Continue reading Closing Bell: Bears and oil traders trampled in Pamplona

Closing Bell: Bears and oil traders trampled in Pamplona originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK), an online marketing service company, announced preliminary Q2 revenue between $163 and $164 million compared to the company's prior guidance range of $166 to $170 million. VCLK is recently trading down $3.02 to $10.75 in pre-open trading.

VCLK overall option implied volatility of 65 was above its 26-week average of 58 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: Valueclick volatility elevated into lower Q2 revenue guidance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ValuClick (VCLK) seen past legal issues originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Valueclick (NASDAQ:VCLK) to Outperform from Perform following the company's Q4 upside, as they believe the FTC investigation completed with no material penalties and that lead generation is stabilizing.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of The Medicines Co (NASDAQ:MDCO) to Buy from Hold following the solid Q4 results to reflect a better risk/reward profile and stabilizing PCI volume.
  
• Goldman raised its rating on British Sky Broadcasting (NYSE:BSY) to Buy from Sell and added shares to their Conviction Sell List as they see above-average upside at tough valuations.

• Goldman upgraded the U.S. Trucking Sector to Attractive from Cautious, also upgraded YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ:YRCW) and Arkansas Best (NASDAQ:ABFS) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• ING upgraded Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades: VCLK, MDCO and BSY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading ValueClick believes profitability is a click-through process

ValueClick believes profitability is a click-through process originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dial 1-800-REVShare for the future in TV advertising

Dial 1-800-REVShare for the future in TV advertising originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• UBS upgraded shares of Antofagasta (OTC: ANFGY) to Neutral from Sell as they see a strong possibility of delays to copper supply due to an earthquake on Nov. 14 in northern Chile.
  
• Credit Suisse is positive on the appointment of John Thain as Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER)'s CEO and his ability to get the company back on track strategically. The firm upgraded shares of Merrill to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup on valuation, as they believe the recent sell-off provides a great entry point.
  
• Citigroup also raised its rating on Telmex (NYSE: TMX) to Buy from Hold after the company announced the spin-off of its international businesses.
  
• Bear Stearns upgraded Network Appliance (NASDAQ: NTAP) to Peer Perform from Underperform following its Q2 report and increased outlook.

• RBC Capital upgraded Sciele Pharma (NASDAQ: SCRX) to Sector Perform from Underperform.
  
• Lehman upgraded Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
  
• Merrill Lynch upgraded Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: ANFGY, MER, VCLK, TMX and NTAP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Jefferies downgraded shares of Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Hold from Buy, as they believe the company's fundamentals are weakening given the worse than anticipated share losses in the wireless segment. Shares were also lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan, to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman, to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse, and to Neutral from Buy at UBS to reflect the slowdown in the company's wireless growth.
  
• Check Point Software (NASDAQ: CHKP) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies on valuation and highlights the difficult spending environment in 1H08 as well as the company's tough comps.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Mobile Mini (NASDAQ: MINI) to Hold from Buy following the company's negative preannouncement.
  
• Oppenheimer lowered Vineyard National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VNBC) to Neutral from Buy to reflect slower pace of balance sheet growth and lower gain-on-sale income estimates.
  
• JMP Securities downgraded TorreyPines (NASDAQ: TPTX) to Market Outperform from Strong Buy and said Tezampanel's lack of dose response and statistically significant pain free response will keep the stock in the "show me" category.

• JP Morgan downgraded ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) to Underweight from Neutral and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• UBS downgraded Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) to Hold from Buy.
  
• ThinkEquity downgraded ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Source of Funds from Buy.

Analyst downgrade: TXN, CHKP, MINI, VNBC and TPTX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Bear Stearns downgraded the software sector to Underweight from Market Weight, citing valuations and increased risk to 2008 IT budgets.
  
• Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman and to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan following the company's Q3 profit warning.
  
• Paccar (NASDAQ: PCAR) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wachovia. The firm believes Street estimates are too high due to weaker-than-expected North American unit production.
  
• ABN Amro downgraded shares of Eni SpA (NYSE: E) to Sell from Hold as they expect the company to invest significantly more in its upstream activities than guidance suggests due to cost pressures.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Neutral from Buy following the Q3 pre-announcement and guidance.

• Merrill downgraded Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE: ELS) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded ACA Capital Holdings (NYSE: ACA) To Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Vimpel Communications (NYSE: VIP) to Sell from Hold.
  
• Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Gabelli.

Analyst downgrades: Software sector, ERIC, PCAR, E and VCLK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Stock market's Manic Monday leads to Twisted Tuesday

Stock market's Manic Monday leads to Twisted Tuesday originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), a Swedish telecommunications and data communications systems and services, is recently down $11.98 to $28.95 in pre-open trading after announcing third-quarter net income fell 36% compared to a year ago on lower demand for network equipment.

Oppenheimer says: "The announcement is somewhat surprising given the company's upbeat comments at a technology analyst day on September 11."

ERIC over all option implied volatility of 34 is near is 26-week average of 33 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price risk.

ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK), an online marketing services company, is recently down $4.43 to $23.40 in pre-open trading after lowering third-quarter revenue and gross margin guidance.

VCLK over all option implied volatility of 72 is above its 26-week average of 53 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update 10-16-07: ERIC, VCLK poised to sell offs, volatility up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Chase Norlin has spent over a decade in the online space. For example, he was a senior business development executive at ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK). He also served as an executive at InfoSpace (NASDAQ: INSP). Oh, and he also helped to create Sony's (NYSE: SNE) first online photo sharing service.

His latest gig: Pixsy. It's a fast-growing company in the online video space.

Well, this week, I had a chance to catch up with Chase.

Q: How are things at Pixsy?

A: Image and Video Search are the fastest growing consumer search verticals on the web. In fact, Image Search is 10% of Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) traffic and grows 100% every year. We said early on, "if image and video search are so popular, why doesn't every website have it?" And that's the driving growth behind our business. Pixsy is unique in that we can provide image and video search to a website, under their brand, with content tailored to that specific vertical, and enable that site to have their media searched or combined with the Pixsy index. All of this provides great value to publishers: new search traffic, users stay on the site longer, new content tailored to that site, and new ad inventory is created. Additionally, the service provides great value to content providers as they receive free, targeted traffic from users performing image and video search queries. We now have a backlog of 8,000 providers trying to get content into the Pixsy index as a result.

Continue reading CEO interview: Pixsy powers up

CEO interview: Pixsy powers up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Bernstein upgraded Talisman Energy Inc (NYSE: TLM) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation and potential exploration success in Vietnam and raised Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) and EOG Resources Inc (NYSE: EOG) to Market Perform from Underperform on improving gas fundamentals.
• Bernstein also upgraded shares of BP PLC (NYSE: BP) and BG Group (NYSE: BRG) to Outperform from Market Perform.
• Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings, citing checks that indicate a strong product cycle for the company's beefed up VPN/firewall product portfolio.
• ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) was upgraded at Citigroup to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe the recent correction provides a compelling entry point.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA), Alumina Ltd (NYSE: AWC) and Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ: CENX) to Buy from Neutral and shares of Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: PCU) to Neutral from Sell.
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Tempur Pedic International (NYSE: TPX) to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• Infineon Technologies (NYSE: IFX) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Analyst upgrades 9-5-07: BP, BRG, CHKP and VCLK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Jefferies upgraded Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) to Hold from Underperform to reflect the strong recent results from SurfControl as well as the possibility for 2H software seasonality.

• Lehman upgraded shares of OSI Pharma (NASDAQ: OSIP) to Overweight from Underweight on valuation as well as expectations for price increases and growth in Europe.

• Susquehanna upgraded shares of Gap (NYSE: GPS) to Positive from Neutral citing management's ability to control costs & manage inventories, share buybacks, and streamlining of organizational structure.
  

• Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) was upgrade to Accumulate from Neutral at Buckingham based on valuation and strong worldwide luxury trends outside of Japan.

• Matrix upgraded shares of Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) to Strong Buy from Hold to reflect positive fundamentals and the recent share weakness...

• Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Needham.

• WestLB raised Swisscom (NYSE: SCM) to Add from Hold and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades: ELY, GPS, TIF and VCLK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Piper upgraded shares of Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) to Outperform from Market Perform, citing valuation, and expects the company to have an upbeat tone on Thursday's quarterly report.

• Wachovia upgraded shares of Monster Worldwide (NASDAQ: MNST) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and strength in its international business. The firm believes North American weakness is largely confined to the e-commerce channel while enterprise growth is ongoing and international business remains strong.

• Banc of America upgraded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) to Buy from Hold and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) & Comerica (NYSE: CMA) to Hold from Sell. The firm said JPMorgan's financial conglomerate structure gives it strength to gain share in times of stress. U.S. Bancorp was upgraded based on valuation and okay credit quality. Comerica was upgraded based on valuation and upcoming HQ move to Texas, which could make it a takeover target...

• JP Morgan upgraded Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Overweight from Neutral.

• Bear Stearns upgraded BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

• Stifel raised Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) to Buy from Hold.

• CL King upgraded Gap (NYSE: GPS) to Strong Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: CMA, GPS, JPM, MNST and VCLK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Accoona looking for dough on NASDAQ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• ABN Amro upgraded British Airways (OTC: BAIRY) to Hold from Sell on valuation.

• Friedman Billings believes Symantec's (NASDAQ: SYMC) fundamentals are about to show significant improvement over the next year and upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform.

• JP Morgan raised OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) shares to Overweight from Neutral on valuation.

• Qwest (NYSE: Q) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer, expecting revenue growth to be driven by the improving enterprise business. JP Morgan added Qwest to its Focus List.
  

• Metlife (NYSE: MET) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill, based on valuation...
  

• ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at Pacific Crest.

• Penn West (NYSE: PWE) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.

• Friedman Billings upgraded Cubic (AMEX: CUB) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jones Apparel (NYSE: JNY) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

• Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) was raised to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.

Analyst upgrades 8-02-07: BRCM, JNY, OMX, SYMC and VCLK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Pearson (NYSE: PSO) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Lehman to reflect the better than expected interim results and an improved competitive landscape in the core education market. Shares were also raised to Hold from Sell at Societe General and to Buy from Neutral at Merrill, based on valuation.

• UBS upgraded Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's improving fundamental outlook which they feel should drive a premium to the market multiple.

• JP Morgan believes Ship Finance (NYSE: SFL) has better near-term growth prospects and a better valuation relative to Double Hull, and upgraded shares to Overweight from Neutral.

• Pacific Growth upgraded Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Neutral from Sell as they believe risks associated with its incentive business are reflected in its new guidance and valuation. Craig-Hallumm Capital also upgraded Valueckick to Buy from Accumulate...
  

• Bear Stearns upgraded Gannett (NYSE: GCI) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

• Caris upgraded Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) to Above Average from Average.

• Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR) was upgraded to Market Weight from Underweight at Thomas Weisel.

• UBS added Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to its Strategic Stock List.

• Buckingham upgraded Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) to Strong Buy from Accumulate.

Analyst upgrades 7-31-07: BAC, SUNW, VCLK and VZ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• RBC Capital cut American Home Mortgage (NYSE: AHM) to Sector Perform from Outperform citing the deterioration in the global debt markets for the downgrade.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Underweight from Equal Weight citing risk to Rituxan growth.

• Merriman downgraded Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE) to Neutral from Buy as they believe new fall merchandise is not performing well enough to improve sales trends.

• Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) to Neutral from Outperform citing higher risk premium due to the IRS challenge and tighter credit markets that could impact the Bobcat divestiture.

• Children's Place (NASDAQ: PLCE) was cut to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

• Thomas Weisel downgraded LoopNet (NASDAQ: LOOP) to Market Weight from Overweight.

• ThinkEquity cut Kyphon (NASDAQ: KYPH) to Accumulate from Buy.

• Needham downgraded QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) to Hold from Buy.

• JMP Securities downgraded ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Market Perform from Outperform.

Analyst downgrades 7-30-07: AHM, BEBE, QLGC and VCLK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This week, a startup company -- adap.tv -- raised $10 million from Redpoint Ventures and Gemini Israel Funds.

The company is trying to get a piece of the growing ad market for video. Hey, with the huge success of Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube, it seems like a pretty good idea, right?

The founder of the company, Amir Ashkenazi, does have a lot of credibility. After all, he's the former cofounder of Shopping.com, which sold out to eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY).

But does his new venture really have a chance? I talked to Chase Norlin, who is the CEO of Pixsy, which is a search engine for multimedia. According to him:

"Adap.tv looks a lot like ScanScout, and a variety of other startups looking to become the next 'Adsense for Video.' That space is starting to feel a little crowded to me, not to mention the fact that Google hasn't even entered this market yet. Also, expect the major ad networks and online advertising companies to offer competitive products here as well. I'm sure adap.tv's technology is interesting, but that's not what matters in the online ad space. What matters is publisher reach and a large pool of advertisers to provide solid monetization. That's why companies like ValueClick continue to get stronger despite their non-groundbreaking technology: their advertiser and publisher pool continues to grow and the bigger they get the harder they become to displace."

And, to see more recent venture capital deals, click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

adap.tv gets $10 million to take on Google originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.