• Merrill upgraded Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to Buy from Neutral citing progress in the company's turnaround plan, execution, and 2009 earnings growth.
  
• Thomas Weisel raised Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) to Overweight from Market Weight and believes the company's core business remains strong and that valuation is attractive.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded shares of Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation after checks indicated the company should meet Q2 expectations.
• NeuStar (NSR) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  
• UBS raised Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Goldman upgraded Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) to Buy from Neutral.

• Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered its target to $33 from $43 following the company's Q3 results, as they believe near-term credit trends and concerns surrounding its securities portfolio will limit upside. Shares were also downgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Overweight due to deteriorating credit trends.
  
• Banc of America cut Monster (NASDAQ: MNST) to Neutral from Buy to reflect a lack of margin stability and their belief consensus estimates remain too high.
  
• Barclays downgraded Avis Budget Group (NYSE: CAR) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing the global economic slowdown and refinancing risk.
• Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), Luxottica (NYSE: LUX) and ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM) were cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.
  
• Luxottica was also downgraded at HSBC to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• JP Morgan cut AuthenTec (NASDAQ: AUTH) to Underweight from Neutral.

• Janney Montgomery believes Gladstone Capital's (NASDAQ: GLAD) management team and lower portfolio investment risk profile warrant a premium valuation. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $13 target.
• CommVault (NASDAQ: CVLT) was initiated with a Buy rating and $14 target at Cantor, as the firm finds the stock attractively valued given its secular growth rate potential.
  
• KeyBanc is positive on Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA) management team, growth potential, cost initiatives, and differentiation. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $30 target.
• Arris (NASDAQ: ARRS) was initiated at Jefferies with a Hold rating and $7 target.
  
• Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RIGL) was initiated at Banc of America with a Neutral rating and $21 target.
  
• Morgan Stanley started Hansen Natural (NASDAQ: HANS) with an Equal Weight rating.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: KFT, SYMC, CAR, GLAD, HANS ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Safeway (NYSE: SWY) to Hold from Underperform on valuation as they believe the company's pricing pressure and sluggish sales trends are now priced in. The firm raised its target to $23.50 from $21.
  
• Merrill upgraded Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to Buy from Underperform citing attractive dividend yield and stabilizing businesses.
  
• Banc of America upgraded shares of Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) to Neutral from Sell and raised APOL's target to $60 from $48 on valuation as they see a balanced risk/reward at current levels.
• Nucor (NYSE: NUE) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) and Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) were upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Jefferies Group (NYSE: JEF) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to Market Perform from Underperform.

Analyst downgrades:

Continue reading Analyst calls: GM, F, BAC, PFE, APOL, SYMC . . .

Analyst calls: GM, F, BAC, PFE, APOL, SYMC . . . originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• 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.

• 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.

Analyst initiations: SOLF, BMRN and DNA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported its fifth straight quarterly loss and lowered its outlook.
• Anadigics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAD) beat Q1 expectations and raised its Q2 guidance.
• AuthenTec Inc. (NASDAQ: AUTH) Q1 revenues jumped 67% on new product offerings.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) posted better-than-expected Q1 results and raised its dividend.
• Cognex Corp. (NASDAQ: CGNX) beat Q1 expectations and lifted its outlook.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) posted soild Q1 results on high-speed internet/digital phone strength.
• DreamWorks Animation Inc. (NYSE: DWA) earnings and revenues soared in the first quarter.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) narrowed its Q1 loss but missed earnings estimates.
• IAC/InterActivCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) Q1 profits fell but met analsts' expectations.
• LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) beat Q1 expectations and raised its guidance for the next quarter.
• NetSuite Inc. (NASDAQ: N) narrowed its loss on a surge in Q1 revenue.
• Omniture Inc. (NASDAQ: OMTR) Q1 revenue jumped 136% on acquisitions.
• RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) just beat low Q1 expectations on lower demand and narrower margins.
• SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) earnings for the first quarter fell short of analysts' expectations.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others

Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 May 2008 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For Corporate America millions are lost because of lost laptops and data breaches (not to mention the reputational damage). But there are companies, such as AuthenTec (NASDAQ: AUTH), which develops security chips for devices and PCs (using fingerprint authentication), that are helping things out.

It's a growth business, and that fact can be seen with the company's Q1 report. Revenues spiked 67% to $15.5 million and gross margins jumped 3.5% to 49.6%. Basically, the company is moving its product mix to premium offerings.

More importantly, AuthenTec continues to be a major innovator in its sector, launching some new products. For example, the company has more than 60 filed and pending US patents.

AuthenTec is also seeking opportunities to purchase innovative technologies. One deal is for EzValidation, which has software for fingerprint authentication. And the price tag was only $250,000.

Going into Q2, the company expects revenues of $17.2 million to $17.8 million and non-GAAP earnings are forecast to range from $0.02 to $0.03 per share.

Based on the results, AuthenTec's shares climbed 12% to $13.50 Tuesday.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook (www.mergerbook.com) and is also a principal in Averiware, which provides an ERP system to small and midsize businesses.

AuthenTec jazzes the Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

No doubt, Facebook is one of the internet's hottest startups. The company has raised gobs of venture capital, has deals with companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and is often rumored to go public or be bought out.

The company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is just in his early twenties, fresh from Harvard. Over the past few months, several of his recent classmates have made claims that they are the real owners of the Facebook concept.

Such disputes are very common for early stage companies. And it's also common for these companies to be sloppy in protecting themselves from legal claims.

So what can be done?

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Facebook's lessons on intellectual property

Entrepreneur's Journal: Facebook's lessons on intellectual property originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 09 Sep 2007 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AuthenTec (AUTH) CEO Interview: From biometrics to an IPO

AuthenTec (AUTH) CEO Interview: From biometrics to an IPO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• GSC Acquistion (GGA), a 15M-share IPO for this business financing company. Ladenburg, Thalman & Co. and I-Bankers Securities are the lead managers. Filing price: $10.00.
• Spectra Energy Partners LP (SEP), a 10M-share IPO for this natural gas MLP. Citigroup and Lehman Brothers are the lead managers. Filing range: $19.00-$21.00.

Continue reading IPO & secondary preview -- Week of June 25, 2007

IPO & secondary preview -- Week of June 25, 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Semiconductor IPOs have been hit-or-miss over the years, but that's not stopping AuthenTec, which recently filed to go public.

The company develops mixed-signal semiconductors that allow for fingerprint authentication sensors. The company has shipped over 15 million sensors and is integrated in over 150 laptops, desktops and peripherals. There are even 6 million mobile phones with AuthenTec chips.

The company has more than 100 customers, including biggies like Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), Hitachi Ltd. (NYSE:HIT), LG Electronics and Toshiba.

AuthenTec also has great timing. In light of recent security breaches, the company's technologies should be a big help.

And, the company is growing like a weed. Revenues increased from $19.2 million in 2005 to $33.2 million in 2006.

That should get the attention of investors.

The lead underwriter is Lehman Brothers and the proposed ticker symbol is "AUTH." You can find the filing at the SEC website.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

An AuthenTec IPO -- security or paranoia? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.