BloggingStocks

Before the bell: C, BX, RIO, MOGN

Barry Summerlin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:36:00 EST

Main market news here: Before the bell: UBS announces $10 billion in write-downs

Citigroup (NYSE: C)'s board is meeting early this week and could name former Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) executive Vikram Pandit as its next CEO, following Chuck Prince's resignation last month.

Private equity firm Blackstone (NYSE: BX) is expected to join with China's sovereign wealth fund in a bid for mining firm Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO). Blackstone's bid follows a $140 billion offer from BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP), which Rio Tinto rejected. If Rio Tinto accepted any bid from Blackstone, the private equity house is expected to divide up Rio Tinto's assets.

In an unprecedentedly large overseas acquisition in Japanese pharma, Eisai Co. of Japan announced a $3.9 billion deal to buy Minnesota drug maker MGI Pharma (NASDAQ: MOGN) to bolster its cancer treatment efforts.

Before the bell: C, BX, RIO, MOGN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Eric Buscemi — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:00:00 EST

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The U.S. clean energy sector, MGI Pharma, Apple and Kosan Biosciences were today's noteworthy initiations:

Morgan Stanley initiated the U.S. clean energy sector with an Attractive view. The analyst assumed coverage of First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR), Fuel Tech (NASDAQ: FTEK) and SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) with Overweight ratings and EnerNOC, Inc (NASDAQ: ENOC) with an Underweight rating.
Banc of America started shares of MGI Pharma (NASDAQ: MOGN) with a Buy rating and $45 target, as they expect sales growth in 2008 to be driven by Aquavan, which they view as an underappreciated asset, and potential survival data for Dacogen.
Soleil believes Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) could nearly double its PC market share to between 5.5% and 6% over the next five years. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $200 target.
Roth Capital initiated Kosan Biosciences (NASDAQ: KOSN) with a Buy rating and $10 target, as they are positive on the company's Hsp90 program and expect an NDA filing as early as 2009 in the relapsed-refractory settings.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

KeyBanc Capital initiated CastlePoint Holdings (NASDAQ: CPHL) with a Buy rating and $16 target.
Time Warner Telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC) was started at Cowen with an Outperform rating.
Jefferies resumed coverage of Windstream (WIN) with a Hold rating and $16 target and Embarq Corporation (NYSE: EQ) with a Buy rating and $68 target.

Eric Buscemi — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:45:00 EST

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The ocean shippers sector, Tesoro, Siemens AG and MGI Pharma were today's noteworthy upgrades:

Bear Stears upgraded the ocean shippers sector to Market Weight from Market Underweight, citing higher day rates in the dry bulk market. The firm sees potential upside for dry bulk firms Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE), Quintana Maritime Limited (NASDAQ: QMAR) and Ultrapetrol Ltd (NASDAQ: ULTR).
Bernstein raised shares of Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO) to Outperform from Market Perform and expects a rebound in West Coast refining margins.
ING upgraded shares of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the possibility the company may exit businesses.
MGI Pharma (NASDAQ: MOGN) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Overweight from Neutral, citing expectations for a strong Q3, Aloxi re-acceleration, Dacogen growth, and Auqavan opportunity.

OTHER UPGRADES:

UBS upgraded shares of Agnico-Eagle (NYSE: AEM) to Buy from Neutral.
Banc of America upgraded Everest RE Group (NYSE: RE) and PartnerRe (NYSE: PRE) to Buy from Neutral.
Calamos Asset Management (NASDAQ: CLMS) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.