Markets Continue To Rally As The Dow Closes Above 17,000

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U.S. stocks continued to charge forward as the Dow closed above the 17,000 mark as consumer confidence rose more than expected in October.

The Federal Reserve gathered Tuesday and will release a statement on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET. It is not a foregone conclusion that the Federal Reserve will announce at that time the end its tapering activities.

The CBOE Volatility Index fell 8 percent to 14.76 as corporate earnings remain generally strong and Ebola related concerns appear to be dissipating, but still remain a closely watched topic.

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The Dow gained 1.12 percent, closing at 17,005.75. The S&P 500 gained 1.19 percent, closing at 1,985.05. The Nasdaq gained 1.75 percent, closing at 4,564.29. Gold lost 0.09 percent, trading at $1,228.20 an ounce. Oil gained 0.49 percent, trading at $81.40 a barrel. Silver gained 0.23 percent, trading at $17.20 an ounce. News Of Note

ICSC Retail Store Sales rose 2.8 percent year over year after rising 2.1 percent last week.

September Durable Goods fell 1.3 percent (versus expectations of a 0.5 percent gain) to $241.6 billion.

August S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index rose 0.2 percent month over month (versus expectations of 0.5 percent) after rising 0.6 percent in July.

Redbook Chain Store Sales rose 4.4 percent year over year after rising 4.1 percent last week.

October Richmond Fed Manufacturing Survey rose to +20 (versus expectations of +10) from +14 in September.

October Consumer Confidence rose to 94.5 (versus expectations of 87.0) from 89.0 in September.

Analyst Upgrades And Downgrades Of Note

Analysts at Baird upgraded Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target raised to $180 from a previous $160. Shares gained 13.35 percent, closing at $151.68.

Analysts at Wedbush initiated coverage of GoPro (NASDAQ: GPRO) with an Outperform rating and $81 price target. Shares gained 6.76 percent, closing at $69.30.

Analysts at JPMorgan maintained a Neutral rating on Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) with a price target lowered to $50 from a previous $55. Shares lost 6.64 percent, closing at $54.66.

Analysts at Baird downgraded Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT) to Neutral form Outperform with a price target lowered to $21 from a previous $53. Shares lost 4.97 percent, closing at $15.12.

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Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Buy rating on Treehouse Foods (NYSE: THS) with a price target raised to $100 from a previous $93. Shares gained 3.12 percent, closing at $83.50.

Analysts at Wedbush maintained a Neutral rating on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) with a price target lowered to $40 from a previous $50. Analysts at Pivotal Research upgraded to Hold from Sell with a price target raised to $42 from a previous $38. Analysts at Nomura downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a price target lowered to $45 from a previous $55. Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Neutral rating with a price target lowered to $47 from a previous $53. Analysts at Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating with a price target lowered to $56 from a previous $62. Shares lost 9.84 percent, closing at $43.78.

Analysts at JPMorgan maintained a Neutral rating on Under Armour (NYSE: UA) with a price target lowered to $60 from a previous $63. Shares lost 0.63 percent, closing at $64.30.

Equities-Specific News Of Note

Blackstone (NYSE: BX) plans to raise $13 billion for a new global real estate fund. Shares gained 0.53 percent, closing at $30.55.

Alibaba's (NYSE: BABA) CEO Jack Ma said he is willing to cooperate with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) on a mobile payment system. Shares of Alibaba hit new 52-week highs of $100.67 before closing the day at $99.68, while shares of Apple gained 1.51 percent, closing at $106.70.

Novartis (NYSE: NVS) said that its experimental heart failure drug LCZ696 will eventually generate $2 billion to $5 billion in sales. Shares gained 2.37 percent, closing at $92.35.

Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) disclosed that it is exploring a potential sale of itself. Shares gained 3.75 percent, closing at $21.28.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) said it will add $5 billion to its current share buyback plan, bringing the total authorization to $6.4 billion. Shares gained 1.07 percent, closing at $163.60.

InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC) won a Delaware infringement suit against ZTE.

Related: InterDigital Traders Selling On News After Buying On Rumors

Winners Of Note

Tesla Motors' (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said that the company's September sales rose 65 percent year over year, contradicting reports from yesterday that indicated a slowdown in sales. Shares gained 9.45 percent, closing at $242.62, up 9.45 percent.

Madison Square Garden (NASDAQ: MSG) is considering splitting itself in to two companies; the first division will focus on sports and media, while the other will focus on real estate holdings. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $74.00 before closing the day at $73.00, up 10.98 percent.

Receptos (NASDAQ: RCPT) announced that its lead product candidate RPC1063 successfully achieved its primary endpoint in a Phase 2 clinical study, which evaluated safety and efficacy for the treatment of ulcerative colitis with a 1 mg dose. Shares surged to new 52-week highs of $102.60 before closing the day at $95.75, up 41.35 percent.

Decliners Of Note

Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) said that sales of its diabetes products will be flat next year due to heightened competition in the U.S. Shares lost 8.99 percent, closing at $48.07.

NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) rejected Bison Capital's buyout offer of $9.80 per share but remains in active discussions with the firm over other opportunities for investments and collaboration. Shares lost 15.43 percent, closing at $8.00.

Earnings Of Note

E.I. du Pont (NYSE: DD) reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.54 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53. Revenue of $7.51 billion missed the consensus estimate of 7.95 billion. Shares gained 0.10 percent, closing at $67.95.

Novartis (NYSE: NVS) reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $1.37 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29. Revenue of $14.70 billion beat the consensus estimate of $14.34 billion. Shares gained 2.37 percent, closing at $92.35.

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Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.57 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55. Revenue of $12.36 billion beat the consensus estimate of $12.23 billion. Shares gained 0.21 percent, closing at $29.09.

Coach (NYSE: COH) reported its first quarter results. The company earned $0.53 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46. Revenue of $1.04 billion beat the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $33.25 before closing the day at $34.00, down 5.95 percent.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.64 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62. Revenue of $5.70 billion was in line with the consensus estimate. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $28.64 before closing the day at $29.03, down 4.16 percent.

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) reported its third quarter results after market close. The company earned $0.43 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40. Revenue of $3.20 billion beat the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Shares were trading lower by 0.53 percent at $80.34 following the earnings release.

Quote Of The Day

“That's a range that the service industry and our customers can easily live within." - Halliburton CEO David Lesar on how the market will react to crude prices between $80 to $100 per barrel.

Posted-In: AerohiveEarnings News Econ #s Economics After-Hours Center Markets Movers Best of Benzinga

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Mid-Afternoon Market Update: NQ Mobile Climbs On SEC Filing; Huntsman Shares Slide

Related BZSUM Mid-Day Market Update: Micron Gains On Buyback Announcement; Sarepta Shares Dip Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Down; Merck Posts Upbeat Earnings

Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded up 0.01 percent to 16,806.73 while the NASDAQ tumbled 0.04 percent to 4,481.83. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.21 percent to 1,960.40.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares rose by 0.04 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included John B Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ: JBSS), up 3.3 percent, and Blyth (NYSE: BTH), up 3.1 percent.

In trading on Monday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 2.30 percent. Top losers in the sector included Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), down 14 percent, and Rex Energy (NASDAQ: REXX), off 9.8 percent.

Top Headline

Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter and narrowed its forecast for the year.

The Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based company posted a quarterly profit of $895 million, or $0.31 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.12 billion, or $0.38 per share. Excluding certain items, its earnings declined to $0.90 per share from $0.92 per share.

Its revenue slipped 4.3% to $10.56 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.88 per share on revenue of $10.64 billion.

Equities Trading UP

NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) shares shot up 6.60 percent to $9.53 after the company filed its SEC Form 20-F,l which showed full compliance and no attempts to delete documents.

Shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) got a boost, shooting up 3.35 percent to $32.10 after the company announced a new $1 billion stock repurchase authorization.

Prosensa Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: RNA) shares were also up, gaining 8.20 percent to $13.00 on the FDA requirement of additional data from Sarepta on Eteplirsen. Prosensa Holding is also looking to provide a drug to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Parsley Energy (NYSE: PE) were down 10.63 percent to $15.47. Goldman Sachs downgrades Parsley Energy from Neutral to Sell and lowered the price target from $25.00 to $15.50. Parsley Energy is expected to release its Q3 financial and operating results on November 11, 2014.

Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT) shares tumbled 32.72 percent to $15.85 on the FDA requirement of additional data from Sarepta on Eteplirsen.

Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) was down, falling 5.27 percent to $23.21 despite reporting upbeat earnings for the third quarter. However, the company reported revenue of $2.88 billion, versus estimates of $2.91 billion.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.60 percent to $80.52, while gold traded down 0.25 percent to $1,228.70.

Silver traded up 0.02 percent Monday to $17.19, while copper rose 0.74 percent to $3.06.

Eurozone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 slipped 0.62 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 1.45 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index tumbled 2 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX slipped 0.91 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 0.81 percent while UK shares dropped 0.92 percent.

Economics

The Markit services PMI fell to 57.30 in October, versus a prior reading of 58.90. However, economists were expecting a reading of 58.00.

The pending home sales index gained 0.3% to reach 105 in September, versus 104.7 in August.

The Dallas Fed general business activity index fell to 10.50 in October, versus a prior reading of 10.80. However, economists were expecting a reading of 11.00.

Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Futures Commodities Options Buybacks FDA

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Ferrari's invitation-only supercar

  Ferrari just got more exclusive LONDON (CNNMoney) Gather round and get ready to drool at one of the most exclusive vehicles in the world.

The Ferrari Sergio, produced in partnership with Italian design firm Pininfarina, is a car that's so limited and unique you have to be invited by Ferrari to buy it. The automaker is creating only six Sergios and they're estimated to cost millions each.

Ferrari told CNNMoney it pre-sold all six vehicles to deep-pocketed die-hard Ferrari fans in the U.S., Europe and Asia. If you haven't received a call from Ferrari yet, you're out of luck.

Ferrari, which is owned by Fiat (FIADF), has built a world-class name for itself based on its reputation for exclusivity. It capped production at 7,000 cars per year to ensure demand consistently outstrips supply, making its cars all the more desirable.

However, after a recent management shake-up, the company said it will ramp up production by 5% this year to ensure its waiting list doesn't get out of control.

While vehicle output may be increasing, limited production cars like the Sergio help Ferrari keep its exclusive edge.

The automaker also offers a "one-off" program where rich car collectors can buy a completely original car that they help design themselves. Each car costs millions.

"It's as far removed from mass production as you can get," said Ferrari spokesperson Jason Harris.

Ferrari has only created about a dozen of these bespoke cars since the "one-off" program launched a few years ago, but it said the program is gaining traction, which could be helping the company's bottom line.

Ferrari reported record revenue in the first six months of this year, up nearly 15% compared to the same period in the previous year, even as it sold fewer cars. Profits for the period also rose by 10%.

Musician Eric Clapton helped design this original Ferrari. It's one of a kind and estimated to be worth millions.

Clients who signed on to buy the new Sergios have made their commitment before the road-ready car design has even been finalized. Ferrari engineers still haven't figured out how to craft a vehicle that is based on a whimsical concept car that was designed without a! windshield and side mirrors.

The concept car was on show in London this month. Deliveries of the six Sergios are expected in 2015.

Spotify Won't Stream Any Miracles Out of Sprint

PORTLAND, Ore. (TheStreet) -- Oh really, Spotify? You're going to jump on with Sprint  (S) and totally take over that carrier's entire streaming market?

That's great. Let us know if it works out for you any better than a partnership with AT&T  (T) worked for Beats Music.

Streaming music companies are like goldfish swimming around a little plastic rock formation and bubbling diver statue: They have absolutely no memory and are always surprised by what's in the fishbowl. In the streaming community's case, the companies involved are continuously stunned by the fact that there's more than one such service in the app store and that mobile device owners would choose someone else's over theirs.

Or that someone would chose a service that requires less effort and is available for free. My colleague Rocco Pendola took Beats Music to task for its hubris earlier this week. He noted that the presence of cranky old rock curators like Trent Reznor failed to earn Beats any fans outside the esoteric music snob set, but didn't mention that Beats' touted deal with AT&T to offer unlimited downloads hasn't helped shore up the streaming service in the least. As Apple  (AAPL) discovered with iTunes Radio -- and its failing attempt to use streaming to sell music downloads -- the streaming audience cares as much about downloads as Run DMC fans care about Reverend Run's reality TV family.

Stock quotes in this article: S, T, AAPL, P 

If/when Spotify announces its deal with Sprint next week, it'll be touting a subscription plan with the nation's No. 3 wireless company that Consumer Reports places at the bottom of the pile for value, voice and 4G reliability. The value and quality of your audio tend to be big selling points for streaming customers, but Spotify is likely more concerned with capturing a small fraction of Sprint's 50 million users (Spotify's estimated paid listener base is 9 million worldwide) than with sparkling audio.

It just shouldn't expect miracles. Keep in mind that Beats' deal with the No. 2 carrier and its 110 million customers has led to a conversion rate -- from free trials to paid usage -- that's only put Beats' subscriber count "in the low six figures," according to Billboard. As Kantar Media points out, AT&T had $1.8 billion to blow on marketing last year. Sprint spent a fraction of that at $765 million.

We keep hearing a lot about "potential" when it comes to streaming music. iTunes Radio has the potential to turn around digital music sales that dipped for the first time last year, but only 1% to 2% of all listeners ever click the "buy" button. Beats Music has the potential to increase its audience tenfold overnight thanks to AT&T's subscription base and could take over the world as Pandora  (P) stays in the states, but more people watch early round National Hockey League playoff games in the United States than pay for Beats' service.

Spotify could get a big boost from the Sprint partnership, or it could realize that it just slapped its premium audio into the slowest car in the wireless lot. The reality is that Pandora still has a massive 31% stake in the streaming market, while the next closest competitor -- ClearChannel's online terrestrial radio offering iHeartRadio -- taking 9%. Spotify comes in at No. 4, which means more people would rather listen to standard radio online than listen to what Spotify is offering. Spotify could be fine with that. It's a great niche and one that Nielsen Soundscan monitors with great interest, noting that subscription streaming rose from little more than 25 billion streams in 2012 to 34 billion in 2013. With music executives putting 1,500 streams at the equivalent of a full digital album, streaming equivalent albums have increased by 10.1 million units so far this year as download sales dropped by roughly 9 million units. But it's facing competition that's not only more familiar, but requires a lot less interaction to craft playlists with. Oh, and they don't require subscriptions or conversion -- just a solid connection. Perhaps that's why Verizon Wireless has steered clear of these partnerships to this point. By opening its ecosystem to all devices and all streaming apps, Verizon levels the playing field and allows users to decide for themselves which service offers the best value. Even with Beats tying itself to AT&T and Spotify lashing its hopes to Sprint, listeners seem to have drawn their conclusions -- and carriers haven't altered them one bit. -- Written by Jason Notte in Portland, Ore. >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Jason Notte. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/notteham. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com. RELATED STORIES: >>Beats Music Thinks It's Netflix -- But It's Wrong >>Vinyl Is Streaming Music's Flipside >>Mainstream and Country Join Hands, Sing 'God Bless America'

Stock quotes in this article: S, T, AAPL, P  Jason Notte is a reporter for TheStreet. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Esquire.com, Time Out New York, the Boston Herald, the Boston Phoenix, the Metro newspaper and the Colorado Springs Independent. He previously served as the political and global affairs editor for Metro U.S., layout editor for Boston Now, assistant news editor for the Herald News of West Paterson, N.J., editor of Go Out! Magazine in Hoboken, N.J., and copy editor and lifestyle editor at the Jersey Journal in Jersey City, N.J.

Celgene: What Happened to the Buybacks?

There wasn’t much to complain about in Celgene (CELG) earnings report yesterday, which caused the biotech company’s shares to pop 6%. Bernstein’s Geoffrey Porges and Wen Shi point to Celgene’s declining buybacks:

During the quarter the company purchased a relatively modest 2.8mm shares for $252mm, compared to $2.2bn in share buybacks in the first half of the year…Our share count estimate is increased by 1-5% starting in 2015 due to lower buyback activity during the quarter…

The company’s share buyback activity was again lighter than we had anticipated, suggesting that the company either views their stock as more or less fairly valued in its recent range, or is husbanding their cash for strategic purposes.

Shares of Celgene have gained 2.78% to $103.13 at 2:28 p.m. today.

How Will Mercer International (MERC) Stock Be Affected by This Ratings Downgrade?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Credit Suisse downgraded Mercer International Inc. (MERC) to "neutral" from "outperform" earlier on Thursday.

The firm said it lowered the Vancouver-based pulp manufacturing company's ratings because of price appreciation.

Credit Suisse reiterated its price target of $12, and maintained its EPS estimates through 2016.  

Must Read: Warren Buffett's 25 Favorite Stocks STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. "Our MERC downgrade is largely premised on share price appreciation and, in our view, a less preferential potential risk-reward relationship," said Credit Suisse analyst Andrew M. Kuske. Shares of Mercer  closed up 1.17% to $11.22. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates MERCER INTL INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate MERCER INTL INC (MERC) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed -- some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, compelling growth in net income and impressive record of earnings per share growth. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including generally higher debt management risk, weak operating cash flow and poor profit margins." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: MERC's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 2.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 2.9%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share. The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Paper & Forest Products industry. The net income increased by 104.4% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$12.90 million to $0.57 million. MERCER INTL INC reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, MERCER INTL INC reported poor results of -$0.47 versus -$0.28 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($0.56 versus -$0.47). Net operating cash flow has decreased to $21.29 million or 12.44% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite a decrease in cash flow MERCER INTL INC is still fairing well by exceeding its industry average cash flow growth rate of -28.38%. The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 2.19 and currently higher than the industry average, implying increased risk associated with the management of debt levels within the company. Regardless of the company's weak debt-to-equity ratio, MERC has managed to keep a strong quick ratio of 2.10, which demonstrates the ability to cover short-term cash needs. You can view the full analysis from the report here: MERC Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Lumber Liquidators Third Quarter Earnings: 3 Things We Learned

Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL  ) third quarter earnings are out, and there's not much good news. Revenue came in at $266.1 million, $7.5 million short of analyst expectations, and earnings per share of $0.58, missing estimates of $0.68 by 17%. 

Let's take a look at how the company is doing on three important things that we looked at in this pre-earnings article. Did Lumber Liquidators make any progress this quarter?

1. Comparable sales results might be stabilizing, but it's too early to tell
Coming into 2014, Lumber Liquidators comparable store sales (which looks at sales results of stores opened at least one year) had been consistently in the mid-to-high single digits, indicating strong appeal and what looked like staying power. 

However, things took a turn for the worse beginning in the first quarter of the year, when comps fell to negative 0.6%. Management told us that this was primarily the result of a bad winter in the northeast -- a reasonable story based on similar impact to multiple industries. In the second quarter, comps fell again, this time by a whopping 7.1%, with management again saying that weather was heavily responsible for the results.

Here's a nice little chart from the Q2 earnings filing:

Source: Lumber Liquidators FY2014 second quarter 10Q

While the comps at stores affected by weather have clearly been lower, the company didn't include this same breakdown in the third quarter filing. However, this line from the report, sums up what management thinks was the impact of weather on its business this year:

We believe the increase in net sales in weather-affected areas was approximately 110 basis points and 640 basis points less than the increase at all other stores when comparing the three and nine months periods ended September 30, 2014 to the comparable periods in the prior year, respectively.

That's about 6% in lost sales in the stores most affected by weather. 

This quarter's comps were still down 4.9%, but that's some recovery from the -7.1% beating last quarter. However, it's still a far cry from management's prior guidance of "low single-digit" positive or negative comps, which it is continuing to guide for in the fourth quarter. 

2. Store expansion on track 
While the falling comps aren't good news, it's become relatively clear that this is a macro trend, and not a Lumber Liquidators problem alone. With that in mind, management is working on things that it can control: namely expanding at a reasonable pace based on sales and earnings, and updating/relocating existing stores to its new format. 

The quarterly earnings report didn't provide any detail on next year's plans, the company will open another three stores in the fourth quarter, putting the total new store count for 2014 at 34, just above the low end of projections from last quarter, and remodel another two. That means the company will have either opened or remodeled 51 stores by the end of 2014. Considering that stores opened more than three years reported comp sales of almost -6% last quarter, the remodel program is an important part of efforts to revitalize and prepare for the inevitable turnaround. 

3. Supply chain and inventory controls 
The company continues to talk about the inventory issues from earlier this year as having affected sales and margins, but management isn't standing pat. Plans are still in place to consolidate its east-coast distribution into a single facility in Virginia. On the west coast, Lumber Liquidators' Pomona, CA facility is handling distribution to 90 of the company's stores. Combined, the company expects a 100-point gross margin benefit from this supply chain improvement alone. 

Furthermore, the company continues to vertically integrate at least a portion of its supply chain, having recently added equipment that will allow it to process and produce up to 10% of its annual inventory needs in-house. Management says that this will give it better controls on products, and positively affect gross margins. Frankly, the company's success has been largely based on its ability to source product from mills and command strong margins at retail. It's early to tell whether it will turn out to be a smart move to add some vertical integration or not. 

Where are we now? 
Frankly, the continued slowdown in the remodel market makes it hard to project where things stand with Lumber Liquidators. However, the long-term view isn't as bad as things might seem, standing in the middle of an ugly year. The company remains profitable, and is using those profits to invest in growth, but not pushing too hard or too fast, or using debt to expand. Just as importantly, the steps to better rationalize its supply chain will not only aid in further expansion, but will drive costs down at the same time, adding further to the bottom line. 

Vertical integration? Too early to tell if this is a smart move, but by starting small -- with up to 10% of inventory needs -- there's not much at risk, and it could be a big benefit in years ahead. For now, it's just a small step that may or may not work out. 

At the end of the day, Lumber Liquidators remains an excellent business, albeit one that operates in a cyclical industry in the middle of a downturn. Once the customers come back, Lumber Liquidators will be ready.

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Existing Home Sales Rise, Beat Forecast

Related XHB Buckingham Initiates Coverage On Several Homebuilders Builder Confidence Falls Slightly

The National Association of Realtors released September existing home sales, showing an annualized rate of 5.17 million units sold, versus expectations of 5.1 million and the highest reading in over a year.

Sales of existing single-family homes rose 2 percent to 4.56 million in September from the prior month, which was also the fastest pace in a year. Purchases of multi-family properties increased 5.2 percent to 610,000.

The median price of an existing home rose to $209,700, a 5.6 percent increase from last year, with the South showing the largest advance. Previously owned homes on the market rose to 2.3 million, a 6 percent increase. This represents a 5.3 month supply at current sales rates, better than last month's 5.5 month reading.

Shares in the Homebuilders ETF (NYSE: XHB) were higher by 1.5 percent at $30.46.

Posted-In: The National Association of RealtorsNews Econ #s Markets

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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3D Systems Corporation and Staples Inc. Add In-Store 3-D Printing to Partnership

3D Systems (NYSE: DDD  ) and Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS  )  today announced a partnership that will give customers at individual Staples stores in New York City and Los Angeles access to 3-D printing capabilities.

Source: 3D Systems.

The two locations will allow for "an immersive 3D printing experience," which will give customers the ability to use 3-D hardware to print and create personalized products, according to a 3D Systems press release. In addition, customers can bring pre-made files and designs to have them printed in-store.

"Staples' established reputation as a leader in home office and small business solutions makes them an ideal partner for testing out live, consumer-facing 3D print services," 3D Systems Vice President Rajeev Kulkarni said in the announcement. "We have been thrilled with the retail experience and response from our audience, and the difference it makes being able to see, touch and experience 3D printing."

The press release noted that the centers will allow for both individuals and small-business customers to be educated further surrounding 3-D printing. They'll also be able to use software that will provide design and creativity functionality and have access to a 3DMe photo booth that can capture customers' facial images to create for things like personalized figurines.

"3D printing offers enormous potential for small businesses, and by using Staples, they can print with the technology without having to invest in it," Damien Leigh, Staples senior vice president of business services, added in the release. "The test with 3D Systems will help us learn about our customers' needs for a local 3D printing service, and how Staples can help them make more happen for their business through 3D printing."

The two stores will each have an on-site expert from 3D Systems, as well trained Staples associates to give customers greater understanding and guidance as they create a 3-D product. This announcement narrowly precedes the one-year anniversary of Staples announcing it would be the first major retailer to provide customers the ability to purchase the Cube printer from 3D Systems.

link

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Reports Higher Q3 Results (BK)

Before Friday’s opening bell, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK) released its third quarter financial results, which came in higher from last year and beat analysts’ estimates.

BK’s Earnings in Brief

BK reported Q3 net income of $1.07 billion, or 93 cents per share, up from $962 million, or 82 cents per share a year ago. Excluding special items, earnings were $734 million, or 64 cents per share, from $713 million, or 61 cents per share in the year prior. Analysts expected to see adjusted EPS of 61 cents. Revenue rose to $4.611 billion, from $3.783 billion last year. Analysts expected the company to report revenue of $3.98 billion.

CEO Commentary

BK’s Chairman and CEO Gerald L. Hassell noted: “We grew Investment Management and Investment Services fees, controlled expenses and executed on our capital plan. During the quarter, we also repositioned the Markets Group, which will improve our operating margin and return on capital. We achieved this despite a challenging environment, demonstrating the resilience of our business model and the exceptional efforts of our employees.”

BK’s Dividend 

The bank paid its last 17 cent dividend on August 8. We expect the company to declare its next dividend sometime in October.

BK Dividend Snapshot

As of market close on October 16, 2014

Click here to see the complete history of BK dividends.

The Bank of New York Mellon shares were mostly flat during premarket trading Friday. The stock is up 3.49% YTD.

3 Stocks Under $10 Making Big Moves Higher

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks



Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.



Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.



With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside.

Must Read: 10 Stocks George Soros Is Buying

Pernix Therapeutics

Pernix Therapeutics (PTX), a specialty pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets and sells branded and generic pharmaceutical products. This stock closed up 6.9% to $8.99 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $8.43-$9.27

52-Week Range: $1.68-$9.56

Tuesday's Volume: 1.20 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 443,789

From a technical perspective, PTX ripped sharply higher here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $8.93 with strong upside volume flows. This stock has been uptrending for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $6.83 to its intraday high of $9.27. During that uptrend, shares of PTX have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. This trend to the upside on Tuesday is now quickly pushing shares of PTX within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if PTX manages to take out Tuesday's intraday high of $9.27 to its 52-week high at $9.56 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PTX as long as it's trending above Tuesday's intraday low of $8.43 or above its 50-day at $7.69 then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 443,789 shares. If that breakout starts soon, then PTX will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $10 to $11, or even $12 a share.

Must Read: 5 Breakout Trades Beating the Market Slump

Intevac

Intevac (IVAC) provides process manufacturing equipment solutions to the hard disk drive and photovoltaic industries. This stock closed up 3.8% to $7.28 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $7.09-$7.44

52-Week Range: $4.82-$10.20

Tuesday's Volume: 106,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 152,092

From a technical perspective, IVAC jumped higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $6.84 with lighter-than-average volume. This stock has been uptrending a bit for the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $6.28 to its intraday high of $7.44. During that uptrend, shares of IVAC have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of IVAC within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if IVAC manages to take out its 200-day moving average of $7.63 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in IVAC as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $6.84 or above some more key near-term support at $6.60 and then once it sustains a move or close above $7.63 with volume that hits near or above 152,092 shares. If that breakout gets set off soon, then IVAC will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels near $8.80 to $9.44.

Must Read: 5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

Hhgregg

Hhgregg (HGG), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of home appliances, televisions, computers, tablets, consumer electronics, home furniture, mattresses, fitness equipment and related services under the hhgregg name. This stock closed up 5.7% to $6.27 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $5.66-$6.33

52-Week Range: $5.66-18.79

Tuesday's Volume: 210,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 196,320

From a technical perspective, HGG spiked sharply higher here right above its recent 52-week low of $5.66 with above-average volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last three months and change, with shares moving lower from its high of $11.28 to its recent low of $5.66. During that downtrend, shares of HGG have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of HGG have now started to bounce off its 52-week low and it's beginning to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That breakout could also signal a trend change for shares of HGG. That trade will hit if HGG manages to take out some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.58 to its 50-day moving average of $6.69 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in HGG as long as it's trending above Tuesday's intraday low of $5.96 or above its 52-week low of $5.66 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 196,320 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then HGG will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $7 to $7.74.

Must Read: 5 Rocket Stocks to Buy for a Shaky Market

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>5 Short-Squeeze Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

>>4 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

>>Sell These 5 Toxic Stocks Before the Next Drop

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com.

You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Dow Gains 100 Points as Small Caps Lead Stocks Higher; Too Early to Get Excited?

Bears took an early run at the markets gains today, but bulls not only came out ahead but have pushed stocks even higher–for now.

AP

The S&P 500 has risen 0.9% to 1,892.35 at 12:29 p.m. today, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 107.01 points, or 0.7%, to 16,428.08. The Nasdaq Composite has advanced 1.3% to 4,267.08 and the small-company Russell 2000 has jumped 2.4% to 1,074.23. But with most of the selling happening at the end of the day, it’s probably too early to get excited.

If you read the papers–or this blog, for that matter–you know that reasons for the recent selloff include fears of a rate hike, jitters about deflation, and concerns about European growth, or the lack thereof. The folks at Birinyi Associates, however, admit to having little idea what’s really been driving stocks lower:

 We have often likened the bull market to a drive across the country and said that it was presumptuous to leave New York on a Mon-day and assume you would arrive, on time, in LA for an 8:00 PM Saturday dinner reservation. The trip would have some detours, some bad weather, a flat tire along with some beautiful days and light traffic.

The stock market has had a detour and investors are – and should be – concerned. We continue to expect higher prices but recognize that there are significant issues which should be addressed. Our biggest concern is that we are not sure as to what is happening…

A faltering world economy is a valid concern, although China's continued growth has regularly been questioned since their Olympics. Now Germany and France have replaced Greece and Spain as economies of concern and the market has, rightly so, taken notice.

The biggest question we have is oil. No commodity is more tracked, analyzed, and discussed and yet all of a sudden we have a glut and a surplus? The combination of Europe, oil, Ebola, as well as Hong Kong and the continuing irresolution of Ukraine are overwhelming and disconcerting.

RBC’s Jonathan Golub and team predict the Vix will fall, stocks will rise and the stocks of small companies will outperform those of large ones”

Investor concerns regarding global growth have pushed the market lower and the VIX to a multi-year high. The data shows a strong inverse correlation between volatility and U.S. stock prices. Historically, every 7% move in the VIX has corresponded with a 1% move in the S&P500, and an even greater move in Small Caps…

Mini spikes in the VIX are quite normal; larger spikes tend to be driven by recessions or systemic risk issues…Market delivers above-average returns following volatility spikes.

What are above average returns? When the Vix spikes above 20%, the S&P 500 has averaged a return of 6.4% during the following three months, while the Russell 2000 has returned 8%.

Is anyone willing to bet on those averages?

UBS Cuts JCP To Sell, Says New CEO Can’t Fix Myriad Of Structural Problems

Investors seem enthusiastic about the news that Home Depot (HD) executive Marvin Ellison will take over as chief executive of J.C.Penney (JCP) next year, succeeding the retailer's current CEO Myron E. Ullman III. The shares were up nearly 3% at noon on Monday.

However, UBS analysts Michael Binetti, Steven Strycula, and K.C. Stumbaugh don't see much cause for celebration.  They downgraded the stock to Sell today, cutting their price target in half, to $5, and write that while Ellison is "credible hire," he isn't the solution to J.C.Penney's ongoing structural issues.

First, the downgrade.  Binetti and his team believe that the company's target of $1.2 billion in EBITDA by 2017 is "overly optimistic" given slow growth in the department store industry and the lack of a clear roadmap for taking share from rivals like Macy's (M) and Kohl's (KSS). This skepticism comes as same-store sales trends are decelerating.

More highlights from the note:

From our prior 2017 EBITDA forecast of $800m, we’re adding +$400m to reflect JCP’s plan to hold SG&A dollars flat through ’17. That said, we are reducing our ’15E-’17E SSS estimates to +4% in each year (from +5% previously, and below JCP’s guidance for a +5.4% 3-yr SSS CAGR)—bringing our ’17E EBITDA to ~$1B (below JCP’s $1.2B target). While the net effect raises our EBITDA from $800m to $1B, the quality of this increase is low based on lower SSS and little detail on how JCP will contain SG&A.

We’re also lowering our price target & rating to reflect lower SSS estimates & JCP’s elevated cash flow risk vs peers (high debt) if sales continue to miss JCP’s plan. With the potential EBITDA scenarios for JCP becoming clearer, we think it’s time for valuation to normalize back to in line with (or at the low end of) the historical peer average (5x-6x EBITDA). Even  using JCP’s 3-yr targets (which we find too bullish), the 1-yr forward stock value would be  ~$7/share (5.5x, mid-pt of 5-6x historical range, 10% disc. rate)—near today’s price.

There are other issues as well. Binetti and team believe that negative traffic trends will force J.C.Penney to revert to deep discounts to attract customers, while the landscape has only become more crowded, with nearly 900 new stores from its various competitors opening in the past four years. With no significant cost restructuring or store closure program on the horizon, they are skeptical of the company's selling, general and administrative targets, and they write that there will be "significant negative cash flow implications if JCP is unable to achieve its $14.5B 2017 revenue guidance."

The analysts downgraded the stock independent of Ellison's appointment, but they don't see that making much of a difference to their thesis. They write that a new CEO—especially one without experience in the softline space—won't be able to do much to amend the many structural problems J.C. Penney faces:

We’re surprised at the timing of the CEO hire given JCP just last week rolled out a 3-yr strategy that we don’t think it will be able to achieve. An effective store operator helps, but JCP needs merchant/product talent to drive traffic. While bringing in a credible new CEO has some benefits, JCP’s customers are leaving the store (traffic is negative). Competition for cheap apparel has increased significantly (TJX/ROST/H&M/ KSS/M//TGT/Forever 21 have added 880 new US stores since ’10) and JCP’s product is largely undifferentiated. Cash flow risk is high (w/high debt vs peers)—limiting JCP’s ability to boost advertising or renovate stores at the same pace as peers.

Tech, Semiconductors Among Worst Performers As Sell-Off Continues

Related AA UPDATE: Tigress Financial Upgrades Alcoa Alcoa Inc Q1 Conference Call Highlights Making Money With Charles Payne: 10/08/14 (Fox Business)

U.S. stocks continued to sell off on Friday on higher than usual volume.

Semiconductor stocks were hit hard following Microchip's profit warning and cautious sector-wide comments. The rest of the tech sector was weak, especially "momentum" and high-beta stocks as the Nasdaq index noticeably underperformed the S&P 500 and Dow indices.

Shares of the iPath S&P 500 VIX ST Futures ETN soared 11.30 percent on Friday, making it one of the best performing ETFs for the week.

The Dow lost 0.69 percent, closing at 16,544.10. The S&P 500 lost 1.15 percent, closing at 1,906.13. The Nasdaq lost 2.33 percent, closing at 4,276.24. Gold lost 0.16 percent, trading at $1,223.30 an ounce. Oil lost 0.23 percent, trading at $85.57 a barrel. Silver lost 0.28 percent, trading at $17.37 an ounce.

Recommended: 'Slow' Means 'Go' After Fed Alters Outlook

News Of Note

September Import Prices fell 0.5 percent month over month (versus expectations of a 0.8 percent decline) after declining 0.6 percent in August.

September Export Prices fell 0.2 percent month over month (versus expectations of a 0.1 percent decline) after declining 0.5 percent in August.

OPEC maintained their guidance of global oil demand growth at 1.05 million barrels per day in 2014 and 1.19 million barrels per day in 2015.

Analyst Upgrades And Downgrades Of Note

Analysts at Tigress Financial upgraded Alcoa (NYSE: AA) to Strong Buy from Buy. Shares lost 4.42 percent, closing at $14.71.

Analysts at Susquehanna maintained a Positive rating on Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) with a price target lowered to $390 from a previous $400. Shares lost 1.26 percent, closing at $311.39.

Analysts at Buckingham Research maintained an Underperform rating on Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) with a price target lowered to $114 from a previous $116. Also, analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage of Buffalo Wild Wings with an Outperform rating and $165 price target. Shares lost 0.31 percent, closing at $123.74.

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) with a Market Perform rating and $720 price target. Shares lost 0.76 percent, closing at $655.58.

Analysts at Bank of America maintained a Buy rating on Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) with a price target raised to $48 from a previous $45. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $44.87 before closing the day at $44.47, up 1.37 percent.

Analysts at Jefferies initiated coverage of EMC (NYSE: EMC) with a Buy rating and $37 price target. Shares lost 1.44 percent, closing at $27.98.

Analysts at Benchmark upgraded Electronic Arts (NYSE: EA) to Buy from Hold. Shares lost 1.37 percent, closing at $34.53.

Analysts at Susquehanna maintained a Positive rating on Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) with a price target raised to $88 from a previous $84. Shares lost 3.95 percent, closing at $72.91.

Analysts at Susquehanna maintained a Positive rating on Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) with a price target lowered to $660 from a previous $700. Shares lost 2.92 percent, closing at $544.51.

Analysts at Evercore Partners downgraded Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) to Sell from Equal-Weight while maintaining a $5.50 price target. Shares lost 6.90 percent, closing at $5.94.

Analysts at Summit Research maintained a Hold rating on Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) with a price target raised to $31 from a previous $27.50. Shares lost 5.09 percent, closing at $31.91.

Analysts at Susquehanna maintained a Positive rating on LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) with a price target raised to $240 from a previous $220. Shares lost 3.84 percent, closing at $194.23.

Recommended: Apple And Wall Street Fade Carl Icahn In The Short-Term

Analysts at Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating on PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) with a price target raised to $102 from a previous $100. Also, analysts at Credit Suisse maintained a Neutral rating on Pepsi with a price target raised to $95 from a previous $92. Shares gained 1.15 percent, closing at $94.65.

Analysts at Northland Securities maintained a Buy rating on Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) with a price target raised to $70 from a previous $65. Shares lost 4.13 percent, closing at $54.77.

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded T Mobile U.S. (NASDAQ: TMUS) to Buy from Hold with a price target raised to $35 from a previous $30. Shares lost 2.75 percent, closing at $27.61.

Analysts at Susquehanna maintained a Neutral rating on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) with a price target raised to $47 from a previous $45. Shares lost 8.84 percent, closing at $50.40.

Analysts at Tigress Financial initiated coverage of United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) with a Buy rating. Shares finished the day unchanged at $99.94.

Analysts at Gilford Securities upgraded Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to Buy from Neutral. Shares gained 0.55 percent, closing at $78.29.

Equities-Specific News Of Note

Bloomberg first reported that Blackstone (NYSE: BX) plans to spin off its financial advisory division. The company confirmed that it will spin off the division to a new publicly-traded firm. Blackstone holders will own around 65 percent of the new company. Shares lost 0.57 percent, closing at $29.60.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) stated that its sales in China rose 15.2 percent from a year ago at 319,936 vehicles. Shares lost 2.38 percent, closing at $30.29.

Starboard Value won all 12 seats on Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) board of directors following a vote at the company's annual investor meeting. Shares lost 1.83 percent, closing at $48.37.

Related: Starboard Value Earns Big Victory Over Darden Restaurants

Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) acquired a majority stake in Brazil's largest daily deal site named Peixe Urbano for an undisclosed sum. Shares lost 4.53 percent, closing at $203.34.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) finalized a deal with China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) to provide $970 million worth of hardware, software and services through 2015. Shares of Nokia lost 1.86 percent, closing at $7.90 while shares of China Mobile lost 3.02 percent, closing at $58.43.

21st Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) and Apollo Global (NYSE: APO) announced they will jointly create a new media group with a 50/50 ownership split. Shares of 21st Century Fox lost 2.05 percent, closing at $32.43 while shares of Apollo Global lost 3.55 percent, closing at $22.01.

Winners Of Note

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS) received Medicare coverage for Cologuard last night. Cologuard screens patients for colorectal cancer, and now Medicare Part B will cover the costs for beneficiaries who qualify. Shares surged to new 52-week highs of $26.79 before closing the day at $24.60, up 35.76 percent.

Level-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) revised its second quarter numbers in a 10-Q filling and stated that it identified weaknesses in internal controls over its financial reporting. The company showed a total pretax income revisions of $140 million and sales revision to $73 million. Shares gained 6.51 percent, closing at $115.15.

Decliners Of Note

Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) unveiled last night a duel-motor Model S sedan that can accelerate from 0-60mph in 3.2 seconds. The car can travel 275 miles on a fully-charged battery and includes auto pilot features such as self-parking. The company will began shipping the car in December. Shares lost 7.82 percent, closing at $236.91 as reaction toward the vehicle came in mixed.

Related: Mixed Reactions To Tesla's 'D' Unveiling

Last night Microchip (NASDAQ: MCHP) issued second quarter downside guidance. The company said that it expects its revenue to be $546.2 million, below prior guidance of $560 million to $567.9 million. Perhaps more alarming were the cements from the company's CEO Steve Sanghi who said “we believe that another industry correction has begun and that this correction will be seen more broadly across the industry in the near future.” Shares lost 12.26 percent, closing at $39.96.

Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) announced last night that it plans to split itself in to two companies. The first company will offer security software and services while the second company will offer storage management software and services. The split will be structured as a tax-free spinoff and is expected to finalize by the end of 2015. Analysts at Topeka warned investors: "While the split may appease some, it remains to be seen if either, or both, company can begin to generate top-line revenue growth. Conditions may be a bit awkward until the separation is complete, which is likely to take place in 2HF16." Shares lost 6.37 percent, closing at $21.95.

Manitowoc Company (NYSE: MTW) issued downside third quarter guidance and expects its EBITDA to be around $90 million compared to $112.4 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net sales are projected to be just under $1 billion, down from $1.01 billion a year ago. The company said that its crane segment will see revenues decline by mid-to-high single-digit percentage point from a year ago while operating margins will be around 7 percent. The company's food service segment is expected to see revenues rise by a low-to-mid single-digit percentage point with operating margins around 15 percent. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $17.72 before closing the day at $18.76, down 12.87 percent.

Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) issued downside third quarter guidance last night and expects its third quarter revenue to be $1.11 billion to $1.12 billion, lower than the company's prior guidance of $1.15 billion to $1.28 billion. The company also lowered its earnings per share guidance to $0.34 from $0.36 from a previous range of $0.35 to $0.40. The company blamed its downside guidance on a “lower-than-anticipated demand from service providers, particularly in the U.S.” Shares lost 9.07 percent, closing at $19.04.

Earnings Of Note

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) reported its third quarter results this morning. The company announced an EPS of $0.45, in line with the consensus estimate. Revenue of $980.80 million beat the consensus estimate of $980.10 million. Net earnings for the quarter rose to $375.8 million from $349.41 million in the same quarter a year ago, as the company saw its total average daily sales growth rate higher by 14.3 percent compared to 5.3 percent a year ago. However, gross margins declined by 90 basis points year over year to 50.8 percent (lower than the company's long-term guidance of 51 percent to 53 percent) due to an unfavorable sales mix. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $41.82 before closing the day at $42.54, down 4.83 percent.

Progressive (NYSE: PGR) reported its third quarter results this morning. The company announced an EPS of $0.50, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43. Revenue of $4.73 billion beat the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Net income for the quarter rose to $296.1 million from $232.4 million in the same quarter a year ago as the company saw its combined ratio (percentage of premiums paid out as claims and expenses) improve 170 basis points from a year ago to 92.5 percent. Shares lost 1.07 percent, closing at $25.00.

Quote Of The Day

"Toward the end of the interview, Maria asked me what advice I would offer women who are not comfortable asking for pay raises. I answered that question completely wrong. Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work. And when it comes to career advice on getting a raise when you think it's deserved, Maria's advice was the right advice. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask." - Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella retracting controversial comments he made regarding women's pay in the workforce.

Posted-In: 21st Century FoxEarnings News Econ #s Economics After-Hours Center Markets Movers Best of Benzinga

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Related Articles (AMZN + AA) Tech, Semiconductors Among Worst Performers As Sell-Off Continues UPDATE: Tigress Financial Upgrades Alcoa SunTrust Announces Cyber Indices #PreMarket Primer: Friday, October 10: Amazon To Offer Face-To-Face Interaction Alcoa Inc Q1 Conference Call Highlights

Here’s Why This Billionaire Fund Manager is Betting Big on Manchester United Stock

Manchester United (NYSE: MANU  ) has been weak in the field and in the stock market this year. On the field, the Premier League soccer team had a slow start to the season after last year's seventh-place finish. The stock is up slightly in 2014, but it is down 6% over the last 12 months. One billionaire fund manager has raised his stake in the team even as the majority owners of Manchester United lower theirs. Read on to find out why Ron Baron is betting big on Manchester United.

Source: Manchester United.

Baron is CEO, CIO, and portfolio manager of Baron Funds and Baron Capital Management. He is a noted growth fund manager whose Baron Growth Fund has returned cumulative average growth of 13.7% since its inception in 1994. The people at Baron Funds are long-term buy-and-hold growth investors with an average holding period of seven years.

According to the firm, Baron invests in businesses with business models that can't be challenged and that feature big growth opportunities while having a value-oriented purchase discipline based on what they believe the company can earn over the next three to five years. His philosophy also stresses thinking long term and investing in management teams with integrity and similar long-term mind-sets; this is encompassed in his firm's mission statement: "we invest in people." Finally, Baron Capital emphasizes exhaustive research to understand businesses, management teams, and industries, and to manage risk.

A few weeks ago, Baron Capital Group revealed that it had upped its stake in Manchester United to 15,026,190 shares. That's 37.8% of Manchester United's publicly traded shares, or 9.2% of the company overall. Currently the company has 39,777,957 Class A shares, which each get one vote and are publicly traded. Another 124,000,000 Class B shares are not publicly traded and carry 10 votes each. So why has Ron Baron bought so much of Manchester United? Based on his investment philosophy, I believe three things attract him to the company.

1. "We invest in people"
The Glazer family has owned Manchester United since 2005. Most of its ownership is held by a holding company called Red Football, though various family members have stakes held in irrevocable trusts. The Glazers own 124,000,000 Class B shares and 11,000,000 Class A shares, leaving the family with majority control, 82% of the economic rights, and 97.7% of the voting rights. How has the family done as stewards of the company?

The family had it relatively easy on the field for a few years as legendary manager Alex Ferguson led the team until the end of the 2012-2013 season. From 2005 he led the team to at least a top three finish every year, including four Premier League titles, a league cup win, and a title and two second-place finishes in the Champions League. After Ferguson's retirement, last season Manchester United hired David Moyes, who was sacked after he led the team to a seventh-place finish, missing out on qualification for European competition. The club has now invested considerable sums in players and a new coach to resume its winning ways.

Off the field, the Glazers have been paying down the debt they used to purchase the team. More important, the family has increased and diversified the club's revenue streams -- particularly its commercial revenue, which has gone from 27% of the team's overall revenue in 2007 to 42% last year.

Source: Manchester United.

The Glazers have done this by using Manchester United's strong brand to their advantage, which brings me to the second reason Baron is betting big on Manchester United.

2. "Business models that can't be challenged"
Soccer is unquestionably the most popular sport in the world. Manchester United claims it is the most-watched sports team in the world, with an estimated average live audience of 47 million people per game and a total of 659 million fans globally.

Manchester United is using that fan base to reap the largest sponsorship and licensing deals the world has ever seen. Beginning this season,General Motors'  (NYSE: GM  ) Chevrolet is paying $70 million annually through 2021 to be the team's jersey sponsor. That's well over double the price some of the world's other most popular soccer teams are getting from their shirt sponsors.

Source: Manchester United.

This year, Manchester United also signed a 10-year deal with Adidas, starting at the end of this season, to handle the team's wholesale retail, merchandising, apparel, and product licensing. The contract stipulates that Adidas will pay Manchester United a minimum 750 million pounds over the life of the contract. At current exchange rates that is over $1 billion over 10 years, a price that was too high for current kit sponsor Nike (NYSE: NKE  ) to accept.

Source: Manchester United.

The deal also stipulates that Manchester United will retain rights to its own retail stores, e-commerce site, monobranded products, and soccer camps.

3. Big growth opportunities
One key reason that cable cord cutting has not become a bigger trend is live events and sports programming. The value of sports content is high and rising. For instance, ESPN costs your cable provider 40 times as much as the average cable channel to provide to you. The value of contracts to broadcast the Premier League and Champions League are on the rise, and are expected to rise further after the current deals lapse in 2016 and 2018.

Source: Manchester United.

With the number of people watching soccer continuing to grow, especially in the U.S., the clubs that will benefit from the increased viewership the most are those with the strongest performance on and off the field. There's a virtuous cycle as the clubs with the best off the field performance can invest in better players, enabling the club to perform well on the field, and bringing in a disproportionate number of new fans as more people start following the sport.

As long as Manchester United can resume its winning ways, the club's off-field financial performance should reward shareholders for years to come.

Your cable company is scared, but you can get rich
Manchester United and live sports are one of the few things keeping your cable company in business. Long term, the trend isn't good for cable companies, but do you know how to profit? There's $2.2 trillion out there to be had. Currently, cable grabs a big piece of it. That won't last. And when cable falters, three companies are poised to benefit. Click here for their names. Hint: They're not Netflix, Google, and Apple.