EmailThe consumer discretionary group is in-line with the broader market in early trade. The retail group is also in the green with the Retail HOLDRS Trust (RTH) 0.3% and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) 0.3%. Trading higher following earnings/guidance: CALM +4%... Trading lower following earnings/guidance: MSO -1.9%. Other notable mentions: TLB flat (Sycamore Partners to extend offer to acquire Talbots to Aug 2 from July 27 ), KO flat (announced a new operating structure; will organize around three major operating businesses), EL flat (filed for a debt securities shelf offering for an undisclosed amount)... Leaders: FRS 14.9% (declares special dividend of $9.50 per share payable on Sept 14, 2012), BBY 2.5% (founder Schulze recruting executive team for buyout - Bloomberg), BPI 1.1% (discloses it has received notification from U.S. Department of Education regarding on-site program review of University of the Rockies).
Analyst related: Upgrades: CHS 2.1% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray), ARO 0.7% (upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, Aeropostale upgraded to Buy at Caris) RGC 1.6% (upgraded to Outperform at Barrington Research), GET 1.6% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo)... Downgrades: BKE -1.4% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Janney Mntgmy Scott), NWL -3.4% (downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley), PETM -0.8% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Nomura)... Misc: AMZN 1.2% (added to U.S Conviction Buy List at Nomura), ORLY -2.3% (early weakness being attributed to cautious boutique firm mention).
