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Analyst upgrades: U.S. semiconductors, TOO and OPLK

MOST NOTEWORTHY: U.S. semiconductors, Teekay Offshore and Oplink Communications were today's noteworthy upgrades:
  • Goldman upgraded the U.S. Semiconductor Sector, including Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Attractive from Neutral. The firm believes semi fundamentals are poised to improve in 2H08 and that valuations are reasonable.
  • Wachovia upgraded Teekay Offshore (NYSE: TOO) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and increased distribution growth outlook following the acquisition of an additional 25% ownership interest in Teekay Offshore Operating, L.P.
  • Merriman upgraded shares of Oplink Communications (NASDAQ: OPLK) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company is an attractive takeover target following the Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) and Optium (NASDAQ: OPTM) merger, given its low-cost Chinese manufacturing capacity and attractive $140M cash balance.
OTHER UPGRADES:
  • Goldman upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to its Conviction Buy List.
  • William Blair raised Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  • Citigroup upgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades: Goldman Sachs, Alexza Pharma, SAP

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Goldman Sachs, Alexza Pharma and SAP AG were today's noteworthy upgrades:
  • Wachovia upgraded Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to Outperform from Market Perform, as they believe Goldman has a superior capital position relative to competitors and will likely benefit more than any firm from Bear Stearns' (NYSE: BSC) collapse. They have a $180-$185 target range for the stock.
  • Following Alexza Pharma's (NASDAQ: ALXA) Q4 report, JMP Securities said they have reduced concerns regarding Loxapine timelines and risks. The firm raised Alexza to Outperform from Market Perform.
  • SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein on valuation and a positive view on fundamentals.
OTHER UPGRADES:
  • Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
  • Citigroup upgraded Teekay Shipping (NYSE: TK) and General Maritime (GMR) to Buy from Hold.
  • RiskMetrics (NYSE: RMG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America.

DryShips (DRYS) beats -- stock moves higher

About a month ago I wrote a post about DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS), the drybulk shipping company that's been on fire during the last year. I argued that the stock was undervalued compared to its peer Teekay Shipping (NYSE: TK) and that the stock remained a buy at those levels. Since this post, the stock has had its up and downs but has managed to outperform both Teekay and the S&P 500.

After the bell Wednesday DryShips reported very strong earnings. For the quarter, excluding a one-time sale, the company earned $1.59 per share vs. analyst estimates of $1.34 per share. DryShips also reported notably strong revenues of $112.5 million vs. estimates of $98.7 million.

The company's CEO and chairman also said that "the outlook for 2008 remains positive with fewer vessels being delivered from the shipyards and Chinese demand projected to remain strong." This seems to confirm my original opinions of continued pricing power for the drybulk industry.

If DryShips can continue its beat-and-raise pattern I believe the stock will trade towards $75 per share in the next 2-3 quarters. However, the company's leverage is a double-edged sword and when times turn bad this stock stands to crash which is why it's imperative to keep a stop loss in place as I advocated in my first post.

The stock finished the day up nearly $2 per share then added $3.75 in gains in after hours trading. When times are good times, times are great for these momentum stocks.

Analyst downgrades 5-17-07: BEN, CAT, CMG and TK

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (CMG), Caterpillar Inc (CAT), The9 Ltd (NCTY), Teekay Shipping Corp (TK) and Ship Finance International Ltd (SFL) were on today's noteworthy downgrade list:
  • Stifel downgraded Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) to Hold from Buy on valuation.
  • Pacific Crest cut shares of The9 (NASDAQ: NCTY) to Sector Perform from Outperform with a $41 target following the disappointing Q1 results and slow start to the second quarter.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst initiations 2-15-07: Bebe Stores started with a Hold

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Bebe Stores Inc (BEBE) topped today's most notable initiations.
  • Wedbush started Bebe Stores Inc (NASDAQ: BEBE) with a Hold rating and $21 target; they believe shares are range-bound given near-term fashion risks and limited visibility into square-footage growth.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
  • Gymboree Corp (NASDAQ: GYMB) was initiated with a Buy rating and $48 target at Wedbush, as the firm expects margin expansion opportunities from recent sourcing initiatives.
  • Roth Capital added A.D.A.M. Inc (NASDAQ: ADAM) with a Buy rating and $8 target.
  • Friedman Billings started MBIA Inc (NYSE: MBI) with a Market Perform rating.
  • Lazard initiated Teekay Shipping Corp (NYSE: TK) with a Hold rating, citing valuation.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-120.9210,343.48
NASDAQ-26.312,149.74
S&P 500-14.601,096.03

Last updated: November 27, 2009: 12:03 PM

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