Keefe Bruyette upgraded MetLife (NYSE: MET) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company's capital and liquidity profile are very solid relative to this week's sell-off.
The firm also upgraded shares of MSCI (NYSE: MXB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe near-term challenges are already priced into shares.
Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan based on valuation and strong pricing outlook.
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
Pali Capital lifted Virgin Mobile (NYSE: VM) to Neutral from Sell.
Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ: TRMB) to Perform from Outperform as they believe the company's Engineering and Construction division is facing a challenging period due to the credit market strain.
Stephens downgraded Seacoast Banking (NASDAQ:SBCF) to Underweight from Equal Weight as they believe a dilutive capital raise is possible given future losses from real estate credits in coastal Florida.
Last week's preview raised the question of whether consumers were turning to comfort foods in these uncertain times, specifically in terms of second quarter earnings of Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) and Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD). Campbell's strong earnings growth topped expectations, while Krispy Kreme narrowed its loss, though it fell short of estimates.
This coming week should bring reports from more food-related companies, from cereal maker General Mills and food packager CongAgra to grocery chain Kroger, to the parent companies of restaurants Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Carl's Jr., and Hardees. Also look for reports from tech-related companies such as Oracle, Adobe, and Palm, as well as from financials Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, and from economic bellwether FedEx.
Here's what analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are expecting from some of the companies reporting earnings this week, as compared to their results from the same period of last year:
Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL) manufactures filtration and separation systems that remove solid, liquid, and gaseous contaminants from a variety of materials. Pall's Industrial segment sells filters, coalescers, and separation units for hydraulic, fuel, and lubrication systems; filters for use in commercial and military aircraft; and disposable filtration products used by producers of semiconductors, fiber optics products, disk drives and photographic film. The Life Sciences unit provides products used in drug discovery, gene manipulation, and proteomics applications.
The firm pleased investors last week, when it announced fiscal Q1 EPS of 54 cents and revenues of $661.7 million. Analysts had been expecting 50 cents and $633.5 million. The CEO noted that sales growth was broadly-based across markets and geographies.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD) which has struggled recently with allegations of mismanagement, healthier eating trends, bankruptcy filings by franchisees, and increased competition, said on Monday that it swung to a profit in the first quarter. Also on Monday, Pall Corp. (NYSE: PLL), which makes filters and purifiers, said fiscal third-quarter profit rose, boosted by favorable foreign currency translation and increased sales.
For the quarter that ended May 4, Krispy Kreme reported a profit of $4 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a loss of $7.4 million, or 12 cents per share in the prior year quarter, when results were cut into by refinancing and litigation charges.
However, revenue fell 7% to $103.6 million from a year ago. The Winston-Salem-based doughnut retailer said same-store sales fell 3.9% overall, but rose 1.2% at company-owned stores.
Krispy Kreme shares rose 48 cents on Monday, or 14%, to $3.90, but slipped in after-hours trading. Shares have risen 23.4% year to date, but are still well off their 52-week high of $9.50.