Labor Department Reports Unemployment Drops

Labor Department Reports Unemployment Drops. The Labor Department announced that U.S. unemployment benefits dropped 26,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, the lowest level in three months. The less volatile four-week average came in at 336,500. 3.4 million Americans remain unemployed as of Feb. 15 down from 3.49 million the previous week.

On Friday, the Labor Department will release its February jobs report in which economist estimate that 145,000 jobs will have been added. That would follow two bad reports in which December saw only 75,000 new jobs being created and January’s 113,00 jobs.

Upgrades:

Anadarko (APC): Argus raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $95.00 on the company. Pre-market: 85.82 +0.41 (0.48%)

Biogen Idec (BIIB): BMO Capital raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform raised their target price from $286.00 to $422.00. Pre-market: 346.50 +7.50 (2.21%)

Consolidated Edison (ED): Argus raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $60.00 on the company. Pre-market: 55.68 +0.40 (0.72%)

Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA): Leerink raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $48.00 to $65.00. Pre-market: 50.80 +1.00 (2.01%)

Tiffany & Co. (TIF): Citigroup raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $100.00 to $110.00. Pre-market: 94.55 +1.49 (1.60%)

Yum! Brands (YUM): RW Baird raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform raised their target price from $79.00 to $87.00. Pre-market: 75.99 +1.18 (1.58%)

Downgrades:

adidas AG (ADDYY): Citigroup lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY): Wedbush lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral and lowered their target price from $86.00 to $66.00.

Exelon (EXC): Tudor Pickering lowered their rating from Accumulate to Hold and placed a target price of $27.00 on the company. Pre-market: 30.24 -0.04 (-0.13%)

Lowe’s (LOW): Wedbush lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral and lowered their target price from $60.00 to $50.00.

Coverage Initiated:

Microsoft (MSFT): B. Riley initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $39.00. Pre-market: 38.23 +0.12 (0.31%)

Oracle (ORCL): B. Riley initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $48.00. Pre-market: 39.56 +0.06 (0.15%)

Earning Reports:

Ciena (CIEN): Reported EPS of $0.13 beating estimates by +$0.07. Pre-market: 25.50 +0.14 (0.55%)

Costco (COST): Reported EPS of $1.05 missing estimates by -$0.12. Pre-market: 113.40 -3.07 (-2.64%)

Joy Global (JOY): Reported EPS of $0.49 missing estimates by -$0.15. Pre-market: 56.69 +0.90 (1.61%)

Staples (SPLS): Reported EPS of $0.33 missing estimates by -$0.06. Pre-market: 11.71 -1.69 (-12.61%)

Markets: 
Futures at 6:20: Dow +0.20%. S&P +0.23%. Nasdaq +0.15%. Crude -0.68% to $100.77. Gold -0.22% to $1337.30. U.S. 10 Year -7/32 to 2.732%

Europe: London +0.32%. Paris +0.80%. Frankfurt +0.31%. 

Asia: Japan +1.59% to 15135. Hong Kong +0.55% to 22703. China +0.32% to 2060. India +1.11% to 21514. 

#TopWealthManager #RLPaler #FinancialPlanning #WallStreet #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports

Gold Prices Fall.

Gold Prices Fall. Gold has dropped to $1200 an ounce for the first time since June after the Fed's decided to taper its QE program by $10B a month. , Gold prices have fallen over -28% this year and is currently trading at $1.201.50 down -2.74%. Silver was -3.7% at $19.32.

Upgrades:

Sirius XM (SIRI): Wunderlich raised their rating from Hold to Buy and raised their target price from $4.20 to $4.50.

Downgrades:

Ford Motor Co. (F): Craig-Hullum lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $21.00 to $16.00.

Comerica (CMA): Macquarie lowered their rating from Neutral to Underperform and placed a target price of $41.00 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM): SunTrust lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and lowered their target price from $62.00 to $59.00.

Coverage Initiated:

Edison International (EIX): Tudor Pickering initiated coverage with an Accumulate rating.

Ralph Lauren (RL): Stephens initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and target price of $184.00.

Southwest Airlines (LUV): UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $25.00.

Standard Pacific (SPF): Sterne Agee initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $8.00.

Tiffany & Co (TIF): Stephens initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and target price of $95.00.

Xylem (XYL): Sterne Agee initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $32.00.

Earning Reports:

Accenture (ACN): Reported EPS of $1.15 beating estimates by +$0.05. Pre-market: 78.08 +2.46 (3.25%)

ConAgra (CAG): Reported EPS of $0.62 beating estimates by +$0.06. Pre-market: 33.09 +1.30 (4.09%)

KB Home (KBH): Reported EPS of $0.31 missing estimates by -$0.16. Pre-market: 16.95 -0.60 (-3.42%)

Oracle (ORCL): Reported EPS of $0.69 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 35.34 +0.74 (2.14%)

Paychex (PAYX): Reported EPS of $0.43 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 44.00 +0.68 (1.57%)

Rite Aid (RAD): Reported EPS of $0.04 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 5.42 -0.34 (-5.90%)

Winnebago Inds (WGO): Reported EPS of $0.40 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 31.65 +0.01 (0.03%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:59: Dow -0.42%. S&P -0.51%. Nasdaq -0.53%. Crude -0.09% to $97.71. Gold -2.74% to $1201.50. U.S. 10 Year -13/32 to 2.944%.

Europe: London +0.87%. Paris +0.93%. Frankfurt +0.94%. 

Asia: Japan +1.74% to 15859. Hong Kong -1.10% to 22889. China -0.95% to 2128. India -0.73% to 20709. 

#RLPaler #WallStreet #PreMarket #WealthManagement#EarningReports #AnalystsRatings #Gold

Google Buys Boston Dynamics. Google (GOOG) has purchased Boston Dynamics, a manufacture of robots and software for the U.S. military and DARPA. Boston Dynamics is best known for their four legged robots on You Tube where Big Dog and Cheetah resemble something straight from a space sci-fi movie. Cheetah can run at speeds over 29 mph. Atlas is a humanoid robot able to traverse difficult terrain and designed to go where humans cannot. Pre-market: 1,063.80 +3.01 (0.28%)

Upgrades:

Blackberry (BBRY): Bernstein raised their rating from Underperform to Market Perform and placed a target price of $5.50 on the company. Pre-market: 6.18 +0.10 (1.64%)

Charles Schwab (SCHW): Evercore raised their rating from Underweight to Equal Weight.

Citigroup (C): Evercore raised their rating from Equal Weight to Overweight. Pre-market: 51.48 +0.51 (1.00%)

Exxon Mobil (XOM): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $96.00 to $109.00. Pre-market: 96.35 +1.04 (1.09%)

Fifth Third Bank (FITB): Evercore raised their rating from Equal Weight to Overweight.

Monster Beverage (MNST): RBC Capital raised their rating from Outperform to Top Pick and placed a target price of $77.00 on the company. Pre-market: 62.67 +1.21 (1.97%)

St Jude Medical (STJ): BMO Capital raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $59.00 to $66.00.

Taser International (TASR): JPMorgan raised their rating from Neutral to Overweight and raised their target price from $17.00 to $18.50. Pre-market: 16.05 +0.53 (3.41%)

Tiffany & Co. (TIF): Canaccord raised their rating from Sell to Hold and raised their target price from $65.00 to $85.00. Pre-market: 90.20 +0.89 (1.00%)

Verizon Communications (VZ): Maquarie raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform. Pre-market: 48.25 +0.41 (0.86%)

Downgrades:

PNC Financial (PNC): Evercore lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight. Pre-market: 75.22 -0.16 (-0.21%)

Starbucks (SBUX): Stephens lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight and lowered their target price from $95.00 to $85.00. Pre-market: 76.18 -0.17 (-0.22%)

Twitter (TWTR): SunTrust lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and maintained their target price of $50.00. Pre-market: 57.95 -1.05 (-1.78%)

Twitter (TWTR): Wells Fargo lowered their rating from Market Perform to Underperform and maintained their target range of $36.00-$39.00. Pre-market: 57.95 -1.05 (-1.78%)

Coverage Initiated:

Cintas (CTAS): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $56.00.

Markets: 
Futures at 6:20: Dow +0.4%. S&P +0.4%. Nasdaq +0.5%. Crude +0.5% to $97.11. Gold -0.5% to $1228.50. U.S. 10 Year -3/32 2.856%.

Europe: London +0.5%. Paris +0.8%. Frankfurt +1.4%. 

Asia: Japan -1.6% to 15153. Hong Kong -0.6% to 23115. China -1.6% to 2161. India -0.3% to 20660. 

#RLPaler #WallStreet #PreMarket #WealthManagement #EarningReports #AnalystsRatings

China Bans Banks from Bitcoin

China Bans Banks from Bitcoin. Report says that The People's Bank of China has banned banks from trading in Bitcoin. In a statement officials said that the virtual currency doesn't have "real meaning," and no legal status as a formal currency. While the ban affects banks, Chinese citizens are still free to trade the currency. Currently Bitcoins are trading down -15.8% to $1000 on the news.

Upgrades:

Aeropostale (ARO): KeyBanc raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral. Pre-market: 8.90 -0.46 (-4.91%)

Celgene (CELG): UBS raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $163.00 to $200.00. Pre-market: 163.25 +3.18 (1.99%)

Jack in the Box (JACK): Wedbush raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and raised their target price from $50.00 to $60.00. Pre-market: 47.12 +0.64 (1.38%)

Smith &Wesson (SWHC): Lake Street raised their rating from Hold to Buy and raised their target price from $12.00 to $17.00. Pre-market: 11.85 +0.25 (2.16%)

Sprint (S): Nomura raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $6.00 to $10.50. Pre-market: 8.10 +0.15 (1.89%)

Tiffany & Co (TIF): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $97.00 to $105.00. Pre-market: 90.15 +1.57 (1.77%)

Union Pacific (UNP): Raymond James raised their rating from Outperform to Strong Buy. Pre-market: 163.50 +2.11 (1.31%)

Downgrades:

J.M. Smucker (SJM): Wells Fargo lowered their rating from Market Perform to Underperform. Pre-market: 103.00 -1.75 (-1.67%)

Coverage Initiated:

Boston Scientific (BSX): The Benchmark Co. initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $12.00.

eBay (EBAY): CRT Capital initiated coverage with a Fair Value rating and target price of $58.00. Pre-market: 51.08 -0.01 (-0.02%)

Oracle (ORCL): BMO Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $42.00.

Raymond James (RJF): Buckingham initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $58.00.

Spirit Aero Systems (SPR): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $39.00. Pre-market: 33.81 +2.17 (6.86%)

Earning Reports:

Aeropostale (ARO): Reported EPS of -$0.29 missing estimates by -$0.06. Pre-market: 8.90 -0.46 (-4.91%)

Dollar General (DG): Reported EPS of $0.72 beating estimates by +$0.02.

Guess? (GES): Reported EPS of $0.42 beating estimates by +$0.05. Pre-market: 34.00 +0.66 (1.98%)

Royal Bank of Canada (RY): Reported EPS of $1.40 beating estimates by +$0.02.

Synopsys (SNPS): Reported EPS of $0.56 beating estimates by +$0.01.

Markets: 
Futures at 7:43: Dow -0.03%. S&P +0.12%. Nasdaq +0.20%. Crude +0.14% to $97.37. Gold -1.32% to $1230.70. U.S. 10 Year -9/32 2.870%.

Europe: London +0.04%. Paris -0.13%. Frankfurt +0.31%. 

Asia: Japan -1.50% to 15177. Hong Kong -0.07% to 23713. China -0.21% to 2247. India +1.20% to 20958. 

#RLPaler #WallStreet #PreMarket #WealthManagement #EarningReports #AnalystsRatings #Bitcoin  

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

EU Unemployment Hits Record High. Unemployment in the eurozone rose in April to a new high of 12.2% from 12.1% in March. The new number means that over 19.4 million people are unemployed. Inflation in the zone rose to an annual 1.4% in May up from 1.2% in April. The core CPI, which excluded food and energy rose more than economist had expected to 1.2% from 1%.

Netflix Added to Nasdaq 100. On June 6^th Netflix (NFLX) will be added to the Nasdaq 100 replacing Perrigo (PRGO). Shares of Netflix may rise as portfolio managers at the company to their index funds. NFLX Pre-market: 224.70 +2.04 (0.92%)

Upgrades

Canadian National Railway (CNI): JPMorgan raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral and raised their target price from $96.00 to $110.00.

Downgrades

Golar LNG Partners (GMLP): BMO Capital lowered their rating from Outperform to Sector Perform and placed a target price of $34.00 on the company.

Panera Bread (PNRA): Lazard Capital lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 191.74 -2.08 (-1.07%)

Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG): BMO Capital lowered their rating from Market Perform to Underperform and placed a target price of $43.00 on the company.

Coverage Initiated

Boston Scientific (BSX): Wedbush initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $10.00.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $26.00. Pre-market: 22.76 +0.23 (1.02%)

CVS Caremark (CVS): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target range of $68.00 - $72.00.

Express Scripts (ESRX): Wells Fargo initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target range of $64.00 - $69.00.

Jazz Pharma (JAZZ): Stifel initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $80.00.

Medtronic (MDT): Wedbush initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $54.00.

St Jude Medical (STJ): Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $57.00.

Tiffany & Co (TIF): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $89.00.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Guess? (GES): B. Riley & Co. reiterated their Neutral rating and raised their target price from $26.00 to $36.00. Pre-market: 31.53 +2.18 (7.43%)

Earning Reports

Guess? (GES): Reported EPS of $0.14 beating estimates by +$0.06. Pre-market: 31.53 +2.18 (7.43%)

Krispy  Kreme (KKD): Reported EPS of $0.20 beating estimates by +$0.04. Pre-market: 15.77 +1.51 (10.59%)

Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF): Reported EPS of $0.66 beating estimates by +$0.21. Pre-market: 29.10 +1.07 (3.82%)

OmniVision (OVTI): Reported EPS of $0.31 beating estimates by +$0.10. Pre-market: 18.60 +3.11 (20.08%)

Pall (PLL): Reported EPS of $0.74 beating estimates by +$0.01.

Markets: 

Futures at 7:33: Dow -0.50%. S&P -0.50%. Nasdaq -0.50%. Crude -0.78% to $92.89. Gold +0.13% to $1413.30.

Europe: London -0.91%. Paris -0.60%. Frankfurt -0.54%. 

Asia: Japan +1.37% to 13775. Hong Kong -0.41% to 22392. China -0.74% to 2301. India -2.25% to 19760.