Analyst Upgrades

• Boeing (BA) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Office Depot (ODP) and Staples (SPLS) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Kennametal (KMT) and Polyone (POL) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Airgas (ARG) to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• EchoStar (SATS) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, BA, BP, BSX, COH, GM, INTC, NSM, STJ, TIF, TSN, UA ...

Analyst Calls: AA, BA, BP, BSX, COH, GM, INTC, NSM, STJ, TIF, TSN, UA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Intel Buys Infineon Wireless Unit in a Push into Mobile

Intel Buys Infineon Wireless Unit in a Push into Mobile originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Universal Health (UHS) to outperform from market perform to reflect the company's potential acquisition of Psychiatric Solutions (PSYS). The firm sees a 60% chance of Universal Health acquiring Psychiatric Solutions and estimates the deal would be accretive.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Lamar Advertising (LAMR) to outperform from perform following the company's Q1 results and Q2 guidance as it expects growth to pick up in Q3. The firm has a $44 price target for shares.
• UBS upgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to buy from neutral based on valuation and Singapore outlook. The firm raised its price target to $28 from $24.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Alcoa (AA) Was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, ALK, FYSIS, LAMR, LEAP, LVS, MSFT, PCLN, RIG, UHS ...

Analyst Calls: AA, ALK, FYSIS, LAMR, LEAP, LVS, MSFT, PCLN, RIG, UHS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 May 2010 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded United Parcel Service (UPS) to buy from hold on expectations the company will benefit from improving international package volumes and restructuring initiatives. The firm raised its target on shares to $70 from $67.
• JPMorgan upgraded SVB Financial (SIVB) to overweight from neutral on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm has a $54 price target on the stock.
• Baird upgraded ArvinMeritor (ARM) to outperform from neutral and raised its target to $15 from $12 following the Q2 report. The firm said ArvinMeritor has transformed its business model and is well-positioned for growth.
• UBS (UBS) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Occidental Petroleum (OXY) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Vail Resorts (MTN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: ARM, KFT, LOW, OXY, UBS, UPS, VRSN ...

Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: ARM, KFT, LOW, OXY, UBS, UPS, VRSN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Baird upgraded Con-Way (NYSE: CNW) and Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) to Outperform from Neutral due to the benefits of a likely bankruptcy of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW). Old Dominion's target was raised to $40 from $26 and Con-Way's was raised to $42 from $22.
• Citigroup upgraded Pride International (NYSE: PDE) to Hold from Sell as it believes higher valuation levels are warranted with the upcoming spin-off of Seahawk Drilling. Citi raised its target on shares to $25 from $18.
• Jesup & Lamont upgraded FedEx (NYSE: FDX) to Buy from Hold with a $63 target as it believes the worst is largely behind the company.
• Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANF, FDX, IBM, RBS, SNDK, T

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANF, FDX, IBM, RBS, SNDK, T originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Surprisingly, Goldman Sachs raised the auto sector to Attractive

Surprisingly, Goldman Sachs raised the auto sector to Attractive originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Merrill upgraded Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to Buy from Neutral citing progress in the company's turnaround plan, execution, and 2009 earnings growth.
  
• Thomas Weisel raised Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) to Overweight from Market Weight and believes the company's core business remains strong and that valuation is attractive.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded shares of Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation after checks indicated the company should meet Q2 expectations.
• NeuStar (NSR) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  
• UBS raised Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Goldman upgraded Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) to Buy from Neutral.

• Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered its target to $33 from $43 following the company's Q3 results, as they believe near-term credit trends and concerns surrounding its securities portfolio will limit upside. Shares were also downgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Overweight due to deteriorating credit trends.
  
• Banc of America cut Monster (NASDAQ: MNST) to Neutral from Buy to reflect a lack of margin stability and their belief consensus estimates remain too high.
  
• Barclays downgraded Avis Budget Group (NYSE: CAR) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing the global economic slowdown and refinancing risk.
• Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), Luxottica (NYSE: LUX) and ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM) were cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.
  
• Luxottica was also downgraded at HSBC to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• JP Morgan cut AuthenTec (NASDAQ: AUTH) to Underweight from Neutral.

• Janney Montgomery believes Gladstone Capital's (NASDAQ: GLAD) management team and lower portfolio investment risk profile warrant a premium valuation. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $13 target.
• CommVault (NASDAQ: CVLT) was initiated with a Buy rating and $14 target at Cantor, as the firm finds the stock attractively valued given its secular growth rate potential.
  
• KeyBanc is positive on Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA) management team, growth potential, cost initiatives, and differentiation. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $30 target.
• Arris (NASDAQ: ARRS) was initiated at Jefferies with a Hold rating and $7 target.
  
• Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RIGL) was initiated at Banc of America with a Neutral rating and $21 target.
  
• Morgan Stanley started Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) with an Equal Weight rating.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: KFT, SYMC, CAR, GLAD, HANS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As soon as Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) evaporated, the natural question was: "Who's next?" And after its stock plunged 38% during the day, it now looks like the next one to go will be Wachovia (NYSE: WB). This time the buyer could be Citigroup (NYSE: C),

With $120 billion in adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) it got through its Golden West Financial acquisition, Wachovia is particularly vulnerable to the capital-eroding impact of a drop in their value. But if Citi bought Wachovia, it would get a stronger presence on the East Coast and its well-regarded retail banking management.

Citi is not the only firm to talk merger with Wachovia -- prior to its decision to turn itself into a bank holding company (BHC) on Sunday, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was in merger discussions with Wachovia. I just wonder how any deal could be struck with Wachovia that would not involve those nasty ARMs. And if those ARMs are involved in a deal, how can the acquirer avoid those nasty digestion problems that have sent Wachovia shares into a dive.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns Citigroup stock and has no financial interest in the other securities mentioned.

Will Citi buy Wachovia? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of McClatchy (NYSE:MNI) to Sell from Hold after transferring analyst coverage as they believe leverage issues will continue to pressure the stock.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Ansys (NASDAQ:ANSS) to Hold from Buy on valuation and their belief that a slow U.S. manufacturing economy may be impacting sales cycles at the margin.
  
• Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO) was lowered to Market Perform from OUtperform at Wachovia following its lowered 2008 outlook.

• Goldman removed ArvinMeritor (NYSE:ARM) and NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) from the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Citigroup cut BJ Services (NYSE:BJS) and Weatherford (NYSE:WFT) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: MNI, ANSS and FO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fed rate cuts help people who hold adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) but they're less valuable to people seeking new mortgages.

That's because ARM rates reset periodically -- e.g., every year -- based on an index plus a lender's margin -- the amount a lender adds to the index, usually two percentage points or four percentage points, to set the actual interest rate of the ARM. The most common index for ARM adjustments is the one-year U.S. Treasury bill.

Last Friday, the one year treasury rate was at 1.88% -- down 3.04 percentage points below the 4.92% rate it was at in April 2007. The Fed's rate cutting has lowered the rates at the reset periods for those who already have adjustable rate mortgages. So a person who paid 2% plus the 1-year t-bill rate in April 2007 would have paid 6.92% during the last year and enjoyed a reset to 3.88% as of last week.

Continue reading Do Fed rate cuts help adjustable rate mortgage holders?

Do Fed rate cuts help adjustable rate mortgage holders? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) is already in deep trouble because of defaults in its subprime loan business, but who would have guessed that some of its higher-quality loans would get into trouble just as quickly?

The Wall Street Journal writes that, "Some loans classified as prime when they were originated are now going bad at a rapid pace." These loans are known as option adjustable-rate mortgages. They allow borrowers to pay very little in the first few years of the loan period. But an analysis prepared for The Wall Street Journal by UBS AG shows that 3.55% of option ARMs originated by Countrywide in 2006 and packaged into securities sold to investors are at least 60 days past due. That delinquency rate is worse than other mortgage companies offering similar products.

The really big trouble with these loans could begin in 2009, when more of them reset to higher rates.

The news points out two issues that have been largely masked as Wall Street and the media focus on the subprime mortgage mess. The first is that poor lending practices may have allowed a number of middle class home buyers to take on debt that they almost certainly could not repay unless housing prices continued to move up sharply for another five to ten years. The other is that if the mortgage default rates are bad today, the problem could worsen in a year or two.

The bottom line is that one of the largest drags on the US economy, which is housing prices and mortgage payment problems, may not bottom out for another 24 months.

If that is true, the recession that may be coming could be longer and deeper than investors would care to imagine.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor of 247wallst.com.

More bad loans at Countrywide originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Virgin America enters U.S. airspace -- What does that mean for U.S. airlines?

Virgin America enters U.S. airspace -- What does that mean for U.S. airlines? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) implied volatility elevated as FSLR rallies 14%.

• FSLR, a manufacturer of solar modules with an advanced thin semiconductor process that significantly lowers solar electricity costs, is recently up $15.20 to $111.57.
  
• FSLR announced five new customer agreements for a total of $1.3 billion.
  
• Cowen reiterated its Outperform rating on FSLR. Banc of America reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $115.
  
• FSLR August option implied volatility of 66 is above its 21-week average of 52 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Gamestop (NYSE: GME) calls active as GME rallies on unconfirmed takeover speculation.

• GME, a video game and entertainment software retailer, is recently up $0.80 to $42.35.
  
• Unconfirmed chatter is circulating that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is looking into buying GME.
  
• GME call option volume of 4,846 contracts compares to put volume of 783 contracts. GME August option implied volatility of 43 is above its 26-week average of 36 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Option volume leaders today are: ArvinMeritor, Inc. (NYSE: ARM), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Baidu.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU).

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update 7-9-07: First Solar volatility elevated as FSLR rallies 14% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded Blockbuster Inc (NYSE: BBI) to Buy from Hold based on valuation, improving box office visibility and their belief that the lower-priced online-only rental product will help improve costs.

• Molson Coors Brewing (NYSE: TAP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS based on valuation, volume strength and pricing.

• Matrix believes strong demand for genetic analysis equipment is boosting profits for Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), upgrading shares to Strong Buy from Sell; Matrix sees upside to their Intrinsic Value Calculation of $50/share.

• ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARMHY) was upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at JP Morgan to reflect the strength in the high-end handset market...

• Bristol Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

• RBC Capital raised Sapient Corp (NASDAQ: SAPE) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

• Sandler upgraded Chemical Financial Corp (NASDAQ: CHFC) to Hold from Sell.

• UBS raised WESCO International, Inc (NYSE: WCC) to Buy from Neutral.

• Piper Jaffray upgraded shares of Omnicell, Inc (NASDAQ: OMCL) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades 6-13-07: BBI, BMY, SAPE and TAP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Reynolds American Inc (NYSE: RAI) to Neutral from Underweight to reflect the company's solid 2007 outlook and improved cigarette mix.

• Baird raised PRA International (NASDAQ: PRAI) to Neutral from Underperform.

• Wendy's International (NYSE: WEN) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight with a $26 target at Prudential.

• 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Prudential...

• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of ArvinMeritor, Inc (NYSE: ARM) to Outperform from Underperform.

• Roth Capital raised WPT Enterprises (NASDAQ: WPTE) to Hold from Sell.

• Soleil upgraded the semiconductor sector to Overweight from Underweight, believing a recovery in fundamentals is likely over the next 6 months and expecting shares to outperform over the next 12 to 18 months.

• First Albany upgraded shares of Xilinx, Inc (NASDAQ: XLNX) to Buy from Neutral to reflect operating leverage and the end of the inventory concern.

• Wachovia upgraded shares of Agco Corp (NYSE: AG) to Market perform from Outperform.

• Deutsche Bank raised Dover Corp (NYSE: DOV) to Buy from Hold.

• Corning (NYSE: GLW) was upgraded at Goldman to Buy from Neutral with a $31 target.

Analyst upgrades 4-26-07: ARM, GLW, MMM, RAI and WEN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.