Analyst Upgrades

• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Trinity Industries (TRN) to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Cameron (CAM) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Expedia (EXPE) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Micron (MU) to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANF, CAM, CLX, EXPE, GME, MU, NAV, NOK, WMT ...

Analyst Calls: ANF, CAM, CLX, EXPE, GME, MU, NAV, NOK, WMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Aetna (AET) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Kellogg (K) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• PetSmart (PETM) to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• NetApp (NTAP) and Scripps Networks (SNI) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Thoratec (THOR) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• ArcelorMittal (MT) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Bristol-Myers (BMY) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Eaton Vance (EV) to neutral from sell at Ticonderoga.
• Adtran (ADTN) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AET, BMY, DVN, GLW, K, MRK, MT, PETM, SPLS, WY ...

Analyst Calls: AET, BMY, DVN, GLW, K, MRK, MT, PETM, SPLS, WY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Walgreen (WAG) and Triumph Group (TGI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Focus Media (FMCN) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Home Depot (HD) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Arbitron (ARB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Waddell & Reed (WDR) and Legg Mason (LM) to overweight from equal weight, and Janus Capital (JNS) to overweight from underweight, at Barclays.
• Central Euro Media (CETV) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• GenOn Energy (GEN) and Ntelos (NTLS) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cooper Tire (CTB) to buy from neutral and Goodyear Tire (GT) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AOL, FMCN, GT, HD, JNJ, JNS, LOW, QCOM, RY, UA, WAG ...

Analyst Calls: AOL, FMCN, GT, HD, JNJ, JNS, LOW, QCOM, RY, UA, WAG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Good news is coming in for the builders of heavy trucks, such as Paccar (PCAR), and for truck parts manufacturers, including Eaton (ETN). An aging national truck fleet, coupled with rebounding interstate freight volumes, signal that 2011 is shaping up to be a strong year for heavy trucks and the investors who play them.

A report from Bloomberg Businessweek reveals that manufacturing totals for heavy trucks could jump to as many as 235,000 units in North America for 2011. This compares to a total of approximately 150,000 units for 2010.

Continue reading Conditions Likely to Improve for Truck and Parts Makers

Conditions Likely to Improve for Truck and Parts Makers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) earnings prospects may suffer if holiday sales are poor.
• Circuit City Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: CC) disappointing results were followed by a restructuring announcement.
• Conexant Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CNXT) raised its guidance, send shares up sharply.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ) posted a Q2 loss due in part to restructuring Australian operations.
• Con-Way Inc. (NYSE: CNW) reduced Q3 guidance resulted in an analyst downgrade.
• Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings, sending shares higher.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) Q3 earnings prospects led to an analyst's upgrade.
• International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) fell on rumors it would miss earnings estimates.
• Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Q3 profits fell and it warned of challenges through 2009.
• Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) fell short of expectations and warned of a production slowdown.
• Nabors Industrial Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) warning about earnings led shares near a new low.
• Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. (NYSE: PBG) beat Q3 expectations despite struggling with economic woes.
• Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) earnings prospects led to an analyst's downgrade.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) said it expects to return to profitability after four straight quarterly losses.
• Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Q4 earnings fell short of expectations, though sales increased.

Also, Jim Cramer reminds us that earnings still matter. Changing accounting rules may affect the earnings of big banks.

Upcoming quarterly reports include Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY), Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Monsanto Co. (NASDAQ: MON), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: Circuit City, Marriott, Walgreen, Pepsi Bottling, UBS and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FedEx cuts fuel surcharge 25% amid soaring energy prices originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Piper Jaffray upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $65 target to reflect valuation, improved fundamentals and hidden value in real estate.
• Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) was added to American Technology's Focus List with a $145 target.
• Cowen upgraded shares of DirecTV Group, Inc (NYSE: DTV) and EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) to Neutral from Underperform citing potential cash flow growth and re-capitalization opportunities that will offset competitive risks in the near-term.

• Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens citing a tonnage rebound at the company.
• Bear Stearns transferred coverage and raised its rating of Netease.com, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing valuation.
• Bernstein upgraded its Cardiac Rhythm Management group, which contained Boston Scientific Corp (NYSE: BSX), Medtronic, Inc (NYSE: MDT) and St. Jude Medical, Inc (NYSE: STJ), to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm cited anticipated recovery of the ICD market and easier comps for 2007 and expects the U.S. ICD market to have 10% growth compared to last year's negative growth.
• JP Morgan upgraded Borland Software Corp (NASDAQ: BORL) to Overweight from Underweight, as the firm expects the company to achieve margin targets and named Borland its turnaround pick for 2007.

Analyst upgrades 4-17-07: AAPL, BSX, CNW and COST upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• UBS upgraded Brinker International Inc (NYSE: EAT) to Buy from Neutral with a $38 target, citing valuation following the recent sell-off.

• National Semiconductor Corp (NYSE: NSM) was upgraded to Accumulate from Source of Funds with a $28 target at ThinkEquity, following the company's Q3 report and guidance.

• Three transportation companies were upgraded at Stifel: Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW), FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) and Universal Truckload Services Inc (NASDAQ: UACL) were upgraded to Buy from Hold to reflect attractive valuations.

• Credit Suisse upgraded Office Depot, Inc (NYSE: ODP) to Outperform from Neutral.

• JMP Securities upgraded Texas Instruments Inc (NYSE: TXN) to Market Outperform from Market Perform ahead of the mid-quarter upgrade. Texas Instruments was also upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel.

• Calyon Securities upgraded Halliburton Co (NASDAQ: HAL) to Add from Neutral on valuation.

• Bernstein upgraded Charles Schwab Corp (NASDAQ: SCHW) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• BMO Capital Markets upgraded Cognos Inc (NASDAQ: COGN) to Outperform from Market Perform. BMO believes Cognos will receive additional business due to Oracle Corp's (NASDAQ: ORCL) acquisition of Hyperion Solutions Corp (NASDAQ: HYSL) and also see a greater chance that Cognos itself could be acquired.

• Cowen upgraded King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG) to Neutral from Underperform citing Skelaxin's new label approval, which likely delays a generic.

Analyst upgrades 3-09-07: National Semi, FedEx, Halliburton all upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Prudential started YRC Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW) with an Underweight rating and $41 target. The firm said recent organizational changes could be a distraction in what it expects to be a challenging first-half of 2007.

• Susquehanna views Baidu.com Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) as a strategic holding in its China portfolio and expects the company's massive brand value to drive continuous growth; shares were initiated at Susquehanna with a Positive rating.

• Oppenheimer initiated three e-commerce names today:
  
• eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) was initiated with a Buy rating and $38 target
• Overstock.com, Inc (NASDAQ: OSTK) and Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) were initiated with Neutral ratings.

• In addition to YRC Worldwide, Prudential initiated several companies in the transportation sector:
  
• Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW) was started with an Underweight rating and $47 target
  
• Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) were initiated with Overweight ratings
  
• Canadian National Railway (NYSE: CNI) was initiated with a Neutral rating and $47 target.

• Jefferies initiated Forest Oil Corp (NYSE: FST) with a Buy rating and $42 target.

• Citigroup believes aQuantive, Inc (NASDAQ: AQNT) will be one of the key beneficiaries of the strong secular growth in online advertising and they note that shares are trading in the lower half of its 52-week range; shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $33 target.

Analyst initiations 3-06-07: eBay, Amazon.com & YRC Worldwide initiated today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX), today's most notable upgrade, was raised to Overweight from Neutral by JP Morgan citing valuation.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Goodrich Corp (NYSE: GR) to Hold from Sell, also citing valuation, with a $48 target.

• Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey upgraded Universal Tech Institute Inc (NYSE: UTI) to Neutral from Reduce; the firm believes any further deterioration in business conditions is limited.

• Con-way Inc (NYSE: CNW) was upgraded to Outperform by Morgan Keegan and Raymond James and to Neutral from Sell at Merrill Lynch, following the company's fourth-quarter report.

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $40 target.

Analyst upgrades 1-30-07: Starbucks rated Overweight by JP Morgan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia upgraded the trucking sector to Market Weight from Underweight, as they believe the negative sentiment towards the group is starting to bottom, also noting that trucking stocks tend to rally before fundamentals fully bottom. Wachovia upgraded Con-Way Inc (NYSE: CNW) and Covenant Transport 'A' NASDAQ: CVTI) to Outperform from Market Perform, and Arkansas Best (NASDAQ: ABFS), Heartland Express Inc (NASDAQ: HTLD), Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN), US Xpress Enterprises 'A' (NASDAQ: XPRSA) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• JP Morgan added PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) to their Focus List, as the firm believes the recent pullback due to concerns over commodities costs and margins is overdone.

• Janco upgraded Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) to Buy from Hold with a $69 target, citing valuation.

• Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $77 target at Bear Stearns; the firm views Amgen's risk/reward as favorable as the most reasonable of CERA's launch scenarios, owned by Roche Holdings AG (OTC: RHHBY), are priced into valuation, and sees significant upside if CERA does not launch.

• Caris upgraded LSI Logic (NYSE: LSI) to Buy from Above Average with a $12 target; they believe investors are underestimating the synergies involved with the Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR) deal. The broker sees upside to earnings estimates and raised their target of LSI Logic to $12 from $11.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of ImClone Systems (NASDAQ: IMCL) to Neutral from Sell, and sees a short-term trading opportunity due to the overly negative sentiment into the upcoming sales figures. The broker thinks Imclone could meet its Erbitux sales estimates despite weak prescription data.

Analyst upgrades 1-4-07: ERTS, trucking sector upgraded originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.