Analyst initiations 4-13-07: BAC, BMY, LLY, MRK, PFE and WB initiated today

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The initiation of the Regional Banks sector was today's most notable move:

Stifel initiated Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) with a Buy rating and $41 target as they believe the company is best in class given its strong capital position, effective risk management and better than average EPS growth rates.
Stifel initiated with a Hold rating: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wachovia (NYSE: WB) and Fifth Third (NASDAQ: FITB).
Stifel transferred coverage of the following names with Hold ratings: BB&T Corp (NYSE: BBT), Comerica Inc CMA), SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB). Note USB was transferred and downgraded to Hold from Buy.
Stifel initiated Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) with a Sell rating and $33 target as they believe the AmSouth merger is likely to prevent a near-term catalyst, and transferred coverage of National City (NYSE: NCC) with a Sell rating and $33 target, downgraded from Hold, as they believe consensus estimates need to come down to reflect several challenging trends.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

JMP Securities started TiVO Inc (NASDAQ: TIVO) with a Market Outperform rating, expecting the company to gain a larger piece of the DVR market in the late spring/early summer.

Wedbush initiated Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (NYSE: LGF) with a Buy rating and $13 target.

BMO Capital started Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) and Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) with Market Perform ratings and Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Merck & Co (MRK) and Schering Plough (NYSE: SGP) with Outperform ratings.