Analyst Upgrades

• Brinker (EAT) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Starbucks (SBUX) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Paccar (PCAR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• CA Technologies (CA) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• PPL Corp. (PPL) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• First Defiance (FDEF) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• MasTec (MTZ) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Amdocs (DOX) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CA, COP, DOX, EAT, FIG, JNS, MTN, NLSN, PCAR, SBUX, SLW ...

Analyst Calls: CA, COP, DOX, EAT, FIG, JNS, MTN, NLSN, PCAR, SBUX, SLW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Athenahealth (ATHN), Ensco (ESV), Pride International (PDE) and Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• CIRCOR (CIR) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Urban Outfitters (URBN) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Shaw Group (SHAW) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• MGM Resorts (MGM) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) to buy from neutral, as well as Intrepid Potash (IPI) to neutral from underperform, at BofA/Merrill.
• Carlisle (CSL) to buy from neutral at SunTrust.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AFL, AMZN, EBAY, ESV, FSLR, IBM, MGM, SHAW, TGT, WMT ...

Analyst Calls: AFL, AMZN, EBAY, ESV, FSLR, IBM, MGM, SHAW, TGT, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on CA Technologies (CA). Traders plowed into 13,932 new call option contracts -- 19.32 times the average volume -- on the stock on Monday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 98% of the trades came in on the ask price.

CA recently bounced off of support at $18 and is nearing resistance at $20.50. The stock closed Monday at $20.17, up 6.69% during the past month.

Continue reading Option Traders Buying CA Technologies Calls and Regency Energy Puts

Option Traders Buying CA Technologies Calls and Regency Energy Puts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Republic Services (RSG) to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $34 from $32. The firm cites valuation for the upgrade.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded MeadWestvaco (MWV) to buy from hold due to valuation and keeps a $29 price target for shares.
• UBS upgraded Symantec (SYMC) to buy from neutral.
• Lloyds Banking (LYG) upgraded to add from neutral at WestLB.
• Ternium (TX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: GLW, KSU, LYG, MFE, MWV, RIMM, RSG, RY, SRCL, SYMC ...

Analyst Calls: GLW, KSU, LYG, MFE, MWV, RIMM, RSG, RY, SRCL, SYMC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boyd Gaming(NYSE:BYD) calls active on renewed & unconfirmed buyout chatter. BYD is recently up $0.68 to $43.37. BYD has a market cap of $3.7 billion with long term debt of $2.1 billion. BYD had quarterly June 2007 revenues of $511 million. BYD call option volume of 3,763 contracts compares to put volume of 105 contracts. BYD October option implied volatility of 38 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Dreamworks(NYSE:DWA) calls active on unconfirmed buyout chatter: 'Bee Movie' out 11/2. DWA is recently up $0 .10 cents to $32.95. Unconfirmed buyout chatter is circulating today. Goldman Sachs said on 9/19 "we continue to rate DWA Buy as we believe the four films of 2007/2008 will raise investors' perception of normalized earnings." The Bee Movie is expected to be released on 11/2. DWA October 35 calls have traded 47 times on transaction volume of 897 contracts above its open interest of 344 contracts. DWA October option implied volatility of 36 is above its 26-week average of 30 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

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

Option update: Calls active at Boyd Gaming (BYD) & Dreamworks(DWA) on M&A chatter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For now, Trump won't sell originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)

This week's rumor round-up: Will Amazon overpay for Netflix? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at AG Edwards to reflect the strong April quarter results.
• Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia due to ongoing improvement in the locals business through revenue growth and cost reductions, expected benefits at Borgata from the summer season, and a new hotel tower at the property.
• OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at American Technology and to Buy from Neutral at Merriman to reflect the company's improved revenue and gross margin outlook.

• Universal Compression Partners (NASDAQ: UCLP) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at AG Edwards, as the firm believes the potential for additional asset acquisitions creates likely upside to estimates.
• UBS upgraded shares of Norsk Hydro (NYSE: NHY) to Buy from Neutral and shares of Lear (LEA) to Neutral from Reduce.
• Cowen upgraded VistaCare Inc. (NASDAQ: VSTA) to Outperform from Neutral and added shares to the firm's Focus List. Cowen believes the company's decision to review strategic alternatives will unlock value.
• Matrix USA upgraded shares of Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Sell from Strong Sell based on valuation.
• CHLM upgraded shares of 3D Systems Corp. (NASDAQ: TDSC) to Accumulate from Neutral.
• Cantor upgraded shares of NMS Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: NMSS) to Buy from Hold on potential restructuring benefits.

Analysts upgrades 6-1-07: Dell, WFMI, Boyd Gaming originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: MasterCard (MA), American Express (AXP), Boyd Gaming (BYD) and Overstock.com (OSTK) were the most notable companies on the initiation list today:

• Keefe Bruyette initiated MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA) with an Underperform and an $88 target, citing valuation, and American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP) with an Outperform rating and $72 target;
• Coverage of Boyd Gaming Inc. (NYSE:BYD) was resumed with a Buy rating and $67 target, as the firm believes the company's assets are undervalued and investors will look at Boyd as a potential candidate to go private;
• Overstock.com Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) was initiated with a Sell rating and $14 target at First Albany.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• BMO Capital initiated Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE:HOG) with a Market Perform and $70 target on valuation.
• Susquehanna initiated The Knot Inc. (NASDAQ:KNOT) with a Positive rating, citing the recent buyback and cash infusion; the firm says Knot has an opportunity to capitalize on the growing value of quality online content and favorable sector trends.
• Scientific Games Corp. (NASDAQ:SGMS) was initiated at Bear Sterns with a Peer Perform rating, citing valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst initiations 12-13-06: MasterCard and American Express originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Texas Instruments (TXN) was the only notable upgrade today:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) to Overweight from Neutral after the mid-quarter update, as they believe margins are bottoming.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Raymond James upgraded Applebee's International Inc. (NASDAQ:APPB) to Market Perform from Underperform.
• Buckingham Research upgraded Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE:BYD) to Accumulate from Neutral with a $55 target.
• Matrix USA upgraded PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM) to Hold from Sell based on increasing sales and valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst upgrades 12-12-06: TI upgraded to Overweight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Mastercard (MA), Boyd Gaming (BYD), McDonald's (MCD) and ElkCorp (ELK) top today's massive list of downgrades.

• Mastercard, Inc. (NYSE:MA) was downgraded by Underperform from Market Perform at Bernstein. The firm expects Mastercard to miss the consensus estimates for growth, revenues and EPS for the third quarter Wednesday. They believe this could be the start of many catalysts for the stock.
• Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE:BYD) was downgraded by CIBC to Sector Perform from Outperform due to limited near-term visibility in the Atlantic City market.
• McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) was taken off the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs, citing price appreciation.
• Finally, Soleil downgraded ElkCorp (NYSE:ELK) to Sell from Buy following the company's weak first quarter and guidance...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Bank of America downgraded Swift Transportation Co Inc. (NASDAQ:SWFT) to Sell from Neutral, citing weakening truckload fundamentals.
• Kaufman Bros downgraded Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVID) to Hold from Buy. The firm believes Avid is well positioned in the market, but feels it will take a few quarters for the company and investors to recognize revenues from the change-over to Intel (INTC) based Macs and the Vista platform (MSFT).
• Soliel downgraded PortalPlayer, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) to Hold from Buy, citing "muted " guidance.
• Citigroup downgraded Norfolk Southern, Corp. (NYSE:NSC) to Hold from Buy on valuation.
• Finally, Goldman Sachs downgraded YUM! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst downgrades 10-27-06: Mastercard, McDonald's downgraded originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.