Nordstrom Inc. (...

OPNET Technologies, Inc. (OPNT) analysts are raising estimates after the company showed strong growth in a recent quarterly report.

Company Description

OPNET provides network management software to optimize performance and availability of communications networks. In contrast to most reactive services, the company offers proactive problem resolution and avoidance.

Strong Sequential Growth

On Oct 29 OPNET reported second-quarter results for fiscal 2010 that included record deferred revenue of nearly $35 million. License revenue grew 31% since last quarter.

Earnings per share came in at 9 cents compared to the 1 penny that analysts were expecting. Last quarter the company earned 8 cents per share.

Record Set

Marc Cohen, CEO, said, "Overall we saw a significant improvement in deal closure rates. Application performance management (APM) continues to be a growth area for the Company, and hit a new record in license bookings." He went on to comment on a new product

...

JPMorgan Chase & Company (JPM) is in discussions to take full control of its U.K. joint-venture partner, Cazenove Group, for about £1 billion ($1.7 billion).   JPMorgan entered into a partnership with Cazenove five years ago. At that time, JPMorgan paid about £100 million for a 50% ownership in Cazenove.   Now, JPMorgan intends to buy the remaining 50% of the investment-banking partnership for 500−525 pence per share.   Chief Executive Naguib Kheraj, the former finance chief of Barclays PLC (BCS) is running JPMorgan Cazenove since last year. Cazenove first became one of London's leading stockbrokers in the mid-1930s.   Deciding on the full acquisition of Cazenove has been crucial for Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan. Dimon organized a similar purchase of the bank’s remaining stake in Highbridge Capital Management this year.   In the last few years, JPMorgan has been able to maintain its top ...

Group 1 Automotive Inc. (...

John Stepek (Money Week UK): Deal making is back!

That was the general reaction from the press when US food giant Kraft launched its first bid for British confectioner Cadbury less than two months ago. Pundits spewed out potential target prices like bingo numbers – £8, no £10, no £12! – and analysts scribbled out scenarios involving white knights and rival bidders from across the globe.

Reality has been a little more disappointing. Despite attempts to talk up the deal, no rival bidders have come forth. And yesterday Kraft came back to the table with an offer that can only be described as – as Cadbury’s board put it – ‘derisory’.

It’s just another sign that there’s a vast gap between conditions in the financial world and those in the ‘real’ world…

Market hopes are stretched far beyond reality The Cadbury / Kraft bid saga shows just how far market hopes

...

• Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN) reported adjusted third quarter earnings of $3.45 a share, 55 cents above consensus estimates, on better-than-expected revenues of $730.7 million, ahead of estimates of $$693.97 million on strong summer season travel. The firm provided fourth quarter guidance at about $1.06-$1.16

• Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) said it plans to cut 1500 additional jobs. The firm reported second quarter adjusted earnings of 6 cents, a one penny miss, on revenues of $1.15 billion, which slightly topped Street projections of $1.12 billion. The firm forecast 2010 earnings of $0.70-$1.00, topping estimates of 89 cents on revenues of $4.2-$4.4 billion versus estimates of $4.26 billion

• Cadbury (NYSE:CBY) rejected the latest Kraft (NYSE:KFT) bid calling it "derisory"

• Moody's (NYSE:MCO) commented that AIG (NYSE:AIG) will be able to repay its Federal loans

• Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) lifted its growth expectations for the semiconductor group following release of third quarter numbers. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) remained its first

...

• Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) reported better-than-expected first quarter adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share, versus 37 cents a year ago, beating Zacks estimates of 26 cents a share.  Revenues of $9 billion, though off last year's $10.3 billion, exceeded Zacks projections of $8.75 billion. Current quarter revenue guidance was lifted to 1%-4% growth from a year ago to $9.9 billion-$10.2 billion.  CEO John Chambers said the numbers "continued to reflect strong sequential growth trends," as he noted an improving economic outlook

• Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) reported a surprise quarterly profit and halved its annual loss estimate as both its revenue and cost-cutting expectations beat estimates after vehicle demand grew in the US and Asia. The company said it now sees a $2.2 billion loss for its fiscal year ending March

• Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) reported same-store-sales rose 5% in October, ahead of estimates of a 4.7% gain, as a weak dollar

...

Compellent Technologies, Inc. (CML) is at a multi-year high and fresh of an impressive earnings report. Analysts continue to revise estimates to keep up with the company's growth.

Company Description

Compellent offers enterprise-class storage services. The company provides scalable solutions that are easy and cost effective, yet remain feature-rich.

Revenues Spike

In an Oct 28 report, the company announced third-quarter results that included revenue of $32.2 million. This was up 31% year-over-year and 12% on a sequential basis.

Earnings per share came in at 7 cents, much higher than the 1 penny analysts were expecting. This was the seventh consecutive earnings surprise.

Increasing Demand

Phil Soran, president and CEO, said, "This quarter we experienced strength across all geographies and a growing awareness of the Compellent solution. As the demand for efficient storage technologies continue, regardless of whether companies are virtualizing IT, building private clouds or buying cloud services, we continue

...

The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE) is scheduled to report third quarter earnings after the bell on Nov 4. Despite a slowdown in the agriculture sector analysts are bullish on the quarter and expect 2009 year over year earnings growth of 23.80%.

Company Description

The Andersons is an agribusiness company operating with five business segments: Grain and Ethanol Group; Rail Group; Plant Nutrients Group, Turf & Specialty Group and Retail Group.

The company has operations in 14 states including Puerto Rico and also has rail equipment leasing interests in Canada and Mexico.

Zacks Consensus Estimates Rise

The Andersons has missed on estimates 3 out of the last 4 quarters but analysts are bullish ahead of the Nov 4 third quarter results as both the quarterly and full year estimates have been rising.

The third quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate climbed 3 cents to 39 cents in the last 30 days.

The

...

• Aetna (NYSE:AET) reported third quarter earnings of 69 cents a share, 3 cents better than Zacks estimates, on revenues of $8.72 billion, up 14.4%.  The company sees full year earnings of $2.75 a share

• OfficeMax (NYSE:OMX) posted third quarter earnings of 8 cents, 6 cents below Zacks estimates on inline revenues of $1.83 billion, down 12.6%. The firm issued cautious guidance, anticipating macro employment trends will not turn positive well into 2010

• Nintendo (NASDAQ:NTDOY) posted first half profits off 52% to $768 million, while sales dropped 34.5%. The company slashed its dividend for the first half by 37%

• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) reported third quarter earnings of 79 cents a share, 24 cents above Zacks estimates, as revenues of $2.05 billion, up 49.5%, bested Zacks estimates of $1.78 billion

• Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) reported a 73% drop in net profit, with earnings ex-items of $2.62 billion slightly ahead of estimates

...