Citigroup upgraded Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's exposure to a potential upturn in international drilling. The firm raised its target on shares to $80 from $56.
UBS upgraded Allegheny Tech (NYSE: ATI) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $43 from $31 and believes the end of jet engine and other destocking will result in an initial recovery into 2010, even before an order ramp into 2011.
Merriman upgraded Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) to Buy from Neutral based on the favorable FDA panel outcome and set a $30-$33 target range on the stock. Baird upgraded Acorda to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $28 from $24. Following the panel review, Baird expects Amaya to be approved in 1H10 and would be buyers into the mid/high $20s.
Citigroup upgraded Cooper Industries (NYSE: CBE) to Buy from Hold on valuation as it believes commercial construction concerns are well known. The firm raised its target on shares to $40 from $37, and coupled the upgrade with a downgrade of Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) to Sell from Hold.
Credit Suisse upgraded BJ Services (NYSE: BJS) to Neutral from Underperform following its acquisition by Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI). The firm raised its target to $17.
Credit Suisse also upgraded Amkor Technology (NASDAQ: AMKR) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $8 from $7. The firm expects Amkor to benefit from near-term strength in the supply chain and the mix shift towards higher value packaging.
Textron (NYSE: TXT) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
Siemens (NYSE: SI) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
Stanley Works (NYSE: SWK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Montgomery.
Baird upgraded Con-Way (NYSE: CNW) and Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) to Outperform from Neutral due to the benefits of a likely bankruptcy of YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW). Old Dominion's target was raised to $40 from $26 and Con-Way's was raised to $42 from $22.
Citigroup upgraded Pride International (NYSE: PDE) to Hold from Sell as it believes higher valuation levels are warranted with the upcoming spin-off of Seahawk Drilling. Citi raised its target on shares to $25 from $18.
Jesup & Lamont upgraded FedEx (NYSE: FDX) to Buy from Hold with a $63 target as it believes the worst is largely behind the company.
Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
This post was written by Minyanville contributor Steve Smith.
Someone seems to think shares of Apache (NYSE: APA) could go on the bullish war path. Even after the stock moved up some 18%, from $52 to$61 last week, investors are still after the energy producer.
This morning saw a big slug of the April $70 calls purchased. The notable transaction was 2,000 contracts trading at $1.15 which was the offer price at that point. The stock has continued higher and those calls are now fetching $1.55 a contract.
Today was actually a light day on the economic front. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner spoke about keeping the banking system private after word came about the creation of the "BAD BANK" for banks to sell assets into. This was the true catalyst for the market today, and most financial stocks rose as a result. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
The energy debate rages on as oil and gas futures bounce around with 30% corrections. Which side of the energy debate are you on? Bears say that oil and gas prices are coming back down to earth. Speculators and hedge funds bid them up, global demand is slowing and alternative forms of energy will soon replace the fossil fuels we've come to depend upon. Bulls argue that oil and gas supplies are dwindling at the same time that the emerging market economies (China, India, Brazil and 20 others) need more. As their middle class population builds they too will want cars, air conditioning and electricity and demand will increase. Most oil reserves are in countries with unstable governments and when geopolitical events get ugly, prices tend to skyrocket.
I'm a long term energy bull -- 10% of my money has been in energy stocks for the last several years and today I maintain that allocation for two reasons. First, I believe in five years, oil and gas prices will be higher than they are today. Second, owning energy is a great hedge against other asset classes like stocks, the US dollar, and inflation.
No one knows which way energy prices will go next week or month so I continually rebalance my portfolio. As my energy stocks rise, I trim them and when they fall, I add to them. If my portfolio goes to 12% energy, I sell them back down to 10% and vice versa.
Now comes the easiest part – which stocks do I pick? Easy you say? Yes – because I don't worry about stock picking due to a miraculous new invention I'll discuss below. I own three energy stocks: the U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Index (NYSE:IEO), the U.S. Oil Equipment & Services Index(NYSE:IEZ), and S&P Global Energy (NYSE:IXC). Through these three stocks, I own about 200 energy stocks in precise allocation percentages to parts of the energy sector, weighted according to my own preferences – 60% is in IEO, 30% is in IEZ and 10% is in IXC. Why pick stocks when I can own them all? Here's what I mean.
The need for oil drilling services will continue even if the price of oil declines, according to Richard Lehmann. Here, in his The ETF Investor, he looks at a favorite way for investors to play this trend.
"Oil prices have a triple or quadruple price boost associated with them. The first is supply/demand dynamics, the second is the weak dollar, the third is speculative fervor and the fourth inflation fears.
"A pundit said that last year it took 65 Euros to buy a barrel of oil and today it still takes 65 Euros to buy a barrel of oil. This illustrates the effect the weak dollar is having on U.S. prices and the international price of oil.
"Inflation protection used to be the province of gold, but now it seems oil is serving a similar function. We think the current oil bubble has not run its course.
"One of our past recommendations, the Oil Service Holders Trust (NYSE: OIH), was first suggested in February 2006 at a price of $101.50. We recommended it again in December 2007 at a price of $179.83.
Wachovia upgraded Knight Transportation Inc (NYSE: KNX) to Outperform from Market Perform as they expect the company to benefit earlier from capacity leaving the TL market.
KeyBanc raised Newfield Exploration Company (NYSE: NFX) to Buy from Hold based on production growth visibility, Rockies value, and increased estimates.
Resource expert Curtis Hesler suggests Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) is an "excellent company that is on a strong growth path." In his Professional Timing Service he explains, "Everyone in the world is going to be scrambling to drill for oil, regardless of the U.S. economy.
"My futures work on crude is interesting here as we are about to leave the seasonal weak period and enter seasonal strength. My futures model has been on the sidelines in crude; but on February 11, it issued a buy at 92.72, March basis.
"It is all but impossible to drill for oil without Baker Hughes. Regardless of whether you think a recession has begun in the U.S., the truth is, there is a whole lot of drilling going on around the world. That trend will continue.
"Most recently, Kuwait announced they will be spending $51 billion over the next five years to upgrade their energy sector. They are going to be drilling a lot of wells. All of the other producing nations are going to do the same, and for one essential reason. They are all seeing their production levels beginning to decline.
"Due to a weak overall stock market and a 'disappointing fourth quarter earnings report,' Baker Hughes' price had been pushed back to solid long term support just under $65.00.
"This time, Baker reported $1.26 a share for the quarter while the analysts were looking for $1.28. Personally, I was not disappointed at all. The quarter's earnings were up a hefty 23%. If they do that every quarter, I am not going to worry about a two-cent disagreement between a bunch of pencil pushers.
"The stock's RSI and MACD patterns are deeply oversold now, and there have been very nice moves following readings in this area in the past. Come next fall, I think you will rue not having put a few bucks in Baker when the time was right. Today's bargains are in energy."
Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Large Cap Oilfield Services, Andersons and Unilever were today's noteworthy downgrades:
UBS downgraded Large Cap Oilfield Services stocks citing a "more sober 2008 outlook." The firm downgraded Smith International (NYSE: SII) and Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) to Neutral from Buy, citing delays in offshore growth for the Smith downgrade and execution issues for Baker Hughes.
Banc of America downgraded shares of Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) to Neutral from Buy following the company's Q4 results to reflect a lack of visibility on FY08 growth.
Citigroup downgraded shares of Unilever (NYSE: UN/UL) to Hold from Buy to reflect an increase in commodity costs.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Lehman lowered PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM) to Equal Weight from Overweight; shares were also downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
Friedman Billings downgraded Thomas & Betts (NYSE: TNB) to Market Perform from Outperform.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Clayton, PharmaNet Development, Royal Bank of Scotland, Progressive Gaming and WSFS Financial were today's noteworthy downgrades:
JMP Securities downgraded shares of Clayton Holdings Inc(NASDAQ: CLAY) to Market Perform from Outperform citing lack of visibility in the non-agency MBS market. William Blair also downgraded shares to Market Perform from Outperform after the company's in-line quarter, to reflect lowered estimates and uncertainty regarding a recovery time.
Jefferies downgraded shares of PharmaNet Development Group Inc (NASDAQ: PDGI) to Hold from Buy as they believe departures of board and management executives have introduced new risk.
ThinkEquity downgraded shares of Progressive Gaming International Corporation(NASDAQ: PGIC) to Accumulate from Buy following Friday's announcement that it lost its post-trial motions and will proceed to appeals court in the Webb lawsuit. PGIC will have to post a $20M bond, which is more than the firm expected.
B. Riley downgraded shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WSFS) to Neutral from Buy after they lowered their estimates to reflect the company's higher projected on-interest expense.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: The U.S. media sector, oil services, MercadoLibre and Horsehead Holdings were today's noteworthy initiations:
Credit Suisse initiated coverage of the U.S. media sector with a Market Weight rating, shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) with an Outperform rating and shares of Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX) and Viacom Inc (NYSE: VIA.B) with Neutral ratings.
MercadoLibre Inc (NASDAQ: MELI) was initiated by American Technology with a Buy rating and $45 target, as the firm believes the e-commerce growth opportunity in Latin America is still in its infancy. Shares were also started at Pacific Crest with an Outperform rating and $37 target, as the firm believes the company should benefit from strong secular growth and company-specific drivers. MercadoLibre was also initiated at JP Morgan with an Overweight rating and at Merrill Lynch with a Buy rating and $35 target.
Friedman Billings expects Horsehead Holding Corp's (NASDAQ: ZINC) EBITDA to increase even in a declining commodity environment and believes the company is well positioned to gain market share. Shares were started with an Outperform rating and $27 target also added to the firm's Top Pick List.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Advanced Micro Devices, Hancock Holding, Town Sports and Gerdau SA were today's noteworthy initiations:
Nollenberger started shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) with a Buy rating and $18 target. The firm believes the company's issues are widely known and already baked into the valuation and feels the Barcelona ramp and performance are likely ahead of expectations and demand for the latest family of ATI graphics is solid.
B. Riley initiated shares of Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ: HBHC) with a Buy rating of $43 target as the firm believes a higher premium is warranted given the company's superior growth prospects and conservative management profile.
Town Sports International Holdings (NASDAQ: CLUB) was initiated with a Sector Outperformer and a $23 target at CIBC. The firm expects shares to be driven by improving fundamentals.
Citigroup believes Gerdau SA's (NYSE: GGB) acquisition of Chaparral was expensive and will provide near-term headwinds for the stock, starting shares off with a Hold rating.
Some profit taking after another record day yesterday might be in the cards today as the Nasdaq futures are lower, but the S&P 500 futures are flat to positive in early morning, indicating to a similar start for stocks.
After Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the Senate Banking Committee yesterday, calming concerns about inflation and hence rate hikes, he returns to testify before the House Financial Service Committee today, although he'll likely repeat what he had said yesterday.
At 8:30 a.m. today, before the market opens, weekly initial jobless claims numbers will be out, as well as January import and export prices and the February NY Empire State Index.
At 9:00 a.m., December net foreign purchases will be reported and shortly after, data for January industrial production and capacity utilization as well as the February's NAHB housing market index. Finally, at 12:00 p.m., the Philadelphia-area manufacturing survey is due for release.
Oil edged above $58 a barrel today, trading in a narrow range after oil prices fell more than a dollar yesterday following data on oil stocks. Today, the U.S. government will release natural gas storage.
Some economic news from overseas:
Japan, the world's second-largest economy, saw its economy growing at a 4.8% annual pace in the fourth quarter, the fastest in almost three years as consumer spending rebounded and business investment jumped. This fueled speculation the central bank may raise interest rates. Stocks in Asia closed higher mostly.
In the U.K., retail sales unexpectedly fell 1.8% in January by the most in four years. A housing price survey showed slowing growth, suggesting the latest surprise interest-rate hike discouraged spending. European stocks are generally down, also due to some earnings disappointments.
In corporate news:
Continuing the shakeup in its top ranks, Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) has hired Solectron Corp. (NYSE:SLR) CEO Michael Cannon to the newly created position of president of global operations. Guess, Inc. (NYSE:GES) is climbing over 6% in pre-market after the jeans maker reported fourth quarter profit after the close yesterday that nearly doubled and approved a 2-for-1 stock split. Guess will also start paying a quarterly dividend of 12 cents a share.
Oil services provider Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE:BHI), on the other hand, reported a 27% increase in earnings increased to $326.2 million, or $1.02 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of $1.19 per share. Quarterly revenue rose 23% to $2.45 billion. Consensus estimates put sales at $2.46 billion.
Analyst upgrades:
Some big 
Today was actually a light day on the economic front. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner spoke about keeping the banking system private after word came about the creation of the "BAD BANK" for banks to sell assets into. This was the true catalyst for the market today, and most financial stocks rose as a result. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
The energy debate rages on as oil and gas futures bounce around with 30% corrections. Which side of the energy debate are you on? Bears say that oil and gas prices are coming back down to earth. Speculators and hedge funds bid them up, global demand is slowing and alternative forms of energy will soon replace the fossil fuels we've come to depend upon. Bulls argue that oil and gas supplies are dwindling at the same time that the emerging market economies (China, India, Brazil and 20 others) need more. As their middle class population builds they too will want cars, air conditioning and electricity and demand will increase. Most oil reserves are in countries with unstable governments and when geopolitical events get ugly, prices tend to skyrocket. .gif){kind=logo}
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Some profit taking after another record day yesterday might be in the cards today as the Nasdaq futures are lower, but the S&P 500 futures are flat to positive in early morning, indicating to a similar start for stocks.
Why do we have a weak dollar?
Holiday hiring slow for retailers
Closing Bell: What sell-off? (AIG, ABK, EPR, MBI, JAVA, ORCL, ERTS)
