Analyst Upgrades

• Expedia (EXPE) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Weatherford (WFT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• MDC Holdings (MDC) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• AutoNavi (AMAP) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Ciena (CIEN) and Nvidia (NVDA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Canadian Pacific (CP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• First Midwest (FMBI) and Quiksilver (ZQK) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Sonic (SONC) to neutral from negative at Susquehanna.
• MIPS Technologies (MIPS) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Arrow Electronics (ARW) and Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANF, BBBY, CIEN, CP, EXPE, ICE, NVDA, QCOM, SONC ...

Analyst Calls: ANF, BBBY, CIEN, CP, EXPE, ICE, NVDA, QCOM, SONC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• JMP Securities upgraded Vertex Pharma (NASDAQ: VRTX) to Outperform from Market Perform following better-than-expected interim data for telaprevir.
  
• Lazard Capital upgraded shares of Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Buy from Hold on valuation after their physician survey indicated solid sales growth in the company's MS franchise.
  
• Calyon upgraded Data Domain (NASDAQ: DDUP) to Add from Neutral based on positive channel checks and valuation.
• Goldman added Buckeye GP (NYSE: BGH) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was upgraded to Hold from Sell and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was raised to Hold from Reduce at WestLB.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Cowen Group (NASDAQ: COWN) to OUtperform from Market Perform.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE: LYG) to Sell from Hold as they believe loan loss risk will outweigh synergies from the acquisition of HBOS (HBOOY).
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of National Financial Partners (NYSE: NFP) to Hold from Buy and removed the stock from the Top Picks Live List after the company announced July and August revenues and said pressure continues. The firm lowered their target to $20 from $28.

Continue reading Analyst calls: BIIB, ALU, LYG, MAR, HOT, JCP, MYL, CBS ...

Analyst calls: BIIB, ALU, LYG, MAR, HOT, JCP, MYL, CBS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are four to consider. The list below includes their name, location, and (net profit margin):

• City Holdings (NASDAQ: CHCO) Charleston, WV (33.7%)
• First Midwest Bankcorp (NASDAQ: FMBI) Itasca, IL (32.6%)
• Valley National (NYSE: VLY) Wayne, NJ (34.4%)
• Prosperity Bancshares (NASDAQ: PRSP) Houston, TX (35.0%)

If you're nervous about where your money is currently deposited, these four might be worth considering. But before you move your money, it would be worth reading their most recent annual reports and quarterly financial statements. Red flags to watch out for include negative cash flow; rising charge-offs and loan loss reserves, and lawsuits.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Four potentially strong banks to park your deposits originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• After EastGroup (NYSE:EGP) reported slightly higher-than-expected Q1 FFO per share, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy on valuation. However, the firm still believes that the company's business model and dividend fundamentals are well-positioned.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) to Hold from Buy citing balanced risk/reward as the firm does not expect an aggressive competing bid process.
  
• Raymond James downgraded Calumet (NASDAQ:CLMT) to Underperform from Market Perform following the company's reduction in distribution to 45c unit from 63c.

• Citigroup lowered XM Satellite (NASDAQ:XMSR) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Oppenheimer cut First Midwest Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMBI) to Perform from Outperform.
  
• Bernstein downgraded DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) to Market Perform from Outperform.

Analyst downgrades: EGP, TTWO and CLMT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• City National Corp (NYSE: CYN) - downgraded to a sell from a neutral; stock is down 1.5%
  
• Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. (NYSE: CFR) - downgraded to a sell from a neutral; stock is down 3.3%
  
• First Midwest Bancorp (NASDAQ: FMBI) - downgraded to a sell from a neutral; stock is down 3.1%
  
• Texas Capital Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBI) - downgraded to a sell from a neutral; stock is down 6.7%
  

Merrill Lynch (MER) issues a string of bank downgrades originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.