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The leadership list had a pretty bad week last week, with few gainers and lots of pretty big decliners. None of the charts look particularly good.  BYI was the biggest gainer, getting almost all of it in one day, Thursday. Last Friday (the blue arrows point to last Friday's candles) this was in a short consolidation right below a pivot point. The breakout from there would normally be considered buyable, but considering the overall weakness of the market right now and the resistance this...

These are the industries with 90% or more of their stocks advancing today.   These are the industries with 15% or more of their stocks making new highs. Auto parts stores is leading both lists today, and while it is a small group (5 stocks, with one being acquired), it has 3 stocks that are going to be going on a tear in a new market up trend: ORLY, AZO, and  AAP.

Earnings Overview for Bally Technologies Inc. (BYI) By Robert Weinstein Bally Technologies Inc. (BYI) is expected to report earnings for last fiscal quarter after the closing bell on October 26, 2011. Bally Technologies, Inc. operates as a diversified gaming company. The company designs, manufactures, operates, and distributes technology-based gaming devices, systems, and server-based solutions worldwide. The [...]

Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI): Credit Suisse his morning upgraded its rating on the company to Outperform from Neutral, citing expectations for margin improvement. The firm raised its price target on the stock to $88 from $76. Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI): Credit Suisse on Friday downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform. The firm slashed its price target to $40 from $47 a share. Clorox (NYSE: CLX): JP Morgan on Thursday downgraded its rating on the company to Neutral from...

I tried something new with the top 10 industries today, but screwed it up badly and I don't have time to fix it, so I will try it again tomorrow.  Today's leading industry is gaming activities, an 11 stock group that may just be the weakest I have looked at yet. Even after a 2 month rally in the market, this can only muster 20% f it's stocks into the relative strength range. BYI is the largest by market cap, and is making a 7.5% move today, but overall there is very little strength in this...

After the close Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI) reported 1Q2011 EPS of $0.40 vs. consensus of $0.46. Revenues were $171 mn vs. our estimate of $178 mn with weakness coming from lower gaming equipment sales (lower unit volume) and soft systems sales which were partially offset by stronger-than-expected gaming operations revenue. Margins were also below our expectations as negative operations leverage drove EBIT to miss Goldman Sach's expectations by $10 mn vs. the revenue miss of $7 mn....

Jefferies & Co. has issued a research report on Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI) as Jefferies believes the company has greater exposure in the technology and gaming operations businesses and thus has an advantage in the marketplace. In the report, Jefferies writes "We reflect a more gradual ramp in the improvement of business trends over the next several quarters. Our discussions with management as well as our channel checks suggest that a greater percentage of the year's earnings should...

Below are the top small-cap gaming activities' stocks on the NYSE, the NASDAQ and the AMEX in terms of gross margin. The trailing-twelve-month gross margin at Multimedia Games Inc (NASDAQ: MGAM) is 88.25%. MGAM's shares have lost 26.76% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 8.29% in the same period. The trailing-twelve-month gross margin at Bally Technologies Inc (NYSE: BYI) is 64.04%. BYI's quarterly earnings surged 53.80% y/y. The trailing-twelve-month gross...

Jefferies & Co. is initiating coverage on Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI) with a Buy rating and a $45 price target, as it believes Bally is a leader in the gaming industry. In the research note, Jefferies writes, "We believe BYI's gaming operations business and market share leadership in the systems business, which is largely undervalued by the Street, should continue to accelerate and drive earnings growth, partially offsetting the continued pursuit of improving sales of its core, for-sale...

BYI may be setting itself apart from the competition...

"In 2002, worried about growing financial scandals, the audit firm of Ernst & Young [E&Y] set out to identify its riskiest clients and force them to comply with accounting rules. The effort backfired. On Thursday, the firm agreed to pay an $8.5 million fine to the [SEC] for its work in auditing the books of Bally Total Fitness. The firm agreed to an order that it cease and desist from violating securities laws. ... 'It is deeply disconcerting that partners, even at the highest levels of E&Y,...

I received several more requests for Raw Value Worksheets over the weekend. I also had some e-mails asking how to use them. Each Raw Value Worksheet is intended to be used as a starting point for further research, and as such, how to use them is determined by the reader. At Wax Ink for example, we use them as a reference guide to highlight areas of the financial statement we think are weak, or require continued research. Take Bally Technologies for instance. The Raw Value Worksheet...

Gaming equipment maker Bally Technologies Inc. (BYI) posted fiscal 2010 first-quarter results yesterday after the closing bell. The company recorded net income of $30.6 million, or 53 cents per share, compared to $30.3 million, or 52 cents in the year-ago period. The results matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Bally Technologies is a leading gaming systems company, [...]

The Gaming Activities Industry According to Yahoo Finance!, there are approximately 110 companies in the Gaming Activities Industry. Of those 110 companies, 30 companies are publicly traded, and of those, 18 companies are OTC/Pink Sheet companies and two are foreign companies. The remaining 10 companies are on my watch list. This is the story of only one of those ten. Bally Technologies, Inc. Financial information contained in this report is based on the company’s latest SEC...

San Diego Union-Tribune - Two activist hedge funds succeeded Thursday in electing three candidates to the board of Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. but failed in a bid to remove Paul Toback as chairman and CEO, the company announced following its annual meeting. Bally, the largest U.S. fitness center operator, said [...]

MSN Money - A hedge fund that is agitating for leadership change at Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. said Thursday that a Delaware court has denied a motion by the health club operator to speed upthe legal process that would trigger its antitakeover provision. The hedge fund, collectively known as Liberation Investments, said the [...]