Analyst Upgrades

• Red Hat (RHT) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Cogdell Spencer (CSA) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Micron (MU) to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• El Paso Electric (EE) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• MICROS Systems (MCRS) and Harmony Gold (HMY) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Verso Paper (VRS) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Sony (SNE) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Noble Corp. (NE) and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Tyson Foods (TSN) and Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BAC, BHI, KKR, MU, NE, RHT, SNE, TSN, WMT ...

Analyst Calls: BAC, BHI, KKR, MU, NE, RHT, SNE, TSN, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) to Buy from Neutral on expectations business in the U.S. and China will improve in the second half of 2009. Goldman raised its target price on shares to $40 from $36.
• Canaccord upgraded Exco Resources (NYSE: XCO) to Buy from Speculative Buy citing the company's financial transactions to reduce debt. The firm, which has a $17 target on the stock, says Exco now has a stronger balance sheet, a greater geographic focus, and the ability to expedite drilling programs.
• ThinkEquity upgraded Shanda (NASDAQ: SNDA) to Accumulate from Source of Funds and raised its target to $60 from $50. The firm believes recent weakness on regulatory concerns is overdone and that Q2 estimates are conservative.
• Mack-Cali Realty (NYSE: CLI) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: HOT, MVL, NDAQ, PALM, YUM ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: HOT, MVL, NDAQ, PALM, YUM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Forbes/Slatin Real Estate Report, edited by industry expert Peter Slatin, is a professional-level newsletter geared to the more sophisticated real estate investor.

Along with his own insights and advice on investment opportunities in the sector, one feature of the service is its monthly interviews with REIT-sector equity analysts. Below, I share some highlights from Slatin's interview with Jordan Sadler of KeyBanc Capital, who discusses some of his current favorite ideas among REITs.

FORBES/SLATIN: KeyBanc is focused on the U.S. What are you seeing here?

SADLER: My view, initiated last October, was a cautious outlook overall. The recent M&A squeezed shares. We continue to feel that way. REITs are trading at a level where it's hard to justify incremental investment across the space, although you can be tactical with names that are more attractive.

FORBES/SLATIN: In your universe of tactical moves, what stands out?

SADLER: Our top pick was Digital Realty Trust (NYSE: DLR), and it continues to be. It has fundamental drivers that are significantly differentiated from most of their REIT brethren. That, in theory, should be able to generate excess profit until competition gets hip, which seems to be slowly happening. For their type of building, there is limited supply, and a ton of demand, from financial services, Internet and enterprise companies and channel users.

Continue reading The right REITs

The right REITs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 May 2007 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.