The earnings season ramps up this week. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters foresee strong reports from such big names as Apple (AAPL), eBay (EBAY), IBM (IBM), General Electric (GE), Google (GOOG), Schlumberger (SLB) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). And fast on the heels of last week's big earnings beat from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), there will be plenty more results from the financial sector to peruse this week.

Among the financials expected to post double-digit earnings growth this week are Capital One Financial (COF), Morgan Stanley (MS), SLM Corp. (SLM) and U.S. Bancorp (USB), but the week's biggest earnings winner may be Wells Fargo (WFC).

Continue reading Week in Preview: Banks in the Earnings Spotlight

Week in Preview: Banks in the Earnings Spotlight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Macquarie upgraded Intel (INTC) to outperform from neutral and Advanced Micro (AMD) to neutral from underperform.
• Pfizer (PFE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Capstead Mortgage (CMO) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Halliburton (HAL) to outperform from perform.
• Gilead (GILD) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Skilled Healthcare (SKH) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Citigroup upgraded CapitalSource (CSE) to buy from hold.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMD, COL, EL, GILD, HAL, INTC, PFE, SLB, SPLS ...

Analyst Calls: AMD, COL, EL, GILD, HAL, INTC, PFE, SLB, SPLS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Citigroup assumed coverage of Boeing (BA) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold due to its positive view on the aerospace cycle and valuation. The firm raised its target for shares to $80 from $73.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Motorola (MOT) to Overweight from Underweight citing expectations for higher handset margins driven by Android. The analyst raised Android unit shipping estimates and earnings estimates. The firm raised its price target on shares to $9.75 from $8.75.
• Susquehanna upgraded SINA Corporation (SINA) to Positive from Neutral and has a $50 target on the stock. The firm said Sina'a Twitter like service called 'Sina Weibo' has seen exponential growth and will crate huge value for the company.
• AOL (AOL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital and to Buy from Hold at Hudson Square.
• Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, MOT, AOL, AMZN, JNPR, IBM, LMT, PCLN, MFE

Analyst Calls: BA, MOT, AOL, AMZN, JNPR, IBM, LMT, PCLN, MFE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Illinois Tool Works (ITW) to buy from hold, citing valuation and the company's strong revenue performance. The firm has a $60 price target for shares.
• Goldman upgraded PPD Inc. (PPDI) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $31 from $28. The firm expects strong top line growth and bookings momentum for the upgrade.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Insituform Technologies (INSU) to buy from hold based on higher estimates for sewer rehab and energy. The firm has a $31 target on the stock.
• Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Wisconsin Energy (WEC) and Northeast Utilities (NU) were upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Rockwell Collins (COL) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AON, AMED, C, GS, HEW, ITW, JPM, MS, PPDI, TLB, URBN ...

Analyst Calls: AON, AMED, C, GS, HEW, ITW, JPM, MS, PPDI, TLB, URBN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:40:00 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

• UBS upgraded CF Industries (CF) to neutral from sell. The firm cites valuation for the upgrade. In addition, UBS raised its price target on shares to $84 from $81.
• Baird upgraded Johnson Controls (JCI) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $42 from $33. The upgrade was based on improving margins, China growth, and upside from a cyclical recovery.
• Barrington upgraded G&K Services (GKSR) to outperform from market perform ahead of the company's Q3 results to reflect optimism regarding the company's operational turnaround. The firm set a $35 price target for shares.
• LaSalle Hotel (LHO) was upgraded to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital.
• Zimmer (ZMH) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Thermo Fisher (TMO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CF, JCI, BAX, NWL, UTL, NOK, VMW, ANF, DELL

Analyst Calls: CF, JCI, BAX, NWL, UTL, NOK, VMW, ANF, DELL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Communications to Cyber-Security: Four Favorites in Defense

Communications to Cyber-Security: Four Favorites in Defense originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Most investors spend a lot of time analyzing P/E ratios, PEG ratios, ROIC, ROE, gross margins, insider trading, and Beta.

But might the path to profits come instead from looking for companies that have wellness programs for their workers? The 2009/2010 North American Staying@Work Report: The Health and Productivity Advantage from Watson Wyatt Worldwide says yes.

Continue reading Invest in companies with healthy workers?

Invest in companies with healthy workers? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Jefferies upgraded MICROS Systems (NASDAQ:MCRS) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's cost cutting is running ahead of Street expectations. The firm raised its target on shares to $25 from $18.
  
• KeyBanc upgraded Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) to Buy from Hold. The analyst believes companies will beat EPS estimates given lower commodity costs, focus on cost controls, and reduced drag of inefficient, new restaurants on unit level margins. Additionally, they believe reduced mortgage payments from refinancing will incrementally help traffic.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded First Niagara (NASDAQ:FNFG) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following the company's Q1 results. The firm raised its target price to $15.
• American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) was upgraded to Sector Performer from Sector Underperformer at CIBC and to Neutral from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.
  
• Micron (NYSE:MU) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MCRS, MU, KFT, CAKE

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MCRS, MU, KFT, CAKE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) beat Q2 estimates, offered guidance, and announced a quarterly dividend.
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) profit tumbled as consumers stopped paying off credit cards.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) mixed Q2 results were boosted by international operations.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) reported strong Q2 numbers but shares still fell afterward.
• Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA) did not meet analysts' estimates but lifted its full-year outlook (see transcript).
• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) posted strong results that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) better-than-expected Q2 results lifted other tech stocks as well (see transcript).
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) posted better-than-expected Q2 results (see transcript).
• Lawson Software Inc. (NASDAQ: LWSN) net income fell due to an auction-rate securities related charge.
• Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) Q2 results topped expectations despite lower profits on weak demand for Barbie.
• Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) posted better-than-estimated Q2 earnings on strong sales growth.
• Overstock.com Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) fell nearly 30% after reporting earnings for the second quarter.
• Rockwell Collins Inc. (NYSE: COL) posted strong Q3 results due to long-term government contracts.
• Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) preliminary Q1 results sparked an after-market rally.
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) beat low earnings expectations and also raised its quarterly dividend.
• Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) beat Q2 expectations due in part to strength overseas, but shares fell.

For more highlights from this week, see: Citigroup, eBay, IBM, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft and others

The earnings crunch continues next week. Among companies scheduled to report are Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Texas Intruments (NYSE: TXN), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Wachovia (NYSE: WB), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Hershey (NYSE: HSY), and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: Google, Intel, JPMorgan, Coca-Cola, Nokia and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rockwell Collins (COL) flying high originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Lehman upgraded Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI), Fairchild Semi (NYSE: FCS), and Intersil Corp (NASDAQ: ISIL) to Overweight from Equal Weight. The firm believes Analog semis have one of the most attractive risk/reward profiles in technology and expects the group to outperform in 2008.
  
• B. Riley raised Hill International (NYSE: HIL) to Buy from Neutral following the company's Q4 results which they believe continued to reflect strong growth across both segments of the business.
  
• ThinkEquity upgraded Varian Semi (NASDAQ: VSEA) to Accumulate from Source of Funds citing valuation and expectations that the company will end up with over 70% of the overall implant market past 2008. The firm adds that scale and pricing power should drive upside to margins.

• Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS) was raised to Buy from Hold at Soleil.
• JP Morgan upgraded Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) to Overweight from Neutral.
  
• UBS upgraded Cigna (NYSE: CI) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: CI, Analog semiconductors, HIL and VSEA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.