Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced that its blood-thinner rivaroxaban, which it is developing with Bayer AG, was more effective in a study than the standard treatment warfarin in preventing stroke in patients with irregular heart rhythm. The results could bring the treatment one step closer to regulatory approval in the US. While JNJ is not up a big chunk today, this stock is usually very steady, so this 1% move is actually more significant thatn it looks. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on JNJ.

Continue reading Johnson & Johnson Lifts on Blood Thinner Results

Johnson & Johnson Lifts on Blood Thinner Results originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Salesforce.com (CRM) to overweight from neutral, citing valuation following the recent sell-off and strong business trends. The firm has a $115 price target for shares.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded M&T Bank (MTB) to market perform from underperform on valuation after AIB sold its stake in the company. The firm has a $72 price target for shares.
• Jefferies upgraded OGE Energy (OGE) to buy from hold following the announcement that ArcLight will purchase 9.9% of OGE's interest in Enogex for $183M and believes this deal highlights the hidden value associated with Enogex. The firm raised its price target to $51.50 from $43.
• Thomas & Betts (TNB) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Bayer (BAYRY) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: A, ARST, BAC, C, COST, CRM, DPS, GS, JPM, MS, MTB, VOD ...

Analyst Calls: A, ARST, BAC, C, COST, CRM, DPS, GS, JPM, MS, MTB, VOD ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse upgraded Netflix (NFLX) to neutral from underperform and raised its price target to $140 from $90. The firm's survey work indicates Netflix's streaming offering is compelling and will continue to grow as it acquires additional streaming content.
• Barclays upgraded Ford (F) to overweight from equal weight, citing the company's earnings power, reduced cost base, expectations for a return to prior peak margins and valuation. The firm raised its target to $16 from $15.
• Merriman upgraded OpenTable (OPEN) to buy from neutral based on increased visibility into international expansion from the toptable.com acquisition and upside from its Spotlight product.
• Siemens (SI) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Medicis (MRX) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• IDEX (IEX) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BT, BWA, COG, F, GD, HRS, LMT, MRK, NFLX, NOC, OPEN, SI ...

Analyst Calls: BT, BWA, COG, F, GD, HRS, LMT, MRK, NFLX, NOC, OPEN, SI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Drug Trial Fails

Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Drug Trial Fails originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) to Buy from Hold and raised the target to $79 from $52.50 on valuation and believes the company can use its strong cash flow position to acquire assets.
  
• Baird said The Corporate Executive Board Company's (NASDAQ: EXBD) valuation is discounting a miss and that the company is well positioned as an early-cycle story with a new CFO, continued mid-market traction, and likely better than feared 2009 results. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $38 from $41.
  
• Merrill upgraded Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE: NVS) to Buy from Neutral and Sanofi-Aventis SA (ADR) (NYSE: SNY) and Shire Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ: SHPGY) to Buy from Underperform on valuation and defensive earnings.
• Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE: MI) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Barclays Plc (ADR) (NYSE: BCS) was raised to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.
  
• Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) was upgraded at Soleil to Buy from Hold.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The soaring cost of food isn't just hitting families in the US; it's hitting everyone around the world," says Neil George. Here, in Personal Finance, he looks at some agriculture, chemical and seed plays.

"During the past five years, consumer food costs have soared by more than 117%. And that momentum is increasing; in the trailing 12 months alone, prices surged more than 52%.

"The mega-investors aren't waiting around; they're buying into other parts of the ag business-from grain elevators to ag processors and distributors-as a workaround for such potential regulation.

"You shouldn't be sitting on your hands, either. This food trend is going to be here for a while, so you better stake your claim while buyers still outnumber sellers.

"One way to invest in this trend is to step into companies that are serving the ag producers. This means the companies developing and selling engineered seeds, as well as chemicals and fertilizer products needed to not just grow crops but more bountiful and, therefore, more profitable crops.

Continue reading Growth in seeds: Chemical ag plays

Growth in seeds: Chemical ag plays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bayer blamed for honeybee losses, clothianidin banned in Germany originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 May 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After hitting a one-year low of $45.41 in April, the stock hit a one-year high of $58.38 in November. BRL opened this morning at $49.07. So far today the stock has hit a low of $48.45 and a high of $49.99. As of 12:30, BRL is trading at $49.75, up $4.08 (8.9%). The chart for BRL looks neutral and steady while S&P gives BRL a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

Continue reading Barr Pharma rises with favorable court ruling

Barr Pharma rises with favorable court ruling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Lehman upgraded Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to Equal Weight from Underweight on valuation.
  
• Friedman Billings raised Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) to Outperform from Market Perform, citing expectations for improved margins next quarter, and valuation.
  
• Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral by Credit Suisse, which cited valuation.
  
• Lehman upgraded shares of Societe Generale (OTC: SCGLY) to Overweight from Underweight to reflect a potential takeover by BNP Paribas and limited downside.

• Bayer (OTC: BAYRY) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight by Lehman.
• Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) was upgraded to Hold from Sell by Citigroup.
• Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) was raised to Buy from Hold by Deutsche Bank.
• UBS raised Entergy (NYSE: ETR) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: PFE, DELL DGX and SCGLY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Onyx Pharma (NASDAQ: ONXX) is recently is down $9.23 to $35.70 in pre-open trading.

ONXX and its partner Bayer halted Phase 3 trials of Nexavar and after the company reported a larger than expected Q4 loss.

ONXX overall option implied volatility of 63 is above its 26-week average of 57 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

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

Option update: Onyx Pharma volatility elevated into 20% pre-open sell off originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman downgraded the coal sector to Cautious from Neutral, citing valuations and expectations for lower coal prices. The firm downgraded CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CNX) Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) to Neutral from Buy and Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• Lehman downgraded independent refiners, including Alon USA Energy (NYSE: ALJ), to Negative from Neutral and continues to believe that 2H07 marked an inflection point for U.S. refiners, which are transitioning from a multiyear up-cycle into a new downtrend.
  
• Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia following the company's Q4 results, as they believe management's revenue guidance represents a best-case scenario.

• Lehman lowered Bayer (OTC: BAYRY) to Equal Weight from Overweight and Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Underweight from Equal Weight.

Analyst downgrades: Coal sector, independent refiners and ALXN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Veterans' Day holiday.
• Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) to report Q4 earnings. They are holding a conference call at 9am and a business update later at 10:45am.

• Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to report Q3 earnings; pre-recorded conference call at 7am.
• Home Depot (NYSE: HD) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• Fed Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner is the Keynote Speaker at Standard & Poor's Banking Conference in New York at 1pm.

• Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is the Keynote Speaker at Cato Institute Annual Monetary Conference at 9:10am.
• Macy's (NYSE: M) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10:30am.

• Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) to hold business update conference call at 10:30am.
• Nevada District Court: Bayer (NYSE: BAY) vs. Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) on Patent Infringement Lawsuit over the generic birth control drug YAZ.

• PDUFA date for Bristol Myers Squibb Company's (NYSE: BMY) Abilify.
  
• PDUFA date for Impax Laboratories' (OTC: IPXL) Vadova.

Market highlights for next week: Tyson (TSN), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) to report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: ONXX), a developer of cancer therapies, were up $2.40 to $51.75 in pre-open trading. ONXX released Q3 Nexavar sales of $105 million, beating Street expectations. Wachovia says, "With the ONXX/Bayer Nexavar joint venture touching profitability two quarters earlier than anticipated, we believe Street expectations for a Bayer acquisition of ONXX." ONXX has projected the next key clinical event will be in the 2nd half of 2008 for Phase 3 non-small cell lung cancer. ONXX over all option implied volatility of 58 is near its 26-week average of 55 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

[Update: ONXX shares were recently (12:05 p.m.) up $9.02, or 18.28% to $58.37.]

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

Option update: Onyx Pharma volatility elevated with rally originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) implied volatility elevated at 41.
BHP, the world's biggest mining company, said there was no impact at its Atamina copper mine from Peru's largest earthquake in more than 30 years. BHP overall option implied volatility of 41 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Novartis (NYSE: NVS) implied volatility elevated at 28.
NVS, engaged in research, development, manufacture and marketing of medicines, closed at $52.17. Dow Jones reported "a tie up of NVS and Bayer (NYSE: BAY) seems unlikely, says WestLB." NVS overall option implied volatility of 28 is above its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Volatility Index S&P 500 Options-VIX at 30.67; 10-day moving average is 25.20.

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

More Countrywide Financial news

Peter Cohan: What the mortgage meltdown means to you
Eric Buscemi: George Bailey, meet Angelo Mozilo
Kevin Shult: Analyst downgrades: AN, CFC, DRI and RARE
Peter Cohan: Countrywide (CFC) meltdown continues
Michael Fowlkes: Countrywide Financial (CFC) adds to subprime panic
Peter Cohan: Could Countrywide Financial (CFC) be put down?
Sheldon Liber: Buy on fear today? Bear Stearns (BSC), Countrywide (CFC), IndyMac (IMB), Popular (BPOP), Washington Mutual (WM)

Option update: Countrywide Financial (CFC) volatility aggressive (BHP, NVS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.