Another busy day tomorrow for earnings and my list of notable earnings continues to grow!.. so I’ll break it up into two posts once again (before and after the bell).  8 companies will report before the bell tomorrow, with Vasco Data Security (VDSI) leading the pack as the highest ranked company in the database reporting in the morning (with a score of 54 out of 60). 

Technically, the stock looks outstanding with very good buy volume in the right said, followed by a breakout and subsequent orderly pull back to support of the 50 day moving average twice.  A good earnings report could propel the stock off support, possibly providing a nice entry point if you missed the initial breakout.

Other notable earnings before the bell:

• St. Jude Medical (STJ): A solid company that continues to post solid results quarter after quarter.  The stock broke out on June 24th and remains just outside of a proper buy range.
• Lufkin Industries (LUFK): The stock of Lufkin, an oil equipment company, continues to soar to new heights as earnings and sales growth continues to accelerate.
• ATMI Inc (ATMI): Semis have done well recently and ATMI is no exception – looks outstanding technically, but well above a proper buy range.
• Ametek (AME): Ametek, a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electric motors, has been tracking along the 50 day moving average for 2 years and looks ready to bust out to big gains from a base at any moment.  Perhaps tomorrow’s earnings report will be that catalyst.  The stock currently sits in a buyable range.
• Astec Industries (ASTE): Designer, engineer and manufacturer of equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities.  Astec is currently working on a base on base pattern after orginially breaking out in March.  The technicals are a bit suspect.
• Labor Ready (LRW): Capitalizing on the improving job market, this is a stock that continues to soar to new heights and well out of a proper buy range.
• Symyx Technologies (SMMX): A provider of research services and high throughput experimentation for the discovery of innovative materials, has experienced record growth over the past year and is currently forming the handle of a long base.

Earnings continue to come in very strong – several of the companies that reported this morning are surging today: Genlyte Group (GLYT) is up over 5%, Peabody Energy (BTU) is up over 4%, Jefferies Group (JEF) is up 5%, Lone Star Technologies (LSS) is up 7% and Precision Castparts (PCP) is up nearly 9%.

The big names (Amgen, Yahoo and Intel) will report after the belll today, which should provide movement for the markets tomorrow (at least in the first hour or so of trading).  While the big names get most of the attention, it’s the smaller, faster growing companies i’m most interested in.  The highest rated company in the SelfInvestors.com database reporting after the bell today is USANA Health Science (USNA), which develops and manufactures science-based nutritional and personal care products.  It ranks 51 (out of a possible 60).  Although sales growth has been decelerating for several quarters, it’s still very good at about 25% quarter over quarter. 

Over the past few months, USNA has carved out a real nice looking base, with volume drying up at the bottom, then surging as it forms the right side.  Looks like the stock is attempting to form a handle.  Maybe earnings tomorrow will be the catalyst for a breakout from a short handle?

Other companies reporting after the bell today:

• Juniper Networks (JNPR): Juniper has made an impressive comeback after the tech meltdown, in which they’ve been consistently doubling sales and earnings quarter over quarter for the last year or so.  Technically it looks very good as well and is above major support levels.
• Gilead Sciences (GILD): Biotech has been red hot and GILD is no exception, running up over 30% in the last couple months.  The stock is currently too extended from a proper buy point.
• CR Bard (BCR): CR Bard is a solid medical device company, although sales growth has been decelerating and posted quarter over quarter sales growth of 11 and 9% respectively in the latest 2 quarters, a bit on the light side.  The stock looks to find support at the 200 day moving average as it carves out a new base.

Forgot to mention the report out of XTO Energy (XTO) this morning:

• XTO is a highly rated oil company that posted fantastic earnings this morning.  The stock currently sits in a buyable range, but the base is a bit suspect with a sharp V like pattern.  The stock is up 1% today.

Earnings season is really beginning to ramp up and tomorrow will be the busiest day yet.  IBM reported stellar reports after the bell today and earnings reports from big names like Yahoo, Amgen, Intel and Juniper will come tomorrow.

Morning Reports:

The big guys will report after the bell, but a slew of lesser known names will kick things off in the morning.  Two companies I’ll be watching with interest are Ventana Medical Systems (VMSI) and Peabody Energy (BTU).  I have VMSI as the highest rated company reporting tomorrow with an overall rank of 52 (out of 60).  However, the stock has already had a tremendous run and technically looks a bit shaky here.  It’s probably due for a correction and tomorrow’s earnings report may just be that catalyst.  We shall see.  Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets instrument-reagent systems that automate slide staining in anatomical pathology and drug-discovery laboratories worldwide.

Another company I’ve got my eye on tomorrow morning will be Peabody Energy (BTU).  The coal producer has seen accelerating growth in recent quarters and continues to look good technically despite recently breaking out of a late stage base.  The stock is currently extended from a proper buy point.

Other companies reporting in the morning include: ARMHY, GLYT, RVSN, PCH, LSS and JEF.

I’ll take a quick look at all the companies reporting after the bell on Tuesday, July 19th in a post tomorrow morning. Remember: Be cautious during earnings season. 

There are several earnings reports to keep an eye on tomorrow, all coming before the bell or soon thereafter.  The one I’ll be watching closely comes from United Health Care (UNH).  The managed health care companies have had a tremendous run over the past few years and the earnings and sales growth aren’t likely to slow anytime soon.  I’ve been holding Wellcare Health Plans (WCG) in the SelfInvestors.com Model Portfolio for the past few months and the report out of UNH will undoubtedly have an affect on this and other HMO’s tomorrow.  It’s been a steady climb for UNH as the stock has cotinued to find support at the 200 day moving average and most recently at the 50 day moving average.  It looks like it will test that level once again tomorrow.

Two companies that recently broke out of great looking bases will also report tomorrow – MDC Holdings (MDC), a home builder and Monro Muffler Brake (MNRO), a provider of under – car repairs and tire service.  Both companies exhibit outstanding fundamentals as well. 

Also reporting tomorrow are two fast growing banks, one of which was highlighted in the last Breakout Highlights report – HDFC Bank (HDB), India’s fastest growing bank (time of reporting for HDB could not be verified – it’s difficult to get reliable earnings info for ADR’s) and Commerce Bancorp (CBH), a leading bank on the east coast which is attempting to carve out the right side of a year long base.

Finally, Genzyme (GENZ) will report before the bell tomorrow .. a solid company in the same league as Amgen (AMGN) in terms of fundamentals, but RS has been lagging for a couple years below 60.

One of those earnings reports that everyone will be watching.. yes, that’s right, it’s time again for Apple (AAPL) to report.  Last quarter, "selling on the news" led to the first correction in many months despite a strong report.  Since the stock has been carving out a base for the past couple months, the odds of a spike up in the stock come Thursday morning are much better than the last go around.  Consensus estimates call for a .31/share, but the whisper number comes in at .36 which would represent a 400% increase over the year ago quarter and continue the streak of accelerating earnings growth to 4 quarters.   Most likely, Apple would have to miss badly for the stock to break below that 200 day moving average.  If I’m in the stock I’m holding, but wouldn’t be a buyer here.  I like to wait until after earnings to evaluate a position for purchase.  Apple will report after the bell.

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Another earnings report worth mentioning comes in before the bell from AAR Corp (AIR).  AAR Corp is an independent provider of products and services to the worldwide aviation/aerospace industry.  The stock has had a great run, rising around 50% in the last 4 months alone.. and for good reason.  Quarter over quarter sales growth has been accelerating in the last 3 quarters with growth of 9%, 12% and 24% respectively.  Earnings growth has been equally impressive in the same time frame with quarter over quarter growth of 999%, 999% and 114%.  Despite the recent run, the stock has yet to clear a 5 year high – the stock has been rebounding after the company lost money in ’02 and ’03.

Taking a look at a 3 year chart and you can see the recent move is the right side of a long base.

I will have my eye on the earnings report out of Rocky Mountain Chocolate (RMCF) tomorrow after the bell.  It’s hard to imagine that a chocolate maker could increase more than 500% in the past two years and it looks as though there is room to run.  It’s a very small company still rapidly expanding.  The stock broke out of another base back on June 14th and never looked back, surging 40% from the breakout point. Traders are taking  profits today ahead of earnings and the stock has taken a bit of a hit today with an 7% decline on volume.

Two other notable earnings will be reported before the bell tomorrow morning – Horizon Health (HORC), a highly rated manager of psychiatric and physical rehabilitation programs and Universal Forest Products (UFPI), a leading manufacturer, distributor and and installer of lumber, composite, plastic and other building materials.  The thinly traded stock made a big move today and broke out to all time highs on very heavy volume.  Is someone expecting a blow out earnings report tomorrow?

Earnings season is beginning to ramp up and kicking it off this week will be reports from Genentech (DNA) and Posco (PKX) (the Korean steel producer) on Monday.

Genentech will report after the bell.  Considering the big run up in the stock in the past few months, this is not a stock I would be willing to hold through tomorrows earnings report.  Although the company should report outstanding results once again, investors may be looking to take profits on the news regardless.  How about that move in Amgen (AMGN) last week.. looks more like a momentum stock rather than a big cap, blue chip!!

As for Posco, I wasn’t able to come up with the time they will report.  Steel stocks have begun to show some signs of life lately and Posco looks poised to begin to carve out the right side of a base starting with a nice move on Friday.  Many other steel companies have been warning of slowing growth of late, so it will be interesting to see what Posco has to say about the future outlook.

After several quarters of tremendous growth, Research in Motion (RIMM)

is expected to begin to slow but still maintain solid earnings growth.  Their earnings report after the bell today should shed some light on the impact of recent lawsuits and the outlook in the months ahead. 

The chart of RIMM is not a thing of beauty and with an RS rating below 50, this is a stock I won’t be touching for some time. 

You see RIMM carving out the right side of a large, very choppy base.

I’ve added a new section that will highlight some of the more notable earnings reports for the following day.  This is the first post for this section and on tap for tomorrow are reports out of Walgreens (WAG) at the market open and a report from Sonic Corp (SONC) after the bell.  I will include a thumbnail image of the information that can be found in the SelfInvestors Breakout Tracker database for each stock which can be found below (for more information on this database and the information in the various columns, please have a look at this page).  At times I may include charts, time permitting.

(click the image for larger look)

Walgreen’s and Sonic are two very consistent companies with solid fundamentals.
It appears the base that Walgreen’s has been forming over the past couple months is on the verge of breaking down and looks like its on the verge of a much larger move down.  As for Sonic, it’s been carving out a decent double bottom base and is working on carving out the right side.