Analyst Upgrades

• Air Products (APD) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Zimmer (ZMH) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• SunPower (SPWRA) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Brocade (BRCD) to buy from hold at Wunderlich and at ThinkEquity.
• Duke Energy (DUK) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• NewStar Financial (NEWS) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Hormel Foods (HRL) to hold from sell at Soleil.
• Inspire Pharma (ISPH) to hold from sell at Duncan-Williams.
• Alnylam (ALNY) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Weight Watchers (WTW) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Raytheon (RTN) and Toreador Resources (TRGL) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BRCD, CREE, DUK, HRL, MOLX, RTN, SPWRA, VCLK, WTW ...

Analyst Calls: BRCD, CREE, DUK, HRL, MOLX, RTN, SPWRA, VCLK, WTW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• TCF Financial (TCB) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Exelon (EXC) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Nvidia (NVDA) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Estee Lauder (EL) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Webster Financial (WBS) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
• Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from underperform and Pioneer Natural (PXD) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Autodesk (ADSK) to buy from neutral at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, AAPL, ATHR, BKS, CL, CLX, EL, HBAN, NCR, NVDA, XRTX ...

Analyst Calls: AA, AAPL, ATHR, BKS, CL, CLX, EL, HBAN, NCR, NVDA, XRTX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO). Traders plowed into 2,601 new call option contracts -- 20.81 times the average volume -- on the stock on Wednesday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 89% of the trades came in on the ask price.

The ETF closed Wednesday at $45.60, up 4.35% during the past month.

Continue reading Option Traders Betting on Agriculture and the British Pound

Option Traders Betting on Agriculture and the British Pound originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on Rehabcare Group Inc. (RHB). Traders plowed into 2,192 new call option contracts -- 18.9 times the average volume -- on the stock on Tuesday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 100% of the trades came in on the ask price.

Rehabcare is sitting just above support at $16. The stock closed Tuesday at $16.56, up 23.16% during the past month.

Continue reading Option Traders Buying Rehabcare Calls and Atmel Puts

Option Traders Buying Rehabcare Calls and Atmel Puts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The bailouts of late 2008 and 2009 have cost the American taxpayers $61 billion, according to the Treasury Department, but the banks aren't to blame this time. The auto manufacturer bailout, which includes Chrysler and General Motors (GRM), has cost the country more than $30 billion, with American International Group (AIG) consuming another $30 billion.

Meanwhile, Bank of America (BAC) has already made good with the government, and several banks -- such as Capital One (COF), JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and TCF Financial (TCB) -- only have to clean up situations regarding the warrants they've issued. And interestingly, the losses from the bailouts on AIG and auto manufacturers are being offset by profits from the bank bailouts, which could generate additional funds of up to $19.5 billion.

Continue reading Banks subsidizing auto TARP, extra money could be spent

Banks subsidizing auto TARP, extra money could be spent originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Capital One warrants help chip away TARP obligation

Capital One warrants help chip away TARP obligation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Collins Stewart upgraded General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) to Buy from Hold as it finds the valuation compelling at current levels and sees potential upside from a better economy and better-than-expected defense budgets.
• SunTrust views the sell-off in shares of Cabot Oil (NYSE: COG) as a buying opportunity and expects the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection order to be resolved quickly. The firm upgraded Cabot to Buy from Neutral.
• Barclays upgraded Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on expectations for improved carrier demand, continued U.S. momentum, and an improved Europe.
• Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Stericycle (NASDAQ: SRCL) was upgraded to Gradually Accumulate from Hold at Soleil.
• Grupo Televisa (NYSE: TV) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMAT, CSCO, GD, HOT, LIZ, RBS ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMAT, CSCO, GD, HOT, LIZ, RBS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You know greatness when you see it. You know consistency when you see it. You understand differences when you see them. Well, here are two examples of superb execution and a consistency of growth: Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and TCF Financial, Inc. (NYSE:TCB). Both so different, yet so much alike.

TCB , as TCF Financial is known, is not a nationally known bank, but more of a regional player. They have operations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado and Indiana. In these neck of the woods they are known as the bank to Joe lunch bucket and to the university students. TCB has branches in grocery stores as well as stand alone branches. The hours of the grocery stores are TCB's hours as well. They have gimmicky give away prizes for opening a checking account and they are most forgiving on checks with non-sufficient funds. Forgiving to the tune of $25 each time!! This bank executes its plan flawlessly and they clearly know who their customer is and is not. They give university students their first credit card, carrying of course a fairly high interest rate, but it's still credit.

TCF Financial will never cater to the latte set or the champagne crowd, but its customer loyalty is legendary in the Midwest.By the way, the stock is just under its 52-week high and the company pays a healthy 3.7% dividend.

Wells Fargo & Co. -WFC- is based in San Francisco, but also has strong Midwestern roots. Their legendary CEO Dick Kovacevich is from Minneapolis and has been at the banks helm ever since Wells Fargo merged with Norwest bank ( based in Minneapolis before Wells merger). WFC has an upper crust customer base and it services that base relentlessly. They know how to capture customers and more importantly, keep them. Kovacevich has instilled a culture of passion within Wells that is felt right down to the tellers. Yes, Wells Fargo still has tellers!!

Wells Fargo shuns away from international banking as the profit margins and risk profile are more suspect. WFC knits its daily sweater right in the USA. It is the bank for mid-size to large businesses and has a powerful consumer franchise. Its product offerings are nearly endless and creative. By the way, WFC is also just below its 52-week high and pays a healthy 3.1% dividend.

So here you have two banks on different ends of the spectrum, yet both highly profitable, successful and customer driven. Twin sons of different mothers...

Georges Yared is the author of "Baby Boomer Investing...Where do we go from here?" and "Stop Losing Money Today". For more info go to http://www.georgesyared.com

Twin sons of different mothers---Wells Fargo and TCF Financial originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.