Analyst Upgrades

• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Oracle (ORCL) and Alliance Data Systems (ADS) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Saint Joe (JOE) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Starwood Hotels (HOT) to neutral from underperform at RW Baird.
• Middlesex Water (MSEX) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Consol Energy (CNX) to buy from hold at BB&T.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BAC, CMA, DO, HOT, ORCL, RIG, RTN, SBUX, TLB, WYNN ...

Analyst Calls: BAC, CMA, DO, HOT, ORCL, RIG, RTN, SBUX, TLB, WYNN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Union Pacific (UNP) and Polycom (PLCM) were upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• LaSalle Hotel (LHO) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Graco (GGG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Valley National (VLY) was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Credit Suisse (CS) was upgraded to hold from sell at RBS.
• U.S. Bancorp (USB) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Penn National (PENN) and Riverbed (RVBD) were upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Goodrich (GR) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) upgraded to buy from average at Caris.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMZN, CAKE, CS, EMC, FCX, GR, HOT, K, MAR, TWC, UNP, USB ...

Analyst Calls: AMZN, CAKE, CS, EMC, FCX, GR, HOT, K, MAR, TWC, UNP, USB ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Dollar Tree (DLTR) to neutral from underweight and $48 price target.
• Credit Suisse upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to outperform from neutral and raised its price target to $70 from $59, citing growth in wireline HST demand.
• Needham upgraded NetScout (NTCT) to buy from hold with a $29 price target, citing channel checks that indicate industry spending on network monitoring software may be improving.
• Nstar (NST) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) was upgraded to hold from sell at Societe Generale.
• Air France-KLM (AFLYY) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: DLTR, FLR, H, HOT, MAR, NTCT, NVO, RNOW, TWC, VECO, VMC ...

Analyst Calls: DLTR, FLR, H, HOT, MAR, NTCT, NVO, RNOW, TWC, VECO, VMC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Baxter (BAX) to buy from hold on expectations the company will benefit from supply disruptions at privately-held plasma manufacturer Octapharma. The firm raised its price target for shares to $56 from $45.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Dolby (DLB) to buy from hold, citing valuation following the recent underperformance of shares. The firm upped its price target to $75 from $70.
• Bernstein upgraded Alexion (ALXN) to outperform from market perform based on increased Soliris forecasts for PNH and potential in aHUS. The firm also raised its price target to $75 from $60.
• Agrium (AGU) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Roche (RHHBY) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• BMO Capital upgraded Energizer (ENR) to outperform from market perform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADBE, AXP, BAX, COST, DLB, FDX, HOT, NOK, NVS, TWX ...

Analyst Calls: ADBE, AXP, BAX, COST, DLB, FDX, HOT, NOK, NVS, TWX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Starwood Hotels (HOT) to buy from hold, citing accelerating RevPAR comps and valuation. The firm upped its target for shares to $57 from $55.
• TD Newcrest upgraded Ivanhoe Mines (IVN) to speculative buy from hold based on valuation.
• BMO Capital upgraded Power Integrations (POWI) and ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to outperform from market perform based on valuation. The firm has a $45 target on Power Integrations and a $9 target on ON Semiconductor.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Reliance Steel (RS) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• AXA (AXA) was upgraded to add from neutral at WestLB.
  

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AXA, BHP, BYI, CAT, DWA, HOT, IVN, JPM, ONNN, PCLN ...

Analyst Calls: AXA, BHP, BYI, CAT, DWA, HOT, IVN, JPM, ONNN, PCLN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looks like John Paulson wants to get ahead of the crowd. He and other large homebuilders are buying prime building lots in states like Arizona, Colorado and Nevada.

The big players like Lennar Corp (LEN), Standard Pacific Corp. (SPF), KB Home (KBH), DR Horton (DHI) and Toll Brothers (TOL) are all grabbing lots at bargain basement prices.

Continue reading Hedge Fund Manager John Paulson Is Buying Prime Building Lots

Hedge Fund Manager John Paulson Is Buying Prime Building Lots originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading PhoCusWright Sees Hotel Industry Strength in Latin America

PhoCusWright Sees Hotel Industry Strength in Latin America originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) shares rose after lower Q4 earnings and revenue beat analysts' expectations.
• Best Buy Inc. (BBY) shares sold off despite better-than-expected Q3 results due to the lower gross margin.
• Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) warned that Q4 earnings would come in lower than the Street view
• Discover Financial Services (DFS) shares were up after it reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings.
• First Solar Inc. (FSLR) offered a solid 2010 outlook but the consensus EPS estimate is high in the range.
• General Mills Inc. (GIS) strong Q2 results included better-than-expected earnings and a rosy outlook.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Best Buy, Discover, General Mills, Nike, Oracle, Rite Aid, Take-Two ...

Earnings highlights: Best Buy, Discover, General Mills, Nike, Oracle, Rite Aid, Take-Two ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Timeshares, that wonderful relic from the 1970s, are about as popular as disco and excessive chest hair this year. Thanks to the recession, timeshare sales are forecasted to suffer their worst fall since this vacation option came on the scene more than 30 years ago. The plunge could reach 30 percent, according to Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association, a trade group, and the next year and a half could be tough, as well.

In the United States, timeshare sales fell 8.5% last year to $9.7 billion. They reached their peak the year before, when sales hit $10.6 billion, according to a study by Ernst & Young. The 2008 decline was the first sustained by the industry since it started keeping score in 1975.

Continue reading Timeshare growth spurt ends severely

Timeshare growth spurt ends severely originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), which is a real estate investment trust, struck gold last night. The company issued 40.5 million shares for its public offering, raising a cool $810 million (this was 35% more than expected). The offering price came to $20.

Why the excitement? Basically, Starwood wants to capitalize on the low valuations in the commercial real estate markets. The main approach will be to purchase debt securities -- and perhaps wind up owning some choice properties.

Continue reading Starwood strikes IPO gold

Starwood strikes IPO gold originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Starwood (NYSE: HOT) is recently up $1.54 to $49.08 on renewed buyout chatter.

HOT announced on November 9, 2007 an expanded share repurchase authorization by $1 billion and increased is annual dividend 7%.

HOT has a market cap of $8.9 billion with long term debt of $3.5 billion.

HOT March 55 calls have traded 38 times on transaction volume of 2,002 contracts above its open interest of 1,176 contracts. HOT option implied volatility of 43 is above its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

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

Option update: Starwood calls active on renewed buyout chatter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded the U.S. beverage sector, including Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP), Anheuser Busch Companies (NYSE: BUD), PepsiAmericas Inc (NYSE: PAS) and Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) to Attractive from Neutral. The firm cited expectations for a stronger 2008, benign commodity cost outlook, better than expected US beer demand, and valuations. Goldman upgraded shares of PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation and improving industry fundamentals.
  
• Bear Stearns upgraded ImClone (NASDAQ: IMCL) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing positive Flex trial results and the new market opportunity for Erbitux.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) and Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) to Market Weight from Underweight based on healthy August trends, credit market may ease concerns over supply growth, and valuations.

• Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Western Digital Corp (NYSE: WDC) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
• KeyBanc raised Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) to Hold from Underweight.
• Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) was upped to Buy from Hold at Gabelli.

Analyst upgrades 9-11-07: U.S. beverage sector, IMCL, HOT and MAR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) -- volatility Elevated on renewed Kerkorian speculation. HOT, a leading hotel and leisure company, is frequently mentioned as a private equity break up/recapitalization candidate. Chatter is circulating that Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda has a mid-$90's offer on the table for HOT. HOT is recently up $0.63 to $70.64. HOT has a market cap of $15 billion with long term debt of $1.8 billion. HOT reported quarterly March 2007 total revenue of $1.4 billion. HOT July option implied volatility of 34 is above its 26-week average of 27 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) -- volatility not confirming renewed takeover speculation. CFC, the largest U.S. home mortgage lender, is recently up 26 cents to $38.16. CFC July option implied volatility of 36 is near its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger price fluctuations.

Option volume leaders today are: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Freeport McMoran (NYSE: FCX), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO).

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

Option update 6-14-07: Starwood up on renewed Kerkorian speculation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Jefferies downgraded Websense Inc (NASDAQ: WBSN) to Underperform from Hold with a $20 target to reflect slowing growth in the URL market, near-term business disruption from the pending SRF deal and summer software seasonality.

• Dow Jones & Co (NYSE: DJ) was cut to Hold from Buy at Gabelli and to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.

• Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Prudential.

• Merrill Lynch downgraded US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) to Neutral from Buy.

• Goldman downgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the weaker-than-expected quarterly fundamentals reported by the major hotel companies. The firm believes investors should stay away from the lodging sector...

• JP Morgan cut Federated Investors, Inc (NYSE: FII) to Underweight from Neutral on valuation.

• Genesco Inc (NYSE: GCO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray.

• UBS cut Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) to Neutral from Buy.

• Tibco Software Inc (NASDAQ: TIBX) was cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies.

• Baird downgraded Watts Water Technologies, Inc (NYSE: WTS) to Underperform from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades 5-02-07: DJ, HOT, KKD, LCC and LIZ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 May 2007 11:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Volatility Index for S&P 500 Options (VIX) is up .16 to 13.62.

Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ: CYPB) -- option implied volatility Elevated at 194. CYPB closed at $7.46. Data from CYPB's end PII Milnacipran (Fibromyalgia Syndrome; FMS) trail, is expected to be released before mid-year. JEFF has a Buy on Attractive Risk/Reward with a $14 price target on CYPB. JEFF says "our diligence with investigators and statisticians increase our confidence in the prospects for a positive outcome." CYPB June option implied volatility is at 194 according to Track Data, suggesting large price fluctuation risk.

Starwood (NASDAQ: HOT) -- implied volatility suggests Flat risk; HOT at Record price on Chatter. HOT, a leading hotel and leisure company, is frequently mentioned as a private equity break up-recapitalization candidate. HOT is up $1.13 to $70.97. HOT's CEO Steve Heyer resigned on 4/12/07. HOT will announce EPS on 4/26. HOT has a market cap of $16 billion with long term debt of $2.3 billion. HOT reported 2006 annual total revenue of $5.9 billion. HOT May option implied volatility of 26 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

Option volume leaders today are: Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Altria (NYSE: MO).

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

Option update 4-4-07: CYPB volatility suggests larger risk originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Apr 2007 13:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Numbers are Actual vs. Estimate

• Goodrich Corp. (NYSE: GR) 78c vs. 67c
• Goodrich profits increased on a jump in sales of aircraft equipment to Boeing and Airbus. The company said margin expansion associated with sales growth and improved operating efficiencies are primary reasons for a continued positive outlook.
  

• International Paper Company (NYSE: IP) 47c vs. 35c
• The company's profits rose on a gain from the sale of its U.S. forestlands and a strong operating profit from its industrial packaging unit. IP is transforming operations to focus on its global uncoated papers and packaging business.
  

• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) 92c vs. 73c
• Higher room rates helped to contribute to a strong quarter for the parent of hotel chains including St. Regis, Westin and Sheraton. The company has been enjoying strong travel demand and limited growth in supply. It has also been selling hotels and retaining management contracts to free up cash.
• Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) 63c vs. 57c
• The video game publisher had a 38% drop in quarterly profit but beat Wall Street targets, overcoming investor anxiety that holiday shortages of new video game consoles would hurt sales. Shares rose 6% on the news. Company CFO Warren Jenson said EA was entering a growth period.

Continue reading High (and low) lights from this week's earnings releases

High (and low) lights from this week's earnings releases originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.