analyst initiations posts
FeedPosted Dec 31st 2008 12:15PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Analyst initiations
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Analyst upgrades:
- Empire District Electric (NYSE:EDE) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies on valuation. The firm raised its target to $18.50 from $16.
- Actividentity (NASDAQ:ACTI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Soleil and its target was increased to $3.25 from $2.50 on valuation.
- Merrill upgraded Phototronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) to Buy from Underperform citing cost reductions, the amended credit agreement, and expectations for growth after the January quarter.
Analyst downgrades:
- Roth Capital downgraded RTI Biologics (NASDAQ:RTIX) to Hold from Buy and lowered its target to $3 from $6 following its negative Q4 negative pre-announcement.
- Morgan Joseph said Ceradyne (NASDAQ:CRDN) will not ship any new X-SAPI body armor in Q4 due to a contract protest by a competitor. The Army has decided to seek new bids but CRDN management expects to win a similar order in late January with deliveries expected in late 1Q09. Shares were downgraded to Hold from Buy.
Analyst initiations:
- William Blair initiated Grand Canyon (NASDAQ:LOPE) with an Outperform rating. The firm believes the company has strong growth prospects amid a favorable industry backdrop.
- Keefe Bruyette resumed coverage of Assured Guaranty (NYSE:AGO) with a Market Perform rating and $12.50 target, citing financial guaranty market instability.
- Capital Source (NYSE:CSE) was reinstated with a Neutral rating at Credit Suisse.
- Yongye Biotechnology (OTC:YGYB) was initiated with a Buy rating and $3.50 target at Roth Capital.
Posted Nov 17th 2008 12:42PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Dell (DELL), McDonald's (MCD), Walt Disney (DIS), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Alcoa Inc (AA), AutoZone Inc (AZO), Gap Inc (GPS), Analyst initiations
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Analyst upgrades:
- UBS upgraded McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) to Buy from Neutral based on expectations the it can deliver on 2009 EPS expectations and potential for accelerating share gains.
- Bernstein upgraded Nokia (NYSE:NOK) to Outperform from Underperform on valuation following the company's profit warning. Merrill upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral to reflect valuation and Nokia's new product portfolio. Shares were also upgraded to Hold from Sell at WestLB.
- B. Riley raised UCBH Holdings (NASDAQ:UCBH) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the improved valuation and the company's stronger capital position provided by the US Treasury investment.
- Parexel (NASDAQ:PRXL) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
- CTS Corp (NYSE:CTS) was lifted to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
- Hospitality Properties (NYSE:HPT) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Analyst downgrades:
- Soleil downgraded Disney (NYSE:DIS) to Hold from Buy to reflect the weakening macro-economic outlook and their belief consensus estimates may be too high. The firm lowered their target to $23 from $40.
- Merrill downgraded Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) to Neutral from Buy on expectations PC sales will decline next year amid the slowing economy. The firm lowered Dell's target price to $13 from $22.
- Jefferies cut MDS Inc (NASDAQ:MDZ) to Hold from Buy to reflect slowing demand and a lack of catalysts to unlock the company's assets. The firm lowered their target to $10.50 from $15.
- Alcoa (NYSE:AA) was lowered to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
- Tesco PLC (Other OTC:TSCDY) was downgraded at JP Morgan to Underweight from Neutral.
- Merrill downgraded SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) to Neutral from Buy.
- Goldman added Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR) to the Conviction Sell List.
Analyst initiations:
- Citigroup thinks AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) will benefit from the slowdown in car sales and thinks the recent pullback is overdone. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $146 target.
- Citigroup also believes Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) will benefit from the slowdown in car sales and started shares with a Buy rating and $35 target.
- After Sunway (OTCBB:SUWG) reported higher than expected revenue, Roth Capital thinks the company is poised for substantial growth, but the firm thinks its remaining warrants may keep the shares trading at a modest valuation for a significant amount of time. The firm started shares with a Hold rating and $3.60 target.
- Mechel Steel (NYSE:MTL) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Merrill Lynch.
- China Life Insurance (NYSE:LFC) was assumed with a Buy rating at UBS.
- Gap (NYSE:GPS) was started at Cowen with a Neutral rating.
Posted Nov 10th 2008 12:34PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, General Motors (GM), Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Analyst initiations, Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Wells Fargo (WFC), Urban Outfitters (URBN)
Analyst upgrades:
- Merriman upgraded Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWHC) to Buy from Neutral on valuation after channel checks indicated an increase in gun sales in October after an Obama win became apparent. The firm believes shares can trade up into the $4 to $5 range.
- Credit Suisse upgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) to Outperform from Neutral citing the company's improved balance and potential earnings power following its $11B equity offering.
- JP Morgan upgraded Coca-Cola Enerprises (NYSE:CCE) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and easing commodity and labor costs.
- Manulife (NYSE:MFC) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.
- SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) was upgraded at UBS to Buy from Neutral.
- Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
Analyst downgrades:
- Barclays downgraded General Motors (NYSE:GM) to Underweight from Equal Weight on cash concerns and believes any assistance from the government would substantially dilute equity holders. Barclays set a $1 target on GM shares.
- Stephens cut LandAmerica (NYSE:LFG) to Underweight from Equal Weight following the Fidelity National (NYSE:FNF) takeover as they expect no other bidders to emerge and believe shares could go back to under $5 if Fidelity National walks away.
- Deutsche Bank downgraded solar companies to reflect deteriorating fundamentals in the sector, an adequate supply of c-Si modules, the strengthening dollar and restricted access to capital. First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ), Energy Conversion (NASDAQ:ENER) and Sunpower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) were downgraded to Hold from Buy.
- Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) and Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) were downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
- FMC Technologies (NYSE:FTI) was lowered to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
Analyst initiations:
- Freeport McMoRan, HLS Systems, and Kimberly Clark were today's noteworthy initiations:
- Banc of America expects Freeport McMoRan's (NYSE:FCX) earnings will decline sharply in 2009 and thinks the dividend could be at risk. Shares were initiated with a Neutral rating and $29 target.
- Roth Capital initiated HLS Systems (NASDAQ:HOLI) with a Buy rating and $5 target. The firm is positive on the company's management team and the company's outlook for EPS growth.
- Citigroup thinks Kimberly Clark's (NYSE:KMB) margins have bottomed and that the current valuation is too low. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $65 target.
- Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA) and Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) were initiated at Merrill Lynch with Neutral ratings.
- Tim Hortons (NYSE:THI) was assumed with a Sell rating at Goldman.
Posted Oct 3rd 2008 11:50AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Walgreen Co (WAG), Costco Wholesale (COST), Analyst initiations, Lloyds TSB Group plc ADS (LYG), Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI)
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Analyst upgrades:
- Keefe Bruyette upgraded MetLife (NYSE: MET) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company's capital and liquidity profile are very solid relative to this week's sell-off.
- The firm also upgraded shares of MSCI (NYSE: MXB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe near-term challenges are already priced into shares.
- Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan based on valuation and strong pricing outlook.
- Costco (NASDAQ: COST) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Pali Capital lifted Virgin Mobile (NYSE: VM) to Neutral from Sell.
- Merrill upgraded Pall (NYS: PLL) and Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) to buy from Neutral.
Analyst downgrades:
- Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ: TRMB) to Perform from Outperform as they believe the company's Engineering and Construction division is facing a challenging period due to the credit market strain.
- Stephens downgraded Seacoast Banking (NASDAQ:SBCF) to Underweight from Equal Weight as they believe a dilutive capital raise is possible given future losses from real estate credits in coastal Florida.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MET, COST, WAG, CAG...
Posted Sep 29th 2008 12:46PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Apple Inc (AAPL), Chesapeake Energy (CHK), Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Analyst initiations
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Analyst upgrades:
- Oppenheimer upgraded shares of National City (NYSE: NCC) to Outperform from Perform on valuation as they believe the bank is not seeing a mass exodus of depositors.
- Wachovia upgraded Brookfield Infrastructure (NYSE: BIP) to Outperform from Market Perform due to what the firm sees as the company's solid cash flow growth outlook, strong balance sheet, and discounted valuation.
- Baird upgraded Tellabs (NASDAQ: TLAB) to Outperform from Neutral citing valuation and improving 2009 prospects from 8800, 8600, and 7100 products and better Opex management..
- Take-Two (NASDAQ: TTWO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Cowen.
- UBS raised Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) to Buy from Neutral.
- Borg-Warner (NYSE: BWA) was raised to Buy from Hold at Keybanc.
Analyst downgrades:
- Merriman downgraded shares of TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) and Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) to Neutral from Buy to reflect concerns about display advertising trends and the company's above average exposure to the financial vertical.
- Baird downgraded Monaco Coach (NYSE: MNC) to Neutral from Outperform and Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) and Winnebago Industries (NYSE: WGO) to Underperform from Neutral citing valuations and checks that indicate "dreadful" fundamentals.
- RBC Capital downgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Sector Perform from Outperform citing weakening consumer spending, reduced visibility, and risks to valuation. The company's target was lowered to $140 from $200.
Continue reading Analyst calls: AAPL, NCC, NT, TLAB, TTWO, TSCM, HOT, CHK ...
Posted Sep 8th 2008 12:23PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Analyst initiations, Marvell Technology Group (MRVL),
Analyst upgrades:
- Morgan Keegan upgraded Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and sustainable growth.
- Merrill upgraded Lehman (NYSE: LEH) to Neutral from Underperform and said the government bailout of the GSE's removes "considerable uncertainty" in the residential mortgage markets and that the housing market is now closer to a bottom. The analyst believes the environment has improved for Lehman to attract equity capital needed and that loss expectations are reflected in valuation.
- Friedman Billings upgraded Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION) and UCBH Holdings (NASDAQ: UCBH) to Outperform from Market Perform.
Analyst downgrades:
- Lehman downgraded shares of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to Equal Weight from Overweight after the U.S. government said it will place Fannie and Freddie into a conservatorship. Citigroup also downgraded shares to Sell from Buy following the federal government's plan to place the GSEs into conservatorship as they believe both Fannie and Freddie will no longer be managed to maximize common shareholder returns.
- Nokia (NYSE: NOK) was cut to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank. The firm downgraded shares following the company's guidance reduction and believes the forecast could still be optimistic.
Continue reading Analyst calls: MRVL, LEH, FNM, FRE, NOK, PETM ...
Posted Jul 24th 2008 11:22AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst initiations
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nova BioSource, Aventine Renewable and the REIT Sector were today's noteworthy initiations:
- ThinkPanmure believes Nova BioSource's (AMEX:NBF) biodiesal production process is economically superior to traditional processes but higher feedstock costs will make scaling difficult. Shares were initiated with an Accumulate rating.
- ThinkPanmure also initiated Aventine Renewable (NYSE:AVR) with an Accumulate rating and $8 target. The firm does not expect share upside until margin visibility improves, which will not occur until next year's corn crop materializes in early 2009.
- Lehman initiated the REIT sector with a Neutral rating; the firm started AMB Property (NYSE:AMB) and Kimco Realty (NYSE:KIM) with Overweight ratings and CBL & Associates (CBL) with an Underweight rating.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Posted Jul 17th 2008 11:11AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Staples Inc (SPLS), Genentech Inc (DNA), Analyst initiations
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Solarfun Power, BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Genentech were today's noteworthy initiations:
- Jefferies initiated Solarfun Power (NASDAQ:SOLF) with a Buy rating and $18 target. The firm believes the one-third stake purchased by Good Energies and new management hires could generate operational momentum and that declining silicon costs may help margins.
- BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) was started at Oppenheimer with a Perform rating. The firm recommends waiting for Street estimates on Kuvan sales to moderate and for positive pipeline signals before adding to positions.
- Genentech (NYSE:DNA) was initiated at Citigroup with a Buy rating and $91 target. The firm believes several studies could lead to robust growth and points out the company's Q2 results showed Avastin reaccelerating due to growth in breast cancer.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- Goldman reinstated Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) with a Neutral rating.
- Zebra Tech (NASDAQ:ZBRA) was initiated with a Hold rating at KeyBanc.
- Rodman & Renshaw assumed coverage of Corcept Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CORT) with an Outperform rating and $8 target.
- AuthenTec (NASDAQ:AUTH) was initiated at JP Morgan with an Overweight rating and at Canaccord Adams with a Hold rating and $10 target.
Posted Jul 10th 2008 11:45AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst initiations
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Schiff Nutrition, Siemens and Priceline.com were today's noteworthy initiations:
- B. Riley assumed Schiff Nutrition (NYSE:WNI) with a Buy rating and $7.75 target. The firm believes downside is limited given the company's balance sheet and cash flows and sees opportunity for market share gains.
- Morgan Stanley initiated Siemens (NYSE:SI) with an Overweight rating and is positive on the company's revenue diversification and planned headcount reductions.
- Stanford believes Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN) is positioned to benefit as consumers shift to the Internet and the company's bargain prices to make travel plans. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $140 target.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Posted Jul 3rd 2008 11:23AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst initiations
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Data Domain, ESCO Technologies and NetApp were today's noteworthy initiations:
- ThinkPanmure said Data Domain's (NASDAQ:DDUP) installed base, strong product, technology lead, and partner network provides a sustainable competitive advantage in the high-growth market for capacity-optimized data storage powered by de-duplication software. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $30 target.
- Friedman Billings expects ESCO Tech's (NYSE:ESE) utility solutions segment to drive sales growth as secular demand for advanced metering gains traction. The firm started shares with an Outperform rating and $60 target.
- Merriman initiated NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) with a Neutral rating. The firm is cautious on the name as the company seeks to reaccelerate top-line growth in a challenging economic environment in North America.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Posted Jul 1st 2008 11:24AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Nokia Corp. (NOK), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Analyst initiations, , Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Lehman Brothers, Nokia and Intuitive Surgical were today's noteworthy initiations:
- Morgan Stanley initiated Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) with an Overweight rating and $31 target. The firm believes Lehman's discount to book value prices in significant write-downs.
- Bernstein believes Nokia (NYSE:NOK) will see a slowdown in demand for devices and could loss market share. Shares were initiated with an Underperform rating.
- Merriman assumed Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) with a Neutral rating and believes the tightened credit markets could impact capital equipment spending for small and mid-sized hospitals. They find shares appropriately valued at current levels.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- Terre Kaufman initiated Terremark Worldwide (NASDAQ:TMRK) with a Buy rating and $8 target.
- T-3 Energy (NASDAQ:TTES) was initiated at Jefferies with a Buy rating and $95 target.
- Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) was assumed with an Outperform rating and $48 target at Friedman Billings.
Posted Jun 27th 2008 12:24PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst initiations, ImClone Systems (IMCL)
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: The North American Pipeline sector, Aeropostale and ImClone were today's noteworthy initiations:
- BMO Capital initiated the North American Pipeline sector with a Market Perform rating. El Paso Corp (NYSE:EP), Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) and Spectra Energy (NYSE:SE) were initiated with Outperform ratings and CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) and AGL Resources (NYSE:ATG) ATG were assumed with Market Perform ratings.
- Friedman Billings believes Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) has an impressive back-to-school floorset and that momentum should carry into the fall. Additionally, the firm, which initiated shares with an Outperform rating and $38 target, expects the company to buyback shares.
- Thomas Weisel believes ImClone (NASDAQ:IMCL) is attractively valued as Erbitux is positioned to capitalize on a number of label-expanding opportunities and that concerns of KRAS-related revenue loss in colorectal cancer and the clinical utility of FLEX lung cancer data are overstated. Shares were assumed with an Overweight rating and $50 target.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
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