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Airline stocks lifted by upbeat international passenger data

AMR logoAmerican Airlines (NYSE: AMR - option chain) shares are rising today along with most other major airlines this morning after the International Air Transport Association said international passenger demand rose 0.3% year-over-year in September, the first month of growth in the past year. AMR, Delta (NYSE: DAL), Continental (NYSE: CAL) and United (NASDAQ: UAUA) are all in the green between 2% and 3% so far today. If you think that AMR won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on the stock.

AMR opened this morning at $5.68. So far today the stock has hit a low of $5.55 and a high of $5.70. As of 11:50, AMR is trading at $5.57 up 13 cents(2.4%). The chart for AMR looks neutral and S&P gives AMR a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Continue reading Airline stocks lifted by upbeat international passenger data

Earnings highlights: Amazon, Coca-Cola, Ford, McDonald's, Merck, Starbucks ...

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Amazon, Coca-Cola, Ford, McDonald's, Merck, Starbucks ...

Continental releases earnings, announces job cuts

Earlier this morning, Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) announced that it will cut 1,700 jobs, along with raising fees for checking luggage. CAL tagged this news along with its quarterly earnings report, in which it reported a loss of $1.72 per share. In the same quarter a year ago CAL lost a nickel per share. Excluding one-time items, CAL lost $1.36 per share compared to estimates for a loss of $1.35 per share. Quarterly revenue slipped 22.7% to $3.13 billion in the quarter, just shy of the consensus estimate.

Continue reading Continental releases earnings, announces job cuts

Before the bell: Futures higher after earnings, Bernanke's op-ed

U.S. stock futures advanced slightly Tuesday morning after edging lower earlier, indicating investors await a clearer direction following some recent gains, early morning earnings report and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Bernanke is also scheduled to give his semiannual monetary-policy testimony to Congress at 10:00 a.m.

[Update: stocks got a boost from Caterpillar's earnings.]

Bernanke said in his opinion piece that after a long period of central bank policies aimed at thawing out the credit market, the central bank will move to stem inflation, but only when the economy is moving quickly enough to warrant tighter policy. He is "confident" in the Fed's ability to curtail inflation.

Continue reading Before the bell: Futures higher after earnings, Bernanke's op-ed

DOT overrides Justice, Continental Airlines wins antitrust relief

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) just got the relief it needs to compete. Despite resistance from the Department of Justice (which can only recommend), the Department of Transportation has granted the airline immunity from antitrust laws. This clears the way for Continental to work with United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA) -- and other carriers -- on international routes. Now, the airline can join Star Alliance, which already has antitrust immunity.

At the same time, DOT approved a joint venture among Continental, United, Lufthansa (OTC: DLAKY) and Air Canada. This new relationship would involve trans-Atlantic routes.

Continue reading DOT overrides Justice, Continental Airlines wins antitrust relief

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ADTN, CAL, EXFO, JCI, LUV, VAR, CSCO, KMT, EZCH

Analyst upgrades:
  • Citigroup upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company will benefit from the broadband Stimulus funds.
  • Morgan Stanley upgraded Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on relative valuation and views the company as a "survivor." Additionally, the analyst lowered 2009 industry estimates but believes it is the last cut for the year and is incrementally more positive on the sector.
  • Morgan Stanley also upgraded EXFO Electro-Optical (NASDAQ: EXFO) to Overweight from Market Weight based on valuation.
  • Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • Ascent Solar (NASDAQ: ASTI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  • Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ADTN, CAL, EXFO, JCI, LUV, VAR, CSCO, KMT, EZCH

Justice Department pushes back on Continental immunity request

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) is seeking immunity from antitrust laws to work more closely with United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA) and others on international routes. And, since airlines operate in a state of seemingly perpetual turmoil, what's the harm? According to the Justice Department: plenty.

The airline sought broad immunity as part of an effort to join Star Alliance, which includes US Airways, Lufthansa (OTC: DLAKY), and Air Canada -- along with United. Continental believes that it needs to join Star Alliance in order to remain competitive, especially with airlines that have this type of immunity already.

Continue reading Justice Department pushes back on Continental immunity request

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CAL, NETL, MAPP, DDUP, LMT ...

Analyst upgrades:
  • Jefferies upgraded MDS Inc. (NYSE: MDZ) to Buy from Hold on valuation as it believes shares are pricing in a "worst case" scenario at current levels. The firm keeps a $6.50 target on the stock.
  • JP Morgan upgraded Continental (NYSE: CAL) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation as it believes the recent sell-off is overdone. The firm keeps a $13 price target on the stock.
  • Thomas Weisel is positive on Allergan's (NYSE: AGN) diverse product portfolio, global infrastructure, vertical integration, and deep pipeline. The firm upgraded shares to Overweight from Market Weight and has a $54 target on the stock.
  • NetLogic (NASDAQ: NETL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Piper.
  • Dover (NYSE: DOV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
  • Map Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MAPP) was upgraded at Argus to Hold from Sell.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CAL, NETL, MAPP, DDUP, LMT ...

Closing Bell: Directionless market, but directed stocks (BA, CAL, COF, FRE, WFC, OSTK)

Despite the market being up the last hour, today's stock market made six changes between being up and down. Oil inventories continued their building to record or near-record levels. It was very light on the economic calendar today so traders had to use the cumulative earnings as the directional report. Even very weak global recovery targets from the IMF were ignored.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 7,886.41 -83.15 (-1.04%)
S&P 500 843.56 -6.52 (-0.77%)
Nasdaq 1,645.85 +2.00 (0.12%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

Continue reading Closing Bell: Directionless market, but directed stocks (BA, CAL, COF, FRE, WFC, OSTK)

Continental Airlines posts a first-quarter loss, but tops expectations

It was a rough first quarter for Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL), as the air carrier announced that it lost $136 million thanks to falling traffic. In addition, CAL saw a large amount of business travelers switching out of first class to save a few bucks in coach. During the quarter, CAL lost $1.10 per share. Excluding charges, CAL would have lost $1.07 per share. While the loss was larger than last year's first-quarter loss of 82 cents per share, CAL did manage to beat the Street's expected loss of $1.19 per share.

Quarterly revenue dropped to $3 billion from $3.57 billion last year, slightly higher than the expected $2.98 billion. CAL saw sales drop across all regions, with the U.S. and trans-Atlantic routes falling the most. CAL saw traffic drop 11.2% compared to a year ago, with empty planes outweighing the flights CAL cut. The company noted that it was helped by dropping fuel prices, as it spent nearly 42% less on fuel compared to a year ago.

Continue reading Continental Airlines posts a first-quarter loss, but tops expectations

Closing Bell: Market mixed, Palm rating raised, Microsoft to open retail stores, and Pepsico signals earnings growth

Today was almost as fitting as you could get for a Friday ahead of a 3-day weekend. It felt quiet and directionless, despite a huge late-day recovery just the day before. It was as if the markets had no serious direction ahead of a long weekend even though the stimulus package essentially looks like a done deal and even with banks halting all foreclosure activities for a brief period of time.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 7,849.13 -83.63 (-1.05%)
S&P 500 826.70 -8.49 (-1.02%)
Nasdaq 1,534.36 -7.35 (-0.48%)

10YR T-NOTE 2.88% (+0.12%)
Top Analyst Upgrades

Continue reading Closing Bell: Market mixed, Palm rating raised, Microsoft to open retail stores, and Pepsico signals earnings growth

Flash: Continental flight from Newark crashes in Buffalo, New York

At about 10:20 EST, Continental Flight 3407 (also reported as 1304), a commuter plane out of Newark, crashed into a home in Buffalo, New York. According to reports, all 48 people aboard -- 44 passengers and four crew members -- and one person on the ground were killed.

The scene is currently engulfed in flames. The plane had been quite late departing Newark was arriving two hours past its scheduled time when it crashed about 10 miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The Q400 Bombardier aircraft was flying in fog, snow and wind.

After last month's crash landing of a US Airways flight, airline stocks have taken quite a hit, all down as much as 50% since their highs in early January. Good news for the crew of flight 1549 did not translate into good news for US Airways (NYSE: LCC), and certainly not for Continental Airlines Inc. (NYSE: CAL). Though the airline's stock will likely see big volatility at the start of trading on Friday, I don't expect this news to majorly impact the fortunes of either Continental or US Airways over the next 30 days.

Before the Bell: Will markets continue heading into the abyss?

The stock market may continue its record-setting plunge today as the drumbeat of negative sentiment drowns out what little good news there is to be had.

Markets in Europe and Asia were sharply lower as fears of a lingering recession continued to heighten. Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso told members of Parliament that the U.S. bank bailout was "insufficient" to quell the fears of investors, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, the government of Switzerland is pumping billions into ailing UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) which gorged itself on mortgage-backed securities. Oil prices also fell to a 14 month low is Asia. U.S. stock futures were mixed.

Here is a look at other stories which may interest investors.

Next Page »

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+17.4610,023.42
NASDAQ+7.122,112.44
S&P 500+2.671,069.30

Last updated: November 07, 2009: 04:37 AM

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