ben posts
FeedPosted Mar 31st 2011 12:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Stocks to Buy
When in doubt, go with those business models that have clout, and Franklin Resources (BEN), first discussed on July 20, 2009, at a price of $73.88, is one.
Ben's shares have have pulled back to about $123 this spring, after hitting $131. And needless to add, if you're in near $74, now may be a good time to consider taking some profits.
However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position and go for a larger gain, but keep in mind the journey to $150 probably won't be completed in 2011.
Continue reading Franklin Resources Remains in an Uptrend
Posted Jan 5th 2011 11:30AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Apple Inc (AAPL), Estee Lauder (EL), Alcoa Inc (AA), Avon Products (AVP), Clorox Co (CLX), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Analyst Initiations
Analyst Upgrades
- TCF Financial (TCB) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
- Exelon (EXC) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
- Nvidia (NVDA) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
- Estee Lauder (EL) to buy from neutral at UBS.
- Webster Financial (WBS) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
- Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
- Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
- NCR Corp. (NCR) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
- Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from underperform and Pioneer Natural (PXD) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
- Autodesk (ADSK) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, AAPL, ATHR, BKS, CL, CLX, EL, HBAN, NCR, NVDA, XRTX ...
Posted Nov 5th 2010 1:30PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Stocks to Buy

For those of you who stuck with Franklin Resources (
BEN), first discussed
on July 20, 2009, at a price of $73.88, despite its 30% summer drop, you've been rewarded, to say the least.
Franklin's shares
zoomed higher beginning in mid-summer, took out key, psychological resistance at $100, and recently vaulted above $120. And I still like the shares here.
One of the best-run asset managers globally, Franklin's double-digit asset growth should continue in FY2011, aided by an improved asset mix, better fund performance across asset classes, and increased flows from money market funds. Look for BEN's revenue to increase 15% to 18% in FY2011.
Continue reading Franklin Resources Vaults Higher
Posted Oct 7th 2010 11:40AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Agilent Technologies (A), Bank of America (BAC), Bank of New York (BK), Costco Wholesale (COST), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Analyst Initiations, salesforce.com inc (CRM)
Analyst Upgrades
- Piper Jaffray upgraded Salesforce.com (CRM) to overweight from neutral, citing valuation following the recent sell-off and strong business trends. The firm has a $115 price target for shares.
- Keefe Bruyette upgraded M&T Bank (MTB) to market perform from underperform on valuation after AIB sold its stake in the company. The firm has a $72 price target for shares.
- Jefferies upgraded OGE Energy (OGE) to buy from hold following the announcement that ArcLight will purchase 9.9% of OGE's interest in Enogex for $183M and believes this deal highlights the hidden value associated with Enogex. The firm raised its price target to $51.50 from $43.
- Thomas & Betts (TNB) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
- Bayer (BAYRY) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
- Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.
Continue reading Analyst Calls: A, ARST, BAC, C, COST, CRM, DPS, GS, JPM, MS, MTB, VOD ...
Posted Sep 27th 2010 12:00PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Nokia Corp. (NOK), NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), Analyst Initiations, Hunt(J.B.) Transport (JBHT), ValueClick Inc (VCLK), Take-Two Interactive (TTWO)
Analyst Upgrades
- FBR Capital upgraded Franklin Resources (BEN) to outperform from market perform and raised its target price for shares to $127 from $105 to reflect its belief the company is well positioned in the current environment.
- UBS upgraded Nuance (NUAN) to buy from neutral and has an $18 price target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and believes the company could be an acquisition target.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded DryShips (DRYS) to equal weight from underweight and has a $5.50 target on the stock. The firm cites the firmer ultra-deepwater drilling market for the upgrade.
- Becton Dickinson (BDX) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
- Edwards Lifesciences (EW) was upgraded to market perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
- Arkansas Best (ABFS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
Continue reading Analyst Calls: BCR, BEN, DRYS, INT, ISRG, NKE, NOK, NUAN, VCLK, ZMH ...
Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Amazon.com (AMZN), Motorola (MOT), International Business Machines (IBM), Boeing Co (BA), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Analyst Initiations, Juniper Networks (JNPR), General Dynamics Corp (GD), AOL (AOL)
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup assumed coverage of Boeing (BA) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold due to its positive view on the aerospace cycle and valuation. The firm raised its target for shares to $80 from $73.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Motorola (MOT) to Overweight from Underweight citing expectations for higher handset margins driven by Android. The analyst raised Android unit shipping estimates and earnings estimates. The firm raised its price target on shares to $9.75 from $8.75.
- Susquehanna upgraded SINA Corporation (SINA) to Positive from Neutral and has a $50 target on the stock. The firm said Sina'a Twitter like service called 'Sina Weibo' has seen exponential growth and will crate huge value for the company.
- AOL (AOL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
- Frontier Communications (FTR) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital and to Buy from Hold at Hudson Square.
- Canadian Solar (CSIQ) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, MOT, AOL, AMZN, JNPR, IBM, LMT, PCLN, MFE
Posted Jul 13th 2010 3:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Stocks to Buy

The shares of money management firm Franklin Resources (
BEN), which I first discussed
on July 20, 2009 at a price of $73.88, have dropped more than 30% with the Dow's recent decline, but the shares are still favored. Here's why:
One of the best-run asset managers, Franklin's double-digit asset growth should continue in FY2010, aided by an improved asset mix, better fund performance across asset classes, and increased flows from money market funds.
BEN's relatively strong balance sheet, declining debt liabilities, and prudent cost cuts rounds out the solid business model.
Continue reading Is the Selling Over with Franklin Resources?
Posted Mar 25th 2010 2:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Stocks to Buy

Money management firm Franklin Resources (
BEN), which I first wrote about
on July 20, 2009 at a price of $73.88, has survived the financial crisis and recession in good shape.
One of the best-run asset managers, Franklin's double-digit asset growth should continue in FY2010, aided by an improved asset mix, better fund performance across asset classes, and increased flows from money market funds. BEN's relatively strong balance sheet, declining debt liabilities, and prudent cost cuts rounds out the positive story.
Continue reading Franklin Resources: Well-Positioned for the Recovery
Posted Jan 11th 2010 2:30PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Stocks to Buy

With the U.S./global economies recovering, and increased confidence in equity market gains, moving forward, the landscape for money managers is improving, and that's a major reason I'm reiterating my buy rating for Franklin Resources (
BEN), first recommended
on July 20, 2009 at a price of $73.88. If you bought BEN in July, you're up about 50%.
Franklin's double-digit asset growth should continue in FY2010, aided by an improved asset mix, better fund performance across asset classes, and increased flows from money market funds. BEN's relatively strong balance sheet, and prudent cost cuts rounds-out the positive story. The First Call FY2010/FY2011 EPS estimates for BEN
are $6.08 to $7.03.
Continue reading Franklin Resources: Back Up the Truck
Posted Dec 16th 2009 11:50AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Best Buy (BBY), Analyst Initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Deutsche Bank upgraded T. Rowe Price (TROW) to buy from hold due to valuation and solid core trends. The firm raised its target on shares to $57 from $55. Note the firm downgraded Franklin Resources to hold from buy (see below).
- KeyBanc upgraded U.S. Steel (X) to buy from hold based on stable domestic cost environment in 2010 and likelihood of sustained higher spot pricing. The firm has a $65 target on shares.
- Goldman upgraded Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) to buy from neutral, citing oil leverage, sizable resource base and free cash flow. The firm raised its target to $90 from $88.
- Darden (DRI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
- Carnival (CCL) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
- AmerisourceBergen (ABC) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, BBY, BEN, H, LLY, TROW, X ...
Posted Nov 30th 2009 11:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Analyst Initiations, Deere and Co (DE)
Analyst upgrades:
- FBR upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to reflect strong channel checks over the Black Friday weekend. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Safeway (SWY), citing improvements in pricing.
- Baird upgraded US Bancorp (USB) based on valuation. The firm raised its target price to $29 from $25.
- HSBC Holdings (HBC) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
- Genzyme (GENZ) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
- Deere (DE) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANF, BIDU, DE, FCX, HBC, SWY, USB ...
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 2:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Stocks to Buy

The
Franklin Resources (NYSE:
BEN) Buy call, issued
on July 20, 2009 at a price of $73.88, is panning out, which is why I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for the company' shares. If you bought BEN in July, you're up about 54%.
The advice furnished here is to avoid stand-alone money managers as equity plays, but Franklin is an exception. BEN's double-digit asset growth should continue in FY2010 aided by an improved asset mix, and better fund performance across asset classes. BEN's relatively strong balance sheet and declining debt liabilities fleshes-out the positive story.
Continue reading Franklin Resources: An asset management survivor
Posted Sep 9th 2009 11:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Morgan Stanley (MS), duPont(E.I.)deNemours (DD), Analyst Initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded Capital One (NYSE: COF) to Buy from Hold as it believes the credit cycle is starting to recover for U.S. credit cards and an improving economy will support bank credit stabilization. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $28.
- JPMorgan upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and believes the stock market recovery will serve as a catalyst.
- Deutsche Bank upgraded F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to Buy from Hold after its channel checks indicated a sooner-than-expected order ramp and stabilizing pricing trends. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
- COTT Corp. (NYSE: COT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
- Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
- Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BX, COF, DD, MS, VMC, WM, ZION ...
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