Analyst Upgrades

• Goodrich (GR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Ford (F) to neutral from underperform and CenterPoint Energy (CNP) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Dollar Financial (DLLR) and Edwards Lifesciences (EW) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Alterra Capital (ALTE) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) and P.F. Chang's (PFCB) to buy from neutral, as well as SunTrust (STI) to neutral from sell, at Janney Capital.
• Arch Capital (ACGL), Axis Capital (AXS), PartnerRe (PRE), Everest Re (RE) and Transatlantic (TRH) to buy from hold, as well as W. R. Berkley (WRB) to hold from sell, at Citigroup.
• Optimer Pharm (OPTR) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CAKE, CNP, EW, F, GR, NDAQ, NYX, RGLD, STI, SWN ...

Analyst Calls: CAKE, CNP, EW, F, GR, NDAQ, NYX, RGLD, STI, SWN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Murphy Oil (MUR) to buy from hold following the company's analyst day. In addition, the firm raised its target for shares to $70 from $59.
• SunTrust upgraded Petroleum Development (PETD) to buy from neutral based on higher price realizations. The firm has a $31 target on the stock.
• Sterne Agee upgraded P.F. Chang's (PFCB) to buy from neutral, citing valuation and SSS momentum. The firm has a $54 target on the stock.
• Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.
• PepsiCo (PEP) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Baytex Energy Trust (BTE) was upgraded to buy from speculative buy at Canaccord.
• Disney (DIS) was upgraded to hold from sell at Citigroup.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: APC, ATMI, DCAI, DIS, INTC, MUR, PEP, PETD, RBS, TXN ...

Analyst Calls: APC, ATMI, DCAI, DIS, INTC, MUR, PEP, PETD, RBS, TXN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Things Are Looking Up for the Restaurant Industry

Things Are Looking Up for the Restaurant Industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Companies Offering Free Food and Drinks on Tax Day

Companies Offering Free Food and Drinks on Tax Day originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The day's most popular strike is the February 45 call, with more than 2,200 contracts changing hands on open interest of 4,177 contracts. Several sizable blocks have changed hands at the ask price, suggesting that traders are buying new calls at this out-of-the-money strike today.

Continue reading Speculation Heats Up on P.F. Chang's China Bistro Ahead of Earnings

Speculation Heats Up on P.F. Chang's China Bistro Ahead of Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Dreamworks (DWA) to buy from neutral on valuation and believes Dragon will be a major hit. The firm has a $45 target on the stock.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Gildan Activewear (GIL) to market weight from underweight, citing expectations for increased market shares in the U.S. screen print channel. The firm raised its target to $17 from $12.
• P.F. Chang's (PFCB) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• PEPCO Holdings (POM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Arris (ARRS) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DOLE, DWA, ESRX, FOSL, GIL, HR, STZ ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DOLE, DWA, ESRX, FOSL, GIL, HR, STZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• ING upgraded Roche (OTC: RHHBY) to Buy from Hold as it believes Roche will not pay more than $100/share for Genentech (NYSE: DNA) and that the Avastin adjuvant data due April 2009 provides significant upside potential.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Perform on valuation as it believes sentiment is at an all-time low and the stock has limited downside. The firm set a $5 target on shares.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Comerica (NYSE: CMA) to Equal Weight from Underweight citing valuation that adequately reflects credit deterioration in its commercial-heavy loan portfolio and aggressive government action.
• Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: RHHBY, MOT, RBS, DKS, MCO ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: RHHBY, MOT, RBS, DKS, MCO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) reported a sharp drop in earnings for the third quarter last November, the stock plummeted to a 52-week low of $14.50 during the succeeding two months.

At the time, I suggested that the fundamentals at the company were so strong that the analysts downplaying the stock and the investors driving the price down were mistaken.

BWLD recovered in early December and held on to those gains for the first part of 2009. With the release of the fourth-quarter earnings report yesterday, the stock has added another 30%-plus to its price.

Continue reading Buffalo Wild Wings flying again

Buffalo Wild Wings flying again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: P.F. Chang's, ViroPharma and CSX Corp were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of P.F. Chang's (NASDAQ: PFCB) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's capital preservation focus, which they believe will drive a best-in-class free cash flow yield in 2009. Despite upgrading shares, Jefferies lowered their target price to $28 from $31.
  
• Thomas Weisel raised ViroPharma (NASDAQ: VPHM) to Overweight from Market Weight on valuation as they believe the sell-off on the Lev Pharmaceuticals (LEVP) acquisition is unwarranted. The firm raised their target price to $15 from $10.
  
• Merrill upgraded CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) to Buy from Neutral based on valuation and improved results.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Borg-Warner (NYSE: BWA) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  
• Credit Suiise raised Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• SunTrust upgraded Arena Resources (NYSE: ARD), Bill Barrett (NYSE: BBG) and Concho Resources (NYSE: CXO) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: PFCB, VPHM and CSX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Jabil Circuit, Aircastle, Genesis Lease and P.F. Chang's were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) to Underweight from Overweight following the lower-than-expected guidance, as they believe the company is seeing end market weakness in most of its markets. Shares were also downgraded at Thomas Weisel to Market Weight from Overweight and at Credit Suisse to Neutral from Outperform following the disappointing guidance.
  
• JP Morgan also downgraded shares of Aircastle (NYSE: AYR) and Genesis Lease (GLS) to Neutral from Overweight to reflect the continued credit and equity market challenges faced by both companies.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded shares of P.F. Chang's (NASDAQ: PFCB) to Underperform from Market Perform as they believe 2008 will be a challenging year for all casual dining restaurant companies and that the valuation is expensive at current levels.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman added Foundation Coal (NYSE: FCL) to its Conviction Sell List.
  
• Collins Stewart cut SiRF Technology (NASDAQ: SIRF) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Elan Corp (NYSE: ELN) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Canaccord Adams.

Analyst downgrades: Jabil Circuit, Aircastle, Genesis Lease, P.F. Chang's originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amazon has been what Wall Streeters call a "stalled-story". That means the company took most of 2004-2006 to build very expensive infrastructure and spent heavily on heavy marketing expenses to acquire customers. This spending spree took the winds out of Amazon's sails for those three years. Earnings growth, visibility and momentum suffered as did the share price.

Amazon: A long-term investment or a short-term trade? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Matrix downgraded Advantest (NYSE: ATE) to Strong Sell from Hold; the firm doesn't expect Advantest's profits to improve in the near-term after chip makers indicated they plan to cut capital spending.

• RightNow Technologies (NASDAQ: RNOW) was cut to Sector Perform from Outperform at Pacific Crest to reflect the company's poor execution.

• Mattson Technology (NASDAQ: MTSN) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at American Technology; The firm said Q2 results were strong but bookings and gross margin outlook were weaker due to memory spending weakness.

• Credit Suisse downgraded P.F. Chang's (NASDAQ: PFCB) to Market Weight from Overweight at Thomas Wiesel to reflect below plan new store performance for the third consecutive year at Pei Wei...

• Citigroup cut Taiwan Semi (NYSE: TSM) to Hold from Buy.

• Merriman downgraded Fuel Tech (NASDAQ: FTEK) to Neutral from Buy.

• Bear Stearns cut Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) to Peer Perform from Outperform.

• Goldman Sachs removed Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) from its Conviction Buy list.

Analyst downgrades 7-26-07: ATE, MER, PFCB and TSM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) have pulled back since the company reported earnings in early April. The firm posted first-quarter earnings that were at the low end of its previous target of $0.47 to $0.50 per share -- that represented a slight discount to consensus analyst expectations. This announcement, coupled with a similar warning from PF Chang's China Bistro (NASDAQ: PFCB), sparked fears that a slowdown in consumer spending is starting to hit the fast-casual restaurant chains.

But Panera's problems are at least partly due to geography and weather. Specifically, PNRA is based in St. Louis and has a high concentration of locations in the Midwest. This region of the country has been hit with particularly severe winter weather on several occasions this year, and such storms drastically slow business.

This inclement weather was particularly problematic because of Panera's policy of using fresh dough for its breads and pizzas. Basically, this dough must be made fresh each morning and tossed out at the end of each day. Lighter store traffic leads to lost revenues and higher raw ingredients costs.

However, I believe the worst possible news is already priced into the stock. Even based on lowered estimates, PNRA is trading at roughly 20 times forward earnings, a slight discount to its +24% long-term growth rate. That's cheap for a high-quality growth stock like PNRA.

To see more analysis from Paul Tracy, visit www.streetauthority.com

Panera Bread's pullback looks like an inviting entry point originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Apr 2007 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PFCB shouldn't need much of a PR blitz from me, however; the waits are always long, any day of the week, and the reviews are generally of the rave variety. And yet, March same-store sales dropped 3.0% at the eatery's benchmark China Bistro locations and edged 0.5% higher at its Pei Wei restaurants. For the quarter, China Bistro same-store sales dropped 2.5% while Pei Wei sales rose 0.5%. Total revenue for the quarter ended April 1 rose to $264.4 million, up 15.6% from year-earlier levels but below analysts' expectations of $268.2 million.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Slowing sales at P.F. Chang's China Bistro originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY

• First Albany initiated Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: ENDP) with a Strong Buy rating and $41.25 target; the firm believes the company's strong balance sheet can be used to strengthen the pipeline through the acquisition of product rights or companies.

• Thomas Weisel started Coldwater Creek Inc (NASDQ: CWTR) with an Underperform rating based on the fourth-quarter miss, and believes appreciation could be limited here.

• Yamana Gold Inc (NYSE: AUY) was initiated with a Sector Performer rating and $20 target at CIBC, explaining that Yamana's production profile is expected to expand by 150% in the next two years, making it one of the fastest-growing gold companies in North America.

• Oppenheimer considers PF Chang's China Bistro's (NASDAQ: PFCB) valuation attractive and started the restaurant chain with a Buy rating and $53 target.

Analyst initiations 2-1-07: Coldwater started with an Underperform originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs downgraded Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) to Neutral from Buy; citing weaker sales and expected heavy markdowns.

• Credit Suisse removed shares of Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) from their Focus List.

• Bear Stearns downgraded the Restaurant Sector to Market Weight from Overweight, citing valuations and softening fundamentals. In addition, Applebee's International Inc. (NASDAQ: APPB) and P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) were both downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform.

• Following the lower-than-expected Q4 guidance, Morgan Keegan downgraded shares of Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) to Market Perform from Outperform, as they do not expect a quick earnings recovery.

• Ensco International Inc. (NYSE: ESV) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at JP Morgan; the firm says there is growth risk to the global jackup market including overcapacity in early 2008.

Analyst downgrades 1-8-07: Wal-Mart cut to Neutral at Goldman originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Specific restaurants and Autodesk (ADSK) top today's list of initiations.

• Robert W. Baird initiated coverage of Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX), Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ:PNRA), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) and Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) with Outperform ratings and P. F. Chang's China Bistro Inc (NASDAQ:PFCB) and Rare Hospitality International, Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) with Neutral ratings.
• American Tech initiated Autodesk , Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) with a Buy rating and $12 target. The firm expects to see meaningful upside to 2008 consensus estimates and recommends investors to buy the stock on any pullback following Thursday's results.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Soleil initiated Openwave Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPWV) with a Hold rating, citing unlikely outperformance due to their maturing product line and consolidating customer base.
• The Bank of America initiated F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) with a Buy and $90 target. The firm said checks in the enterprise segment have been positive. In addition, Soleil said the company will soon enter a major product cycle with four launches.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst initiations 11-14-06: SBUX, Panera with Outperform, Autodesk with Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.