Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features Dell, NVIDIA, Hewlett-Packard, Intuit, and Carolina Group.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the February 16 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), and Carolina Group (NYSE:CG). Schaeffer's Market Blog is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. The Market Blog is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. They are quick insights to the day's most notable market activity from an options perspective. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB12M&PAGE=1 .

E[acute accent]Schaeffer's Market Blog for Thursday, February 16, 2006:

E[acute accent]Below are just a few of today's Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1 .

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E[acute accent]4:43 PM Dell Reports Fourth-Quarter Earnings

E[acute accent]Computer maker Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) is out with earnings in the last half hour. The company said it earned 43 cents per share in the fourth quarter, two cents better than the consensus analyst estimate. It achieved this feat on revenue of nearly $15.2 billion, higher than the expected sales number of $14.8 billion. The stock is trading about one percent higher in after hours trading. It's up to 32.31 from its regular session close of 31.96. There is some bad news though. DELL said that this quarter it expects to record a profit of between 39 and 41 cents per share, excluding an estimated three cents per share in stock based compensation. That's lower than the consensus profit of 42 cents per share. The company sees revenue of $14.2-14.6 billion versus a $14.72 billion consensus. We'll know more after the conference call that begins at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. My colleague Beth wrote a great pre-earnings look at DELL yesterday. It suggests (and I agree) that there still may be some obstacle ahead that will prevent the stock from gaining much traction to the upside.

E[acute accent]4:43 PM Hewlett-Packard Sees Heavy Option Activity

E[acute accent]Last night after the bell, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) reported that first-quarter earnings were $1.2 billion, or 42 cents per share, on revenue of $22.7 billion. During the same period a year ago, HPQ earned $943 million, or 32 cents per share, on $21.5 billion in revenue. Excluding items, the company posted a profit of $1.4 billion, or 48 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate for 44 cents per share on $22.5 billion in revenue. E[acute accent]The stock gapped higher this morning, and ventured above the $34 level for the first time since February 2001. I notice a lot of activity on the February 32.50 call (HPQ BZ), which traded 22,193 contracts. Open interest at the start of the day was 36,605 contracts. There were only two large blocks, both comprising 1,000 contracts.

E[acute accent]4:39 PM NVIDIA Thumps Street Earnings Estimate

E[acute accent]NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) slipped into the earnings spotlight after the close today. The firm banked a fourth-quarter profit of $98.1 million, or 53 cents per share, crushing its year-ago profit of $48 million, or 27 cents per share, and the Street estimate for earnings of 49 cents per share. Sales for the quarter came rose 11.8 percent to $633.6 million, surpassing the consensus estimate of $625 million. Gross margin for the period was 40.2 percent. E[acute accent]The equity finished the day with a gain of nearly five percent and is up another four percent in after-hours trading on the positive news. What's more, the security tagged a new annual high today of $47.30.

E[acute accent]4:34 PM Intuit Beats Street Estimate

E[acute accent]In after-hours trading, Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) posted a second-quarter profit of $184.9 million, or $1.02 per share, compared to its year-ago profit of 77 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, earnings came in at 97 cents per share, versus its year-ago profit of 80 cents per share and the Street estimate for 95 cent per share. Sales for the three-month period jumped 15 percent to $742.7 million, beating the consensus estimate for $733.1 million. Adding to the good news, the firm lifted its profit outlook for the current fiscal year as a whole and lifted the low-end of its revenue forecast. E[acute accent]The shares finished regular trading with a gain of 1.5 percent, but are down nearly two percent in after-hours trading as investors are less than impressed with the company's report. The stock has rallied back into former resistance in the 55 area.

E[acute accent]3:44 PM Carolina Group Soars on a Brokerage Upgrade

E[acute accent]Tobacco concern Carolina Group (NYSE:CG) is up nearly five percent after receiving a brokerage upgrade. Prudential upgraded its rating to "overweight" from "neutral." The brokerage firm also set a $56 price target. Prudential says it anticipates a benefit to earnings from the elimination of the liquid net worth provision that is part of the agreement between the company and the Engle plaintiffs in Florida. Today's high of 48.25 is a new all-time high for the stock. CG gained 52 percent in 2005 and has been one of the best performers in the AMEX Tobacco Index (TOB - 634.64). That index was up 7.3 percent in 2005 and is 3.9 percent higher this year.

E[acute accent]The above are just a few of today's Daily Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Daily Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1 .

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E[acute accent]About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

E[acute accent]Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .