Analyst Upgrades

• Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Nvidia (NVDA) to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T), Leap Wireless (LEAP) and MetroPCS (PCS) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Illumina (ILMN) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Sun Bancorp (SNBC) to neutral from sell at Janney Capital.
• American Tower (AMT), SBA Communications (SBAC) and Freeport McMoRan (FCX) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALU, BTU, FCX, LEAP, MAR, NTRS, NVDA, PCS, T, VZ ...

Analyst Calls: ALU, BTU, FCX, LEAP, MAR, NTRS, NVDA, PCS, T, VZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday's announcement of the AT&T (T) and T-Mobile deal gives both companies a clear "win" in the telecommunications sector. Who are the "losers"?

The tower companies have experienced downward pressure today, with American Tower (AMT) currently trading down over 8%, SBA Communications (SBAC) currently down over 10%, and Crown Castle International (CCI) currently hovering down almost 5%.

Continue reading Losers of the AT&T T-Mobile Deal

Losers of the AT&T T-Mobile Deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Niche mobile play MetroPCS Communications (PCS), first discussed here on December 21, 2009, at a price of $7.55, is positioning itself for play-of-the-year -- and it's only March. The shares have risen another 15% this year to about $15, and I obviously still like the business model.

Last fall, MetroPCS powered through key, psychological resistance at $10, and this winter put it in the rear-view mirror, testing $15 before pulling back slightly.

Continue reading MetroPCS Still Has a Pleasant Ring

MetroPCS Still Has a Pleasant Ring originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading MetroPCS: The Little Engine That Could, and Just Might

MetroPCS: The Little Engine That Could, and Just Might originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Diamond Offshore (DO) to conviction buy from sell and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Syntel (SYNT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo, to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank and to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC) and Fiserv (FISV) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• 3M (MMM) to neutral from underweight and Tyco (TYC) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Collective Brands (PSS) and Nordstrom (JWN) to overweight from equal weight, as well as Foot Locker (FL) to equal weight from underweight, at Morgan Stanley.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: APC, AMZN, CME, DO, GPS, H, JCP, JWN, KSS, PM SYNT ...

Analyst Calls: APC, AMZN, CME, DO, GPS, H, JCP, JWN, KSS, PM SYNT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Intel (INTC) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Wells Fargo upgraded MetroPCS (PCS), Coventry Health (CVH) and Scientific Games (SGMS) to outperform from market perform.
• Estee Lauder (EL) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Simon Property (SPG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Citigroup upgraded BreitBurn Energy (BBEP) to buy from hold.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALU, AVP, BRCD, CVH, DISH, EL, INTC, NSM, PCS, SWY ...

Analyst Calls: ALU, AVP, BRCD, CVH, DISH, EL, INTC, NSM, PCS, SWY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• State Street (STT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Roth Capital upgraded Intel (INTC), Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Nvidia (NVDA) to buy from neutral.
• Bebe Stores (BEBE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• W&T Offshore (WTI) was upgraded to buy from accumulate at Global Hunter.
• Citigroup upgraded International Rectifier (IRF) and Timberland (TBL) to hold from sell.
• Watson Pharma (WPI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Atmel (ATML) was upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Oppenheimer upgraded MetroPCS (PCS) to outperform from perform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: GDP, INTC, LVS, MON, MRVL, NTRS, NVDA, STT, WYNN ...

Analyst Calls: GDP, INTC, LVS, MON, MRVL, NTRS, NVDA, STT, WYNN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One rule of stock investing is you "never chose a play just for fun." Even so, some stocks remain more-interesting than others, and MetroPCS Communications (PCS), which I first discussed here on December 21, 2009, at a price of $7.55, is one such stock.

MetroPCS remains "the little engine that might." Note: I consider MetroPCS to be a high-risk stock not suitable for low to moderate risk investors.

MetroPCS provides cell phone service to customers without requiring long-term contracts. Unlike the per-minute cell phone service providers, MetroPCS offers unlimited, flat-rate plans for local and long-distance service. Operating in more than 10 states, it has about 6.6 million customers.

Continue reading MetroPCS Remains in an Uptrend

MetroPCS Remains in an Uptrend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Canaccord upgraded Whole Foods (WFMI) to buy from hold based on the company's solid growth outlook. The firm has a $49 target on the stock.
• Bernstein upgraded Mylan (MYL) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and expectations that its generic business will grow over then next two years. The firm has a $22 target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Omega Healthcare (OHI) to buy from hold with a $26 target based on the company's earnings outlook, valuation and upside from its SNF portfolio.
• Procter & Gamble (PG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• Ryland Group (RYL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Deere (DE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: APC, DE, HSFT, MYL, PG, RST, TSLA, VECO, WFMI ...

Analyst Calls: APC, DE, HSFT, MYL, PG, RST, TSLA, VECO, WFMI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading MetroPCS Is in an Uptrend

MetroPCS Is in an Uptrend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Clear Channel Outdoors (CCO) to neutral from underweight following the company's Q1 results. The firm also doubled its price target for shares to $12 from $6.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded MetroPCS (PCS) to buy from hold to reflect higher EBITDA assumptions and valuation while doubling its target price for shares to $14 from $7.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded America's Car-Mart (CRMT) to overweight from market weight ahead of the company's Q4 results and upped its target for shares to $31 from $30. The firm has increased confidence in its FY11 estimates for the company and sees potential upside in Q4.
• Esterline Technologies (ESL) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Stephens.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• J.B. Hunt (JBHT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CAKE, CCO, CRMT, DF, HON, PCS, PRI, ROK, SXE, TSN, WAC ...

Analyst Calls: CAKE, CCO, CRMT, DF, HON, PCS, PRI, ROK, SXE, TSN, WAC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 May 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Jefferies upgraded St. Jude (STJ) to buy from hold and raised its target to $49 from $39. The firm cites valuation and the positive impact from the Boston Scientific (BSX) ICD recall for the upgrade. Shares were also upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman, as the firm sees upside for shares into Q1 results.
• RBC Capital upgraded EMC Corp. (EMC) to outperform from sector perform and raised its target to $22 from $21. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and believes the company can meet or modestly beat March quarter expectations.
• Auriga upgraded MetroPCS (PCS) to buy from hold as it believes customer migration away from postpaid to prepaid may be accelerating. The firm raised its target for shares to $9 from $7.
• Caterpillar (CAT) was raised to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Best Buy (BBY) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• Expedia (EXPE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BBY, CAT, EMC, EXPE, FCX, ICE, NTAP, PCE, STJ, VRTX ...

Analyst Calls: BBY, CAT, EMC, EXPE, FCX, ICE, NTAP, PCE, STJ, VRTX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading MetroPCS Is Testing Investors' Patience

MetroPCS Is Testing Investors' Patience originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dell Sells Off Despite Topping Analyst Estimates

Dell Sells Off Despite Topping Analyst Estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a bad habit: losing customers. Unfortunately, Sprint (S) seems to have this problem.

In the latest quarterly report, the company said it lost a net of 148,000 subscribers. Breaking things down, about 504,000 contract customers bolted while 435,000 prepaid customers came on board. In other words, Sprint is trying to deal with its problem by going down-market. However, the prepaid space is competitive, with players like Leap (LEAP) and MetroPCS (PCS). Even the mega carriers -- like Verizon (VZ) -- are moving in.

Continue reading Sprint Drops Another Bomb on Investors

Sprint Drops Another Bomb on Investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading T-Mobile Ponders a Mega Public Offering

T-Mobile Ponders a Mega Public Offering originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Generally, I stay away from stocks under $10. Stocks under $10 are "penny stocks," from an institutional investor standpoint -- and it's institutional investors who set the tone for stock prices and the market.

However, there are exceptions to my $10 rule, and MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS) is one and is worth a review.

Continue reading MetroPCS: A Get-Ahead-of-the-Pack Play

MetroPCS: A Get-Ahead-of-the-Pack Play originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Earnings working against stocks (BCRX, DELL, DHI, INTC, LEAP, PCS)

Closing Bell: Earnings working against stocks (BCRX, DELL, DHI, INTC, LEAP, PCS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• RBC Capital upgraded Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to Outperform from Sector Perform and said the company has attractive franchise value and earnings power, and is nearing the start of a credit driven earnings recovery. The firm raised its target to $22 from $19.
• Oppenheimer assumed coverage of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and upgraded shares to Outperform from Perform. The firm expects Amazon's revenue growth to re-accelerate over the next several quarters, making consensus estimates too conservative. Opco set a $130 price target on the stock.
• Barclays upgraded Ford (NYSE: F) to Equal Weight from Underweight and believes the company will report Q3 results above the Street. The firm raised its Q3 EPS estimate to 7 cents from 16 cents, vs. consensus of 21 cents, and its price target to $8 from $7.
• Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
• Briggs & Stratton (NYSE: BGG) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Sealed Air (NYSE: SEE) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMZN, BA, BAC, F, LUV, LYG T, WEN ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMZN, BA, BAC, F, LUV, LYG T, WEN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) new operating system, Windows 7, is set to be released on October 22, 2009, but it's unlikely to have an impact on PC prices. So, if you're feeling the urge to rush out and buy a new box, try to hold out until the end of the month. You'll get a bit more life out of it.

Fortunately, PC prices aren't expected to get much lower, so the entire supply chain -- from chips to software -- has nowhere to go but up. The effect, though, has been to put some serious pressure on manufacturers and retailers to keep from screwing up the release.

Continue reading Inventories add pressure to Windows 7 release

Inventories add pressure to Windows 7 release originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.