Now up 13.5% on frivolous takeover rumors.
Comments »eBay, $EBAY, and Facebook Join Forces to Boost Social Commerce
Recognizing change on how consumers make purchases eBay has teamed up with Facebook to capitalize on a new frontier in sales….
Comments »Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Upgrades
PDS – Precision Drilling initiated with a Accumulate at Global Hunter Securities
JCI – Johnson Controls resumed with a Buy at Needham
CSCO – Cisco Systems target raised to $20 at Oppenheimer
JOYG – Joy Global upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair
AEO – American Eagle target raised to $15 at Oppenheimer
ONXX – Onyx Pharma upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital
AMX – America Movil SA initiated with an Overweight at Barclays
AWI – Armstrong World Industries initiated with an Overweight at Barclays
WSM – Williams-Sonoma upgraded to Buy from Hold at BB&T
ITRI – Itron upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at Pacific Crest
NTES – Netease.com upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray
KR – Kroger downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies
DKS – Dick’s Sporting Goods upgraded to Buy from Hold at ThinkEquity
FCX – Freeport-McMoRan initiated with a Buy at BB&T
RAX – Rackspace upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
Downgrades
UNM – Unum Group upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James
VOLC – Volcano initiated with a Neutral at Goldman
BX – Blackstone removed from Top Picks Live list at Citigroup
ADS – Alliance Data downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Suntrust
GR – Goodrich downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital
AMG – Affiliated Managers downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Macquarie
CCO – Clear Channel Outdoor downgraded to Average at Caris
LM – Legg Mason downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie
TV – Grupo Televisa initiated with an Underweight at Barclays
PRI – Primerica downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
Comments »Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
VRTX +4.4%, AKAM +4%, SBH +3.2%, ALU +3.5%, BRCM +0.9%, CYTK +9.8%,AOL +2.7%, RAX +1.7%, AVP +1%,
EK +8.1%, AONE +2.9%,
Gapping down
MET -0.8%, UFPI -4.1%, KR -2.2%, ADS -1.5%, SNH -3.3%, UBS -2.4%, DB -1.9%, HBC -1.7%, RIO -1.6%, SLV –
1.5%, BP -1.3%, USAT -15.6%, AZN -1.4%, NVS -0.8%, BBL -2%, MT -2%, FCX -1.8%, EGO -1.7%, RIO -1.6%,
SDRL -1.7%, HAL -1.6%, OXY -1.5%, SD -1.4%, LYG -5.3%, BCS -3.6%, BBVA -2.9%, C -2.7%, SMSI -15.9%, FCS –
7.7%, UFPI -4.1%, JPM -1.2%, OZRK -0.7%,
Comments »In Play and On The Wires
Carrefour, France’s Largest Retailer, Issues a Profit Warning Based on a Weak Consumer
JP Morgan’s Earnings Fall Less Than Expected From Value of Their Liabilities
Visa and MasterCard Sued For ATM Price Fixing
GOOGLE DENIES GRATUITOUS BUSINESS INSIDER TAKEOVER RUMOR
Business insider reported in a GOOG for AKAM rumor and the shares of AKAM soared 17% as a result. People who bought in the after hours, based on that report, will be annihilated in the morning.
Comments »FLASH: Shares of Akami Spike in After Hours Following Gratuitous Business Insider Rumor
Analyst Says Goldman and Morgan May Get Rid of Banking Divisions
LOL if that happens then they only became banks to scoop up free money off the tax payers backs during a period of writing down bad assets.What a joke.
Comments »A Look @ The Nifty 12
Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Upgrades
DRI – Darden Restaurants resumed with a Buy at Goldman
PKT – Procera Networks initiated with a Outperform at Northland Securities
FFIV – F5 Networks target raised to $92 at Stifel Nicolaus
PFCB – PF Chang’s resumed with a Neutral at Goldman
EAT – Brinker resumed with a Neutral at Goldman
BMI – Badger Meter upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Northland Securities
BNCN – BNC Bancorp initiated with a Market Perform at Raymond James
TBNK – Territorial Bancorp initiated with an Outperform at Raymond James
DIN – DineEquity resumed with a Neutral at Goldman
NRG – NRG Energy initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
IACI – InterActiveCorp upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
WFC – Wells Fargo initiated with a Buy at BofA/Merrill
PCLN – Priceline.com initiated with a Buy at Jefferies
AGCO – AGCO Corp initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup
XRX – Xerox downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
STX – Seagate Tech downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan
VHS – Vanguard Health Systems initiated with a Buy at CRT Capital
FRC – First Republic Bank initiated with a Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald
HUM – Humana upgraded to Outperform at Oppenheimer
HS – upgraded to Outperform at Oppenheimer
USB – U.S. Bancorp reinstated with a Buy at BofA/Merrill
PNC – PNC reinstated with a Buy at BofA/Merrill
CPN – Calpine initiated with a Buy at ISI Group
MO – BofA/Merrill reinstates coverage of the tobacco sector
Downgrades
ERIC – LM Ericsson downgraded to Sell at Danske
RAX – Rackspace downgraded to Hold at The Benchmark Company
NFLX – Netflix target lowered to $185 at Oppenheimer
NSC – Norfolk Southern downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
FCX – estimates cut below consensus at Dahlman Rose ahead of earnings
ALGN – Align Tech initiated with a Neutral at Credit Suisse
QLGC – QLogic downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
INTC – Intel ests and target lowered to $26 at Sterne Agee
KDN – Kaydon downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T
PCX – Patriot Coal downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman
NDN – 99 Cents Only downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James
LXK – Lexmark downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
PWER – Power-One downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Northland Securities
EXFO – EXFO downgraded to Hold from Buy at TD Securities
BRCD – Brocade downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
CAKE – Cheesecake Factory resumed with a Sell at Goldman
NOK – Nokia downgraded to Sell at WestLB
Comments »Liz Claiborne Sells Brand to JC Penny
The stock is soaring on the news, ticker LIZ.
ITEM 1.01. ENTRY INTO A MATERIAL DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT.
Liz Claiborne, Inc. (the “Company”) announced on October 12, 2011 that the Company had entered into a definitive agreement (the “Agreement”) to sell its LIZ CLAIBORNE family of brands and MONET brand to J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. (“JCPenney”) for a total purchase price of $267.5 million. This transaction (the “JCPenney Transaction”), along with the transactions described below and under Item 7.01(a) (collectively, the “Transactions”), will result in total cash proceeds to the Company of approximately $328.0 million.
The JCPenney Transaction includes the sale of domestic and international trademark rights for LIZ CLAIBORNE, CLAIBORNE, LIZ, LIZ & CO., CONCEPTS BY CLAIBORNE, LC, ELISABETH, LIZGOLF, LIZSPORT, LIZ CLAIBORNE NEW YORK, LIZWEAR and domestic trademark rights for MONET. The LIZ CLAIBORNE NEW YORK and LIZWEAR trademarks will be licensed back royalty-free to the Company until July 2020. Further, the Company will serve as the exclusive supplier of jewelry to JCPenney for the LIZ CLAIBORNE and MONET brands. The JCPenney Transaction also includes receipt by the Company of an advance of $20.0 million (refundable to JCPenney under certain circumstances) in exchange for its agreement to develop exclusive brands for JCPenney by Spring 2014.
The Company has made certain customary representations and warranties to JCPenney in the Agreement, and has also made certain customary covenants, including the indemnification of JCPenney with respect to breaches of representations and warranties and breaches of covenants, subject to specified limitations on the amount of indemnifiable damages and survival period.
Closing of the JCPenney Transaction (the “Closing”) will be subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions, including, among others:
� absence of any injunction or other legal constraint against the Closing;
� expiration of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended;
� the absence of a material adverse effect on the LIZ assets and the MONET assets collectively (with the exception that, in the event of a material adverse effect on the MONET assets alone, JCPenney will be required to proceed with the acquisition of the LIZ assets, and the purchase price will be reduced accordingly); and
� the receipt of consent under the Company’s asset-based loan credit agreement for the sales and lien releases contemplated by the JCPenney Transaction.
Moreover, each party’s obligation to consummate the JCPenney Transaction under the Agreement is conditioned on the accuracy of the other party’s representations and warranties and the other party’s compliance with its covenants and agreements, in each case in all material respects.
The Agreement is subject to termination if the Closing has not occurred by April 12, 2012. There are no termination fees payable upon the termination of the Agreement. The Closing is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The foregoing description of the Agreement is only a summary, does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the complete text of the Agreement itself. The Company intends to file the Agreement as an exhibit to its next periodic report.
ITEM 7.01. REGULATION FD DISCLSOURE.
(a) The Company announced the following additional transactions on October 12, 2011:
� DANA BUCHMAN Brand: The Company has consummated a definitive agreement to sell its DANA BUCHMAN brand to Kohl’s, and will serve as the exclusive supplier of jewelry to Kohl’s for the DANA BUCHMAN brand;
� KENSIE Brand: The Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its KENSIE Brand to an affiliate of Bluestar Alliance; and
� DKNY� JEANS and DKNY� ACTIVE License: The Company has agreed to early termination of the DKNY� JEANS and DKNY� ACTIVE license with The Donna Karan Company, LLC, such that its license will terminate at year end 2011, one year ahead of the scheduled license maturity.
Consummation of the Kensie transaction described in this Item 7.01(a) is subject to certain customary closing conditions, and all Transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011.
(b) On October 12, 2011, the Company provided revised guidance, pro forma for the consummation of the Transactions, the previously-announced joint venture transaction involving the Company’s global MEXX business and the previously-announced agreement with Elizabeth Arden, Inc. for pre-payment of certain royalties and sale of the trademarks for the CURVE fragrance brand and selected other smaller fragrance brands, which eliminates profits and losses associated with each of the following businesses:
Comments »Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
MT +5%, NOK +4%, ASML +3.7%, NSR +3.6%, BCS +3.5%, STO +3.4%, TTM +3.3%, NBG +3.2%, BHP +2.9%,
DB +2.7%, BBL +2.5%, CS +2.4%, SLV +2.2%, HBC +2.2%, UBS +2%, RIO +2%, TOT +2%, BAC +2%, GDX +1.9%,
GLD +1.3%, NVS +1.3%
Gapping down
CENX -6.1%, EXFO -4.7%, AA -3.5%, PANL -1.9%, BRCD -4.5%, VPRT -2.6% , WDR -1% , CFR -0.9% , FSLR -2.6%,
CHKM -5%, SURG -12.3%, PWER -9.9%,
Comments »In Play and On the Wires
PepsiCo, PEP, 3rd Quarter Profit Rises 4.1%
Infosys Earnings Benefit From Outsource Spending
FLASH: Alcoa Goes From Tiny Pullback to Outright Plunge
The stock is down more than 5.7% now, following disappointing earnings.
Comments »Swing and a Miss: Alcoa Disappoints Again
The stock is down 3% after soft earnings.
Comments »