MOST NOTEWORTHY: RWE AG, Asta Funding and Trident Microsystems were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Goldman lowered its rating on RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) to Sell from Neutral. They believe shares are discounting high power prices for the long term and sees downside risk to earnings.
Kaufman Bros. downgraded shares of Asta Funding (NASDAQ:ASFI) to Hold from Buy to reflect the uncertainty surrounding the company's extension in reporting its Q4 and fiscal 2007 results.
Trident Microsystems (NASDAQ:TRID) was lowered to Hold from Buy at Roth Capital. Roth Capital's checks indicate low end TVs continue to outsell top tier LCD TVs, which could impact Trident's revenues.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Trane (NYSE:TT) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: StatoilHydro, Portugal Telecom and STEC Inc were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of StatoilHydro (NYSE: STO) to Hold from Buy after the company cut its production forecast.
Credit Suisse lowered its rating on Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT) to Underperform from Outperform on competition concerns.
B. Riley downgraded shares of STEC Inc. (NASDAQ: STEC) to Neutral from Buy on valuation, as they believe the risk/reward is neutral following the recent rally.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Jefferies downgraded Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) to Hold from Buy.
UBS downgraded Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) to Sell from Neutral.
Deutsche Bank lowered Telekom SA (NYSE: TKG) to Hold from Buy.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Trident Microsystems, Comcast, Level 3 Communications, Ambac Financial and MBIA Inc were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Jefferies downgraded shares of Trident Microsystems Inc (NASDAQ: TRID) to Hold from Buy and lowered their target to $9 from $20 following the company's mixed quarter as they expect TRID to lose share in the TV market and face increasing price pressure. Shares were also downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. Oppenheimer lowered Trident to Neutral from Buy, citing disappointing December guidance, delay in TV ramp, and expectations that 2008 will be a peak year for TV chip ramp revenues.
CIBC downgraded shares of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to Sector Performer from Outperformer following the weak Q3 results to reflect increasing competition in telco video, slower broadband growth and the weakening economy.
JP Morgan downgraded Level 3 Communications Inc (NASDAQ: LVLT) to Neutral from Outperform following disappointing Q3 results and guidance.
Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Ambac Financial Group Inc (NYSE: ABK) and MBIA Inc (NYSE: MBI) to Market Perform from Outperform citing lack of near-term catalysts and uncertainty surrounding the credit markets.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: The interactive entertainment sector, CVS Corp (CVS) and two large retailers, J.C. Penney (JCP) & Federated Department Stores (FD), topped today's notable initiation list:
AG Edwards initiated Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS), Activision, Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI), THQ Inc (NASDAQ: THQI) with Buy ratings and Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO), Midway Games Inc (NYSE: MWY) and GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) with Hold ratings. The firm believes the video game industry is well-positioned for above-average L-T growth based on positive demographic trends. In addition, AG Edwards expects overall U.S. video game industry retail dollar sales to grow by 39% in 2007.
Elsewhere, Wachovia initiated CVS Corp (NYSE: CVS) with an Outperform rating. The firm believes CVS is well-positioned to take advantage of the fundamentals in the PBM business and find cost synergies from the merger.
Thomas Weisel initiated both J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Federated Department Stores (NYSE: FD) with market Weight ratings. The firm believes JCP will have more modest margin expansion going forward and believes high expectations and valuation for FD will limit its outperformance in the near-term.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
ThinkEquity started DivX, Inc (NASDAQ: DIVX) with a Buy rating and $26 target.
RBC initiated Trident Microsystems, Inc (NASDAQ: TRID) with a Sector Perform rating.
UBS initiated Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NASDAQ: TEVA) with a Buy rating.
Pacific Growth started American Superconductor Corp (NASDAQ: AMSC) with a Neutral rating.
Susquehanna started Quality Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: QSII) with a Positive rating.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: JDS Uniphase (JDSU-old, JDSUD), Western Digital (WDC) and MGM Mirage (MGM) top today's list of upgrades.
JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ:JDSUD) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Buy at Needham. They believe the worst is over for JDSU and see upside to near-term estimates after the company's profitable first-quarter results. JDS Uniphase was also upgraded by Deutsche Bank to Buy from Hold, citing valuation and expectations of improved profitability.
Western Digital Corp. (NYSE:WDC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James following their strong earnings report.
MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBank/McDonald based on valuation and fundamentals.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Sina Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank. The firm cited Sina's strong results and a positive 2007 outlook for the upgrade. Citigroup also upgraded Sina Corp to Buy from Hold.
DA Davidson upgraded Trident Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRID) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.
Finally, JP Morgan upgraded Unilever N.V. (NYSE:UN) to Neutral from Underweight. The firm expects positive news flow and possible upside surprises over the next six to nine months driven by margin expansion and cost stabilization.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: RWE AG, Asta Funding and Trident Microsystems were today's noteworthy downgrades:.gif){kind=logo}
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