The Top Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (NYX, ACI, ADM, BRCM, CHK, SIRI, VLO, AWK, NLY, CMCSA, FSLR, GRMN, HIG, MA, SYMC, V, WFM)

Earnings season is in full swing and the coming week is going to be extremely active with big earnings reports.  24/7 Wall St. has tried to preview several top earnings for the week ahead.

NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) is on Monday and the following earnings reports are due on Tuesday: Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI); Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM); Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM); Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO).

Wednesday’s top earnings reports on deck are as follows:  American Water Works Co. (NYSE: AWK); Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY); Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN); Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG); MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA); Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC); Visa Inc. (NYSE: V); and Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

We will provide previews for the larger report due on Thursday as the reports get closer.  As a reminder, some of the dates and estimates may change and some of them may have already changed.  Consensus estimates are from Thomson Reuters and we have provided color on each if applicable.

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) reports on Monday.  The consensus estimates are $0.48 EPS and $611.1 million in revenues.  Shares are around $27.00, and the consensus analyst price target is $32.30.  Now that the German merger (the German takeover of America’s top exchange) is off the table, investors are focusing on the values here.

TUESDAY, May 1

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is due Tuesday morning and its shares have been battered along with the entire coal sector.  Estimates are $0.16 EPS and $1.12 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $9.50, and the consensus analyst price target is $32.30.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is due Tuesday morning and estimates are $0.59 EPS and $21.4 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $31.00, and the consensus analyst price target is almost $34.00.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) reports after the close on Tuesday and it has been riding the Apple wave.  The consensus estimates are $0.55 EPS and $1.8 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $36.30 and the consensus analyst price target is $42.40.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) is going to be widely watched now that the CEO well participation program woes have come to light.  We expect a serious shakeup of practices and the board of directors has some serious answering to do here.  Estimates are $0.29 EPS and $2.75 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $17.50, and the consensus analyst price target is still above $26.00.  S&P just downgraded Chesapeake on the concerns.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) will report Tuesday in the early morning and the fight with Liberty and the ongoing headlines about a back and forth claim with Howard Stern may act as an overhang here.  The consensus estimates are $0.02 EPS and $803 million in revenues.  Shares are around $2.20, and the consensus analyst price target is $2.57.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) is due Tuesday morning and estimates are $0.29 EPS and $26.8 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $24.75, and the consensus analyst price target is $30.00.  Investors will be watching this refining stock closely to determine the margins for other refiners in a world with high oil prices where somehow the higher costs of production cannot be passed on to the customers.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2

American Water Works Co. (NYSE: AWK) remains our top water pick out there and shares are very close to an all-time high.  Estimates are $0.27 EPS and $633.4 million in revenues.  Shares are around $34.35, and the consensus analyst price target is $36.07, and the 52-week range is $25.39 to $34.67.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) is one of the high-yield mortgage REITs and it is widely considered the best of the best in the sector.  Estimates are $0.48 EPS and $550.6 million in revenues.  Shares are around $16.30, and the consensus analyst price target is $16.84; this one has a double-digit dividend yield.

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) reports Wednesday morning and estimates are $0.42 EPS and $14.44 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $30.15, and the consensus analyst price target is $33.88.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is going to be closely watched as a barometer for the flailing (or is that failing?) solar sector.  The company talked down its cost per megawatt in 2013 when it announced that recent painful restructuring.  This one can find no friends and has a huge short interest.  Estimates are $0.59 EPS and $688.2 million in revenues.  Shares are around an all-time low and on Friday was around $18.50.  It is really hard to even take a consensus target seriously, but that is currently around $28.50.

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) reports Wednesday morning and estimates are $0.41 EPS and $525.4 million in revenues.  Shares are around $47.20, and the consensus analyst price target is $50.55 against a 52-week range of $29.23 to $49.93.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) reports on Wednesday afternoon and estimates are $0.91 EPS and $5.43 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $20.50, and the consensus analyst price target is $26.25 against a 52-week range of $14.56 to $29.59.

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) has estimates of $5.29 EPS and $1.73 billion in revenues.  Shares hit an all-time high of over $462 on Friday and the consensus analyst price target is actually only $455 or so.

Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) already gave its preliminary report and its shares got bruised due to order pushouts and building backlog.  The report is after the close on Wednesday and estimates are $0.39 EPS and $1.69 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $16.40, and the consensus analyst price target is $20.70.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) reports after the close on Wednesday and estimates are $1.50 EPS and $2.48 billion in revenues.  Shares are around $123.50, and the consensus analyst price target is $127.65. This one also hit an all-time high on Friday just like rival Mastercard.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) reports after the close of trading on Wednesday and estimates are $0.59 EPS and $2.67 illion in revenues.  Shares are around $83.60, and the consensus analyst price target is above $86.50.  The valuation remains a concern here, but that has almost always been the case.

As you can tell, the coming week is going to be yet another busy week for earnings season.  Stay tuned!

JON C. OGG