Daily Analysis

Jun 21, 2016 5:53 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

Fitch Ratings affirmed the fragile state of publicly traded Greek banks Tuesday, just hours ahead of the UK referendum vote on leaving the European Union.

Jun 21, 2016 5:51 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Shares of solar energy project contractor Solar City (SCTY), founded by Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, are up $5.12, or 24%, at $26.31, in late trading, after Tesla offered to acquire Solar City for 0.122 to 0.131 shares of Tesla stock for each share of SolarCity, or what Tesla deems a $26.50 to ...

Jun 21, 2016 5:46 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Is it too soon to start counting down to the Brexit vote on Thursday? Because I can't wait for it to be over-and I'm pretty sure the market can't hardly wait either.

Jun 21, 2016 5:35 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Shares of Tesla Motors (TSLA) are tumbling in after-hours trading after Elon Musk's auto-making upstart offered to buy SolarCity (SCTY), which was also founded by Elon Musk.

Jun 21, 2016 5:05 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets exchange-traded fund (EEM) rose 0.8% Tuesday as Fed Chair Janet Yellen reiterated the lower-for-longer interest rate mantra.

Jun 21, 2016 4:43 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Biotech stocks like Amgen (AMGN), Celgene (CELG), Biogen (BIIB), and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) are getting crushed today on worries that government regulators could propose limits on Medicare drug spending. Evercore ISI's Mark Schoenebaum explains:

Jun 21, 2016 4:40 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Shares of FedEx (FDX) are falling in after-hours trading after the express shipper beat earnings and revenue forecasts but offered earnings guidance that skewed to the downside.

Jun 21, 2016 4:25 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Shares of software giant Adobe Systems (ADBE) this afternoon reported fiscal Q2 revenue that was in line with consensus, but that could be viewed as a hair short, and earnings per share that beat expectations, and missed with its Q3 revenue outlook, sending its shares down 5% in ...

Jun 21, 2016 3:49 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Shares of software giant Adobe Systems (ADBE) are up $1.58, or 1.6%, at $99.57, ahead of the company's fiscal Q2 report this afternoon, after the closing bell.

Jun 21, 2016 3:33 P.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

TrimTabs Asset Management, recently dropped as the sub-advisor for the $156 million AdvisorShares Trim Tabs Float Shrink ETF (TTFS), has filed with regulators for permission to launch separate version of the fund.

Jun 21, 2016 3:29 P.M. EST

BY AMEY STONE

Williams Cos. (WMB) and its potential acquirer, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) are having their day in court to fight over one aspect of their ill-fated proposed merger -- tax issues.

Jun 21, 2016 3:27 P.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) plunged on Monday, wiping away last week's jittery rise.

Jun 21, 2016 3:07 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

S&P Dow Jones Indices senior index analyst Howard Silverblatt reminds investors that it's not just Brexit that should have investors on their toes come Thursday. That's also the day that the Fed will release the results of its stress test on big banks, including Bank of ...

Jun 21, 2016 2:59 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Jun 21, 2016 2:56 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Well, folks, this is what makes a market: Following a negative note yesterday on PayPal (PYPL) from Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, Monness Crespi Hardt's James Cakmak today offers up reasons why his outlook on the company is “improving” despite his Neutral rating on the shares.

Jun 21, 2016 2:48 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

At an industry conference today, Schlumberger (SLB) said that it "believes that 2Q could represent 'the final approach' [to] the market bottom." Wells Fargo's Judson Bailey and Christopher Voie explain:

Jun 21, 2016 2:19 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

They say the first step in any recovery is acknowledging you have a problem, and that's exactly what United Continental (UAL) did when it included this slide comparing its pre-tax margins to those of Delta Air Lines (DAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV), and American Airlines (AAL) ...

Jun 21, 2016 2:16 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Amazon is eating all of consumer electronics retail sales, according to a note out today from Deutsche Bank's “hardline” retail analyst Mike Baker, who cites data from industry trade weekly TWICE noting that of the $5.6 billion increase in electronics in 2015, Amazon contributed $5.1 billion, or ...

Jun 21, 2016 1:56 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

In a note dated June 20, Baird's Catherine Ramsey explains why she boosted her price target on Exact Sciences (EXAS) to $15 from $12:

Jun 21, 2016 1:50 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

With recession bottoming out in Russia and also Brazil, consumer spending in the emerging world may have turned a corner, but be cautious, according to Capital Economics.

Jun 21, 2016 1:44 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Phases & Cycles' Monica Rizk and Ron Meisels explain why General Electric (GE) could gain as much as 20%:

Jun 21, 2016 1:41 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

R.W. Baird's Colin Sebastian today reiterates an Outperform rating on shares of Facebook (FB), and a $135 price target, reflecting on the announcement this morning that its Instagram picture-sharing service has reached more than 500 million users, of which 300 million use the service on a ...

Jun 21, 2016 1:39 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Shares of chip maker Cirrus Logic (CRUS), a big supplier to Apple (AAPL), are up $1.59, or 4%, at $39.93, after Canaccord Genuity's Matthew Ramsay this morning started coverage with a Buy rating, and a $52 price target, writing that the company's chips for decoding audio signals ...

Jun 21, 2016 1:12 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

With new Apple (AAPL) stores soon selling iPhones in India, the country's 170 million smartphone user base could exceed the 190 million U.S. smartphone users this year.

Jun 21, 2016 12:54 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Once upon a time there were three companies that dominated the market for wireless networking. They were Symbol Technologies, Telxon, and Proxim Wireless.

Jun 21, 2016 12:46 P.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

"Goals-based," "outcomes-based," or "solutions-based" investing is about having enough money so that an investors' children can go to college, say. Or that a person can retire with enough money to to rent a pontoon boat for two weeks each May at Lake Havasu.

Jun 21, 2016 12:14 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

Brazil telecom Oi (OIBR) declared bankruptcy Monday after its debt reorganization efforts failed.

Jun 21, 2016 11:41 A.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

The biggest "geared" exchange-traded fund on the market will see a reverse split later this week.

Jun 21, 2016 11:10 A.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Goldman Sachs's Alexander Duval today raises his rating on shares of Ericsson (ERIC) to Neutral from Sell, writing that even though “top-line trends” will continue to be “tough” in 2016, because of weaker spending by telco customers, he sees higher profit from Ericsson this year ...

Jun 21, 2016 11:04 A.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Apple's (AAPL) “flagship” iPhones, the 6 and 6s, are struggling, writes Nomura's Jeffrey Kvaal, as evinced by the fact the more recent “iPhone SE” has done better than expected, he writes in a note today.

Jun 21, 2016 10:45 A.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reinforced the Fed's monetary outlook Tuesday, saying the outlook for U.S. inflation and international risk mean slugglish domestic growth and accommodative rates.

Jun 21, 2016 10:20 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Credit Suisse analysts Jason West and Jordy Winslow met with a food-safety lawyer to learn more about potential ramifications from the government's investigations of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG). Their takeaway: "Predicting the outcome of this type of case is impossible." Then they go on to ...

Jun 21, 2016 10:09 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Stocks are little changed this morning following yesterday's Brexit-driven gains.

Jun 21, 2016 9:38 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Leerink's Geoffrey Porges argues that Gilead Sciences (GILD) is close to "making the perfect cocktail" for the treatment of HIV. He explains:

Jun 21, 2016 9:36 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Credit Suisse analyst Edward Kelly and team remain bullish on Whole Foods Market (WFM) despite the fact that "opinions [are] fiercely divided." They explain why:

Jun 21, 2016 9:23 A.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

Mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) announced a new strategy under soon-to-be CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques that shifts away from iron ore growth.

Jun 21, 2016 9:15 A.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

It's easy for traders to focus merely on "Brexit" -- Thursday's vote in the U.K. that could see Britons opt to exit the European Union.

Jun 21, 2016 9:08 A.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

If Thursday's United Kingdom referendum results in a departure from the European Union, the impact on emerging markets is likely to be limited because exports to the UK are small.

Jun 21, 2016 8:33 A.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

Links to the best reading in funds investing:

Jun 21, 2016 8:29 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Stocks look set for a higher open today as concerns that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union continued to ease.

Jun 21, 2016 8:18 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

Rio Tinto's (RIO) incoming CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques, who takes over the company on July 2, is shaking up the mining giant's management structure.

Jun 21, 2016 7:54 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

A lot of drama is coming out of SoftBank (9984.Japan/SFTBY), majority owner of U.S. telecom Sprint (S) and substantial shareholder of China e-commerce Alibaba Group (BABA), a day ahead of the Japanese company's shareholder general meeting.

Jun 21, 2016 2:46 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

The risk of Britain leaving the European Union is now fading after the tragic killing of lawmaker Jo Cox. The British pound has jumped almost 3.5% against the U.S. dollar in the last three trading days, while the euro is up 0.85%.

Jun 21, 2016 2:33 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

Billionaires around the world are chiming in, warning of economic Armageddon should Britain leave the European Union as opinion polls in the UK fluctuate and remain too close to call.

Jun 21, 2016 1:01 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

Forget Brexit. A dovish Federal Reserve and a patient Reserve Bank of Australia have brought the Australian dollar back to its early June levels when the Australian central bank held rates steady.

Jun 21, 2016 0:59 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

Japanese pharmaceutical services provider Daiichi Sankyo (4568.Japan/DSNKY) soared 7.7% after announcing plans to spend 50 billion yen buying back 28 million shares, or 4.1% of total shares outstanding, from today through October 28.

Jun 21, 2016 0:39 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

What does soccer have anything to do with gaming?

Jun 20, 2016 6:58 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Pacific Crest's Andy Hargreaves today attacks one of what he believes to be the key bear arguments against Netflix (NFLX), the concern they'll never make an adequate return on their investment in content.

Jun 20, 2016 5:54 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

PayPal (PYPL) may be in for a rough time this holiday season, opines Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster in a research note this afternoon, as Apple's (AAPL) Apple Pay service becomes a bigger competitor.

Jun 20, 2016 5:35 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Intel (INTC) faces “cracks” in its dominance of the server chip market, write Stacy Rasgon and colleagues at Bernstein research today, in the third installment of a research series they are calling "The Future of Processor Architecture."

Jun 20, 2016 5:28 P.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

The ETF industry's latest skirmishes in the long-running fee war are happening at the fringes.

Jun 20, 2016 5:28 P.M. EST

BY AMEY STONE

After three years of declining revenues, government consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Holding (BAH) reported a 2.5% increase for fiscal 2015. That, plus a big jump in its project backlog has it on track for a credit upgrade from Standard & Poor's, which revised its outlook to "positive" ...

Jun 20, 2016 5:07 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Shares of beleaguered chip maker Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) are up a penny in late trading, at $10.15, after the company announced following the close of market that it named the former head of sales for Maxim Integrated Devices (MXIM) as its new CEO.

Jun 20, 2016 4:45 P.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

Steady outflows at WisdomTree Investments (WETF), the only pure-play public ETF company, lead to a couple of Wall Street analysts to cut earnings estimates on Monday.

Jun 20, 2016 4:43 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

Greece might lift most or all its capital controls by the end of 2016, and that sent the Global X MSCI Greece exchange-traded fund (GREK) up 5% Monday.

Jun 20, 2016 4:41 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Citigroup analyst Jim Suva this afternoon offers up a little bad news for the personal computer market, but actually a silver lining: The PC market has "stopped getting worse."

Jun 20, 2016 4:20 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Stocks opened higher this morning and spent the rest of the day coming down, ending the day far lower than where they started despite optimism surrounding Brexit.

Jun 20, 2016 3:39 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Deutsche Bank's John Inch and Karen Lau argue that Honeywell International (HON) is "achieving Asian critical mass." They explain:

Jun 20, 2016 3:23 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Piper Jaffray's Erinn Murphy and James House concerns surrounding Nike (NKE) are "overblown." They explain why:

Jun 20, 2016 3:10 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

The Wall Street Journal reported that government regulators are pushing back against Anthem's (ANTM) purchase of Cigna (CI). California, however, seems to have few issues with the proposed combination of Aetna (AET) and Humana (HUM). Leerink's Ana Gupte explains:

Jun 20, 2016 2:38 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro can't last given the country's dire economic straits.

Jun 20, 2016 2:10 P.M. EST

BY AMEY STONE

Master limited partnerships (MLPs) are having a good run Monday as the broader market rallies and crude prices jump back near the $50 range.

Jun 20, 2016 2:09 P.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

Buzz words in the asset management business are as vacuous as they are mission critical, says Daniel Fannon at Jefferies.

Jun 20, 2016 2:01 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

Given India's intense political pressure, it really wasn't a surprise that India's central bank chief, Raghuram Rajan, said over the weekend that he would not stick around for another term.

Jun 20, 2016 1:28 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Jun 20, 2016 1:24 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Deutsche Bank's Myles Walton and team explain why they're bullish on Boeing (BA) despite its recent woes:

Jun 20, 2016 1:18 P.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

Plenty of oil-rally pessimists have come out of the woodwork in recent weeks, as crude flirts with $50 a barrel.

Jun 20, 2016 1:05 P.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

[Updates with JD.com share resumption of trading]

Jun 20, 2016 12:55 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Another U.S. company has found that partnering with a Chinese firm is the best way to make inroads in the world's second-largest economy. That would be Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), which is reported to have partnered with JD.com (JD) in exchange for 5% of JD.com's stock.

Jun 20, 2016 12:26 P.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

India said on Monday it would "radically" liberalize foreign investment restrictions, including an exemption for some  retailers from local-manufacturing rules that is a boon for Apple (AAPL) expansion plans.

Jun 20, 2016 12:12 P.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

The S&P 500 has sold off for six of the last eight weeks-including a 1.2% fall last week-but is just 0.8% off its 52-week high. Gluskin Sheff's David Rosenberg explains how this is possible:

Jun 20, 2016 11:58 A.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Shares of fiber-optic networking equipment firm Infinera (INFN) are down 17 cents, or 1.4%, at $11.98, after MKM Partners's Michael Genovese reiterated a Neutral rating and cut his price target to $13 from $15, after cutting estimates for this year and next, with increased competition in the ...

Jun 20, 2016 11:48 A.M. EST

BY CHRIS DIETERICH

Federal-Mogul Holdings (FDML) shares popped to a nearly one-month high after activist hedge fund manager Carl Icahn raised his bid to buy the 19 million shares of vehicle-parts maker he doesn't already own.

Jun 20, 2016 11:42 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Marathon Oil (MRO) has surged nearly 10% today after announcing that it would buy privately-held PayRock Energy Holdings for $888 million dollars. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey's Will Derrick and team explain why that's also good news for Newfield Exploration (NFX), Cimarex Energy (XEC), Continental Resources (CLR), ...

Jun 20, 2016 11:37 A.M. EST

BY AMEY STONE

Fund company VanEck is lowering the fee on its VanEck Vectors Fallen Angel High Yield Bond ETF (ANGL) from 0.4% to to 0.35% after a surge in assets under management. The top-performing fund now has $190 million in assets, more than triple the amount at the start ...

Jun 20, 2016 11:22 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

It's been a terrible time for big companies looking to get bigger. Regulators scuttled the proposed merger between Halliburton (HAL) and Baker Hughes (BHI); while a proposed change to how the IRS would view tax inversions made the combination of Pfizer (PFE) and Allergan (AGN) ...

Jun 20, 2016 11:01 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Jefferies analyst Jonathan Wolff and team contend that Chesapeake Energy (CHK) "looks like a survivor"-a big change from the perception of the company just four months ago-but remain bearish on its stock. They explain why:

Jun 20, 2016 10:49 A.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Shares of Symantec (SYMC) are higher by 70 cents, or 3.5%, at $20.67, after UBS's Brent Thill this morning hiked his rating on the shares to Buy from Sell, and jacked up his price target to $24 from $16, writing that the company's announcement a week ...

Jun 20, 2016 10:30 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Susquehanna's Pablo Zuanic and team argue that Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), Mondelez International (MDLZ) and SodaStream International (SODA) are most at risk if Britain votes to leave the European Union. They explain why:

Jun 20, 2016 10:29 A.M. EST

BY TIERNAN RAY

Shares of Corning (GLW) are higher by 32 cents, or 1.6%, at $20.61, after Citigroup's Stanley Kovler started coverage this morning with a Buy rating and a $23 price target, writing that “sentiment in Display has turned too bearish into a seasonally stronger second half” of ...

Jun 20, 2016 10:09 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

RBC's Joseph Spak and team visited the Tesla Motors (TSLA) factory in Fremont, Calif., and came away feeling more comfortable with the upstart automaker's ability to increase production. They explain:

Jun 20, 2016 9:51 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Stocks are soaring this morning as polls show Brexit support beginning to wane.

Jun 20, 2016 9:06 A.M. EST

BY BEN LEVISOHN

Stocks look set to soar as Britain looks more likely to stay in the European Union.

Jun 20, 2016 8:28 A.M. EST

BY DIMITRA DEFOTIS

Russia hopes to sell a 19.5% stake in state-controlled oil producer Rosneft in a joint deal with China and India.

Jun 20, 2016 3:55 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

India's rupee and stocks narrowed earlier losses and the Sensex Index gained 0.4% at the time of publication.  Does it mean the Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan's decision to leave is a non-event?

Jun 20, 2016 3:30 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

China's largest banks have been doing well since mid-May.

Jun 20, 2016 2:20 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

China's Geely Auto (175.Hong Kong) has soared more than 50% since its late February low as market sentiment improved and the car maker turned out a better play on China's SUV growth than rivals such as market leader Great Wall Motor (2333.Hong Kong).

Jun 20, 2016 0:05 A.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

Over the weekend, well-respected Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan surprised the world by announcing that he would leave the Indian central bank and return to academia in September.

Jun 19, 2016 11:50 P.M. EST

BY SHULI REN

The British pound jumped 0.8% to 1.4563 per U.S. dollar, trading as high as 1.4612 this morning, as the latest opinion poll showed last week's Brexit momentum was breaking after the tragic killing of British lawmaker Jo Cox.