Ultimate Market Recap: Mayer May End Yahoo’s Buyback Program, Netflix Invests in Facebook

Wall Street Morning Brief: Yahoo May END Buyback Program, Chesapeake in Trouble, J.C. Penney Now Up 6%

J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) shares have reversed the pre-market sell off after its second quarter earnings missed analysts’ expectations. The company saw an adjusted earnings per share loss of $0.37 vs. the previous year’s profit of $0.19; revenue tanked 23 percent to $3.02 billion and Internet sales plummeted 33 percent. J.C. Penney also said it probably won’t meet its fiscal year guidance.

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IBM (NYSE:IBM) has casually spoken to Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) about buying its network operations centers (NOCs); these secure and compress content sent to BlackBerries, reported Bloomberg. RIM has been asked to change its NOCs into an independent business that services numerous platforms, but it hasn’t been supported. Co-CEO Jim Balsillie had left because he was a proponent of this.

Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) has been named in a U.S. antitrust investigation for its purchase and lease of oil and gas rights. The company supposedly worked with Encana (NYSE:ECA) to hold down land prices in possible oil and gas opportunities in Michigan.

Lions Gate (NYSE:LGF) had a surprising fiscal first quarter net loss of $44.2 million, down from the previous year’s $10.3 million profit. This came from a $90 million rise in film-marketing costs. On a positive note, revenue increased 81 percent and exceeded forecasts, assisted by the “The Hunger Games” success and Summit Entertainment takeover.

Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer is going over the company’s capital allocation strategy; this could result in ending the $5.5 billion stock buyback program connected to Alibaba’s $7.1 billion, 50 percent repurchase of Yahoo’s 40 percent share in the Chinese company. Activist investor Dan Loeb, who supported Mayer’s employment, is probably displeased with the news.

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Manchester United KICKS OFF Trading with 16.6M Shares and 4 Hot Stocks Trading NOW

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) management hopes to continue providing qualitative information regarding business trends and capital expenditures throughout the year. Also, the company predicts that it will end the FY with an excess of about $1 billion cash on the balance sheet after spending $800 million in capital expenditures for support of the transformation efforts of the company and after paying off $230 million of notes which were due in August 2012. Last quarter, the company reaffirmed its FY12 non-GAAP EPS of $2.16. Shares of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. are trading 5.38% higher today.

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Manchester United Ltd (NYSE:MANU) begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange today, selling 16.6 million Class A shares at $14 per share, which is lower than the previously reported range of $16 to $20. The team should gain approximately $233 million before fees, which is far below the $333 million the team had hoped for. Manchester United is the first professional sports team offering shares on an American market since the Cleveland Indians in 1998. Shares of Manchester United Ltd are trading 0.14% higher today.

Manpower Inc (NYSE:MAN): The U.S.-based company, generating two-thirds of its sales in Europe, issued a Q3 forecast, which was lower than the recently reduced analyst estimates, stating that slowing demand for its services, including providing temporary workers, was not only in Europe. “We see this current downturn as quite different than what we experienced in 2008,” Chief Executive Jeff Joerres said on a conference call. “There really is no major falloff but rather a slow decline of business that is holding true across all geographies at this time.” The company’s net earnings dropped 44 percent to $41 million, or 51 cents per share, from $72.7 million, or 87 cents per share, from last year. Shares of Manpower Inc are trading 0.32% lower today.

Fusion-IO, Inc. (NYSE:FIO) shares were boosted 26 percent to $26.55 as the data-storage company posted its fiscal Q4 earnings which excludes one-time items of 9 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been searching for earnings of 3 cents a share. The company’s revenue increased to $106.6 million from $71.7 million last year, with the newest result being higher than the consensus estimate of $96 million. also, the company predicts its sales for Q1 to “modestly increase” over its Q4 results. Shares of Fusion-IO, Inc. are trading 28.92% higher today.

Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARNA): “The FDA’s approval of BELVIQ in the second quarter was a significant development for obese and overweight Americans who need help losing weight,” stated Jack Lief, Arena’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are focused on working with Eisai to launch BELVIQ in the United States following the completion of DEA scheduling, and expect BELVIQ to play a key role in physicians’ newly expanded toolkits for the medical management of obesity. We also have marketing authorization applications under review in the European Union and Switzerland, and are in the process of prioritizing our commercial and regulatory strategy for additional markets outside of the United States.”

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Ubiquiti Networks BETRAYED by Fake Products and 4 Hot Stocks Moving the Market

Ubiquiti Networks Inc (NASDAQ:UBNT) has been downgraded by UBS Investment Research and Wedbush Securities Inc . On Thursday, Ubiquiti stated that it was facing a group of “very resourceful” former distributors, who are aware that its sales channel and have been able to get the company’s Intellectual Property in China. The company stated that the group has set up manufacturing facilities and has placed Ubiquiti’s products in legitimate sales channels, which misleads customers to consider fake products as original ones. Shares of Ubiquiti Networks Inc are trading 41.46% lower today.

Don’t Miss: Wall Street Brief: Yahoo May END Buyback Program, Chesapeake in Trouble, J.C. Penney Down 9%.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained in late trading after it predicted Q3 sales which exceeded analysts’ estimates due to the large demand for processors used in tablet devices which will be coming to market in the current quarter. The company’s revenue for the period that ends in October will total $1.15 billion to $1.25 billion, the Santa Clara, California-based company claimed in a statement yesterday. Analysts estimated $1.09 billion on average, according to data gathered by Bloomberg. Shares rose as much as 6.8 percent after the report. Shares of NVIDIA Corporation are trading 0.07% higher today.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (NYSE:SMG) is prepared for the fall campaign too, the campaign to elect a new president of the United States. The company openly supports Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate who is to formally accept his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention later this month in Tampa. Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co are trading 0.97% higher today.

Dunkin’ Brands (NASDAQ:DNKN), the Canton-based parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, announced Friday that the previously announced underwritten public offering by certain stockholders of 21,754,659 shares of its common stock was commenced by the underwriter to purchasers in one or more transactions on The Nasdaq Global Select Market. Shares of Piedmont Natural Gas Company Inc. are trading 1.27% lower today.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC): U.S. regulators directed five of the biggest banks in the nation, including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), to build plans to stave off collapse if they faced serious problems. This emphasizes that the banks could not count on government help, according to Reuters. Shares of Bank of America Corporation are trading 0.19% lower today.

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Toyota Plans to DOUBLE Sales in Brazil and 4 Hot Stocks Fighting for Attention

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) recently reported Q2 results, the highlights of which were the planned acquisition of biotech company Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMLN) along with the presentation of clinical data on Bristol-Myers’ pipeline of immuno-oncology drugs. The results were reflected on the impact of the U.S. patent expiration of Avapro/Avalide in March 2012 and Plavix in May 2012, as sales dropped 18 percent to $4.4 billion from $5.4 billion on a year-on-year basis. GAAP EPS for the quarter was $0.38 per share, versus $0.52 per share in the same quarter of 2011. Net earnings totaled about $645 million, versus $902 million in the same quarter of 2011. U.S. net sales fell 27 percent to $2.6 billion, and international net sales dropped 1 percent to $1.9 billion. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $8.8 billion, with a net cash position of $3.3 billion as of June 30, 2012. The company is currently adjusting its guidance for 2012 GAAP EPS from the $1.90-$2.00 range downwards to $1.78-$1.88. This does not include the impact of the intended acquisition.

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Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM): “Our goal is to double sales in Brazil within two years,” states Shunichi Nakanishi, who oversees Toyota’s business in Brazil. He spoke yesterday at the opening event in Sorocaba. This means selling as up to 200,000 vehicles in the country, reports Nakanishi. Shares of Toyota Motor Corporation are trading 0.20% lower today.

GMAC LLC (NYSE:GOM):  Under the Independent Foreclosure Review program, eligible borrowers could have their case reviewed by independent consultants to determine if the borrower was financially injured due to errors, misrepresentations or other deficiencies concerning the foreclosure process. One does not need to have lost a house to be eligible. An injured borrower could be eligible for compensation or other remedies, with no cost involved. The program is part of an enforcement action between federal banking regulators and these servicers: America’s Servicing Co., Aurora Loan Services, BAC Home Loans Servicing, Bank of America, Beneficial, Chase, Citibank, CitiFinancial, CitiMortgage, Countrywide, EMC, Everbank/Everhome Mortgage Co., Financial Freedom, GMAC Mortgage, HFC, HSBC, IndyMac Mortgage Services, MetLife Bank, National City Mortgage, PNC Mortgage, Sovereign Bank, U.S. Bank, Wachovia Mortgage, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, and Wilshire Credit Corp. Shares of GMAC LLC are trading 0.08% higher today.

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) internal configuration files in Mountain Lion suggest re-engineered iMac and Mac Pro models, according to Apple Insider. An unnamed source claims that the new models would be able to support either an optical boot disc of a USB flash drive volume capable of installing Windows to a Boot Camp partition. Shares of Apple Inc. are trading 0.13% lower today.

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) CFO David Ebersman will meet with investors in New York today as an attempt to create demand for shares, reports CNBC’s David Faber. Shares of Facebook, Inc. are trading 1.91% higher today.

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Late Day Buzzing Stocks: J.C. Penney JUMPS 5%, Arena Pharma and DeVry Struggle

J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) shares jumped more than 7 percent this morning before cooling off mid day and rallying since, despite reporting a weak second quarter. The company announced a loss of $147 million, compared to a net gain of $14 million a year earlier. Revenue also declined by 22.6 percent to $3.02 billion. “We have now completed the first six months of our transformation and while business continues to be softer than anticipated, we are confident the transformation of J.C. Penney is on track. The transition from a highly promotional business model to one based on everyday value will take time and we will stay the course,” said Ron Johnson, chief executive officer. Shares of competitor Macy’s (NYSE:M) are now down over 1 percent.

Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARNA) shares are now down 1.36 percent after reporting financial results for the second quarter. The company’s loss narrowed to $22.1 million, compared to a loss of $22.9 million a year earlier. The FDA’s approval of BELVIQ in the second quarter was a significant development for obese and overweight Americans who need help losing weight,” said Jack Lief, Arena’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are focused on working with Eisai to launch BELVIQ in the United States following the completion of DEA scheduling, and expect BELVIQ to play a key role in physicians’ newly expanded toolkits for the medical management of obesity.”

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Shares of DeVry (NYSE:DV) dropped 4 percent this morning but have since recovered. Shares are currently down 2.8 percent. Net income for the recent quarter plunged 89.2 percent to $8.1 million (12 cents per share), compared to $75.2 million ($1.08 per share) a year earlier. Revenue also declined 7.5 percent to $505.9 million. “While we are disappointed with the results for this quarter and year, we are optimistic about mid- and long- term growth prospects in higher education and for DeVry,” said Daniel Hamburger, DeVry’s president and chief executive officer. “We are executing a plan to improve DeVry’s near-term performance.”

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares fell 0.41 percent in late trading on Friday. Net income for the second quarter declined to 19 cents per share, compared to 25 cents per share a year earlier. However, earnings beat the mean analyst estimate of 15 cents per share. “Our investments in mobile computing and visual computing are both paying off,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. “Tegra has achieved record sales as tablets come into their own. Our GPU business made strong gains in a weak market, boosted by our breakthrough Kepler architecture. Looking ahead, we’re optimistic, as our investments position us right at the center of the fastest growing segments of computing.”

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Market Recap: Stocks Battle Back, RIM Screwed, Yahoo May Change Plans

Markets closed up on Wall Street today: Dow +0.32%, S&P +0.22%, Nasdaq +0.07%, Oil -0.04%, Gold +0.14%.

On the commodities front, Oil (NYSE:USO) declined to $93.35 a barrel. Precious metals closed mixed, with Gold (NYSE:GLD) rising to $1,622 an ounce while Silver (NYSE:SLV) fell 0.01% to settle at $28.08.

Here’s your Cheat Sheet to today’s top stock stories:

Samsung will not acquire Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) or license the BlackBerry maker’s new mobile operating system, the South Korean electronics company said on Thursday. Lack of support from potential partners like Samsung could spell more trouble for RIM, which is seeking options to help turn around its embattled business.

But help could be on the way as its shares increased almost 5 percent on Friday. Bloomberg News reported that International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) made an informal inquiry about possibly buying RIM’s enterprise-services division.

Groupon Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GRPN) shares rose 12 percent and are poised for a busy trading day on Monday when it reports its second quarter results after the bell. In a client research note, Morgan Stanley analyst Scott Devitt reiterated his “Bullish Overweight” rating on the company and wrote that he expects “an in-line or better quarter” for Groupon.

Janus Capital Group Inc.’s (NYSE:JNS) shares increased 10 percent. The company announced it reached an agreement for Japan’s Daiichii Life Insurance to purchase up to a 20 percent share in it and invest with $2 billion from its general account assets.

On the down side, Yahoo Inc.’s (NASDAQ:YHOO) shares dropped 6.1 percent after the company warned that it may not return all of the cash it receives after selling its share of Alibaba to shareholders. It was also downgraded to “Neutral” by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

After the close on Thursday, Roundy’s Inc. (RNDY) lowered its financial forecast, noting an “increasingly price-conscious consumer and greater-than-anticipated pricing and promotional activity in several of our major markets.” On Friday, the company’s shares dropped 25 percent.

Radar Movers: Manchester Breaks IPO Price, Netflix CEO Buys into Facebook

Shares of J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) closed nearly 6 percent higher today and continued to edge higher in late afternoon hours, despite a weak second quarter earnings report. The company announced a loss of $147 million, compared to a net gain of $14 million a year earlier. Revenue also declined by 22.6 percent to $3.02 billion. “We have now completed the first six months of our transformation and while business continues to be softer than anticipated, we are confident the transformation of J.C. Penney is on track. The transition from a highly promotional business model to one based on everyday value will take time and we will stay the course,” said Ron Johnson, chief executive officer.

Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) shares fell almost 1 percent in late afternoon trading, falling below its $14 initial public offering price. The English soccer club, with a record 19 championships, sold 16.7 million shares in a deal that valued the organization at $2.3 billion. However, the IPO priced below its initial $16-$20 range and underwriters had to support the stock price during its trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares attracted attention in late evening trading. The WSJ reports that Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, purchased roughly $1 million in Facebook stock. “In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Hastings disclosed buying 47,846 Facebook Class A shares on Wednesday at a weighted average price of $21.03 each.”

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares finished the week slightly higher as detailed sales numbers became available due to the ongoing legal battle with Samsung. Samsung sold 1.4 million Galaxy Tabs between June 2010 and June 2012, generating revenue of $644 million. In contrast, Apple sold 34 million iPads in the same time frame, generating $19 billion in revenue. Apple also managed to sell 85 million iPhones and 46 million iPod touches for combined revenue of $60.3 billion.

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