Baidu, Wyndham Rise; Tesoro, Google Fall

Mayank Mehta
13 Jan, 2010
New York City

Wyndham Worldwide surged after positive comments from Deutsche Bank. Petroleum refiners Tesoro and Valero declined on the worries that elevated crude oil prices will crimp margins. China based search engine surged after Google said it may close its operations in China. Res-Care Inc plunged 17%.

[R]2:30 PM New York – Wyndham Worldwide surged after positive comments from Deutsche Bank. Petroleum refiners Tesoro and Valero declined on the worries that elevated crude oil prices will crimp margins. China based search engine surged after Google said it may close its operations in China. Res-Care Inc plunged 17% on lowered outlook.[/R]

Of the stocks in S&P 500 index, 353 increased, 141 declined and 6 were unchanged.

Tesoro Corporation led the decliners in the S&P 500 index with a loss of 3.4% followed by losses in Zions Bancorporation of 3.0% and in QLogic Corporation of 3.0%, in Cummins Inc of 2.6% and in Valero Energy Corporation of 2.4%.

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation led gainers in the S&P 500 index with a rise of 4.7% followed by gains in Merck & Co., Inc 3.5%, in Time Warner Cable Inc of 2.5% and in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc 2.4%.

Other Movers

Baidu, Inc ((BIDU)) the operator of China’s most popular online search engine surged 12% or $46.65 to $433.14 after Google said it may be forced to close its operations.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc ((BCRX)) declined 2.9% or 24 cents to $7.74 after the maker of the H1N1 drug peramivir today announced that its partner, Shionogi & Co., Ltd. has received marketing and manufacturing approval for intravenous peramivir to treat patients with influenza in Japan.

Calavo Growers, Inc ((CVGW)) rose 0.8% or 14 cents to $17.52 after the provider of test and service assurance solutions said first quarter sales fell 1.7% to $45.6 million from $46.4 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 93.7% to $334,000 or 1 cent per diluted share compared to net income of $5.3 million or 8 cents per share a year ago.

Corus Entertainment Inc ((CJR)) rose 0.3% or 6 cents to $19.00 after the media and entertainment company reported first quarter revenues rose 2.5% to $222.3 million from $216.8 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 82% to $73.9 million or 91 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $40.6 million or 50 cents per share a year ago.

Culp, Inc ((CFI)) added 3.9% or 46 cents to $12.11 after the maker of upholstery fabrics announced overall sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 ending January 31, 2010, are now expected to be up approximately 18% over the prior year period (third quarter fiscal 2009).

El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P ((EPB)) fell 4.2% or $1.08 to $24.42 after the owner of the longest interstate natural-gas pipeline network today announced that it plans to sell 8 million common units in an underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

EnCana Corporation ((ECA)) Canada’s natural-gas producer fell 0.1% or 4 cents to $34.16.

Flanders Corporation ((FLDR)) the maker of air filters fell 24.3% or $1.17 to $3.62 after it said it will voluntarily delist its share from Nasdaq to save money.

H.B. Fuller Company ((FUL)) added 2.8% or 66 cents to $23.70 after the maker of adhesives and sealants said fourth quarter revenues fell 2.5% to $341.6 million from $350.2 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter was $24.6 million or 50 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $42.4 million or 88 cents per share a year ago.

Kraft Foods Inc ((KFT)) added 1.3% or 38 cents to $29.67 after the food maker increased its guidance for 2009 diluted earnings per share to at least $2.00 versus the previous expectation of at least $1.97.

Linear Technology Corporation ((LLTC)) advanced 2.1% or 64 cents to $30.87 after the chip maker said second quarter revenues rose 3% to $256.4 million from $249.2 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter fell 12.4% to $75.5 million or 33 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $86.2 million or 38 cents per share a year ago.

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc ((PLX)) the Israeli drugmaker advanced 1.6% or 12 cents to $7.58.

Rambus Inc ((RMBS)) decreased 8.1% to $21.40 on a sharply higher trading volume of 9 million shares compared to average volume of 3.3 million.

Res-Care, Inc ((RSCR)) plunged 17.4% to $9.39 after the company lowered its sales guidance to $1.58 billion from $1.63 billion and earnings per share outlook to $1.20 from a range of $1.30 to $1.34.

Rio Tinto plc ((RTP)) rose 0.5% or $1.31 to $229.46 after the international mining company was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Canaccord Adams.

Tesoro Corp ((TSO)) declined 5.3% to $13.38 after comments from an independent researcher Simmons & Company said refiners with operations in the developed economies are likely to operate with lower margins if crude oil prices stay elevated.

Wyndham Worldwide Corp ((WYN)) increased 4.7% to $21.94 after Deutsche Bank revised its rating to “buy” from “hold” and said that the stock is trading at a discount to their peers in the industry.

Xyratex Limited ((XRTX)) dropped 3.2% or 50 cents to $14.75 after the provider of modular enterprise-class data storage solutions said fourth quarter revenues fell 15% to $243 million from $285.4 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter was $1.6 million or 5 cents per diluted share compared to net loss of $55.7 million or $1.92 per share a year ago.

Xstrata plc ((XSRAY)) the copper producer rose 2.1% to $3.88.