Stock Futures Higher ahead of GDP Data. Stocks to Watch: AAPL, CVX, CSCO, F, ILMN, JNPR, PG, RVBD, SBUX

Published on Friday, 27 January 2012 07:31 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, January 27^th  (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures were pointing to higher open amid strength in overseas markets ahead of the final reading of the fourth quarter GDP. Optimism in Europe over progress in Greek debt restructuring negotiations was also helping sentiment, while the busy earnings reporting week comes to the end with Dow components Chevron and Procter & Gamble reporting quarterly results.

In Asia, most stocks closed higher amid some reports of progress on the Greek debt restructuring talks and as participants waited for additional economic data in the U.S. for signs that the world’s largest economy was gathering steam. In Japan, the Nikkei slid 0.09%, but still closed higher for the week. Meanwhile in Korea, stocks climbed 0.4% after Apple’s rival Samsung posted record profits on the back of strength on smartphones.

In Europe, equity markets were trading higher ahead of U.S. GDP figures and on optimism that Greece was making progress with its negotiations with private bondholders to avoid a messy default. Stocks were on track to post a gain for the week, as during this session defensive stocks were providing leadership.

The euro was gaining 0.4% against the Dollar, trading above the $1.31 level. Crude oil was climbing 0.48% to $100.18 per barrel. Gold was falling 0.19% to $1723.50 an ounce and silver was losing 0.33% to $33.63 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper was jumping 0.6%.

On economic news at 8:30 am, the government will release its first reading of fourth quarter GDP, with economists expecting an increase of 3.2%. And at 9:55 am, the final reading of January University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment will be available.

Today’s Stocks to watch: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Ford Motor (NYSE: F), Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD), and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX).

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), the maker of iPads and iPhones, was gaining 0.31% to $446 in pre-market after the stock pullback in the prior session after it posted an all-time high of $454.45 earlier in the week, following record shattering results, which prompted numerous brokerages to boost their target prices on the stock, including Ticonderoga lifting its target to $666, Barclays bumping its target price to $630 from $555, and Citigroup raising it to $600 from $500. Rival, Samsung Electronics also reported record profits, as the Korean electronics giant benefited from strong smartphone sales.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX), the U.S. second largest energy producer, will be in focus after the company reports its earnings later this morning. On average analysts are expecting a profit of $2.92 per share on revenues of $71.08 billion. Last quarter, the company posted a 5.5% upside earnings surprise, as it earned $3.67 per share.

Ford Motor (NYSE: F), the Dearborn, MI based automaker, was tumbling 3% to $12.34 after the company missed earnings estimates by $0.06 per share on revenues of $32.6 billion, inline with consensus. The company sees fiscal 2012 auto pre-tax operating improvement year over year. Ford said that U.S. full year industry volume to be in the range of 13.5-14.5 million vehicles. The co expects European full year industry sales in the 19 markets Ford tracks to be in the range of 14 to 15 million. The company expects its full year market share in the U.S. and Europe to be about equal compared to 2011. Ford's market share in 2011 was 16.5% in the U.S. and 8.3% in Europe.

Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), the provider of tools for DNA, RNA, and protein analysis, will be in focus, as the company attempts to block Roche takeover by adopting a poison pill. Earlier in the week, Roche tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina at $44.50.

Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), the provider of Internet infrastructure solutions, was tumbling 8.72% to $20.42 in pre-market amid negative reaction to its downside guidance following an earnings beat on revenues that were inline with consensus. The company posted earnings of $0.28 per share, $0.01 better than consensus, on revenues that climbed 5.7% year over year; however it provided downside guidance for the current quarter, with the company expecting both EPS and revenues to be below consensus. The stock was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Morgan Keegan, with the firm setting its target price at $20 after the poor guidance.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), the global consumer products company, was falling 1.7% to $63.70 in pre-market on initial reaction to its quarterly results and downside guidance. Procter posted earnings of $1.10 per share, $0.02 better than consensus, on revenues that climbed 3.7% year over year to $22.4 billion. The company issued third quarter EPS and fiscal 2012 EPS guidance below consensus.

Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD), the developer and manufacturer of WAN optimization and network traffic measurement products, was plunging 11% to $26.63 in pre-market following investor disappointment with its poor guidance for the quarter. Riverbed posted earnings of $0.25 per share, $0.01 better than consensus, on revenues that jumped 22.6% year over year to $202.8 million, inline with consensus. The company said that it sees current quarter EPS in a range of $0.19 to $0.21 versus consensus of $0.25 on revenues of $183 to $187 million versus consensus of $197.3 million. The company noted that despite higher disk drive costs resulting from recent Thai floods, it reported strong gross and operating margins in the fourth quarter.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), the networking giant, was falling 0.5% to $19.73 amid the poor guidance from smaller rivals Juniper Networks and Riverbed Technology. Last week, FBR Capital initiated coverage on Cisco with a Market Perform and a target price of $22.50 per share.

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), the largest coffee shop chain in the world, will be in focus in the session after in extended hours the stock fell more than 2% to $47.31, trading near its 20day moving average following its earnings report. The company posted earnings that beat the Street by $0.02 per share on revenues that climbed 16.4% year over year to $3.44 billion, also beating the Street. Additionally, Starbucks raised the lower end of its prior EPS guidance for fiscal 2012, leaving the range below consensus. The company now expects EPS to be in a range of $1.78 to $1.82 versus consensus of $1.84. Starbucks cited its strongest holiday season in history and the shipment of 100 million K-cups in the quarter. The stock briefly traded at an all-time high of $48.49 yesterday ahead of the report. Likely providing support Jefferies is raising its target price to $53 from $50 and Barclays is also bumping its target price to $45 from $42.