MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bear upgraded Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE: OSG) to Outperform from Peer Perform following its Q4 results, citing seasonal strength.
  
• Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) was upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies after quarterly operating trends showed signs of stabilization.
  
• Goldman raised Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to their Conviction Buy List as they find the valuation attractive at current levels.

• UBS raised Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Goldman added El Paso Pipeline Partners (NYSE: EPB) to its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Royal Ahold (OTC: AHONY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Analyst upgrades: Overseas Shipholding, Tenet Healthcare, Luxottica originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:32:00 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:

• Friedman Billings downgraded Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE: AVR) and Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ: PEIX) to Underperform and VeraSun Energy Corporation (NYSE: VSE) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform. The firm said the ethanol market has become increasingly challenging as spot market prices have declined by 30% in the past few months and expect pressure to remain through 2008 as the industry's growing pains continue.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Underweight from Equal Weight on valuation and regulation uncertainty ahead of Ofcom's first consultation document next week.
  
• AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman to reflect the company's U.S. exposure as they expect the U.S. economy to slow.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Kyphon Inc (NASDAQ: KYPH) to Neutral from Buy on valuation as the spread on the acquisition by Medtronic Inc (NYSE: MDT) has now narrowed.

• Pepsi Bottling Group Inc (NYSE: PBG) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• ThinkEquity downgraded BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BCRX) to Accumulate from Buy.
  
• Merrill Lynch downgraded Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: Ethanol sector, BT, AMR and KYPH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Following FiServ's (NASDAQ: FISV) acquisition of CheckFree, Raymond James cut CKFR shares to Market Perform from Strong Buy and Baird downgraded shares to Neutral from Outperform.

• Talbots (NYSE: TLB) was cut to Sell from Hold at Citigroup based on valuation, continued earnings disappointments, and a lack of earnings visibility.

• Cowen downgraded shares of SPSS Inc (NASDAQ: SPSS) to Underperform from Neutral citing decelerating growth and poor earnings quality.

• Bear Stearns cut Network Appliance (NASDAQ: NTAP) to Underperform from Peer Perform on the negative Q1 pre-announcement. Pacific Crest downgraded shares to Sector Perform from Outperform.

• After Pozen (NASDAQ: POZN) received a second approvable letter for Trexima, shares were downgraded by three firms:
  
• To Neutral from Strong Buy at First Albany
  
• To Hold from Buy at Jefferies and Lazard...

• Oppenheimer downgraded Applebee's (NASDAQ: APPB) to Neutral from Buy.

• Gabelli downgraded Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM) to Hold from Buy.

• Lehman downgraded Luxottica (NYSE: LUX) and Clorox (NYSE: CLX) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

• Thomas Weisel downgraded Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) to Market Weight from Overweight.

Analyst downgrades: APPB, NT, NTAP and SAM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Regular BloggingStocks readers know by now that my investment strategies are fairly conservative and relatively coarse. Please don't begrudge me that. Although I don't track my picks in a portfolio, I do mentally track the general performance of the companies I tout, and I believe that overall I've done fairly well.

There are two major differences between my stock-picking efforts and what I perceive to be Warren Buffett's style. First, Mr. Buffett has years of experience that I myself do not have. Second, Mr. Buffett likes to have a greater working understanding of the nature of the businesses he chooses to investment in than I do. I choose my companies of favor with what I call my "big picture" strategy. All that means is that I use a broader view than most of my contemporaries who like to dig right down to the very roots of their picks.

I like to think that my strategy provides solid conservative support, which shall then free an investor to do some aggressive speculating with their profits.

Continue reading Intuitive investing, gut instincts, or how I'm not like Warren Buffett

Intuitive investing, gut instincts, or how I'm not like Warren Buffett originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Jul 2007 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oakley's future's so bright, it's gotta wear shades originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oakley's acquisition suits Luxottica originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oakley (NYSE: OO) volatility and volume elevated prior to anticipated LUX deal. Luxottica Group SpA (NYSE: LUX), the world's largest manufacturer of eyewear, agreed to buy OO for $2.03 billion. I reported uncharacteristic OO activity on 5/31/07 and 6/6/07. OO option volume was heavy on 6/20/07. OO July option implied volatility of 43 was above its 26-week average of 35 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN) option implied volatility Stable. MORN, a provider of independent investment research, closed at $47.57. MORN's 2007 Morningstar Investment Conference will feature leading mutual fund managers and industry leaders-discussing current topics and industry issues beginning June 27th in Chicago. MORN over all option implied volatility of 30 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting standard deviation price risks.

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

Option update 6-21-07: Oakley volatility & volume elevated prior to anticipated LUX deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)

This week's rumor round-up: Will Amazon overpay for Netflix? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In unrelenting pursuit of double digit EPS growth for fiscal year 2007, it was announced Friday March 23, that Luxottica Group (NYSE:LUX) had acquired two South African eye wear chains. The reported total expenditure for the dual purchases was $13.4 million. Luxottica says the acquisition fits snugly into the company's strategy of maintaining market dominance, increasing cash flow generation and staying ahead of the eye wear industry growth curve.

Andrea Guerra, Luxottica Group's chief executive officer said that nearly two thirds of the world's population is just beginning to explore the fashion eye wear market. The drivers in the market can be divided into: 1) People attempting to express individuality through choices made in fashion eye wear has never been stronger. 2) As people in emerging economies come to realize the simplicity of vision enhancement through eye wear, they are also coming to grasp the realities of personal expression that fashion eye wear choices can make. 3) As baby-boomers age, there is an ever increasing pool of new clients who are visiting fashion eye wear stores for the very first time.

Continue reading Luxottica continues growth initiatives

Luxottica continues growth initiatives originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When looking into Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX) from an investor standpoint, a couple big moves which have recently taken place signal to me that Luxottica is taking a position for the long haul. Luxottica Group may be more well known to you by some of their eye-wear brand-names -- Brooks Brothers, Donna Karan, Prada and Ray-Ban. Luxottica is the world's single largest eye-wear / eye-care firm, marketing thousands of eyeglass designs under at least 25 brand names.

Some of the most significant company movements that grabbed my attention are not to be taken lightly. This is a very well focused company with an aggressive vision for the future. (Puns are included at no extra charge).The single most powerful event I have seen initiated by Luxottica was the November announced acquisition of D.O.C. Optics to include some 100 retail establishments operated by D.O.C. nation wide. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2007 for an amount of approximately $90 million. As of this writing the deal is passing cleanly through financial processing and regulatory approval.

Continue reading Luxottica Group is taking a long look forward

Luxottica Group is taking a long look forward originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Dec 2006 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.