Analyst Upgrades

• Bristol-Myers (BMY) to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• Pep Boys (PBY) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Tesla Motors (TSLA) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Emerson (EMR) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• ARM Holdings (ARMH) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• NetLogic (NETL) and Cavium Networks (CAVM) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Aimco (AIV) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Ceragon Networks (CRNT) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BMY, CAG, CAVM, CEPH, OPEN, PBY, SOL, TSLA, WDC ...

Analyst Calls: BMY, CAG, CAVM, CEPH, OPEN, PBY, SOL, TSLA, WDC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Micron (MU) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Baker Hughes (BHI) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• PDL BioPharma (PDLI) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Fluor (FLR) and Rush Enterprises (RUSHA) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Camden Property (CPT) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• Hologic (HOLX) and Illumina (ILMN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• F5 Networks (FFIV) to buy from neutral at Gleacher.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALTR, BHI, CL, CLX, FFIV, GS, HCBK, LLTC, PG, STT, TYC ...

Analyst Calls: ALTR, BHI, CL, CLX, FFIV, GS, HCBK, LLTC, PG, STT, TYC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Google (GOOG) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
• Nike (NKE) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Apollo Group (APOL) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• JDSU (JDSU) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• NetApp (NTAP) to overweight from equal weight and Verigy (VRGY) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• RSC Holdings (RRR) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Exelon (EXC) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Aon (AON) and Willis Group (WSH) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• BMC Software (BMC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AON, APOL, EXC, GOOG, NKE, NTAP, RIMM, UA, VRGY ...

Analyst Calls: AON, APOL, EXC, GOOG, NKE, NTAP, RIMM, UA, VRGY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded Western Digital (WDC) to overweight from equal weight.
• LDK Solar (LDK) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• Legg Mason (LM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Agilent (A) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Dean Foods (DF) to outperform from market perform and Developers Diversified (DDR) to market perform from underperform.
• Deutsche Bank also upgraded Developers Diversified, to buy from hold.
• Northrop Grumman (NOC) was upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman.
• MYR Group (MYRG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: A, CQB, DDR, DF, LDK, NOC, RIMM, S, STRA, TTM, WDC ...

Analyst Calls: A, CQB, DDR, DF, LDK, NOC, RIMM, S, STRA, TTM, WDC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Baxter (BAX) to buy from hold on expectations the company will benefit from supply disruptions at privately-held plasma manufacturer Octapharma. The firm raised its price target for shares to $56 from $45.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Dolby (DLB) to buy from hold, citing valuation following the recent underperformance of shares. The firm upped its price target to $75 from $70.
• Bernstein upgraded Alexion (ALXN) to outperform from market perform based on increased Soliris forecasts for PNH and potential in aHUS. The firm also raised its price target to $75 from $60.
• Agrium (AGU) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Roche (RHHBY) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• BMO Capital upgraded Energizer (ENR) to outperform from market perform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADBE, AXP, BAX, COST, DLB, FDX, HOT, NOK, NVS, TWX ...

Analyst Calls: ADBE, AXP, BAX, COST, DLB, FDX, HOT, NOK, NVS, TWX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• BMO Capital upgraded Noble Energy (NE) to outperform from market perform and raised its target to $85 from $78. The firm upgraded Noble based on Niobrara field potential and record-breaking reserve potential at the Leviathan prospect.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Raytheon (RTN) to outperform from market perform based on relative valuation, strong balance sheet and International sales exposure.
• ThinkEquity upgraded Cerner (CERN) to buy from hold based on valuation and EMR momentum. The firm raised its price target on shares to $86 from $80.
• Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) was upgraded to buy from hold at Societe Generale.
• Cavium Networks (CAVM) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• CSG Systems (CSGS) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AZO, CERN, CIS, INTC, LMT, LULU, NE, RTN, SNY, TXN ...

Analyst Calls: AZO, CERN, CIS, INTC, LMT, LULU, NE, RTN, SNY, TXN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Smurfit-Stone (SSCC) to buy from hold after raising its estimates for containerboard names and upped its target for shares to $28 from $22. The firm also raised its price target for International Paper (IP) to $38 from $32, for Packaging Corp. (PKG) to $33 from $28, for Temple-Inland (TIN) to $31 from $28, for Greif (GEF) to $67 from $65, and for Rock-Tenn (RKT) to $70 from $65. All stocks are buy rated.
• ThinkEquity upgraded VMware (VMW) to buy from hold and has a $90 price target on the stock. The firm expects VMware to benefit from increased virtual infrastructure adoption and improving vSphere solutions.
• Needham upgraded Cavium Networks (CAVM) to strong buy from buy, citing the recent pullback in shares following Cisco's (CSCO) cautious commentary. The firm has a $37 target on the stock.
• Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• MedAssets (MDAS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Brookfield Properties (BPO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMGN, CAVM, COCO, GENZ, GILD, ICE, PWRD, SSCC, VMW ...

Analyst Calls: AMGN, CAVM, COCO, GENZ, GILD, ICE, PWRD, SSCC, VMW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Citigroup (C) to outperform from perform, citing an attractive valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm has a $4.58 price target for the stock.
• Macquarie upgraded Transocean (RIG) to to outperform from neutral and has price target of $85 on the stock. The firm believes bad news is already priced into shares.
• JPMorgan upgraded U.S. Bancorp (USB) to overweight from neutral, citing the recent pullback in shares and a lower impact from the financial reform bill. The firm has a $31.50 price target for the stock.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Health Net (HNT) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Vale (VALE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, C, CLDT, DNB, DWA, JCG, MGM, RIG, SLRY, USB, WDR ...

Analyst Calls: BA, C, CLDT, DNB, DWA, JCG, MGM, RIG, SLRY, USB, WDR ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 May 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Boeing (BA) to outperform from market perform. The firm is more confident about the company's earnings growth going forward.
• Oppenheimer upgraded H&R Block (HRB) to outperform from perform on expectations the company will improve performance in 2011. The firm has a $22 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded SunTrust (STI) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and expectations the company's credit will improve. The firm raised its target for shares to $34 from $29.
• Children's Place (PLCE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Taubman Centers (TCO) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Cavium Networks (CAVM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, HRB, STI, NDAQ, AIG, CHH, ORCL, HCN, COL, MLM

Analyst Calls: BA, HRB, STI, NDAQ, AIG, CHH, ORCL, HCN, COL, MLM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Scotia Capital upgraded Apple (AAPL) to outperform from sector perform, citing valuation, potential increased iPhone distribution and iPad upside. The firm's two-year price target is $325.
• UBS upgraded Parker-Hannifin (PH) to neutral from sell following the company's better-than-expected Q3 report.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Arkansas Best (ABFS) to neutral from underweight after the Teamsters union announced a tentative agreement with the company. The firm has a $33 price target for shares.
• Harley-Davidson (HOG) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Raymond James.
• Allegheny Tech (ATI) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Manhattan Associates (MANH) was upgraded to buy from hold at Benchmark.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AAPL, ABFS, BIIB, EXC, HOG, PH, RIG, UTH, VITC ...

Analyst Calls: AAPL, ABFS, BIIB, EXC, HOG, PH, RIG, UTH, VITC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• JMP Securities views Yahoo!'s (YHOO) risk-reward as compelling, especially as cyclical and secular growth of online advertising improves. The firm upgraded shares to outperform from market perform and has a $21 target.
• FBR Capital upgraded PNC Financial (PNC) to outperform from market perform, citing an attractive valuation and better risk profile following the company's capital raise. The firm raised its target price on shares to $65 fro $55.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded SEI Investments (SEIC) to buy from neutral on expectations the company's revenues will accelerate in 2011. The firm has a $28 price target on shares.
• Research in Motion (RIMM) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Cisco (CSCO) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Macy's (M) was upgraded to buy from hold at Soleil.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMTD, CSCO, M, PALM, PNC, RIMM, YHOO ...

Analyst Calls: AMTD, CSCO, M, PALM, PNC, RIMM, YHOO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Sterne Agee upgraded American Public Education (APEI) to buy from neutral following the Q4 report and guidance. The firm has a $50 target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Lamar Advertising (LAMR) to hold from underperform citing valuation and the improved ad market. The firm raised its target $30 from $22.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Wilmington Trust (WL) to neutral from sell following the company's $250M stock offering and raised its target price on shares to $13 from $10.
• AeroVironment (AVAV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.
• Scripps Networks (SNI) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• TheKnot (KNOT) was raised to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.

Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: APEI, CPB, FSLR, GLW, KFT, PALM ...

Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: APEI, CPB, FSLR, GLW, KFT, PALM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Cemex (NYSE: CX) to Buy from Hold on decreased dilution risk following the company's successful refinancing and raised its target on shares to $15 from $11.20.
• Rochdale upgraded Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $65. The firm is positive on Wal-Mart's defensive characteristics, cyclical upside, and competitive position.
• JPMorgan upgraded Gartner Group (NYSE: IT) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect stabilization in IT industry spending and the stock's attractive valuation. The firm has a $23 price target on the stock.
• Cavium Networks (NASDAQ: CAVM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Borg-Warner (NYSE: BWA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Nanometrics (NASDAQ: NANO) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BJ, CX, MRK, VLKAY, WMT ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BJ, CX, MRK, VLKAY, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Abbott Lab (NYSE: ABT) to Hold from Sell on valuation following the stock's recent underperformance. The firm maintains a $48 price target.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) and Dr. Pepper Snapple (NYSE: DPS) to Buy from Hold as they believe carbonated soft drinks market is showing signs of stabilization. The firm raised its price target on Pepsi Bottling to $28 from $25 and on Dr. Pepper Snapple to $22 from $20.
  
• Baird upgraded CommScope (NYSE: CTV) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $19 from $10 as they expect fundamentals to bottom in Q1 and ramp strongly in Q2 as wireless capex outlook improves.
• Sinopec Shanghai (NYSE: SHI) was raised to Buy from Sell at Goldman.
  
• TRW Automotive (NYSE: TRW) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Underweight.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ABT, DPS, BDK, AMZN, GS ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ABT, DPS, BDK, AMZN, GS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Sean Udall.

Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) reports tonight and it is getting hit due to the poor report from Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM). QCOM lowered guidance quite a bit -- in fact, enough that I likely may not have to worry much about QCOM for the next couple quarters. Low $30's would present solid value.

Getting back to BRCM, I still feel it is one of the few must own chip names. I think it has enough innovation and diversification to avoid the 35-40% sequential reductions I am seeing from many in the chip space. However, I also think a lowering of the bar is priced into BRCM's shares and anything less than a disaster should keep the stock above $16.50 (assuming we avoid another shock down to the whole market). Anything around that level ($16.50) and lower would have me adding the shares. I've taken gains recently in trading shares and am hoping to add BRCM back on just a bit more weakness.

Continue reading Chipmaker earnings and other top tech news

Chipmaker earnings and other top tech news originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Hold from Underperform on valuation. The stock has gone down 40% since they initiated coverage on September 19. The firm maintains a $29 target.
  
• Citigroup upgraded EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG), Quicksilver (NYSE: KWK) and Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN) to Buy from Hold on their belief U.S. natural gas-focused E&P companies have near-term upside.
  
• Barclays upgraded Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) to Equal Weight from Underweight citing the $425M private equity investment, which reduces liquidity risk, and its reduced cost structure.
• Brandywine Realty (NYSE: BDN) and AvalonBay (NYSE: AVB) were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Merrill Lynch.
  
• tw telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  
• AmeriCredit (NYSE: ACF) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.

• Jefferies downgraded Macquarie Infrastructure (NYSE: MIC) to Hold from Buy to reflect the company's sensitivity to the economic slowdown and funding risk. The firm lowered their target to $9 from $40 after the company announced a dividend reduction.
  
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was cut to Sell from Neutral at UBS due to the company's exposure to potential generic competition and a lack of new products.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded Cleveland Cliffs (NYSE: CLF) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered their target to $42 from $50 to reflect the risk of further production cuts.
• Credit Suisse lowered Acme Packet (NASDAQ: APKT) to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• Delta Petroleum (NASDAQ: DPTR) was downgraded at Deutsche Bank to Sell from Hold.
  
• Siemens (NYSE: SI) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at UBS.

• Goldman initiated Bristol-Myers (NYSE: BMY) with a Buy rating and $27 target as they believe it is making progress in becoming a mid-sized specialty biopharmaceutical company. The firm expects the company to be active in M&A and to spin-off or divest its slow-growth or fast-growing assets, such as virology and oncology.
  
• Goldman believes Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) needs a "radical transformation" and restructuring that includes a break up, spin and merger in order to outperform over the next several years. Shares were assumed with a Sell rating and $19 target.
  
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $65 target at Banc of America. The firm prefers to be on the sidelines given uncertainties surrounding 2009 revenue growth and the potential for negative rhetoric out of Washington on pharma costs.
• Acorda (NASDAQ: ACOR) was started at RBC Capital with an Outperform rating and $30 target.
  
• Cavium Networks (NASDAQ: CAVM) and NetLogic (NASDAQ: NETL) were initiated with Neutral ratings at Cowen.
  
• Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW) was assumed with a Buy rating and $61 target at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANF, WFMI, MIC, SNY, BMY, PFE, JNJ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Sean Udall.

Emerging strength in networking stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Friedman Billings believes Spirit Aerosystems (NYSE: SPR) is well-positioned on key aircraft platforms and has significant revenue visibility. The firm started shares with an Outperform rating and $33 target.
  
• Baird is positive on Genpact's (NYSE: G) recurring, non-discretionary revenue, strong growth in Global Client revenue, market leading position; shares were assumed with an Outperform rating and $16 target.
  
• SEI Investments (NASDAQ: SEIC) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and $27 target at Keefe Bruyette, as they are cautious in the near-term due to industry headwinds.

• Merrill Lynch initiated Sirius Satellite (NASDAQ: SIRI) with a Sell rating.
  
• Lehman started Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) with an Overweight rating and $52 target.
  
• Oppenheimer initiated Cavium Networks (NASDAQ: CAVM) with a Perform rating.

Analyst initiations: SPR, G and SEIC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bears Stearns upgraded shares of Chevron (NYSE:CVX) to Outperform from Peer Perform after raising their oil price assumption for 2008 to $75 per barrel from $60 per barrel. They believe CVX should benefit from stronger earnings.
  
• AXA (NYSE:AXA) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse, as they believe positive Q4 sales results will ease concerns on the impact of the economic slowdown.
  
• Friedman Billings raised its rating on Emageon (NASDAQ:EMAG) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and the belief that the Q4 EPS turnaround is on track.

• Punk, Ziegel upgraded Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) and Key Corp (NYSE:KEY) to Market Perform from Sell.
  
• Lehman upgraded CaviumNetworks (NASDAQ:CAVM) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• StatoilHydro (NYSE:STO) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at ING.

Analyst upgrades: CVX, AXA and EMAG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Cavium Networks was initiated with a Strong Buy rating and $25 target at JMP Securities. The firm's checks indicate significant momentum for Cavium's products and cites good visibility. Cavium was also initiated with a Market Weight rating at Thomas Weisel, which finds shares fairly-valued at current levels, with a Buy rating and $25 target at Needham, with an Equal Weight rating and $22 target at Lehman Brothers, with an Equal Weight rating at Morgan Stanley and with a Buy rating and $26 target at Deutsche Bank, which expects over 50% revenue growth from 2006-2009 due to the growth in the company's network processor product line.
• TravelCenters of America was initiated with a Buy rating and $54 target at Ferris Baker Watts and with a Buy rating and $70 target at BWS Financial, as the firm is positive on TA's earnings power and valuation.
• Citigroup initiated shares of MetroPCS with a Buy rating and $40 target. The firm believes the company's coupled with deepening penetration in its core markets should produce revenue and FCF growth that exceeds the maturing industry average.

• IntercontinentalExchange Inc (NYSE: ICE) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Credit Suisse.
• Janco initiated shares of Foundry Networks Inc (NASDAQ: FDRY) with a Buy rating and $19.50 target, as the firm believes the company's new products put it in a position to gain market share.
• CIBC World Markets initiated shares of Accuray Incorporated (NASDAQ: ARAY) with a Sector Underperformer rating and $19 target.

Analyst initiations 6-11-07: CAVM; TA and PCS originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.