Analyst Upgrades

• JMP Securities upgraded Boston Properties (BXP) to outperform from market perform and has an $89 price target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on near-term catalysts that include, the potential start of 1msf of development in Midtown, investments, and selection as 1 World Trade Center project manager.
• Baird upgraded Bucyrus (BUCY) to outperform from neutral, citing valuation and an a more favorable view of the Terex Mining acquisition. The firm has an $83 price target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Warner Chilcott (WCRX) to buy from hold and has a $30 price target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and conservative guidance.
• AmeriCredit (ACF) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Rio Tinto (RTP) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BUCY, BXP, HOG, RDS.A, RTP, SY, TIVO, WCRX, WPRT ...

Analyst Calls: BUCY, BXP, HOG, RDS.A, RTP, SY, TIVO, WCRX, WPRT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 17 May 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Halliburton (HAL) to outperform from market perform as it sees less headline risk from the Gulf of Mexico spill following Wednesday's House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. The firm upped its target for shares to $44 from $35.
• FBR Capital also upgraded Morgan Stanley (MS) to outperform from market perform as it views the valuation as attractive following the recent pullback in shares. The firm maintains a $35 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold on valuation; it views the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. The firm raised its target for shares to $39 from $36.
• U.S. Steel (X) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• News Corp. (NWS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Argus.
• Sprint (S) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AVT, COF, HAL, JACK, LEN, MS, NOK, NWS, S, TEVA, X ...

Analyst Calls: AVT, COF, HAL, JACK, LEN, MS, NOK, NWS, S, TEVA, X ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the Bell: Futures Mixed Ahead of Open

Before the Bell: Futures Mixed Ahead of Open originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 May 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded UPS (UPS) to overweight from neutral with a $79 price target following the company's better-than-expected Q1 results.
• SunTrust believs Zions Bancorp's (ZION) tangible book value is around $20/share, making any future capital raise not as dilutive as the firm previously expected. The firm upgraded shares to buy from neutral and has a $26 target on the stock.
• FBR Capital upgraded J.B. Hunt (JBHT) to outperform from market perform following the company's better-than-expected Q1 results. The firm raised its target price for shares to $43 from $40.
• American Superconductor (AMSC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Global Payments (GPN) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BP, EV, JBHT, SY, TIF, UPS, XOM, ZION ...

Analyst Calls: BP, EV, JBHT, SY, TIF, UPS, XOM, ZION ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• RBC Capital upgraded Fidelity National (FIS) to outperform from sector perform. The firm upgraded the stock due to valuation, and its belief that the company will clear up issues related to its merger on its Analyst Day, scheduled for Dec. 7. The firm set a $28 target on the stock.
• Citigroup upgraded Smith International (SII) to buy from hold, citing the sell-off in shares following its 28M share equity offering. Note that Smith International priced 28M shares Tuesday at $26.50.
• Wells Fargo upgraded DynCorp (DCP) to outperform from market perform. The firm upgraded the stock on valuation, and because it believes that the impact on DynCorp of a possible indictment of PWC will be minimal, if any.
• Rockwell (ROK) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Omega Healthcare (OHI) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Analog Devices (ADI) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: FIS, LMNX, RIMM, SII, TGT, TSYS ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: FIS, LMNX, RIMM, SII, TGT, TSYS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"My mantra for investing in this dicey market is to focus on three non-negotiable demands: very solid balance sheet; large, installed customer base; steady cash flows; and dividends," says Jack Adamo.

In his Insiders Plus newsletter he looks at a technology stock that meets his criteria: Sybase (NYSE: SY). He notes, "Overall, this is a company I'm comfortable owning, even in a bad ongoing recession."

The advisor explains, "Sybase is an industry leader in software to manage, analyze and distribute information in the most data-intensive enterprises, such as financial services, telecoms, manufacturing and government.

"To put it concisely: It manages data and makes it available to the many different devices that use it, across the myriad communication protocols that must be traversed to accomplish that.

Continue reading Sybase (SY): Networked for gains

Sybase (SY): Networked for gains originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's domestic retail business is improving while input cost inflation pressures are beginning to moderate. Citi raised its target on shares to $32 from $28.
• Jefferies upgraded Sybase (NYSE: SY) to Buy from Hold as it believes slowing core IPG licenses in the second half of 2009 are now reflected in guidance. The firm raised its target on shares to $41 from $34.
• Canaccord said Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) decision to ad video functionality into the iPod lineup is "very positive" as it expands its market into the low-end camcorder area. The firm, which upgraded shares to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $200 from $150, also views the launch of iPhone 3GS in all countries by the end of Q4 as another catalyst.
• Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Societe Generale.
• Renasant Corp. (NASDAQ: RNST) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• America Movil (NYSE: AMX) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Pali Capital.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AAPL, AMX, COST, KFT, LMT, RTP ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AAPL, AMX, COST, KFT, LMT, RTP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Citigroup upgraded MEMC Electronic (NYSE: WFR) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated solar poly price pressures are easing. The firm added MEMC to its Top Picks Live list and raised its price target on shares to $24 from $15.
  
• FBR Capital upgraded PHH Corp (NYSE: PHH) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect an improvement in mortgage banking fundamentals and recent management changes at the company. The firm raised its target on shares to $23 from $13.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded PerkinElmer (NYSE: PKI) to Hold from Sell on valuation, seeing a balanced risk/reward at current levels. The firm raised its target on shares to $19 from $14.
• Pearson plc (NYSE: PSO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Nymagic (NYSE: NYM) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DELL, IBM, IPCR, NETL ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DELL, IBM, IPCR, NETL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We screened our database for standouts based on meaningful profit surprises," says quantitative analyst Richard Moroney.

In Upside, a service focused on applying in-depth quantitative analysis to small to mid-cap growth companies, he looks at a trio of stocks earning his "Best Buy" rating -- Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN), Sybase (NYSE: SY), and Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA).

"All things equal, the better a stock's earnings momentum and profit outlook, the more likely it is to outperform in the year ahead.

Continue reading Earnings surprises: Quant picks 'best buy' trio

Earnings surprises: Quant picks 'best buy' trio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and superior execution.

• Symantec Corp (NASDAQ: SYMC) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird as they believe integration issues from Veritas (CGV) are behind the company and expectations that shares will benefit from investments made during the past two years.

• Stifel upgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) to Short-Term Trading Buy from Neutral and recommends buying shares of AMD ahead of the Q2 report given market stabilization, the seasonally stronger 2H, and any positive commentary during the call that may be enough to encourage renewed investor interest.

• Lehman upgraded Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) to Overweight from Equal Weight citing checks that indicate a strong product cycles & shares gains in notebooks, improving seasonal demand, and new product traction.

• Citigroup upgraded shares of SVB Financial (NASDAQ: SIVB) to Hold from Sell to reflect less earnings volatility due to more later-stage customers and growing funds management...

• Matrix USA raised Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) to Buy from Hold on valuation.

• Citigroup upgraded MBIA Inc (NYSE: MBI) to Buy from Hold.

• Banc of America upgraded Sybase (NYSE: SY) to Buy from Neutral.

• Interline Brands (NYSE: IBI) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Lehman raised Swisscom (NYSE: SCM) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

Analyst upgrades 6-21-07: AMD, JPM, NVDA, PNRA and SYMC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This week's rumor round-up: Is Packateer on the block? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.