Archive for July, 2010

« Older Entries

American Oil and Gas, Inc. (AEZ) – Buzz Stock of the Day

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Shares of independent operator, American Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE-AMEX: AEZ) were up 9 percent from Tuesday’s closing price, in morning trading on Wednesday after it was announced that oil giant Hess Corp. would acquire the company in an all stock deal worth approximately $445 million. Hess primarily acquired American Oil and Gas, Inc. to expand its holdings in the Bakken oil play of North Dakota. American Oil and Gas, Inc. has properties that span about 68,500 acres in the area.

“This acquisition builds upon our strong land position in the Bakken, leverages our nearby infrastructure and offers operational synergies,” said Greg Hill, President of Worldwide Exploration and Production at Hess in a statement.
[–quote–]
Under the terms of the agreement, AOG shareholders will receive 0.1373 shares of Hess common stock for each share they own, placing the total value of the transaction at approximately $445 million. The deal would represent a 9.4 percent premium over American Oil & Gas shares closing price of $6.69 per share on Tuesday. Hess also said it would provide American Oil & Gas with a $30 million working capital credit facility to help the company finance exploration and production activities ahead of the completion of the deal. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010.

“We believe this transaction captures the value that we have been able to create since our initial entry in the North Dakota Bakken play four years ago,” said Pat O’Brien, CEO of American Oil & Gas in a statement. “We are excited about the leverage our stockholders will gain not only to Hess’ compelling Bakken position and developmental activities, but also to Hess’ large and diverse global project portfolio.”

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Energy Stocks | No Comments »

China Security and Surveillance Technology, Inc. (CSR)- Buzz Stock of the Day

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Shares of China Security and Surveillance Technology, Inc. (NYSE: CSR) were up almost 13 percent from Friday’s closing price in morning trading on Monday after the company posted strong second quarter earnings thanks in part to large scale government projects, increased demand, and improved margins.

The Shenzhen-based China Security and Surveillance Technology, Inc. reported second quarter net income of $17.81 million, or 23 cents per diluted share, marking a 174 percent increase in net income and a 76.9 percent increase in diluted earnings per share. Revenues for the quarter increased 18.6 percent to $168.35 million, over the prior year.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 23 cents a share on revenue of $177.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
[–quote–]
“Our results demonstrate the great strength of CSST’s assets and our ability to execute with focus and discipline,” said Guoshen Tu, Chairman and CEO of China Security and Surveillance Technology, Inc. in a statement. “Revenues and earnings growth continue to be solid, our margin improvement is encouraging, major growth and cost initiatives are on track, and we continue to execute on large-scale government projects from safe cities and e-cities in China.”

For fiscal 2010, the company reaffirmed its earnings forecast of $1.12 a share to $1.16 a share on revenue of $830 million to $850 million.

Analysts on average are expecting earnings of $1.10 a share, on revenue of $817 million.

“Underneath the terrific industry demand for surveillance and safety products and services in China, we’re optimistic about CSST’s prospect to continue to lead the industry in China,” said Tu. “We believe our market leadership extends across the industry’s broadest portfolio of products and services in China. Our scale and reach in China will provide meaningful and sustainable competitive advantages for us to capitalize on in the years ahead. Together with our sharp focus on high-growth initiatives, we have a tremendous set of assets and an impressive record in terms of executing and delivering on targets. I am very confident in our ability to deliver strong results in 2010.”

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Technology Stocks | No Comments »

Infinera Corp. (INFN) – Buzz Stock of the Day

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Shares of optical networking systems developer, Infinera Corp. (Nasdaq: INFN) rallied more than 26 percent from Thursday’s closing price, in morning trading on Friday after the company posted a smaller second quarter net loss and higher revenue over the same period a year ago.

For the three months ended June 26, the company posted a net loss of $9.6 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with a loss of $27.1 million, or 28 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Infinera’s revenue rose 62 percent to $111.4 million, from $68.9 million a year ago. Excluding stock compensation expenses, Infinera earned 3 cents per share in the latest quarter.

[–quote–]

Analysts, on average, expected a loss of 5 cents per share on revenue of $99.5 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters. Analyst estimates exclude stock options costs.

“We achieved new records for overall quarterly revenue and bookings, including increased shipments of tributary adapter modules, and we posted higher gross margins, achieved positive cash flow, and earned a profit on a non-GAAP basis,” said Infinera’s CEO, Tom Fallon in a statement.

Additional highlights from the quarter include positive cash from operations of $11.2 million, and higher gross margins (42% vs. 39% for the same period a year ago).

Infinera expects Q3 revenue in the range of  $125 million and $128 million, gross margins of approximately 45 percent to 47 percent, and earnings of between $0.07 and $0.10 per share, on a non-GAAP basis.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Penny Stocks, Technology Stocks | No Comments »

DayStar Technologies, Inc. (DSTI) – Buzz Stock of the Day

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Shares of photovoltaic solar products products maker, DayStar Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: DSTI) rallied more than 75 percent from Wednesday’s closing price in morning trading on Thursday after the company announced that it is pursuing a strategy for offshore manufacturing of its CIGS thin-film deposition technology solar modules.

DayStar Technologies has “begun discussions with several potential partners,” which if consummated “could include joint ventures, licensing agreements, contract manufacturing agreements,” or even a reverse merger with or an acquisition of DayStar, according to CEO Magnus Ryde. “We are confident in our core proprietary CIGS technology and believe that completing a transaction with a strategic partner and manufacturing our CIGS modules offshore would provide the best opportunity to bring our product to market and to manufacture the product in the most cost effective manner,” said Ryde in a statement.
[–quote–]
DayStar was notified by its landlord, BMR-Gateway Boulevard LLC that the Company’s lease for the premises located at 7333-7373 Gateway Boulevard in Newark, California has been terminated.

For the first quarter, DayStar reported a net loss of $6.1 million or $1.61 per share, compared with a net loss of $7.7 million or $2.06 per share in the first quarter of 2009. The average shares outstanding and loss per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 reflect the 1-for-9 reverse stock split implemented by DayStar on May 11, 2010. DayStar’s common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market on a split adjusted basis on March 12, 2010.

Solar stocks continue to have some buzz around them with stocks like STR Holdings (Nasdaq: STRI), Solarfun (Nasdaq: SOLF), Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL), JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO), Renesola (NYSE: SOL), and GT Solar (Nasdaq: SOLR) all showing strong relative strength to the overall market the past year. Simmons & Co analyst Burt Chao recently told Reuters that “if we haven’t passed the bottom, we’re very, very close to it.” A look at the Solar Stocks Index shows that there is certainly no shortage of domestic components. However, data from the Solar Energy Industries Association suggests that solar power accounts for less than 1% of U.S. energy usage.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Energy Stocks, Penny Stocks, Technology Stocks | 1 Comment »

United Rentals, Inc. (URI) – Buzz Stock of the Day

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Shares of equipment rental company, United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) were up as much as 16 percent from Tuesday’s closing price, in morning trading Wednesday after the company reported a surprising second quarter profit, and raised its outlook for capital spending based on increased demand.

Net income in the three months to June 30 was $12 million, or 18 cents per share, reversing a loss of $17 million, or 28 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 9 percent to $557 million from $615 million a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 30 cents per share on revenue of $525 million.

[–quote–]

United Rentals also raised its outlook for net rental capital spending to $160 million to $180 million for the year, up from $100 million to $120 million seen previously, “to meet increased demand.” The figure measures the difference between spending on new rental equipment and sales of used rental equipment. The company also reaffirmed its outlook for free cash flow of between $200 million and $225 million for the year.

Rental use of the company’s fleet rose 4.1 percentage points 65.4%, a record for any second quarter, the company said. However, rental rates dipped 2 percent from the prior year.

“This was a strong quarter with a number of positive trends in the underlying metrics,” said United Rentals’ CEO Michael Kneeland in a statement. “Our same-store rental revenues increased 2.7%, with year over year growth in six of our nine operating regions. We reported the highest time utilization of any second quarter in our company’s history. Rental rates, while down year over year, improved sequentially each month. We are also running the business much more efficiently and spending capex where it counts, purchasing fleet that we are confident will be in demand by our target accounts.”

Kneeland also noted that United Rentals is expecting a “choppy” recovery, but believes the company is “seeing the early stages of a cyclical upturn on top of the normal seasonal benefit.”

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Industrial Stocks | No Comments »

« Older Entries