Analyst Upgrades

• Heico (HEI) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Eaton (ETN), Silgan Holdings (SLGN), MYR Group (MYRG) and Shaw Group (SHAW) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Infosys (INFY) to buy from Neutral at Nomura.
• Isle of Capri (ISLE) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• NovaGold (NG) to sector perform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• CarMax (KMX) and Rockwell Collins (COL) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• DHT Holdings (DHT) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) to overweight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CB, COL, ETN, FCX, FRO, INFY, KMX, NAT, SHAW, SON ...

Analyst Calls: CB, COL, ETN, FCX, FRO, INFY, KMX, NAT, SHAW, SON ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Procter & Gamble (PG) upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Capital One (COF) upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Airgas (ARG) upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Broadcom (BRCM) upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Lululemon (LULU) upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• DryShips (DRYS) upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AVB, BRCM, COF, DRYS, IFF, LULU, NSM, OII, OSG, PG ...

Analyst Calls: AVB, BRCM, COF, DRYS, IFF, LULU, NSM, OII, OSG, PG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• BB&T (BBT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Amylin (AMLN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Morton's Restaurant (MRT) to outperform from market perform.
• Check Point (CHKP) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Excel Maritime (EXM) to buy from hold.
• JinkoSolar (JKS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Compellent (CML) to overweight from neutral.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Crane (CR) to buy from neutral.
• Goldman upgraded Wisconsin Energy (WEC) to conviction buy from buy and American Electric (AEP) to buy from neutral.
• Motorola (MOT) was upgraded due to increasing carrier support by MKM Partners.
• Under Armour (UA) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Sterne Agee.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANF, BBT, COH, GPS, JCG, KKR, MOT, OSG, UA, UBS, WEC ...

Analyst Calls: ANF, BBT, COH, GPS, JCG, KKR, MOT, OSG, UA, UBS, WEC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Credit Suisse upgraded Netflix (NFLX) to neutral from underperform and raised its price target to $140 from $90. The firm's survey work indicates Netflix's streaming offering is compelling and will continue to grow as it acquires additional streaming content.
• Barclays upgraded Ford (F) to overweight from equal weight, citing the company's earnings power, reduced cost base, expectations for a return to prior peak margins and valuation. The firm raised its target to $16 from $15.
• Merriman upgraded OpenTable (OPEN) to buy from neutral based on increased visibility into international expansion from the toptable.com acquisition and upside from its Spotlight product.
• Siemens (SI) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Medicis (MRX) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• IDEX (IEX) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BT, BWA, COG, F, GD, HRS, LMT, MRK, NFLX, NOC, OPEN, SI ...

Analyst Calls: BT, BWA, COG, F, GD, HRS, LMT, MRK, NFLX, NOC, OPEN, SI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue, sending shares higher.
• Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) reported better-than-expected Q3 numbers, sending shares higher.
• Bare Escentuals Inc. (NASDAQ: BARE) Q3 profit easily topped analysts' estimates, and shares surged.
• Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG) received an upgrade following the release of its Q3 numbers.
• Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) reported strong Q1 results, sending shares higher.
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) reported a smaller-than-expected net loss for Q3.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) Q3 earnings topped estimates and revenue was up sequentially.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Aetna, Allergan, E*Trade, Goodyear, RadioShack, SAP, Visa ...

Earnings highlights: Aetna, Allergan, E*Trade, Goodyear, RadioShack, SAP, Visa ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, which believes Verizon wireline margins troughed in Q3 and that Street estimates have been reset to more achievable levels.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital, which believes the company is gaining analog market share and shares are attractively valued at current levels. The firm maintains a $31 price target.
• Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm believes this year's run-up in the stock was primarily due to the company's spin-off of MSG, but the firm believes the stock can rise further based on fundamentals.
• Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan following the company's Q3 results due to valuation and its above-average growth. The firm raised its target to $51.50 from $47.
• RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) was upgraded to Hold from Underweight at KeyBanc, which said that its recovering sales trends were encouraging.
• Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush as it believes the divestiture of its Asian business coupled with growth in its Fly.com unit will drive 2010 growth. The firm raised its target to $17 from $13.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DRI, INTC, PALM, RSH, TXN, VZ ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DRI, INTC, PALM, RSH, TXN, VZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Collins Stewart upgraded General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) to Buy from Hold as it finds the valuation compelling at current levels and sees potential upside from a better economy and better-than-expected defense budgets.
• SunTrust views the sell-off in shares of Cabot Oil (NYSE: COG) as a buying opportunity and expects the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection order to be resolved quickly. The firm upgraded Cabot to Buy from Neutral.
• Barclays upgraded Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on expectations for improved carrier demand, continued U.S. momentum, and an improved Europe.
• Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL) was upgraded to Gradually Accumulate from Hold at Soleil.
• Grupo Televisa (NYSE: TV) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMAT, CSCO, GD, HOT, LIZ, RBS ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMAT, CSCO, GD, HOT, LIZ, RBS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Neutral after the close Monday. The firm believes Motorola's devices segment will approach breakeven in 2010 while operating margins in nonhandset segments will expand, and that a break-up story will reemerge. Credit Suisse raised its target on shares to $9.50 from $7.
• UBS upgraded BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) to Buy from Neutral. The firm cites BHP's leverage to iron ore, coking coal, copper, and oil for its upgrade after raising its commodity price forecasts.
• Merriman upgraded Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect higher met coal price forecasts. The firm believes Chinese demand is strong and has a target range of $66-$72 on the stock.
• Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Coach (NYSE: COH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AIG, COH, LMT, MOT, MVL, NOK, RTN ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AIG, COH, LMT, MOT, MVL, NOK, RTN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Among all the negative economic data that came out last week was a positive surprise: retail sales were higher in January. A fluke or a glimmer at the end of the tunnel? That may depend on whether we see any positive surprises arising from items on this week's economic calendar:

• Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference: Monday through Friday
• NY Empire Manufacturing Index (Feb. 2009): Tuesday, 8:30 AM
• NAHB Housing Market Index (Feb. 2009): Tuesday, 1:00 PM
• Fed's Bullard speaks before National Association of Business Economists: Tuesday, 1:00 PM
• Housing starts (Jan. 2009): Wednesday, 8:30 AM
• Fed's Pianalto speaks before Commercial Developers Power Breakfast: Wednesday, 9:00 AM
• Industrial production (Jan. 2009): Wednesday, 9:15 AM
• Fed's Bernanke speaks before National Press Club Luncheon: Wednesday, 12:30 PM

Continue reading The week in preview: A glimmer at the end of the tunnel?

The week in preview: A glimmer at the end of the tunnel? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded IberiaBank (NASDAQ: IBKC) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's capital raise, which the firm believes strengthens IberiaBank's balance sheet. Baird upgraded IberiaBank to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation following weakness related to the $100M capital raise.
  
• Pali upgraded shares of Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) to Neutral from Sell on valuation as they believe the company's comp slowdown is largely priced in at current levels.
  
• Morgan Keegan upgraded Casey's General Store (NASDAQ: CASY) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation, healthy SSS, and easing comps.
• Cabot OIl & Gas (NYSE: COG) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) were added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
  
• CIBC lifted Manulife (NYSE: MFC) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.

• Goldman downgraded Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) to Sell from Neutral based on expectations for reduced capex spending by mining and oil & gas companies and the impact from the credit crunch.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded auto companies and suppliers as they believe the failed government bailout increases risks. Ford (NYSE: F), American Axle (NYSE: AXL), Magna International (NYSE: MGA) and Lear (NYSE: LEA) were downgraded to Sell from Hold.
  
• SAP (NYSE: SAP) was cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies to reflect the "deteriorating" corporate IT spend environment.
• Waters (NYSE: WAT) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Agilent (NYSE: A) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays; the firm also downgraded Varian (NASDAQ: VARI) to Underweight from Equal Weight.

• Jefferies believes Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB) is well positioned to benefit from the increasing need for reservoir optimization services. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $70 target.
  
• Deutsche Bank initiated Capital One (NYSE: COF) with a Sell rating and $24 target, citing the difficult economic environment and the potential for higher credit losses.
  
• Soleil started Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) with a Buy rating and $10 target and expects the company's military business to remain strong through 2010.
• On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) was assumed with a Neutral rating and $3.80 target at UBS.
  
• Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was initiated at Oppenheimer with a Perform rating.
• Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) was started with a Neutral rating at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: URBN, ACAS, CAT, F, A, COF ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Institutions are flooding the nat gas futures

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Institutions are flooding the nat gas futures originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Look to Cabot, Nucor if/when oil bubble pops

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Look to Cabot, Nucor if/when oil bubble pops originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia downgraded shares of WebEx Communications Inc (NASDAQ: WEBX) to Market Perform from Outperform to reflect the company's pending acquisition by Cisco Systems (CSCO).
• Bank of America cut Avaya Inc (NYSE: AV) to Neutral from Buy with a $13 target after taking in account the company's acquisition of Ubiquity Software Corp Plc. The firm believes sales may miss consensus for the next few quarters, while gross operating margins could disappoint.
• CIBC downgraded Tractor Supply Co (NASDAQ: TSCO) to Sector Performer from Sector Outperformer. The firm sees some moderate upside for shares of TSCO but says it will be incrementally more difficult to achieve without a major fundamental driver in the near-term.
• WestLB AG downgraded shares of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to Reduce from Hold.
• Mattel Inc (NYSE: MAT) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital on valuation.

• First Albany downgraded Cerner Corp (NASDAQ: CERN) to Neutral from Buy.
• Keefe Bruyette downgraded A.G. Edwards, Inc (NYSE: AGE) to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation.
• Rodman & Renshaw downgraded shares of Genentech, Inc (NYSE: DNA) to Market Perform from Outperform citing a slowdown in near-term growth and valuation that reflects most of its future growth.
• BMO Capital cut both Anadarko Petroleum Corp (NYSE: APC) and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE: COG) to Underperform from Market Perform.

Analyst downgrades 4-12-07: AV, DNA, NOK and MAT downgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.