Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Genoptix (NASDAQ: GXDX) to Outperform from Perform and raised its target to $44 from $33 based on analysis of oncology testing reimbursement that indicates average revenue per case is within industry norms.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) to Hold from Sell citing reports that an activist investor, Nelson Peltz, has increased its stake in the company. The firm said fundamentals remain weak but the news will likely push shares higher.
• Suntrust upgraded VCA Antech (NASDAQ: WOOF) to Buy from Neutral citing reduced headwinds and favorable risk/reward. The firm has a $30 target on shares.
• SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) and FMC Technologies (NYSE: FMC) were upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, GLW, HAL, NKE, SLM ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, GLW, HAL, NKE, SLM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The shares of Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) are taking a beating today, down nearly 3% at last check. Traders are reacting to news that Trian Fund Management L.P., under the helm of billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, reduced its stake in TIF from 8.5% to 6.9%.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Trian sold 2.25 million shares on Wednesday and Thursday at prices ranging from $22.58 to $22.61 per share. Now, the fund beneficially owns 8.49 million shares of TIF.

Continue reading Tiffany & Co. slips on Peltz's slashed stake

Tiffany & Co. slips on Peltz's slashed stake originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"With $37.2 billion in revenues in 2007, Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) is the largest food manufacturer in the U.S. and second-largest worldwide," notes leading turnaround stock expert George Putnam.

The editor of The Turnaround Letter explains, "New management has begun to shake things up and the turnaround program is well underway." Here's the advisor's review.

"The roots of some of Kraft's products reach all the way back to 1767, but it wasn't until 1903 that James L. Kraft started his wholesale cheese business from a horse drawn wagon in Chicago. Today, Kraft produces many of the best-known food brands in the world.

"In 1988, Philip Morris (renamed Altria) purchased Kraft, and in 2000 it integrated the purchase of Nabisco into Kraft. Altria sold a small stake to the public in 2001, but maintained majority control until 2007, when the company was completely spun off as an independent company once again.

"Under the Altria umbrella, Kraft stagnated, with declining revenues and little product innovation. As a result, the stock price today is within $1 of the price where it was when first sold to the public in mid-2001.

"New management has begun to shake things up at Kraft. In June 2006, veteran food executive Irene Rosenfeld became CEO, returning to Kraft from a stint at Pepsico running its Frito-Lay division.

Continue reading Turnaround Kraft (KFT): New management 'shakes things up'

Turnaround Kraft (KFT): New management 'shakes things up' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nelson Peltz eliminates stake in Starbucks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"I've spotted an excellent opportunity to cash in on the turnaround of one of America's most visible companies -- Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX)," says Jim Stanton.

The quantitative analyst and contributing editor to Xcelerated Profits Report explains, "I've had my eye on a number of retail stocks for some time now, looking for signs of a potential turnaround, and Starbucks is now high on my list."

"One of the main reasons for the slide in SBUX shares from its high of $40 in November 2006 was the overly aggressive expansion plan.

"And as food and dairy prices have soared, this has led to higher operating costs. In turn, this forced Starbucks to raise prices, just as consumers were struggling from the housing slump and soaring inflation.

"And as competition from the likes of McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts has turned up the heat, Starbucks has suffered charges related to closing out unprofitable stores. But Starbucks is tackling the problems.

Continue reading Turnaround time for Starbucks (SBUX)?

Turnaround time for Starbucks (SBUX)? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) were up more than 6% on Friday after Nelson Peltz disclosed a stake of less than 1% in the company.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that "John Glass, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said Mr. Peltz could urge Starbucks to cut spending and use more licensing or franchising in opening locations. The money saved from that could go to buying back shares or a larger dividend for shareholders."

Perhaps. He very well could urge Starbucks to do that -- but take a quick look at the chart for the company that Mr. Peltz is chairman of -- Triarc (NYSE: TRY). The stock closed at $6.69 on Friday, after beginning 2007 at more than $20 per share. And how's the corporate governance over there? One company that engaged in a proxy fight with him blasted him with this:

Triarc received a corporate governance rating of 21.5, exceeding only 21.5% of all companies in the S&P SmallCap 600 and ranking it in the bottom quartile. Separately, Corporate Library gave Triarc an 'F' on overall board effectiveness -- the lowest possible rating.

Most likely Peltz's stake is a nonissue and will lead to no changes. I certainly don't buy that it's a rational reason for the stock to add more than half a billion dollars to its market cap in a single day.

Peltz gets involved in Starbucks -- what does he have to add? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 May 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• DJIA 12,892.84 (+43.89; +0.34%)
• S&P500 1,397.86 (+9.04; +0.65%)
• NASDAQ 2,422.93 (-5.99; -0.25%)
• 10YR-TBond 3.866% (+0.039)
• 52-WEEK LOWS (AAI, HRZ, IAR, LEE, NTGR, PAY, UCBH, VDSI)

Continue reading Closing Bell: Scary undertones and major news mask a mixed day

Closing Bell: Scary undertones and major news mask a mixed day originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) finally sold the company to Nelson Peltz. The price which Peltz company Triarc paid was about $26.78 per share only a 6% premium according to the AP. One of the reasons the firm went for so little may be that there were no other buyers. The Wall Street Journal writes that "The move puts an end to the year-long saga that began when Wendy's first said it would consider a sale last April after Mr. Peltz began pressuring the chain."

Peltz has gotten a very good deal and Wendy's shareholders have not. The chain's current stock price is near its 52-week low. Over the last six months, the company's shares are down about 23% while rivals Burger King (NYSE: BKC) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) are up about 5%. Of course, they are the market share leaders and deserve some premium for that.

But if fast food does well, especially in a poor economy when people cannot afford more expensive restaurants, Peltz will have picked up a prize. When a recovery comes around, Wendy's could become a very nice business and the billionaire will look like a genius.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Nelson Peltz finally gets Wendy's (WEN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Wendy's International Inc (NYSE: WEN), struggling since the 2002 death of founder Dave Thomas, and pressed by investor Nelson Peltz to improve results, will today announce a deal with Peltz, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that the House Financial Services Committee voted to approve $15B in loans and grants so that local governments can buy foreclosed homes throughout the U.S. Committee chairman Barney Frank said the bill will avoid abuse, including requiring that purchased homes be a minimum 60 days into the process.
• Adding to evidence of a rally in corporate credit markets, the Financial Times reported that Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) is preparing another big sell-off of its leveraged loans in Europe.

• Several e-mails that have been obtained by the New York Post sent between Wall Street banks may prove a serious setback in the fight over the takeover Clear Channel Communications Inc (NYSE: CCU). The e-mails reportedly show the banks, led by Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) and Deutsche Bank, looking to get out of financing the buyout by Bain Capital and THL Partners by offering terms "they know the [firms] won't be able to accept."

Newspaper wrap-up: Wendy's and Nelson Peltz to today unveil deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nelson Peltz isn't too happy with Wendy's (NYSE: WEN), which quickly rejected two of his bids for the company, including a plan to combine Wendy's with Arby's, a fast-food chain owned by Triarc (NYSE: TRY), a company chaired by Mr. Peltz.

Normally I'm pretty sympathetic to the campaigns of activist investors, but Peltz has a pretty poor record on corporate governance. During his proxy fight with Heinz back in 2006, the company responded to his calls for change with this: "Triarc received a corporate governance rating of 21.5, exceeding only 21.5% of all companies in the S&P SmallCap 600 and ranking it in the bottom quartile. Separately, Corporate Library gave Triarc an 'F' on overall board effectiveness -- the lowest possible rating."

So it appears that Peltz may not be walking corporate governance talk. But then again, Wendy's has also been a prodigious destroyer of shareholder value of late, so this is kind of like trying to decide between leaving the kids with Britney or K-Fed.

Nelson Peltz calls out Wendy's: Is he one to talk? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

HJ Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) should have really strong sales this week leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl. With more interest this year than in any Super Bowl in recent memory, with the two storylines of the Patriots trying to run the table, and a New York team in the big game, not only should TV ratings skyrocket, but I would expect the number of Super Bowl parties to be up as well. Clearly that will benefit the condiment maker.

Heinz is trading toward the bottom of its 52-week range and sports a yield of over 3%. What makes this even more interesting is that investing guru Nelson Peltz owns a share. About two months ago, Peltz filed a prospectus for the $750 million initial public offering of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Due to the ways SPACs are set up, he will need to make some kind of acquisition, and that deal may just be Heinz.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has no position in any stock mentioned as of 1/27/08

Look for Heinz to profit from the Super Bowl originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With economic worries sending luxury goods makers like Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) well off their highs, at least one super-investor who isn't afraid to go against the conventional wisdom is taking notice.

Nelson Peltz and his Trian funds have upped their stake in Tiffany from 5.6% to 7.9% amid continued weakness in the company's share price -- the stock is already down 20% year to date.

According to the Wall Street Journal [subscription], Peltz has previously said he isn't seeking a seat on the company's board, but wouldn't rule out the possibility of taking an activist stance somewhere down the road. Another big drop could prod him to step in and try to make something happen.

Tiffany recently reported a weak holiday sales period, a strong indication that the economic malaise that started in subprime may be carrying over to more upscale consumers. In recent years, Tiffany's and other luxury goods makers have seen their markets expand to include more luxury aspirational customers. Dependence on less wealthy consumers for sales growth may be making the luxury goods sector less immune to economic woes than it has been historically.

Nelson Peltz ups stake in Tiffany -- are luxury stocks a bargain? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Peltz acquires 14% stake in Cheesecake Factory

Peltz acquires 14% stake in Cheesecake Factory originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nelson Peltz is offering to buy Wendy's (NYSE:WEN), but no one seems to want to say for how much. According to TheStreet.com,"in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, Triarc (NYSE:TRY) said it submitted an offer Monday to buy all of Wendy's shares, primarily with cash."

Peltz had indicated that he thought Wendy's was worth between $37 and $41 a share when he started talking to the company in July. The shares now trade below $32, so investors should not expect much of a premium.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Peltz offers to buy Wendy's (WEN), price not disclosed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sale of Wendy's International stifled due to credit market turmoil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What might be the best thing for a buyout mogul? How about a blank check?

Well, that's what Nelson Peltz is trying to get. That is, he has filed an offering for a blank check offering -- called Trian Acquisition -- that will have $750 million for M&A deals. Which ones? It's whatever Nelson wants.

Seems he has the pedigree to pull it off. Peltz got his start back in the roaring 1980s (with the help of Mike Milken). He also has lots of operational experience, being the CEO of Triarc. Oh, and he's been an effective shareholder activist, as seen with such plays as Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) and Wendy's (NYSE: WEN).

As for Trian Acquisition, the focus will be on companies that have a strong foundation but are being mismanaged or undermanaged (there should be a lot to choose from). Thus, the play is to provide some expertise to boost sales and cash flows.

The lead underwriters on the offering include Deutsche Bank Securities and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER). The proposed ticker is "TRAC."

You can find the prospectus at the SEC website. And, if you want to check out other recent IPO activity, visit DealProfiles.com.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Deal maestro Nelson Peltz wants more moola originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Billionaire Nelson Peltz may have thought he had the inside track to buy Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) since his Triarc Group already owns Arby's.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Peltz will have competition from a group including Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, Oaktree Capital, and First National Financial. The head of First National once ran the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's chains. And, a third group has come to the table, this one backed by Kelso & Co. and Oak Hill Capital Partners.

Unlike several private equity deals that are falling apart because of tight credit markets, the Wendy's deal looks like it may be done at a nice premium for shareholders. Wall Street anticipates that the company could go for $37 to $41 a share. Wendy's stock is under $34.

Why is this deal different from others? Perhaps because the most visible bidders have a great deal of experience in the fast food business. This may give them more confidence that they will know which parts of the company can be improved to yield better cash flow.

That makes Wendy's shareholders more fortunate than those in other companies being pursued for buy-outs.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Wendy's (WEN): Nelson Peltz gets some competition originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Raider Nelson Peltz wants changes at Kraft (NYSE: KFT) and he may be getting them. The Wall Street Journal speculates (subscription required) that the Post cereals unit of the big food company might bring in as much as $3 billion. Pepsi (NYSE: PEP) is viewed as on of the potential buyers.

Kraft is a dog of a stock. Over the last year, its is off 5% while the S&P is up about 10%. Q2 increases in revenue and net income were both modest with total sales hitting $9.2 billion and net income $770 million.

A look at the 10-Q shows that sales by division are uneven. Most of the company's US businesses are barely growing at all. Sales at the firm's cereals division were flat at $1.61 billion. Operating income was down slightly to $226 million.

But, cereals is not the only troubled division at Kraft. Operating income dropped in four of the company's seven divisions in the last reported quarter.

Peltz is right. Time to start selling stuff off.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Kraft (KFT) to sell Post cereals? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Raider Nelson Peltz bought a piece of Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT). The shares went up some and then settled back. He wants to streamline the company, sell off underperforming assets, and make better use of cash. That is pretty much a canned speech for Nelson and his peers.

Yesterday, Kraft's CEO said she she would meet with Nelson. He can share all of his plans, most of which have probably occurred to the board already.

At the same time the company announced that it would have the meeting, the press found out that Carl Icahn has a stake in the company. It's not clear yet what his plans are, but he probably did not buy shares because he likes the artwork on the stock certificates. Kraft jumped 3% late in the day on Friday.

The news put Kraft into a rare position. If Peltz and Icahn have different goals for the company, it may actually be easier to turn them both down. Kraft can't do everything for everyone. But, if the two old hands decide to take the same path to getting the company to cough up cash for a share buyback or special dividend, Kraft has a problem.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Kraft: Are two raiders better than one? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Jul 2007 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wendy's International Inc. (NYSE: WEN) has just announced that its same-store sales rose .7% in the second quarter of the year. The chain has 6,600 stores. By contrast, McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) same-store sales rose almost 9% in May, the last reported month. The world's largest food chain has over 35,000 outlets.

The difference between the growth rates in the two companies is behind Wendy's decision to put itself up for sale. Raider Nelson Peltz owns nearly 10% of the firm's shares and cannot be happy with attempts to turn the company around.

No matter who buys Wendy's at this point, most current shareholders are likely to be unhappy. Shares now trade at $38. The 52-week low is $30.29 and the high for the period is $67.19.

Wendy's recently cut sales forecasts, so a big takeover premium is probably not in the cards.

The company's share price may kill its shareholders before its fatty menu does.

Douglas A. McIntyre is partner at 24/7 Wall St.

No wonder Wendy's is for sale originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 07 Jul 2007 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.