Today’s Trade Alerts include: Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO), DryShips Inc. (Nasdaq: DRYS), Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) QUALCOMM Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: MRVL).

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) Trade Alert – AMD Spins-off Manufacturing Facilities, Introduces ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) shares surged 7.96% to $2.17 this morning. Advanced Micro, a semiconductor company, provides processing solutions for the computing, graphics, and consumer electronics markets in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.

As the company recently closed a deal that will effectively let it spin-off its manufacturing facilities into a joint venture, it appointed former 3Com Corp. CEO Bruce Claflin as chairman. Claflin succeeds former Advanced Micro CEO Hector Ruiz, who retired from the board to become chairman of the board of the Foundry Co., a company encompassing the manufacturing facilities that Advanced Micro is forming with the Advanced Technology Investment Co.

Advanced Micro said the spin-off was designed to improve its balance sheet and refocus the company on designing chips, instead of making them. It received $700 million from Advanced Technology for a portion of its ownership interests in the Foundry Co., which assumed responsibility for repaying about $1.1 billion of Advanced Micro debt.

As part of a larger deal that allows Advanced Micro to spin-off its factories to save money, it had agreed to issue 58 million of its common shares to an affiliate of Mubadala Development Co., an investment arm of the government of the Persian Gulf state of Abu Dhabi. Mubadala paid Advance Micro about $125 million for the newly issued Advanced Micro shares and warrants for 35 million additional shares.

In January, the company reported a $1.42 billion fourth-quarter loss, hurt by a rapidly deteriorating environment for computer sales as well as big write-offs.

Advanced Micro also announced the world’s first graphics processors to harness 40nm process technology: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830. These feature-rich graphics processors redefine mobile PC entertainment with advanced capabilities including support for the latest Microsoft DirectX 10.1 games, a home theater-quality HD multimedia experience, and energy-efficient features for long battery life at work, at home or at play. ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 graphics will be featured in the forthcoming Asus K notebook.

In today’s daily chart, AMD’s MACD reflects a strong bearish signal, with the indicator below the 9-day moving average signal line, and also below the critical 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending lower. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price action. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, a bearish trend is generally indicated.

Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) Trade Alert – VLO Takes Crude Unit Out of Production on Night Fire, Posts $3.28 Billion Q4 Net Income Loss

Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) shares rose 4.77% to $17.81 in today’s early trading. Valero Energy operates as a crude oil refining and marketing company. After a recent night fire in a heat exchanger, Valero Energy took a crude unit out of production at its 325,000 barrel-per-day-total-throughput Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, according to a company spokesman.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported due to the blaze, and the unit was placed on circulation, meaning it has not been shutdown, but continues to circulate feedstock and can be quickly returned to service.

Valero Energy also reported earnings for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2008, which ended December 31, 2008. A non-cash loss of $4.1 billion caused by writing off the company’s entire goodwill balance brought significant losses on paper, leading to a net income loss of $3.28 billion for the quarter and $1.13 billion for the year.

However, even when this loss is excluded, the company’s annual net income still dropped from 2007 figures. In order to remain competitive in the sluggish economy, Valero Energy is curtailing capital expenditure and reducing production.

The company said it will restart a vacuum unit at the west plant of its 340,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, following planned work.

Valero Energy operates through two segments, Refining and Retail.
Valero Energy markets its refined products through bulk and rack marketing network, and approximately 5,800 retail and wholesale branded outlets in the United States, Canada and Aruba under various brand names, including Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, Beacon, Corner Store and Stop N Go.

In today’s daily chart, VLO’s Bollinger Bands indicate greater than normal volatility as reflected by an increase in distance between the upper and lower bands. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price action. MACD reflects a strong bearish signal, with the indicator below the 9-day moving average signal line, and also below the critical 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending lower. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, the bearish signal is more pronounced with decreasing moving averages.

DryShips Inc. (DRYS) Trade Alert – DRYS Enters Final Agreement with Nordea Bank Finland Plc, DnB NOR Bank ASA and HSH Nordbank AG for Covenant Waiver of $800 Million Debt

DryShips Inc. (DRYS) shares fell 4.01% to $2.87 in today’s early trading. DryShips engages in the ownership and operation of drybulk carriers worldwide. The company recently said it reached a final agreement with Nordea Bank Finland Plc, DnB NOR Bank ASA and HSH Nordbank AG regarding the previously announced covenant waiver in connection with the $800 million Primelead facility.

DryShips said it has obtained covenant waivers for its debt totaling about $1 billion. However, the company still has about $2 billion in debt that might require similar covenant waivers.

George Economou, chairman and CEO, said, “We are delighted to have reached a definitive agreement with the three lenders on the Primelead facility. This agreement is a testament of the support of Nordea Bank Finland Plc, DnB NOR Bank ASA and HSH Nordbank AG to DryShips. These three lenders acting as agents or direct lenders represent 75% of the total loans outstanding of the company.”

Earlier in January, DryShips had opted for a $500 million shelf offering, with plans to use some of the proceeds to pay down its debt. An analyst noted several shipping companies loaded their balance sheets with debt to fund their fleet expansion plans in order to capitalize on the meteoric rise in freight rates for the last two years.

DryShips Inc. is a global shipping transportation company specializing in the transportation of drybulk cargoes. Its fleet carrying capacity totals over four million deadweight tons. It is focused on maximizing shareholder value by maximizing returns on its investments while at the same time ensuring its vessels adhere to the highest safety and environmental standards.

Its fleet carries various drybulk commodities, including coal, iron ore, grains, bauxite, phosphate, fertilizers and steel products. As of March 14, 2008, it owned and operated a fleet of 46 drybulk carriers comprising five Capesize, 31 Panamax, two Supramax, and eight newbuilding drybulk vessels with a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 4 million tons.

In today’s daily chart, DRYS’ Bollinger Bands indicate a relatively stable condition, as reflected by tighter than normal band width. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price action. MACD reflects a weak bullish signal, with the indicator trending above the 9-day moving average signal line but still below the 0 level, indicating bearish moving averages. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, the bearish signal is more pronounced with decreasing moving averages.

Symantec Corp. (SYMC) Trade Alert – SYMC Plans to Preview Pilot Release of Project Guru at the DEMO 2009 Conference, Publishes its February 2009 MessageLabs Intelligence Report

Symantec Corp. (SYMC) shares slipped .37% to $13.45 this morning. Symantec provides software and services that protect, manage and control information risks related to security, data protection, storage, compliance and systems management.

The company recently said it will preview the pilot release of Project Guru at the DEMO 2009 conference scheduled March 1 to March 3 in Palm Desert, California. Project Guru is a secure, Web-based service that enables tech savvy individuals to provide remote support for friends and family. This is the third consecutive year that a Symantec innovation has been chosen for demonstration at the prestigious DEMO conference.

To be selected to show at DEMO, technologies and new products must make a significant contribution to the state of the art in its target market, change the dynamics of the marketplace into which it is introduced, and be backed by a management team capable of delivering the product to market.

The Project Guru pilot provides individuals with a secure, scalable Web-based environment that enables users to provide remote technical support without the need to spend a lot of time on the phone or visiting in person.

Symantec also announced the publication of its February 2009 MessageLabs Intelligence Report. Analysis highlights that although spam declined by 1.3% to 73.3% of all emails in February, levels as high as 79.5% were experienced at the start of the month due to a spike in botnet activity and spammers leveraging the financial crisis and Valentine’s Day for their latest spam antics.

The company said the MessageLabs Intelligence intercepted a new technique involving forged headers on targeted Trojan attacks. Added to an email as it is passed between two mail servers, headers act as a vapour trail so that the path of that email can be tracked. With many attackers not bothering to include headers as a means of falsely authenticating their emails, the use of real-world examples in the most recent attempts made the email stand out as being suspicious.

Symantec operates in four segments: Consumer Products, Security and Compliance, Storage and Server Management, and Services.

In today’s daily chart, SYMC’s Bollinger Bands indicate a relatively stable condition as reflected by tighter than normal band width. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price action. MACD reflects a strong bearish signal, with the indicator below the 9-day moving average signal line, and also below the critical 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending lower. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, the bearish signal is more pronounced with decreasing moving averages.

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) Trade Alert – QCOM Purchases Digital Fountain, Signs Deal with Nokia Corp. to Develop Next-generation Cell phone in North America

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) shares rose 1.40% to $33.25 this morning. QUALCOMM designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access (CDMA) technology and other technologies.

The company has quietly bought online, IPTV and mobile video tech provider Digital Fountain, which made its first mark in providing the technology to national defense agencies, and from there, it on moved to mobile, on-line and IPTV sector. Besides its main product “DF Raptor” which allows companies to send digital media over any kind of connection, it added a CDN in 2007. It says customers include Cisco, Sirius XM, Sony, Nokia, Adobe, and others.

QUALCOMM and Nokia Corp. recently unveiled plans to develop next-generation cell phones for North America, as the longtime opponents joined together to target the U.S. market. Nokia has signed a deal with QUALCOMM to use its chipsets in 3G phones, initially to be focused on the North American market. The handsets will use the Symbian operating system.

The launch of the first Nokia handsets with Qualcomm chips is expected middle of next year. It’s a good deal for QUALCOMM because it strengthens ties with the largest mobile phone manufacturer.

QUALCOMM operates in four segments: Qualcomm code division multiple access technologies (QCT), Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), Qualcomm Wireless and Internet (QWI), and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI).

In today’s daily chart, QCOM’s MACD reflects a strong bearish signal, with the indicator below the 9-day moving average signal line, and also below the critical 0 level, indicating that moving averages are trending lower. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price action. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, the bearish signal is more pronounced with decreasing moving averages.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) Trade Alert – MRVL Announces Plug Computing Initiative, Receives Analyst Upgrade to Overweight

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) shares climbed 1.82% to $7.26 in today’s early trading. Marvell, a semiconductor company, engages in designing, developing and marketing analog, mixed-signal, and digital signal processing, and embedded microprocessor integrated circuits.

The company recently announced its Plug Computing initiative to make high-performance, always on, always connected, and environmentally friendly computing readily available for developers and end-users. A Plug Computer is small enough to plug directly into a wall socket and is designed to draw so little power that it can be left on all of the time.

Dr. Simon Milner, vice president and general manager of the Enterprise Business Unit, Consumer and Communications Business Group at Marvell Semiconductor, said “There is no doubt that home networks need to become more intelligent and easier to use by offering value added services for the consumer. We have created an open computing platform for developers in a consumer and eco-friendly form factor. Marvell’s goal is to accelerate the development and availability of innovative software and services in the home.”

Barclays Capital analyst recently upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, saying he thinks the chip maker’s improving margins and increased market share may help it outperform its peers. The analyst raised his price target by $2 to $10.

In a client note, Barclays analyst Romit J. Shah said he had begun cutting earnings for Marvell last summer, but now he is encouraged by a “major cost-cutting program” that includes cutting 10% to 15% of the company’s workers, shutting down product lines and restricting travel.

Shah now expects the company to break even in the first quarter, compared with a prior estimate for a loss of 2 cents per share, on revenue of $473 million.

In today’s daily chart, MRVL’s MACD reflects a weak bearish signal, with the indicator above the critical 0 level but crossing below its 9-day moving average signal line, indicating bullish moving averages, but slowing positive momentum. Trading within its Bollinger Bands, the stock reflects neither an overbought nor oversold condition relative to its recent price action. With share prices currently below the stock’s 13-day moving average, a bearish trend is generally indicated.

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