Akzo Nobel Posts -- BloggingStocks

Akzo Nobel posts

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: WTR, GIL, STT, EHTH, AKZOY, MEOH, UTHR and HGG

Analyst upgrades:

Janney Montgomery upgraded Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) to Buy from Neutral on valuation, viewing the recent weakness as a buying opportunity. The firm has a $19 target on the stock.
UBS upgraded Gildan Activewear (NYSE: GIL) to Buy from Neutral due to customer Broder's improved liquidity and the improved outlook for margins.
RBC Capital upgraded State Street (NYSE: STT) to Top Pick from Outperform and raised its target to $55 from $40. The analyst said the $2B capital raise addresses TCE ratio concerns and large unrealized losses in the investment portfolio.
Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.
M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Analyst upgrades:

Friedman Billings upgraded Synovus (NYSE: SNV) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation following the recent weakness. BASF (OTC: BASFY) and Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS on valuation and believes cash flows can cover the company's dividend.
JP Morgan upgraded H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL) to Overweight from Neutral citing benefits from lower raw material costs.
CA, Inc (NASDAQ: CA) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
Goldman removed Boeing (NYSE: BA) from the Conviction Sell List.
WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

Analyst downgrades:

Oppenheimer downgraded Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) to Perform from Outperform following the company's Q3 results as they believe a recovery of revenue from ZT Online will take longer than expected.
Friedman Billings cut Walter Industries (NYSE: WLT) to Market Perform from Outperform as they believe the decline in steel demand will pressure met coal prices. The company's target was lowered to $30 from $53.
Citigroup downgraded shares of Atlas Pipeline (NYSE: AHD) Holdings to Sell from Hold as they believe the company could potentially be in violation of its debt covenants as early as Q1. The company's target was lowered to $4 from $31.
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
Dover (NYSE: DOV) and Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) were downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst initiations:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Air France, BHP Billiton, AstraZeneca, Broadcom and Savvis were today's noteworthy downgrades:

Goldman removed shares of Air France (NYSE: AKH) from its Conviction Buy List due to the increase in the price of fuel and the possibility of an economic slowdown.
Goldman downgraded BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) to Neutral from Buy and removed the stock from its Pan-Europe Buy List due to valuation.
Merrill Lynch downgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Sell from Neutral to reflect increased competition from generic-drug makers, a poor pipeline and slow earnings growth.
Wachovia downgraded shares of Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) to Hold from Buy to reflect valuation and the company's lower than expected Q3 results. Shares were also lowered to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Stanford lowered Savvis (NASDAQ: SVVS) to Hold from Buy and notes that the company's Q3 results and Q4 revenue guidance brings the company's 2007 revenue outlook $15M below the consensus, and advises investors to remain on the sidelines. The firm believes the company's strategy is sound, but that its execution has been slow.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) and Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) were downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
Friedman Billings downgraded the E&P sector, including Brigham Exploration Company (NASDAQ: BEXP), Mariner Energy (NYSE: ME) and Nobel Energy (NYSE: NBL) to Market Perform from Outperform.
Baird downgraded Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) to Neutral from Outperform.
Goldman downgraded Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) to Neutral from Buy.

Major Papers:

The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is looking for buyers for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, which are valued at a combined $1.3B to $1.5B, but any sale is expected to take a month or longer.
Airbus is in the final stages of a deal with U.S. Airways Group Inc (NYSE: LCC), which is expected to purchase about 30 A350 jetliners worth about $7B at list price, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Other Papers:

According to the U.K. Times, Imperial Chemical Industries plc (NYSE: ICI) rejected an all-cash offer of GBP$7.2B from Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel NV (NASDAQ: AKZOY), saying the proposal "significantly undervalues" the company; sources believe The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and Germany's BASF AG (NYSE: BF) could launch competing bids.
BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) is again interested in a $40B acquisition of Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA), an aluminum producer, reported the U.K. Times.
The New York Times reported that negotiations on a buyout of Cadence Design System Inc (NASDAQ: CDNS) by private equity firms Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts appear to have stalled over price.

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Joseph Lazzaro	113	0
2	Tom Johansmeyer	103	2
3	Connie Madon	52	0
4	Steven Mallas	42	0
5	Tom Taulli	42	0
6	Mark Fightmaster	39	0
7	Trey Thoelcke	32	0
8	Steven Halpern	28	0
9	Melly Alazraki	25	0
10	Paul Foster	24	0
11	Zac Bissonnette	24	0
12	Brent Archer	21	0
13	Jim Cramer	21	0
14	Jon Ogg	21	0
15	Brian White	20	0
16	Elizabeth Harrow	17	0
17	Eric Buscemi	16	0
18	Sheldon Liber	13	0
19	Michael Fowlkes	8	0
20	Beth Gaston Moon	8	0

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