{"id":7433,"date":"2014-03-05T08:34:23","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T13:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=7433"},"modified":"2014-03-05T08:34:23","modified_gmt":"2014-03-05T13:34:23","slug":"before-the-open-mar-5-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=7433","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Mar 5)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Wednesday.<\/span>
\n The Asian\/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Japan, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan led the way. Europe is currently mixed; there are no standout winners or losers. London, Germany and Greece are down; Prague, Italy and Spain are up. Futures here in the States point towards an up open for the cash market.
\n<\/span>
\n The dollar is flat. Oil is down, copper is up. Gold and silver are up. <\/span>
\n Has the market settled down? We got a moderate down day Monday and a much bigger up day Tuesday. All the indexes (except the Dow) are sitting at new all-time highs. <\/span>
\n I’m sure the bears could search hard and find a chart that backs up their stance, but the reality is the market is super strong right now. Having an opinion and then searching for support of that opinion is a recipe for disaster. With a objective eye, listen to what the market tells you. Let that be your guide. <\/span>
\n Two+ weeks ago several breadth indicators hit extreme levels. This was a sign the market was strong and likely to continue higher. That’s why I’ve been saying all along new highs are coming. I’m not that smart. I don’t have a crystal ball. I just listen to what the market tells me. <\/span>
\n My biggest concern right now is the extent of rallies of several big cap leadership stocks. <\/span>
\n Google has rallied from 850 to 1225 since October – a huge move from a big cap stock.<\/span>
\n Facebook has rallied from 45 to 70 in three months. <\/span>
\n Priceline has moved from 1100 to 1375 in one month. <\/span>
\n Tesla has doubled from 125 to 250 in three months. <\/span>
\n Netflix has moved from 325 to 450 in six weeks. <\/span>
\n Wynn has rallied 50% from 160 to 240 in three months. <\/span>
\n The list is long. Biotechs, airlines, aerospace & defense…all doing great. <\/span>
\n Is Tesla going to double again? Is Facebook and Google going to rally another 50%. I highly doubt it. So in order for the market to keep going up, a new crop of stocks will need to step up and lead because it’s unlikely these stocks can continue their pace. <\/span>
\n This is my biggest doubt…that so many stocks have rallied so much, I wonder how much is left in the tank. <\/span>
\nStock headlines<\/strong> from barchart.com…<\/span>
\n Stifel keeps a ‘Buy’ rating on Facebook (FB +2.06%) after it raised its price target on the stock to $82 from $72.<\/span>
\n Navistar (NAV +0.19%) reported a Q1 EPS loss of -$3.05, a much larger loss than consensus of -$1.77.<\/span>
\n Dillard’s (DDS -0.75%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Outperform’ at Credit Suisse.<\/span>
\n Pandora (P +3.41%) was upgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Sell’ at MKM Partners.<\/span>
\n Staples (SPLS +0.07%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at B. Riley.<\/span>
\n Boeing (BA +1.57%) was awarded a $1.16 billion government contract modification for full rate production of the AH-64E Apache helicopter, seventy-two remanufactured helicopter systems, ten new helicopter systems, and for and integrated logistics and support.<\/span>
\n ABM Industries (ABM +4.25%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 25 cents, right on consensus, although Q1 revenue of $1.23 billion was below consensus of $1.24 billion.<\/span>
\n Fairpointe Capital reported a 13.25% passive stake in Cooper Tire (CTB -0.65%) .<\/span>
\n Systemax (SYX +4.19%) reported Q4 non-GAAP EPS of 15 cents, over double expectatios of 7 cents.<\/span>
\n Smith & Wesson (SWHC +1.55%) jumped 10% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 36 cents, well above consensus of 29 cents, and then raised guidance on 2014 EPS to $1.39-$1.42 from $1.30-$1.35, higher than consensus of $1.33.<\/span>
\n Castle Creek Capital reported a 7.75% passive stake in MBT Financial (MBTF -0.41%) .<\/span>
\n Bob Evans (BOBE +1.55%) fell 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 30 cents, well below consensus of 57 cents, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS $1.60-$1.75, below consensus of $2.26, citing adverse winter weather that impacted restaurant sales.<\/span>
\n Synta Pharmaceuticals (SNTA +4.88%) cancels out of conferences after the company announced that its CEO Safi Bahcall had resigned, effective immediately.<\/span>
\nEarnings and Economic Numbers<\/strong> from seekingalpha.com…<\/span>
\n Today’s economic calendar:
\n 7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
\n 8:15 ADP Jobs Report
\n 9:00 PMI Services Index
\n 10:00 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index
\n 10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
\n 11:00 Global Composite PMI
\n 11:00 Global Services PMI
\n 2:00 PM Fed’s Beige Book<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n Notable earnings before today’s open: ARQL, BF.B, CSIQ, END, FSS, HOV, INXN, LINC, MCGC, PETM, POZN<\/span>
\n Notable earnings after today’s close: BIOL, BYD, CWST, ERII, GA, LHCG, LRE, SMTC, SN, SYNC, TCRD, VVTV, WX, ZGNX<\/span>
\nOther<\/strong>…<\/span>
\ntoday’s upgrades\/downgrades<\/a> from briefing.com<\/span>
\nthis week’s Earnings<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Economic Numbers<\/a><\/span>
\n