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

• American Public Education Inc. (APEI) received an analyst upgrade following the Q4 report and guidance.
• Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) traded higher after it reported swinging to a profit in Q4, but revenue declined year over year.
• Blackstone Group (BX) reported adjusted Q4 earnings, compared to a year-ago loss, and postive renvenue too.
• Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) higher Q2 earnings beat estimates, but shares fell on so-so revenue results.
• DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA) lower Q4 earnings beat expectations but net income for the full year rose.
• Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) topped analysts' Q4 earnings expectations but shares fell after it warned of lower margins.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Campbell, Dreamworks, Home Depot, Safeway, Target ...

Earnings Highlights: Campbell, Dreamworks, Home Depot, Safeway, Target ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: WSP Holdings, Harris and XTO Energy were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Oppenheimer believes WSP Holdings (NYSE: WH) is benefiting from rapid growth in the oil and gas exploration market and a move toward deeper and harsher environment drilling. The firm has an Outperform rating and $9.50 target on the stock.
  
• UBS assumed Harris (NYSE: HRS) with a Buy rating and $63 target, as they see upside to the company's FY09 estimates driven by RF Communications. UBS views the recent pullback as a buying opportunity.
  
• Morgan Keegan is positive on XTO Energy's (NYSE: XTO) projected 20% production growth, value building through acquisitions, and valuation; shares were initiated with an Outperform rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Goldman started Philip Morris (NYSE: PM) with a Buy rating and $60 target.
  
• Lamar Advertising (NYSE: LAMR) was assumed with a Sell rating at Merrill Lynch.
  
• Broadpoint initiated Nova BioSource (AMEX: NBF) with a Buy rating.

Analyst initiations: WH, HRS and XTO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Shire Plc (NASDAQ: SHPGY) to Neutral from Overweight to reflect risk of Adderall XR patients switching to Vyvanse.

• Deutsche Bank cut Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) to Hold from Buy, saying shares reflect a likely higher bid from the Dolan family.

• ThinkEquity downgraded shares of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Accumulate from Buy following checks that indicate marginal Panama upside, poor execution in premium display and an incomplete/vulnerable non-premium display strategy.

• Credit Suisse cut Ensco International (NYSE: ESV) to Underperform from Neutral on valuation.

• SMH Capital downgraded Clear Channel Outdoors (NYSE: CCO) to Sell from Neutral and recommended investors to swap into Lamar Advertising Co (NASDAQ: LAMR), based on the company's higher-quality name in the outdoor advertising sub-space...

• Baidu.com (NASDAQ: BIDU) was cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.

• Brinker International (NYSE: EAT) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

• Hilliard Lyons downgraded Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) to Neutral from Long-Term Buy.

• Buckingham cut Ashland Inc (NYSE: ASH) and Cabot Corp (NYSE: CBT) to Neutral from Accumulate.

Analyst downgrades 7-09-07: BIDU, CVC, EAT, NIKE and YHOO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• In the systems technology sector, JP Morgan initiated coverage on CommVault Systems (NASDAQ: CVLT) and Double-Take Software, Inc (NASDAQ: DBTK) with Overweight ratings, Isilon Systems (NASDAQ: ISLN) and Opsware Inc (NASDAQ: OPSW) with Neutral ratings and Avocent Corp (NASDAQ: AVCT) with an Underweight rating.

• Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AUXL) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Cowen, which said AUXL's lead candidate, AA4500, is in pivotal testing for Dupuytren's contracture, which could be a $400M+ revenue opportunity.

• BioSante Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: BPA) was initiated with a Positive rating at Susquehanna, as the firm is positive on BPA's growth prospects for the transdermal estrogen market, upside potential from the female dysfunction market, and valuation.

• Morgan Stanley initiated shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR) with an Overweight rating and $77 target.

• SunTrust Robinson Humphrey initiated shares of Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) with a Neutral rating.

• Morgan Joseph initiated shares of Metalico (AMEX: MEA) with a Hold rating.

• Stifel Nicolaus initiated shares of Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) with a Sell rating and a $5 target.

Analyst initiations 6-21-07: AUXL, LAMR, OPSW and TXRH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• UBS upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) to Buy from Neutral as they expect the company to benefit from increased capital spending by Rexchip, the joint venture of Elpida and Powerchip. After speaking to contacts, UBS believes shipments to Rexchip will total around $640M in 2007.

• Southern Union (NYSE: SUG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Outperform from Neutral on improved earnings visibility and the potential for incremental cost savings.

• SMH Capital upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR) to Buy from Neutral after the conference call indicated the run rate for digital deployment is increasing, while capex per board is declining. The firm thinks the Street may be overlooking the potential for significant earnings acceleration into 2008.

• Nollenberger upgraded shares of Trump Entertainment Resorts (NASDAQ: TRMP) to Neutral from Sell based on valuation and believes fair value is $14/share...

• SunTrust upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) to Buy from Neutral.

• Raymond James raised Steak n Shake (NYSE: SNS) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) upgraded shares to Buy from Hold.

• Buckingham upgraded Blackrock Inc (NYSE: BLK) to Strong Buy from Neutral.

• RBC Capital upgraded US Auto Parts Network (NASDAQ: PRTS) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

• HSBC raised Chartered Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CHRT) to Neutral from Underweight.

Analyst upgrades 5-11-07: AEO, ALU, AMAT and NVDA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 May 2007 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs downgraded the Semiconductor Production Equipment sector to Cautious from Neutral, citing expectations for weakness in NAND and DRAM in 2007; the firm also downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) and Credence Systems (NASDAQ: CMOS) to Sell from Neutral.

• General Motors (NYSE: GM) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Bank of America, telling clients it expects market share for the first-half of 2007 to be lower, along with a sharp fourth-quarter decline in new product volume due to overpricing.

• ThinkEquity also downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) to Sell from Buy with a $15 target, as they believe inventory in the channel is building and prices are falling; furthermore, the broker believes Advanced Micro has little opportunity of meeting the high expectations for margins it set on its recent analyst day.

• Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $34 target at Citigroup citing valuation that reflects aggressive long-term operating margins.

• Wachovia downgraded shares of Cox Radio 'A' (NYSE: CXR) to Underperform from Market Perform and recommended investors to swap out of Cox and into their top 2007 picks: Lamar Advertising 'A' (NASDAQ: LAMR) or Entravision Communication 'A' (NYSE: EVC).

Analyst downgrades 1-3-07: General Motors, Advanced Micro get cut originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cramer goes old media with Lamar billboards originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.