Sears (SHLD) Crushed in 2011

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:SHLD) got hammered in 2011, falling to a 52-week low on December 30, closing at $31.78.

The trading range of Sears shares for 2011 were $31.76 to $94.79.

After dismal Christmas sales, Sears announced it would be closing a number K-Mart and Sears stores going forward, pushing the share price of the company down, in a year the retailer would like to forget.

Analysts have been reacting negatively to the poor performance of Sears, downgrading the company even further.

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) lowered its price target on Sears to $20.00. They have an "Underperform" rating on the company.

ISI Group reiterated its “Sell” rating on Sears Holdings Corp. They have a price target of $25.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) also reiterated its “Sell” rating on Sears Holdings Corp.

Similar to Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), the problem with Sears is there simply isn't any plan in place which would boost growth for the company.

Betting against Sears in 2012 should generate some significant earnings for investors.

Sears (SHLD) (CLDX) (CAVM) (MRT) (PNCL) (AV) Ratings, Price Targets

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), Celldex Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDX), Cavium Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM), Morton’s Restaurant Group, Inc. (NYSE: MRT), Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) and Aviva Plc (NYSE: AV) ratings and price targets.

Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) had its price target lowered by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from $43.00 to $30.00. They have a “Sell” rating on the company.

Celldex Therapeutics Inc. (CLDX) had its “Outperform” rating reiterated by Wedbush. They have a price target of $6.00 on the company.

Cavium Networks, Inc. (CAVM) had its price target lowered by Wedbush to $24.00.

Morton’s Restaurant Group, Inc. (MRT) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (PNCL) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Aviva Plc (AV) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Valspar (VAL) (SHLD) (SBX) (SRI) (MERU) (LHCG) Ratings, Price Targets

The Valspar Co. (NYSE: VAL), Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), Seabright Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SBX), Stoneridge, Inc. (NYSE: SRI), Meru Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: MERU) and LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: LHCG) ratings and price targets.

The Valspar Co. (VAL) had its price target raised by Longbow Research from $40.00 to $45.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the firm.

Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) had its price target lowered by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from $43.00 to $30.00. They have a “Sell” rating on the firm.

Seabright Holdings, Inc. (SBX) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “Neutral” rating to an “Underperform” rating.

Stoneridge, Inc. (SRI) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Meru Networks Inc. (MERU) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

LHC Group, Inc. (LHCG) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Sears (SHLD) (CHTP) (SHO) (SONO) (BAX) (BCSI) Price Target Changes

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), Chelsea Therapeutics International (NASDAQ: CHTP), Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE: SHO), SonoSite Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO), Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) and Blue Coat (NASDAQ: BCSI) had price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) had its price target lowered by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $43.00. They have a “Sell” rating on the company.

Chelsea Therapeutics International (CHTP) had its price target raised by Wedbush to $11.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (SHO) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)to $8.00.

SonoSite Inc. (SONO) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $43.00 to $47.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) had its price target lowered by Citigroup (NYSE:C) to $50.00.

Blue Coat (BCSI) had its price target raised by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) to $19.00.

Sears (SHLD) (SPB) (MPC) (MRCY) (MU) (SLXP) Ratings Reiterated

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), Spectrum Brands Inc. (NYSE: SPB), Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC), Mercury Computer Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY), Micron Technology, Inc. (NYSE: MU) and Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SLXP) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

ISI Group reiterated its “Sell” rating on Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD).

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated its “Buy” rating on Spectrum Brands Inc. (SPB). They have a price target of $40.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reiterated its “Overweight” rating on Marathon Petroleum (MPC).

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated its “Buy” rating on Mercury Computer Systems Inc. (MRCY). They have a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Lazard Capital reiterated its “Buy” rating on Micron Technology, Inc. (MU). They have a price target of $10.00 on the company.

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) reiterated its “Overweight” rating on Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (SLXP). They have a price target of $51.00 on the company.

Techs (QCOM) (MU) (CSCO) (LRCX) (AMD) (ORCL) (BRCM) (NVDA) Getting Crushed Today

Shares of tech companies are taking a beating today on weakness in the semiconductor sector, as Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX), Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD), Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) were all trading down.

That has also driven down the Nasdaq Composite today, which was also hit by the plunge in share price of Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD), which has plummeted almost 10 percent after weak guidance.

As for the chip and tech sector, most of that is being driven by chatter about the probability of the chip industry being spotty going forward, which will slow down a lot of chip companies, and by extension, other tech companies.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Microsoft managed to trade in positive territory among tech stocks today.

Sears (SHLD) (CSC) Crushed, (PFE) (XOM) (CVX) Fall

Based on low guidance, failure to meet expectations and falling oil prices, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Exxon (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Computer Science (NYSE:CSC) and Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) are all down today.

The worst performer of this grouping of stocks is Computer Sciences, which was trading down just below 13 percent on the day. Low guidance of a loss of $1.35 after saying they expected a gain of 14 cents pushed the share price down.

Next was Sears, which was down over 9 percent so far, plunging after it projected a big loss for the fiscal first quarter of the company. Sears had also originally called for a 14 cent gain, adjusting it to a loss of $1.35 to $1.81 a share.

Exxon Mobil and Chevron were both down on the drop in oil prices, both trading down just under 2 percent.

Pfizer is weighing on the Dow, as it is the biggest decliner on the index, falling over 2 percent after the pharmaceutical company beat earnings expectations but reported revenue that fell short of what analysts had been looking for.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) was trading at $20.33, down $0.70, or 3.31 percent, as of 1:52 PM EDT.

Wal-Mart (WMT) Looking to Major Appliances for Revenue Boost

In a move to increase same-store sales, Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is again considering selling major appliances through its thousands of outlets, starting in Texas in 2011 to see how it goes.

Since Wal-Mart is a low-margin discount retailer, this may not be a bad idea, as they operate on turning over inventory rather than gross margins, as other stores do.

Appliances are notorious for being low-margin items, and this would be nod toward boosting revenue, although higher turnover would boost earnings if that's how it works out for them, as it does with other products.

The pilot program in Texas will start off with appliance from General Electric (NYSE:G), which will launch at over 100 stores in the Lone Star State in the beginning.

Companies that could be hurt by this include appliance majors like Lowes (NYSE:LOW), Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD).

Questions on how Wal-Mart would sale the items, along with whether or not it would have to change its model in that department (as customers usually are more prone to want questions answered with these items) and have more trained people in that regard.

Sales questions would be related to if they would decide to offer financing or not, although some pretty expensive TVs and computers fly out the door, so that may not be an issue for them.

Wal-Mart closed Monday at $52.65, gaining $0.52, or 1.00 percent.

Retailers Wal-Mart (WMT) (TGT) (BBY), (HD) (SHLD) Using Government to Attack Amazon (AMZN)

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is under ferocious attack by competitors like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT), Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Sears (NYSE:SHLD) who are working with the government in an attempt force the online retailer to collect state taxes even though they don't have a physical presence in a state.

The giant retailer is working within the confines of existing law according to a 1992ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.

There are two major things happening here. One, is Amazon.com has created a better business model and its competitors know it. They've been battling for years to use the government to force Amazon to collect sales tax in states because of that.

Also involved is the strong affiliate program run by Amazon, which its competitors has been unsuccessfully trying to duplicate for years. They're using the current economic crisis and out-of-control spending by federal and state governments, seeing Amazon is vulnerable at this time.

secondly, it doesn't deal with the issue at all of government spending which swept Republicans into the House in the last election. The people have said they want government to be smaller and limited by their vote, and so far politicians, including most of the Republicans voted in, refuse to take that mandate and deal with the outrageous and unsustainable pet projects and programs they have distributed to people in order to garner votes.

Amazon is just a distraction to make it appear it's somehow their fault that state budget in particular are falling short.

The solution is simple: cut spending. Cut programs. Europe has had to get involved with austerity for the very reason they can't afford it. How hard is that to understand?

We should all support Amazon.com and the attack on its fantastic business model which has helped it become a premiere retailer.

As usual, a group called the Alliance for Main Street Fairness to battle the Amazon monster, and whenever you hear fairness in a name, you can be sure it's a lie, as business is built on competition and offering something better than someone else at a price people are willing to pay.

There's nothing fair about business, it's meant to operate in a competitive atmosphere where the better companies win, which make the consumer a winner.

Amazon.com has done that, and the ferocity of the attack on them by their competitors using the government as a rod against them shows how desperate they are, and reaffirms the business model the company uses. No one should be allowed to take that away from them.

As for politicians, they need to get their act together and cut taxes and spending, not attempt to destroy one of the great businesses created of the last couple of decades.

Sears (Nasdaq:SHLD) Sides with Government Against Amazon.com (AMZN)

The draconian so-called E-Fairness Bill signed into law by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, was being drooled over by Sears Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:SHLD), as they backed the proposal for companies like Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) to be forced to collect taxes even though they have no physical presence in the state.

Sears said this in a press release: "Sears Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:SHLD) one of Illinois' oldest retailers, applauds Governor Pat Quinn's approval of House Bill 3659, which will restore long overdue fairness to the tax system for retailers and taxpayers in Illinois. The "E-fairness Law" helps to correct a longstanding problem of out-of-state businesses not collecting and remitting the sales tax in Illinois, a practice that has put brick-and-mortar retailers at an unfair competitive disadvantage for far too long.

"Amazon.com is threatening to leave states and terminate relationships with all its affiliates rather than comply with this new law. As we have stated, we will gladly welcome these affiliates to the Sears Affiliate Team. We recognize and value our relationships with our over 6,500 affiliate partners AND the state and local communities we serve and we look forward to adding new affiliates.

"Sears Holdings thanks state lawmakers in the House and Senate for their overwhelming support for the bill and in particular wants to acknowledge the leadership of the main sponsors of House Bill 3659: Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) and State Representative Pat Verschoore (D-Milan)."

Too bad a great company like Amazon.com has to be punished and legally battled against by losers like Sears, which is lucky to even be solvent, and is among the worst retailers in the country, as voted by consumers with their dollars.

What should have been done was for the sales tax and/or state tax eliminated, which would have created a better business atmosphere to a state that is going down the tubes.

Cut back on government size and spending and you won't have to attempt to destroy quality companies that actually make a difference in society, instead of a parasitic government that siphons off the earnings to waste it on endlessly pork project to win votes.

Hopefully Amazon will stop working with their independent contractors in the state. Then when millions in taxes aren't put into the Illinois coffers because there is no one making any more money from Amazon, we'll see if Sears is considered in such high regard afterwards.

Amazon.com closed Thursday at $166.14, down $2.91, or 1.72 percent.

Destination Maternity's (DEST) Expands Via Leasing with Macy's (M), Kohl's (KSS), Sears (SHLD), Gordmans (GMAN)

Destination Maternity (Nasdaq:DEST) is expanding its brand through a leasing strategy with stores like Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), Sears (Nasdaq:SHLD) and Gordmans (Nasdaq:GMAN), which they already have a strong presence with, while expanding its leasing arrangement with Macy's (NYSE:M).

Motherhood Maternity is part of Philadelphia-based Destination Maternity (Nasdaq:DEST), a retailer that sells attractive maternity clothing for expectant mother's. Its future looks brighter today than it has in some time.

Management's is aware it must boost profitability. In its investor presentation from February's annual meeting, it mentions that it doubled adjusted EBITDA margins to 10.2% in the past three fiscal years. And it's getting better. It improved its adjusted EBITDA margin by 110 basis points to 9.8% in the first quarter ended December 31. Revenues in 2011 should increase and GAAP diluted earnings per share are expected to be at least $1.81, 37% higher than in 2010. The steps taken to improve profits are working.

Destination Maternity has 35% to 45% market share of the US maternity apparel business. There's no reason it can't do the same in other countries. With its online business growing at 20% a quarter and revenues likely to pass $600 million sometime around Christmas, I see a bright future ahead.

Destination Maternity was trading at $22.84, gaining $1.08, or 4.96 percent, as of 1:21 PM EST.




Source

Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) Share Buybacks Hurting Company Market Value?

Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) is a mess, but in his annual letter to shareholders today, Chairman Eddie Lampert compared the company with Apple.

Toward the bottom of the rambling, 21-page letter, which includes concessions of “missteps,” Lampert launches into a discussion of Apple and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT): how one (Microsoft) buys back stock and the other (Apple) doesn’t. (Sears is the poster child for share repurchases.)

As a result of share buybacks, he says, Microsoft’s market cap lags Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL).

“The point is that the attention some have placed on overall market value rather than per share value is misplaced from the vantage point of an investor in a company, “he says. “Sheer size may make for interesting headlines, but it may distract from doing the optimal things for shareholders of a business.”





Full Story

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) Earnings Slashed by Barclays (NYSE:BCS)

The latest quarterly results for Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) were less than stellar, to say the least, and Barclays (NYSE:BCS) slashed their earning per share outlook on them for 2010 and 2011.

"Sears Holdings reported 3Q10 adjusted EPS of $(1.96), well below our estimate of $(1.11): Results were below our expectations on top-line, gross margins, and expenses...Given continued weak comps, deteriorating gross margin trends, and SG&A deleverage on weaker comps, we are lowering our 2010 and 2011 EPS estimates to $0.65 and $0.85 from $1.75 and $2.35, respectively: We are also establishing a 2012 EPS estimate of $0.95," said Barclays.

Sears closed Friday at $63.75, gaining $0.05, or 0.08 percent.

Barclays maintains and "Equalweight" on the retailer, with a price target of $70.