Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE:WLT), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Bulls Abandon Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) at Just the Wrong Time (SchaeffersResearch)
Bulls may have given up on Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) a little too soon. With the stock up nearly 6% today to hit a new all-time high of $49.88, there remains growing evidence that bullish options speculators have been heading for the exits. When I looked at Tesla Motors last Thursday, I noted the waning optimism in the name,as indicated by reduced demand for call options. At that point, Schaeffer’s put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for TSLA stood at 1.16, higher than 88% of the past year’s worth of readings. In the ensuing days, this ratio has jumped to 1.30, which is just 1 percentage point shy of an annual peak.
Fired Tesla employee sues company, wins (BizJournals)
An early Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) employee this week won a wrongful termination lawsuit against the company, reportedly walking away with $207,000 in damages. David Vespremi worked as Tesla’s director of communications for less than a year. He and 25 other Tesla employees were fired in December 2007, a move that Tesla cofounder Martin Eberhard called at the time a “stealth bloodbath.” Tesla went on to disparage the group of fired employees in the media, calling them “bottom performers.” Vespremi claims he had a hard time getting hired in the automotive industry for some time following his firing, according to a report in Jalopnik.
Tesla Motors Rating Reiterated by Morgan Stanley (TSLA) (UtahPeoplesPost)
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) in a report issued on Tuesday, Stock Ratings Network.com reports. They currently have a $47.00 target price on the stock. “Following Tesla’s pre-announcement, we adopted the guidance for net profitability on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis at over 4,750 units of Model S. We raise our FY Model S delivery forecast to 18k from 16k previously, but remain below the company’s target as we expect a modestly slower pace of production in 2H as the company rolls out deliveries to international markets. We expect a 0.2% positive OP margin (including stock comp) is the year’s peak, falling to -2.4% in 2Q and further in 2H, for a -5% FY OP margin. We expect Tesla benefited from significant sales of ZEV credits in the quarter that we fade to zero by 4Q. For 2014, we expect 20k units delivered, up from our previous estimate of 20k.,” Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s analyst wrote.
Tesla Preparing To Offer Industry-Topping Loan Service (Gas2)
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is preparing a fleet of 80 Model S vehicles to offer to customers whose vehicles are being serviced. Many people would love to receive luxury sports courtesy cars like the Tesla Model S when their own cars are being repaired, and Tesla Motors is preparing to do that…for current Tesla owners. This is Tesla’s latest effort at expanding both its customer base and customer service. Tesla recently added a leasing offer to let you build equity in leased vehicles, though the numbers they used are a bit, shall we say, sketchy.
Will Tesla seek federal help to end its war with state car dealers? (VentureBeat)
Several thousand Tesla owners have now purchased their cars by ordering and paying for them online after visiting a Tesla Store showroom. No franchised dealers are involved. That’s a model that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) feels is crucial to getting its electric cars into the mainstream. State and national auto-dealer groups strongly disagree. Very, very strongly. …Now Tesla’s ambitious CEO Elon Musk suggests that perhaps the company will attempt to ensure its legal right to sell cars directly at a Federal level. In an interview last week with trade journal Automotive News, he suggested that two routes might be Congressional legislation or a Federal lawsuit alleging restraint of interstate trade.
General Electric Motors (Economist)
FROM THE 1960s to the 1980s it was a General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) plant. From then until 2010 it was used by General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) and Toyota to make cars jointly. Now the giant carmaking factory at Fremont in Silicon Valley is in its third incarnation, as the manufacturing base of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), a maker of electric cars set up by Elon Musk, a founder of PayPal and of SpaceX, a rocket-maker. Mr Musk is a man of big ideas. His long-term aim is to help colonise Mars and die peacefully there. His entry into carmaking, an industry that has been the graveyard of many ambitions, is almost as bold. Mr Musk set up Tesla to hasten what he sees as the motor industry’s inevitable switch to battery power. Having started with expensive sports cars, to be followed next year by an equally upmarket sport-utility vehicle, the plan is eventually to move to more mass-market models and become a sort of “General Electric Motors”.
Next Big Push for Lenovo: Servers (WSJ)
Eight years ago, Lenovo Group Ltd. 0992.HK +9.46% leapt onto the world stage with an ambitious plan to buy International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) -8.15% vaunted personal-computer business. Now the Chinese company is turning to Big Blue again for the next step in its global push. People familiar with the matter said Lenovo is in advanced talks to buy a part of IBM’s server business in a potential deal that could be worth billions of dollars. Lenovo confirmed in a statement Friday it is in talks with a third party for a potential acquisition, without disclosing further details. A deal could turn Lenovo into a major competitor to Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ -2.72% and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) -3.80% in the server market, at a time when the Chinese company is already outpacing its U.S. rivals in the PC market. It would help Lenovo secure a new source of growth and profit at a time when world-wide PC sales are plummeting, and the company’s fledgling smartphone business hasn’t yet taken off outside China, analysts said.
IBM Profit Machine Slows; Shares Slide (Nasdaq)
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) said it expects to ramp up job cuts this quarter after sales of some software and mainframe computer fell short of expectations. The Armonk, N.Y., company said it will reduce its work force in some areas more quickly this quarter to meet its per- share earnings target for this year of $16.70. Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge didn’t disclose the number of layoffs, saying management hadn’t yet approved final plans but expects to report close to $1 billion of accounting charges this year to trim its work force–more than last year–with heavier reductions planned for the coming months.
Top Ranked Dividend Stock IBM Enters Oversold Territory (Forbes)
The DividendRank formula at Dividend Channel ranks a coverage universe of thousands of dividend stocks, according to a proprietary formula designed to identify those stocks that combine two important characteristics — strong fundamentals and a valuation that looks inexpensive. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) presently has an above average rank, in the top 50% of the coverage universe, which suggests it is among the top most “interesting” ideas that merit further research by investors. But making International Business Machines Corp. an even more interesting and timely stock to look at, is the fact that in trading on Friday, shares of IBM IBM -8.13% entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $191.04 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100. A stock is considered to be oversold if the RSI reading falls below 30.
IBM falls below $200, but Wall Street sees recovery (MarketWatch)
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) took a hard hit on Friday morning following a disappointing first-quarter report, but Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic that the stock will move back above the $200 level. Shares of IBM IBM -8.08% were down nearly 7% to about $193 by midday Friday. That’s more than 10% off the stock’s all-time closing high of $215.80 from mid-March, and pretty much gives up all of the gains Big Blue’s shares have made since the first of the year.
Wall Street rebounds with help from tech shares; IBM tumbles (Reuters)
Most stocks rose on Friday, bouncing back a day after the S&P 500 closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time this year, but IBM’s largest drop in eight years held back the Dow. Less than stellar earnings reports from McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) also weighed on the blue chips. But some marquee tech names bolstered the broader market and drove the Nasdaq up more than 1 percent, a day after strong results from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). … A more than 8 percent decline in International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) led the Dow lower after the company’s quarterly results missed estimates. IBM was recently down 8.2 percent at $190.25, its largest daily percentage drop since April 15, 2005.
Walter Energy Urges Shareholders to Vote for ALL TEN Board Nominees (BusinessWire)
Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE:WLT) today released the following open letter to shareholders: Dear Fellow Walter Energy Shareholders: We have spoken with many of you personally over the past months, and we want to thank you for your constructive insights and feedback. We pledge to continue to have an open dialogue with you in the months ahead. With days left before our Annual Meeting on April 25, we want to reaffirm that your Board is aligned with you in its commitment to maximize shareholder value. Since last Fall, when the met coal market began to decline, your Board and management team have taken decisive actions to position Walter Energy to deliver substantial increased value when met coal prices recover by aggressively reducing costs, safely increasing profitable met coal production, and improving your Company’s financial flexibility.
Investor assails Walter Energy’s accounting (TheDeal)
Activist investor Audley Capital Advisors LLP continued its push for change at Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE:WLT) on Wednesday, April 17, sending a letter to management asking it to change the coal mining company’s accounting policies to be better aligned with its competitors. Specifically, Audley is asking Walter management to provide a per ton cost analysis by geographic location instead of its current practice of lumping mining costs together, so that shareholders can see what the most cost-effective mines the company has. The activist also wants Tampa, Fla.-based Walter to examine its per ton costs “compared to the average of its peer group since the completion of the Western Coal [Corp.] acquisition in April 2011,” the letter stated.
Walter Energy Given New $25.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets (WLT) (UtahPeoplesPost)
Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE:WLT) had its target price trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $35.00 to $25.00 in a report issued on Monday, StockRatingsNetwork reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock. WLT has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Zacks reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Walter Energy in a research note to investors on Friday, April 12th. They now have a $25.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at RBC Capital reiterated a sector perform rating on shares of Walter Energy in a research note to investors on Friday, April 12th. They now have a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at RBC Capital cut their price target on shares of Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE:WLT) from $34.00 to $33.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday, March 28th. They now have a sector perform rating on the stock.
Audley Capital highlights superior qualifications of its director nominees (CoalGuru)
Audley Capital Advisors LLP reiterated the overall strength of its 5 highly qualified and experienced nominees for election to the Board of Directors of Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE:WLT), Incat the Company’s upcoming 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on April 25th2013. Mr Julian Treger managing partner of Audley Capital Advisors said that “We believe that the Board has been dominated for too long by a clique of longtime directors who have not worked in the best interest of stockholders. At this most critical time in Walter Energy’s history, we believe that there is a substantial lack of mining and public market experience among the current Board members.
Eat Chipotle’s Burritos, but Don’t Buy Its Stock (Fool)
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) soared after the company reported strong earnings last night. By 2:15 p.m. EDT, the stock was up 11%, topping the $360 mark for the first time since last summer. But can the burrito king’s stock live up to the promises its high valuation is making? Based on the most recent quarterly report, you can definitely make a case justifying today’s gains. The restaurant chain boosted its earnings by 22% on a 13% rise in revenue, with new-store growth driving the better results. Chipotle said it opened 48 new restaurants, and it hopes to hit 180 new locations for the year as a whole.
Strong 1Q results fuel Chipotle stock surge (Yahoo)
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), are rising Friday, a day after the burrito maker reported first-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations. THE SPARK: Denver-based Chipotle reported that it earned $76.6 million, or $2.45 per share in the first quarter ended March 31. That’s up from $62.7 million, or $1.97 per share, a year ago. Total revenue rose 13 percent to $726.8 million, primarily as the result of new locations. The figures were announced after regular trading. The company said it expects flat to low-single-digit sales growth at established locations. That’s not counting any potential hikes it makes to menu prices. The company declined to say when it might raise prices but said it likely wouldn’t be around the middle of the year, as it had previously suggested.
Chipotle rolling out premium margaritas (DaytonDailyNews)
Area Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) restaurants will start mixing up made-to-order, premium margaritas in time for Cinco De Mayo, according to National Restaurant News and other media outlets. The margarita made of Patrón Silver tequila, Triple Sec, fresh lime and lemon juices and organic agave nectar will be sold at 900 of the Denver-based chain’s 1,458 restaurants beginning April 29. They will cost $6.50 and $8. “Many people are not aware, but we have served margaritas at Chipotle from the beginning,” said Mark Crumpacker, chief marketing officer at Chipotle, in a press statement posted on the Huffington Post. “Previously, however, they were made using a margarita mix and we didn’t feel they were as delicious as they could be. Our new margarita recipe eliminates the mix in favor of a few simple ingredients. The new margarita tastes much better and is a really terrific addition to our menu.”
Chipotle Jumps as First-Quarter Sales Beat Estimates (BusinessWeek)
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), the Denver-based fast-casual dining chain, rose the most in almost 18 months after first-quarter sales topped analysts’ estimates, helped by an acceleration of store openings. Chipotle added 7.4 percent to $352.59 and earlier climbed as much as 8.1 percent for the biggest intraday gain since Oct. 21, 2011. The shares increased 10 percent this year through yesterday, compared with an 8.1 percent gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
Deutsche Bank Raises PT on Chipotle Mexican Grill on Solid 1Q Margins Beat (Benzinga)
In a report published Friday, Deutsche Bank analyst Greg Poole reiterated a Hold rating on Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), and raised the price target from $330.00 to $345.00. In the report, Poole noted, “The double-edged sword of commodity inflation. CMG posted a solid beat on 1Q margins, and ests. moving higher. However, mgmt. showed more hesitation around raising menu prices than in recent calls, citing some moderation in food infl. and a choppy macro. Higher pricing is a key component of the 2H bull case. The uncertainty here may limit near-term upside in the shares.” Chipotle Mexican Grill closed on Thursday at $328.36.
