Analyst calls: RBC, BDK, KR, LEN, KR, CPB, MTL, LM, PIR, AAPL, AVP ...
Posted Nov 25th 2008 11:41AM by Laurie Pasternack
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Apple Inc (AAPL), Motorola (MOT), Avon Products (AVP), Black and Decker (BDK), Campbell Soup (CPB), Kroger Co (KR), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Analyst initiations, Blackstone Group L.P (BX)
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Analyst upgrades:
Analyst downgrades:
- Merrill downgraded Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) to Neutral from Buy and expects marketing and promotional spending to limit earnings growth in 2009 and 2010. The firm lowered their target to $35 from $42.
- Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was cut to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley to reflect declining coal demand.
- Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) to Underperform from Market Perform on liquidity concerns given the Legg Mason's leveraged balance sheet and falling EBITDA. The firm lowered their target to $7 from $11.
Analyst initiations:
- Kaufman Bros. initiated Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) with a Buy rating and $120 target. The firm sees "sizeable growth" in Apple's Mac and iPhone businesses.
- Avon Products (NYSE: AVP) was assumed with a Buy rating and $29 target at Jefferies, a they believe Avon's direct selling model and geographic diversity position the company well in this uncertain economic environment.
- Oppenheimer views Euroseas (NASDAQ: ESEA) as one of the safest plays in the dry-bulk space due to its low leverage and high dividend yield. The firm initiated shares with an Outperform rating and lowered their target to $6 from $19.
- Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was initiated at JP Morgan with a Neutral rating.
- Societe Generale started American Water Works (NYSE: AWK) with a Buy rating.
- Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) was assumed with a Neutral rating and $7 target at Goldman.
Tags: AAPL, Abercrombie Fitch, AbercrombieFitch, American Water Works, AmericanWaterWorks, ANF, Apple, Avon Products, AvonProducts, AVP, AWK, BDK, Biovail, Black Decker, BlackDecker, Blackstone, Blackstone Group, BlackstoneGroup, BVF, BX, Campbell Soup, CampbellSoup, CPB, ESEA, Euroseas, inthenews, KR, Kroger, Legg Mason, LeggMason, LEN, Lennar, LM, Mechel Steel, MechelSteel, MOT, Motorola, Pier 1 Imports, Pier1Imports, PIR, PSA, Public Storage, PublicStorage, RBC, Regal Beloit, RegalBeloit, Titan International, TitanInternational, TWI, ULTA, Ulta Salon, UltaSalon
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