Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AGN, TXN, ELN, PALM, DOW
Posted Jul 20th 2009 12:00PM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Allergan (AGN), Palm Inc (PALM), Tyson Foods'A' (TSN), Dow Chemical (DOW), Texas Instruments (TXN), Analyst initiations, Marvel Entertainment (MVL)
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded Allergan (NYSE: AGN) to Buy from Hold to reflect increased estimates for Botox and its belief Latisse guidance looks conservative. The firm raised its target on shares to $57 from $45.
- Jefferies upgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated business is strengthening. Jefferies believes Texas Instruments' September quarter guidance will come in better than expected and raised its target on shares to 23 from $16.
- FBR Capital upgraded Peabody Energy (BTU) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect "strong" long-term steel and steam demand trends from China and India. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $36.
- Elan Corp (ELN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
- Affymetrix (AFFX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
- ASML Holding (ASML) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
Analyst downgrades:
- Jefferies downgraded Infinera (INFN) to Underperform from Hold on competitive concerns after channel checks indicated the company lost business at Level 3 Communications (LVLT) to Huawei. The firm lowered its target on shares to $6.75 from $8.
- Baird downgraded Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) to Neutral from Outperform and lowered its target to $12 from $13 citing potential comp deceleration.
- Deutsche Bank downgraded Tyson Foods (TSN) to Hold from Buy as it believes the chicken industry recovery is moderating. The firm lowered its target price on shares to $14 from $15.
- Marvel (MVL) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney Montgomery.
- Discovery (DISCA) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
- BJ Services (BJS) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Analyst initiations:
- Citigroup started Endo Pharma (ENDP) with a Buy rating and $22 target. The firm believes the generic threat to Endo's Lidoderm is overstated in shares.
- Jesup & Lamont believes Palm (PALM) shares are overvalued and should reflect a higher level of returned Pre devices as a result of engineering complications. The firm assumed coverage with a Sell rating and $12.50 target.
- Barrington initiated Franklin Covey (FC) with an Outperform rating and $10 target and believes the sale of its consumer segment has resulted in a compelling pure-play training and consulting business.
- Vancelnfo (VIT) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Cowen.
- KeyBanc initiated Office Max with a Buy rating and $8 target.
- Dow Chemical (DOW) reinstated with a Buy rating and $23 target at Goldman.
Tags: agn, bjs, btu, disca, DOW, eln, endp, FC, infn, lvlt, mvl, PALM, tsn, txn, txrh, VIT