Akzo Nobel Posts -- BloggingStocks

akzo nobel posts

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: WTR, GIL, STT, EHTH, AKZOY, MEOH, UTHR and HGG

Analyst upgrades:

Janney Montgomery upgraded Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) to Buy from Neutral on valuation, viewing the recent weakness as a buying opportunity. The firm has a $19 target on the stock.
UBS upgraded Gildan Activewear (NYSE: GIL) to Buy from Neutral due to customer Broder's improved liquidity and the improved outlook for margins.
RBC Capital upgraded State Street (NYSE: STT) to Top Pick from Outperform and raised its target to $55 from $40. The analyst said the $2B capital raise addresses TCE ratio concerns and large unrealized losses in the investment portfolio.
Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.
M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Analyst upgrades:

Friedman Billings upgraded Synovus (NYSE: SNV) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation following the recent weakness. BASF (OTC: BASFY) and Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS on valuation and believes cash flows can cover the company's dividend.
JP Morgan upgraded H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL) to Overweight from Neutral citing benefits from lower raw material costs.
CA, Inc (NASDAQ: CA) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
Goldman removed Boeing (NYSE: BA) from the Conviction Sell List.
WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.

Analyst downgrades:

Oppenheimer downgraded Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) to Perform from Outperform following the company's Q3 results as they believe a recovery of revenue from ZT Online will take longer than expected.
Friedman Billings cut Walter Industries (NYSE: WLT) to Market Perform from Outperform as they believe the decline in steel demand will pressure met coal prices. The company's target was lowered to $30 from $53.
Citigroup downgraded shares of Atlas Pipeline (NYSE: AHD) Holdings to Sell from Hold as they believe the company could potentially be in violation of its debt covenants as early as Q1. The company's target was lowered to $4 from $31.
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
Dover (NYSE: DOV) and Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) were downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst initiations:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Air France, BHP Billiton, AstraZeneca, Broadcom and Savvis were today's noteworthy downgrades:

Goldman removed shares of Air France (NYSE: AKH) from its Conviction Buy List due to the increase in the price of fuel and the possibility of an economic slowdown.
Goldman downgraded BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) to Neutral from Buy and removed the stock from its Pan-Europe Buy List due to valuation.
Merrill Lynch downgraded shares of AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to Sell from Neutral to reflect increased competition from generic-drug makers, a poor pipeline and slow earnings growth.
Wachovia downgraded shares of Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) to Hold from Buy to reflect valuation and the company's lower than expected Q3 results. Shares were also lowered to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Stanford lowered Savvis (NASDAQ: SVVS) to Hold from Buy and notes that the company's Q3 results and Q4 revenue guidance brings the company's 2007 revenue outlook $15M below the consensus, and advises investors to remain on the sidelines. The firm believes the company's strategy is sound, but that its execution has been slow.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) and Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) were downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
Friedman Billings downgraded the E&P sector, including Brigham Exploration Company (NASDAQ: BEXP), Mariner Energy (NYSE: ME) and Nobel Energy (NYSE: NBL) to Market Perform from Outperform.
Baird downgraded Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) to Neutral from Outperform.
Goldman downgraded Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) to Neutral from Buy.

Major Papers:

The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is looking for buyers for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, which are valued at a combined $1.3B to $1.5B, but any sale is expected to take a month or longer.
Airbus is in the final stages of a deal with U.S. Airways Group Inc (NYSE: LCC), which is expected to purchase about 30 A350 jetliners worth about $7B at list price, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Other Papers:

According to the U.K. Times, Imperial Chemical Industries plc (NYSE: ICI) rejected an all-cash offer of GBP$7.2B from Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel NV (NASDAQ: AKZOY), saying the proposal "significantly undervalues" the company; sources believe The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and Germany's BASF AG (NYSE: BF) could launch competing bids.
BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) is again interested in a $40B acquisition of Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA), an aluminum producer, reported the U.K. Times.
The New York Times reported that negotiations on a buyout of Cadence Design System Inc (NASDAQ: CDNS) by private equity firms Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts appear to have stalled over price.

#	Blogger	Posts
1	Joseph Lazzaro	116
2	Tom Johansmeyer	101
3	Steven Mallas	52
4	Connie Madon	49
5	Tom Taulli	48
6	Mark Fightmaster	39
7	Steven Halpern	36
8	Trey Thoelcke	34
9	Paul Foster	25
10	Brian White	24
11	Brent Archer	23
12	Zac Bissonnette	22
13	Melly Alazraki	22
14	Jim Cramer	22
15	Jon Ogg	22
16	Eric Buscemi	18
17	Michael Fowlkes	14
18	Michael Shulman	13
19	Elizabeth Harrow	12
20	Sheldon Liber	9

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