OpenTable(OPEN) has come a long way since Chuck Templeton envisioned the idea in 1998 after observing the difficulty his wife faced while trying to book a dinner reservation by phone. Today, it is the leading provider of free and real-time online restaurant reservations for users looking to book reservations online as well as a reservation and guest management solution for restaurants. The company is comfortably ahead of its competitors like Urbanspoon, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp and UK-based companies liveRES Ltd and Livebookings Ltd. It also seems to have hit the right note with its decision to take Groupon head-on by selling third-party restaurants coupons through its website.

We currently maintain a $94.90 price estimate for OpenTable, which is about 10% below the stock's market price.

Continue reading OpenTable Gaining Momentum in Diners Seated

OpenTable Gaining Momentum in Diners Seated originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Bristol-Myers (BMY) to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• Pep Boys (PBY) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Tesla Motors (TSLA) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Emerson (EMR) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• ARM Holdings (ARMH) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• NetLogic (NETL) and Cavium Networks (CAVM) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Aimco (AIV) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Ceragon Networks (CRNT) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BMY, CAG, CAVM, CEPH, OPEN, PBY, SOL, TSLA, WDC ...

Analyst Calls: BMY, CAG, CAVM, CEPH, OPEN, PBY, SOL, TSLA, WDC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Parker-Hannifin (PH) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• JDSU (JDSU) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Noble Corp. (NE) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Cerner (CERN) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Cintas (CTAS) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• American States Water (AWR) to buy from hold at Brean Murray.
• National Semiconductor (NSM) and Texas Instruments (TXN) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Lululemon (LULU) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• DuPont Fabros (DFT) to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CERN, DFT, LVS, NE, NSM, OPEN, PH, QCOM, SHAW, TXN ...

Analyst Calls: CERN, DFT, LVS, NE, NSM, OPEN, PH, QCOM, SHAW, TXN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Initializing a position at this point could be very risky, as the stock tends to move in big swings. However, the strength being demonstrated is very impressive, and shareholders do have the potential to be considerably rewarded.

Continue reading Take a Look at OpenTable

Take a Look at OpenTable originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OpenTable (OPEN) is a free online restaurant reservation service, competing with companies like liveRES, Livebookings, Foodline.com and Urbanspoon -- which is owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), as well as Groupon and DinnerBroker.com that offer daily deals. The OpenTable online reservation service is free for diners, but restaurants are charged a reservation fee for each diner who reserves a table using the OpenTable system.

OpenTable acquired a competitor service called TopTable in October 2010 for $55 million. TopTable has a major presence in the U.K., which should boost OpenTable's international reservation revenues given the trend of diners increasingly using online reservation services.

We expect the number of diners seated through TopTable.com will rise steadily in the years ahead. While we anticipate that the number of diners will reach 10 million by the end of our forecast period, Trefis members predict more substantial growth towards 12 million.

Continue reading Encouraging Outlook for Number of Diners Using TopTable

Encouraging Outlook for Number of Diners Using TopTable originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OpenTable (OPEN) is the largest provider of free and real-time online restaurant reservations for diners in the U.S. It competes with Urbanspoon, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI) and other UK-based companies like liveRES Ltd and Livebookings Ltd.

OpenTable's share price has grown nearly three-fold from a roughly $30 value following its IPO in May 2009. The stock's current market price stands around $85. The stock price actually breached $95 earlier this month, soon after the company declared better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Continue reading Upside and Downside Scenarios for OpenTable

Upside and Downside Scenarios for OpenTable originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OpenTable (OPEN) is a leading provider of free and real-time online restaurant reservations, helping users looking to book reservations online and providing a reservation and guest management solution for restaurants. It also sells third-party restaurants coupons through its website. Its competitors include Urbanspoon, owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), and UK-based companies liveRES Ltd and Livebookings Ltd.

We have a price estimate for OpenTable of $94.90, which is roughly in line with market price.

Continue reading OpenTable's International Growth Driven by Toptable

OpenTable's International Growth Driven by Toptable originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• General Electric (GE) and Barclays (BCS) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Warnaco (WRC) to outperform from market perform and Melco Crown (MPEL) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Parker-Hannifin (PH) and Emerson Electric (EMR) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• AMD (AMD) to buy from neutral at Nomura.
• Novellus (NVLS) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• OpenTable (OPEN) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Lear (LEA) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Adobe (ADBE) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMD, BCS, BJ, CVC, EMR, GE, NVLS, PCG, PH, VLO, XOM ...

Analyst Calls: AMD, BCS, BJ, CVC, EMR, GE, NVLS, PCG, PH, VLO, XOM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded OpenTable (OPEN) to buy from hold, citing stronger than expected near-term trends and traction for the company's Spotlight offering. Citi upped its price target for shares to $70 from $46.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Werner (WERN) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation, the company's reduction in cost, and its above peer exposure to the pricing cycle.
• Goldman upgraded CarMax (KMX) to neutral from sell based on valuation and higher used car profitability. The firm has a $24 target on the stock.
• Apollo Group (APOL) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Nokia (NOK) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Zions Bancorp (ZION) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AZO, KMX, MSFT, NOK, OPEN, PCG, RIMM, WDC, WERN, XOM ...

Analyst Calls: AZO, KMX, MSFT, NOK, OPEN, PCG, RIMM, WDC, WERN, XOM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo believes Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) da Vinci procedures remain under penetrated and that consensus estimates are too low. The firm upgraded shares to outperform from market perform and raised its valuation range to $340 to $360.
• Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Westamerica (WABC) to buy from hold due to the company's FDIC-assisted acquisition of Sonoma Bank and what the firm sees as Westamerica's defensive nature. The firm set a $62 target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Corning (GLW) to outperform from perform based on valuation and the belief that downward revisions have peaked. The firm has a $20 target on the stock.
• Quality Systems (QSII) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• OpenTable (OPEN) and Windstream (WIN) were upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: FDO, GLW, ISRG, MDT, N, NLY, QLIK, RLD, TSL, WABC ...

Analyst Calls: FDO, GLW, ISRG, MDT, N, NLY, QLIK, RLD, TSL, WABC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• RBC Capital upgraded Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) to outperform from sector perform with a $20 target. The firm thinks the units' valuation is compelling, while the company's proposed acquisition of assets is positive.
• Stifel upgraded First Horizon (FHN) to buy from hold based on valuation and its path towards normalized profitability. The firm has a $15 price target on the stock.
• KeyBanc upgraded Isle of Capri (ISLE) to buy from hold based on improved earnings growth and valuation. The firm has a $13 target on the stock.
• ATA Inc. (ATAI) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Buckeye Partners (BPL) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Sinopec (SNP) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANN, BIP, DUK, FHN, ISLE, JCG, POM, RE, SMT ...

Analyst Calls: ANN, BIP, DUK, FHN, ISLE, JCG, POM, RE, SMT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading OpenTable Goes Mobile

OpenTable Goes Mobile originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

KaChing! KaChing!

It only makes sense to call a company a sound you like to hear. This is exactly what CEO and co-founder Andy Rachleff must have had in mind. His new company -- kaChing, of course -- is backed by Marc Andreesen (a name often associated with that sound) and Jeff Jordan, the CEO of OpenTable (NASDAQ: OPEN), two guys who usually do a solid job of backing winners. But, they've taken on a challenge by backing a company in the financial services industry.

Continue reading KaChing hopes to be the sound of success

KaChing hopes to be the sound of success originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

IPO. Initial public offering. Or as they used to be known among the Wall Street cynics: "It's probably overpriced." Not any more. Nothing that is too expensive will fly these days. In fact, if it's not a bargain, don't bother to talk with the bankers. Investors want history, especially ones with increasing sales and profits.

The year 2009 has already produced more IPOs than all of 2008. Sound impressive? Here are the numbers: this year there have been seven. So there aren't a lot of companies going public right now, but still, there are some. And most of them are doing well.

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Remember IPOs? They're back ... sorta

Comfort Zone Investing: Remember IPOs? They're back ... sorta originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 30 May 2009 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For many tech companies, it's nearly impossible to raise capital -- at least at an attractive valuation. But, in the case of Facebook, life is different. As expected, the fast-growing social networking website was able to raise $200 million.

And the valuation? A cool $10 billion. Then again, keep in mind that Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) invested $240 million in Facebook in October 2007 at a whopping $15 billion valuation.

Continue reading Russians take a piece of Facebook

Russians take a piece of Facebook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 May 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) came into the world with a bang on Thursday, shooting from $20 a share to a peak of $33 before settling down for the week at $28.75. A 44% gain makes this the second strong initial public offering (IPO) for a venture-backed company, following the SolarWinds Inc. (NYSE: SWI) debut the day before.

Originally, OpenTable planned a price range of $12 to $14, which crept up to $16 to $18, and eventually to its final level of $20.

Continue reading Can OpenTable keep its early gains?

Can OpenTable keep its early gains? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 24 May 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OpenTable, which plans to launch its IPO this week, announced that the price range on the offering has gone from $12-$14 to $16-$18. In other words, there's quite a bit of investor interest in the deal. In all, the company plans to issue three million shares (about half of which will be sold by insiders of the company).

OpenTable operates an online network that manages reservations for restaurants. Some of the functions include table management, guest recognition and email marketing.

Continue reading Investors to feast on the OpenTable IPO

Investors to feast on the OpenTable IPO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 May 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since getting its start in 1998, OpenTable has been a key part of the restaurant system. Essentially, the company has an online platform -- called the Electronic Reservation Book (ERB) -- that helps facilitate reservations. In fact, the system has seated about 2.8 million diners per month over the past year.

Well, now OpenTable has filed to go public.

Continue reading OpenTable serves up an IPO filing

OpenTable serves up an IPO filing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.