Tangoe Inc (NASDAQ: TNGO)

Analyst Sentiment
Analysts are decidedly bullish on Tangoe, with 7 Buy ratings, 0 Holds, and only 1 Sell.

Of the most recent 8 ratings on the equity, every single one are Buy ratings, including from notable shops such as Barclays and  Deutsche Bank. The banks sure seem to have their minds made up here.

Technical Analysis
Over the past 3 months, Tangoe has been on an 11 percent tear, spiking up primarily in late december, shares have consistently bounced off the 200 day moving average, only crossing it a few times over the past 5 days.

The technicals show a breakout over a bottoming formation at $14, while a new resistance forming at $15.74, while the MACD looks to be prepped to cross the signal line.

Fundamental Analysis
With a short float of almost 15 percent, this one won’t explode upwards on bullish news, but a large earnings beat could easily cause a strong squeeze, so that’s something to watch for.

It’s P/E ratio is 301.20, which is somewhat worrisome, but with a market cap of roughly $600 million, its still a growing company so this could change.

The fact that it has also beaten estimates on both top and bottom lines on its last two reports, and that analyst estimates don’t seem to be too highly inflated, the chance of a beat on Wednesday doesn’t seem too far fetched.

News/Coming Events
The big catalyst in the near future is the company’s earnings release on Wednesday, this will give a great look at the fundamentals, and in the case of a big beat, we could easily see a squeeze on the upside.

Sentiment
Bullish

Desk Opinion
Buying into earnings is always a gamble, so we really cannot recommend that. However, with some bullish indicators in place and a catalyst in the near future, a big beat presents a great buying opportunity if you can get a good price.

Jarden Corporation(NYSE: JAH)

Analyst Sentiment
Analysts are bullish on Jarden, with 8 Buy ratings, 1 Hold, and 1 Sell.

Of the most recent 8 ratings, all are Buys, but the only one within 3 months was a J.P. Morgan initiation at Overweight in late December, so the ratings should really be taken with a grain of salt. They seem to be pretty stale.

Technical Analysis
Over the last 3 months, shares of Jarden have gained almost 18 percent, with a majority of the ramp showing up in late December.

Shares showed a breakout over $56 recently on January 22nd, and new resistance looks to be forming at $61.50, with strong support at $59.42.

Fundamental Analysis
A very small forward P/E ratio of 12.91 on this one makes the valuation not seem to ridiculous, but a tiny short float does not provide the opportunity for wild short squeezes that some other names might.

The company has beaten on its last two earnings reports on the bottom line, and estimates have been lowered from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, so expectations are not through the roof.

Its also important to note that on the 16th, the company raised its guidance above analyst consensus, guiding fourth-quarter sales $1.81 billion to $1.83 billion versus $1.80 billion estimates.

The products sold by the company can be seen as discretionary, so if the economic recovery continues on the path it has been, this could fuel higher sales in the coming year.

News/Coming Events
With earnings coming on Thursday the 14th, a catalyst is near at hand, and will provide an important outlook into the company’s operations.

Sentiment
Cautiously Bullish

Desk Opinion
Things are looking in line for a positive outlook, and the fact that shares have let out some air in the past few days is a good indicator that expectations are not going to be overblown. After having raised its guidance past the street’s expectations, signs of a coming beat have become stronger, and going into earnings things are looking pretty good.

Ellie Mae (NYSE: ELLI)

Analyst Sentiment
Analysts are on the bullish side for this one as well, giving it 7 Buy ratings, 3 Hold ratings, and 0 sell ratings.

Of the last 8 ratings, 5 are Buy ratings, 1 is Hold, 1 is Sell, and one does not have a rating. Of those within the last month however, there are 2 Buys, 1 Hold, and 1 non-rating, where the most notable rating is from Barclays putting it at a Buy equivalent.

Technical Analysis
Over the past 3 months shares are down just over 8.5 percent, with a major drop coming right at the end of January.

Shares tested the $29 level for a breakout multiple times, but failed, only to plummet and break through the $22 support level. Our analysis is showing $18 as a new possible level of support.

Fundamental Analysis
With the housing market making a comeback, any play into companies that rely on it could be a volatile but possibly lucrative play.

The recent decline seems to be linked to a William Blair downgrade which cited that mortgage refinancings will decline in favor of new mortgages, and that the conversion rate of the company’s SaaS business is on the decline.

The company has beaten on its last 3 reports, each by a declining amount, but analysts have not increased estimates for this quarter, giving the company a better chance to beat estimates.

News/Coming Events
With an earnings report on Thursday, it looks like traders will get a closer look at this company and see if the decline was really justified.

Sentiment
Hold until earnings

Desk Opinion
This is one we wouldn’t touch until you can see more of the fundamentals from the report. The recent decline seems to be purely on sentiment, but a skeleton in the closet may renew the decline. A strong earnings report should send things skyward, but to take a position before then would seem highly risky.

Quidel Corporation(NASDAQ: QDEL)

Analyst Sentiment
With 6 Buys, 3 Holds, and 0 Sells, analysts are pretty bullish here.

Of the last 6 ratings, 3 are Buys and 3 are Holds, but only one has happened in the last month, coming in at a Buy equivalent from Raymond James and a price target of $22.

Technical Analysis
What a 3 months for Quidel, gaining over 35 percent, shares seem to have slowed down a bit but the ramp just keeps coming.

Once shares made it over $19, a large breakout ensued on January 7th, with another breakout firing up over $23.

Shares may be in for another rally as the relative strength indicator is showing that the stock is currently oversold.

Fundamental Analysis
With a nice short float of over 16 percent, this is another stock prone to squeezes, one that could be seen in early January. In fact, with the recent appreciation in share price, its surprising that float hasn’t dropped further than it has.

It’s earnings report in July came in at a massive beat as the company squeaked out a profit rather than the expected loss, but analyst estimates for its coming report tomorrow have raised the bar significantly.

News/Coming Events
With earnings Tuesday morning, the fundamental case on this one should become a lot more clear, but if it pulls off a beat with the inflated estimates, expect quite a rally.

Sentiment
Hold

Desk Opinion
Buying ahead of earnings is always a scary move unless you know something others do not or have some serious conviction and are ok with rolling the dice. With a fundamental outlook coming tomorrow, the thesis can be completed, but an earnings beat would do wonders towards making us bullish. Watch the guidance and forward capital expenditures  though, while capital re-investment is great for the long-term, its quite rough on short term share prices.

Rackspace Hosting, Inc.(NYSE: RAX)

Analyst Sentiment
Weighing in at 12 Buys, 11 Holds, and 0 Sells, this cloud computing firm is certainly riding high with the analysts.

Digging deeper, the last 8 ratings have been 6 Buy equivalents and 2 Hold, with J.P. Morgan being the only one in the last three months, but rating it at a Buy equivalent.

Technical Analysis
A gain of over 24 percent over 3 months gives this one an awesome track record. The chart since August looks fantastic as shares have appreciated wildly while condensing their volatility. Only recently have they broken outside of the cone, giving potential for more wild movements in the coming weeks.

With a breakout over $68 in December, the stock looks to have resistance at $80 as shares hover around the 50 EMA of $73.31, which also looks to serve as a near term support level.

If the company suffers a hiccup and shares drop below $72.50, a retest of the $68 level could happen.

Fundamental Analysis
Immediately the P/E ratio of 104.21 sticks out, but is not nearly as ridiculous as some other cloud plays like Facebook and LinkedIn.

It’s important to note that the company’s product is not a fad like some social networks or tech plays out there, and provides critical infrastructure and tech services. Rackspace hosting is a go-to name and highly respected in the tech community.

After missing on earnings in November, traders got a scare but sentiment did not affect share prices for long. This miss helped to calm down analysts who only appreciated estimates by two cents for this quarter, making an earnings miss seem less likely.

News/Coming Events
It all comes out Tuesday with the earnings release. The play will be solidified. With its recent momentum -save the recent hiccup of last January- it could easily head skyward once again.

Sentiment
Hold

Desk Opinion
Again, while I like the company, I won’t suggest gambling into earnings. The report holds the keys to this one.