Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes the issuance of new common stock in exchange for outstanding preferred and trust preferred stock is a net positive. The firm has a $3.50 target on the stock.
• Merriman upgraded Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) to Buy from Neutral as if finds the currrent valuation compelling and believes the company should directly benefit from improving IT budgets. The firm thinks fair value is in the $9.11-$11.13 range.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Buy from Hold after its proprietary survey indicated the company is well positioned longer term. The firm finds the valuation on shares attractive at current levels and raised its target price to $53 from $48.
• Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• Boardwalk Pipeline (BWP) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Lloyds Banking (NYSE: LYG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at RBS.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, CI, DIS, GPS, NFLX ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, CI, DIS, GPS, NFLX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) to Hold from Sell following the company's Q2 results, believing the worst may be behind the company. Citi raised its target on shares to $24 from $18.
• Goldman upgraded AnnTaylor (NYSE: ANN) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $13 from $6.50, citing improved merchandising and inventories.
• Baird upgraded TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) to Outperform from Underperform and raised its target to $12 from $9, citing the better-than-expected Q2 report and guidance, strong balance sheet, and valuation.
• F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Sanmina (NASDAQ: SANM) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANN, CS, MCO, NRG, RHT, TJX ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANN, CS, MCO, NRG, RHT, TJX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Citigroup downgraded Hershey (NYSE:HSY) to Hold from Buy, according to Briefing.com. The news services also reports that Bank of America downgraded Ingram Micro (NYSE:IM) to Neutral from Buy.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) was cut to Underweight at Lehman, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial website also reports that Comverse Tech (NASDAQ:CMVT) was cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Early analyst calls (HSY) (IM) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The surprises are names that are not exactly household in nature. Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX), Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP), International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), and CREDO Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: CRED) are part of the list and the names that inspire the expression "huh?"

Continue reading Top 25 stocks of the past 25 years: Some surprises

Top 25 stocks of the past 25 years: Some surprises originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Schering-Plough Corp (NYSE: SGP) was downgraded to Market Perform from Strong Buy at Raymond James, to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC and to Hold from Buy at AG Edwards on valuation.

• HSBC also cut Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV) to Neutral from Overweight.

• Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Freidman Billings and to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch following its first quarter miss.

• Stifel downgraded Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI) to Sell from Hold after its disappointing first quarter report.

• Stifel also cut Heartland Express Inc (NASDAQ: HTLD) to Hold from Buy on valuation.

• Jefferies downgraded shares of RightNow Technologies (NASDAQ: RNOW) to Hold from Buy with a $17 target. William Blair downgraded RightNow to Market Perform from Outperform based on the company's sales organization changes and weak bookings.

• Shares of CBRL Group, Inc (NASDAQ: CBRL) were downgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Overweight based on difficult near-term fundamentals and limited visibility.

• Baird cut HNI Corp (NYSE: HNI) to Underperform from Neutral.

• China Eastern Airlines (NYSE: CEA) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

• Brean Murray downgraded Genitope (NASDAQ: GTOP) to Sell from Hold.

• Sandler O'Neill downgraded shares of Capitol Bancorp Ltd (NYSE: CBC) to Sell from Hold.

Analyst downgrades 4-20-07: CBRL, COF, LUV and SGP downgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.