Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Home Prices Rise. Home prices in May rose the most in seven years according to CoreLogic. Prices were up +12.2% compared to May of last year and up +2.6% from April. This was the largest increase since February 2006. Excluding distressed sales, which include foreclosures and short sales, prices were up +11.6% on a yearly basis. The analysts on Wall Street forecast prices will rise by another +2.9% in June for a yearly gain of +13.2%. Nevada saw the biggest price increases, followed by Arizona , California,  Hawaii and Oregon.

Upgrades:

JPMorgan Chase (JPM): Raymond James raised their rating from Outperform to Strong Buy and raised their target price from $55.00 to $64.00. Pre-market: 52.65 +0.16 (0.30%)

Las Vegas Sands (LVS): ISI Group raised their rating from Neutral to Buy.

Quicksilver (ZQK): B. Riley raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $9.25 on the company.

Downgrades:

Accenture (ACN): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 71.21 -0.89 (-1.23%)

Barrick Gold (ABX): Jefferies lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $30.00 to $14.00.

Newmont Mining (NEM): Jefferies lowered their rating from Hold to Underperform and lowered their target price from $30.00 to $18.00.

Pfizer (PFE): Standpoint Research lowered their rating from Hold to Sell. Pre-market: 27.56 -0.22 (-0.79%)

Tractor Supply Co (TSCO): Nomura lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 114.89 -1.49 (-1.28%)

Coverage Initiated:

Groupon (GRPN): Wunderlich initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $11.00.

Ryder Systems (R): Wunderlich initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $72.00.

Earning Reports:

Acuity Brands (AYI): Reported EPS of $0.97 beating estimates by +$0.10. Pre-market: 79.00 +3.07 (4.04%)

Constellation Brands (STZ): Reported EPS of $0.38 missing estimates by -0.03. Pre-market: 52.38 -0.77 (-1.45%)     

      

Markets: 
Futures at 8:18: Dow +0.01%. S&P -0.07%. Nasdaq +0.14%. Crude +0.35% to $98.33. Gold -0.14% to $1254.00.

Europe: London -0.45%. Paris -0.74%. Frankfurt -1.05%. 

Asia: Japan +1.78% to 14099. Hong Kong -0.70% to 20659. China +0.57% to 2007. India -0.58% to 19464. 

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Oracle Misses Earnings, Shares Get Hammered. Oracle (ORCL) reported Q4 net profit rose 10% to $3.8B and adjusted EPS came in at $0.87 missing Wall Street estimates. Revenue at the company was flat at $10.9B. Some on Wall Street view the company as coming late to the “Cloud” and playing catch-up causing the pressure on earnings and organic growth. Additionally the company said that it would move from the NASDAQ to the NYSE on July 15^th. Once the move is completed Oracle will continue to trade under its current ticket symbol ORCL. Pre-market: 30.75 -2.46 (-7.41%)

Upgrades:

Bayer AG (BAYRY): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Neutral to Buy.

Cardinal Health (CAH): William Blair raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform. After Hours: 47.32 +0.25 (0.54%)

Facebook (FB): UBS raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $28.00 to $30.00. Pre-market: 24.42 +0.52 (2.18%)

Forest Labs (FRX): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $40.00 to $50.00. Pre-market: 41.08 +0.89 (2.21%)

Kennametal (KMT): Barrington raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $45.00 on the company.

Kimberly-Clark (KMB): BMO Capital raised their rating from Underperform to Market Perform and placed a target price of $96.00 on the company. After Hours: 95.00 +0.34 (0.36%)

NetGear (NTGR): Wedbush raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and raised their target price from $32.00 to $38.00.

Southern Co (SO): Citigroup raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and maintained their target price of $51.00. Pre-market: 43.00 +0.52 (1.22%)

Streelcase (SCS): Longbow raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $18.00 on the company.

Downgrades:

Diageo PLC (DEO): Santander lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 115.78 +2.08 (1.83%)

ITT Educational (ESI): Argus lowered their rating from Hold to Sell. Pre-market: 24.85 -0.08 (-0.32%)

Newmont Mining (NEM): UBS lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 29.90 +0.15 (0.50%)

Coverage Initiated:

Burger King Worldwide (BKW): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target range of $21.00 - $22.00.

Wendy’s (WEN): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target range of $6.00 - $7.00.

Earning Reports:

CarMax (KMX): Reported EPS of $0.64 beating estimates by +$0.06. Pre-market: 45.24 +0.67 (1.50%)

Darden Restaurants (DRI): Reported EPS of $1.01 missing estimates by -$0.04. Pre-market: 51.00 -0.23 (-0.45%)

Oracle (ORCL): Reported EPS of $0.87 missing estimates by -$0.01. Pre-market: 30.75 -2.46 (-7.41%)

TIBCO Software (TIBX): Reported EPS of $0.18 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 21.36 +0.35 (1.67%)

Markets: 

Futures at 7:00: Dow +0.63%. S&P +0.65%. Nasdaq +0.52%. Crude +0.36% to $95.49. Gold +0.45% to $1292.20.

Europe: London +0.87%. Paris +0.67%. Frankfurt +0.21%. 

Asia: Japan +1.66% to 13230. Hong Kong -0.59% to 20263. China -0.52% to 2073. India +0.29% at 18774. 

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

World Markets Fall on Fed Comment. World markets are selling off after Ben Bernanke yesterday signaled that the Fed may soon stop trying to prop up the U.S. economy by printing money. Additionally, he said that the bond buying program could end by mid-2014. Some economists and traders have fear that the economy is not strong enough and needs the Fed’s stimulation to prevent another recession. They point to the weak GDP and job numbers as their evidence. U.S. futures are lower with government bond yields spiking, while gold had plunged -5.22% to $1302.40 hitting a 2 1/2 year low.

Upgrades: 

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): UBS raised their rating from Sell to Neutral. Pre-market: 2.02 +0.09 (4.66%)

Hewlett-Packard (HQP): Wells Fargo raised Market Perform to Outperform and raised their target range from $23.00 - $25.00 to $30.00 - $32.00. Pre-market: 25.50 +0.07 (0.28%)

Plum Creek Timber (PCL): DA Davidson raised their rating from Underperform to Neutral. Pre-market: 45.15 -0.08 (-0.18%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $84.00 on the company. Pre-market: 74.65 +0.19 (0.26%)

Weyerhaeuser (WY): BMO Capital raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $33.00 on the company. Pre-market: 27.31 0.00 (0.00%)

Downgrades:

FedEx (FDX): JPMorgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered their target price from $116.00 to $108.00. Pre-market: 98.50 -2.04 (-2.03%)

FedEx (FDX): Morgan Stanley lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight. Pre-market: 98.50 -2.04 (-2.03%)

Newmont Mining (NEM): Cowen lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral. Pre-market: 30.95 -0.95 (-2.98%)

Sprint Nextel (S): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 6.97 -0.03 (-0.43%)

Walt Disney (DIS): Goldman Sachs lowered their rating from Conviction Buy to Neutral and placed a target price of $70.00 on the company. Pre-market: 63.29 -1.04 (-1.62%)

Coverage Initiated:

Owens Corning (OC): Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $50.00.           

Earning Reports:

Jabil Circuit (JBL): Reported EPS of $0.56 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 19.00 -0.82 (-4.14%)

Micron (MU): Reported EPS of $0.04 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 13.66 -0.31 (-2.22%)

Pier 1 (PIR): Reported EPS of $0.19 in-line with estimates. After Hours: 24.55 +0.56 (2.33%)

Red Hat (RHT): Reported EPS of $0.32 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 47.78 +1.56 (3.38%)

Rite Aid (RAD): Reported EPS of $0.09 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 3.05 -0.06 (-1.93%)

Markets: 
Futures at 7:25: Dow -0.57%. S&P -0.78%. Nasdaq -0.84%. Crude -1.53% to $96.74. Gold -5.22% to $1302.40.

Europe: London -2.26%. Paris -2.51%. Frankfurt -2.49%. 

Asia: Japan -1.74% to 13015. Hong Kong -2.88% to 20383. China -2.77% to 2084. India -2.74% to 18719.