Analyst calls: ING, WFC, DLTR, JBL, AMLN, ECL, KO, IACI, FFIV ...
Posted Oct 6th 2008 11:43AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Coca-Cola (KO), IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), Analyst initiations, Wells Fargo (WFC)
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Analyst upgrades:
- Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE: ING) to Outperform from Market Perform after upgrading the European insurance sector to Overweight from Neutral due to improved risk management.
- Keefe Bruyette also upgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) to Market Perform from Underperform to reflect the company's national footprint if the Wachovia (NYSE: WB) deal goes through.
- JP Morgan upgraded Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) to Overweight from Neutral citing top line performance, growth profile and valuation, among other reasons.
- Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
- Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) was raised to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.
- Louisiana Pacific (NYSE: LPX) was upgraded at RBC Capital to Sector Perform from Underperform.
Analyst downgrades:
- Jefferies downgraded shares of Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $50 from $55 to reflect risks to the company's earnings outlook from the weakening economy.
- Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) was cut to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank as they believe the economic slowdown will bring slower volumes. Coca-Cola's target was lowered to $56 from $64.
- Baird downgraded Heidrick & Struggles (NASDAQ: HSII) to Underperform from Neutral citing the impact from the financial markets turmoil and global macro softening. The company's target was lowered to $23 from $34.
- Lonmin Plc (OTC: LNMIY) was downgraded to Underperform from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
- Harris Interactive (NASDAQ: HPOL) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens.
- Lukoil (OTC: LUKOY) was lowered to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Analyst initiations:
- Oppeinheimer initiated BTU International (NASDAQ: BTUI) with a Perform rating. The firm prefers to wait on the sidelines due to macro concerns.
- City National (NYSE: CYN) was initiated at JP Morgan with a Neutral rating, as they believe the valuation is full at current levels.
- UBS initiated AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) with a Neutral rating.
- F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) and InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) were assumed at Lehman with Overweight ratings.
- Greenhill & Co (NYSE: GHL) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $80 target at Credit Suisse.
Tags: btui, cyn, dltr, ecl, ffiv, ghl, hpol, hsii, iaci, ing, jbl, ko, lnmiy, lukoy, wfc
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