AOL Money & Finance

WRC posts

Feed

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BAC, ERIC, UNH, WRC

Analyst upgrades:
  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to Outperform from Market Perform due to valuation and the company's better balance sheet following capital raises. The firm raised its target on shares to $16.50.
  • Merriman upgraded Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ:BCSI) to Buy from Neutral to reflect stabilizing demand and merger synergies from the Packeteer acquisition.
  • Thomas Weisel upgraded Genomic Health (NASDAQ:GHDX) to Overweight from Market Weight based on valuation, a new colon cancer assay expected in 2010, and upside from new sales hires.
  • Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  • Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  • Ericsson (nASDAQ:ERIC) was upgraded at Societe Generale to Buy from Hold.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BAC, ERIC, UNH, WRC

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: JCP, NVLS, CAG, RJF, PCG, STP, AMZN, MS, MSFT

Analyst upgrades:
  • JP Morgan upgraded J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) to Neutral from Underweight based on lower input costs, stabilization in home, lower markdown dollars, and valuation.
  • Oppenheimer upgraded Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) to Perform from Underperform as it believes Novellus' market share has stabilized and that the company is a potential acquisition target. The firm raised its price target to $20 from $9.
  • Bernstein upgraded ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) to Market Perform from Underperform citing strength in grains and moderating input costs.
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  • China Housing (NASDAQ: CHLN) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Roth Capital.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: JCP, NVLS, CAG, RJF, PCG, STP, AMZN, MS, MSFT

Ads Gone Bad: Calvin Klein's amateur porno marketing

This post is part of our Ads Gone Bad series. Share your thoughts and memories of this ad in the comments, and be sure to check out our other posts on marketing gone wrong.

In 1995, Calvin Klein had clawed back from the verge of bankruptcy and was poised for expansion, hoping to jump into the top tier of mass-merchandised high fashion. Apparently, somebody forgot to tell the marketing department, which was happily rolling out yet another over-the-edgy ad campaign. When the offal hit the fan, it covered the whole company with a foul stench.

The campaign in question featured videos set up to resemble screen tests for low-budget skin flicks. Young men and women stood in front of cheap wood paneling, the kind one might find in the rec room of an 8mm director wannabe. These kids are interviewed by an unseen older adult, who asked them provocative questions and made suggestive comments about their physiques.

Continue reading Ads Gone Bad: Calvin Klein's amateur porno marketing

Four major NBC stations' employees authorize strikes over contracts

NBC always seems to be GE's Achilles Heel. A union representing some 2,500 NBC employees throughout four rather major network stations has voted to authorize a strike. WNBC of New York, WRC of Washington D.C, and WMAQ in Chicago and KNBC in Burbank are the stations affected. No strike date is on the calendar, but it looks like employees are pulling out the big guns in a battle over overnight shift differential pay and health care coverage.

NBC's spokespeople say that negotiations are continuing, so its not clear if this is an attempt by the union to force NBC into action sooner, or if it is a genuine failure for both parties to find common ground. However, in scanning a lot of stories about contract negotiations, health care coverage seems to be the straw breaking the camel's back. It isn't just an Achilles heel for GE, but all sorts of large corporations.

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+24.7910,458.50
NASDAQ+7.222,176.40
S&P 500+4.401,110.05

Last updated: November 25, 2009: 03:25 PM

BloggingStocks Exclusives

Hot Stocks

DailyFinance Headlines

Latest from BloggingBuyouts

WalletPop Headlines

AOL Business News

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Sponsored Links

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance