MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Merrill downgraded Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) to Neutral from Buy to reflect greater earnings risk stemming from the slowdown in securitization and mortgage. Merrill also finds it "inevitable" that revenue from underwriting and advising on takeovers will slow.

• Stanford downgraded shares of Chicago Bridge & Iron (NYSE: CBI) to Sell from Hold as they believe the premium valuation is unjustified given the Lummus acquisition.

• Merrill Lynch cut Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) to Sell from Neutral based on slowing secular growth...

• Goldman downgraded Zale (NYSE: ZLC) to Sell from Neutral.

• PrivateBancorp (NASDAQ: PVTB) was cut from JP Morgan's Focus List.

• Banc of America downgraded Maxim Integrated (NASDAQ: MXIM) to Neutral from Buy.

• Stanford cut Oceaneering Int'l (NYSE: OII) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades 8-28-07: BBBY, BSC, C and LEH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on VMware (NYSE: VMW) with a Neutral rating citing valuation.

• Citigroup started Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) with a Hold rating, and cited the increasing competitive environment, slowing square footage growth and the weak housing market.

• Citigroup started Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) with a Sell rating and said the company has an inventory glut that could lead to markdown risk, there is raw material price inflation, and the weak housing market remains a material risk.

• Wachovia is cautious on Landstar System's (NASDAQ: LSTR) near-term growth rates and difficult end markets, starting shares with a Market Perform rating.

• Deutsche is positive on the potential of Acadia Pharmaceutical's (NASDAQ: ACAD) ACP-103 in schizophrenia, starting shares with a Buy rating...

• Cowen initiated Theravance (NASDAQ: THRX) with an Outperform rating and Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CBST) with a Neutral rating.

• Raymond James initiated Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) with an Outperform and resumed coverage of McAfee (NYSE: MFE) with an Outperform rating.

• Goldman reinstated Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) with a Neutral rating.

Analyst initiations: AKAM, BBBY, MFE and WSM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Aug 2007 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Chittenden Corp (NYSE: CHZ) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at AG Edwards based on the buyout news from People's United Financial (PBCT).

• Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) was downgraded to Hold from Buy, and its target was cut to $44, at Jeffries based on the weak Microsoft (MSFT) ramp and weakness in the Symantec (SYMC) transition.

• SMH Capital downgraded shares of Image Entertainment (NASDAQ: DISK) to Sell from Neutral and recommends investors take profits on the upside and sell shares.

• Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Matrix, as the firm believes fundamentals trends are turning negative; the firm sees limited upside from current levels.

• Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was removed from Goldman Sachs' Americas Conviction Buy List.

• Web.com (NASDAQ: WWWW) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Roth Capital Partners.

• Andrew Corp (NASDAQ: ANDW) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Oppenheimer.

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW) to Underweight from Overweight and shares of Republic Airways Holdings (NASDAQ: RJET) to Neutral from Overweight.

Analyst downgrades 6-28-07: BBBY, DISK, DRIV and JNJ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Jun 2007 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• FTN Midwest initiated shares of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc (NYSE: ETH), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY) with Neutral ratings and Williams-Sonoma Inc (NYSE: WSM) with a Buy rating.

• BMO Capital started Bronco Drilling Co (NASDAQ: BRNC), Pioneer Drilling Co (AMEX: PDC) and Union Drilling, IncNASDAQ: UDRL) with Outperform ratings.

• CIBC started Chemtura Corp (NYSE: CEM) with a Sector Underperformer rating and $11 target on valuation.

• C.E. Unterberg started Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ALTU) with a Buy rating and $12 target, believing the company's efforts to develop the first juvenile formulation of a pancreatic enzyme will be a key growth driver.

Analyst initiations 4-27-07: BBBY, ETH, PIR and WSM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.