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VIDEOTicker Shock: AmEx Insiders Flock to Its Stock; Should You?
Wednesday's top stories and stocks with potential to move.
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By the way, folks, keep an eye peeled - it’s April Fools Day!
Asian stocks were a bit of a mixed bag. The Hang Seng was down, but under 1%. However, the Nikkei was up nearly 3%. European stocks were in negative territory this morning. And here in the US, we're currently trading lower.
Here's what I’m seeing this morning:
American Express (AXP)
Although some investors are concerned about banks and credit-card companies, some AmEx execs have been quietly bellying up to the bar and buying their own stock. But check it out - we aren’t just talking about a couple of bucks here, and I’m thinking they wouldn’t have dropped that kind of coin unless they thought they were going to, as Professor Toddo says, put some jingle in their jeans.
Apollo Group (APOL)
The Arizona-based education company came out with its second-quarter numbers. The company earned $0.77 a share, which was well north of the $0.65 estimate I’m seeing. Meanwhile, revenues came in at $876.1 million, which was also better than expected.
The bad news: It looks like the shares will open lower this morning. It’s unclear exactly what, exactly, is getting under investors' skin. But I think it may be due to comments about its bad debt expenses:
“These gains were offset somewhat by a 30 basis point increase, as a percentage of net revenue, in bad debt expense versus the second quarter of fiscal 2008. As compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2009, bad debt expense increased 50 basis points, as a percentage of net revenue. The increases are primarily due to the increased risk of collecting aged receivables and lower collection rates on those receivables given the current economic downturn.”
My take: It was a good quarter overall. But at more than 20 times the current-year estimate of $3.82, it’s a bit rich for my blood. In any case, I’m glad I decided not to chase it when I last wrote about the company earlier this year.
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