It’s not a stretch to figure out from its name that Conceptus (Nasdaq: CPTS) is a leading player in the birth control market. Its mainstay procedure, called Essure — which can be performed without general anesthesia at a doctor’s office in less than 10 minutes — received… Read More

When Walmart (NYSE: WMT) first started trading on the New York stock exchange in 1972, investors were reasonably impressed with the company’s slow and steady growth trajectory. But that was a lost decade of stocks, and the Arkansas-based retailer mostly flew under the radar. Ten years later, though, investors knew… Read More

70 million represents a lot of people for a country, much less for a bank’s customers. It’s nearly a quarter of the United States’ population. In fact, you could add every person in California and Texas together and still not reach the 70 million mark. And that… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Monday’s early trading are PetMed Express (Nasdaq: PETS), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV). Top Percentage Losers — Monday, July 19, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Monday’s early trading are Quicksilver Resources (NYSE: KWK), Yongye Int’l (Nasdaq: YONG) and Corinthian Colleges (Nasdaq: COCO). Top Percentage Gainers — Monday, July 19, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Quicksilver Resources (NYSE: KWK)… Read More

Right now, I’m in “pre-board” mode. That’s what I call the day before I go on vacation. Part of my mind is already swimming with all the fun things I’m going to do during my time off. But I’m also grounded by the work I have to… Read More

The trading week began on a bullish note, as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) weighed in with a great quarterly report on Monday. But by week’s end, stocks were slumping after a pair of downbeat reports from Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). Stocks are also feeling the pressure… Read More

Aubrey McClendon is certainly audacious. The co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) always swings for the fences. Trouble is, he has swung and missed more often than not. But hope springs eternal, and he’s taking big swings once again. And that’s why McClendon and Chesapeake Energy are either loved or hated, depending on who you talk to. There’s Gas in Them Thar Shales After seeing the natural gas market soar and fall throughout much of the last two decades, McClendon started to see a perfect storm brewing a few… Read More

Aubrey McClendon is certainly audacious. The co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) always swings for the fences. Trouble is, he has swung and missed more often than not. But hope springs eternal, and he’s taking big swings once again. And that’s why McClendon and Chesapeake Energy are either loved or hated, depending on who you talk to. There’s Gas in Them Thar Shales After seeing the natural gas market soar and fall throughout much of the last two decades, McClendon started to see a perfect storm brewing a few years ago, one that temporarily made him a billionaire. In 2008, natural gas prices were soaring and geologists were starting to see that the United States was sitting on the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” under deep rock formations known as shales. With more and more power plants expected to switch from coal to natural gas during the next decade, and a seemingly unlimited bounty of gas underground, Chesapeake borrowed millions in order to buy up and exploit vast untapped gas fields. And McClendon had no trouble finding fans on Wall Street. Read More

Among the biggest winners in Friday’s early trading are Charles Schwab (Nasdaq: SCHW), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Biovail (NYSE: BVF). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, July 16, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Charles Schwab (Nasdaq: SCHW)… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Vivus (Nasdaq: VVUS), Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, July 16, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Vivus (Nasdaq: VVUS) $5.16 -57.4% $13.68 $4.90… Read More