Analyst Upgrades

• Amazon.com (AMZN) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Netflix (NFLX) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer and to neutral from sell at Janney Montgomery.
• Janney Montgomery also upgraded BJ's Wholesale (BJ) to buy from neutral.
• RW Baird upgraded Kforce.com (KFRC), SFN Group (SFN) and Young Innovations (YDNT) to outperform from neutral.
• NetSuite (N) was upgraded to neutral from underweight and Select Comfort (SCSS) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Flushing Financial (FFIC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• National Instruments (NATI) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• RBC Capital upgraded MDS Inc. (MDZ) to outperform from sector perform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ABC, AMZN, BJ, CAH, GRNB, JCG, N, NFLX, STX ...

Analyst Calls: ABC, AMZN, BJ, CAH, GRNB, JCG, N, NFLX, STX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• ComScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $35 target at Oppenheimer. The firm said SCOR operates in a high growth sector with a sustainable competitive advantage and attractive valuation.
  
• Jefferies assumed coverage of Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) with Hold ratings and a $24-$26 target and $25-$27 target, respectively. The firm expects further downward EPS revisions as the housing recession extends.

• Jefferies initiated Energy XXI (NASDAQ: EXXI) with a Buy rating and $7 target.
  
• Select Comfort (NASDAQ: SCSS) was initiated with a Market Perform rating at Raymond James.
  
• Oppenheimer started Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) with an Outperform rating and $34 target.

Analyst initiations: Home Depot, Lowe's, ComScore originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Credit Suisse downgraded European chipmakers to Market Weight from Overweight to reflect the slowdown in the economy this year and the decline in the value of the dollar against the euro. The broker downgraded STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• William Blair downgraded shares of Select Comfort (NASDAQ:SCSS) to Market Perform from Outperform, as they believe weak consumer demand for large-average-ticket discretionary goods in 2008 will impact prospects of a turnaround.
  
• Friedman Billings lowered its rating on American Express (NYSE:AXP) to Underperform from Market Perform following the company's Q4 pre-announcement.

• JMP Securities downgraded Juniper (NASDAQ:JNPR) to Market Perform from Market Outperform.
  
• ABN Amro downgraded Groupe Danone (GDNNY) to Sell from Hold.
  
• Daimler (DAI) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Merck Finck.

Analyst downgrades: European chipmakers, SCSS and AXP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Illinois District Court: Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) Vioxx trial to start.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) to webcast the launch of the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor.

• Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke to speak at Bundesbank Conference in Berlin.
• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (NYSE: LGF) to hold shareholder meeting at 10am.

• Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 10am.
• Select Comfort Corporation (NASDAQ: SCSS) to hold Q3 Business Update conference call at 4pm.

• Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) to hold shareholder meeting at 11:30am.

• W.W. Grainger Inc (NYSE: GWW) to hold August sales conference call at 8am.
• Isle of Capri Casinos Inc (NASDAQ: ISLE) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• Interlink Electronics Inc (OTC: LINK) to hold a conference call to discuss asset sale at 1pm.

Market highlights for next week: MRK's Vioxx trial to start in Illinois court originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Merrill downgraded Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to Sell from Neutral citing expectations of margin erosion.

• Brean Murray cut Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR) to Hold from Buy following their disappointing Q2 report and outlook.

• Select Comfort (NASDAQ: SCSS) was cut to Strong Sell from Hold at Matrix based on weak performance and high risk characteristics.

• Anadys Pharma (NASDAQ: ANDS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Cowen, citing pipeline setbacks over the last 12 months, and lack of near-term catalysts...

• Collective Brands (NYSE: PSS) was cut to Hold from Aggressive Buy.

• Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM) was cut to Hold from Buy at Needham.

Analyst downgrades 8-30-07: CWTR, SIGM and WMT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OptionXpress Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OXPS) -- volume & volatility Elevated on renewed buyout speculation. OXPS is recently up $0.87 to $26.47 on renewed buyout speculation. OXPS call option volume of 3,911 contracts compares to put volume of 33 contracts. OXPS August option implied volatility of 47 is above its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Select Comfort Corp. (NASDAQ: SCSS) -- calls active on unconfirmed Tempur Pedic International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) buyout speculation. SCSS, a personalized sleep product company, is recently up $0.15 to $17.49. TPX has been frequently mentioned as interested in acquiring SCSS assets over the last three years. SCSS has a market cap of $854 million with zero long term debt. SCSS had March quarterly 2007 revenue of $216 million. TPX has a market cap of $2.4 billion. SCSS call option volume of 3,011 contracts compares to put volume of 174 contracts. SCSS August option implied volatility of 42 is above its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger price fluctuations.

Option volume leaders today are: Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update 7-16-07: OptionXpress volume elevated originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The Chicago Board of Trade (NYSE: BOT) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc (NYSE: CME) to hold a special shareholder meeting in Chicago about merging at 4pm.
• Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) to hold a business update at 4:30pm.
• Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

• Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, to be held from July 10-July 13 in Santa Monica, California.
• The Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) to release a 2007 Sales Update at 9am.
• Sealy Corporation (NYSE: ZZ) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

Continue reading Market highlights for next week: Monthly sales numbers coming

Market highlights for next week: Monthly sales numbers coming originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even as the housing boom fades, there's an argument to be made that people will get more interested in fixing up the house they have now that they are less obsessed with flipping condos in Florida.

Of course, that may not apply to the homeowners who are having trouble making payments on their hiked-up adjustable rate mortgages. But since the rich only get richer these days, it stands to reason that there would be more people willing and able to spend thousands on the sort of home appliance you could just as easily pay a few hundred for at Sears.

That makes investing in the companies that make high-tech home gadgets (see AOL slide show of some of the latest gear) an interesting proposition. If the housing market really tanks (it hasn't yet, I'd argue), these stocks would be somewhat insulated since none of them are direct plays on real estate. But if the housing market shakes its current limp and picks up steam, companies that make expensive gear for the digital home could do quite well. Meantime, some of these stocks are much cheaper than they were a short while ago.

Continue reading High-tech home gadgets: As housing fades, could these stocks shine?

High-tech home gadgets: As housing fades, could these stocks shine? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.