Analyst calls: WFMI, ADM, AZO, PUK, FCX, LOGI, TTWO, URBN, AEO ...
Posted Oct 23rd 2008 11:35AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), AutoZone Inc (AZO), Whole Foods Market (WFMI), Analyst initiations, Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Urban Outfitters (URBN)
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Analyst upgrades:
- Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
- Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
- AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
- B. Riley upgraded S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ: STBA) to Buy from Neutral and lowered its target to $35 from $38 on valuation, as they believe the sell-off post-Q3 results is overdone.
- Jefferies upgraded GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC) to Buy from Hold on valuation after Q4 revenue guidance was reset lower. The firm lowered their target to $13 from $18.
- JP Morgan upgraded shares of DHT Maritime (NYSE: DHT) and General Maritime (NYSE: GMR) to Overweight from Neutral on the company's valuation and dividend stability.
Analyst downgrades:
- HSBC cut Prudential (NYSE: PUK) to Neutral from Overweight as they believe capital has eroded and debt refinancing is increasingly difficult.
- Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.
- Logitech (NASDAQ: LOGI) was lowered to Hold from Buy at Citigroup and to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
- Covance (NYSE: CVD) was cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.
- JP Morgan downgraded shares of Overseas Shipholding (NYSE: OSG) to Neutral from Overweight on lower spot rate forecasts and the company's high leverage.
- Jefferies downgraded shares of Dover Downs (NYSE: DDE) to Underperform from Buy on the increasing threat of gaming being legalized in Maryland after a Washington Post poll showed that 62% of Maryland voters expressed support of the November ballot measure to legalize slot machines. The firm lowered their target to $5.50 from $9.
Analyst initiations:
- Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $14 target at Banc of America Banc of America, citing tough comps going forward and the potential loss of key employees.
- Oppenheimer initiated Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) and American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) with Outperform ratings and a targets of $27 and $14, respectively.
- Church & Dwight (NYSE: CHD) was initiated with a Hold rating a $60 target at Jefferies. The firm recommends waiting for a better entry point.
- Merrill Lynch initiated Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC) and Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) with Neutral ratings.
- B. Riley believes Opnext (NASDAQ: OPXT) has a solid balance sheet and is positioned in one of the fastest-growing segments of the optical components market. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $6.60 target.
Tags: adm, aeo, azo, chd, cvd, dde, dht, fcx, gmr, gsic, inthenews, ipg, logi, omc, opxt, osg, puk, stba, ttwo, urbn, wfmi
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