Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CHKP, MOT, RIMM, PALM, RL, HBC ...

Posted Jan 20th 2009 12:10PM by Eric BuscemiEric Buscemi RSS Feed
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Analyst Initiations

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Analyst upgrades:
  • Jefferies upgraded Check Point Software (NASDAQ: CHKP) to Buy from Hold as they believe the recently acquired Nokia security appliance business should drive 2009 revenue and EPS meaningfully higher. The firm raised their target price to $27 from $20.
  • Goldman upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Buy List. The firm expects shares to outperform even if phones don't given the overly negative value for the business.
  • Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital. The firm cites improving margin visibility and execution, and lowered expectations for the upgrade.
  • Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  • Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) was raised at Canaccord to Buy from Hold.
  • Lloyds TSB (NYSE: LYG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
Analyst downgrades:
  • JP Morgan downgraded Venoco (NYSE: VQ) to Underweight from Overweight based on valuation and debt concerns.
  • UBS downgraded MEMC Electronic (NYSE: WFR) to Neutral from Buy, added shares to the Short-Term Sell List and lowered their target to $14.50 from $20. The firm believes 2009 wafer sales will be much worse than expected.
  • Deutsche Bank downgraded SINA (NASDAQ: SINA) to Hold from Buy to reflect integration risks from the recent acquisition of Focus Media's digital OOH assets as they see little room for near-term upside.
  • Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) was lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  • Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) was cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.
  • Telus (NYSE: TU) was downgraded at Banc of America/Merrill to Underperform from Neutral.
Analyst initiations:
  • Societe Generale believes HSBC (NYSE: HBC) will need to cut its dividend and raise additional capital in order to strengthen its capital base. Shares were initiated with a Sell rating.
  • Citigroup initiated United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) with a Hold rating and $55 target. The firm sees downside risk to the company's guidance and believes consensus estimates could be too high.
  • B. Riley assumed Matrixx Initiatives (NASDAQ: MTXX) with a Buy rating and $22 target. The firm finds shares attractively valued and sees limited downside risk from current levels.
  • ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) was initiated at Deutsche Bank with a Hold rating.

Tags: arcc, asml, chkp, cp, hbc, lyg, mot, mtxx, palm, rimm, rl, sina, tu, utx, vq, wfr

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Last updated: February 10, 2010: 05:16 AM

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