Analyst calls: PRU, RATE, ACL, LTD, STM, SNP, NFLX, RTP, BHP, OXY ...
Posted Dec 1st 2008 12:22PM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Analyst Initiations, Limited Brands (LTD), BHP Billiton Ltd ADR (BHP), Rio Tinto plc ADS (RTP)
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Analyst upgrades:
- Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Premiere Global (NYSE: PGI) to Outperform from Perform on valuation and believes the company's strategic initiatives will drive "healthy" top-line results in a difficult economy.
- Citigroup upgraded Prudential (NYSE: PRU) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe the stock is oversold at current levels. Though upgraded, the firm lowered their target price to $30 from $80.
- Citigroup also upgraded Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company will benefit from the financial market volatility and that the risk/reward is attractive at current levels. The firm maintains a $40 target on the stock.
- Hospitality Properties (NYSE: HPT) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
- Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) was upgraded at Merrill Lynch to Buy from Neutral.
- Alcon (NYSE: ACL) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
Analyst downgrades:
- Friedman Billings downgraded shares of AerCap Holdings (NYSE: AER) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered its target to $5.50 from $18.50 to reflect the weakening fundamentals in the airline industry and the limited availability of credit.
- Citigroup downgraded Limited (NYSE: LTD) to Hold from Buy on valuation following the recent rally and believes consensus estimates remain too high.
- STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at Societe Generale following the company's guidance reduction.
- China Petroleum & Chemical (NYSE: SNP) was cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.
- Hercules Offshore (NASDAQ: HERO) and Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR) were downgraded to Underperform from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
- RBC Capital lowered Strategic Hotels (NYSE: BEE) to Underperform from Sector Perform.
Analyst initiations:
- Friedman Billings initiated Aircastle (NYSE: AYR) with an Underperform rating and $4.50 target. The firm expects lease rates and aircraft values to decline and has a negative outlook for the global airline industry.
- Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) was initiated at Friedman Billings with a Market Perform rating and $22 target and believes risks to consumer spending offset the company's strong competitive position.
- Banc of America started Synta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SNTA) with a Neutral rating and $5 target and believes Elesclomol for the treatment of metastatic melanoma will fail its ongoing trial.
- BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) was reinitiated with a Buy rating at Societe Generale, an Outperform rating at Credit Suisse and a Hold rating at Deutsche Bank.
- Deutsche Bank also resumed coverage of Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) with a Hold rating.
- ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) was initiated with an Underperform rating at Jefferies.
- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) was started at Morgan Stanley with an Equal Weight rating.
Tags: acl, aer, asml, ayr, bee, bhp, do, hero, hpt, inthenews, ldt, nflx, oxy, pgi, pru, rate, rtp, snp, snta, stm
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