Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: LEN, LEAP, BBBY, ENR, JPM
Posted Jan 26th 2009 12:55PM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY), Chevron Corp (CVX), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Analyst Initiations
.gif)
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded shares of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe the recent sell-off on concerns of fraud is overdone. The firm thinks the allegations made by Barry Minkow/Fraud Discovery Institute are unfounded and has an $11 target on shares.
- Merriman upgraded Nautilus Group (NYSE:NLS) to Neutral from Sell after meeting with management to reflect increased optimism on the company's turnaround.
- Baird upgraded Leap Wireless (NYSE:LEAP) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and strong subscriber trends.
- Transocean (NYSE:RIG) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
- Pearson PLC (NYSE:PSO) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
- Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) was lifted to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Analyst downgrades:
- JP Morgan downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) to Underweight from Neutral and lowered their target to $20 from $26 as they believe potential benefits from the Linens' N Things closing are being overstated and that the risk/reward is unfavorable at current levels.
- Keefe Bruyette downgraded Citizens Republic (NASDAQ:CRBC) to Market Perform from Outperform and cut their target to $3 from $7 to reflect the company's lower capital position.
- UBS downgraded Energizer (NYSE:ENR) to Sell from Neutral and lowered their target to $40 from $48 citing signs of a battery price war, Wal-Mart's (NYSE:WMT) reduction in space allocation, and the company's cuts in investment.
- Chevron (NYSE:CVX) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
- MetroPCS (NYSE:PCS) was lowered to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital.
- Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) was cut to Sell from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Analyst initiations:
- Global Hunter believes Pep Boys (NYSE:PBY) is well-positioned to benefit from increased demand for replacement parts and maintenance services as new car purchases are deferred. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $5.50 target.
- Jefferies started Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY) with an Underperform rating and sees downside risk to the stock from the potential introduction of Lovenox generics in the U.S.
- Merriman assumed Alter Nrg (NYSE:ANRGF) with a Neutral rating and recommends waiting on the sidelines pending increased visibility on the company's gasification projects.
- JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) was re-initiated with a Buy rating at Goldman. Shares were also added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
- Hudson City Bancorp (NYSE:HCBK) was assumed with an Overweight rating and $15 target at Barclays.
- DG FastChannel (NASDAQ:DGIT) was initiated at BWS Financial with a Strong Buy rating and $30 target.
Tags: anrgf, bbby, crbc, cvx, dgit, enr, hcbk, jpm, leap, leco, len, nls, pby, pcs, pso, rig, snn, sny
Closing Bell: When We All Love the PIIGS (NBG, SQNM, PG, ERTS, KO)
Serious Money: Cheapest Stocks List Shrinks from 26 to 21
Chasing Value: Hasbro Earnings Makes My Point
