Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) said economic conditions have led to lower than expected Q4 sales. HNSN, a developer of products for robotic catheter-based technologies, closed at $6.26. Thomas Weisel Partners has a $8 price target on HNSN. HNSN February call option implied volatility is at 115, puts are at 133, above its 26-week average of 69, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), a drug wholesaler and medical-equipment supplier, lowered its full-year outlook on January 8 because it sees reduced hospital spending. Smith Barney has a 12-month price target of $39 on CAH. February option implied volatility of 49 is above its 26-week average of 41 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX), a medical technology company, closed at $69.11. Morgan Stanley raised its rating on BDX to Overweight. BDX February option implied volatility of 38 is above its 26-week average of 33, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Medical equipment companies volatility elevated originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup initiated Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) with Buy ratings and targets of $75 and $29, respectively; the firm initiated Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO) and THQ Inc (NASDAQ: THQI) with Hold ratings and targets of $23 and $34, respectively.
  
• Citigroup also started shares of Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX) with a Buy rating. The firm believes the company can maintain its dominant market position given its house brands portfolio and early expansion into emerging markets.
  
• Merriman started shares of Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) with a Buy rating and thinks the company's Sensei System could radically change the landscape of catheter based surgery. The firm believes the stock can trade to the $34-$41 range in 12-18 months.

• Calyon Securities initiated shares of General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) with a Reduce rating and $31 target and $7 target, respectively.
  
• Deutsche Bank initiated Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ: JKHY) and Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) with Buy ratings and Advent Software (NASDAQ: ADVS) with a Hold rating.

Analyst initiations: Entertainment software, LUX and HNSN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Websence (NASDAQ: WBSN) to Overweight from Underweight ahead of the renewal period starting in the December quarter and expects this momentum to drive shares higher.

• RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup, who said the Sirenza Microdevices (SMDI) deal gives the company its first real prospect for gross margin expansion in years.

• Matrix USA upgraded Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) to Buy from Sell, and expects the company to benefit from the Checkfree (CKFR) acquisition.

• Lehman upgraded shares of Qwest (NYSE: Q) to Overweight from Equal Weight, citing the hiring of industry veteran Ed Mueller as CEO. The firm believes the new CEO removes an overhang and could lead to a change in strategic direction and significantly increase capital spending.

• JP Morgan upgraded OSI Pharma (NASDAQ: OSIP) to Overweight from Underweight based on valuation and upcoming catalysts for Tarceva that should be seen in the next year...

• UBS upgraded Allstate (NYSE: ALL) to Neutral from Sell.

• ThinkEquity raised Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) to Buy from Accumulate.

• Stanford upgraded Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) to Buy from Hold.

• FTN Midwest upgraded shares of Lexmark (NYSE: LXK) to Neutral from Sell.

• Hambrecht upgraded NetGear (NASDAQ: NTGR) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades: ALL, LXK, RFMD, Q and WBSN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs views the cable & satellite sector favorably and was positive on cable given expectations for multi-year ROIC expansion. Comcast Corp 'A' (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was given a Buy rating from a Neutral and is Goldman's top pick. Cablevision Systems 'A' (NYSE: CVC) and EchoStar Comm (NASDAQ: DISH) were both rated Neutral.

• Broadcom Corp 'A' (NASDAQ: BRCM) was initiated with a Buy rating and $15 target at Webush; the firm believes Broadcom still has ramping product cycles to drive growth and also feels revenues are likely to accelerate on a year-over-year basis beginning in June 2007.

• Leerink Swann initiated Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) with an Outperform rating and $17 target, noting their survey showed significant interest in remote navigation by EPs.

• RBC Capital Markets initiated SiRF Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: SIRF) with an Outperform rating and $34 target, positive on SiRF Tech given its strong market growth driven by a significant increase in the GPS attach rate, slower erosion in the company's dominant market share and improving margins.

• Wedbush initiated shares of Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL) with a Hold rating and $20 target, as the firm finds shares fully-valued relative to the company's 2007 and 2008 earnings power.

Analyst initiation 1-4-07: Cable & satellite viewed favorably at Goldman originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Shares of Altera Corp (NASDAQ: ALTR) were initiated with a Buy rating and $26 at Nollenberger; the firm believes that due to the company's faster growth rate, increasing market share and higher gross margins, shares should trade at a premium to Xilinx Inc (NASDAQ: XLNX).

• Soleil Securities initiated shares of Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) with a Hold rating, believing it may take at least through the spring season to see a meaningful improvement in operating results.

• Spirit Aerosystems 'A' (NYSE: SPR) was initiated by several firms: Jefferies with a Buy and $36 target, Credit Suisse with a Neutral and $35 target, Citigroup with a Sell rating and $24 target, Morgan Stanley with an Overweight and $38 target, Cowen with a Neutral rating and UBS with a Neutral and $38 target.

• NYMEX Holdings (NYSE: NMX) was initiated with an Underweight rating at JP Morgan, citing the rich valuation for its rating.

• Shares of Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) were initiated with an Overweight rating and a $16 target at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst initiations 1-3-07: Altera started with a Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Baird initiated Noven Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: NOVN) with an Outperform and $30 target, based on the Daytrana, which Baird believes should be a driver for shares with continued success, milestones and improved profitability.

• Also initiated by Baird, POZEN Inc (NASDAQ: POZN) with an Outperform rating and $26 target; they expect Pozen's Trexima to be approved in mid-2007 and for their marketing partner, GlaxoSmithKline plc ADR (NYSE: GSK), to convert 60% of Imitrix market share to Trexima.

• Thomas Weisel initiated Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) with an Overweight rating and $14.50 target; the firm is positive on the Sensai platform, a robotic catheter control system, which allows unprecedented control and enables new procedures to become minimally invasive.

Analyst initiations 12-29-06: Pharmaceuticals Noven & Pozen take top honors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Dec 2006 11:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia(NYSE:WB) initiated KBR Inc (NYSE: KBR) with a Market Perform rating based on valuation, with a target range of $26-$29.

• Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) initiated Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG) with a Sector Performer rating and $26 target.

• Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) was initiated at JP Morgan(NYSE:JPM), as the firm believes Hansen's Sensei robotic remote catheter navigation system has potential to be a platform technology that could be used in a variety of procedures. The firm also considers Hansen's shares attractive at these levels.

• UBS (NYSE:UBS) initiated Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ: SMSI) with a Buy rating and $18 target; the firm expects Smith Micro to continue to benefit from growth at Verizon Wireless and for the company to continue to further divest its customer base.

Analyst initiations 12-26-06: KBR Inc started at Wachovia with a buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.