MOST NOTEWORTHY: Bioenvision (BIVN), Archstone-Smith Trust (ASN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) were today's noteworthy downgrades:
- Rodman & Renshaw downgraded Bioenvision to Market Perform from Outperform, as the firm expects the majority of shareholders to vote in favor of Genzyme Corp.'s (NASDAQ: GENZ) acquisition, but does not believe the transaction price reflects the true value of the company.
- Bioenvision Inc. (NASDAQ: BIVN) was also downgraded at UBS to Neutral from Buy due to the acquisition.
- Archstone-Smith Trust (NYSE: ASN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel Nicolaus, to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia and to Market Perform from Outperform at Friedman Billings following the acquisition by Tishman Speyer and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH).
- GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Merrill Lynch to reflect an unattractive risk/reward profile as they believe Avandia sales will be negatively impacted by the safety concerns raised in the New England Journal of Medicine.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Clayton Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CLAY) was downgraded to Market Outperform from Strong Buy at JMP Securities, as the firm believes a 2H07 recovery in the subprime MBS market is becoming less visible.
- CDW Corp (NASDAQ: CDWC) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns following the acquisition by Madison Dearborn Partners.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).