Analyst upgrades:
- Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, which believes Verizon wireline margins troughed in Q3 and that Street estimates have been reset to more achievable levels.
- Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital, which believes the company is gaining analog market share and shares are attractively valued at current levels. The firm maintains a $31 price target.
- Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm believes this year's run-up in the stock was primarily due to the company's spin-off of MSG, but the firm believes the stock can rise further based on fundamentals.
- Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan following the company's Q3 results due to valuation and its above-average growth. The firm raised its target to $51.50 from $47.
- RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) was upgraded to Hold from Underweight at KeyBanc, which said that its recovering sales trends were encouraging.
- Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush as it believes the divestiture of its Asian business coupled with growth in its Fly.com unit will drive 2010 growth. The firm raised its target to $17 from $13.
Analyst downgrades:
- Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital, which said the Android operating system will become more important at many operators and that they will direct marketing and promotional dollars towards it, pushing Palm down in importance. The firm also expects Palm to miss 2H10 guidance and said that Europe is off to a slow start. The price target was lowered to $10 from $11.
- Spectra Energy (NYSE: SEP) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Citigroup to reflect valuation and its commodity price outlook. Despite downgrading, Citi raised its target price on the shares to $18 from $16.
- Tortoise Power & Energy (NYSE: TPZ) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich to reflect a lower distribution outlook and inflation concerns. The firm dropped its target on shares to $19.50 from $21.50.
- Willis Group (NYSE: WSH) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette following the company's Q3 results, and its target was lowered to $24.
- Sunoco Logistics (NYSE: SXL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich following the company's Q3 results and its target was lowered to $60 from $63.50.
- PAR Technology (NYSE: PTC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Roth Capital following the weak Q3 report and order delays. The price target was lowered to $6 from $8.
- Scientific Games (NASDAQ: SGMS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair following its Q3 miss.
Analyst initiations:
- Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) was initiated with a Buy and a price target of $25 at Kaufman Bros., which views Intel as an attractive investment given its positive mix trends in 2010 and potential benefit from a PC replacement cycle.
- Williams (NYSE: WMB) was resumed with an Outperform at Wells Fargo, which expects Williams to report higher-than-expected Q3 EPS. The firm has an upbeat outlook on the stock due to what it sees as the company's significant financial flexibility and vertically integrated business model, as well as its decision to diversify outside of the Rockies.
- Darden (NYSE: DRI) was initiated with a Hold at Deutsche Bank, citing possible lower returns at core concepts and a slower-than-expected recovery in same store sales. Target is $30.
- Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was initiated with a Hold at Kaufman Bros., which prefers to wait for a more attractive entry point into the shares. Target is $26.
- CreXus (NYSE: CXS) was initiated with a Neutral at BofA/Merril. Target is $14.50.
- Ormat Tech (NYSE: ORA) was initiated with a Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
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
