MOST NOTEWORTHY: FedEx Corp (FDX), National City Corp (NCC), Sun Microsystems, Inc (SUNW) and M&T Bank Corp (MTB) were some of today's noteworthy downgrades:
- FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup and lowered their target to $120 from $132 to reflect expectations for slower earnings growth in the next few quarters combined with ongoing uncertainty on the timing of an economic recovery. The broker recommends putting new money into United Parcel Service, Inc (UPS).
- AG Edwards cut National City Corp (NYSE: NCC) to Sell from Hold. The firm believes upside is limited at these levels and weak EPS growth trends are likely to put some pressure on National City's valuation.
- Bernstein downgraded Sun Microsystems Inc (NASDAQ: SUNW) to Underperform from Market Perform, as checks indicate Q3 may be weaker than prior quarters and could disappoint given investors' high expectations.
- Oppenheimer cut M&T Bank Corp (NYSE: MTB) to Sell from Neutral following the company's Q1 pre-announcement.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Jefferies downgraded Blackbaud, Inc (NASDAQ: BLKB) to Hold from Buy with a $25 target due to channel checks that suggested the company has not launched its new product Bulls Eye in Q1 with any major effort.
- Stifel downgraded Deere & Co (NYSE: DE) to Hold from Buy, citing valuation, the potential overhang from the record corn crop/ethanol glut, seasonally normal crop prices and DE stock, sluggish construction and forestry results in the housing recession.
- JP Morgan downgraded Kronos Inc (NASDAQ: KRON) to Neutral from Overweight based on its pending acquisition.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).
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