Investors and traders certainly had their plates full Tuesday with a plethora of data releases sending the Dow to new record highs and the Nasdaq index closing above 4,000 after briefly breaching the mark on Monday.
The markets gave back modest gains towards the end of the trading session and just barely finished in the green.
- The Dow finished flat, closing at 16,072.80.
- The S&P 500 gained 0.01 percent, closing at 1,802.75.
- The Nasdaq gained 0.58 percent, closing at 4,017.75.
- Gold gained 0.05 percent, trading at $1,241.80 an ounce.
- Oil lost 0.24 percent, trading at $93.86 a barrel.
- Silver lost 0.31 percent, trading at $19.82.
News of Note
The ICSC Retail Store Sales rose 2.6 percent week over week with a prior reading of 0.1 percent gain last week.
October Housing Starts came in at 1.03 million, ahead of the 905K forecast.
September Housing Starts came in at 974K ahead of the 903L forecast.
The Redbook Chain Store Sales rose 3.8 percent year over year with a prior reading of 3.5 percent last week.
The S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 0.7 percent month over month, above the 0.5 percent expected but below the prior reading of 0.9 percent.
FHFA Housing Price Index rose 0.3 percent, below the 0.4 percent expected, and matching the previous reading.
November Consumer Confidence came in at 70.4, below the 72.9 consensus.
The November Richmond Fed Manufacturing Survey rose 13.0, higher than the 3.0 forecast, with a previous reading of 1.0.
The recently released minutes from the Bank of Japan's last meeting in October indicated that some members of the board believe it will be difficult for the Bank to achieve its 2 percent inflation goal.
Equities-Specific News of Note
Analysts at Goldman Sachs GS downgraded The Fresh Market TFM to Neutral with a lowered price target of $43. The company reported a disappointing earnings release last week. Shares closed lower by 1.28 percent at $39.46.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs also downgraded Freeport-McMoRan FCX to Neutral from Buy based on a perceived notion that there are no catalysts that can drive shares higher in the near term. Shares have a $37 price target at the firm. Shares closed lower by 1.30 percent at $35.33.
RBC Capital Markets initiating General Mills GIS with an Outperform rating GIS based on the company's potential to maintain stable growth rates. Shares moved higher by 1.18 percent for the day, closing at $50.47.
The Men's Wearhouse MW offered $55 a share to acquire its rival Jos. A. Bank JOSB Men's Wearhouse gained 7.44 percent, closing at $50.57 while Jos. A. Bank surged 11.26 percent, closing at $56.30.
Related: Men's Wearhouse Offers to Buy Jos. A. Bank for $55 A Share in cash
Several news reports suggested that Cox Communications is contemplating a bit for Time Warner Cable. TWC Time Warner hit new 52 week highs of $139.17 before settling the day at $136.68, up 3.53 percent for the day.
Qihoo 360 Technology Co QIHU received upgrades from seveeral analysts today following the company's third quarter report. Citi has an $87 price target, Macquarie has a $118 price target and Goldman Sachs has a $79 price target. Shares rose 5.55 percent, closing at $82.75.
OTR Global released another bearish note on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. GMCR The analysts are believing that the company's next generation Keurig machine, Keurig 2.0, will prevent further market share losses in the K-Cup segment. Shares lost 5.09 percent, closing at $64.17.
Related: New Keurig Machine Unlikely to Stop Competitors, OTR Global Reports
Morgan Stanley MS issued a report on gold and singled out Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM and Yamana Gold, Inc. AUY. According to Morgan Stanley, these companies “look best-positioned for an environment in which gold is expected to be range-bound, producers are rapidly adjusting strategies, and stock valuations are depressed.” Agnico was upgraded to Overweight from Evenweight with an increased price target of $36.00, up from $28.00. Yamana has been reiterated Overweight with a price target of $12.50, up from $11.50. Agnico closed the day off by 0.38 percent at $26.46 while Yamana lost 1.52 percent, closing at $8.76.
Related: Where is the Bottom for Gold Miners?
Shares of Apple AAPL are closing in on its October peak of $539 after its fourth quarter report. Digitimes reported that iPhone 5C chip orders are expected to rise again in the next quarter following declines in the previous quarter. Apple gained 1.84 percent, closing at $533.40.
Analysts at Jefferies believe that Disney DIS could buyback $7.0 billion and $7.5 billion of shares in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $71.69 before closing the day at $71.16, up 2.04 percent.
Winners of Note
After yesterday's strong earnings release by Workday WDAY, analysts at Jefferies raised its price target to $92. The company added 50 customers in the quarter, increased total customers to above 550. Shares surged 12.67 percent, closing at $82.59
Mediabistro MBIS announced the company is entering the 3D printing market with a strategic investment in 3dprintingindustry.com. This news announcement was enough to send shares higher by 87.17 percent to close the day at $4.10.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. SRPT has been raised to speculative buy from sell at WBB Securities. WBB noted that the company's eteplirsen has attracted high-level of attention within FDA. Shares rose 7.75 percent, closing at $17.79.
Decliners of Note
Take-Two Interactive TTWO fell 5.49 percent to $16.00 following news reports of Carl Icahn's sale of his holdings. Analysts at R.W. Baird reiterated a Neutral rating and $19 price target on the stock.
Shares of Nuance Communications NUAN tumbled 18.11 percent, closing at $13.10, a mere ten cents above new 52 week lows of $13.00 that shares established today. The company announced its first quarter and fiscal 2014 profit outlook that came in well below consensus. Wedbush downgraded the company to Neutral from Outperform. The analysts lowered the price target to $15 from $22. After the bell yesterday, the company released a poor outlook when it guided fiscal 2014 EPS 21 percent below consensus estimates
Earnings of Note
Premarket, Tiffany & Co TIF released its third quarter results. The company reported an EPS of $0.73, beating estimates of $0.58. Revenues of $911 million beat the consensus of $889.51 million. The company raised its full year 2013 guidance to a range of $3.65 to $3.75, up from a previous $3.50 to $3.60 range. Shares hit new 52 week highs of $88.88 before settling the day at $88.05 representing a gain of 8.72 percent.
Barnes & Noble BKS swung to profitability in the quarter with an EPS of $0.15, substantially above the consensus which was looking for a loss of three cents. Revenues, however, disappointed investors coming in 8 percent lower than a year ago at $1.73 billion while the Street was looking for $1.77 billion. The company saw declining revenues in main segments of retail, college and Nook. Shares closed the day lower by 5.96 percent, closing at $15.45.
Aftermarket, Hewlett-Packard HPQ reported revenue of $29.13 billion, above the consensus of $27.9 billion. EPS of $1.01 was good for a penny beat. Early comments coming from the call from CEO Meg Whitman noted that the company ended its fiscal year "on a high note" and that "HP's turnaround remains on track heading into fiscal 2014." Traders and investors appeared to be happy with the results as shares were trading higher by more than 8 percent at $27.15 shortly after the announcement.
Quote of the Day
"If I believe that I am right, I will take it to the end of the earth until I am proven right." - Bill Ackman.
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