Analyst Upgrades

• Brinker (EAT) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Starbucks (SBUX) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Paccar (PCAR) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• CA Technologies (CA) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• PPL Corp. (PPL) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• First Defiance (FDEF) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• MasTec (MTZ) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Amdocs (DOX) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CA, COP, DOX, EAT, FIG, JNS, MTN, NLSN, PCAR, SBUX, SLW ...

Analyst Calls: CA, COP, DOX, EAT, FIG, JNS, MTN, NLSN, PCAR, SBUX, SLW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Calls

• Medtronic (MDT) to buy from neutral and 1-800-Flowers.com (FLWS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• CarMax (KMX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Points International (PTSEF) to buy from neutral at Merriman.
• Nokia (NOK) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.
• Amdocs (DOX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Western Alliance (WAL) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Carbo Ceramics (CRR) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Brinker (EAT) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ...

Analyst Calls: BP, EAT, JBLU, KMX, MDT, MYGN, NOK, NTRS, RAX, RDS.A, T ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• NYSE Euronex (NYX) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• General Dynamics (GD) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Deere (DE), Parker-Hannifin (PH) and ExlService (EXLS) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Aflac (AFL) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Amdocs (DOX) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Juniper (JNPR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Rudolph Tech (RTEC) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Hershey (HSY) and Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Micron (MU) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AFL, DE, DOX, GD, GS, HSY, ITT, MS, NYX, TXN, UBS, WYNN ...

Analyst Calls: AFL, DE, DOX, GD, GS, HSY, ITT, MS, NYX, TXN, UBS, WYNN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"Fundamentally, Amdocs (DOX) has a bargain basement valuation based on its price to growth," says Melvin Pasternak, in selected the stock as his top pick for 2010.

In his Trade of the Week, he adds, "Technically, on a two year weekly chart the stock has broken out to the upside."

Continue reading Top Picks for 2010: Amdocs (DOX)

Top Picks for 2010: Amdocs (DOX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Q. Vahan, although you primarily recommend US equities, your newsletter also includes a few international picks, such as American Oriental Bioengineering (NYSE: AOB) and Embraer (NYSE: ERJ). What factors made you choose these companies?

A. I do recommend foreign companies from time to time in the Forbes Growth Investor, but only if they trade on US exchanges and only if they show up at the top of my screens. I rely on a quantitative model that screens stocks based on the probability of out-performance over the next six to 18 months. I like AOB because it sells traditional Chinese plant-based pharmaceuticals in China. Demand is very strong for these natural products in that country. I like ERJ because it gives us exposure to Brazil, which has one the fastest growing economies in Latin America.

Q. Several of your recommendations are US-based multinationals, such as RPM (NYSE: RPM) and Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), both of whom do significant business around the world. How important was their international exposure to your selection, and why?

A: International exposure is not something I normally focus on. Besides, these days most mid- to large-sized companies have at least some international exposure. Because the global economic outlook is so uncertain at this time, I felt more comfortable with companies that have a diversified revenue stream.

Continue reading Global Q&A: Still a believer in growth

Global Q&A: Still a believer in growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• AFLAC Inc. (NYSE: AFL) reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter.
• Ambac Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: ABK) posted a wider-than-expected loss; shares hit new low.
• Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) beat Q2 estimates on strength in the managed services businesses.
• Amphenol Corp. (NYSE: APH) beat expectations in the first quarter and raised its guidance.
• Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) posted a larger-than-estimated Q1 loss.
• Aptar Group Inc. (NYSE: ATR) posted record Q1 results and raised its Q2 guidance.
• Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Q1 earnings plunged on further housing-related write-downs.
• Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) narrowly beat earnings expectations on cost cutting.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) beat analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
• Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) reported a wider-than-forecast loss on subprime-related write-downs.
• Cree Inc. (NYSE: CREE) earnings slipped while revenues soared 29%.
• Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) reported worse-than-expected Q1 earnings on discontinued product charge.
• Gannet Inc. (NYSE: GCI) beat low expectations as earnings and revenue continue slump.
• Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings on international strength.
• JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) missed Q1 expectations on restructuring and litigation costs.
• Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) beat EPS estimates by a penny, as revenue jumped 10%.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Bank of America, Merck, Mattel, Phillip Morris, AFLAC and others

Earnings highlights: Bank of America, Merck, Mattel, Phillip Morris, AFLAC and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amdocs Limited (NYSE: DOX), the software company that specializes in telecom billing solutions, announced record quarterly revenues. On the news the stock closed up $6.27. The Israeli company beat estimates and re-affirmed full year guidance.

"We are pleased with our results for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 and believe that we are positioned to achieve our goals for this fiscal year," said Dov Baharav, chief executive officer of Amdocs Management Limited. "This was a very good quarter in terms of new sales, highlighted by the significant expansion of our managed services activities at AT&T and our win at Sprint."

With a strong quarter and continued new deals like those with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S), along with their push into mobile billing solutions, the stock continues to be one of our favorites for '08.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has a position and is long DOX. He has no positions in any stock mentioned as of 1/23/08

Amdocs has record quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I had no idea when I posted yesterday about two Israeli stocks to buy for a market bounce that one of the stocks I mentioned would spike more than 10%. Amdocs Limited (NYSE: DOX) is the market leader in customer experience systems innovation, enabling world-leading service providers to deliver an integrated, innovative and intentional customer experience at every point of service.

The company has experienced one heck of a 48 hours. On Tuesday there was the news that Sprint/Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) is soft-launching a WiMAX network, and picked communications software company Amdocs to build and maintain the Xohm web portal and manage its customer service, billing, and other operations.

Even bigger is the news today that Amdocs signed a deal to provide support services to AT&T (NYSE: T), which one analyst estimated is worth more than $100 million a year. Wedbush Morgan analyst Scott P. Sutherland reiterated a "Strong Buy" rating on Amdocs, and estimated that the deal "is initially worth well over $100 million annually and has the potential to be even more."

Continue reading A great 48 hours for Amdocs (DOX)

A great 48 hours for Amdocs (DOX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With markets continuing their downward spiral, many investors think that it's time to step up and start buying some stocks that have been beaten down. Here are two hot Israeli stocks that have been cool for investors during the recent market sell-off.

Amdocs Limited (NYSE: DOX) is the market leader in customer experience systems innovation, enabling world-leading service providers to deliver an integrated, innovative and intentional customer experience at every point of service. The stock has gotten hit of late, but with a PE of about 18 and a PEG slightly under 1, the stock is looking attractive.

With the news that Sprint/Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) is soft-launching a WiMax network, and picked communications software company Amdocs to build and maintain the Xohm Web portal and manage its customer service, billing, and other operations. The company is also gearing up to be the big winner in mobile phone billing as well, and that vertical could add significant revenue to the company.

Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE: ALJ) engages in refining and marketing petroleum products primarily in the south central, southwestern, and western regions of the United States. The stock has gotten crushed as crude prices soared, losing more than 50% from its high. The company sports a low PE of just 6.25 and a PEG of 0.8. If crude prices stabilize, Alon will be a big winner.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has a position and owns stock in both DOX and ALJ and is long them both.He has no positions in any other stock mentioned as of 1/9/08.

2 Israeli stocks to buy for the bounce originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Lehman downgraded STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) to Underweight from Overweight, as they expect the company to underperform its peers.
• UBS downgraded Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Sell from Neutral, citing valuation and their belief that there would be no significant premium if the company was bought.
• American Community Bancshares (NASDAQ: ACBA) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel, based on valuation.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Crosstex Energy Inc (NASDAQ: XTXI) to Neutral from Buy, citing valuation.

• PepsiAmericas Inc (NYSE: PAS) was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral by HSBC.
  
• Amodcs Ltd (NYSE: DOX) was removed from the Conviction Buy List by Goldman Sachs.
  
• Citigroup assumed coverage of Tenneco Inc (NYSE: TEN) with a Sell from a Hold.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) to Equal Weight from Overweight.

Analyst downgrades: STM, BIIB, ACBA and XTXI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• McAfee Inc (NYSE: MFE) was initiated with an Accumulate rating at ThinkEquity, as the firm is positive on the company's competitive positioning in security, refocused business and streamlined operations.

• JP Morgan initiated shares of Wabtec Corp (NYSE: WAB) with an Overweight rating, as the firm believes Wabtec's strong market presence should support 22% and 12% EPS growth in 2007 and 2008.

• Nollenberger feels that the core PacSun concept is challenged to re-establish a niche in the competitive teen marketplace, and initiated shares of Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) with a Neutral rating and $22 target.

• Nollenberger also initiated shares of Aeropostale (NYSE: AEO) with a Buy rating and $49 target and recommends buying the stock into back to school.

• Cantor initiated shares of Amdocs (NYSE: DOX) with a Hold rating and $37 target on valuation...

• Midas, Inc (NYSE: MDS) and Monro Muffler Brake, Inc (NASDAQ: MNRO) were initiated with Neutral ratings at JP Morgan.

• JP Morgan also initiated shares of Greenbrier (NYSE: GBX) with a Neutral rating.

• Sterne Agee initiated shares of Colwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR) with a Buy rating.
  

• Vascular Solutions (NASDAQ: VASC) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $12 target at RBC Capital.

Analyst initiations 7-20-07: AEO, DOX, MFE and PSUN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This week's rumor round-up: Lam Research close to sale? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 May 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.