The markets opened lower this morning and have continued to slide all day, mostly due to poor reports on manufacturing and unemployment. Still, for the third quarter both the DJIA and the S&P 500 indexes gained about 15%. Now, it appears that faith in an economic recovery is wobbling, primarily as a result of expected growth in unemployment and continuing low consumer spending. The federal stimulus program has pumped about $86 billion into the economy so far, but that hasn't been enough to shake loose tight-fisted lenders or cash-conserving consumers.

Here are the numbers::

Dow 9,509.28 -203.00 (-2.09%)
S&P 500 1,029.84 -27.24 (-2.58%)
Nasdaq 2,057.48 -64.94 (-3.06%)

Continue reading Just about everything weighs on markets today (F, PAG, ETP, ASTI, CHTP)

Just about everything weighs on markets today (F, PAG, ETP, ASTI, CHTP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back in the 1950s, Roger Penske not only raced cars, but he also sold them. And, when he retired in 1965, he focused on his business interests, creating an empire. Now, there is Penske Auto (NYSE: PAG), which operates a chain of auto dealers, a truck leasing operation, and a high-performance car operation.

Well, this week the empire got even bigger; that is, Penske agreed to purchase the Saturn unit from General Motors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Continue reading Saturn enters the Penske orbit

Saturn enters the Penske orbit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Merrill believes Assurant (NYSE: AIZ) is well-positioned to weather the turmoil in the capital markets environment and cites the company's defensive characteristics for the upgrade. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded R.H. Donnelly (NYSE: RHD) to Hold from Sell to reflect the company's cost cuts and its ability to buy back bonds at discounted prices.
  
• Citigroup raised Consol Energy (NYSE: CNX) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they are seeing no fundamental deterioration in coal.
• Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
  Raymond James raised shares to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Penske Automotive (NYSE: PAG) was upgraded to Add from Neutral at Calyon.
  
• ICF International (NASDAQ: ICFI) was lifted to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Sell from Hold after the company reported Q2 results to reflect a deceleration in growth and margin pressures. RIMM's target was lowered to $70 from $120. RBC Capital downgraded Research in Motion to Sector Perform from Outperform citing reduced margin visibility and the slowing macroeconomic environment.
  
• Stephens downgraded Vitran (NASDAQ: VTNC) and Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) to Equal Weight from Overweight to reflect the companies' deteriorating demand and pricing environment. Vitran's target was cut to $15 from $22 and Saia's was lowered to $16 from $24.
  
• Mentor (NYSE: MNT) was downgraded to hold from Buy at Jefferies to reflect continued weakness in the breast implant market and the potential for lowered guidance. Mentor's target was lowered to $31 from $36.
  
• Merrill cut ING Group (NYSE: ING) to Underperform from Neutral.
  
• CF Industries (NYSE: CF) was downgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Buy.
  
• Liberty Interactive (NASDAQ: LINTA) was lowered to Sell from Hold at Natixis.

• Suntrust initiated Idexx Laboratories (NASDAQ: IDXX) with a Neutral rating, citing slowing organic revenue growth, valuation and a slowing lab business.
  
• Jefferies initiated Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) with a Hold rating and $33 target. The firm prefers to stay on sidelines due to valuation and macro risks.
  
• Hersha Hospitality (NYSE: HT) was assumed with a Market Perform rating and $7.50 target at Keefe Bruyette. The firm believes near-term demand trends in New York City could slow.
  
• Ecolab (NYSE: ECL) was initiated at Baird with a Neutral rating and $54 target.
  
• KeyBanc assumed ENGlobal (NASDAQ: ENG) with a Hold rating.
  
• Piper initiated Pentair (NYSE: PNR) with a Neutral rating and $39 target.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AIZ, RIMM, ING, URBN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Oppenheimer believes Cougar Biotech's (NASDAQ: CGRB) lead compound abiraterone is well positioned to address two underserved lines of therapy in prostate cancer with highly unmet medical needs. The firm assumed coverage of Cougar with a Buy rating and $43 target.
  
• Jefferies believes Penford's (NASDAQ: PENX) initiatives to improve product mix and increase returns on capital should lift the company's valuation multiples, starting shares with a Buy rating and $33 target.
  
• AtriaCure (NASDAQ: ATRC) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $17 target at Barrington, as they have confidence the company's minimally invasive approach will be the standard of care procedure for the less invasive surgical management of atrial fibrillation.

• Penske Automotive (NYSE: PAG) was initiated with a Reduce rating and $17 target at Calyon.
  
• Broadpoint initiated Applied Material (NASDAQ: AMAT) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Jefferies initiated eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) with a Buy rating and $36 target.

Analyst initiations: Cougar Biotech, Penford, AtriaCure originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Kevin Dann initiated shares of Penske Automotive Group Inc (NYSE: PAG) with a Buy rating and $25 target. The firm believes shares deserve a higher multiple given the company's reduced exposure to slower growing domestic brands combined with the increased penetration o luxury as a percentage of industry sales.
  
• CarMax Inc (NYSE: KMX) was also initiated at Kevin Dann with a Buy rating and $28 target, as they expect the multiple expansion to continue as confidence builds in the company's sales and expense strategy.
  
• Think Equities started shares of Towerstream Corporation (NASDAQ: TWER) with a Buy rating and $5 target and said the company is rapidly growing given robust demand fro high bandwidth services, market expansion, sales force growth, and higher ARPU services.
  
• Barrington believes Solera Holdings Inc (NYSE: SLH) is positioned to capture growth through technology adoption in claims processing by insurance companies, starting shares off with an Outperform rating and $27 target.
  
• Jefferies resumed coverage of Northstar Neuroscience Inc (NASDAQ: NSTR) with a Buy rating and $21 target, as they expect the company's Phase III EVEREST trial to yield positive positives, setting the stage for an FDA approval by Q109.

• Friedman Billings started shares of IPG Photonics Corporation (NASDAQ: IPGP) with an Outperform rating and $28 target and added shares to its Top Picks List.
  
• The firm also resumed coverage of Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: RSTI) with an Outperform rating and $92 target.
  
• ABN Amro started China Netcom Group Corporation (NYSE: CN) with a Hold rating and China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) and China Unicom Limited (NYSE: CHU) with Buy ratings.
  
• UBS started RSC Holdings Inc (NYSE: RRR) with a Neutral rating.

Analyst initiations: PAG, KMX, TWER, SLH and NSTR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.