Applied Materials Jumps On Upgrade (TRP, AMAT, WAG, AMZN, KR)
TransCanada Corporation (USA)(NYSE:TRP) slid 0.43% to $41.98 in the opening session after the company cuts its natural gas output forecast and says the cost of shipping gas across Canada will rise by nearly a third as a result. The changed forecast also throws a wrench into a National Energy Board hearing into tolls on the Mainline, the cross-Canada pipeline that connects western gas with central and eastern markets.
Applied Materials, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMAT) added 2.55% to $11.46 after analyst at Stifel Nicolaus raises its price target for Applied Materials to $15 from $13 after the company names Gary Dickerson as its president. “Dickerson has one of the most successful track records in the industry, we believe this is the most positive news for Applied Materials in some time,” Stifel Nicolaus says.
Walgreen Company(NYSE:WAG) slumped 5% to $28.58 after er taking on a downgrade from both Argus and Macquarie. The loss comes on top of a 5.9% hit yesterday. At its current trading price, WAG’s price-earnings ratio is in single digits and its yield crossed over the 3% mark.
Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 0.46% to $223 in the opening session. The company says it will open up a portal for developers to use to sell apps for international distribution. Developers will have the ability to pick which countries they can sell their apps in, although in its initial phase only the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain will be options.
The Kroger Co.(NYSE:KR) added 0.22% after as Execs with Kroger are discussing the firm’s outlook at the Jefferies Consumer Conference. Right off the bat, the word is that FY12 EPS is still in line to fall in a range of $2.33 to $2.40 on growth of 6%-8% in Q2 and with an even higher rate projected for Q3 and Q4.