After hours the traders were closely watching the action in Hewlett Packard, which reported earnings that outstripped Street expectations.
The computer maker said strong server sales and a revival in its printing segment boosted results.
Most of our segments saw very good growth," HP Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd told CNBC, noting that the company's server business grew 27 percent, its personal computer business 20 percent and its printer unit 16 percent. "We saw good sequential improvement, and good year-over-year improvement in Asia."
By the numbers, the computer maker said it earnings of $1.10 a share in its fiscal first quarter excluding one-time items, up from 93 cents a share during the same period last year.
Sales for the most recent quarter rose to $31.2 billion, up from $28.8 billion.
What must you know?
I thought the stock would trade higher in the aftermarket considering the strong news, muses Karen Finerman. I think the results bode well big picture, but the stock just can’t seem to break higher.
H-P stock is still north of $50, reminds Joe Terranova. The 52-week high is just a few dollars from these levels. I think the results bode well for technology broadly. Also I expect to see an increase in Capex spending this year, he adds. And I think HPQ and Dell are both beneficiaries.
Hewlett Packard is talking about softness in storage on their conference call, adds Brian Kelly. That could be bearish for EMC and VMWare Thursday morning.
HP looks like a value to me, says Tim Seymour. It hasn’t been this cheap in a long time. Valuations are attractive right now. If you’re a long-term investor I consider this stock a buy.
> Click here for complete coverage of Hewlett-Packard earnings
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FINERMAN'S FINE PRINT: CITI BOOK VALUE
What do the biggest Wall Street whales like to eat? A big, fat government backstop in Citigroup appears to be the bait that snagged some of the biggest investors in the world. We’re talking Lampert, Soros, and Paulson – the latest 13F filings show they all added significantly to their stakes.
Q4 HOLDINGS: CITIGROUP (C)
ADDED TOTAL
GEORGE SOROS 95MLN 95MLN
JOHN PAULSON 207MLN 507MLN
EDDIE LAMPERT 12MLN 31MLN
What’s the trade?
When you look at the book value as compared to BofA and JPMorgan, the stock is cheap, says Karen Finerman. If credit quality improves Citi may perform. And it’s worth noting that Citi is cheaper now that it was all last quarter. If you buy now, you’re probably getting the stock for less than these whales.
I agree that if you do the math the risk reward is starting to look attractive, says Tim Seymour.
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Trader disclosure: On February 17th, 2010, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Seymour Owns (AAPL), (BAC), (INTC), (LVS), (MPEL), (AAPL), (BAC), (INTC), (MSFT), (CHL); Terranova Owns (JPM) (AAPL), (GOOG), (RIMM), (JPM), (QCOM), (IBM), (MSFT), (DELL), (EMC), (PALM), Crude Oil Futures; Terranova Is Long Dec. 2010 Oil Futures; Terranova Is Long Dec. 2011 Oil Futures; Grasso Owns (ABK), (AAPL), (ASTM), (BAC), (BGP), (C), (COST), (CSCO), (FAZ), (PFE), (PRST), (WMT), (V); Kelly Owns (ELX) Calls; Kelly Owns (QLGC) Calls; Finerman's Firm Is Short (IJR), (SPY), (MDY), (IWM), (SPY), (USO); Finerman's Firm Is Short SPX Puts; Finerman Owns (AAPL); Finerman's Firm Owns (BAC), (BAC) Leaps; Finerman Owns (BAC) Preferred, (BAC); Finerman's Firm And Finerman Own (GOOG); Fimeran's Firm Owns (IBM), (TGT); Finerman's Firm And Fnerman Own (WFC) Preferred; Finerman's Firm Owns (BDX); Finerman's Firm Owns (BSX); Finerman's Firm And Finerman Own (GGWPQ); Finerman's Firm And Finerman Own (JPM); Finerman's Firm Owns (WMT)
For Joe Terranova
Terranova Works For (VRTS)
Terranova Is Chief Market Strategist Of Virtus Investment Partners, Ltd.
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CLB)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DLR)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (EXR)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (IGE)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLY)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBV)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLP)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLB)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLI)
Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (SKT)
For Steve Grasso
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (AIZ)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (ABX)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (CUBA)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (GERN)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (GLG)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (HSPO)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (NWS.A)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (NXST)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (NYX)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (PDE)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (PRST)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (RDC)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (ROK)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (TLM)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (TOL)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (XRX)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Own (SDS)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Are Short (QQQQ)
Stuart Frankel & Co. Inc And Its Partners Are Short (CL)
For Brian Kelly
Kanundrum Capital Owns (BRCM)
Kanundrum Capital Owns (ELX)
Kanundrum Capital Owns (QLGC)
Kanundrum Capital Owns (QCOM)
Kanundrum Capital Owns (VMW)
Kanundrum Capital Owns (HOV), (PHM), (TOL), (C), (JPM), (EWP), (NBG)
Kanundrum Capital Is Long USDJPY, USDCHF, USDSGD
Kanundrum Capital Is Short (EWY), (TAO), (FCX), Copper
For Bill Fleckenstein
Fleckenstein Owns Gold
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