Analyst Upgrades

• Jefferies upgraded Netflix (NFLX) to buy from hold and has a $65 target, citing stronger than expected momentum following the Q4 report and guidance. Merriman upgraded Netflix to buy from neutral following the company's better-than-expected Q4 results as it sees upside in shares to the $66 to $75 range. Shares were also upgraded to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Citigroup upgraded Rockwell Automation (ROK) to hold from sell following the company's better-than-expected Q1 results and raised FY10 guidance. Citi raised its target on shares to $52 from $35.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Textainer (TGH) to buy from hold to reflect improved container fundamentals and potential fleet growth. The firm keeps a $19 price target on shares.
• STMicroelectronics (STM) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at Piper Jaffray.
• Caterpillar (CAT) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Apache (APA) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Continue reading Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: APA, BKC, CAT, NFLX, KFT, QCOM, ROK ...

Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades and Initiations: APA, BKC, CAT, NFLX, KFT, QCOM, ROK ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue, sending shares higher.
• Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) reported better-than-expected Q3 numbers, sending shares higher.
• Bare Escentuals Inc. (NASDAQ: BARE) Q3 profit easily topped analysts' estimates, and shares surged.
• Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG) received an upgrade following the release of its Q3 numbers.
• Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) reported strong Q1 results, sending shares higher.
• E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: ETFC) reported a smaller-than-expected net loss for Q3.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) Q3 earnings topped estimates and revenue was up sequentially.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Aetna, Allergan, E*Trade, Goodyear, RadioShack, SAP, Visa ...

Earnings highlights: Aetna, Allergan, E*Trade, Goodyear, RadioShack, SAP, Visa ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo, which believes Verizon wireline margins troughed in Q3 and that Street estimates have been reset to more achievable levels.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital, which believes the company is gaining analog market share and shares are attractively valued at current levels. The firm maintains a $31 price target.
• Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) was upgraded at Wells Fargo to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm believes this year's run-up in the stock was primarily due to the company's spin-off of MSG, but the firm believes the stock can rise further based on fundamentals.
• Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan following the company's Q3 results due to valuation and its above-average growth. The firm raised its target to $51.50 from $47.
• RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) was upgraded to Hold from Underweight at KeyBanc, which said that its recovering sales trends were encouraging.
• Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush as it believes the divestiture of its Asian business coupled with growth in its Fly.com unit will drive 2010 growth. The firm raised its target to $17 from $13.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DRI, INTC, PALM, RSH, TXN, VZ ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DRI, INTC, PALM, RSH, TXN, VZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Citigroup upgraded Sunoco Logistics (NYSE: SXL) to Buy from Hold on valuation and raised its target on shares to $60 from $56.50. The firm sees better value in Sunoco Logistics than Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP), which it downgraded to Hold.
  
• BofA/Merrill believes Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) offers the most potential upside in the larget cap defense sector. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral and has a $62 target on the stock.
  
• Roth Capital upgraded Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) to Buy from Hold based on seasonality, multiple product cycles, and valuation. Roth's target remains $15.
• Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Societe Generale.
  
• EnerNOC (NASDAQ: ENOC) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird.
  
• American Express (NYSE: AXP) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  

Continue reading Analyst calls: RTN, NVDA, ORCL, AXP, MOT, PM, CSCO, QCOM, DRI ...

Analyst calls: RTN, NVDA, ORCL, AXP, MOT, PM, CSCO, QCOM, DRI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While other earnings may have disappointed last week, the news was good for oil giant ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP). In what some took as a good sign for big oil, the Houston-based company reported that third quarter net income surged 41% year over year to $3.39 per share, and that revenue also surged 52% to $70 billion. We'll see whether the good news extends to other petroleum giants scheduled to report quarterly results this week.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are looking for BP (NYSE: BP) profits to have grown 43.2% in the most recent quarter to $2.34 per share on revenue of $109.7 billion, and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) to post earnings up 39.4% to $3.25 per share on revenue of $86.8 billion. Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) likewise are expected to report higher net income of $2.33 per share (sales of $23.4 billion), $2.40 per share (sales of $131.4 billion), and $2.65 per share, respectively. Even Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is expected to post earnings slightly higher to $1.46 per share (sales of $36.4 billion), despite the effects of Hurricane Ike. Among these companies, only BP and Valero beat earnings expectations in the previous quarter. Not surprisingly, analysts on average recommend buying all except Valero, and shares of all of these companies have recently hit 52-week lows.

Continue reading The week in preview: Focus on oil and energy

The week in preview: Focus on oil and energy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Memc Electronic (NYSE:WFR) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe the bad news is priced in following the company's quarter. The firm raised Memc's target to $65 from $64. JP Morgan upgraded shares to Overweight from Neutral on valuation.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Citigroup (NYSE:C) to Equal Weight from Underweight based on asset sales, improved top-line, and dividend.
  
• Credit Suisse upgraded Sanmina (NASDAQ:SANM) to Outperform from Neutral citing valuation and margin traction. The firm raised Sanmina's target to $2.50 from $1.60. Cowen upgraded Sanmina to Outperform from Neutral following the Q3 report and guidance.

• Pharm Product (NASDAQ:PPDI) was upgraded at Baird to Outperform from Neutral.
  
• Sunoco Logistics (NYSE:SXL) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• JP Morgan lifted Air Products (NYSE:APD) to Overweight from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: WFR, C and SANM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.