Analyst Upgrades

• SunTrust upgraded American Express (AXP) to buy from neutral with a $47 price target based on valuation.
• Argus upgraded Verizon (VZ) to buy from hold, with a $39 price target, citing valuation and the company's aggressive 4G LTE network upgrade. However, Bernstein downgraded the stock.
• BMO Capital upgraded Canadian Pacific (CP) to outperform from market perform, citing the company's cost reduction efforts, and raised its target for shares to $74 from $67.
• Agrium (AGU) was upgraded to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.
• Novatel Wireless (NVTL) was upgraded to hold from sell at Canaccord.
• Essex Property Trust (ESS) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALXA, APOL, AXP, CP, DV, DVA, VZ, WPO, WYNN ...

Analyst Calls: ALXA, APOL, AXP, CP, DV, DVA, VZ, WPO, WYNN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dun & Bradstreet Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Qwest Tops Bearish

Dun & Bradstreet Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Qwest Tops Bearish originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Cisco (CSCO) to buy from hold, citing the company's improving strategic position in data centers.
• Blue Nile (NILE) was raised to buy from hold by Citigroup due to the recent pullback in shares.
• DuPont Fabros (DFT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS, which said that said fundamentals in the data center space have been improving.
• Baird upgraded Sterling Bancshares (SBIB) to neutral from underperform based on valuation.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Bristol-Myers (BMY) to buy from neutral.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) was raised to conviction buy from buy by Goldman.
• Jefferies upgraded Celgene (CELG) to buy from hold.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AAPL, ABT, AMZN, BMY, CSCO, DNB, EAT, INTU, NILE ...

Analyst Calls: AAPL, ABT, AMZN, BMY, CSCO, DNB, EAT, INTU, NILE ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Citigroup (C) to outperform from perform, citing an attractive valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm has a $4.58 price target for the stock.
• Macquarie upgraded Transocean (RIG) to to outperform from neutral and has price target of $85 on the stock. The firm believes bad news is already priced into shares.
• JPMorgan upgraded U.S. Bancorp (USB) to overweight from neutral, citing the recent pullback in shares and a lower impact from the financial reform bill. The firm has a $31.50 price target for the stock.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Health Net (HNT) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Vale (VALE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, C, CLDT, DNB, DWA, JCG, MGM, RIG, SLRY, USB, WDR ...

Analyst Calls: BA, C, CLDT, DNB, DWA, JCG, MGM, RIG, SLRY, USB, WDR ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 May 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Option traders are pushing up call option prices in the Processed & Packaged Goods industry and are pushing up put option prices in the Packaging & Containers industry.

Any time the volatility skews above 1.00, it is an indication that calls are more expensive than puts. Typically, when calls are more expensive than puts, it means the demand for calls is greater than the demand for puts because investors believe the stock is going to rise in the future and they want to take advantage of that movement by buying calls.

The opposite is also true. Any time a volatility skews below 1.00, it is an indication that puts are more expensive than calls.

Continue reading McCormick Tops Bullish Volatility Skews, Bemis Tops the Bearish Ones

McCormick Tops Bullish Volatility Skews, Bemis Tops the Bearish Ones originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 May 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Option traders took a bullish interest in the Diversified Utilities industry and bearish interest in the Wireless Communications industry today.

Bullish Volatility Skews

• SCANA Corp. (SCG) -- part of the Diversified Utilities industry -- came in at the top with a volatility skew of 1.30. This may come as a surprise as SCG is down 4.47% for the past month.

Continue reading Bullish and Bearish Volatility Skews: SCG, NRGY, DNB, DT, MKC, WRB

Bullish and Bearish Volatility Skews: SCG, NRGY, DNB, DT, MKC, WRB originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded CME Group (CME) to Buy from Hold and has a $330 target on the stock. The firm believes increased regulatory concerns have created a buying opportunity and notes that CME Group's fundamentals are stable-to-improving.
• Susquehanna upgraded Priceline.com (PCLN) to Positive from Neutral and has a $230 target on the stock. The firm believes Priceline.com likely outperformed expectations in Q4.
• Citigroup upgraded AutoZone (AZO) to Buy from Hold citing an attractive valuation, favorable industry trends, and the potential for margin expansion. The firm raised its target price on shares to $188 from $176.
• Genzyme (GENZ) was raised to Sell from Conviction Sell at Goldman.
• Disney (DIS) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) was upgraded at Collins Stewart to Buy from Hold.

Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: CME, AZO, XOM, DNB, GENZ ...

Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: CME, AZO, XOM, DNB, GENZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Web.com sees big business with small business clients

Web.com sees big business with small business clients originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Morgan Keegan upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Market Perform due to the increased visibility of Android-based launches, as well as the stock's valuation.
• OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Citigroup, which cited the company's stabilizing sales trend, accelerating share gains, and valuation.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) to Buy from Hold on valuation.
• Cancaccord upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold citing the turnaround in the aluminum business and its exposure to copper.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) to Market Perform from Underperform.
• BT Group (NYSE: BT) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce by Nomura.
• Societe Generale raised L'Oreal (OTC: LRLCY) to Buy from Sell.
• Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Sandler O'Neill.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DIS, CSCO, K, MOT, OMX, RTP ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DIS, CSCO, K, MOT, OMX, RTP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While the credit crunch is making it difficult for businesses to get credit, there may be other reasons you've had trouble getting the line of credit you need. For one thing, you may not be taking steps to build a credit history for your business.

By establishing business credit, you may be able to get larger loan amounts and better rates. What's more, it could be easier to find good suppliers and vendors - as well as to snag customers.

So how do you establish business credit:? Well, here are some steps:

Create a credit profile: Perhaps the top credit agency for small businesses is Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB). Basically, you complete a credit profile with them through service called the CreditBuilder; you then get a DUNS number, which is what third-parties will request when they do a credit check. All in all, the process is pretty easy.

Keep in mind that it's important to periodically update the file. An incomplete file is often a red flag.

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Strategies for establishing business credit

Entrepreneur's Journal: Strategies for establishing business credit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (NYSE: DNB) is a leading source of business information. Its global commercial database contains more than 130 million business records, including the largest volume of business-credit information in the world. The firm integrates the data in a variety of software products and Web-based applications that customers use to support a broad spectrum of business decisions. Dun & Bradstreet also offers marketing information and purchasing-support services.

The company pleased investors last week, when it guided Q2 EPS to $1.15 and Q2 revenues to $427.7 million. Analysts had been expecting $1.10 and $414.04 million. Management also anticipated FY08 EPS of $5.19-$5.29, versus Street consensus of $5.28.

Continue reading Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) shares in bullish 'flag' formation

Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) shares in bullish 'flag' formation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.