Schacknow - Today's Primer, May 2, 2012

           

Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk

The old Wall Street adage “sell in May and go away” may yet hold true, but the new month has certainly not started off that way. The Dow and the S&P 500 have both risen in five of the past six sessions, and the Dow is coming off its highest close since December 2007.

Whether that positive outlook continues may well depend on a key piece of data out this morning: the ADP report on private sector employment, due at 8:15am ET.  Economists expect the U.S. economy to have added 175,000 private sector jobs in April, compared to 209,000 in March.  We’ll also get March factory orders at 10am ET, expected to show a 1.5 percent drop after a 1.3 percent increase in February.


Weekly reports out today include mortgage applications from the Mortgage Bankers Association at 7am ET, and the Energy Department’s weekly reading on oil and gasoline inventories at 10:30am ET.


Time Warner (TWX) leads our list of companies set to report quarterly earnings this morning. (Tuesday’s brief erroneously stated that Time Warner would report after yesterday’s closing bell – we apologize for the error.)  We’ll also get quarterly numbers from Allergan (AGN), Clorox (CLX), Comcast (CMCSA), CVS Caremark (CVS), Devon Energy (DVN), Garmin (GRMN), and MasterCard (MA).


Today’s after-the-bell reports include Allstate (ALL), Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR), JDS Uniphase (JDSU), Symantec (SYMC), Visa (V), and Whole Foods (WFM).


Herbalife (HLF) remains on our watch list this morning, after it lost about 20 percent during Tuesday’s trading. Herbalife says the questions asked by hedge fund manager David Einhorn during an earnings conference call raised no new subjects or concerns, and that the most recent quarter was the best for Herbalife in 32 years.
Dow component Pfizer (PFE) will get some attention today, after the FDA approved its drug Elelyso to treat a form of Gaucher’s disease. We’ll also watch shares of Protalix Bio Therapeutics (PLX), Pfizer’s partner in development of that drug.


Chesapeake Energy (CHK) could come under some pressure, after reporting first quarter profit of $0.18 per share, 11 cents below estimates. Revenue for the energy producer was also short of Wall Street consensus. Investors are particularly concerned about Chesapeake’s exposure to low-priced natural gas.


Chipmaker Broadcom (BRCM) reported first quarter profit of $0.65 per share, ten cents above estimates, with revenues also registering a beat. But Broadcom did say that acquisition related costs would cut into profit margins for the current quarter.


OpenTable (OPEN) shares will be under pressure today, after issuing current quarter guidance below analyst estimates.  The restaurant reservation service did beat consensus by six cents with first quarter profit of 40 cents per share.


Genworth (GNW) is absorbing a double-dose of news this morning: its quarterly profit of $0.06 per share, excluding certain items, was five cents below estimates, and the insurer’s chief executive officer Michael Frazier has resigned.  He’ll be replaced on an acting basis by chief financial officer Martin Klein.


TripAdvisor (TRIP) reported first quarter profit of $0.38 per share, excluding certain items, five cents above estimates.  The travel services company saw travel reviews and opinions hit the 60 million mark during the quarter.


Charming Shoppes (CHRS) will reportedly be bought by women’s apparel retailer Ascena Retail (ASNA) for $890 million or $7.35 per share, according to the Wall Street Journal. The price represents a nearly 25 percent premium over yesterday’s close for Charming Shoppes shareholders.