MOST NOTEWORTHY: The machinery industry, Sohu.com (SOHU), Intuit (INTU), Priceline.com (PCLN) and Expedia (EXPE) were today's noteworthy initiations: - JP Morgan assumed coverage of 5 machinery stocks: The firm assumed Eaton (NYSE: ETN) and Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) with Overweight ratings and Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR), Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH) and Kennametal (NYSE: KMT) with Neutral ratings. JP Morgan's top picks in the group are Illinois Tool Works and Eaton.
- Pali initiated Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) with a Buy rating and $41 target and believes the Olympic Games represent the biggest growth catalyst for the company.
- Jefferies started shares of Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) with a Buy rating and $34 target, likes the momentum in TurboTax and QuickBooks and sees potential upside fo FY08 expectations.
- Banc of America initiated Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) with a Buy rating and $96 target and is positive on the company's European positioning given expectations for top line growth and margin expansion. The firm also started shares of Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) with a Buy rating and $35 target, positive on the company's strong management, solid competitive positioning and improving fundamentals.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- First Albany assumed coverage of Cougar Biotechnology (OTC: CGRB) with a Buy rating and $29 target.
- Oppenheimer started shares of Virginia Commerce (NASDAQ: VCBI) with a Neutral rating.
- Omega Financial (NASDAQ: OMEF) was initiated at Keefe Bruyette with a Market Perform rating and $25 target.
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