Saturday, February 02, 2008

Trading Alerts: Monday, February 4, 2008

Anheuser-Busch (BUD-$48.06), the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light, and InBev NV, the Belgium-based maker of Beck's and Stella Artois could be the next large-scale brewers to merge, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect food processor Archer Daniels Midland (ADM-$45.50) to post earnings of 74 cents per share on revenue of $12.65 billion, on average, when it reports
second-quarter numbers on Monday.

Power toolmaker Black & Decker (BDK-$73.09) is the closest thing to
a ‘can’t lose’ proposition in this stock market, Jim Cramer declared on Friday’s Mad Money. "BDK is the right stock at the right price at the right time," he said.

Capital Southwest (CSWC-$121.37), a venture capital investment company with holdings in a variety of public (Heelys) and private businesses, is being urged again by a major shareholder to review portfolio alternatives to revive its market value—including an outright sale.

Car rental company Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc (DTG-$26.02) slashed its 2007 profit outlook by nearly half, citing weaker consumer demand during the holiday season and excess industry capacity among other reasons.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it was investigating the extent of
resistance worldwide to Tamiflu (oseltamivir), made by Gilead Sciences (GILD-$45.93) of the United States and Switzerland's Roche Holding (RHHBY-$91.46), in some seasonal H1N1 flu viruses that have a mutation making them "highly resistant."

On January 29, Piper Jaffray
initiated coverage on Gushan Environmental Energy (GU-$9.58) with a 'Buy' rating and $13 price target, projecting 55%-65% growth in sales and per share ADS in 2008 and 2009. The largest producer of bio-diesel fuel in China, Gushan Environmental is also a stock that touches on three of the hottest themes out there—China, energy and the environment—said Jim Cramer on the “Speculation Friday” segment of Mad Money.

Humana, Inc. (HUM-$81.84) should record
share-net of $1.31 a share on sales of $6.2 billion, when it announces 4Q:07 results on Monday. Zacks’ Investment Research values the publicly traded health benefits company at $76 a share, representing 13.8 times FY '08 earnings of $5.50 per share.

Physicians speculate that Medarex’s (MEDX-$10.50) Phase III melanoma drug, Ipilimumab, will
likely be rejected by the FDA, due to a missed primary endpoint in an open-label study.

Carl Icahn, the billionaire Wall Street investor, stepped up the pressure on Motorola, Inc. (MOT-$12.69), the struggling US-based mobile phone maker,
nominating a slate of four people to stand for election to the board.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS-$19.41) reports earnings for the
second-quarter of FY '08 on Monday. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial predict the media company to post a profit of 27 cents per share on revenue of $8.24 billion.

Investor Carl Icahn has quietly amassed
a big stake in department store operator J.C. Penney Co. (JCP-$48.50), according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Will Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) offer to buy Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) ratchet up the pressure on Time Warner Inc. (TWX-$16.07) to find
a lasting solution for its AOL unit?

U.S. government prosecutors are investigating whether Swiss banking giant UBS AG (UBS-$42.04) misled investors by reporting inflated prices of mortgage-backed securities it held despite knowing those valuations had eroded, the Wall Street Journal said on Saturday.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial look for Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM-$35.24) to post share-net of 42 cents on revenue of $3.14 billion, on average. Last week, the operator of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants announced that same-store sales (FY '07) year rose 0.9 percent for company stores and 1.9 percent for franchise stores compared with a 0.8 percent increase in U.S. company stores and a 0.6 percent increase at U.S. franchise stores in 2006.

Although not expecting any profit surprises in the quarter numbers to be released on Monday, Deutsche Bank analyst Jason West
downgraded Yum! Brands from 'Buy' to 'Hold' and lowered his price target from $43 to $37 a share, saying "the bar is set too high for '08".

Editor David J. Phillips does not hold a financial interest in any stocks mentioned in this article. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.

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