Morning Movers 1/08: thinkorswim (SWIM) Up On Buyout, Wal-Mart (WMT) Lower on Poor Guidance

January 8, 2009 10:14 AM EST

StreetInsider.com Morning Movers:

Aviza Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVZA) 150% HIGHER; sees its Q1 sales at the low end of its previously issued guidance of $25-$32 million, which compares to the Street estimate of $26.20 million. At the same time, Aviza raised its Q1 adj-net income guidance from $50,000 to a loss of $4 million to a gain of $1-$4 million. Additionally, the company has decided to engage Needham & Company to explore partnering, financing and business development options.

Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDS) 51% HIGHER; results from the first cohort of an ongoing Phase Ib clinical trial of ANA598, the Company's investigational non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor. ANA598 was very well-tolerated and demonstrated potent antiviral activity in patients infected with chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in this first cohort of the study.

thinkorswim Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SWIM) 42% HIGHER; AMERITRADE (NASDAQ: AMTD) and thinkorswim entered into a definitive agreement for TD AMERITRADE to acquire thinkorswim in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately $606 million as of Jan. 7, 2009.

ION Geophysical Corporation (NYSE: IO) 30% LOWER; expects to report fourth quarter revenues of approximately $145 million to $165 million, versus the consensus of $244.25 million and revenues of $209.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. As a result, ION now expects 2008 consolidated revenues to range between $685 and $705 million. The consensus is $775.6 million.

Sears Holdings (Nasdaq: SHLD) 20% HIGHER; reports comparable store sales for the month of December were down 7.3%. Sees Q4 EPS of $2.44-$3.09, versus the Street estimate of $1.90.

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULTA) 20% LOWER; Same store sales down 5.8%. For Q4, Ulta lowers its sales, comparable store sales and EPS estimates from $354-$368 million to $339-$343 million, minus 2%-plus 2% to minus 6%-minus 5%, and $0.24-$0.28 to $0.18-$0.19, respectively. The Street is currently expecting Q4 sales of $363.80 million and EPS of $0.26. For FY08, Ulta lowers its sales guidance from $1.1-$1.11 billion to $1.082-$1.086 billion, and its EPS guidance from $0.47-$0.51 to $0.41-$0.42. Same store sales for the year are expected to be flat to plus 0.4%.

Hansen Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: HNSN) 18% LOWER; downgraded at Morgan Stanley

J. Crew Group, Inc. (NYSE: JCG) 16% LOWER; lowers Q4 guidance. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, the Company currently expects earnings (loss) per share in the range of ($0.24) to ($0.29), as compared to its previous range for earnings per diluted share of $0.05 to $0.10.

American Oriental Bioengineering Inc. (NYSE: AOB) 16% LOWER; Downgraded at Piper Jaffray on real estate acquisition.

Helen of Troy (Nasdaq: HELE) 15% LOWER; reports Q3 EPS of $0.48, versus the analyst estimate of $0.70. Revenue for the quarter was $185.6 million, versus the consensus of $204.21 million.

Merix (Nasdaq: MERX) 13% LOWER; reports Q2 loss of $0.29, which may not compare to the analyst estimate of ($0.12). Revenue for the quarter was $76.9 million, versus the consensus of $87.63 million.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISRG) 12% LOWER; reports preliminary Q4 sales of about $232 million and FY08 sales of about $875 million. The Street is currently expecting Q4 and FY08 sales of $255.08 million and $898.15 million, respectively.

Dress Barn, Inc. (NASDAQ: DBRN) 10% LOWER; now believes, based on the results of the Holiday season, it is prudent to assume that margins are likely to remain under pressure for the second half of this fiscal year. As a result, the Company now estimates earnings per diluted share for fiscal 2009 will be in the range of $0.70 to $0.85, versus its previous earnings guidance of $0.90 to $1.00 per diluted share. The Wall Street consensus is $0.90.

Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) 9% HIGHER; Dec Comps Down 1%. Upgraded at Cowen

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) 9% LOWER; Comparable store sales for December were up 1.7%. Wal-Mart sees Q4 EPS of $0.91 and $0.94, below prior guidance of $1.03 to $1.07.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) 9% LOWER; today reported sales of $539.2 million for the month of December, with same store sales down 24%. As a result of the charge to tax expense and the expected non-cash impairment charge, the Company now anticipates that net income per diluted share for Q4 will be significantly below the $1.00-$1.05 guidance previously issued.

Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: JAVA) 8% LOWER; Goldman downgrade

Premier Exhibitions Inc. (Nasdaq: PRXI) 8% LOWER; Merriman downgrades to Neutral

Sonic Corp. (Nasdaq: SONC) 7.5% LOWER; reports Q3 EPS of $0.12, 4 cents worse than the analyst estimate of $0.16. Revenue for the quarter was $184.1 million, versus the consensus of $189.16 million. Q1 comps down 3.6%.

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) 7% LOWER; December comparable store sales decreased 10%. Limited Brands currently estimates that fourth quarter earnings will be between $0.55 and $0.70 per share. The consensus is $0.87.

Immucor (Nasdaq: BLUD) 6.3% HIGHER; reports Q2 EPS of $0.24, 3 cents better than the analyst estimate of $0.21. Revenue for the quarter was $73 million, versus the consensus of $71.07 million.

GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) 6% HIGHER; today reported record sales results for the nine-week holiday period, November 2, 2008 thru January 3, 2009. Sales were $2.856 billion, a 22.3% increase from sales of $2.334 billion in December '07. Comparable store sales for the period rose 10.2%. Raises its Q4 same store sales guidance to up 9-9.5%. Also raises and narrows its Q4 EPS guidance from $1.29-$1.34 to $1.31-$1.34, versus the Street estimate of $1.31. For FY08, GameStop sees EPS of $2.37-$2.40. Same store sales for the year are expected to be up 12-12.5%.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) 5.7% LOWER; announced the company's comparable store sales decreased 12.3% for the five-week period ended January 3, 2009, versus a comparable store sales increase of 3.9% in the year ago period ended January 5, 2008. Total net sales for the five-week period ended January 3, 2009 decreased 0.1% to approximately $72.0 million, compared to approximately $72.0 million for the five-week period ended January 5, 2008.

TD AMERITRADE (Nasdaq: AMTD) 5.6% LOWER; Buys thinkorswim

EMC (NYSE: EMC) 5.6% HIGHER; affirms Q4 guidance and announced a restructuring program to further streamline the costs related to its Information Infrastructure business, which does not include VMware. EMC will cut 2,400 jobs from its workforce. Click here for the full report.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) 5% HIGHER; Bernstein upgrades to Outperform

Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) 5% HIGHER; Company's same store sales increased 12% in December.
Based on the better than expected results for the month, the Company now expects fourth quarter earnings in the range of $0.90 to $0.92 per diluted share, versus its previously issued guidance of $0.84 to $0.90 per diluted share. The consensus si $0.87.

Robbins & Myers (NYSE: RBN) 4% HIGHER; reports Q1 EPS of $0.50, 8 cents better than the analyst estimate of $0.42. Revenue for the quarter was $177.97 million, versus the consensus of $176.45 million. Sees Q2 EPS of $0.40-$0.50, versus the consensus of $0.42, and FY09 EPS of $1.8-$2.00, versus the Street estimate of $1.92.

Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) 4% LOWER; Goldman downgrade

Macy's, Inc. (NYSE: M) 3% LOWER; today announced sales for December were $4.397 billion, compared to $4.614 billion in the same period last year. Same store sales for the month were down 4%. Lowers its Q4 same store sales guidance from down 1-6% to down about 7.5%. Also lowers its Q4 EPS guidance from $1.10-$1.30 to $0.90 to $1.00, versus the consensus of $1.11. For FY08, EPS guidance moves from $1.30-$1.50 to $1.10-$1.20.

ON Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: ONNN) 3% LOWER; today announced that it is taking additional cost reduction measures. The company will cut 1,500 jobs from its workforce. Click here for the full report. Also Lowered its Q4 sales guidance.

Get This Report Daily Here: http://www.streetinsider.com/entities/StreetInsider.com+Morning+Movers

Related Categories

Special Reports

Stocks Mentioned

Related Entities

• Piper Jaffray
• Morgan Stanley
• Needham & Co
• Merriman Curhan Ford
• Cowen & Co
• StreetInsider.com Morning Movers

Add Your Comment

Name

Subject

Body

Verification can't see the text?
click here to refresh the image.
what's this?