General Mills (NYSE: GIS): Q4 Earnings Preview 2011

General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) is scheduled to release fiscal fourth quarter results after the closing bell walaikum salam. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 52 cents on revenue of $3.68 billion. In the year ago quarter, the company reported earnings of 41 cents per share on revenue of $3.57 billion.

General Mills Inc. manufactures and markets branded and packaged consumer foods worldwide. The company also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the foodservice and commercial baking industries. The company's brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Betty Crocker, Haagen-Dazs, Yoplait, Pillsbury and Totino's pizza. 

General Mills benefited from the recession as cash strapped consumers preferred to eat more meals at home and shifted to cheaper private label foods.  General Mills is also betting on older consumers to help fuel its long-term growth plans. Usually older people prefer to eat more at home and as the U.S. population ages; more people should be eating at home. General Mills expects these people to eat foods like Progresso soup, Yoplait yogurt and Fiber One cereal. 

In the preceding fiscal third quarter, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company reported that its net income was $392.1 million, or 59 cents per share from $332.5 million or $0.48 per share in the prior-year quarter. Revenue rose 1.6% percent to $3.65 billion from $3.59 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 56 cents on revenue of $3.70 billion.

The company recently reaffirmed its fiscal earnings per share guidance of $2.46 - $2.48, excluding mark-to-market effects and a net gain related to certain tax items. This represents a growth of 7 to 8 percent from earnings of $2.30 per share reported in the previous year.

The packaged food supplier's long-term growth model established in 2006 calls for low single-digit compound growth in net sales, mid single-digit growth in segment operating profits and high single-digit growth in earnings per share.

General Mills is known for its focus on new products and packaging. As a result, the company is a heavy spender on research & development.  Last year, these expenditures amounted to $218 million. A big focus has been on healthier food items.  No doubt, this should help to boost long-term growth.

However, the company is facing the pressure of high commodity costs for key ingredients like grain and other production necessities like fuel. The company has also been pushing through price increases to recover the high input costs.

Full Disclosure: None.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): Q4 Earnings Preview 2011

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), the world’s largest athletic apparel and footwear maker, is scheduled to release its fiscal third-quarter financial results after the closing bell on Monday, June 27, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of $1.16 per share on revenue of $5.54 billion. In the year ago quarter, the company reported earnings of $1.06 per share on revenue of $5.08 billion.

Nike, Inc. designs, develops, and markets footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products for men, women, and children worldwide. It is a seller of athletic footwear and athletic apparel in the world. Nike's business operations are divided into four major segments, with Footwear being the leading revenue contributor at 55 percent, followed by Apparel at 26 percent, Equipment with 5 percent, and Other's contributing 14 percent to the total revenue.

In the preceding fiscal third quarter, the Beaverton, Oregon-based company's net income was $523 million, or $1.08 per share, compared to $497 million, or $1.02 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenues rose 7 percent to $5.08 billion from $4.73 billion last year. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $1.11 per share on revenue of $5.16 billion.

Last year, the company unveiled its strategy for long-term growth across its global portfolio of brands and businesses, indicating its main financial objectives through 2015 to include high single-digit revenue growth, mid-teens earnings per share growth, and a return on invested capital of 25%. The company's target included revenues of $27 billion by the end of fiscal 2015 based on growth expectations across its portfolio, like the Nike Brand, Cole Haan, Converse, Hurley, Jordan Brand, Nike Golf and Umbro.

The company continues to contain costs by improving supply chain efficiencies and other cost reduction programs. Nike has performed well in the last year, gaining over 9%, and looks to continue to grow its business by diving into the action sports arena. Action sports like skateboarding are the fastest growing category in the Nike brand, and Nike may look to focus on growing that category further.

The footwear industry is among several in the retail sector benefitting from a recent uptick in in overall employment and consumer spending. The back to school season at the end of summer could be a great opportunity for companies in the footwear sector, especially athletic and casual footwear, to generate sales and hopefully continue momentum into the end of the year. 

Full Disclosure: None.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU): Q3 Earnings Preview 2011

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), the largest U.S. DRAM maker, is scheduled to release its fiscal third-quarter earnings on Thursday, June 23, 2010. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 16 cents per share on revenue of $2.37 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 92 cents per share on revenue of $2.29 billion.

Micron Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and marketing of semiconductor devices worldwide.  Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets a full range of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products. DRAM chips are a key component in personal computers, while NAND flash chips are critical to portable electronics. 

In the preceding fiscal-second quarter, the Boise, Idaho-based company's net income was $72 million, or 7 cents per share, compared to $365 million, or 39 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose to $2.26 billion from $1.96 billion a year ago. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $2.06 billion.

Memory chip makers have seen their top lines spike as mobile demand has grown at a rapid pace. Industry experts expect the trend to continue as Flash memory has set the industry standard for data storage on smartphones and other portable devices. Mobile phone analysts at Gartner project smartphone sales to reach roughly a billion units by 2015, providing the memory chip industry with significant growth opportunities going forward.In addition, there is increased optimism that the Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) market is turning around. DRAMeXchange reported earlier this month that contract prices for DRAM chips increased in the first half of May due to a surge in demand from PC manufacturers. According to DRAMeXchange, PC manufacturers want to increase their shipments to gain further inroads into the market now that Acer's business has been on the decline. Given that demand from PC manufacturers will continue to be strong, prices are likely to increase into the first half of June, DRAMeXchange added.

However, memory chips are subject to some of the most volatile swings in pricing in the semiconductor industry. They are considered commodities and companies compete fiercely on price.

In April, the company announced the expansion of its operations in Xi'an, China. Also, Micron Technology and Intel Inc. (NASDAQ: INTC) expanded their NAND Flash memory joint venture operations with the official opening of IM Flash Singapore. IM Flash has ramped production of 25nm NAND Flash memory at the Singapore facility since mid-2010. The facility is expected to be at full production levels later in 2011.

During the quarter in review, the company announced plans to sell its wafer manufacturing facility in Nishiwaki City, Hyogo, Japan, to Israel-based TowerJazz. The deal has been valued at $140.0 million, of which roughly $40.0 million will be paid in cash and approximately 20 million through TowerJazz ordinary shares.

Full Disclosure: None.

Analyst Actions: BSX, FFIV, BIIB, SNV, FRX

Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX): Credit Suisse on Tuesday upgraded its rating on the company to Buy from Hold citing compelling risk/reward, expectations for an acceleration in EPS growth, and cost reductions.

F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV): Barclays this morning upgraded this rating on the company to Overweight  from Equal-weight. The firm lifted its price target on the stock to $125 from $100.

Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB): Credit Suisse upgraded its rating on the company to Outperform from Neutral. The firm raised its price target on the company to $126 from $100.

Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV): Wunderlich Securities downgraded to Hold from Buy. The firm lowered its price target on the company to $2.50 from $3.50.

Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX): Argus upgraded its rating on the company to Buy from Hold. 

Full Disclosure: None.

Wall Street Climbs On Greek Hope, Citigroup (NYSE: C) Rallies

US stocks climbed Tuesday amid hopes that Greece will take appropriate actions toward averting a sovereign-debt default. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 109.63 points, or 0.91%, to finish at 12,190.63. The S&P 500 climbed 17.16 points, or 1.34%, to close at 1,295.52. The Nasdaq Composite rallied 57.60 points, or 2.19%, to 2,687.26.

The market expected a vote of confidence in Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou new cabinet to pass on Tuesday -- the first of three hurdles the government must clear to avert the euro zone's first sovereign debt default. A successful vote could reassure investors that the country will push through budget cuts required for getting the latest installment of emergency loans. Worries that a default by Greece could upend financial markets have kept investors on edge since early May.

The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that existing home sales fell 3.8% to an annualized rate of 4.81 million in May from a rate of 5 million in April.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee started its two-day meeting Tuesday. The central bank's interest rate decision will be announced on Wednesday.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) reported Tuesday that its first-quarter profit rose to $603 million, or 65 cents a share, from $463 million, or 47 cents a share, in the prior-year quarter. Revenue rose 6.8 percent to $18.38 billion from $17.20 billion. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 62 cents per share on revenue of $18.33 billion. The company also said that contract renewal negotiations with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) have been unsuccessful, and as a result the company is planning not to be part of Express Scripts' pharmacy provider network as of Jan. 1, 2012. Shares of the company slumped $1.90, or 4.21%, to close at $43.28.

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) reported that its second quarter profit dropped to $206 million, or 26 cents per share, from $252 million, or 32 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose to $3.6 billion from $3.3 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of $3.52 billion. Shares of the company surged $1.51, or 4.23%, to $37.24.

Shares of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) rallied $1.15, or 3.01%, to close at $39.31. 

European stocks closed higher. The UK FTSE rose 81.92 points, or 1.44% to 5,775.31. The German DAX and French CAC increased 1.89% and 2.04% respectively.

Asian stocks finished down. The Nikkei 225 climbed 105.34 points, or 1.13%, to 9,459.66. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong rose 251.08 points, or 1.16%, to 21,850.59.

Full Disclosure: None.

Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT): Q1 Earnings Preview 2012

Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT) is scheduled to release its fiscal first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 22 cents per share on revenue of $253.58 million. In the year ago quarter, the company reported earnings of 18 cents per share on revenue of $209.14 million.

Red Hat, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides open source software solutions to enterprises worldwide. The Company employs an open source software development and licensing model that uses the collaborative input of an international community of contributors to develop and enhance software.

In the preceding fiscal fourth-quarter, the Raleigh, North Carolina based company's net income was  $33.5 million, or 17 cents per share, compared to $23.4 million, or 12 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 22 cents in the fourth quarter. Revenue rose 25% to $244.80 million from $195.87 million in the same quarter last year.Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 22 cents per share on revenue of $235.98 million.

For the fiscal first-quarter, Red Hat expects earnings of 21 to 22 cents per share, with revenue of $252 million to $255 million. The annual forecast is for earnings of 94 to 96 cents per share and revenue of $1.05 billion to $1.07 billion. 

Red Hat specializes in "open-source" software, which is technically free since its source code is distributed freely on the Internet, but which companies such as Red Hat are able to profit from by selling licenses that include support services. Red Hat offers open source software that is often used to deploy cloud computing solutions.

The company has benefited from growing adoption of "cloud computing" technologies. Cloud computing refers to services that are streamed over the Internet, instead of requiring software that's installed directly onto a desktop or laptop computer. According to CEO Jim Whitehurst, the company is on track to reach $1 billion in revenue in the fiscal year, helped by that trend.

Information technology spending is on the rise as companies spend more freely after clamping down during the Great Recession. But Japan's earthquake and tsunami have raised fears about companies such as Red Hat that do a large amount of business in that country. In regulatory filings, Red Hat has described Japan as the only country, besides the United States, that is individually material to its results. Still, Red Hat makes most of its money from U.S. customers.

Red Hat remains focused on managing discretionary costs effectively while increasing investments simultaneously in growth areas such as middleware, virtualization and cloud computing. 

Full Disclosure: None.

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY): Q1 Earnings Preview 2011

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 63 cents per share on revenue of $2.08 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 52 cents per share on revenue of $1.92 billion.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., along with its subsidiaries, is a chain of retail stores, operating under the names Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops, Harmon and Harmon Face Values and buybuy BABY. In addition, the Company is a partner in a joint venture, which operates two stores in the Mexico City market under the name Home & More. 

In the preceding fiscal fourth-quarter, the New Jersey-based company's net income was $283.5 million or $1.12 per share, compared with $226.0 million, or $0.86 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Revenue grew 11.6% to $2.50 billion from $2.24 billion in the prior year quarter. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 97 cents per share on revenue of $2.39 billion. 

At its last earnings call in April, the company said that it expects first-quarter earnings per share to be in the range of 58 cents to 61 cents. For full year, net earnings per share is expected to increase by about 10% to 15%. The company also said it expects net sales to rise at a mid-single-digit rate during the current first quarter and the full year, and is modeling same-store sales increases of 2 percent to 4 percent for the same periods. The company also said it expects to open 45 new stores this year across all its store chains, which also include Christmas Tree Shops and buybuy Baby, and expects to continue renovating and relocating existing stores.

The company has benefited from a recovery in consumer spending. Sales at home goods chains suffered during the housing downturn and recession, as consumers tightened their belts and spent only on basics. They are now showing more interest in spending on their homes as they spent more time at home.

Bed Bath represents a strong brand with solid growth opportunities. A brisk expansion strategy, debt-free balance sheet and strong cash position augur well for the company’s future operating performance. However, intense competition from department stores, specialty stores and mass merchandisers will likely  to continue hurt BBBY’s growth. The company's goal is to gain market share at the expense of department-store rivals such as Macy's (NYSE:M) and specialty retail competitors that include Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR) and even mass chains such as Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT).

Full Disclosure: None.

Limited Brands Rallies On Takeover Chatter

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) rallied more than 3% on Tuesday on speculation that the women's apparel retaile could be a takeover target.  The company operates 2,633 specialty stores in the United States and its brands are sold in more than 800 company-operated and franchised additional locations world-wide. Stay tuned for more.

Full Disclosure: None.

Focus Stocks: BIDU, ALU, AMD, BBY, AMD

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) on Tuesday announced that it has entered into a new strategic partnership agreement with China Real Estate Information Corporation, a leading provider of real estate information, consulting and online services in China, and +3.40%  , the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. Under the agreement, CRIC will become Baidu's premier strategic online real estate partner and will have the exclusive right to sell Baidu's real estate brandlink product, which is one form of keyword advertising, during the next three years. In addition, the two companies will continue their previous cooperation in several other Baidu products, including Baidu Website Promotion, Baidu Encyclopedia, Baidu Knows and Baidu Map, to further expand the online search-based advertising market for the real estate industry.

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) rose more than 2% on Tuesday after the company announced that it will hold a live web press conference on Tuesday June 28 to announce a groundbreaking innovation in Internet Protocol technology which will advance the future performance of the Internet.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) climbed more than 2% after Bright Side of News reported that the chipmaker's next CEO may come from IBM (NYSE:IBM).

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) on Tuesday announced that its board of directors has authorized a new $5 billion share repurchase program. The new program terminates and replaces the Company's prior $5.5 billion share repurchase program, which was announced on June 27, 2007 and had approximately $800 million of remaining authorization as of the first fiscal quarter of 2012 ended May 28, 2011.

Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS) rallied as much as 2% on Tuesday after Macquarie upgraded its rating on the company to Outperform from Neutral.

Full Disclosure: None.

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL): Q2 2011 Earnings Roundup

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) reported that its second quarter profit dropped to $206 million, or 26 cents per share, from $252 million, or 32 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose to $3.6 billion from $3.3 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of $3.52 billion

Commenting on the second quarter, Carnival Corporation & plc Chairman and CEO Micky Arison said, "Our North America brands' revenue yields increased 3 percent in the second quarter while yields for our Europe, Australia and Asia brands were up slightly (constant dollars), having been affected by the geo-political events which unfolded in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the earthquake and nuclear disaster in Japan. The revenue yield improvement was more than offset by higher fuel prices which cost the company approximately $150 million, or $0.19 per share."

Looking ahead,the company said that third quarter constant dollar net revenue yields are expected to increase 1.0 to 2.0 percent (up 5.5 to 6.5 percent on a current dollar basis) compared to the prior year. 

The company now forecasts full year 2011 fully diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.40 to $2.50, compared to 2010 earnings of $2.47 per share.

Full Disclosure: None.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG): Q1 2011 Earnings Roundup

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) reported Tuesday that its first-quarter profit rose to $603 million, or 65 cents a share, from $463 million, or 47 cents a share, in the prior-year quarter. Revenue rose 6.8 percent to $18.38 billion from $17.20 billion. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 62 cents per share on revenue of $18.33 billion. 

The company also said that contract renewal negotiations with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) have been unsuccessful, and as a result the company is planning not to be part of Express Scripts' pharmacy provider network as of Jan. 1, 2012. "While we have sought to negotiate a contract renewal agreement over the past several months, those talks have been unsuccessful," said Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson. "Under the terms proposed by Express Scripts, it would not make good business sense for the strategic direction of our company to continue our relationship with them." 

Full Disclosure: None.

Analysts Actions: RIMM, SPWRA, MMI, BIIB, WEN

Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM): Credit Suisse downgraded iots rating on the company to Neutral from Outperform.

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA): Wunderlich Securities upgraded its rating on the company to Hold from Sell. The firm left its price target unchanged at $16.

Motorola Mobility Holdings (NYSE: MMI): Credit Suisse lowered its rating on the company to Underperform  from Outperform.

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB): Deutsche Bank raised its rating on the company to Buy from Hold. In a note to clients, the firm stated, "1) Our analysis suggests CONFIRM will show BG-12 is more effective than Copaxone & DEFINE data will remain strong. Combo BG-12 & daclizumab Q3 data are under-appreciated. 2) We believe Tysabri will reach a positive inflection by YE:11 with most pts on drug being JCV negative in US. 3) Our due diligence suggests a greater likelihood of success for hemophilia trials in '12."

Wendy's-Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN): Argus upgraded the stock to Hold from Sell.

Full Disclosure: None.

PharMerica Soars On Reports of a Possible Sale

Shares of PharMerica Corporation (NYSE: PMC) soared more than 8% on Monday after DealReporter said that the company has hired Deutsche Bank to explore a potential sale of the company. PharMerica Corporation operates as an institutional pharmacy services company in the United States. It offers services to healthcare facilities and provides management pharmacy services to hospitals. Stay tuned for more.

Full Disclosure: None.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG): Q3 Earnings Preview 2011

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), the largest US drugstore chain, is scheduled to release its fiscal third-quarter earnings before the opening bell on Tuesday, June 21, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 62 cents per share on revenue of $18.33 billion. In the year ago quarter, the company reported earnings of 51 cents per share on revenue of $17.20 billion.

Walgreens is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2010 sales of $67 billion. As of May 31, Walgreens operated 8,171 locations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. That includes 7,714 drugstores, 192 more than a year ago, including 23 stores acquired over the last 12 months. The company also operates worksite health centers, home care facilities and specialty and mail service pharmacies. Its Take Care Health Systems subsidiary manages more than 700 in-store convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers.

In the preceding fiscal second-quarter, the Deerfield, Illinois based company's net income was $739 million, or 80 cents per share, compared to $669 million, or 68cents per share, in the prior-year quarter. Revenue grew  $18.50 billion from last year's $17 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $0.80 per share on revenue of $18.38 billion. 

At its last earnings call in March, Walgreens said that it expects organic store growth of 2.5 - 3 percent in fiscal 2011.

Early in May, the company said that total sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 were $18.38 billion, up 6.8 percent from $17.20 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2010. Comparable store sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 increased 4.1 percent, while front-end comparable store sales for the quarter increased 3.9 percent. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 4.5 percent in the third quarter and comparable pharmacy sales increased 4.2 percent.

The company is steadily improving its cost structure. The company has been able to cut back on profit-sapping promotions as it has improved its merchandise assortment and kept inventory under control. The company also has been slowing down the pace of new store openings and converting thousands of stores to a new, streamlined format that reduces some of its pharmacists' administrative workload so they can spend more time talking with customers.It has also added various products to its offering including beer and wine.  Recenrtly, Walgreen completed the divestment of its pharmacy benefit management business to Catalyst Health Solutions for $525 million in cash. Walgreen also completed the purchase of Drugstore.com Inc. during the quarter. The move is intended to bolster its online health and beauty business.

Full Disclosure: None.

CommVault Rallies On Takeover Speculation

Shares of CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) surged more than 6% Monday on speculation that the company could be a takeover target. ThinkEquity's Rajesh Ghai asserts that CommVault's recent OEM agreement with NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) could "significantly" boost the value of the company in a takeover. The analyst specifically mentions Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) as the likely acquirer, saying Dell should act now rather than wait for CommVault shares to rise more. Stay tuned for more. 

Full Disclosure: None.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL): Q3 Earnings Preview 2011

Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) is scheduled to release its fiscal third-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Tuesday, June 21, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 57 cents per share on revenue of $3.91 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 40 cents per share on revenue of $3 billion.

Jabil Circuit, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides electronic manufacturing services and solutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It offers electronics and mechanical design, production, product management, and after-market services to companies in the aerospace, automotive, computing, consumer, defense, industrial, instrumentation, medical, networking, peripherals, storage, and telecommunications industries. Jabil operates in three segments: Diversified Manufacturing Services (DMS), Enterprise & Infrastructure (E&I) and High Velocity Systems (HVS).

In the preceding fiscal-second quarter, the St. Petersburg, Florida-based company's net income was $55.4 million, or 25 cents per share, compared to $29.8 million, or 14 cents per share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 54 cents per share in the second quarter. Revenue rose to $3.93 billion from $3.00 billion in the same period last year. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $0.55 per share on revenue of $3.96 billion.

At its last earnings call in March, the company said that it expects fiscal third quarter net income of 44 cents to 48 cents per share, with core earnings anticipated in the range 55 cents to 59 cents per share. Revenues are forecast in the range of $4.1 billion to $4.2 billion. The company said that continued focus on diversification and a differentiated business model will help the company grow throughout fiscal 2011. The forecast includes results from recently acquired sites in Italy and France but excludes the impact of potential supply disruptions from the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan's northeast coast on March 11. Jabil's employees at a site in Gotemba, Japan, were not directly affected, but the disaster may impact its parts suppliers. Reflecting on the recent catastrophe in Japan, Jabil said the disaster may affect the supply of components to its global manufacturing operations, but the quantum of impact is not measurable as of now. 

Jabil is expecting a record-setting year for earnings and revenue, has been benefiting from an overall rebound in demand for electronic devices. Chief Executive Timothy L. Main in December said the company was seeing good momentum across its segments. According to Tim Main, Jabil could be a $20 billion company with operating margins significantly above industry averages by FY 2014 or 2015.

Jabil has benefited from new business wins from major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), a recovery in end-market demand, new programs ramping up and resurgence in IT enterprise spending. Jabil has also benefited from strong growth in the Mobility, Aerospace and Defense, Healthcare, Instrumentation and Industrial, and Networking and Storage segments over the long term. However, intense competition from Benchmark Electronics (NYSE: BHE), Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) and Celestica Inc (NYSE: CLS) and a softer demand environment may continue to weigh on company's results. Also, Jabil’s fairly high level of debt may limit financial flexibility going forward.

Recently, shares of the company slumped after Research in Motion said revenue may miss analysts’ estimates as it loses market share to rival Apple Inc. The BlackBerry smartphone maker contributed 15 percent of Jabil’s revenue in the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, according to a regulatory filing in October.

Full Disclosure: None.

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL): Q4 Earnings Preview 2011

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), the world's largest enterprise software company, is scheduled to release fiscal fourth quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, June 23, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 71 cents per share on revenue of $10.75 billion. In the year ago quarter, the company reported earnings of 60 cents per share on revenue of $9.63 billion.

Oracle Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, servicing, and marketing of database, middleware, and application software worldwide. Oracle is organized into two businesses: software and services.

In the preceding fiscal third quarter, the Redwood Shores, California-based company's net income was $2.1 billion, or 41 cents per share, compared to $1.2 billion, or 23 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding stock options expense, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring charges and other items, non-GAAP net income for the third quarter was $2.8 billion or 54 cents per share, compared to $1.9 billion or 38 cents per share in the prior year quarter. Total GAAP revenues rose 37% to $8.76 billion from $6.40 billion a year ago. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $0.49 per share on revenue of $8.66 billion. 

For the third quarter, Oracle expects non-GAAP EPS in constant currency to range between 48 cents and 50 cents. Assuming the current exchange, EPS is expected to range between 48 cents and 50 cents. This is up from 38 cents reported in the comparable quarter last year. Total revenue growth on a non-GAAP basis is expected to range from 31% to 35% at current exchange rate and 30% to 34% in constant currency. New software license revenue growth is expected to range from 10% to 20% at current exchange rate and 9% to 19% in constant currency. New software license sales are key for Oracle, because they represent new business, as opposed to the sale of maintenance or services to existing customers.

At its last earnings call in March, Oracle said that it anticipates that fourth-quarter earnings excluding items will be between 69 and 73 cents a share. Oracle expects new software license sales to increase between 9% and 19% compared to the period a year earlier, while hardware sales are expected to rise between 6% and 12%. The company said that it doesn’t anticipate a significant negative impact on its business from the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Japan represents roughly 5% of Oracle’s annual revenue. 

Oracle, which has spent more than $42 billion on acquisitions over the past six years, has seen sales grow faster than those of rivals as it cross-sells its database, middleware, business management software and hardware to the same set of customers.

Oracle has also benefited immensely from acquisition of Sun Microsystems. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to its earnings by at least 15 cents per share on a non-GAAP basis in 2011. Oracle expects Sun to exceed the company’s targets for fiscal 2011 and 2012. The acquired business will contribute over $1.5 billion to Oracle’s non-GAAP operating profit in 2011, increasing to over $2 billion in 2012. Revenues from Sun Microsystems are expected to be $9.6 billion in 2011.

The company is attempting to reinvest itself as a "systems" company, one that has a complete "stack" of products, both hardware and software. Oracle has purchased a slew of companies in the past five years to reposition itself in the technology industry. 

The company's stock currently trades at a forward P/E (fye May 31, 2012) of 13.23 and PEG Ratio (5 yr expected) of 0.88. In terms of stock performance, Oracle shares are up nearly 33% over the past year.

Full Disclosure: None.

Focus Stocks: AGU, NBR, S, HRBN, ACUR

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) late Friday raised its second-quarter guidance. The company said that it expects to earn between $4.10 to $4.40 diluted earnings per share on continuing operations in the second quarter of 2011, or $5.12 to $5.42 for the first half of 2011. The significant increase from the previous guidance of $3.38 to $3.88 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for the second quarter is due to very strong Retail performance and increasing nutrient pricing supported by continued strong crop fundamentals. The guidance excludes any additional impact from second quarter share-based payment expense or mark-to-market gains or losses on natural gas or other commodity hedge positions. "The strength in our earnings outlook is due to excellent performance from all three of our business units, which is particularly impressive given that the North American spring planting season has been hampered by excessively cold and wet weather this year. Record global crop prices are driving demand for all crop inputs, and Agrium's strategic investment across the global agricultural value chain is capturing the benefits from the strength in these underlying fundamentals," said Mike Wilson, Agrium President and CEO.

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) announced Monday that it expects its second quarter operating income to be in the range of $165 to $170 million. This is primarily due to lower than expected results from its Pressure Pumping, US Offshore, and International businesses, partially offset by better results in its US Lower 48 and Canadian operations. The company also indicated its current estimate for full-year operating income results approaches $900 million.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) reached a 15-year deal with billionaire Philip Falcone’s LightSquared Inc. to share network expansion costs and equipment, and to provide high-speed wireless service. LightSquared plans to build a national, high-speed 4G LTE network, which it will then lease to other wireless providers that want to offer high-speed Internet to customers. The deal, valued at about $20 billion, will share expansion costs with Sprint. LightSquared will install its equipment on towers owned by Sprint. Falcone has planned to offer coverage for 92 percent of the U.S. by 2015.

Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN) on Monday agreed to be acquired by Tech Full Electric Company Limited, a Cayman Islands company wholly owned indirectly by Mr. Tianfu Yang, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Tech Full Electric Acquisition, Inc., a Nevada corporation wholly owned by Parent. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, each of the company's shares (the "Shares") of common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the merger will be converted into the right to receive $24.00 in cash without interest, except for Shares owned by Parent and Merger Sub and certain of the Company's employees and officers  prior to the effective time of the merger pursuant to a contribution agreement between Parent, each member of the Purchasing Group and Tianfu Investments Limited, a Cayman Islands company directly owning 100% of the equity interest in Parent). Collectively, the Purchasing Group beneficially owns approximately 40.6% of the outstanding Shares.

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACUR) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) on Monday announced the marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of OXECTA Tablets CII. OXECTA is indicated for the management of acute and chronic moderate to severe pain where the use of an opioid analgesic is appropriate.

Full Disclosure: None.

Analyst Actions: MRVL, MCP, CAT, PCX, SWKS

Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL): Lazard Capital Markets on Monday upgraded its rating on the company to Buy from Neutral. 

Molycorp (NYSE: MCP): Piper Jaffray this morning upgraded its rating on the company to Overweight from Neutral. The firm maintained its $73 price target.

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT): Raymond James upgraded the company to strong Buy from Outperform. The firm maintained a $135 price target on shares of Caterpillar.

Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX): Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the company to Conviction Buy from Neutral citing valuation and leverage to higher thermal coal prices. The firm raised its price target on the stock to $29 from $28.

Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS): Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating on the company to Hold from Buy to Hold. The firm slashed its price target to $30 from $40. In a research note to clients, the firm stated, "We think Skyworks faces a volatile second half. While we see no serious signs of trouble, we think share loss at Apple, pricing pressure in China, and integration issues will make it difficult for them to keep beating numbers. Long-term industry fundamentals seem strong, and they remain the best company in the sector, but additional near-term uncertainty merits a Hold rating."

Full Disclosure: None.

Wall Street Ends Mixed On Recovery Hopes, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) Slumps

US stocks finished mixed on Thursday as investors remained cautious amid uncertainty surrounding a resolution of the Greek debt crisis. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42.84 points, or 0.36%, to finish at 12,004.36. The S&P 500 increased 3.86 points, or 0.30%, to close at 1,271.50. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 7.22 points, or 0.28%, to 2,616.48.

Early on Friday, Greece named former defense minister Evangelos Venizelos as new finance minister. He will replace George Papaconstantinou as finance minister.

The Conference Board said Friday that its index of leading economic Indicators rose 0.8% in May. Economists had expected a gain of 0.4%.

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for June dropped to a reading of 71.8, worse than the 73.5 reading that economists had expected.

Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) said late Thursday that its fiscal first quarter profit dropped to $695 million, or $1.33 per share, from $769 million, or $1.38 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue increased 16% to $4.9 billion from $4.24 billion.Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $1.32 per share on revenue of $5.15 billion. uring the quarter, RIM shipped approximately 13.2 million BlackBerry handheld devices and approximately 500,000 BlackBerry Playbook tablets. The company slashed its full-year EPS forecast range to $5.25 to $6 per share; it had previously expected earnings of $7.50 per share for the period. The company also said it plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs and will buy back up to 5% of its outstanding shares. Shares of the company slumped $7.58, or 21.45%, to $27.75.

Shares of Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) slumped 39 cents, or 2.38%, to close at $15.81. 

European stocks closed higher. The UK FTSE rose 16.13 points, or 0.28% to 5,714.94. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.76% and 0.83% respectively.

Asian stocks finished down. The Nikkei 225 declined 59.88 points, or 0.68%, to 9,351.40. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell 257.85 points, or 1.17%, to 21,695.26.

Full Disclosure: None.

US Hot Stocks: MCP, HRBN, TSLA, APWR

Below we highlight few companies whose shares are actively trading in Friday's session.

Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) dropped more than 1% after Reuters reported that Sumitomo Corp., the company whose recent $130 million financing agreement with Molycorp is currently delayed, is having trouble finding Japanese customers for light rare earth materials. Rumors suggest clients in Japan are cautious on the group as the potential for alternative sources.

Harbin Electric (NASDAQ: HRBN) soared more than 18% after the company said that a research report that pulled its shares down by more than 50 percent on Thursday, was factually incorrect. On Thursday, a Citron Research report had raised concerns about a $750 million go-private offer by Harbin CEO Tianfu Yang. The CEO and the company reserve the right to bring legal actions against Citron Research for these erroneous allegations, Harbin said in a statement.

Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) rose more than 1%  after San Francisco Gate reported that Roadsters are almost sold out.

A-Power Energy Generation Systems, Ltd. (NASDAQ: APWR) plunged more than 20% after the company announced that Mr. Robert B. Leckie resigned from A-Power's Board of Directors on June 14, 2011. Mr. Leckie resigned as a result of concerns that his views on process and best practices were not necessarily shared throughout the Company, but Mr. Leckie has confirmed to the Company that his resignation was not prompted by any disagreement with A-Power on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies, or practices

Full Disclosure: None.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL): Q2 Earnings Preview 2011

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) is scheduled to release its fiscal first-quarter earnings before the opening bell on Tuesday, June 21, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of $3.52 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 32 cents per share on revenue of $3.52 billion.

Carnival Corporation operates as a cruise and vacation company in the United States and internationally. The Company has a portfolio of cruise brands and is a provider of cruises to all vacation destinations.

In the preceding fiscal first-quarter, the Miami, Florida based company's net income wwas $152 million or 19 cents per share, compared to $175 million, or 22 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue grew 8 percent to $3.42 billion from $3.18 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of $0.19 per share on revenue of $3.31 billion. 

The company recently announced that it expects additional costs for the second half of fiscal 2011, due to the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa region, as well as the earthquake and nuclear disaster in Japan. The company noted that it will cost the company an additional $0.15 per share for the second half of 2011 as a result of over 300 deployment changes due to the tensions in these regions. Further, the increases in fuel prices, net of currency exchange rates, will cost the company about $0.05 per share for the same period. The company also noted that it will bear an additional $0.05 per share in costs to reflect the reduction in revenues due to the softness in bookings for the Southern Europe and UK markets. However, it expects to offset the effect of this cost in other cost areas of the business with the revenue performance for the North American brands remaining strong.

The cruise sector has also been struggling with currency fluctuations lately. With an increasingly international customer base, companies have become more susceptible to foreign currencies and an improving dollar which hurts their revenues.  Carnival does not hedge its exposure to rising fuel costs and more than half of its revenues come from passengers outside the U.S. As a result, the company’s result will be more negatively impacted by fluctuation in fuel expenses and currency exchange rates.

Looking ahead, the company is likely to benefit from a strong booking and pricing trend. Historically, demand for cruises has been the greatest during the third fiscal quarter, which includes the Northern Hemisphere summer months. Higher demand during the third quarter leads to increased net revenue yields. Accordingly, the company typically generates the highest earnings at this time of the year. 

Full Disclosure: None.

Focus Stocks: BJ, COF, STLD

Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NSE: BJ) rallied more than 3% in Friday's pre-market trading after Leonard Green & Partners disclosed that it and CVC Capital Partners submitted a joint proposal to BJ's Wholesale, in compliance with the terms of their respective confidentiality agreements. The Joint Acquisition Proposal contemplates that a newly formed entity jointly controlled by Leonard Green and CVC would acquire all of the outstanding equity securities of BJ's through a merger. The Joint Acquisition Proposal contemplates that the aggregate equity investment required to fund the Potential Acquisition would be obtained equally from the LGP Funds and the CVC Funds.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) late Thursday agreed to buy ING Groep NV’s U.S. online bank for $9 billion in cash and stock. Capital One will pay $6.2 billion in cash and $2.8 billion in stock, giving ING a 9.9 percent ownership stake.

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) slumped more than 1% in Friday's pre-market trading after the company announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per common share. The dividend is payable on or about July 14, 2011, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 30, 2011. The company also expects second quarter earnings to be in the range of $0.35 to $0.40 per diluted share, somewhat lower than the first quarter 2011 reported results of $0.46, but higher than earnings of $0.22 per diluted share achieved in the second quarter of 2010. On a comparative basis, unrealized hedging gains at the company's metals recycling operations were $9.5 million in the first quarter 2011, as compared to an estimated second quarter unrealized hedging loss of approximately $3 million, resulting in a non-cash fluctuation in the company's quarter over quarter pretax earnings of $12.5 million, an estimated impact of approximately $0.03 per diluted share. During the quarter, the company has been experiencing reduced metal margins in its metals recycling operations, as the cost of acquiring unprocessed scrap material more than outpaced any price increases, resulting in an estimated 15% quarterly reduction in ferrous margins and an estimated 25% reduction in nonferrous margins (excluding the impact from unrealized hedging adjustments), driven by the copper and stainless steel markets. The impact of Mesabi Nugget on the company's results is estimated to be comparable to that experienced in the first quarter 2011, due to the previously discussed planned May maintenance outage. In addition, during the second quarter the company experienced periods of weaker than expected market dynamics for both its sheet and structural products. April incoming orders for flat-rolled steel were about 25% less than the monthly average achieved in the first quarter; however, orders since the beginning of May have returned to levels consistent with those achieved earlier in the year and currently the company expects this trend to continue. Unexpectedly, incoming orders for structural steel weakened in the quarter, as the residential and non-residential construction markets remain a challenge. Despite these volume and pricing issues, the company's steel operations' operating results are expected to be further improved from those experienced in the first quarter 2011.

Full Disclosure: None.