Carlos Molina :: Swing Trading :: Trading stocks to make money in the market.

RIM results focus to be on price, profit margin

Carlos Molina — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:02:31 +0000

(Reuters) – Research In Motion (RIMM) is expected to report this week it sold a whopping 11 million BlackBerries in its latest quarter, which may offset the impact of falling prices and narrower profit margins.

DON’T BET AGAINST RIM

For its fourth quarter ended February 28, RIM estimated it would sell between 10.6 million and 11.2 million phones at an average price of $320 for a gross margin of 43.5 percent.

It forecast earnings per share of $1.23 to $1.31 and revenue of $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion while adding 4.4 million to 4.7 million new subscribers.

“I would not bet against RIM this quarter, it seems like the whole handset industry is doing well,” Snyder said. “We haven’t seen a big erosion in pricing yet.”

Analysts say their sales checks show brisk demand, partly driven by the lower-end 8520 model and new Bold 9700 handset, in a December-February quarter that straddles Christmas, end-of-year corporate budget spending and Valentine’s Day.

On average, analysts expect profit of $1.27 per share and revenue of $4.3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

“We believe investor sentiment is already anticipating earnings and guidance strength,” said UBS analysts Maynard Um and Phillip Huang.

RIM shares gained roughly 4 percent over the past week, and some analysts said it will likely take market-beating profit or stellar forecasts to spark further gains.

Most see little gain in the first quarter over the fourth quarter. For the typically slow sales period, analysts expect revenue of $4.3 billion and earnings of $1.22 per share.

Click here to read more at Reuters

Next week in the markets

Carlos Molina — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:28:23 +0000

This are some of the important events happening next week in the markets.

Monday, March 29
Congress on recess until April 12
8:30 a.m.: Personal income and consumer spending for February, at the Commerce Department
Noon: Paul Volcker, chairman of the White House Economic Recovery Advisory Board, speaks on financial reform, at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Tuesday, March 30
9 a.m.: Case Shiller home price index for January, released by Case Shiller.
10 a.m.: Consumer confidence for March, released by the Conference Board.

Wednesday, March 31
8:15 a.m.: ADP private-sector payroll report for March, released by Automatic Data Processing.
9:45 p.m.: Chicago PMI report on business activity in the Chicago area, released by Purchasing Managers Institute.
10 a.m.: Factory orders for February, at the Commerce Department.

Thursday, April 1
8:30 a.m.: Initial weekly jobless claims, at the Labor Department.
10 a.m.: Construction spending for February, at the Commerce Department.

Friday, April 2
8:30 a.m.: Nonfarm payrolls and unemployment report for March, at the Labor Department.

Thanks to Marketwatch.com

More steam left in railroad stocks

Carlos Molina — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:02:40 +0000

On Friday, J.P. Morgan and Longbow Research joined other analysts in the past week who have raised 12-month price targets for Norfolk Southern (NSC 55.32, -0.01, -0.02%) , CSX Corp. (CSX 51.51, -.00, -0.01%) and Union Pacific (UNP 73.23, -0.01, -0.01%) .
Read more at MarketWatch

S&P RECOMMENDATION ON SHARES OF U.S. STEEL

Carlos Molina — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:55:54 +0000

S&P LOWERS RECOMMENDATION ON SHARES OF U.S. STEEL TO STRONG SELL FROM SELL (Standard & Poor’s) Our opinion change is based on valuation. We continue to estimate EPS of $2.68 in ‘10 and $5.73 in ‘11 and we retain our 12 month target price of $35. On our estimate for ’10’s EPS, X’s projected P/E would be in line with the P/E we apply to its main integrated peer and at a discount to the P/E we apply to its minimill rivals. After a sizable gain in the stock price, we think that X is overvalued relative to all of its peers, now selling at nearly 22X our ‘10 EPS estimate and believe X is vulnerable to a decline on that basis.

ETFs for a Likely Tech Boom

Carlos Molina — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:49:28 +0000

For starters, the sector appears to have strong fundamentals and is relatively cheap as compared to other sectors. In fact, as a whole, the sector boasts a projected five year PEG ratio of 1.1, which indicates that value on the expected growth of the sector is prevalent. In general, a lower PEG translates to higher value because an investor would pay less for each unit of earnings growth.
Read more at TheStreet.com

Closed positions

Carlos Molina — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:22:39 +0000

Today, I got closed on my QCOM positions. I have completely forgotten I had placed an order to exit at $40.25. So, the position was filled this afternoon. Not bad for a 12% gain.
Also, it was time to get ride of AA Alcoa, I sold it today @$14.80 for a 9% gain.

Buying some VIX Calls for protection

Carlos Molina — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:06:28 +0000

After the huge movement in the markets, is time to buy some protection against our portfolio. Even though we might continue to see some movement to the upside, I think a small pullback is about to happen. Today, I am buying some contracts on the VIX Apr $16 Call @$4.00. Best wishes everyone,

Market Strategies

Carlos Molina — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:37:01 +0000

Hello everyone, thank you for visiting my blog. I created this blog with the only purpose of showcasing all the opportunities that are out there in the markets in today’s world. Using stocks, options, and some ETFs; along with some technical analysis we can be in for a good ride in the markets. Let’s make 2010 a profitable year!!!!

Markets up and above 10,400

Carlos Molina — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:52:24 +0000

The markets were higher today, ending at some pretty good level. The S&P 500 closed at 1,115.71 up 11.22, the Dow Jones closed at 10,403.79 up 78.53, and the Nasdaq closing at 2,273.57 up some 35.31.

Buying some QCOM

Carlos Molina — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:47:33 +0000

Opening a position in Qualcomm this afternoon. Once the stock hit $35.85, I pulled the trigger. This is a great company with a lot of potential but lately has been taken down due to their earnings. For a trade I expect the stock to bounce to the $40 level. Take a look at the charts.