Analyst Calls

• Medtronic (MDT) to buy from neutral and 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• CarMax (KMX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Points International (PTSEF) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Nokia (NOK) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.
• Amdocs (DOX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Western Alliance (WAL) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Carbo Ceramics (CRR) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Brinker (EAT) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ...

Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not all companies in these love-struck industries are good buys. Here are 10 stocks to break up with this Valentine's Day.

• 1-800-Flowers (FLWS): A good gift, but a poorly run company that has posted a loss for three of the past four quarters.
• Hershey (HSY): Missing out on the Cadbury merger was not so sweet for Hershey.
• Cardiac Sciences (CSCX): It's hard to have a heart for a company that fails seven out of my eight fundamental screens.

Continue reading Ten Valentine's Day Stocks to Hate

Ten Valentine's Day Stocks to Hate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Valentine's Day makes or breaks the flower industry. What happens if the recession causes lovers to cut back and just exchange greeting cards? Among other businesses, 1 800 Flowers (NASDAQ: FLWS) may have the most important week of its year ruined and investors in the stock may watch it fall and stay down until the next big holiday.

FLWS is already off to $2.31, just above its 52-week low and way off the period high of $9.25.

The 1 800 Flowers troubles says a great deal about the breadth of this recession. A box of roses probably costs about $40, depending on where someone lives and how the rose crop has done recently. That is not a lot of money to spend on a gift, especially one that is probably important. But, if people won't put out that money, what will they buy? The answer is probably almost nothing.

Continue reading 1 800 Flowers (FLWS): St. Valentine's Day massacre

1 800 Flowers (FLWS): St. Valentine's Day massacre originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Nollenberger started shares of 1-800-Flowers.com (NASDAQ: FLWS) with a Buy rating and $14 target and believes shares are undervalued at current levels given the company's compelling growth prospects, strong cash flow generation, and solid balance sheet.
  
• Bear believes Ctrip.com (NASDAQ: CTRP) is the best positioned online travel company ahead of structural changes and consolidation in China's fragmented travel agency industry. The firm initiated shares with an Outperform rating and $80 target.
  
• Bear expects 51job (NASDAQ: JOBS) to benefit from China's increasing Internet user base due to the internet's broadening reach among job seekers, resuming coverage with an Outperform rating and $28 target.
  
• Goldman started Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) with a Buy rating and $45 target, as they are positive on the stock given unit growth and minimal capital needs, among other reasons.

• Thomas Weisel initiated On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) with an Overweight rating and $15 target.
  
• Broadpoint initiated Ariba (NASDAQ: ARBA) with a Buy rating and $15 target and Ultimate Software (NASDAQ: ULTI) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Merrill started shares of Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT) with a Neutral rating.

Analyst initiations: FLWS, CTRP, JOBS and CHH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) to Overweight from Underweight, as they expect higher-than-expected volumes and increasing market share to drive outperformance in the second half of 2007.
  
• CIBC upgraded shares of 1-800-Flowers.com (NASDAQ: FLWS) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer. CIBC upgraded shares when they transferred coverage on the name.
  
• Wadell & Reed Financial (NYSE: WDR) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform from Keefe Bruyette based on strong investment returns.
  
• Westwood One Inc (NYSE: WON) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank to reflect a likely new deal with CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS), feasibility of a sale to private equity and signs of a turnaround in the company's network business.
  
• Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) was added to Matrix's Focus List, as the firm believes the company is "perfectly positioned" to profit from the coming growth and demand for network infrastructure...

• GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (NYSE: GOL) and TAM SA (NYSE: TAM) were upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  
• IAC InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  
• Merrill also raised shares of Heidrick & Struggles International (NASDAQ: HSII) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC) to Overweight from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: NOK, FLWS, WDR, WON and CSCO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A month after Mattel's (NYSE: MAT) massive recall of lead-paint contaminated toys, Toys "R" Us is joining the party. The toystore juggernaut is recalling 27,000 Chinese-made paint and crayon sets. The wooden box contains lead, as do some of the paints.

Obviously these toy recalls are bad news for the company's involved -- Mattel and stores that rely heavily on low-cost imported goods. If parents get scared and transition to higher-quality products, these companies will suffer.

That's where 1-800-Flowers.com (NASDAQ: FLWS) comes in. The company also owns HearthSong and Magic Cabin, which could see increased sales if consumers flock to quality. These companies manufacture toys that are more classical and, I would argue, better for kids than a lot of the cheap stuff -- lead paint concerns aside.

Continue reading Toys 'R' Us joins the recall club -- and how you can capitalize

Toys 'R' Us joins the recall club -- and how you can capitalize originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Piper upgraded shares of Mattel (NYSE: MAT) to Outperform from Peer Perform on valuation and improving fundamentals and notes that product recalls have historically not had a lasting impact on sales.

• Goldman upgraded UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) to Neutral from Sell on valuation and expectations for improved profitability in 2H07.

• Alcoa (NYSE: AA) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings on valuation and expectations for a favorable report next week.

• JMP Securities has increased confidence in 1-800-Flowers.com's (NASDAQ: FLWS) management initiatives to drive leverage and operating margins following the Q4 report, upgrading shares to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Lehman upgraded shares of Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) to Overweight from Equal-Weight on valuation and expectations for strong oil and gas production growth...

• NBTY Inc (NYSE: NTY) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at JP Morgan.

• ThinkEquity upgraded F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to Buy from Accumulate.

• Goldman upgraded the oil services sector to Attractive from Neutral based on the recent pullback; Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) and Hess (NYSE: HES) were also upgraded to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: AA, FFIV, MAT, UNH and SUN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apollo to cash out on Affinion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What moms really want: Stop the junk mail! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 May 2007 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bank of America and UBS downgraded Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) to Neutral from Buy, citing limited visibility.

• Citigroup downgraded Embratel Participacoes ADS (NYSE: EMT) to Sell from Hold on expected lower liquidity following Telfonos de Mexico SA ADS (NYSE: TMX) voluntary tender expiration.

• Choice Hotels Int'l Inc (NYSE CHH) was downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns following the company's Q4 report and guidance.

• VeraSun Energy Corp (NYSE: VSE) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman based on relative valuation.

• Goldman Sachs also downgraded 1-800-Flowers.com Inc (NASDAQ: FLWS) to Sell from Neutral based on valuation.

• Piper Jaffray downgraded Buffalo Wild Wings Inc (NASDAQ: BWLD) to Market Perform from Outperform citing difficult year-over-year comps and increased chicken wing prices.

• CIBC downgraded Nasdaq Stock Market Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) to Sector Performer from Outperformer.

• ThinkEquity downgraded Zoltek Companies inc (NASDAQ: ZOLT) to Accumulate from Buy.

• BMO Capital Markets cut Weyerhaeuser Co (NYSE: WY) to Market Perform from Outperform based on valuation.

Analyst downgrades 2-14-07: Playboy downgraded to Neutral originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Note: The Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Daily option update for February 12, 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.