Penske Automotive (NYSE:PAG) reported Q1 EPS of $0.55, beating estimates by $0.07.Revenues in the quarter rose 17.9% year-over-year to $3.24 billion, beating estimates by $160 million.The company boosted its dividend to $0.11 per share for the quarter from $0.10.
4-26-12-PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) reported Q1 EPS of $0.69, topping estimates of $0.67.Revenues in the quarter came in at $12.4 billion, inline with estimates.PepsiCo expects to return over $6 billion in dividends, buybacks.The company reaffirmed its EPS forecast.SmarTrend is bullish on shares of PepsiCo and our subscribers were alerted to buy on March 21, 2012 at $65.31. The stock has risen 2.1% since the alert was issued.
4-26-12-Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) reported Q1 EPS of $2.02, topping estimates of $1.71.Meanwhile, Q1 sales came in at $11.29 billion, vs. estimates of $10.56 billion.Lockheed still sees annual sales of $45 billion – $46 billion, vs. estimates of $45.65 billion.Lockheed said it still sees annual EPS of $7.70 – $7.90, vs. estimates of $7.87.Limit raised its segment oper net view to $5.08 billion -$5.18 billion, from its prior $5.03 billion -$5.13 billion.
By CountingPips.com
The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report, released on Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), showed that large futures speculators decreased their overall US dollar long positions last week for a second consecutive week while British pound sterling positions turned positive for the first time since August.
Non-commercial futures traders, including hedge funds and large speculators, decreased their total US dollar long positions to $19.58 billion on April 24th from a total long position of $22.6 billion on April 17th, according to the CFTC COT data and calculations by Reuters which calculates the dollar positions against the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.
Individual Currencies:
EuroFX: Currency speculator sentiment improved for the euro currency last week as euro net short positions or bets against the currency decreased to 113,367 contracts on April 24th from the previous week’s total of 118,125 net short contracts. Euro positions had declined two consecutive weeks before last week’s turnaround.
The COT report is published every Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and shows futures positions as of the previous Tuesday. It can be a useful tool for traders to gauge investor sentiment and to look for potential changes in the direction of a currency or commodity. Each currency contract is a quote for that currency directly against the U.S. dollar, where as a net short amount of contracts means that more speculators are betting that currency to fall against the dollar and net long position expect that currency to rise versus the dollar. The graphs overlay the forex spot closing price of each Tuesday when COT trader positions are reported for each corresponding spot currency pair.
GBP: British pound sterling positions rose last week for a second consecutive week and landed in positive territory for the first time since last August. British pound positions saw a total of 7,536 net long contracts on April 24th following a total of 13,051 net short contracts registered on April 17th. Pound positions have surged higher and surpassed the August 29th level of 444 net long contracts to level at the highest standing since August 22 when long contracts equaled 10,961.
JPY: Japanese yen speculative contracts improved slightly last week for a second consecutive week as Yen positions totaled 55,903 net short contracts reported on April 24th following a total of 57,803 net short contracts on April 17th.
CHF: Swiss franc speculator positions declined last week for a second straight week after improving for the previous two weeks. Speculator positions for the Swiss currency futures registered a total of 16,641 net short contracts on April 24th following a total of 13,762 net short contracts as of April 17th.
CAD: Canadian dollar positions continued to advance higher and reached their highest level since May of 2011. Canadian dollar positions rose to a total of 44,224 net long contracts as of April 24th following a total of 38,028 long contracts that were reported for April 17th. CAD positions surpassed their highest level of the year which was a total of 42,315 contracts on March 19th and are at the highest level since May 3, 2011 when long contracts numbered 54,041.
AUD: The Australian dollar long positions declined slightly after advancing the previous week. Aussie positions fell to a total net amount of 46,041 long contracts on April 24th after rising to 48,421 net long contracts reported as of April 17th. AUD speculative positions on April 10th had reached their lowest level since long positions totaled 32,637 on December 27th 2011.
NZD: New Zealand dollar futures speculator positions declined following rises for three consecutive weeks. NZD contracts decreased to a total of 9,486 net long contracts as of April 24th following a total of 11,939 net long contracts on April 17th. NZD contracts on April 17th were at their highest level since March 13 before pulling back last week.
MXN: Mexican peso speculative contracts trended lower for the third consecutive week. Peso long positions declined to a total of 40,208 net long speculative positions as of April 24th following a total of 46,101 long contracts that were reported for April 17th.
COT Currency Data Summary as of April 24, 2012
Large Speculators Net Positions vs. the US Dollar
EUR -113367
GBP +7536
JPY -55903
CHF -16641
CAD +44224
AUD +46041
NZD +9486
MXN +40208
4-26-12-Monster Worldwide (NYSE:MWW) reported Q1 EPS of $0.04, topping estimates of $0.02.Revenues in the quarter came in at $246.1 million, vs. estimates of $240.3 million.The company sees Q2 EPS of $0.04-$0.08, vs. estimates of $0.06.The company sees booking down 5% to up 1% vs. $251 million.Monster sees Q2 revenues down 4% – 8% vs. the year ago’s $259 million and estimates of $242.8 million.SmarTrend alerted subscribers to take profits in Monster Worldwide on April 20, 2012 at $8.44, since then the stock fell 3.3%. We are now watching for any positive developments that could result in a new uptrend signal.
4-26-12-Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) reported Q1 EPS of $0.76, beating estimates by $0.09.Revenues in the quarter rose 12% to $646.8 million, beating estimates by $31 million.Moody’s now sees annual revenue growth in low double-digit range, vs. its prior view of high single to low double-digit.Analysts’ estimates were for up 10% to $2.51 billion.Moody’s expects 2012 EPS at upper end of $2.62-$2.72 range given in early February, vs. estimates of $2.71.
E*Trade Financial (NASDAQ:ETFC) was upgraded from Underperform to Outperform at CLSA today. The stock closed yesterday at $10.67 on volume of 5.8 million shares, above average daily volume of 5.5 million.E*Trade Financial share prices have moved between a 52-week high of $16.83 and a 52-week low of $7.42 and closed yesterday at 44% above that low price at $10.67 per share. In the last five trading sessions, the 50-day moving average (MA) has climbed 1.0% while the 200-day MA has slid 0.6%.E*Trade Financial (NASDAQ:ETFC) defies analysts with a current price ($10.67) 0.8% above its average consensus price target of $10.58. E*Trade Financial shares have support at the 50-day moving average (MA) of $10.26 and additional support at the 200-day MA of $10.19.
Dr Pepper Snapple (NYSE:DPS) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Davenport today. The stock closed yesterday at $39.70 on volume of 2.4 million shares, above average daily volume of 2.0 million.Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. is an integrated brand owner, bottler and distributor of non-alcoholic beverages in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Company offers flavored carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, teas, juices, juice drinks and mixers.In the past 52 weeks, shares of Dr Pepper Snapple have traded between a low of $34.37 and a high of $43.13 and closed yesterday at $39.71, which is 16% above that low price. Over the last five market days, the 200-day moving average (MA) has remained constant while the 50-day MA has advanced 0.3%.There is potential upside of 5.2% for shares of Dr Pepper Snapple based on a current price of $39.71 and an average consensus analyst price target of $41.78. Dr Pepper Snapple shares have support at the 50-day moving average (MA) of $39.12 and additional support at the 200-day MA of $38.23.SmarTrend is tracking the current trend status for Dr Pepper Snapple and will alert subscribers who have DPS in their portfolio or watchlist when shares have changed trend direction.
4-27-12-Covidien (NYSE:COV) reported fiscal Q2 EPS of $1.05, topping estimates by $0.02.Revenues in the quarter rose 5.2% year-over-year to $2.95 billion, inline with estimates.Covidien PLC is a global healthcare products company. The Company develops, manufactures and distributes a diverse range of medical devices and supplies, diagnostics imaging agents, pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products for use in clinical and home settings.SmarTrend is bullish on shares of Covidien and our subscribers were alerted to buy on January 03, 2012 at $46.02. The stock has risen 19.6% since the alert was issued.
4-27-12-Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) reported Q1 EPS of $0.94, beating estimates by a penny.Revenues in the quarter rose 2% year-over-year to $20.2 billion, missing estimates by $100 million.Procter & Gamble expects FY 2012 core EPS of $3.82-$3.88, down from its February 23rd view of $3.93-$4.03, vs. estimates of $3.99.SmarTrend currently has Procter & Gamble in an Uptrend. Since 2008, SmarTrend subscribers trading Procter & Gamble using our alerts outperformed the stock by 3%. We are monitoring these developments and will alert subscribers to any change in trend.Shares are down 1.1% pre-mkt.
