Analyst Upgrades

• inContact (SAAS) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.

Analyst Downgrades

• Ericsson (ERIC) to neutral from buy at Goldman.
• Hovnanian (HOV) to underperform from buy at BofA/Merrill.
• PrivateBancorp (PVTB) to market perform from outperform at BMO Capital.
• Logitech (LOGI) to neutral from outperform at Exane BNP Paribas.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AGN, ERIC, HOV, LOGI, MMI, SAAS, SOL, TSLA ...

Analyst Calls: AGN, ERIC, HOV, LOGI, MMI, SAAS, SOL, TSLA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Apple Inc. (AAPL) posted its highest quarterly revenue ever, easily beating estimates, as iPhone sales doubled.
• Boeing Co. (BA) swung to a larger-than-expected Q4 profit but guidance fell short of analysts' estimates.
• Chevron Corp. (CVX) fell short of analysts' earnings estimates for Q4, sending shares lower.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) shares rose after optimistic statements by the CEO ahead of Q2 results.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) shares surged after it beat Q4 expectations by a wide margin and cash flow improved.
• Ford Motor Co. (F) reported its first annual profit in four years due to cost-cutting and improved market share.
• Halliburton Co. (HAL) reported lower Q4 earnings but beat estimates by a penny, and revenue also fell.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Apple, Boeing, Cisco, Ford, Kodak, Microsoft, Yahoo! ...

Earnings Highlights: Apple, Boeing, Cisco, Ford, Kodak, Microsoft, Yahoo! ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Privatebancorp Jumps 11% on Smaller Q4 Loss

Privatebancorp Jumps 11% on Smaller Q4 Loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Given the current economic and regulatory environment, we felt this was a prudent step to take to further enhance our capital position and our liquidity," said President and CEO Larry D. Richman in a statement.

Continue reading PrivateBancorp plummets after slashing its quarterly dividend

PrivateBancorp plummets after slashing its quarterly dividend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Intevac (NASDAQ: IVAC) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral. Piper downgraded Intevac citing delays in Gen2 upgrades following Q1 results.
  
• Sandler downgraded PrivateBancorp (NASDAQ: PVTB) following its Q1 earnings results.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Potash (NYSE: POT), and advised taking some profits.

• Soleil downgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) based on weak East Coast refining margins and low marketing and chemical margins.
  
• Calyon downgraded UAL (NASDAQ: UAUA) based on higher fuel costs and the failed merger with Continental (NYSE: CAL).

Analyst downgrades: IVAC, SUN, UAUA, CAL, PVTB and POT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) completed its acquisition of the parent of Chicago's LaSalle Bank in the beginning of October, a move that significantly increased Bank of America's presence in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. LaSalle had 400 banking centers, 17,000 commercial customers, and 1.4 million retail customers.

Now, most of LaSalle Bank's former senior leadership has defected to Chicago-based PrivateBancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB). Bank of America said that it would defend its customer base from PrivateBancorp or any lender that tries to poach customers from the biggest business lender in Chicago. They plan to start with visits to LaSalle customers: "We will be blanketing the market with calls starting today," said a Bank of America spokesperson.

Experts have drawn distinctions between LaSalle's commercial banking model and Bank of America's retail model. LaSalle allowed front-line lenders to make more credit decisions and handle virtually all of the clients' needs, but Bank of America says that credit decisions in most cases will still be made locally.

Meanwhile, former LaSalle Bank CEO, Larry Richman, will take over as CEO of PrivateBancorp on Monday. "Larry is a proven business and civic leader whose passion for clients and the Chicago area has been demonstrated in his past successes," said Richman's predecessor, PrivateBancorp's cofounder, Ralph Mandell. In turn, Richman said, "There is an extraordinary opportunity for us to build and expand client relationships to become the premier middle market commercial and private bank not only in Chicago, but also in all of the markets we serve."

LaSalle Bank leadership defects after BAC merger -- are customers next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Tektronix (NYSE: TEK) to Overweight from Underweight citing improving sector fundamentals.

• JP Morgan also raised GameStop (NYSE: GME) to Overweight from Neutral based on the May sales data.

• Oppenheimer upgraded PrivateBancorp (NASDAQ: PVTB) to Neutral from Sell based on valuation.

• BMO Capital raised Quebecor World (NYSE: IQW) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation.

• CheckFree (NASDAQ: CKFR) was assumed with a Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC citing a favorable risk/reward, solid secular underlying trends, and overblown concerns for its rating...

• Symantec Corp (NASDAQ: SYMC) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

• Ingersoll-Rand Co Ltd (NYSE: IR) was raised to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.

• ThinkEquity upgraded shares of Jones Soda Co (NASDAQ: JSDA) to Buy from Accumulate.

• BB&T upgraded Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) to Buy from Hold.

• Goldman added Cigna Corp (NYSE: CI) to its America's Conviction List.

Analyst upgrades 6-18-07: CI, CKFR, JSDA, PSUN and SYMC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.