCX Freeport-McMoRan beats by $0.24, reports revs in-line (111.15 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $2.52 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.24 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $2.28; revenues rose 209.7% year/year to $5.07 bln vs the $5.05 bln consensus. FCX’s pro forma consolidated sales volumes for 2007, including pre-acquisition Phelps Dodge sales, are currently projected to approximate 3.9 billion pounds of copper, 2.3 million ounces of gold and 68 million pounds of molybdenum. Projected sales volumes for the fourth quarter of 2007 approximate 875 million pounds of copper, 100 thousand ounces of gold and 18 million pounds of molybdenum. The achievement of FCX’s sales estimates will be dependent, among other factors, on the achievement of targeted mining rates and expansion plans, the successful operation of production facilities, the impact of weather conditions and other factors.
08:08 BTJ Bolt Technology beats single analyst estimate (40.20 )

Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.60 per share, $0.02 better than the single analyst estimate of $0.58; revenue rose 53% year/year to $15.3 mln vs the single estimate of $15.1 mln.
08:08 CBR Ciber misses by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY07 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (7.74 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.12 per share, $0.01 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.13; revenues rose 7.7% year/year to $265.7 mln vs the $259.6 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $0.48-0.50, compared to previous guidance of $0.48-0.51, vs. $0.49 consensus; sees FY07 revs of $1.054-1.060, compared to previous guidance of $1.035-1.045 bln, vs. $1.05 bln consensus.
08:08 RIMM Research In Motion downgraded to Hold from Buy at boutique firm TD Newcrest (124.53 ) -Update-

08:07 LVLT Level 3: Q3 results and guidance weak; expect to be broken up – CIBC (3.28 ) -Update-

CIBC notes LVLT reported Q3 results at the low end of guidance. Firm notes mgmt substantially lowered 4Q07 and 2008 guidance. The co is blaming the shortfall on temporary operating system issues, which are inhibiting its ability to provision services, and they believe will likely continue. Firm thinks the only way for LVLT to execute better and grow its firm value is to divide itself into four or more major cos. On a break-up value, the co looks inexpensive vs. peers (EQIX, CCOI, AKAM, TWTC), but at 11x EBITDA on a consolidated basis, it’s fairly valued.
08:07 NVT Navteq selected as preferred map provider for Helio’s LBS application initiatives (76.17 )

Co announces that Helio, a mobile service, has selected NVT to be its preferred map supplier for the co’s L.B.S. application initiatives. NVT data for the United States will be the mapping foundation for Helio’s location-based service offerings.
08:07 MSTR MicroStrategy announces that Yahoo! has expanded its agreement to use MicroStrategy for business intelligence reporting and analytics (86.24 )

Co announces that Yahoo! (YHOO) has expanded its agreement to use MicroStrategy for business intelligence reporting and analytics.
08:07 FCX prelim $2.52 vs $2.28 Reuters consensus, $2.26 First Call; revs $5.07 bln vs $5.05 bln Reuters consensus

08:06 SLAB sees Q4 revs $93-97 mln vs $90.00 mln Reuters consensus

08:06 MDP Meredith beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS above consensus; reaffirms FY08 EPS guidance (56.70 )

Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.68 per share, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.67; revenues rose 4.7% year/year to $404.5 mln vs the $404.5 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.72 vs. $0.67 consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $3.50-3.55 vs. $3.56 consensus.
08:06 AFAM Almost Family announces acquisition of Quality of Life Home Health Care; expected to be accretive to earnings in 2008 (21.00 )

Co announces an agreement to acquire the assets of all the Medicare-certified home health agencies owned and operated by Quality of Life Holdings. The transaction is not expected to add materially to 2007 earnings but is expected to be accretive to earnings in 2008.
08:06 GLOI GlobalOptions Group prices a 4.5 mln share common stock offering at $4.50share (6.10 )

08:05 BIOM Biomira announces new data may help guide the clinical development of PX-478 and PX-866; PX-478 does not inhibit the levels of any of the other proteins (0.74 )

Co announces that preclinical data for its targeted anti-cancer drug candidates PX-478 and PX-866 were presented in a poster session yesterday at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics. The data may help to guide future clinical studies of these innovative small molecule compounds. A Phase 1 trial of PX-478 in patients with advanced metastatic cancers is in progress. Biomira expects to file an Investigational New Drug application for PX-866 early in 2008. The results show that PX-478 is highly specific for HIF-1 alpha and does not inhibit the levels of any of the other proteins tested. Additionally, this inhibitory effect is independent of the tumor suppressor genes VHL and p53, genes that may significantly impact how cancer cells respond to a variety of therapeutic interventions.
08:05 SLAB prelim $0.43 ex items vs $0.30 Reuters consensus; revs $87.9 mln vs $83.04 mln Reuters consensus

08:05 SSP EW Scripps likely to review newspaper assets in Q308; trust structure does not preclude sale options – FT Mergermarket (42.54 )

FT Mergermarket reports the co will likely review its newspaper assets for a possible sale in Q3 2008, a source familiar with the situation told mergermarket. The c ownership structure, and the family trust that in effect controls the co, would not necessarily be an impediment to such a sale, the source said.
08:05 PNK Pinnacle: Adjusting ests for current trends; all eyes on Lumiere Place – CIBC (27.46 )

CIBC is fine-tuning their 2007 and 2008 ests to reflect current business trends and positive bias. The near term catalyst is the December opening of Lumiere Place in St. Louis, which we believe could exceed initial expectations resulting in the shares moving higher. The primary drivers of firm’s est revision are state rev results below their 3Q07 forecasts in Louisiana and Indiana by 7.7% and 4.6%, respectively. Firm fine tunes their 3Q07 EBITDA est to $47.4 mln from $53.9 mln, while their new 2007 EBITDA est is $183.3 mln from $196.4 mln and their 2008 est is $237.1 mln from $244.7 mln.
08:05 GRIL Grill Concepts says reports strong comparable sales for 3Q07 (6.20 )

Co announces strong same-store sales increases at the company’s The Grill on the Alley and Daily Grill-branded restaurants for its fiscal third quarter ended September 30, 2007. The Grill on the Alley restaurants recorded 15.7% increases in comparable sales for its fiscal 2007 third quarter, and the Daily Grill restaurants posted same-store sales gains of 5.1%. The company’s consolidated preliminary same-store sales were 9.1 percent for the three months ended September 30, 2007.
08:05 KEM KEMET beats by $0.01, beats on revs (7.85 )

Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 18.4% year/year to $197.1 mln vs the $190.5 mln consensus.
08:04 NCX NOVA Chemicals misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line (38.73 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.16 per share, $0.02 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.18; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $1.75 bln vs the $1.77 bln consensus. “We believe the very strong third quarter market conditions for our Olefins/Polyolefins business will continue into the fourth quarter and well beyond,” said Jeff Lipton, NOVA Chemicals’ President and CEO. “We are experiencing strong domestic and export demand and improving margins due to price increases that exceed feedstock cost changes.”
08:04 BONDX Economic Calendar

Existing home sales at 10 & crude oil inventories at 10:30.
08:03 KEM prelim $0.13 vs $0.12 Reuters consensus, $0.13 First Call; revs $197.1 mln vs $190.47 mln Reuters consensus, $185.00 mln First Call

08:03 RZ Raser Technologies to begin drilling on central Utah geothermal site (12.15 )

Co announces that it will begin drilling on a geothermal production well in Central Utah for use in another 10MW binary-cycle geothermal power plant for generating clean, renewable electric power.
08:03 KMT Kennametal Announces 2-for-1 Stock Split; Increases Dividend by 14% (82.58 )

08:03 PCAR to increase quarterly dividend by 8% to $0.18

08:03 SCMP Sucampo Pharma announces CFO transition in 2008 (13.15 -0.66)

Co announces that its Board of Directors has appointed Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer Mariam Morris to the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective January 2, 2008. Ronald Kaiser, the Company’s current CFO, will shift to an advisory role with Sucampo Pharmaceuticals following the transition.
08:03 CBR sees FY07 $0.48-0.50 vs $0.49 Reuters consensus; sees revs $1.054-1.060 bln vs $1.05 bln Reuters consensus

08:03 TMTA Transmeta announces settlement of patent litigation, technology transfer and license agreement with Intel (4.18 )

Co announces that it has reached an agreement with Intel to settle all claims between them and to license the TMTA patent portfolio to Intel (INTC) for use in current and future Intel products. The agreement will grant INTC a perpetual non-exclusive license to all TMTA patents and patent applications, including any patent rights later acquired by TMTA, now existing or as may be filed during the next ten years. TMTA will also transfer technology and grant to Intel a non-exclusive license to TMTA’s LongRun and LongRun2 technologies and future improvements. Under the agreement, INTC will covenant not to sue TMTA for the development and licensing to third parties of TMTA’s LongRun and LongRun2 technologies. The agreement provides for Intel to make an initial $150 mln payment to TMTA as well as to pay TMTA an annual license fee of $20 mln for each of the next five years. The agreement also provides for the parties to dismiss their pending patent litigation with prejudice and for a mutual general release of all claims of any type between the parties.
08:03 CBR prelim $0.12 vs $0.13 Reuters consensus; revs $265.70 mln vs $259.57 mln Reuters consensus

08:03 MDP sees FY08 $3.50-3.55 vs $3.56 Reuters consensus

08:02 LEE Lee Enterprises reports Sept. revenue and favorable tax settlements (15.35 )

Co announces that same property advertising revenue, which was favorably affected by calendar changes, increased 8.4% in September compared with a year ago. The calendar changes will favorably influence Lee’s earnings for its fourth 2007 fiscal qtr and year, which are scheduled to be announced before market on Nov. 8. Those earnings also will be improved by settlements of federal and state tax audits and other matters totaling $6.88 mln, or about 15 cents per diluted common share.
08:02 MDP sees Q2 $0.72 vs $0.67 Reuters consensus

08:02 FMTI Forbes Medi-Tech increases revenue guidance range 16% to C$8.75-9.25 mln – no ests (0.49 )

Co announced that it has increased its revenue guidance to a range of CDN$8.75-9.25 mln for fiscal 2007 based on the growth of contracted and forecasted tonnage for Reducol, value added products and other sterol products for sale into the functional food and dietary supplement markets. The co had previously issued revenue guidance of $7.5-8 mln. “Our nutritional business has grown substantially in the last two years with a strong presence in the European marketplace and growing awareness in the U.S… Factors included in the lift in revenue guidance are an increase in account activity and the sale of excess inventory partially offset by the impact of the strengthening Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar and the Euro. Euro. The sale of excess inventory has aligned our remaining inventory with forecasted demand.”
08:02 MDP prelim $0.68 vs $0.67 Reuters consensus; revs $404.49 mln vs $404.46 mln Reuters consensus

08:02 ASIA AsiaInfo wins contract to develop 3G billing solution for China Telecom’s extended TD-SCDMA trial (10.70 +1.86)

Co announced that it has signed a contract with China Telecom to provide billing solutions for its ongoing extended TD-SCDMA trial. Under the terms of the agreement, AsiaInfo will develop an Online Charging System for China Telecom’s extended next generation wireless network trial in China’s Hebei province. The system will meet 3GPP standards and China Telecom’s OCS specifications. AsiaInfo’s OCS solution will also provide real-time billing for both pre- and post-paid subscribers and support the convergence of China Telecom’s fixed- line, broadband and future mobile services.
08:01 NOC prelim $1.41 vs $1.27 Reuters consensus; revs $7.93 bln vs $7.95 bln Reuters consensus

08:01 S&P futures vs fair value: -9.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -24.3.

The futures market is pointing to a decidedly lower start. Amazon (AMZN) is acting as a drag after not beating expectations by as much as some had hoped, and due to concerns over the company’s profit margins. Merrill Lynch (MER) reported a larger than expected loss.
08:01 PCAR prelim $0.81 vs $0.77 Reuters consensus; net sales $3.45 bln vs $3.21 bln Reuters consensus, $3.34 bln First Call

08:01 GILD Gilead Sciences: Proprietary survey supports positive outlook for Viread in HBV – RBC (43.02 )

RBC reiterates their Outperform and believe data at AASLD will demonstrate GILD is well positioned for additional upside growth from Viread in HBV. Firm’s proprietary physician survey indicates that 90% of gastroenterologists would consider Viread for first-line HBV. An expected trend toward combination therapy also favors GILD, especially if ongoing trials of Truvada in hepatitis B are successful.
08:01 AVGN prelim ($0.23) vs ($0.24) Reuters consensus; revs $0.00 mln vs $ mln Reuters consensus

08:01 NOV prelim $1.02 vs $0.94 Reuters consensus; revs $2.58 bln vs $2.47 bln Reuters consensus

08:00 NCX prelim $1.16 vs $1.18 Reuters consensus; revs $1.76 bln vs $1.77 bln Reuters consensus

08:00 SIV situation: Will rescuers arrive on time? – WSJ

WSJ reports as three of the world’s biggest banks try to finalize a rescue plan for some shaky investment funds, the funds themselves face mounting problems. The outlines of a new superfund — an effort led by C, BAC and JPM that may include at least seven other banks — are still being hashed out, according to a person familiar with the situation. The three banks could present a formal structure to potential bank partners and funds as soon as next week. Meanwhile, the funds at the heart of the situation — known as structured investment vehicles, or SIVs — need to find investors for $100 bln in debt coming due in the next six to nine months, even as ratings cos continue to come out with reports that lower the ratings of securities in moves that could further depress the value of SIV holdings.
07:59 NAVZ Navistar: UAW strikes 3 key facilities – impact dependent on duration – Wachovia (69.25 )

Wachovia notes that approximately 4K U.A.W. members began a coordinated strike against several International Truck and Engine facilities. They say the UAW has been working without a contract since negotiations broke down in the beginning of October. In general, they think the negative effect on NAVZ will likely grow if the strike duration becomes prolonged. They estimate that the strike will immediately affect approximately 20-25% of revenues.
07:58 VMW VMware: Bloomberg.com story previews VMW earnings (106.15 )

Bloomberg.com reports that VMW shares have tripled since the software maker’s initial public offering two months ago. Google’s stock rose 75% at the same point. VMW, whose programs save money by letting companies run more software on one computer, sells for more than 160 times earnings. Google, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, has never traded at more than 100 times earnings. Today, investors in Palo Alto, California-based VMware will get to make another comparison with Google, and may decide whether the run-up in the shares is justified. VMW reports earnings for the first time as a publicly owned company. Anything less than a Google-style trouncing of estimates may be a disappointment, said Paul Meeks, director of research for L.R. Burtschy & Co., a family-owned fund in Charleston, South Carolina, that manages $600 mln. Given VMW’s rise, EMC’s lower stock price puzzles some analysts. EMC’s shares rose 77 cents, or 3.4%, to $23.36 yesterday. The co also reports earnings this week. Even if VMW’s shares are only worth half their current price, EMC is an attractive stock, said L.R. Burtschy’s Meeks. While his fund owns neither stock, he’s trying to persuade the family to buy EMC.
07:56 R Ryder System beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line (47.37 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.14 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.13. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.06-1.11 vs. $1.09 consensus.
07:56 F Ford Motor: UAW unlikely to drive Ford shares upward further – Calyon (8.65 )

Calyon notes that throughout Sept and Oct, shares of GM and F have been trading in parallel with GM shares on a noticeably greater upward trajectory, propelled by investor interpretation of GM’s contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers. With Ford to follow Chrysler in the negotiations with the UAW, firm asked themselves if Ford could experience an upward trajectory similar to that displayed by GM. Firm believes that F’s stock will not benefit from a negotiation-related run-up for three reasons — investor psychology, the impact of the Chrysler negotiations and Ford’s inability to benefit from the contract to the same degree as GM.
07:56 Medicare is unlikely to restrict coverage of drug-coated stents – WSJ

WSJ reports an official at the agency that runs Medicare said the govt insurance program would “probably not” restrict coverage of drug-coated stents in response to concerns that they increase the risk of blood clots — a statement that could bring a little comfort to stent makers. (BSX, JNJ)
07:56 R sees Q4 $1.06-1.11 vs $1.09 Reuters consensus

07:56 CSL Carlisle Cos beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY07 EPS below consensus (43.85 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.88 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.87; revenues rose 20.6% year/year to $778.1 mln vs the $755.5 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $2.95-3.05, excluding non-recurring items, compared to previous guidance of $2.95-3.05 vs. $3.03 consensus.
07:55 R prelim $1.14, ex items vs $1.13 Reuters consensus; revs $1.65 bln vs $1.67 bln Reuters consensus

07:51 CINF Cincinnati Fincl earnings color (42.19 ) -Update-

Reuters Estimates is telling us that an actual of $0.66, excluding net realized investment gains and losses of $10 mln, is comparable to their consensus of $0.78. See 7:25 comment for the full report.
07:51 WB Wachovia: Downgrade details (45.97 )

As mentioned at 6:45, BofA downgraded WB to Neutral from Buy and lowered their tgt to $48 from $52. They say while the co has been under pressure, they see additional downside risk to consensus estimates and few catalysts to drive valuation higher given the uncertain revenue outlook in WB’s investment bank and the fact that credit is just beginning to deteriorate.
07:50 MLAN Midland Co beats by $0.25, beats on revs (63.49 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.03 per share, excluding $0.15 in gains, $0.25 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.78; revenues rose 12.3% year/year to $230 mln vs the $220.3 mln consensus. CEO comments, “Our third quarter profits are the result of sound non-catastrophe underwriting coupled with favorable weather patterns. Catastrophe related losses for the third quarter were nine cents per share, compared to 14 cents per share a year ago. The per share impact from catastrophes was five cents below last year’s third quarter and well below what we might normally expect in the third quarter.”
07:49 ALTR Altera: Wachovia comments on qtr; thinks ALTR’s weakness is company-specific (23.32 )

Wachovia notes that ALTR’s September sales of $316 mln were down 1% sequentially, below XLNX’s flattish sequential growth. They think ALTR’s poor outlook appears to be broad based. Even so, they think ALTR’s weakness is company-specific, since XLNX’s guidance does not reflect the same muted demand, and neither does guidance of a number of other broad-based semiconductor companies including some of the larger analog companies.
07:49 ASPM Aspect Medical reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (14.06 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.01 per share, including stock based compensation, in-line with the Reuters Estimates consensus of ($0.01). Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of ($0.02)-$0.00 vs. $0.01 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $23.4-24.4 mln vs. $28.12 mln consensus.
07:48 ACAT Arctic Cat beats by $0.20, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY08 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (16.59 )

Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $0.76 per share, $0.20 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.56; revenues fell 28.1% year/year to $205.2 mln vs the $208.4 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.30-0.37 vs. $0.46 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $170-180 mln vs. $221.56 mln consensus. Co guides for FY08, sees EPS of $0.89-0.95 vs. $0.88 consensus; sees FY08 revs of $710-736 mln vs. $716.40 mln consensus.
07:48 MLAN prelim $1.03 vs $0.78 Reuters consensus,; revs $229.95 mln vs $220.30 mln Reuters single estimate

07:46 ACAT sees FY08 $0.89-0.95 vs $0.88 Reuters consensus; sees revs $710-736 mln vs $716.40 mln Reuters consensus

07:46 ACAT sees Q3 $0.30-0.37 vs $0.46 Reuters consensus; sees revs $170-180 mln vs $221.56 mln Reuters consensus

07:46 ASPM sees Q4 $0.11-0.13 may not be comparable to $0.01 Reuters consensus; sees revs $23.4-24.4 mln vs $28.12 mln Reuters consensus

07:46 PFWD Phase Forward: 3Q07 beats street; current valuation appears full – FBR (19.60 )

Friedman Billings notes PFWD’s 3Q07 results topped Street views on revs, EPS, and bookings due largely to momentum in ASP-hosted electronic data capture sales. The $0.16 in adjusted EPS (excluding options) topped Street views of $0.14 and firm’s forecast of $0.15 on higher-than-expected gross margins. Firm is raising their 2007 EPS est from $0.57 to $0.61, while lowering their 2008 EPS est from $0.58 to $0.54 to account for the imminent depletion of NOLs in 2008. On the basis of solid rev growth and bookings over the past few quarters, firm’s new tgt of $19 equates to a 35.0x multiple to 2008 EPS and nearly 20x 2008 EBITDA.
07:46 ASPM prelim $0.09 may not be comparable ($0.01) Reuters consensus; revs $22.6 mln vs $22.17 mln Reuters consensus

07:45 ACAT prelim $0.76 vs $0.56 Reuters consensus; revs $205.2 mln vs $208.37 mln Reuters consensus

07:45 NCIT NCI and Google to develop ‘cutting-edge’ geospatial search and visualization capabilities for Federal customers (18.78 )

Co announces that it has been awarded two technology demonstration task orders from the United States Strategic Command to develop ‘cutting-edge’ search and geospatial visualization capability for ‘key’ federal customers. The competitive task orders were awarded to NCIT, together with Google (GOOG) and Next Tier Concepts under the NETCENTS contract.
07:45 WAB Wabtec beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY07 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (35.33 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.55 per share, $0.02 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.53; revenues rose 32.0% year/year to $355 mln vs the $313 mln consensus. Co raises guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $2.20 vs. $2.20 consensus, prior guidance $2.15; raises FY07 revenue growth guidance from 16-18% to 22-24% which equates to roughly $1.33-1.35 bln vs. $1.28 bln consensus.
07:43 JNPR Juniper Networks: Color on quarter (37.14 )

Baird notes JNPR’s Q3 results were better than expected for both rev and EPS as margins were nicely ahead of expectations and Q4 guidance was ahead of consensus. Firm notes JNPR did come in short of its SLT rev tgt, but more importantly, mgmt kept its breakeven tgt in Q4. Firm remains buyers of JNPR based on continuing strong macro themes (video, bandwidth expansion and NGN build-outs), new product cycle ramp and financial execution… CIBC notes JNPR is executing well. New products appear to be gaining momentum and core routers again solidly outperformed in 3Q07, though edge routing sales were notably weak. Overall, JNPR is executing well. However at 32.3x ‘08E EPS firm believes the stock fully reflects positive prospects. Firm ests core sales rose 36% QoQ–despite the T1600 having yet to ship. The results imply JNPR is meeting the CRS-1 challenge and the T1600 could be a catalyst for core share gain in ‘08… BofA notes JNPR reported 3Q7 sales and EPS of $735 mln and $0.22. While revs easily eclipsed firm’s/consensus ests of $710 mln, EPS was only a penny ahead as higher opex offset better revs and gross margins.
07:42 HSC Harsco beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY07 EPS in-line (60.11 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.83 per share, $0.03 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.80; revenues rose 19.9% year/year to $927.4 mln vs the $917.8 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $2.93-2.97 vs. $2.97 consensus. Co says both their Access Services and Minerals & Rail Technologies groups should continue to perform well in the coming year. In addition, the expected improvements in global market conditions in their Mill Services Segment, combined with anticipated new contract signings and the benefits of certain cost optimization initiatives they are currently implementing should serve to return Mill Services to its recent historical level of operating results next year.
07:42 VZ Verizon’s FiOS challenges cable’s clout – WSJ (44.81 )

WSJ reports after years of promises, Verizon Communications is making significant headway with its $18 bln effort to roll out television and faster Internet service, posing a difficult new competitive threat for the cable industry. Two years after launching its FiOS service, Verizon has signed up half a mln TV subscribers and, as of the second quarter, was adding 2,600 customers per business day, the company says. In the parts of the Dallas area where FiOS service is offered, a quarter of households are taking it, Verizon estimates. David Barden, an analyst with Banc of America, predicts that Verizon will have two mln FiOS TV customers by the end of 2008, ranking it as the ninth-biggest provider of television service in the country, after the top six cable operators and the two main satellite TV cos. Cable industry executives, who two years ago scoffed at Verizon’s plans, have changed their tune. “Verizon is real,” Steve Burke, Comcast Corp’s COO, said last month at an investor conference. “Verizon is taking video customers from us.” Verizon’s growing mkt clout is a complicating factor in today’s vote by shareholders in CVC on whether to accept the Dolan family’s $10.6 bln offer to take the co private. While some prominent institutional shareholders have warned they may vote against the deal, believing the price isn’t high enough, others are worried by the long-term impact of tougher competition.
07:41 WAB raises FY07 guidance to EPS of $2.20 vs $2.20 Reuters consensus; sees revs up 22-24% vs prior 16-18% guidance

07:41 BWLD Buffalo Wild Wings downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Morgan Keegan- based on valuation (40.73 )

07:40 WAB prelim $0.55 vs $0.53 Reuters consensus; revs $355 mln vs $312.96 mln Reuters consensus, $307.52 mln First Call

07:40 MER Merrill Lynch reports wider than expected loss; write-downs of $7.9 bln across CDOs and U.S. sub-prime mortgages (67.12 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $2.85 per share, $2.40 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of ($0.45); revenues of $577 mln, not comparable to consensus ests. Third quarter 2007 results reflect significant net write-downs losses attributable to Merrill Lynch’s Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities business, including write-downs of $7.9 bln across CDOs and U.S. sub-prime mortgages, which are significantly greater than the incremental $4.5 bln write-down Merrill Lynch disclosed at the time of its earnings pre-release. These write-downs and losses were partially offset by revenues in Global Wealth Management, Equity Markets, and Investment Banking, particularly in regions outside of the U.S. At the end of the third quarter, book value per share was $39.75, down slightly from the end of the third quarter of 2006. “We expect market conditions for sub-prime mortgage-related assets to continue to be uncertain and we are working to resolve the remaining impact from our positions… Away from the mortgage-related areas, we continue to believe that secular trends in the global economy are favorable and that our businesses can perform well, as they have all year.” Based on current market conditions, Merrill Lynch’s liquidity position is strong. Because the markets are unsettled, and market conditions that affect the co’s liquidity may become more severe, the co is continuing to closely monitor its liquidity and is pursuing opportunities to preserve and enhance its liquidity and capital position.
07:40 LLY Eli Lilly downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Cowen (57.13 )

07:40 BA Boeing beats by $0.20, beats on revs; guides FY07 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; guides FY08 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (94.95 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.44 per share, $0.20 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.24; revenues rose 12.1% year/year to $16.52 bln vs the $16.05 bln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $5.05-5.15 vs. $5.06 consensus; sees FY07 revs of $66.0 bln vs. $65.39 bln consensus. Co issues reaffirms FY08, sees EPS of $5.55-5.75 vs. $6.04 consensus; lowers FY08 revs to 67.5-68.5 bln vs. $71.2 bln consensus. Boeing increased its 2007 guidance for revenue, earnings per share and cash flow due to core business performance and lower corporate costs, and now expects earnings per share this year to be between $5.05 and $5.15. The company’s guidance now reflects the previously disclosed revision to the 787 delivery schedule, and the 2008 EPS outlook is reaffirmed.
07:40 MSM MSC Industrial beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus (49.58 )

Reports Q4 (Aug) earnings of $0.71 per share, $0.02 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.69; revenues rose 16.8% year/year to $450.5 mln vs the $445.6 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.68-0.70 vs. $0.71 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $435-441 vs. $430.15 mln consensus.
07:39 CAKE Cheesecake Factory: Slowing store expansion rate in 2008 a positive – FBR (23.30 )

Friedman Billings notes CAKE reported an okay Q with EPS of $0.26, in line with their est but below the $0.27 consensus. Same-store sales rose 1.2% system-wide, which is notable because they are still positive vs much of the industry, but trends slowed in 2H Sept and 1H Oct in tandem with the industry. Consequently, firm is lowering their FY07 EPS est to $1.08 from $1.12. Although the slower unit growth may be viewed as disappointing to some, firm believes it is the right decision in this challenging sales and cost environment. The slower 2008 unit growth should enable the co to grow margins and manage its store opening schedule better. Firm cuts tgt to $30 from $33.
07:38 ATI Allegheny Tech beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY07 EPS guidance (93.62 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.88 per share, $0.02 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.86; revenues rose 3.6% year/year to $1.34 bln vs the $1.34 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $7.00-7.25 vs. $7.20 consensus.
07:38 ROL Rollins reports in-line (27.87 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.28 per share, in-line with the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.28 (2 ests); revenues rose 4.5% year/year to $238.1 mln vs the single analyst estimate of $236.0 mln. Co says “We are pleased by the increased rate of organic revenue growth for the quarter. Commercial pest control, which now represents 44% of our business, continued to accelerate during the second quarter and we expect this area to perform well going forward.”
07:37 AMGN Amgen upgraded to Outperform at Credit Suisse- tgt raised to $65 from $56 (56.12 ) -Update-

Credit Suisse upgrades AMGN to Outperform from Neutral and raises their tgt to $65 from $56 saying with Amgen’s win, they have removed Mircera from their US model resulting in a $180 mln increase in Anemia franchise sales in 2008 and close to $500 mln in 2011 (EPS impact of ~$0.10 to $0.20). They say while 2008 is likely to be a transition year for Amgen’s earnings as the full impact of the Aranesp safety and regulatory changes take effect, they envision a return to growth post 2008 as the anemia franchise stabilizes and denosumab heads towards approval.
07:37 CCE Coca-Cola Ent reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY07 EPS above consensus (24.52 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.44 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 3.6% year/year to $5.41 bln vs the $5.42 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $1.31-1.36, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.30 consensus.
07:37 RES RPC Inc misses by $0.10, misses on revs (12.86 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.15 per share, $0.10 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.25; revenues rose 5.1% year/year to $162 mln vs the $182 mln consensus. “RPC realized a small increase in third quarter revenues compared to the prior year, principally due to the increase in revenue-producing equipment placed in service under our long-term growth plan. The average domestic rig count during the third quarter was 1,789, which is 4.0 percent higher than the same period in 2006. The average price of oil increased 7.9 percent and the average price of natural gas increased by 3.5 percent during the quarter compared to the prior year.”
07:36 GOOG Google strikes deal for Nielsen data – Latimes.com (675.77 )

Latimes.com reports that Google (GOOG) is sharpening its focus on the medium with demographic data from the influential Nielsen Co. Under an agreement to be announced today, GOOG will pay Nielsen an undisclosed amount to obtain detailed information about the kinds of people who watch specific TV shows. GOOG’s access to the information is significant because it gives the co more tools to use as it tries to target TV ads as effectively as it has done on the Internet. “This is another indication that Google is very serious about selling more ads in the mainstream media,” said Brad Adgate, director of research for Horizon Media, which helps advertisers buy TV ads. Since May, GOOG has been delivering television ads for about 14 mln subscribers to EchoStar Communications (DISH) Dish network and Astound Broadband cable service.
07:36 GSK GlaxoSmithKline 3Q profit down 7%, starts cost savnings plan – DJ (52.08 ) -Update-

DJ reports the co said 3Q profit fell 7% due to a sharp drop in sales of diabetes drug Avandia and generic competition for several older drugs in the U.S. The world’s second largest drugmaker also unveiled a GBP1.5 bln cost-saving program to partly mitigate next year’s impact on earnings from generic competition and lower Avandia sales. “GlaxoSmithKline remains on track to meet its earnings guidance for the year, despite significant challenges,” said CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier. Pretax profit for Q3 fell 7% to GBP1.88 bln from a year earlier, slightly ahead analysts’ expectations of GBP1.86 bln. Sales declined 3% to GBP5.48 bln from a year earlier, impacted by generic competition in the U.S. and plummeting Avandia sales. Sales of the Avandia family of drugs fell 38% to GBP225 mln in the quarter, with U.S. sales down 48% to GBP130 mln, as safety concerns prompted by an article published in May in the New England Journal of Medicine affected prescriptions. Net profit declined 6% to GBP1.31 bln.
07:36 SGEN Seattle Genetics: Early validating data at year end; meaningful phase II data in 2009 – RBC (12.00 )

RBC says their positive outlook on SGEN remains unchanged and they expect important proof of concept data from SGN-33 and SGN-35 at upcoming confs in Q4 and continued execution of its robust clinical plan for SGN-40 with DNA. That said, although firm foresees no near-term catalyst to trigger underperformance, meaningful Phase II data is unlikely in the next 12 months, which firm believes may limit stock performance.
07:35 ATI reaffirms FY07 $7.00-7.25 vs $7.20 Reuters consensus

07:35 GD General Dynamics beats by $0.08; guides FY07 EPS above consensus (87.10 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.34 per share, $0.08 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.26; revenues rose 12.6% year/year to $6.83 bln vs the $6.82 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $5.00-5.05 vs. $4.96 consensus.
07:35 ATI prelim $1.88 vs $1.86 Reuters consensus; revs $1.33 bln vs $1.34 bln Reuters consensus

07:35 RES prelim $0.15 vs $0.25 Reuters consensus; revs $162.0 mln vs $182.01 mln Reuters consensus

07:35 TASR TASER beats by $0.04, beats on revs (17.24 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.09 per share, $0.04 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.05; revenues rose 55.7% year/year to $28.5 mln vs the $23.7 mln consensus.
07:34 MPX Marine Products misses by $0.04, misses on revs (8.69 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.04 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.12; revenues fell 18.0% year/year to $52.5 mln vs the $60.4 mln consensus. “On a positive note, the recent interest rate cuts and another mild hurricane season may drive some renewed consumer interest in boating. We note that several boat shows in September had higher attendance than last year, which is encouraging. This is positive, although we continue to be cautious about consumers’ decisions to make large discretionary purchases. During this period, we are extremely pleased that both our dealer inventories and order backlogs are better than they were at this time last year.”
07:34 SEE Sealed Air misses by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY07 EPS in-line (25.39 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.02 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 7.4% year/year to $1.16 bln vs the $1.14 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY07, sees EPS at lower end of previously issued guidance of $1.65-1.75, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.69 consensus.
07:34 WIRES On The Wires

Futuremedia Learning, a division of Futuremedia plc (FMDA), announces it has extended contracts with BUPA an international health and care co with more than seven mln customers, and Network Rail, owner and operator of Britain’s rail system, to provide ongoing e-learning services… Xilinx (XLNX) announces record sales of its 90nm and 65nm devices, driven largely by record revs in Asia Pacific. The co attributes its strong growth to broad adoption of its 90nm and 65nm devices in consumer and communications applications.
07:34 IMCL Imclone: Expecting a 3Q Erbitux miss; FLEX high-risk; lowering Erbitux ests and tgt to $42 – FBR (46.65 )

Friedman Billings notes IMCL will report Q3 results on Thurs before the open; firm is expecting EPS of $0.28, in line with the Street. They think 3Q U.S. Erbitux expectations ($178 mln) are too high and are keeping their below-consensus $167 mln in sales this quarter, compared to the Street est of $178 mln; NDC monthly prescription data support firm’s est. Further penetration into earlier lines of colon cancer has been slow, but firm is keeping their out-year ests for now, though they may be optimistic, even with compendia listing. Firm is lowering tgt to $42 (from $45). Firm lowers Erbitux ests beginning in 2008 as they continue to view FLEX data and its translation into material sales as high-risk.
07:33 SEE sees FY07 at lower end of previous guidance of $1.65-1.75 vs $1.69 Reuters consensus

07:33 MER reports write-downs of $7.9 bln, significantly greater than the increment billion write-down Merrill Lynch disclosed at the time of its ear pre-releas

07:33 HSC sees FY07 $2.93-2.97 vs $2.97 Reuters consensus

07:32 HSC prelim $0.83 vs $0.80 Reuters consensus; revs $927.36 mln vs $917.82 mln Reuters consensus

07:32 GD prelim $1.34 vs $1.26 Reuters consensus; revs $6.83 bln vs $6.82 bln Reuters consensus

07:32 SEE prelim $0.40 vs $0.42 Reuters consensus; revs $1.16 bln vs $1.14 bln Reuters consensus

07:32 MER reports $7.9 bln write-down

07:32 QLGC QLogic: Upgrade details (13.48 +0.33)

As mentioned at 6:45, RBC upgraded QLGC to Outperform from Sector Perform and raised their tgt to $17 from $15 following earnings, as they expect some recovery in sentiment near term. The firm cites the rate of decline in the Silicon Products segment, direction of market share shifts in the FC HBA market, the degree to which the FC switch business stabilizes relative to recent tough year-over-year comparisons, and rate of adoption and gross margin improvement for emerging InfiniBand offerings for the upgrade.
07:31 BA sees FY08 $5.55-5.75 vs $6.04 Reuters consensus; sees revs $67.5-68.5 bln vs $71.20 bln Reuters consensus

07:31 MER prelim ($2.85) vs ($0.45) Reuters consensus; revs $577 mln, not comparable to ests

07:31 BA sees FY07 $5.05-5.15 vs $5.06 Reuters consensus; sees revs $66 bln vs $65.39 bln Reuters consensus

07:31 TASR prelim $0.09 vs $0.05 Reuters consensus; revs $28.5 mln vs $23.66 mln Reuters consensus

07:30 CCE sees FY07 $1.31-1.36 vs $1.30 Reuters consensus

07:30 BA prelim $1.44 vs $1.24 Reuters consensus; revs $16.52 bln vs $16.05 bln Reuters consensus

07:30 CCE prelim $0.44 vs $0.44 Reuters consensus; revs $5.41 bln vs $5.42 bln Reuters consensus

07:29 NCC National City beats by $0.10 (23.91 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.43 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.33. “Our third quarter results were clearly affected by the unprecedented disruption and weakness in the mortgage and housing markets. In response to these conditions, we have restructured our mortgage business. The former National Home Equity unit has been merged into National City Mortgage, and production of non-agency eligible mortgages has been either severely curtailed or eliminated altogether. Loans held for sale have been written down to estimated market prices, and in certain cases, moved to portfolio. Higher loan loss provisions were taken on portfolio mortgage loans, reflecting recent delinquency and loss trends, and continued deterioration in the housing markets. The results of these actions contributed to a third quarter loss in our mortgage banking business. At the same time, our retail, commercial banking and asset management businesses performed well. Deposit inflows were strong, and credit quality in the core consumer and commercial portfolios remains sound. Nonetheless, the environment continues to be quite challenging, requiring close attention to costs and relentless focus on day-to-day execution. Based on the difficult conditions in the financial markets, which we expect to persist into 2008, we have undertaken an aggressive review of our cost structure across the company. That review, coupled with our 2008 budget process, has resulted in the elimination of approximately 2,500 positions representing approximately $125 million of personnel expense.”
07:27 NCC prelim $0.43 vs $0.33 Reuters consensus, $0.32 First Call

07:27 EMKR Emcore initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital- tgt $13.80 (10.04 )

Roth Capital initiates EMKR with a Buy and a $13.80 tgt saying the business has performed well, and should get better, as optics market recovers in 2H 2007 and terrestrial solar market grows in 2008. The firm also believes EMKR is favorably positioned to emerge as a predominant player in the terrestrial solar C.P.V market. They project C.P.V market to grow at CAGR of 63% through 2010.
07:26 SYMM Symmetricom upgraded to Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald- tgt $7 (4.76 )

Cantor upgrades SYMM to Buy from Hold and maintains their $7 tgt, as they remain comfortable with their Q108 revenue and EPS estimates and find shares a compelling value.
07:26 ETH Ethan Allen beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (32.62 )

Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.57 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.56; revenues rose 2.4% year/year to $248.7 mln vs the $249.1 mln consensus. Co said, “While our first quarter results were promising, we are aware of the difficult economic environment that still exists. However, we remain cautiously optimistic with regard to our ability to continue to do relatively well as we move forward.”
07:25 CINF Cincinnati Fincl reports Q3 (Sep) results (42.19 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.72 per share, includes gains, charges, may not be comparable to the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.78.
07:25 ETH prelim $0.57 vs $0.56 Reuters consensus; revs $248.7 mln vs $249.11 mln Reuters consensus

07:24 MATK Martek Biosci: Market wins European DHA patent infringement decision – Broadpoint Capital (29.63 )

Broadpoint Capital reiterates their Buy rating on a victory for MATK in its European patent infringement lawsuit against Lonza, which had been selling microalgal DHA products. The ruling protects an estimated 5% of current revs. Although Lonza may appeal the infringement ruling, firm says the probabilities now appear heavily weighed on Martek’s side. The patent itself has been challenged separately since 1999 at the European Patent Office. The EPO has upheld both the novelty and inventiveness of the patent so far; ruling on the challengers’ appeal is expected in 2H08.
07:23 BBV Banco Bilbao Vizcaya 3Q profit rises on Spain loan revenue – Bloomberg (24.28 )

Bloomberg reports the bank said profit rose 19% in the 3Q on higher lending revenue in its home mkt. Net income increased to 1.34 bln euros ($1.91 bln) from 1.12 bln euros a year earlier, the co said today in a regulatory filing. That surpassed the 1.32 bln-euro median estimate of 11 analysts. Higher interest rates have buoyed lending margins, helping BBV boost profit as banks brace for costlier funding from the subprime contagion and loan defaults, said Ignacio Fonseca, head of equity at Credit Andorra. BBV also expanded into the U.S. when that nation’s economy began losing steam, weighing on the currency of neighboring Mexico, the bank’s second-biggest profit source.
07:23 BCR C.R. Bard downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns (86.38 )

07:21 FLWS 1-800-FLOWERS tgt raised to $13.50 at Brean Murrary (13.01 )

Brean Murray is raisint their tgt on FLWS to $13.50 from $12.50 following registered inline top- and bottom-line results in the relatively unimportant 1Q08 quarter. Given the dynamics of the 1Q08 quarter firm says it is inevitable the co will show a loss; that said, there was progress on a number of fronts, as FLWS continues to take share in the higher margin B2B Bloomnet segment and gains additional traction in the consumer floral arena. Firm believes the co remains ideally situated to drive growth in the key Holiday quarter, driven by further exclusive gifting offerings and increased higher margin Bloomnet rev; firm notes FY08 should also see the rollout of the Martha Stewart venture, which should further ramp up top- and bottom-line growth.
07:21 RDWR Radware: Q3 points to soild execution; visibility is improving as U.S. turnaround and business smart networking strategy are on track – Susquehanna (15.48 )

07:20 VOLV Volvo Q3 profit jumps 45 pct on strong demand but misses consensus – Forbes (18.12 )

Forbes reports the co said 3Q profit after financials increased 45% from a year earlier to 4.571 bln skr, helped by easy comparisons after a write down of goodwill a year earlier and on strong demand for its products and services in all mkts except North America. Mkt expectations were for profits of 4.897 bln, according to a survey by SME Direkt. Sales increased 13% to 68.367 bln skr, above mkt expectations of 65.737. Third-quarter group operating margin increased to 7.3% from 5.4%. ‘Demand is very high on most of the world’s larger truck markets, with the exception of North America and Japan,’ said Volvo.
07:19 CACH Cache reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; updates FY07 guidance (16.54 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.01 per share, in-line with the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.01; revenues rose 1.1% year/year to $60.6 mln vs the $60.5 mln consensus. CACH sees “improved earnings results during the fourth quarter”. Co raises guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $0.57-$0.59 (vs. $0.57 consensus), up from previous range of $0.47-$0.51; sees FY07 revs of $277-$279 mln (vs. $278.77 mln consensus), up from previous range of $271-$275 mln. “As we look ahead, we remain cautiously optimistic. Currently, we are experiencing continued strength in our dress and Contour offerings, yet we have continued to plan sales growth conservatively, given that we will anniversary a significant investment in marketing in the fourth quarter last year. We expect our efforts in design, production and sourcing; along with our focus on cost discipline as well as tight control of inventory to position us for improved earnings results during the fourth quarter, with continued positive momentum in fiscal 2008.”
07:19 LVLT Level 3: Disappointing 3Q07 give way to more achievable guidance and positions co for upside in 2008 – Merriman (3.28 )

Merriman says with its recent acquisitions, LVLT is the largest independent fiber provider poised to benefit from an increasing shift to IP, in firm’s view. Specifically, LVLT has leveraged its network to be the dominant provider of wholesale VoIP services while issues surrounding bandwidth pricing and dial-up attrition appear to be leveling off. Although there is significant risk due to its $6.9 bln of debt and ongoing integration, they believe the reward outweighs the risks.
07:19 CTHR Charles & Colvard: Q07 results well below expectations; outlook for sales and inventory reduction remains cloudy; lowering ests – Merriman (3.82 )

Merriman notes CTHR reported 3Q07 sales of $6.6 mln, below their est of $11.2 mln and $10.5 mln consensus due to continued weak sell-through trends and subsequent lower-than-expected reorders from retailers. EPS of $0.01 also came in below their $0.09 est and consensus of $0.07 due to the negative operating leverage stemming from the lower sales. Firm is lowering their FY07 and FY08 rev ests to $31.2 mln and $36.1 mln from $36.2 mln and $42.1 mln. Firm is reducing their FY07 and FY08 EPS ests to $0.07 and $0.13 from $0.16 and $0.25.
07:18 RVBD Riverbed Technology: Update on quarter – Baird (47.96 )

Baird notes RVBD reported rev slightly above expectations, EPS in-line, and guidance slightly better. Outperformance was modest relative to previous quarters, which will cause concerns over diminishing upside to ests. RVBD is investing heavily to sustain growth, so operating margin expansion is weighted toward 2H08. Firm maintains Neutral rating and lowers tgt to $42. RVBD is the market leader in an exciting segment, but they remain on the sidelines as they believe expectations are lofty.
07:18 CB Chubb: Outstanding 3Q07 benefited from modest loss trends and $150 mln in redundancies – FBR (53.55 )

Friedman Billings notes CB reported another excellent quarterly result, with 3Q07 operating EPS of $1.68 easily exceeding the First Call est of $1.44. At the onset of the 3Q07 earnings season, firm was somewhat nervous about the pricing environment. Firm is happy to see that rates are not declining nearly as much for CB. Chubb may not be growing, but the co is certainly retaining healthy underwriting margins and maintaining commendable pricing discipline. In addition, the co continues to repurchase a healthy amount of its shares, while reserves likely will prove further redundant. Firm raises their tgt to $66 from $65.
07:17 OXY Occidental Petro beats by $0.13, beats on revs (66.75 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.45 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.32; revenues rose 10.0% year/year to $4.84 bln vs the $4.66 bln consensus. CEO comments, “Increase in our production volume, including initial production from the Dolphin Project and increases in worldwide crude oil prices, contributed to Oxy’s record setting third quarter core income results of $1.210 billion. This reflects the continued successful implementation of our long-term strategy that is focused on current and new long-lived oil and gas assets in our core regions that produce strong financial returns.”
07:17 TROW T. Rowe Price tgt raised to $57 at FBR (58.73 )

Friedman Billings raises their tgt on TROW to $57 from $50 as firm notes the co continues to demonstrate its ability to deliver strong organic growth in all types of markets. Although they expect the co will have to invest in the infrastructure to support its growth, the operating margins should remain among the industry’s highest.
07:17 WMT Wal-Mart: Tone of WMT’s analyst day was not nearly as favorable as the June shareholder meeting – Wachovia (43.93 )

Wachovia notes that the tone of WMT’s analyst day was not nearly as favorable as the June shareholder meeting, as signs of continued commitment to slower capital spending and aggressive share repurchase were offset by disappointment over the lack of anticipated ROI improvement over the next couple years. Firm notes that as expected, WMT further reduced its cap-ex budget for FY07 to $14.7-$15.4 bln from Jun’s $15.5 bln target. While moving in the right direction, they say recent commentary from mgmnt had fueled expectations of a potentially more aggressive cut. As a result, they sensed some disappointment in the magnitude of the reduction. Firm lowers their valuation range to $48-51 from $51-55.
07:16 DO Diamond Offshore: Friedman Billings adjusting ests on fleet report (119.19 )

Friedman Billings says following DO’s recent fleet status report, we are adjusting our estimates lower to account for lower U.S. GOM day rate assumptions, shipyard delays, and associated repair costs. Firm’s 2007 earnings est decreases to $6.87 from $7.05 to account for shipyard delays and costs. Firm’s 2008 and 2009 ests decrease to $11.45 and $14.00 from $11.90 and $14.50.
07:16 AMGN Amgen: Q3 preview; back to fundamentals – Rodman & Renshaw (57.70 )

Rodman & Renshaw notes AMGN will report 3Q07 results on Wed, Oct 24. Firm notes sales of both Aranesp and Epogen continue to be difficult to predict given the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decision to restrict use of ESAs in the oncology setting. Based on firm’s analysis of IMS sales trends for the quarter, they believe 3Q07 EPS is likely to be in-line their GAAP and non-GAAP ests of $0.89 and $0.97, respectively. Excluding stock option expense, the Street’s non-GAAP EPS consensus is $1.02. Firm notes AMGN’s flagship products, Aranesp, Epogen and Neulasta, are challenging to forecast due to the co’s complex bundling practice atypcial IMS capture rates.
07:16 TRB Tribune beats by $0.12, reports revs in-line (27.55 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.38 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.12 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.26; revenues fell 4.1% year/year to $1.28 bln vs the $1.27 bln consensus. Co said, “The closing of our going-private transaction is still expected in the fourth quarter, following FCC approval of our waiver requests and receipt of a solvency opinion”.
07:16 MGM MGM Mirage tgt raised to $105 from $94 at Calyon (92.43 )

Calyon raises their tgt on MGM to $105 from $94 saying they continue to favor shares of MGM and although above MGM’s historic valuation of 10.0x-10.5x, they view a higher multiple as warranted given the co’s strong pipeline of growth projects (Macau (2), CityCenter, North LV Strip JV, Atlantic City), proven ability to monetize assets, and a budding fee-driven hospitality operation. Further, the firm believes Dubai World’s interest in increasing its equity stake in the co should serve to limit downside risk to the shares.
07:16 SWK Stanley Works misses by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY07 EPS guidance (55.83 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.09 per share, $0.01 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.10; revenues rose 11.7% year/year to $1.13 bln vs the $1.1 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $4.00-4.05 vs. $3.99 consensus; co sees total sales growth of approx 10%, which equates to approx $4.42 bln vs $4.397 bln consensus.
07:15 SNSS Sunesis Pharma: Positive early activity in Ovarian cancer- RBC (2.42 )

RBC notes SNSS reported interim Phase II ovarian cancer data at the AACR conf. The number of responses was in-line with firm’s expectation but the response rate was higher. The 2 PR’s met their original expectation but a smaller denominator with 17 evaluable patients compared to firm’s est of 22 resulted in a more promising 12% response rate, and above the 10% originally expected. Importantly, this data triggers an expansion of the trial into the second stage which should provide a more definitive est of the single agent activity of the drug. Firm believes SNSS would likely initiate a Phase III controlled registrational study in platinum resistant ovarian cancer patients against Doxil or best supportive care in 2009.
07:15 AMZN Amazon.com: Color on quarter (100.82 )

Deutsche reiterates their Buy rating on AMZN and keeps it as their top pick in the e-commerce sector given its defensible industry position (EDLP, distrib. ctrs, seller economics) and major product cycle in 3P from eBay. With the stock giving back yesterday’s gains in after-hours, firm would be buyers as 3Q marks an inflection point on accelerating growth, usage and share gains, a theme that should continue well into 2008E. They raise their tgt to $110 from $100. Firm notes demand remains robust at AMZN, with unit growth accelerating to 32%Y/Y in 3Q, up from 25% last quarter… BofA notes as anticipated, AMZN delivered a strong Q3 with accelerating rev and margin expansion driven by 3rd party sales while opex remained in-check, though only slightly better than the Street. Firm notes media rev was +36% Y/Y vs. +27% in Q2. Even excluding the Potter impact of roughly $50 mln, growth was +32% Y/Y. Firm notes AMZN continues to be a core eCommerce holding given: 1) rev acceleration; 2) growth in higher-margin 3rd party sales; 3) prime & free shipping driving customer loyalty (and share of wallet); 4) prior Tech & Content spend bearing fruit in 08 and beyond; and 5) incremental higher-margin opportunities including digital, advertising and Web Services.
07:14 BRCM Broadcom: Color on quarter (42.06 )

CIBC notes BRCM reported strong 3Q07 revs, up 6% and better than guidance. Firm says the spending train continues to roll on, however, with op-ex up $20 mln sequentially and forecast up $15-$20 mln in Dec. Firm notes all three product segments grew, with the strongest impact from Bluetooth, digital TV, and wireless LAN. These are likely to be the most significant product areas for BRCM through 2008 until the Nokia EDGE engagement ramps in the back half. Firm believes that BRCM should be valued on the 2009 earnings power, since handset is a game-changing event for the co and the stock… Citi believes sahre weakness is likely Wed on operating leverage concerns, a buying oppty in their view. The tgt op margin model (20-22%) is approachable exiting 2008 w/Verizon pmts and 37%/29% EPS growth in C08/C09 attractive. At 25x and 20x their C08E/09E EPS, valuation is reasonable w/ 32% ETR to their $49 tgt (from $52). Milestones: 1) Nov 8th Analyst Day, 2) CES new products, 3) Feb 2008’s 3GSM… Jefferies notes BRCM reported Q3 rev better with EPS inline, but guided Q4 below (excl. Verizon license payment). Firm lowers their EPS for CY08 to $1.10 (from $1.22), introduces their CY09 EPS of $1.65 and reiterates their Buy and $50 tgt… As mentioned at 6:33, Deutsche Bank downgrades Broadcom (BRCM) to Hold from Buy and lowered their tgt to $40 from $47. Wachovia downgrades Broadcom (BRCM) to Market Perform from Outperform.
07:13 SGR Shaw Group: Hearing upgraded to neutral from sell at tier 1 firm (68.10 )

07:13 ABI Applied Bio beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; issues Y08 guidance (35.22 )

Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.31; revenues rose 5.2% year/year to $501.2 mln vs the $503.2 mln consensus. Co sees Y08 non-GAAP EPS to increase faster than the annual rev growth rate; co sees Y08 revs to grow in the mid to high single digits.
07:13 ABT Abbott Labs: Hearing upgraded to buy from neutral at tier 1 firm (51.82 )

07:13 MCO Moody’s misses by $0.04, beats on revs; lowers FY07 guidance (47.38 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.51 per share, $0.04 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.55; revenues rose 6.0% year/year to $525 mln vs the $517.2 mln consensus. Co said that full year revenue guidance has been revised downward to high-single-digit to double-digit percent growth and EPS to mid-to high-single-digit percent growth.
07:12 NDAQ NASDAQ beats by $0.03, ex items, beats on revs (42.08 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.42 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 61.8% year/year to $652 mln vs the $637.5 mln consensus. Co sees Y07 net income in the range of $501-507 mln, which includes $431.4 mln gain.
07:12 WIRES On The Wires

IBM (IBM) announces a definitive agreement to acquire NovusCG, a privately held storage solutions co based in Manassas, VA. Financial terms were not disclosed… VocalTec Communications (VOCL) announces that its VoIP technology has been selected by 18 Service Providers in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States since the co entered these markets in 2006… FairPoint Communications (FRP) announces that it has entered into a Joint Settlement Stipulation with BayRing Communications, segTEL, and Otel Telekom, three New Hampshire competitive local exchange carriers.
07:12 PRICE Filings, Offerings, Pricings and IPOs

Filings: Harmonic (HLIT) files for a 12.9 mln share common stock secondary offering… Offering: Data Domain (DDUP) announces an 8.5 mln share comon stock offering, 4 mln shares being offered by the co and 4.5 mln shares being offered by certain existing stockholders… Golden Star Resources (GSS) announces a $125 mln convertible notes offering… Pricings: Ormat Tech (ORA 48.04) prices a 3 mln share common stock offering at $46.80/share… IPOs: Vanguard Natural Resources (VNR), an independent natural gas and oil co focused on the acquisition, development and exploitation of mature, long-lived natural gas and oil properties, prices its 5.25 mln unit IPO at $19/unit, at the bottom end of the $19-$21 forecast range.
07:12 BSX Boston Scientific: Hearing downgraded to neutral from buy at tier 1 firm (14.55 )

07:11 ATW Atwood Oceanics profiled in New America section of IBD (76.48 )

IBD reports rising oil prices has been driving business for drillers such as the co. ATW runs eight rigs in some of the world’s hottest mkts for offshore drilling. Its geographic footprint covers the coast of West Africa, the Black Sea, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and the Gulf of Mexico. It also operates in Singapore, though that unit will move to India in December. Atwood rents out its rigs by contract to the highest bidder. Long-term contracts help shield the co from volatility in the mkt. For instance, when a violent storm like Hurricane Katrina shuts down a rig, Atwood still gets paid. CFO James Holland said Atwood has co contracts in place for 98% of this year’s drilling days, 80% of next year’s and 30% of 2008’s. The Eagle is expected to earn an average of $164,000 a day this year. That’s up 27% from last year and 73% from 2005. Holland said he expects $400,000 a day by August of 2008. Revenue for the offshore drilling mkt will grow 32% to $34.9 bln in 2007, according to market researcher Spears & Associates. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect $1.40 a share.
07:10 DGX Quest Diagnostics beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY07 EPS in-line, revs in-line (56.91 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.77 per share, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.76; revenues rose 11.6% year/year to $1.77 bln vs the $1.76 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $2.84-2.91 vs. $2.87 consensus; sees FY07 revs of $6.6-6.7 bln vs. $6.67 bln consensus.
07:10 CRA Celera Genomics beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY08 EPS in-line, revs in-line (15.55 )

Reports Q1 (Sep) earnings of $0.01 per share, $0.05 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of ($0.04); revenues rose 57.8% year/year to $16.1 mln vs the $13.6 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $0.07-0.09, excluding non-recurring items, vs. ($0.08) consensus; sees FY08 revs of $135-145 mln vs. $79.50 mln consensus.
07:10 CME CME Group beats by $0.19, reports revs slightly above consensus (634.60 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $4.31 per share, $0.19 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $4.12; revenues rose 41.5% year/year to $585.2 mln vs the $579.4 mln consensus. The co’s operating margin was 64% compared with 52% for the same period last year. Third-quarter 2007 pro forma results exclude merger-related costs consisting of restructuring charges, integration and legal costs, acceleration of depreciation related to CBOT data centers, and include CBOT operating results for the full third quarter. “CME Group finished a record quarter with an unprecedented volume increase of nearly 50 percent.”
07:09 RIGL Rigel Pharms initiated with an Outperform at CIBC- tgt $16 (9.69 )

CIBC initiates RIGL with an Outperform and a $16 tgt saying believe ph.II data for lead candidate R788 in rheumatoid arthritis, expected in December, will drive near-term upside for RIGL, while RIGL’s strong scientific platform will support long-term appreciation.
07:09 PFCB PF Chang’s beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides FY07 EPS below consensus (29.11 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.20 per share, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.19; revenues rose 17.3% year/year to $270.9 mln vs the $272.4 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $1.19 vs. $1.25 consensus, prior guidance $1.34.
07:08 CPS ChoicePoint misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides FY07 EPS below consensus (40.53 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.46 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 3.6% year/year to $270.8 mln vs the $276.6 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $1.71-1.75, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.82 consensus; sees service rev growth of 3-4% and internal rev growth of 2-3%.
07:08 CALLS Early Research Calls IV

Upgrades: Credit Suisse upgrades Dominion Resources (D 85.87) to Outperform from Neutral and raises their tgt to $95 from $88 saying the regulatory deal at VEPCO in Virginia is one of the best in the industry. The firm also sees solid, extended growth prospects through the utility and can envision upside to their assumptions with inclusion of a 100 bp adder for top quartile performance… Credit Suisse upgrades Weatherford International (WFT 64.07) to Outperform from Neutral and raises their tgt to $82 from $69 following earnings and saying they expect multiple expansion with continued solid execution, and above average (30% 2007-2008) earnings growth… Calyon upgrades Smith International (SII 66.77) to Add from Neutral with a $76 tgt following earnings. The firm says the highlight of the quarter was strong growth in international markets with Latin American revenues rising 20% sequentially and 49% year/year. Downgrades: Credit Suisse downgrades Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI 86.54) to Neutral from Outperform and cuts their tgt to $91 from $93 following earnings based on valuation and the railroad’s muted near-term earnings outlook. The firm’s concern is more about the co’s prospects for meaningful margin expansion in light of significant near-term fuel headwinds and sustained volume softness… Cross Research downgrades Elec For Imaging (EFII 27.85) to Hold from Buy with a $25 tgt following weak Q3 results and Q4 guidance that came in below the firm’s ests.
07:08 PLUG Plug Power misses by $0.02, beats on revs (3.32 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.17 per share, $0.02 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of ($0.15); revenues rose 150.0% year/year to $4.5 mln vs the $3.4 mln consensus. Saillant continued, “Building on this momentum, we will continue to aggressively pursue all five of our publicly disclosed milestones through the fourth quarter. However, due to factors such as order flow, permitting, siting and construction, we do not expect to meet the goals of installing 400 GenCore systems or reducing GenCore manufacturing costs by 25% by year end.”
07:07 PAS PepsiAmericas beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides FY07 EPS above consensus (32.45 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.56 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.50; revenues rose 11.2% year/year to $1.18 bln vs the $1.17 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $1.63-1.66 vs. $1.60 consensus.
07:06 OXY prelim “core” EPS of $1.45 vs $1.32 Reuters consensus; revs $4.84 bln vs $4.66 bln Reuters consensus

07:05 CPS prelim $0.46 vs $0.48 Reuters consensus; revs $270.8 mln vs $276.57 mln Reuters consensus

07:05 LM Legg Mason misses by $0.06, misses on revs (83.45 )

Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $1.23 per share, $0.06 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.29; revenues rose 13.7% year/year to $1.17 bln vs the $1.2 bln consensus.
07:05 SWK sees FY07 $4.00-4.05 vs $3.99 Reuters consensus; sees revs up approx 10%

07:05 TRB prelim $0.38 excluding gains, charges, vs $0.26 Reuters consensus; revs $1.28 bln vs $1.27 bln Reuters consensus

07:04 TECH Techne reports Q3 EPS of $0.58 vs $0.57 Reuters consensus; revs $58.0 mln vs $57.47 mln Reuters consensus (64.66 )

07:04 SWK prelim $1.09 vs $1.10 Reuters consensus; revs $1.13 bln vs $1.10 bln Reuters consensus

07:04 PAS sees FY07 $1.63-1.66 vs $1.60 Reuters consensus

07:04 DGX sees FY07 $2.84-2.91 vs $2.87 Reuters consensus; sees revs $6.6-6.7 bln vs $6.67 bln Reuters consensus

07:03 NDAQ prelim $2.41, includes gains, does not compare to $0.39 Reuters consensus, $0.39 First Call; revs $652.0 mln vs $637.51 mln Reuters consensus

07:03 DGX prelim $0.77 vs $0.76 Reuters consensus; revs $1.77 bln vs $1.76 bln Reuters consensus

07:03 CACH sees “improved earnings results during the fourth quarter”

07:02 ABI sees Y08 revs to grow in the mid to high single digits

07:02 SPPI Spectrum Pharma announces presentation of SPI-1620 Data; demonstrates preclinical evidence of significantly increasing the uptake of anticancer agents in tumors (4.10 )

Co announces that preclinical data on SPI-1620 was presented via poster presentations at the International Conference of the AACR-NCI-EORTC on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics. SPI-1620 is a drug that is being developed for use with chemotherapy. Co says SPI-1620 continues to show preclinical evidence of selectively targeting tumors to increase the uptake of anti-cancer agents, and improve their therapeutic index. Co believes SPI-1620 may have a broad range of applications for use in conjunction with chemotherapy in the treatment of solid tumors. We expect to begin enrolling patients in a Phase 1 open label, dose-escalation study shortly after they receive IRB approval.
07:02 MCO prelim $0.51 vs $0.55 Reuters consensus; revs $525.0 mln vs $517.20 mln Reuters consensus

07:02 ENMD EntreMed presents results for Panzem NCD phase 2 ovarian cancer study; results demonstrate activity in advanced disease (1.27 )

Co announces the presentation of results for its Phase 2, open-label study for Panzem NCD in patients with ovarian cancer… Data from the Phase 2 study demonstrate that Panzem NCD, administered as a single agent in patients with platinum refractory epithelial ovarian cancer, resulted in one patient with a confirmed partial response of their CA- 125.
07:02 CACH prelim $0.01 vs $0.01 Reuters consensus; revs $60.6 mln vs $60.54 mln Reuters consensus

07:02 ABI prelim $0.32 vs $0.31 Reuters consensus; revs $501.2 mln vs $503.22 mln Reuters consensus

07:01 PLUG prelim ($0.17) vs ($0.15) Reuters consensus; revs $4.5 mln vs $3.35 mln Reuters consensus

07:01 HGSI Human Genome Sciences presents new data showing anti-tumor activity and safety of trail receptor antibodies in combination with chemotherapy (9.78 )

Co announces that HGS-ETR2 (lexatumumab) was safe and well tolerated in combination with four different standard chemotherapy regimens in a Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with a wide range of cancer types. Objective responses were reported for two patients, and stable disease was observed in 22 patients. The company also presented preclinical data demonstrating that HGS-ETR1 (mapatumumab) and HGS-ETR2 in combination with chemotherapy synergistically enhanced anti-tumor activity in cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts). In a xenograft model of cholangiocarcinoma, the results demonstrated that HGS- ETR1 and either co-treatment or pre-treatment with cisplatin and gemcitabine were more effective than chemotherapy or HGS-ETR1 alone.
07:01 PFCB sees FY07 $1.19 vs $1.25 Reuters consensus

07:01 CRA sees FY08 $0.07-0.09 vs ($0.08) Reuters consensus; sees revs $135-145 mln vs $79.50 mln Reuters consensus

07:01 PFCB prelim $0.20 vs $0.19 Reuters consensus; revs $270.9 mln vs $272.38 mln Reuters consensus

07:00 ATMI ATMI beats by $0.02; guides Q4 EPS, revs (33.35 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.02 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 11.0% year/year to $91.1 mln vs the $90.6 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.31-0.36 vs. $0.36 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $91-96 mln vs. $95.69 mln consensus.
07:00 PAS prelim $0.56, ex items vs $0.50 Reuters consensus; revs $1.18 bln vs $1.17 bln Reuters consensus

07:00 CRA prelim $0.01 may not be comparable ($0.04) Reuters consensus; revs $16.1 mln vs $13.61 mln Reuters consensus

06:59 AEP American Electric beats by $0.07, misses on revs; reaffirms FY07 EPS guidance (46.29 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.09; revenues rose 5.6% year/year to $3.8 bln vs the $3.91 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $2.90-3.00, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.93 consensus.
06:58 AEP prelim $1.16 vs $1.09 Reuters consensus, $1.11 First Call; revs $3.8 bln vs $3.91 bln Reuters consensus, $3.82 bln First Call

06:58 GLW Corning beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (24.74 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.38 per share, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 9.5% year/year to $1.55 bln vs the $1.55 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.36-0.38, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.39 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $1.50-1.55 bln vs. $1.63 bln consensus.
06:56 FMBI First Midwest Banc reports Q3 EPS of $0.55 vs $0.59 Reuters consensus (32.31 )

06:55 GLW sees Q4 $0.36-0.38 vs $0.39 Reuters consensus; sees revs $1.50-1.55 bln vs $1.63 bln Reuters consensus

06:55 GLW prelim $0.38 vs $0.37 Reuters consensus; revs $1.55 bln vs $1.55 bln Reuters consensus

06:45 SNA Snap-On beats by $0.04 (47.29 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.70 per share, $0.04 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.66; revenues rose 14.5% year/year to $680.7 mln vs the $675.6 mln consensus.
06:45 CALLS Early Research Calls III

Upgrades: RBC upgrades QLogic (QLGC 13.48) to Outperform from Sector Perform… J.P Morgan upgrades FirstMerit (FMER 19.51) to Neutral from Underweight… J.P Morgan upgrades Vodafone (VOD 36.50) to Overweight from Neutral. Downgrades: BofA downgrades Zion Bancorp (ZION 61.04) to Neutral from Buy… BofA downgrades Wachovia (WB 45.97) to Neutral from Buy… HSBC downgrades Biogen (BIIB 78.61) to Neutral from Overweight based on valuation stemming fro the co’s desire to evaluate potentiol suitors. The firm ests approx $20 in takeover premium in the current share price, which is disconnected from fundamentals and presents risk… J.P Morgan downgrades Blockbuster (BBI 5.58) to Neutral from Overweight… Oppenheimer downgrades Excel Maritime (EXM 81.38) to Neutral from Buy… Miscellaneous: Bear Stearns initiates Brightpoint (CELL 15.81) with an Outperform and a $20 tgt saying they believe that the combination of a healthy handset market, improving mix, and merger synergies will drive improved earnings leverage for CELL than current consensus estimates imply.
06:45 Berkshire’s Buffett says China is too hot to buy – Reuters

Reuters reports that Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett said on Wednesday he is scouring the world for big businesses, but is doubtful about finding a good buy in China because the market is too hot. Hong Kong-listed shares in mainland companies have risen 89% so far this year, while the main Shanghai Index has surged more than two-fold in 2007 and has jumped five-fold since the start of last year. Buffett, speaking to reporters at the opening of a factory owned by an Israeli company he controls, had been asked about Berkshire’s investment in PetroChina (PTR), the country’s largest oil and gas producer. Buffett said last week he had sold on valuation grounds, not because of criticism that PetroChina, through its government-owned parent China National Petroleum Corp, is too closely linked to Sudan. Buffett specifically denied that Berkshire was interested in buying shares in China Life Insurance (LFC).
06:41 UBS UBS AG: Commerzbank sells French subsidiary CCR to UBS for €435 mln – International Herald Tribune (55.01 )

The International Herald Tribune reports Germany’s Commerzbank AG said Wednesday that it is selling its French asset mgmtsubsidiary to UBS AG of Switzerland in a deal worth up to €435 mln (US$618 mln). Commerzbank said it expects the sale of Caisse Centrale de Reescompte SA, or CCR, which is subject to regulatory approval, to close during the first quarter of 2008. The German bank noted that this year it has already sold its British asset-mgmtsubsidiary, Jupiter, and Commerz International Capital mgmtin Japan. It said in a statement that it has now “completed its stated goal of fully refocusing its asset mgmtactivities on its German subsidiary,” Cominvest.
06:36 NXY Nexen beats by $0.03 (31.08 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.77 per share, $0.03 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.74; revenues rose 45.0% year/year to $1.45 bln vs the $1.45 bln consensus.
06:33 WIRES On The Wires

Inhibitex (INHX) announces that it has commenced enrollment in a Phase I clinical trial of FV-100, an orally bioavailable nucleoside analogue being developed to treat herpes zoster… R.R. Donnelley & Sons (RRD) announces that it has been awarded a multi-year contract to produce 100% of News America Marketing’s SmartSource Magazine, a branded free standing insert.
06:33 WBCO Washington Banking Co. reports Q3 EPS of $0.30 vs $0.29 consensus; reports revs up 6% yr/yr to $11.8 mln vs $11.7 mln single estimate (19.09 )

06:33 CALLS Early Research Calls II

Downgrades: Baird downgrades Plantronics (PLT 32.61) to Neutral from Outperform and raises their tgt to $32 from $31, following reported in-line revenue and EPS upside with guidance that was short of expectations and remain concerned with potential softness in the consumer-related segments and higher expenses… Deutsche Bank downgrades Broadcom (BRCM 42.06) to Hold from Buy and lowers their tgt to $40 from $47, following Q3 revenue that beat consensus estimates, in-line EPS and look for greater visibility into when BRCM can start monetizing the current R&D investments… Wachovia downgrades Broadcom (BRCM 42.06) to Market Perform from Outperform, following Q3 EPS below firm estimates and based on valuation, apparent inability to reduce operating expense as a percent of sales, and high stock compensation expenses… Merrill Lynch downgrades AstraZeneca (AZN 50.82) to Sell from Neutral. Miscellaneous: Broadpoint Capital initiates CytRx (CYTR 3.89) with a Buy and sets an $8 tgt, as they believe current price levels don’t fully reflect the potential of the co’s chaperone amplifier and RNAi programs and see significant upside in shares in the next year, as its compounds advance in the clinic, each representing significant commercial opportunities… Bernstein initiates Merck (MRK 56.36), Schering-Plough (SGP 29.46) and Wyeth (WYE 47.84) with Outperforms… Bernstein initiates Bristol-Myers (BMY 28.54), AstraZeneca (AZN 50.82), Eli Lilly (LLY 57.13), Glaxosmithkline (GSK 52.08), Pfizer (PFE 24.05) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY 42.39) with Market Performs… UBS raises their Research in Motion (RIMM 124.53) tgt to $150 from $125… UBS initiates Novell (NOVL 7.62) with a Neutral and sets an $8.50 tgt.
06:32 ALFA Alfa reports Q3 EPS of $0.31 vs $0.33 two analyst estimate; reports revs up 0.45% yr/yr to $207.5 mln vs $213.5 mln single estimate (18.50 )

06:32 WBC WABCO Holdings reports Q3 EPS of $0.65, ex items vs $0.72 Reuters consensus; revs $595.5 mln vs $572.05 mln Reuters consensus (48.12 )

Co reaffirms FY07 EPS guidance of $2.85, ex items vs $2.85 consensus.
06:31 PLCE Children’s Place Board of Directors engages Lehman Brothers to assist in reviewing strategic alternatives (23.70 )

Co announces that its Board of Directors has engaged Lehman Brothers to act as its financial advisor in undertaking a review of the co’s strategic alternatives to improve operations and enhance shareholder value. The Board of Directors and the mgmt team are assessing in this review a wide variety of options to improve the co’s business and competitive position, and these may include potential organizational and operational improvements, a recapitalization, or other transactions.
06:28 CALLS Early Research Calls I

Upgrades: Deutsche Bank upgrades Pactiv (PTV 27.00) to Buy from Hold and lowers their tgt to $35 from $39, following Q3 results that met consensus expectations and lowered Q4 guidance and based on valuation as well as the co’s opportunity to grow earnings and cash flow by fully integrating the Prairie Packaging acquisition… Baird upgrades STMicroelectronics (STM 16.41) to Outperform from Neutral and raises their tgt to $22 from $17, following Q3 EPS and revenue that exceeded consensus estimates and based on a new product cycle, multiple design wins across segments, trough valuation and a strong Q4 guidance… Friedman Billings upgrades Citrix Systems (CTXS 41.62) to Outperform from Market Perform and raise their tgt to $50 from $42, based on recent field checks with channel partners and customers that indicate the combination of clear communication strategy from CTXS and a stronger technology platform behind the Enterprise and Platinum editions are the right catalysts to get customers off the fence and into the deployment phase, which should spur top-line growth. Miscellaneous: Merriman initiates Genitope (GTOP 3.50) with a Neutral, based on a high level of risk associated with achieving the statistically stringent endpoint in its Phase III trials evaluating MyVax for follicular B-cell non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma.
06:23 Sensex ends down 2pts at 18,491 – The Business Standard

The Business Standard reports the Sensex opened with a positive gap of 235 points at 18,728, and soon touched a high of 18,832. However, the index could not hold gains for long and slipped into the negaitve zone to a low of 18,317 – down 515 points from the day’s high. The index, thereafter, displayed volatile movement for the remaning part of the trading day. The Sensex finally ended (provisional) with a loss of two points at 18,491.
06:23 Asian stocks drop on Merrill Lynch profit concern, led by Canon – Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg.com reports Asian shares fell, erasing early gains, after the New York Times reported Merrill Lynch will probably add $2.5 bln more in writedowns in the wake of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis… Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.6% to 16,358.39, reversing an advance of as much as 0.8%. South Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 0.8%, after jumping as much as 2.8% earlier… China’s CSI 300 Index, the world’s best-performing benchmark this year, rose after its currency, the yuan, climbed past 7.5 to the dollar for the first time.
06:23 European technology stocks climb; STMicroelectronics advances – Bloomberg.com

Bloomberg.com reports European technology stocks rose after STMicroelectronics, the region’s largest maker of semiconductors, said it expects sales to increase this quarter as the company delivers more chips to mobile-phone makers… National benchmarks slid in nine of the 17 western European markets that were open. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 added lass than 0.1% and Germany’s DAX sank 0.2%. France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.2%.
06:19 ISLN Isilon Systems names Founder Sujal Patel as Chief Executive Officer, effective today (5.98 )

Co also announces that CFO Stu Fuhlendorf is no longer with the co. Isilon Controller Bill Richter will serve as interim CFO while the co conducts its search for a replacement.
06:19 S&P futures vs fair value: -9.9. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -26.0.
06:18 European Markets

FTSE…6539.50…+25.50…+0.4%. DAX…7835.69…-7.10…-0.1%.
06:18 Asian Markets

Nikkei…16358.39…-92.19…-0.6%. Hang Seng…29333.53…-43.33…-0.2%.
06:18 DOV Dover beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (49.35 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.88 per share, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.87; revenues rose 15.0% year/year to $1.84 bln vs the $1.83 bln consensus.
06:16 WIRES On The Wires

RadNet (RDNT) reports that it has begun an upgrade plan to replace all of its analog mammography systems in Maryland with digital mammography, which will entail deployment of over 30 digital systems during the next six month period at an aggregate cost of between $10 mln and $12 mln.
06:15 SPNC Spectranetics announces clinical data from CELLO trial (15.43 )

Co announces the presentation of results from its CELLO (CLiRpath Excimer Laser System to Enlarge Lumen Openings) clinical trial. Highlights of the data presented include: Achievement of significant tissue removal, which exceeded the targeted primary endpoint, measured by angiographic and IVUS core labs; demonstrated durability of procedure through freedom from target lesion revascularization in 86% of the patients through six months following the initial procedure; no major adverse cardiac events reported through six months following the procedure, which adds to the existing body of clinical evidence supporting the safety of laser ablation; and significant improvement in all clinical outcomes measured six months following the procedure, including Rutherford category, ankle-brachial Index, and walking impairment.
06:14 APD Air Products beats by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line; guides FY08 EPS in-line (97.16 )

Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $1.17 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.15; revenues rose 11.5% year/year to $2.6 bln vs the $2.65 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $1.08-1.13 vs. $1.13 consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $4.80-5.00 vs. $4.88 consensus.
06:12 WLP WellPoint reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; reaffirms EPS growth target (79.48 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.44 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.44; revenues rose 5.4% year/year to $15.23 bln vs the $15.2 bln consensus. Co said, “In 2008, we expect continued strong enrollment gains in National Accounts to be accompanied by new membership from our Medicaid contract awards in South Carolina and Indiana, and additional growth in our other commercial and senior businesses. Customers recognize the excellent value proposition we bring to the marketplace, and we expect to add more than 1,000,000 members in 2008. While we will release our detailed 2008 financial guidance in December, we remain committed to our earnings per share growth target of at least 15 percent”.
06:10 ABK AMBAC Fincl misses by $0.09 (55.90 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.78 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $1.87.
06:09 KMGB KMG Chemicals to acquire high-purity process chemicals business from Air Products and Chemicals (14.74 )

Co announces that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the High-Purity Process Chemicals business from Air Products and Chemicals (APD 97.16) for $74.6 mln, which includes $27.5 mln for working capital and accrued liabilities. KMGB will finance the transaction with cash on hand and senior bank debt. Neal Butler, President and Chief Executive of KMG, commented, “We expect this transaction to close on or about December 31, 2007, approximately half-way through our current fiscal year. On that timeline, and taking into account the significant integration costs, the HPPC business should be immediately accretive to earnings, contributing towards our stated goal of double digit EPS growth for fiscal 2008.
06:08 PX Praxair beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS above consensus; guides FY07 revs above consensus (83.02 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.94 per share, $0.03 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.91; revenues rose 13.0% year/year to $2.37 bln vs the $2.36 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.95-0.97 vs. $0.94 consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY07, sees FY07 revs of $9.32 bln vs. $9.24 bln consensus.
06:06 CVC Cablevision vote may be close – NY Post (31.86 )

The NY Post reports the Dolan family’s pursuit of Cablevision (CVC) remained up in the air last night as some big shareholders, which previously were against the $22 bln takeover indicated they may vote in favor of the deal. According to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Harris Associates and Anchor Capital Advisors, which together hold over 3% of shares, will vote for the $36.26 per share offer from the Dolans. So, too, will Alchem Investment Partners, which owns less than 1% of Cablevision, sources said. T. Rowe Price, Cablevision’s third-largest shareholder with a 5.7% stake, is wavering from its previously stated plan to vote against the deal and may indeed cast its shares in favor of it during today’s vote, several sources said. A spokesman for the mutual fund said the firm had no comment about the vote. Rumors also swirled about a last-minute switch from Marathon Asset Management, which owns 5.3% of the co and previously indicated it was against the deal. ClearBridge Advisors, Cablevision biggest shareholder on record with 31 mln shares, remains steadfastly opposed to the Dolans’ offer, sources said. The Dolans, who have indicated they will not modify their original offer, need a majority of the 113 mln nonfamily shares, in order for it to go through.
05:58 T The dish on AT&T’s satellite plans – WSJ (42.02 )

The Wall Street Journal reports AT&T (T) has been circling the satellite-television sector for several years, contemplating a bid for one of the two major players. Now, with consolidation in the telephone industry mostly done, AT&T appears to be getting ready to swoop in. The co has been consulting lawyers in Washington about how long it would take to get government approval to purchase either EchoStar Communications (DISH) or DirecTV (DTV), people familiar with the matter said. If it does make a bid for one of the satellite providers, AT&T could unveil the offer before year’s end in hopes of getting federal antitrust officials to approve the combination before a new administration takes over, these people say. A final decision on a bid hasn’t been made. AT&T hasn’t even decided which satellite-TV firm to go after, although a purchase of EchoStar could be easier to undertake because it has a less-complicated ownership situation. There also isn’t any guarantee that either co would be available. But what AT&T shareholders and other investors are likely to focus on is the potential cost of a deal — between $30 bln and $40 bln, depending on the target — and their ability to absorb another acquisition after last year’s purchase of BellSouth.
05:51 BP BP moves to clean up troubles – WSJ (75.44 )

The Wall Street Journal reports new BP (BP) Chief Executive Tony Hayward is making sweeping moves to clean up the co’s operational and regulatory troubles. Among them: an expected agreement to plead guilty to U.S. criminal environmental charges and pay a $50 mln fine related to a Texas refinery explosion two years ago, according to people familiar with the matter. The co also is expected to pay $303 mln to settle civil charges and avoid criminal prosecution in the U.S. for allegedly manipulating and cornering the propane market in 2004, said people familiar with that matter. The settlement includes a compliance overhaul that could end BP’s reign as one of the oil industry’s most aggressive energy traders, they said.
05:43 MER Merrill loss may be wider than projected – WSJ (67.12 )

The Wall Street Journal reports Merrill Lynch (MER) is expected to announce its Q3 losses are more than $2 bln more than first projected, ratcheting up the pressure on Chief Executive Stan O’Neal to demonstrate he has a grip on the firm’s risk level. Merrill announced on Oct. 5 that it expected to write down $5 bln for the quarter that ended in September based mainly on an over-exposure to risky mortgage-related securities. But the actual write-down is expected to come in far above that initial estimate, with outsiders putting the level at $7 bln or higher. The result will be pressure on Mr. O’Neal, who ousted two top bond executives three weeks ago when the extent of the losses became apparent, to make further changes.
05:41 GSK Tougher Avandia warning is urged – WSJ (52.08 )

The Wall Street Journal reports the FDA wants GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to add the strongest form of safety warning about heart-attack risk to the label of its diabetes drug Avandia, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a move that would compound the commercial woes of the once-popular medication. Agency officials are pushing for a “black box” warning, these people say. The new label is still being discussed with the co and its final form isn’t yet clear. In high-profile safety matters, the agency tends to have strong leverage. The new warning would be a blow to GlaxoSmithKline, which had said there isn’t clear evidence Avandia is more dangerous than competitors. Avandia already carries a black-box warning about a different side effect — heart failure — but a heart-attack warning would be more serious. Avandia’s main rival drug, Takeda Pharmaceutical’s Actos, carries a heart-failure caution, but doesn’t have one for heart-attack risk. An FDA spokeswoman said the agency “is still involved in internal discussions on this matter” and that when there is a final decision it will become public. A GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman said the co is “working diligently with the FDA to finalize the label, but it would be inappropriate for us to discuss the ongoing conversations with the agency.”
05:38 TPG to take stake in Chinese pharmaceutical research firm – WSJ

The Wall Street Journal reports TPG is expected to take a stake in Shanghai ChemPartner, one of China’s largest pharma research outsourcing companies. TPG decided to invest in the co at least a month ago, according to a person who was briefed on the deal in late September by a senior official at ChemPartner. TPG will take a minority stake in ShangPharm, the holding co of both ChemPartner and ChemExplorer, according to the person. The exact percentage and value of the stake are unclear, but it will be greater than $30 mln, according to another person involved in the deal. ChemPartner has been approached by other suitors interested in investing around $30 mln to $50 mln for about 20% to 25% of the co, a person familiar with the matter said. TPG initially expressed interest in investing in WuXi PharmaTech (WX), the largest pharmaceutical contract-research co in China by number of researchers, and ChemPartner’s main rival for business, according to a third person familiar with the matter. TPG didn’t say why it passed up a deal with Wuxi, according to this person.
05:33 Morning News Summary

WSJ: TPG to take stake in Chinese pharmaceutical research firm… Tougher Avandia warning is urged (GSK)… Merrill (MER) loss may be wider than projected… BP (BP) moves to clean up troubles… The dish on AT&T’s (T) satellite plans. NY Post: Cablevision (CVC) vote may be close.
05:09 NWPX Northwest Pipe reports Q3 EPS of $0.55 vs. $0.55 consensus; revenues fell 0.47% to 91.98 mln YoY vs. $96.2 mln consensus (37.01 )

02:36 ONCY Oncolytics Biotech collaborators to present positive interim results of U.K. Phase Ia/Ib combination REOLYSIN and radiation clinical trial (2.33 )

Co announces interim results of the Ia/Ib trial demonstrate that intratumoural treatment with REOLYSIN and radiation is well tolerated and results in both local and remote anti-tumour activity in patients with a variety of advanced cancers. Oncolytics continues to enroll patients in the Ib portion of this trial, and is also actively enrolling patients in a Phase II trial examining this treatment combination.
02:32 CTIC Cell Therapeutics announces preclinical data (3.54 )

Co announces preclinical data presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC Symposium that show its bis-platinate drug candidates, CT-47613 and CT-47609, kill tumors refractory to currently marketed platinum agents carboplatin, cisplatin and oxaliplatin. These compounds could enter human clinical trials in late 2008.
02:23 WVCM Wavecom reports Q3 operating income of EUR 6.6 mln vs EUR 2.5 mln YoY; revenue fell 6.3% to EUR 52.4 mln (27.57 )

00:59 SGMS Scientific Games mentioned positively in Weekday Trader – Barron’s Online (37.16 )

Barron’s Online reports Scientific Games (SGMS) could generate bigger profits in 2008 than Wall Street expects with lotteries abroad on the rise and overseas markets for their gaming machines growing. “Investors are basically getting free options on China and other deals they have cut in the last few years,” says Carlo Santarelli of Bear Stearns. “There’s potential for higher earnings numbers if overseas opportunities ramp up.” Next year, foreign shores could generate 40% of annual sales, and account for 80% of profit growth, says Robert Stimpson, portfolio manger for the River Oak Discovery Fund. Scientific Games’ biggest opportunity rests in China. A joint venture with Inspur and its stake in Guard Libang allows it to sell scratch-off lottery tickets in 18 Chinese provinces, including Shandong, one of the largest and richest. Not previously available in China, those ticket sales could earn profits of $0.30 a share in 2009, says Bear’s Santarelli.
00:58 ‘Mad Money’ Recap: Lightning Round cont. – TheStreet.com

Cramer was bearish on Harley-Davidson (HOG), Terra Nitrogen (TNH) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).
00:57 ‘Mad Money’ Recap: Lightning Round – TheStreet.com

Cramer was bullish on Frontline (FRO), Parker-Hannifin (PH), First Solar (FSLR), China Mobile (CHL), Mosaic (MOS), Agrium (AGU), Schering-Plough (SGP), Shaw Group (SGR), Foster Wheeler (FWLT), Jakks Pacific (JAKK) and International Game Technology (IGT).
00:56 Cramer’s ‘Mad Money’ Recap – TheStreet.com

On Tuesday’s edition, Jim recommends Shaw Group (SGR) based on its positive quarter and a scarcity of good nuclear plays. SGR should benefit from a number of nuclear projects in the works, he said. In addition, the co has its hands on plants in India and China. Next, he advises a sell on Amazon (AMZN) and taking 50% of gains in Apple (AAPL) and Research in Motion (RIMM).
00:48 BOBJ Business Objects beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; suspends guidance due to pending transaction with SAP (58.98 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.38; revenues rose 18.9% year/year to $369 mln vs the $368.2 mln consensus. Due to potential changes in customer buying behavior resulting from the pending transaction with SAP (SAP), the anticipated impact of the transaction on Business Objects’ expenses, and uncertainty regarding the timing of the closing of the tender, Business Objects anticipates less fourth quarter predictability than usual and is thus suspending its forward-looking financial guidance.
00:40 EEFT Euronet beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line (28.22 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.32 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.31; revenues rose 52.3% year/year to $246.3 mln vs the $245.1 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.34-0.35 vs. $0.34 consensus.
00:30 CVGI Commercial Vehicle Group misses by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY07 EPS below consensus (13.58 )

Reports Q3 (Sep) net of breakeven, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 worse than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.05; revenues fell 31.8% year/year to $160.9 mln vs the $159.1 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY07, sees EPS of $0.25-0.31 vs. $0.32 consensus.