On Monday, before the stock market open, Sterling Construction (STRL) reported earnings that disappointed Wall Street. The stock gapped down, opening at $18.44, from a close of $21.15 the Friday…br/ br/ [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]div class=”feedflare” a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/StocksOptionsBlog?a=25oSR3ZHyII:BxHOrcXPreI:yIl2AUoC8zA”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/StocksOptionsBlog?d=yIl2AUoC8zA” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/StocksOptionsBlog?a=25oSR3ZHyII:BxHOrcXPreI:l6gmwiTKsz0″img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/StocksOptionsBlog?d=l6gmwiTKsz0″ border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/StocksOptionsBlog?a=25oSR3ZHyII:BxHOrcXPreI:gIN9vFwOqvQ”img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/StocksOptionsBlog?i=25oSR3ZHyII:BxHOrcXPreI:gIN9vFwOqvQ” border=”0″/img/a a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/StocksOptionsBlog?a=25oSR3ZHyII:BxHOrcXPreI:TzevzKxY174″img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/StocksOptionsBlog?d=TzevzKxY174″ border=”0″/img/a /divimg src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/StocksOptionsBlog/~4/25oSR3ZHyII” height=”1″ width=”1″/

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The Technical Trader – Sterling Construction

TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. ( TQNT ) recently reported fourth quarter 2009 net income per share of 14 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 11 cents and management’s revised expectation of 12 – 13 cents. TriQuint is an original equipment manufacturer of semiconductor communication integrated circuits. The company specifically targets the wireless handset segment, infrastructure networks and defense markets. The company reported revenues of $193.3 million in the fourth quarter, up 12% sequentially and up 30% year-over-year driven by solid growth from all end-markets. Revenue for 2009 came in at $654.3 million, up 14% from the prior year. We have discussed the quarterly results at length: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/30996/TriQuint+Tops+Expectations AGREEMENT IN REVISIONS Following better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, four of the five analysts following the stock have raised their earnings estimates for 2010 over the past 30 days, with no revision in the opposite direction. For the first quarter, four of the five analysts following the stock have raised their earnings estimates with no revision in the opposite direction. There have been no revisions in estimates for 2011. MAGNITUDE – ESTIMATES UPPED MODESTLY The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 is 46 cents, up five cents in the last 30 days. For fiscal 2011, TriQuint is expected to deliver 28.79% bottom line growth resulting in a Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents. TriQuint has consistently met or exceeded its guidance. In terms of earnings surprises, earnings exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last quarter by 9.09% while the third quarter met expectations. Earnings estimates for the first quarter are up by two cents with the current Zacks Consensus Estimate at 7 cents. Management had guided EPS to come between 8 cents and 10 cents. OUR RECOMMENDATION TriQuint foresees a sustained demand for handset and defense products. Management projects revenues between $170 million and $175 million in the first quarter of 2010. First quarter is a seasonally weak quarter for the company. For full fiscal 2010, management expects revenue to grow by 20%. Management continues to see solid adoption of its 3G products in multi-band smart phones. We remain cautiously optimistic of the company’s projected path of growth. Our long-term recommendation for TriQuint is Neutral (Zacks #3 Rank), which means that

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Earnings Scorecard: TriQuint – Analyst Blog

Two days ago, I was driving my six-year-old to the store, and the subject of her grandparents’ retirement came up. During the conversation, she discovered the concept of Social Security. “You mean you get paid to retire?” she asked, suddenly excited about the possibility. “Well,” I said, “your grandparents get paid. And I might get paid fifty cents on the dollar… but I doubt you will see anything.” “Aww, man… ” � The poor girl just discovered the concept of paid retirement and had it taken away, all in an afternoon. This is when it really hit me that we are indeed stealing from our children. Advertisement Triple-Digit Gains in Less than 2 Months Ever since taking advantage of our latest oil report, readers have banked gains of 130% in under six weeks. That was just one of several winning Bakken picks. And the best part? They’re not even close to closing the books on this play. Don’t miss out on our next round of profits. Click here to learn more. We Don’t Need No Water Let the #$@#!@ Burn! As I write this, the Obama Administration is pushing a health care entitlement nobody wants and that we cannot afford. And yet, beneath the fold of most front pages is the disturbing fact that this year�— for the first time�— Social Security will pay out more than it takes in. In fact according to Investor’s Business Daily , the government will pay out $29 billion more than it takes in through the payroll tax. The good news is that the Social Security trust fund (remember Al Gore’s lockbox?) has been funded to the tune of $2.5 trillion in anticipation of this event. The bad news is that according to the AP, those are only paper assets. It turns out Congress spent the money on other programs. The IBD says, “Social Security’s unfunded liability for future decades now stands at $17.5 trillion, an inconceivable amount of money.” That is quite a hole. Perhaps the leaders of this country should do what they always do and simply issue more government debt? U.S. Credit is Maxed Out Moody’s, the world famous rating agency best known for closing the barn door with self-assured tardiness while in the pay of the horse, said that the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and France had a one-way ticket to debtors’ prison. The Ca-rated Moody’s went on: … debt levels in the four large credit-worthy economies had reached the point at which they are at risk of being downgraded — a step that would drive up interest rates, increase borrowing costs and mark a turn in perceptions about the world economy… growth alone will not resolve an increasingly complicated debt equation. Preserving debt affordability at levels consistent with AAA ratings will invariably require fiscal adjustments of a magnitude that, in some cases, will test social cohesion. Social cohesion? I think that’s economist speak …

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A Ballsy Solution to the Social Security Mess

The US Market rallied today with the Fed’s decision to keep providing interest-free (or nearly interest-free) money. The Dow closed up by 43 points today, pushing towards 52 weeks high. The S&P500 joined the Nasdaq composite …

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More Interest Free Money…

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added its strongest warning to the label for blood thinner drug Plavix. Plavix is Bristol-Myers Squibb’s ( BMY ) lead drug. It is an antiplatelet blood thinner indicated to reduce the risk of heart attack in patients with atherosclerosis (the build-up of plaque and hardening of the arteries). The blockbuster drug is co-marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis ( SNY ).  While adding a boxed warning to Plavix, the U.S. agency stated that the blockbuster blood thinner is not effective in patients who fail to metabolize the drug to convert it to its active form thereby exposing them to greater risk of heart attack and stroke. Those patients have a genetic variation that prevents them from making an enzyme needed to break down Plavix. This warning was added to the drug’s label by the FDA in May 2009. However, the agency thought it appropriate to highlight the risk in a boxed warning after reviewing more data.   We note that Plavix must be broken down by a particular liver enzyme for it to work effectively. According to the FDA, 2% to 14 % of people in the U.S. have low levels of the enzyme thereby preventing them from successfully metabolizing Plavix. The FDA stated that the likelihood of being poor metabolizers varies by race.  The patients can determine if they can process Plavix by taking a genetic test. The U.S. regulatory authority stated that health care professionals should consider alternative dosing of Plavix for the poor metabolizers, or use other anti-platelet therapies to treat them. The sternest FDA warning to Plavix’s label should increase demand for Effient, a blood thinner launched by Eli Lilly & Co. ( LLY ) in 2009.  The U.S. regulatory authority stated further that patients should continue taking Plavix unless told otherwise by their doctor. They should consult their health care professional if they have any concerns regarding Bristol’s blockbuster blood thinner.  Currently, we are Neutral on Bristol-Myers Squibb. The recommendation implies that the stock is expected to perform in line with the overall U.S. equity market over the next six to twelve months. Therefore, we advise investors to retain the stock over this time period. Read the full analyst report on “BMY” Read the full analyst report on “SNY” Read the full analyst report on “LLY” Zacks Investment Research

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Stronger Warning for Plavix – Analyst Blog

This isn’t the first time that I’ve written about Canada, a well-run country that has avoided many of the mistakes made by the United States. Its budget deficit is moderate, its… Money Morning is here to help investors profit handsomely on this s…

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It’s Time to Invest in Canada

If trading were as easy as looking at a chart, checking a few indicators, executing a trade and raking in the profits, we would all be trading from our own private islands in the Caribbean, but sadly it’s not. The most important tools needed to be a lucrative trader go beyond a “foolproof” trading system or

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What’s Keeping You From Trading Success?

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ DrStockPick.com Watch List! My picks for Tuesday March 16, 2010, are: ************************************************************** SPWRA, SunPower Corp. SPWRA designs, manufactures and delivers the planet’s most powerful solar technology broadly available today. Residential, business, government and utility customers rely on the company’s experience and proven results to maximize return on investment.

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SPWRA, HMTO, DrStockPick.com Watch List! for Tuesday March 16, 2010, SunPower Corp. and Home Touch Holding Co.

There was an interesting item in The 5- Minute Forecast which read, “Within 12 years, the largest item in the federal budget will be interest payments on the national debt,” which is pretty scary for guys like you and me, especially if you are, like me, a paranoid, frightened and angry little man who sees Inflation Explosions in a Financial Action Film originally appeared in the Daily Reckoning . The Daily Reckoning, offers a uniquely refreshing, perspective on the global economy, investing, gold, stocks and today’s markets. Its been called “the most entertaining read of the day.”

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Inflation Explosions in a Financial Action Film

Via Conference Call 2:20 P.M. EDT MR. RHODES:� Thanks, everybody, for joining today.� With me is Jeff Bader, Senior Director for Asia here at the NSC, who you know well; and Denis McDonough, Chief of Staff for …

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Press Briefing on the President’s Upcoming Trip to Guam, Indonesia and Australia by Denis Mcdonough, NSC Chief of Staff, Jeff Bader, NSC Senior…

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao vigorously defended his country’s economic policies on Sunday, rejecting calls to let the yuan appreciate, and ratcheting up trade tensions with the United States where… Money Morning is here to help investors profit hands…

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Chinese Premier Wen Rejects U.S. European Pleas, Says Yuan to Stay Stable

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao vigorously defended his country’s economic policies on Sunday, rejecting calls to let the yuan appreciate, and ratcheting up trade tensions with the United States where… Money Morning is here to help investors profit hands…

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Chinese Premier Wen Rejects U.S. European Pleas, Says Yuan to Stay Stable