Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Thor Industries (THO) to buy from hold after the company said its accounting review will not lead to changes to previously taken accounting positions. The firm raised its target for shares to $45 from $28.
• Citigroup upgraded Family Dollar (FDO) to buy from hold, citing valuation and its positive view on the dollar store industry. The firm upped its target for shares to $47 from $44.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Albany Molecular (AMRI) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and a stabilizing core business.
• Goldman Sachs (GS) upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• BP (BP) was raised to buy from hold at RBS.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMAT, AMRI, BP, BUCY, DB, FDO, GS, ISIL, THO ...

Analyst Calls: AMAT, AMRI, BP, BUCY, DB, FDO, GS, ISIL, THO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to overweight from equal weight and said investor concerns regarding Advair and Avandia are overdone.
• Leerink upgraded Bristol-Myers (BMY) to outperform from market perform, citing management's pipeline execution. Shares were also upgraded at Citigroup this morning to buy from hold.
• Goldman upgraded Medco Health (MHS) to buy from neutral and raised its price target on shares to $76 from $67. The firm cites valuation and expectations that earnings will accelerate in 2H10 driven by a stronger generic outlook.
• U.S. Steel (X) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Blyth (BTH) was upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• IPC The Hospitalist Co. (IPCM) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BMY, FSLR, GSK, LGF, MHS, PVH, SAI, SU, WAG, X ...

Analyst Calls: BMY, FSLR, GSK, LGF, MHS, PVH, SAI, SU, WAG, X ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not your typical vehicle maker, Thor Industries (THO) specializes in small and mid-sized buses. Its key customers are local governments, but also include rental car companies and hotels that have their own private transportation needs.

As the recession has taken hold, many municipalities and businesses are seeing less revenue and are opting to delay the purchase of bigger buses in favor for Thor's smaller and more affordable coaches.

Continue reading Auto Stock #3: Thor Industries (THO)

Auto Stock #3: Thor Industries (THO) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now that GM and Chrysler are mired in turnarounds and still hemorrhaging sales, a select group of auto stocks will step into the void to gain market share and see huge growth in 2010.

December sales figures show the best month for automakers since the August boom caused by "Cash for Clunkers." This is extremely significant since it shows that pent-up demand is catching up with consumers and that the worst may be over for auto stocks that weathered the downturn successfully.

Continue reading Three Auto Stocks to Rev Up Your Returns in 2010

Three Auto Stocks to Rev Up Your Returns in 2010 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Baird expects Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) to benefit from industry consolidation and the eventual recovery. Shares were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform.
  
• Jefferies upgraded SPSS Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSS) to Buy from Hold on valuation and believes the company's cost cuts will be positive for EPS. The company's target was lowered to $28 from $29.
  
• Banc of America upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE: ETR) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and believes the company is unlikely to spin-off Enexus by year-end. They believe a spin-off in 2009 or no spin at all suggests a higher share price from current levels. The company's target was raised to $104 from $101.50.
• AMN Healthcare (NYSE: AMN) was upgraded to hold from Sell at Citigroup.
  
• Argus upgraded Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) to Hold from Sell.
  
• Transdigm Group (NYSE: TDG) was lifted to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst downgrades:

Continue reading Analyst calls: ETR, THO, AMN, DF, FOSL, NSRGY . . .

Analyst calls: ETR, THO, AMN, DF, FOSL, NSRGY . . . originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of National City (NYSE: NCC) to Outperform from Perform on valuation as they believe the bank is not seeing a mass exodus of depositors.
  
• Wachovia upgraded Brookfield Infrastructure (NYSE: BIP) to Outperform from Market Perform due to what the firm sees as the company's solid cash flow growth outlook, strong balance sheet, and discounted valuation.
  
• Baird upgraded Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) to Outperform from Neutral citing valuation and improving 2009 prospects from 8800, 8600, and 7100 products and better Opex management..
• Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen.
  
• UBS raised Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Borg-Warner (NYSE: BWA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Keybanc.

• Merriman downgraded shares of TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) and Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) to Neutral from Buy to reflect concerns about display advertising trends and the company's above average exposure to the financial vertical.
  
• Baird downgraded Monaco Coach (NYSE: MNC) to Neutral from Outperform and Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) and Winnebago Industries (NYSE: WGO) to Underperform from Neutral citing valuations and checks that indicate "dreadful" fundamentals.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Sector Perform from Outperform citing weakening consumer spending, reduced visibility, and risks to valuation. The company's target was lowered to $140 from $200.

Continue reading Analyst calls: AAPL, NCC, NT, TLAB, TTWO, TSCM, HOT, CHK ...

Analyst calls: AAPL, NCC, NT, TLAB, TTWO, TSCM, HOT, CHK ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Neutral from Underweight as they believe the company can start fresh after yesterday's pre-announcement.
  
• Banc of America upgraded shares of ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) and AMB Property (NYSE: AMB) to Buy from Neutral to reflect their positive outlook on global industrial REITs and believes they are positioned to benefit from global demand for industrial space.
  
• Navteq Corporation (NYSE: NVT) was upgraded at Deutsche Bank to Hold from Sell to reflect the acquisition by Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK).
  
• Wachovia raised shares of PDL BioPharma Inc (NASDAQ: PDLI) to Outperform from Market Perform following the CEO resignation and potential sale of the company.

• Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) was upgraded to Buy from Gradually Accumulate at Soleil.
  
• Gabelli upgraded Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) to Hold from Sell.
  
• Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) was upgraded at Citigroup to Hold from Sell.
  
• Roth Capital upgraded Conexant Systems (NASDAQ: CNXT) to Hold from Sell.

Analyst upgrades: UBS, PLD, AMB, NVT and PDLI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Oct 2007 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• ING Group upgraded shares of BT Group (NYSE: BT) to Hold from Sell to reflect the company's more stable revenue trend and improving cash flow generation.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Luminent Mortgage Capital (NYSE: LUM) to Hold from Sell, as they believe the company's portfolio is beginning to stabilize and its liquidity has improved.
  
• Goldman upgraded Cognos Inc (NASDAQ: COGN) to Buy from Neutral following its Q2 report.
  
• Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) was raised to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital Markets. The firm's checks indicate strengthening backlog and lower promotional spending.
  
• Roth Capital believes Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) is about to enter a growth phase with Paul Bisaro at the helm and is positive on Silodosin potential. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Hold.

• Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ: OZRK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley.
  
• Bear upgraded Harman International (NYSE: HAR) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Goldman upgraded Packagaing Corporation (NYSE: PKG) and Smurfit-Stone Container (NASDAQ: SSCC) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Friedman Billings raised Conseco Inc (NYSE: CNO) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades: BT, LUM, COGN, THO and WPI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Banc of America downgraded shares of RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) to Sell from Neutral and lowered their target to $18 from $26 as they believe cuts to labor costs and advertising expenses will make it more difficult to overcome declining wireless trends.

• Friedman Billings cut Visual Sciences (NASDAQ: VSCN) to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation. Citigroup downgraded Alcan to Hold from buy on the acquisition news.

• Soleil cut U.S. Celluar (AMEX: USM) to Sell from Hold on valuation.

• Westwood One (NYSE: WON) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Citigroup based on management distractions and weak fundamentals...

• Cowen removed ImClone Systems (NASDAQ: IMCL) from its Focus List, as the firm believes Erbitux is now more in line with consensus but said financials remain uninspiring.

• Merrill cut Allstate (NYSE: ALL) and Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) to Neutral from Buy.

• USB downgraded Frontline (NYSE: FRO) to Reduce from Neutral.

• Matrix cut Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) to Sell from Strong Buy.

Analyst downgrades 7-13-07: ALL, BDK, IMCL and RSH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There was a time in 2002 and 2003, when I vocally advocated on TV business shows (and was right) that the RV industry might see a big upswing due to all the Baby Boomers retiring. What better way was there to spend one's new-found free time than to travel around the country in relative luxury, stopping wherever you please, whenever you please? But I was ahead of the curve then, and for the past year, I've been bearish on this once ripe for upside sector. The reason why? High gas prices and less money in retirees' pockets.

On May 4, 2006, I blogged that "The Road Trip was Over" for Thor Industries,Inc. (NYSE: THO), an RV manufacturer. I got many adamant responses telling me that I had it all wrong. Many of you said that nothing would tear you from your RV travel, so I started thinking maybe these Boomers were more dedicated to their RVs than I thought, and willing to pay for them, no matter the price. But gas prices continue to go up without any sign of improvement, and sales performance of RV makers continue to fall. Even the Boomers with expendable income are finding it just doesn't pay to travel with a vehicle that typically only gets between 7 and 12 miles-per-gallon. With gas prices solidly in the $3-plus a gallon price range, we're looking at one expensive cross-country road trip! You might as well fly.

Which is why I'm bearish on Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: FLE), a leading producer of recreational vehicles and manufactured homes. FLE recently reported a fourth quarter sales decrease of 16% over last year, and within that, the RV group took a particular hit, declining by 12% for the quarter. Inventories seem to be piling up, as they didn't anticipate sales falling so much. I simply don't see how this can turn around any time soon.

Type of stock: A leading producer of mobile homes and RVs that has been hit by high gas prices.

Price Target: At its current price of $8.86, I don't think this is a smart buy. We're going to see Fleetwood sink more as gas prices rise. Ultimately, there could be consolidation which could provide a lift to the price, but it isn't worthwhile to chase the stock today in anticipation of an event which may be a few months or years off.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com.

Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc.: High gas prices mean slow RV sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.