Continue reading Western Digital (WDC) added to S&P 500

Western Digital (WDC) added to S&P 500 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 May 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Toshiba to acquire Fujitsu's HDD business

Toshiba to acquire Fujitsu's HDD business originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup downgraded shares of Ford (NYSE: F) to Sell from Hold, as they see a number of rising headwinds in the company's turnaround, including a low likelihood of Ford's relatively older product lineup holding U.S. share in the first half of 2008.
• Lehman downgraded DealerTrack (NASDAQ: TRAK) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing near-term headwinds from economic uncertainty, declining auto sales, declining growth, and non-prime transaction risk.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Omnicare (NYSE: OCR) to Perform from Outperform to reflect concerns over the timing and pace of a potential recovery.

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE: BBV) was lowered to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  
• Mediaset SpA (OTC: MDIUY) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) was cut to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst downgrades: F, TRAK and OCR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Hold from Buy to reflect the continued softness in the China Market after Asian channel checks suggested the March quarter will be weak.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) to Hold from Buy, as they believe the HDD industry is nearing a cyclical peak. They also view the likelihood of consolidation as less likely given the current conditions.
  
• Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) was lowered to Neutral from Add at Calyon following its Q4 report.

• JP Morgan downgraded BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA), Lea Corporation (NYSE: LEA) and TRW Automotive Holdings (NYSE: TRW) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Merrill lowered Edison International (NYSE: EIX) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: RFMD, WDC and BYD originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hitachi may try to dump hard drive division originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Seagate's (STX) Watkins sees bright future for hard drive industry

Seagate's (STX) Watkins sees bright future for hard drive industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" is inclined to take profits in the disk-drive market while others are popping the champagne; specifically in Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC), which Barron's wrote about positively four months ago and has appreciated 29.6%.
• Emerging markets are outperforming their U.S. and European counterparts this year, but investing in some countries -- including Turkey and Hungary -- is still risky, according to the "Heard on the Street" column in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Russian oil company Lukoil Holding (OTC: LUKOY), which is 20% owned by ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), is planning a $9B European spending spree.

• The Los Angeles Times reported that Washington Mutual Inc (NYSE: WM), the largest U.S. savings and loan bank, will close two mortgage divisions, resulting in about 1,000 job cuts.
• Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica SA (NYSE: TEF) said it is in talks with Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) concerning the right to sell the company's new phone, the iPhone, in Spain, next summer, Telecom Paper (subscription required) reported.

• A rumored partnership between Apple and Volkswagen AG (OTC: VLKAY) to develop an "iCar" with iPod connectivity could benefit both companies but is unlikely to yield an actual automobile for three or four years, according to market intelligence firm iSuppli Corp., reported AppleInsider.com.

Newspaper wrap-up: Lukoil planning a $9B spending spree originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) -- Q3 guidance
• National Semconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM) -- Q1 earnings
• Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) -- Q1 guidance

• Texas Instruments Inc (NYSE: TXN) -- Q3 guidance

• Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) -- Q2 earnings, Q3 guidance
• Office Depot Inc (NYSE: ODP) -- Q2 earnings
• Harley Davidson Inc (NYSE: HOG) -- 2H2007 guidance
• Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) -- Q3 guidance

A recap of recent earnings and guidance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded the U.S. beverage sector, including Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP), Anheuser Busch Companies (NYSE: BUD), PepsiAmericas Inc (NYSE: PAS) and Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) to Attractive from Neutral. The firm cited expectations for a stronger 2008, benign commodity cost outlook, better than expected US beer demand, and valuations. Goldman upgraded shares of PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation and improving industry fundamentals.
  
• Bear Stearns upgraded ImClone (NASDAQ: IMCL) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing positive Flex trial results and the new market opportunity for Erbitux.
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) and Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) to Market Weight from Underweight based on healthy August trends, credit market may ease concerns over supply growth, and valuations.

• Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Western Digital Corp (NYSE: WDC) was upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
• KeyBanc raised Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) to Hold from Underweight.
• Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) was upped to Buy from Hold at Gabelli.

Analyst upgrades 9-11-07: U.S. beverage sector, IMCL, HOT and MAR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Banc of America assumed coverage of Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM) with a Buy rating and $23 target, as the firm is positive on the company's balanced growth and margin expansion.

• Banc of America also initiated shares of SYNNEX Corp (NYSE: SNX) with a Buy rating and $24 target, as they believe cost synergies and mix in 2007 will drive 2008 leverage and share appreciation.

• ThinkEquity transferred coverage of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) with an Accumulate rating and cut its target to $27. ThinkEquity believes Yahoo!'s challenges, which include employee turnover risk, slower user growth, competitive pressures and limited upside in search, are unlikely to be fixed near-term by the new team of management.

• Macquarie Infrastructure (NYSE: MIC) was initiated with a Buy rating and $51 target at Citigroup, as the firm believes management fee concerns are priced into shares and that the recent acquisition of Mercury Air and San Jose Jet Center will drive a 6% increase in dividend by the end of 2007.

• Bear Stearns started Polypore International (NYSE: PPO) with a Peer Perform rating on valuation.

• BMO Capital initiated shares of Hewlett-Packard (NASDAQ: HPQ), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) with an Outperform rating and shares of Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) with a Market Perform rating.

• Leerink Swann started shares of Applied Biosystem (NYSE: ABI) with an Outperform rating.

• Lehman Brothers initiated shares of Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) with an Overweight rating and $32 target.

Analyst initiations 8-07-07: BX, DELL, HPQ and YHOO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Hambrecht upgraded shares of Seagate Tech (NYSE: STX) on improving demand and second half of 2007 prospects. Bear Stearns upgraded shares to Outperform from Peer Perform based on stabilizing industry conditions.

• ING upgraded shares of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to Buy from Hold shares to reflect the migration within the company's large installed base and growing opportunities in the small business market.

• Hambrecht upgraded Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) to Buy from Hold on improving demand for 2H07 growth prospects.

• HSBC raised BAE Systems (OTC: BAESY) off the ground, upgrading shares to Neutral from Underweight.

• Banc of America upgraded Manpower (NYSE: MAN) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the change in French payroll tax subsidies, which they view as a positive change to the company's ongoing margin structure.

• First Albany upgraded ATMI Inc (NASDAQ: ATMI) to Buy from Hold.

• The Medicines Co (NASDAQ: MDCO) was raised to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.

• Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Kaufman.

• ThinkEquity upgraded Interwoven (NASDAQ: IWOV) to Accumulate from Source of Funds.

• BB&T upgraded Omnicell (NASDAQ: OMCL) to buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades 7-20-07: BAESY, MDCO, STX and WDC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Komag was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Craig-Hallum, to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray, to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank and to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W Baird & Co following the announcement it would be acquired by Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC).
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Commercial Mortgage REITs to Underweight from Neutral. Specifically, the firm downgraded shares of Capital Trust, Inc (NYSE: CT) to Equal Weight from Underweight and Gramercy Capital Corp (NYSE: GKK) to Underweight from Equal Weight, citing increased credit spreads and subordination levels.
  
• Getty Images was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Matrix as the firm believes margins are declining and sees downside to their $40/share intrinsic value calculation.
  
• Rural/Metro was downgraded by Ferris, Baker Watts to Neutral from Buy on valuation.

• PMI Group Inc (NYSE: PMI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded Palm, Inc (NASDAQ: PALM) to Sell from Hold.
  
• BMO Capital downgraded shares of Carrizo Oil & Gas Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRZO) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Cemex (NYSE: CX) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
  
• Barnes & Noble Inc (NYSE: BKS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Matrix.

Analyst downgrades 6-29-07: KOMG, GYI and RURL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Research in Motion was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Morgan Keegan. RBC Capital upgraded shares to Top Pick as they see continued upside from product momentum. Banc of America upgraded to Buy from Neutral following the company's Q1 results and announced stock split. JMP Securities upgraded to Market Outperform from Market Perform, saying confidence in demand and recent checks indicate very strong backlog and forecasts.
  
• Komag was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan following the buyout offer from Western Digital.
  
• Western Digital was upgraded to Strong Buy from Buy at Needham, as the firm believes Western Digital's acquisition of Komag is a strategic positive and that accretion will likely be significantly better than guidance.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Rohm and Haas Company (NYSE: ROH) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Robbins & Meyers Inc (NYSE: RBN) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Robert W Baird & Co.
  
• Heelys Inc (NASDAQ: HLYS) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC World Markets.
  
• BMO Capital upgraded the educator sector to Market Perform from Underperform, and Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ: APOL) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades 6-29-07: RIMM's quad upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Jun 2007 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Impact of Microsoft's Vista is about to be seen originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Highfields Capital Management LP, which owns an 8.5% stake in Wendy's International Inc (NYSE: WEN), has sent a "strongly worded letter" to Wendy's chairman James Pickett, urging the fast food chain to pursue a sale.
• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" column wrote that Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) shares could appreciate another 20% or more from a recent price of $18.06 per share, if investors can appreciate that the PC market is not permanently sluggish.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and Saudi Aramco are close to signing a deal to build a petrochemical plant worth about $20B.
• German prosecutors and investigators are looking into allegations that a German paint supplier paid bribes to at least five Volkwagen AG (OTC: VLKAY) employees to gain contracts with the company, reported the Financial Times.

• The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board is heading up a consortium that is in talks to possibly buyout the parent of Bell Canada, BCE Inc (NYSE: BCE), reported the New York Times.

• Paul McCartney reportedly told Billboard that a deal is "virtually settled" to make the Beatles catalog available for sale online.

Newspaper wrap-up 5-11-07: Wendy's urged to sell by shareholder originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 May 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) needs fast access times, less power consumption and no moving parts. The speed and moving parts differences are huge. Although SSD capacities (32 Gigabyte for now) are not near the capacity of a standard 80 or 120 Gigabyte traditional hard drives, there are quite a few advantages.

One is not cost, though, as these smallish 32 Gigabyte drives run off the shelf for $350 (Dell charges $549). But, the signal Dell is giving here is that some customers may prefer these drives, regardless of cost. With more and more laptop computers being sold as "desktop replacements," the only thing not keeping up is the traditional hard drive.

Is Dell poised to one-up the competition with newer (and faster) laptop computer storage devices? Heck, it needs something to kick start sales again after being pummeled by Hewlett-Packard recently. Perhaps this is part of the solution. Now, if Dell can only justify the higher prices of its systems that contain these SSDs, the company may be onto something, eh? Its stock price needs a lift, and to get there, so do its sales.

Platters spinning at 5,400 RPM don't cut the mustard with newer dual-core computer processors and fast RAM. Customers demand more, and if traditional hard drives are lagging, SSD will enter the picture quite rapidly, As it does, prices will fall and companies like Seagate and Western Digital may find themselves a bit surprised.

Dell moves into solid-state disk drives originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• IBM Corp (NYSE: IBM) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman to reflect the slowdown in domestic technology spending. Credit Suisse downgraded shares of IBM Corp to Neutral from Outperform and ThinkEquity cut IBM to Accumulate from Buy on the same rationale.

• Wendy's International (NYSE: WEN) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wachovia, citing valuation.

• Needham downgraded Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Hold from Buy on valuation and the firm's belief that the 2H07 acceleration implied in consensus revenue forecasts could be difficult to exceed given the recent slowdown in display ad growth.

• WR Hambrecht downgraded shares of Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) to Hold from Buy as the firm believes there could be more downside to forward estimates given the aggressive pricing and softer demand environment. The firm sees too many industry risks following Seagate Technology's (STX) earnings conference call.

• Keefe Bruyette cut TD AmeriTrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Raymond James and BMO Capital downgraded U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) to Market Perform from Outperform following its Q1 report.

• First Albany downgraded Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc (NASDAQ: JOSB) to Sell from Neutral.

• ThinkEquity cut Evergreen Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: ESLR) to Source of Funds from Accumulate on valuation.

• Matrix USA downgraded SI International, Inc (NASDAQ: SINT) to Sell from Neutral.

• Goldman Sachs cut Intervac, Inc (NASDAQ: IVAC) to Sell from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades 4-18-07: AMTD, IBM, WEN & YHOO downgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hard drive makers under the gun from flash memory? Nope originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Hard-disk drive makers Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) and Xyratex Ltd (NASDAQ: XRTX) were upgraded by Citigroup to Buy from Hold to reflect improving fundamentals; namely easing concerns related to inventory levels and pricing.
• New Century Financial Corporation (NYSE: NEW) was upgraded by UBS to Neutral from Reduce. UBS said New Century's credit outlook is reflected in the shares and its liquidity risk is ok near-term.
  
• The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation and improving fundamentals, with a price target of $56.

• Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) was upgraded by Merrill Lynch to Buy from Sell.

Analyst upgrades 2-23-07: Coca-Cola upgraded to Overweight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sandisk set to compete with hard drive industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 18:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.