Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: WL, ORCL, GPS, TRN, ANF, COST, BJ ...
Posted Sep 19th 2008 11:08AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Analyst initiations
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Analyst upgrades:
- Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) to Outperform from Perform as they believe LEDs are beginning to gain traction in general lighting applications.
- Jefferies upgraded Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) to Hold from Underperform following the acquisition by MidAmerican Energy. The company's target was increased to $25 from $20.
- RBC upgraded the Banking sector to Overweight from Underweight following the governments "massive assault" on the financial crisis. RBC believes government actions that include the potential creation of a Resolution Trust Corporation, the creation of federal insurance for money market fund investors and the ban on short selling will result in higher bank stock prices through year end; Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL), KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and Pacific Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ: PCBC) were upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform.
- Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Piper.
- UBS upgraded Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) to Neutral from Sell.
- Gap (NYSE: GPS) was upgraded to buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Analyst downgrades:
- Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ: TRIN) to Sell from Buy as they believe uncertainty in the financial sector will hinder growth.
- Piper cut MIPS Technologies (NASDAQ: MIPS) to Neutral from Buy as they believe estimates are at risk following the departure of ChipIdea's co-founder. The company's target was lowered to $3.70 from $8.
- Jefferies downgraded GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC) to Hold from Buy on valuation as they view the risk/reward less compelling following the recent rally.
- Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) was downgraded at Baird to Neutral from Outperform.
- Wachovia downgraded Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) and Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY) to Market Perform from Outperform.
Analyst initiations:
- Jefferies initiated Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) with an Underperform rating and $38 target and thinks the company's sales and margins are at risk with negative comp trends getting worse.
- Cantor believes Lawson Software (NASDAQ: LWSN) has a powerful franchise while the stock trades at a 33% discount to peers. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $8 target.
- Stanford started Mentor (NYSE: MNT) with a Buy rating and $32 target and thinks the company is poised to benefit from growing global demand for products and services that make people look younger and more attractive.
- Scripps Networks (NYSE: SNI) was initiated at UBS with a Neutral rating and $43 target.
- BMO Capital initiated Costco (NASDAQ: COST) and BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) with Market Perform ratings and a $72 target and $42 target, respectively.
- Isle of Capri (NASDAQ: ISLE) was initiated at Goldman with a Sell rating and $6 target.
Tags: ACN, ANF, BJ, CEG, COST, CREE, CTSH, GPS, GSIC, INFY, ISLE, KEY, LWSN, mips, MNT, MUR, ORCL, SNI, TRIN, WL
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