Analyst initiations: RIO, ALTH and TMK

Posted Jun 26th 2008 11:51AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Initiations

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Vale, Allos Therapeutics and Torchmark were today's noteworthy initiations:

Lehman believes Vale (NYSE:RIO) is well-positioned to benefit from rising steel demand in emerging economies. The firm started shares with an Overweight rating and $45 target.
Citigroup initiated Allos Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALTH) with a Buy rating and $11 target and believes the company's lead drug PDX is likely to be the first FDA approved agent for peripheral T cell lymphoma.
Friedman Billings expects Torchmark's (NYSE:TMK) sales to get back on track given increased recruiting, ongoing management initiatives, and the potential demise of Medicare Advantage. Shares were assumed with an Outperform rating and $72 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

Baird initiated Navigant Consulting (NYSE:NCI) with an Outperform rating and $24 target.
KeyBanc assumed Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE:IR) with a Buy rating and $49 target.
Mindray Medical (NYSE:MR) and China Medical (NASDAQ:CMED) were initiated with Overweight ratings and targets of $50 and $54, respectively, at Morgan Stanley.