Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on Cogent Inc. (COGT). Traders plowed into 1,571 new call option contracts -- 3.27 times the average volume -- on the stock on Friday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 99% of the trades came in on the ask price.

Recently, 3M Company (MMM) announced that it was going to acquire Cogent for $10.50 per share. The stock closed Friday at $11.01, up 19.53% during the past month.

Continue reading Cogent Calls and CB Richard Ellis Puts Heating Up

Cogent Calls and CB Richard Ellis Puts Heating Up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect upcoming catalysts and the company's opportunity in subsalt. FBR raised its target on shares to $60 from $50.
• Citigroup upgraded Marvel (NYSE: MVL) to Hold from Sell on expectations the acquisition by Disney (NYSE: DIS) will close. The firm raised its target on shares to $50 from $31.
• JPMorgan upgraded Cubic (NYSE: CUB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the Vix ERG acquisition and increased sales visibility. The firm raised its target on shares to $43 from $38.
• Siemens (NYSE: SI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
• Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Thompson Creek (NYSE: TC) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AAPL, APC, CAB, DE, HOV, MVL ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AAPL, APC, CAB, DE, HOV, MVL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• B. Riley upgraded Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the potential for improving trends in second half of 2009. The firm raised its target on shares to $10.50 from $9.
• Merriman upgraded OptionXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) to Neutral from Sell following the company's better than expected Q2 results. The firm notes higher commissions per trade more than offset weak DARTs and the decline in customer additions in the quarter.
• RBC Capital upgraded Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI) to Outperform from Sector Perform and raised its target to $34 from $28 citing the additional scale of restructuring, better tone to end-markets, and few downside catalysts. Baird upgraded Gardner Denver to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $35 from $32 based on a bottom in fundamentals and compelling valuation.
• BE Aerospace (NASDAQ: BEAV) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital.
• Shire (NASDAQ: SHPGY) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
• UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BA, EXEL, FINL, NTAP, UNH, WU ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BA, EXEL, FINL, NTAP, UNH, WU ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's Q4 results could remove uncertainty and cost cutting initiatives could drive upside.
  
• Baird upgraded Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $42 from $34 citing valuation, solid execution, and growth potential.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) to Buy from Hold as it believes the recent sell-off presents an attractive buying opportunity. The firm believes Netflix has one of the best earnings outlooks in the internet sector and increased its target price to $52 from $37.
• AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Joy Global (NYSE: JOYG) and Bucyrus (NYSE: BUCY) were raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BT, NFLX, AZN, PFE ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BT, NFLX, AZN, PFE ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.