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.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lincare Holdings, Gentiva Health, Five Star Quality Care, Arris and U.S. Steel Group were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Jefferies upgraded shares of Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they now believe the likelihood that Congress could severely cut Medicare oxygen reimbursement this year is priced into shares.
Jefferies also upgraded Gentiva Health (NASDAQ: GTIV) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe the recent sell-off is overdone.
RBC Capital raised Five Star Quality Care (AMEX: FVE) to Outperform from Sector Perform, as they believe the company's Q3 report could be better than expected and that census and outlook are improving.
CIBC upgraded shares of Arris Group (NASDAQ: ARRS) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer on valuation as they believe the weakness in the stock is overdone.
Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) to Buy from Hold, as they expect the company to be a major beneficiary of rising raw material costs. Further, Deutsche thinks Lone Star and Stelco will be catalysts for earnings growth in 2008.
On tonight's MAD MONEY on CNBC, BASF (NYSE: BF) in Germany is the next stock that Cramer wants to visit as an EU play, and he also thinks this company will be making some acquisitions. He does not see this as the traditional takeover stock. This one did the $80 to $120 move already, and this is over $60 Billion in market cap and he wouldn't be shocked if it goes to $150.00. He noted it is also cheaper on P/E than Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) and it only gets 22% of its net from North America. BASF's earnings are also becoming more and more consistent, and that can command a P/E premium from Wall Street.
Interestingly enough, Cramer also gave us a chemical stock that could be an acquisition target. We already say Lyondell Chemical (NYSE: LYO) fall to Basell, and Cramer thinks that Nova Chemicals (NYSE: NCX) is the other chemical stock that could easily be acquired. The analyst at BB&T has picked the last two buyouts in the sector and he thinks Nova Chemical could be the next target. This one has a $3.3 Billion market cap and is atthe top of its 52-week trading range. It is far under the $50.00+ highs of early 2005.
BASF is definitely a company to watch, although Cramer is probably right that it won't be acquired. We are back to a good solid manufacturing economy and emerging markets are helping all these guys out. The company has managed to be a growth engine, and if it is true that their earnings are becoming more predictable then maybe he's right. Nova is a tough one to call, particularly since I haven't looked at it closely in some time.
Jon Ogg is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.
E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) opened at $52.33. So far today the stock has hit a low of $52.30 and a high of $53.22. As of 11:15, DD is trading at $52.88, up $0.88 (1.7%).
The stock has been mostly flat over the past six months, hitting a one-year high of $53.90 earlier this month. Basell Holdings (NYSE: BF) announced today that the company will purchaseLyondell Chemical (NYSE: LYO) for $12.66 billion, sending competitors' shares up in the wake of the deal. Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) and DuPont are each getting a nice lift following the news. Technical indicators for DD are bullish but deteriorating slightly, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an October bull-put credit spread below the $47.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk and leverage returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 8.7% return in just 3 months as long as DD is above $47.50 at October expiration. DD would have to fall by more than 10% before we would start to lose money.
DD hasn't been below $47.50 since December and has shown support around $51 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out July 24) disappoint or if the cost of the company's raw materials increases greatly. However, even if these things happen, it looks like this position could be protected by the strong support the stock found between $49 and $50, plus its 200 day moving average, which is currently at $49 and rising.
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.
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.
I've just returned from the World Money Show in Orlando where more than 10,000 investors gathered to learn about global investing. I had a chance to meet with many of the U.S. and foreign financial experts featured at the show, and I will share some of their top investment ideas. To view all of the stocks featured in this special global report, click here.
Gregg Early, editor of The Real Nanotech Investor, is finding many of his best investment opportunities among global stocks. He notes, "My two Japanese holdings have been doing well in recent weeks.
"German juggernauts BASF (NYSE:BF) and Siemens (NYSE:SI) are doing very well. BASF stock is teasing 52-week highs with orders rolling in. Its books look good. It also seems oddly shareholder friendly, which is quite a shock for most large-cap European stocks.
"But it's going to need to consolidate here before it starts looking like Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) in 1999. BASF is only a buy below 95.
"Siemens is having less of a good time of it -- the recent bribery charges, the BenQ mobile phone debacle, earnings disappointments. But that's not to say the company hasn't weathered these storms well.
"This is a true company built for the 21st century, along with its chemical counterpart above. It's simply a little expensive now with all this muck flying in the air. Siemens is a buy only up to 104.
Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.
The BASFGroup (NYSE: BF) is the top conservative idea for 2007 from Gregg Early, editor of The Real Nanotech Investor: A Small World of Big Profits. He notes, "BASF is one of the premier chemicals companies in the world and it's well positioned to be the most dominant and influential chemical company of the 21st century.
"Nanotech is to this century what chemistry was to the 20th century -- one of the most pervasive advancements in every aspect of our lives.
"Like penicillin or the transistor, it will take society decades to fully realize the implications. BASF is already well on its way to applying the lessons it has long been learning on this front.
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