Analyst initiations: RIMM, QCOM, DVA, DPS, ASTI, VPHM, NILE

MOST NOTEWORTHY: DaVita, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and Ascent Solar were today's noteworthy initiations:

Suntrust expects DaVita's (NYSE: DVA) dominant market share to help in commercial contract negotiations and they view potential Medicare reimbursement changes as more of an opportunity than a risk. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $62 target.
JP Morgan initiated Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS) with an Underweight rating and expects declining free cash flow in 2008, which they note would be the third straight year.
Ascent Solar (NASDAQ: ASTI) was assumed with a Hold rating and $14 target at Jefferies. The firm sees high development risk with the company just beginning to operate its pilot line and commencing initial planning for its first 30 MW commercial line.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

Stanford initiated ViroPharma (NASDAQ: VPHM) with a Buy rating and $13 target.
Goldman assumed Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) with Buy ratings and targets of $163 and $55, respectively.
Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) was initiated at Thomas Weisel with an Underweight rating and $44 target.

Tags: asti, dps, dva, inthenews, nile, qcom, rimm, vphm

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Joseph Lazzaro	114	0
2	Tom Johansmeyer	102	3
3	Connie Madon	51	0
4	Steven Mallas	43	0
5	Tom Taulli	42	0
6	Mark Fightmaster	42	0
7	Trey Thoelcke	32	0
8	Steven Halpern	32	0
9	Melly Alazraki	26	0
10	Paul Foster	25	0
11	Zac Bissonnette	23	0
12	Brian White	22	0
13	Jim Cramer	22	0
14	Brent Archer	22	0
15	Jon Ogg	22	0
16	Elizabeth Harrow	19	0
17	Eric Buscemi	17	0
18	Sheldon Liber	13	0
19	Michael Fowlkes	8	0
20	Beth Gaston Moon	8	0

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

Skype soap opera ends as founders set to regain stake ahead of $2B sale Big LBOs are teetering, but Wall Street still planning record bonuses	Closing Bell: Economic Catapult for Thanksgiving & Black Friday (WMT, TGT, GRMN, GOOG, MSFT) Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point) Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell leaving at the end of 2009
First Look: iFlex trainer for Bowflex Magellan has worthy contender in the GPS sweepstakes Holiday Gift Guide: The Perfect iPhone Ringtone	Handbrake 0.94 transcodes DVDs even faster Steam's THQ game pack: get $400 worth of games for 50 bucks Automatically disable your touchpad while you type with TouchFreeze
Majestic Star Casinos Files For Bankruptcy Outrageous Neiman Marcus Black Friday Sale, 9-Noon Topshop Rents Out Celebrity Dresses For Good Causes	Google set to map the world - and push out GPS makers as a result? Closing Bell: Economic Catapult for Thanksgiving & Black Friday (WMT, TGT, GRMN, GOOG, MSFT) Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)