MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman downgraded Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to Neutral from Buy following the company's reduced 2007 guidance.
  
• Merrill downgraded shares of ING Group (NYSE: ING) and Allianz AG (NYSE: AZ) to Neutral from Buy to reflect their more cautious view on the sector due to subprime mortgages spreads.
  
• Piper lowered its rating on Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) to Neutral from Buy due to the lack of visibility regarding when credit losses will peak. Credit Suisse downgraded shares to Underperform from Neutral.

• Goldman removed Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Ruth's Chris Steak House (NASDAQ: RUTH) and Famous Dave's (NASDAQ: DAVE) were both downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Piper.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to Underperform from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades: CMCSA, ING, AZ and FNM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia believes Assurant (NYSE: AIZ) is a unique opportunity to profit from mortgage market turmoil through its force-placed homeowners business, initiating shares with an Outperform rating.

• Nollenberger initiated Famous Dave's (NASDAQ: DAVE) with a Buy rating and expects to see accelerated earnings growth over the next few years driven by: continued rollout of it's new "Smokehouse" unit format, growth of the off-premise catering and to-go business, and ramp in new development.

• Keybanc is positive on Trinity Industries' (NYSE: TRN) diversified product portfolio, market-leading positions, and long-term end market fundamentals, starting shares with an Aggressive Buy rating.

• Banc of America initiated Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN) with a Buy and believes the company should benefit from the roll-up of independent retail assets and the move toward a customer-centric operating model.

• Banc of America believes rising competitive pressures in PNDs will lead to significant market share erosion in 2008 and started SiRF Technology (NASDAQ: SIRF) with a Neutral rating...

• Wachovia initiated Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX) with an Outperform rating.

• Stifel initiated Bancshares of Florida (NASDAQ: BOFL) and TIB Financial (NASDAQ: TIBB) with Hold ratings.

• Nollenberger initiated Morton's Restaurant (NYSE: MRT) with a Buy rating.

• Ceradyne (NASDAQ: CRDN) was initiated with a Hold rating at Morgan Joseph.

Analyst initiations 8-23-07: AIZ, CRDN, DAVE and MRT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• ROO Group (OTCBB: RGRP) was initiated with a Buy rating and $3.50 target at Cantor. The firm believes the company is one of the few pure-play online video public investment opportunities for investors today.
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Circuit City Stores (NYSE: CC) were initiated at FTN Midwest with a Buy rating and Neutral rating, respectively.
• LifePoint Hospitals (NASDAQ: LPNT), Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH), Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) and MedCath Corp. (NASDAQ: MDTH) were all initiated with Hold ratings at AG Edwards. AG Edwards also initiated shares of Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) with a Buy rating and $72 target, citing the company's strong patient volume growth and favorable reimbursement trends.

• Famous Dave's of America (NASDAQ: DAVE) was initiated with a Buy rating at Feltl & Co.
• Needham initiated shares of RadiSys Corp. (NASDAQ: RSYS) with a Buy rating and $17 target, as it expects the company to benefit from the development of standards-based embedded solutions.
• Atmel Corp. (NASDAQ: ATML) was initiated with a Buy rating and $7.50 target at American Technology.
• Genomic Health (NASDAQ: GHDX) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Leerink Swann.
• Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $24 target at Soleil.
• Banc of America initiated shares of Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) with a Buy rating and $27 target.

Analyst initiations 5-31-07: Best Buy, Circuit City initiated originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 May 2007 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.