Analyst Upgrades

• Brinker (EAT) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Starbucks (SBUX) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Paccar (PCAR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• CA Technologies (CA) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• PPL Corp. (PPL) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• First Defiance (FDEF) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• MasTec (MTZ) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Amdocs (DOX) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CA, COP, DOX, EAT, FIG, JNS, MTN, NLSN, PCAR, SBUX, SLW ...

Analyst Calls: CA, COP, DOX, EAT, FIG, JNS, MTN, NLSN, PCAR, SBUX, SLW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As stocks continue to drift lower and lower, the risk/reward bias is starting to shift to the long side. Make no mistake, there are still tremendous risks in this market, but for risk-embracing, long-term investors it may be time to start wading back into equities.

If you want to bet on a second half rebound and are looking to get plenty of upside potential in return, the place to look is in the private-equity complex. In particular, Fortress Investment Group (FIG), The Blackstone Group (BX) and Apollo Investment Corp. (AINV) will give you plenty of bang for your buck if the current downtrend reverses itself.

Continue reading Bet on Private Equity (AINV, FIG, BX) for a Second Half Rebound

Bet on Private Equity (AINV, FIG, BX) for a Second Half Rebound originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord upgraded BHP Billiton (BHP) to buy from hold. The firm expects BHP Billiton to emerge from the downturn with better operating margins and less dependence on an economic recovery. The firm also upgraded Rio Tinto (RTP) to buy from neutral but expects BHP Billiton to outperform near-term.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Raymond James (RJF) to market perform from underperform after raising estimates to reflect higher revenues and lower loan loss provisioning. Despite the upgrade, the firm remains cautious on the stock.
• Goldman upgraded InterActiveCorp (IACI) to buy from neutral. The firm upgraded shares based on improved momentum for its Search and ServiceMagic units and its belief that Ask.com may be an acquisition target. The firm believes Microsoft (MSFT) could be a logical acquirer for the unit once it receives approval for the Yahoo! (YHOO) partnership.
• Baidu.com (BIDU) was raised to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Symantec (SYMC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.

Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: BHP, BIDU, GSK, IAIC, MA, RJF, TWX ...

Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: BHP, BIDU, GSK, IAIC, MA, RJF, TWX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: The Yo-Yo market (ENER, ITT, F, GS, UNH, RA, FIG)

Closing Bell: The Yo-Yo market (ENER, ITT, F, GS, UNH, RA, FIG) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live list following the company's investor day. Citi believes American Express' credit trends are improving and raised its price target on shares to $36 from $28.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI) to Buy from Neutral after meeting with management to reflect expectations for EPS growth in 2010 and valuation. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $87 from $49 based on strong copper fundamentals.
• Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, FCX, FIG, JPM, LYG, RTP ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, FCX, FIG, JPM, LYG, RTP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Fortress Investment Group looks to Mudd for new leadership

Fortress Investment Group looks to Mudd for new leadership originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not long ago, the private equity firm, Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG), appeared to be in deep trouble. But things are looking better now, as the stock price has gone from $1 to $4.65 this year.

In fact, Fortress is now pulling the trigger on some deals. Just this week, the firm teamed up with Crestview Partners LP and Lightyear Capital LLC to invest $450 million in First Southern Bancorp (Lightyear is operated by Donald Marron, who was the former chief of PaineWebber Group).

Continue reading Fortress storms a bank

Fortress storms a bank originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 31 May 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Who's going to pay for the massive budget deficits? Well, how about the rich folks?

This is certainly a theme in President Barack Obama's 2010 budget. Thus, if you are an alternative asset manager - that is, you operate a private equity firm or hedge fund -- then you may have to pay some big-time taxes. In fact, the bite could add up to $24 billion over the next nine years.

Continue reading New taxes to soak private equity and hedge funds

New taxes to soak private equity and hedge funds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) swung to a Q3 loss as same-store sales fell, and it lowered its outlook.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) forecast lower profits due to weaker glass sales but has a strong cash position.
• Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) swung to a Q3 loss as investors requested redemptions.
• Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) profit beat estimates despite the decline in sales, and it reaffirmed its outlook.
• HJ Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) strong Q2 results topped expectations but didn't impress the market.
• Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) reported solid results and offered modest growth for the next quarter.
• Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) Q3 profits and same-store sales fell and it lowered its guidance.
• Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) fell short of Q3 expectations and said it would reduce capital expenditures in 2009.
• Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) fell short of Q2 expectations and lowered its full-year guidance.
• PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) reaffirmed its previously announced full-year earnings guidance.
• Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) said Q3 earnings and revenue grew sharply, beating expectations.
• Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) posted weak Q3 numbers and discontinued its share buyback activity.
• Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) was downgraded on the belief that consensus estimates may be too high.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Target, Heinz, Barnes & Noble, Pepsi, Disney and others

Earnings highlights: Target, Heinz, Barnes & Noble, Pepsi, Disney and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell.
• Prudential (NYSE: PUK) was lifted to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) to Outperform from Market Perform and added shares to their Best Ideas List on valuation as they see an attractive risk/reward at current levels.
• UBS upgraded ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) to Buy from Neutral on valuation as they believe the company remains a market leader.
• Oppenheimer raised Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN) to Outperform from Perform on valuation following the recent weakness as they expect positive clinical news flow beginning in December.

• UBS downgraded U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) to Sell from Buy and lowered its target to $30 from $60 citing deteriorating U.S. conditions and concerns about the company's high fixed costs in a falling steel price environment.
• Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) was lowered to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Continue reading Analyst calls: PEP, FIG, PUK, BEN, ASML, X, RDS.A, CHU, SVR ...

Analyst calls: PEP, FIG, PUK, BEN, ASML, X, RDS.A, CHU, SVR ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website

Fortress ditches the dividend ... and doubles down on financials originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merrill upgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Neutral from Underperform to reflect the company's pipeline momentum and lack of negative catalysts.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe DB should trade at a higher multiple.
• Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) was raised at HSBC to Overweight from Neutral.
• American International (NYSE: AIG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

• Merrill cut Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) to Underperform from Neutral as the firm sees better opportunities elsewhere in the sector.
  
• Merriman downgraded Rackable Systems (NASDAQ: RACK) to Neutral from Buy following the company's mixed Q2 results to reflect its customer concentration and fluctuating margins.
• Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) was downgraded at JP Morgan to Underweight from Neutral.
  
• Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was cut to Sell from Hold at Citigroup.

• UBS believes Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has a competitive advantage and their checks indicate new Macs, new iPhone colors and potentially new iPods may come early on in the second half of 2008. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $195 target. UBS also initiated Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) at Neutral.
• KeyBanc initiated Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) with an Underweight rating and $25 target based on slowing core growth at Bed Bath and likely margin erosion from the ramp in growth at Christmas Tree Shops and buybuy Baby.
• Infineon (NYSE: IFX) was initiated with a Buy rating at Deutsche Bank.

Analyst calls: AIG, RACK, FIG, AAPL, BBBY ,IFX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Merrill starts process of CDO dumping

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Merrill starts process of CDO dumping originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: KKR takes advantage

Cramer on BloggingStocks: KKR takes advantage originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barnes & Noble Inc (NYSE: BKS) is considering a bid for rival bookseller Borders Group Inc (NYSE: BGP), the Wall Street Journal reported, a move which would allow Barnes & Noble to improve profits and reduce costs. Antitrust issues could prevent a deal.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that Carl Icahn's effort to remove Yahoo! Inc's (NASDAQ: YHOO) board has picked up new supporters, including T. Boone Pickens, who acquired a 0.75% stake. Some Yahoo shareholders believe it is still too early to predict whether Icahn will be able to carry July 3's shareholder vote.
• A Financial Times investigation discovered that Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) incorrectly awarded top ratings to billions of dollars to debt products due to an error in its computer models. Moody's said it is in the process of "conducting a thorough review" of the rating of the constant proportion debt obligations, which should have been up to four notches lower.

• According to the people briefed on the matter, the New York Times reported that the buyout of Penn National Gaming Inc (NASDAQ: PENN) by Fortress Investment Group (FIG) and Centerbridge Parters may involve revised terms. The sources said the negotiations may "delay or even imperil" the deal.

Newspaper wrap-up: Barnes & Noble may bid for Borders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 May 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apollo Management, which is one of the largest private equity firms, has traded on Goldman Sach's (NYSE: GS) private exchange, GSTrUE OTC. Unfortunately, the shares are down 40% (since August). Of course, other alternative asset managers - such as Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) - have suffered plunges as well.

So what's the next step for Apollo? Well, the firm plans to trade on the NYSE. The IPO filing calls for raising $475 million of capital.

Apollo got its start in 1990 and profited handsomely from distressed investments (keep in mind that this was after the buyout boom). Now, the firm manages $40.3 billion and has recently raised a fund for $12.5 billion. Over the past 18 years, Apollo has generated an impressive 29% net internal rate of return.

Continue reading Apollo Management to try its luck on the NYSE

Apollo Management to try its luck on the NYSE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) posted record third-quarter earnings and revenue.
• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) posted better-than-estimated first-quarter results and raised its outlook.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) posted third-quarter results that missed estimates.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) third-quarter profit surged as strong sales offset commodity prices.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) beat third-quarter expectations and offered guidance.
• FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS) second-quarter results beat estimates and it raised its outlook.
• Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) remained upbeat despite a fourth-quarter loss.
• Guess Inc. (NYSE: GES) record fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations.
• Inter Parfums Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAR) posted better-than-estimated fourth-quarter results and raised its outlook.
• Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) beat second-quarter expectations but lowered its guidance.
• JC Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) lowered its first-quarter outlook on weaker-than-expected sales.
• KB Home (NYSE: KBH) swung to a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss on write-downs.
• Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss.
• Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) raised its second-quarter and full-year guidance.
• Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) merely met earnings expectations, sending shares lower.
• Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) posted better-than-estimated fourth-quarter results and raised its outlook.
• Usana Health Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: USNA) posted lower-than-expected first-quarter results.
• Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) posted solid second-quarter results, including same-store sales growth.

Also, auction-rate securities issues may hurt some tech company results. Analysts keep cutting earings estimates for the big banks, but some are eyeing Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) earnings prospects as it expands in China, as well as Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) on soaring demand for commodities.

Upcoming results to watch for include Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Monsanto (NYSE: MON), and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: Adobe, ConAgra, Lennar, Oracle, Tiffany, Darden and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the bell: WMT, TGT, TTM, BSC, TM ...

Before the bell: WMT, TGT, TTM, BSC, TM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) was cut to "neutral" from "buy" according to MarketWatch.

Friedman Billings lowered its price target on Alcoa (NYSE: AA) from $49 to $38 according to Briefing.com.

Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) may be downgraded by Moody's Investors Service because the damage from loan defaults, according to Bloomberg.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Early analyst calls: AA, FRE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) was initiated with a Hold rating and $18.50 target at Jefferies. The firm expects near-term volatility given the increasingly difficult private equity market.
  
• Banc of America assumed coverage of ITT Educational Service (NYSE: ESI) with a Buy rating and $130 target and believes the recent weakness creates an attractive entry point as they see continued margin expansion and upside to Street estimates.
  
• Susquehanna expects Kendle International (NASDAQ: KNDL) to benefit from positive trends in the Clinical Research Organization industry, expanded customer base and geographical reach, integration of Charles Rivers Laboratories (NYSE: CRL), and backlog. The firm started shares with a Positive rating.

• China Security & Surveillance (NYSE: CSR) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $30 target at Lehman.
  
• Morgan Stanley started Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) with an Equal Weight rating and $39 target.
  
• Goldman resumed coverage of AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO) and Clorox (NYSE: CLX) with Neutral ratings.

Analyst initiations: FIG, ESI and KNDL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.