Analyst upgrades:
- Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Overweight from Equal Weight on expectations of continued iPhone growth. The firm raised its target on the stock to $180 from $105.
- FBR Capital upgraded Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to Market Perform from Underperform as it sees limited downside with half of the company's capital plan completed. The firm keeps a $12 target on the stock.
- Jefferies upgraded Cash America (NYSE: CSH) to Buy from Hold to reflect a strengthened balance sheet following the capital raise and easing regulatory risk. The firm raised its target price to $30 from $22.
- Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
- MB Financial (NASDAQ: MBFI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
- Pinnacle West (NYSE: PNW) was upgraded at Credit Suisse to Outperform from Neutral.
Analyst downgrades:
- FBR Capital downgraded First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) to Underperform from Market Perform after channel checks indicated falling polysilicon prices and weakening demand in Europe. The firm keeps a $110 target on the stock.
- Oppenheimer downgraded Ariba (NASDAQ: ARBA) to Perform from Outperform on concerns of further lease write-downs and potential downsizing of upcoming contract renewals.
- Thomas Weisel downgraded EXFO Electro-Optical (NASDAQ: EXFO) to Market Weight from Overweight on valuation but raised its target price to $5 from $4.
- Legacy Reserves (NASDAQ: LGCY) was cut to hold from Buy at Citigroup.
- Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
- Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Analyst initiations:
- Jefferies believes Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST) has a large growth opportunity in international markets. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $34 target.
- Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) was initiated with an Overweight rating at Credit Suisse, an Outperform rating and $20 target at Barrington, a Buy rating and $17 target at Piper Jaffray and a Neutral rating and $15 target at JP Morgan.
- Citigroup expects TreeHouse's (NYSE: THS) growth to moderate in 2010. The firm initiated shares with a Hold rating and $31 target.
- Cliffs Natural (NYSE: CLF) was initiated with a Buy rating and $30 target at Banc of America/Merrill.
- Central European Distribution (NASDAQ: CEDC) was initiated with an Equal Weight rating at Morgan Stanley.
- Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) coverage was resumed with a Buy rating at Piper Jaffray.
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
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-29-2009 @ 12:12PM
Doug T said...
Thanks for this information. It may come in to play for pending investments. http://www.mutualfundwealth.com/
5-26-2009 @ 12:09PM
Iridium said...
How do analysts set thier targets for a stock? Do they actually look at real numbers or just pull a level out of thin air.
$180 for Apple??? A $75 increase from the current price. Isn't that a bit much? A 58% increase is crazy, even with better iPhone sales. I guess sky high P/Es are returning as the norm.
I guess the stock market Ponzi sceme is in full effect. Just say you are going to get 30% or greater return and it will happen. We have already created massive bubbles in the stock market bigger than before the bust and the overall average is still only 8400.