'Fast Money' Recap: Google Gah-Gah
Mixed earnings reports left U.S. stocks mostly unchanged Thursday. The Dow and S&P 500 both posted minute gains, while the Nasdaq was down 0.4%. Internet company Google (GOOG) - Get Report reported earnings after the close.
On
CNBC's
"Fast Money" TV show, Pete Najarian said Google's report was very positive. The traders called into question data from
comScore
(SCOR) - Get Report
suggesting the number of clicks on Google's ads has decreased.
Jeff Macke said kudos to those who had been long Google into earnings. He recommended taking some of the position off the table after the $70 move the stock made after hours. He said Google has been a great application but needs to morph into other businesses.
Guy Adami said that Google may be a proxy for the S&P 500. He said the bullish news for Google should help the broader market tomorrow.
3 Stocks I Saw on TV |
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Karen Finerman said that the news may be good for
Yahoo!
(YHOO)
if the entire Internet market has grown. If, on the other hand, Google is taking market share, then that's bad news for
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
and Yahoo!.
Macke said he doesn't think that Yahoo!'s negotiating position against a hostile takeover from Microsoft has improved on Google's earnings. He said Yahoo! will have to prove to shareholders that it's in control of its business and can maintain its independence when it reports earnings.
Najarian recommended buying Yahoo! stock and selling Yahoo! calls.
Back to the Financials
The stock market shrugged off news of writedowns at
Merrill Lynch
(MER)
. Adami said that he believes there is a light at the end of the tunnel of the credit crisis. He noted that Merrill CEO John Thain had somewhat reneged on his earlier promise not to raise capital. He said he likes Merrill here.
Finerman said that Thain had said he would raise capital in a way that would not dilute equity. She believes the bank is done raising dilutive capital, she said.
Macke noted that
Citigroup
(C) - Get Report
may disappoint, but he believes almost all the bad news for the financials is already priced in. He recommended buying the financials on dips.
Najarian agreed, saying he would follow a similar strategy for
JPMorgan
(JPM) - Get Report
,
Wells Fargo
(WFC) - Get Report
and Merrill. He said he also likes the
Financial Select Sector SPDR
(XLF) - Get Report
.
Adami predicted that the financial stocks would be off to the races if Oppenheimer analyst Meredith Whitney upgrades the sector.
Pfizer
(PFE) - Get Report
reported today that sales of Lipitor were down. Adami said the company needs to do something to generate a pipeline.
It was a tough day for
Nokia
(NOK) - Get Report
, Najarian said. The company reported earnings today. He said that selling cheaper phones in emerging markets is cutting into margins. He said the company needs improved penetration of U.S. markets.
Adami said
Corning
(GLW) - Get Report
is a winner in the cell-phone game because the company makes the glass found in cell-phone displays.
Najarian also noted that
Potash
(POT)
shares got clobbered today, but he noticed bullish options activity in the name. He said he's a buyer on the pullback.
Of
Marriott's
(MAR) - Get Report
earnings, Macke said the hotel sector has already been hurt by the weak economy. He said, though, that the real indicators of the health of the economy are in gaming names like
MGM
(MGM) - Get Report
.
Vail Resorts
(MTN) - Get Report
is also getting stomped, he said.
Oil retreated from the price of $115 a barrel today. Adami said he would own oil service name
Halliburton
(HAL) - Get Report
into its earnings. He also said to look for pullbacks in
Baker Hughes
(BHI)
and
Schlumberger
(SLB) - Get Report
.
Macke said he would buy the dip in crude.
Elsewhere in commodities, Najarian pointed out that natural gas had a monster day.
Apache
(APA) - Get Report
and
Devon
(DVN) - Get Report
posted 52-week highs and then pulled back, he said. He said those stocks are getting close to offering buying opportunities. He said the airlines will continue to struggle with oil at $115 a barrel.
Adami noted a Citigroup downgrade of
U.S. Steel
(X) - Get Report
. Look for a pullback in the steel names, he sadi.
Going for Brokers
On a bullish earnings report from
TD Ameritrade
(AMTD) - Get Report
, the traders welcomed CEO Joe Moglia to discuss his business.
Moglia said his company has a strong balance sheet and observed that retail investors are still interested in the market. He said that the company has had an interest in struggling rival
E*Trade's
(ETFC) - Get Report
business, but he said he'd have to see how that would work out. He also said that his company has reaped most of the fallout from customers leaving E*Trade.
Najarian said he likes TD Ameritrade. He also recommended looking at
Knight Capital
(NITE)
and
Charles Schwab
(SCHW) - Get Report
.
Finerman said she thinks Ameritrade is interesting. She said the company's margins may compress if trading volume goes down.
The traders noticed bearish year-to-date activity in media stocks.
Disney
(DIS) - Get Report
,
Viacom
(VIA) - Get Report
,
News Corp.
(NWS) - Get Report
,
Time Warner
(TWX)
and
CBS
(CBS) - Get Report
are all down. The traders spoke with Lehman analyst Anthony Diclemente about the companies' prospects.
Diclemente said that at 13 times earnings, the stocks are at troughs. He said that at some point the bad news will get priced in to the stocks. Macke said he likes Disney. Diclemente said that each stock has its drawback, so he recommended buying a basket of media names.
Adami said that CBS is probably due for a comeback. Finerman said she's staying away from media names. Najarian said he likes Disney.
The future of student lending doesn't look good, observed the traders. Finerman said that the government may have to intervene to help make student loans available again. She was bearish on
Career Education
(CECO) - Get Report
,
Corinthian College
(COCO)
and
ITT Educational Services
(ESI) - Get Report
. She said that
DeVry
(DV)
was probably the cream of the crop among the educational names.
Adami said that
Apollo Group
(APOL)
may have put in a bottom at $39.
Trader Radar
Cypress Semiconductor
(CY) - Get Report
traded on unusual volume today.
As part of the show's series on hedge fund favorites, the crew looked at
Thermo Fisher Scientific
(TMO) - Get Report
. Najarian said the company provides analytical instrument. He said that there's growth potential in the name, and the company delivers positive results and guidance every quarter. The company has done a great job acquiring other companies to ensure future growth. Adami said Thermo Fisher Scientific is an interesting story.
Fast Messages
A viewer wrote in to ask why
Intuitive Surgical
(ISRG) - Get Report
shares dropped despite what looked like a good earnings report. Finerman said the company has a history of beating on earnings and raising guidance, but this time it reiterated guidance instead of raising.
Najarian said Intuitive Surgical is a great company and a great long-term stock.
A second viewer asked about
Honeywell's
(HON) - Get Report
earnings. Adami said
United Technologies
had a good quarter but was bearish on the economy going forward. He recommended buying Honeywell on a dip.
Final Trade
Macke picked Microsoft. Adami did the same. Finerman said she would short the British pound. Najarian chose Yahoo!








