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

• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) announced improved results year over year, with book value up nearly 20%.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ) Q4 earnings were in line with expectations but guidance for the year fell short.
• Cbeyond Inc. (CBEY) received an analyst's downgrade and lowered price target following its Q4 results.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) strong Q2 results fell short of analysts' estimates and shares declined.
• Dress Barn Inc. (DBRN) said it swung to a profit in Q2 and same-store sales increased, and it raised its outlook.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Berkshire Hathaway, Costco, Safeway, Staples, Wendy's ...

Earnings Highlights: Berkshire Hathaway, Costco, Safeway, Staples, Wendy's ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded Boeing (BA) to neutral from sell, citing increased delivery forecasts. The firm raised its target to $68 from $50.
• Benchmark Co. upgraded Meredith Corp. (MDP) to buy from hold to reflect improving broadcasting and magazine advertising fundamentals. The firm raised its target for shares to $40 from $36.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Transatlantic (TRH) to market perform from underperform after the annual statutory data was published. The firm raised its target for shares to $51 from $4.
• Disney (DIS) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Royal Caribbean (RCL) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• FedEx (FDX) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMLN, BA, CBEY, DIS, DOLE, FDX, MDP, MTB, RCL ...

Analyst Calls: AMLN, BA, CBEY, DIS, DOLE, FDX, MDP, MTB, RCL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Adobe (ADBE) to buy from neutral on expectations for a strong CS5 product cycle in 2010. The firm raised its target on shares to $43 from $33.
• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Rackspace (RAX) to buy from hold to reflect the company's "strong" Q3 results and expectations growth will accelerate in 2010. The firm raised its target on shares to $22.50 from $16. Oppenheimer upgraded Rackspace to outperform from perform and established a $24 price target on the stock.
• Stephens upgraded Ann Taylor (ANN) to overweight from equal weight as it believes the company's core brand will recover faster than originally thought. The firm raised its target on shares to $17 from $12.
• Rockwell (ROK) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Baird.
• Taiwan Semi (TSM) was raised to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ADBE, ANN, CCE, PIKE, RAX, RBS, WYNN ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ADBE, ANN, CCE, PIKE, RAX, RBS, WYNN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live list following the company's investor day. Citi believes American Express' credit trends are improving and raised its price target on shares to $36 from $28.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Gardner Denver (NYSE: GDI) to Buy from Neutral after meeting with management to reflect expectations for EPS growth in 2010 and valuation. The firm has a $38 target on the stock.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to Buy from Underperform and raised its target to $87 from $49 based on strong copper fundamentals.
• Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ: ROCK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
• Fortress (NYSE: FIG) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, FCX, FIG, JPM, LYG, RTP ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, FCX, FIG, JPM, LYG, RTP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded IberiaBank (NASDAQ: IBKC) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's capital raise, which the firm believes strengthens IberiaBank's balance sheet. Baird upgraded IberiaBank to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation following weakness related to the $100M capital raise.
  
• Pali upgraded shares of Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) to Neutral from Sell on valuation as they believe the company's comp slowdown is largely priced in at current levels.
  
• Morgan Keegan upgraded Casey's General Store (NASDAQ: CASY) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation, healthy SSS, and easing comps.
• Cabot OIl & Gas (NYSE: COG) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) were added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
  
• CIBC lifted Manulife (NYSE: MFC) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.

• Goldman downgraded Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) to Sell from Neutral based on expectations for reduced capex spending by mining and oil & gas companies and the impact from the credit crunch.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded auto companies and suppliers as they believe the failed government bailout increases risks. Ford (NYSE: F), American Axle (NYSE: AXL), Magna International (NYSE: MGA) and Lear (NYSE: LEA) were downgraded to Sell from Hold.
  
• SAP (NYSE: SAP) was cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies to reflect the "deteriorating" corporate IT spend environment.
• Waters (NYSE: WAT) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Agilent (NYSE: A) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays; the firm also downgraded Varian (NASDAQ: VARI) to Underweight from Equal Weight.

• Jefferies believes Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB) is well positioned to benefit from the increasing need for reservoir optimization services. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $70 target.
  
• Deutsche Bank initiated Capital One (NYSE: COF) with a Sell rating and $24 target, citing the difficult economic environment and the potential for higher credit losses.
  
• Soleil started Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) with a Buy rating and $10 target and expects the company's military business to remain strong through 2010.
• On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) was assumed with a Neutral rating and $3.80 target at UBS.
  
• Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was initiated at Oppenheimer with a Perform rating.
• Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) was started with a Neutral rating at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: URBN, ACAS, CAT, F, A, COF ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The next company in my ongoing series of the top 25 stocks for the NEXT 25 years is CBeyond, Inc (NASDAQ: CBEY). CBeyond has a market capitalization right at $1 billion. The company has an opportunity to be a dominant player in the total communications to the small-to-medium business sector.

CBeyond is a communications service provider (CSP), marketing to the small-to-medium business sector, as defined by 2 to 300 employees. The managed services offered by CBeyond include local voice, long distance and broadband internet access. Other services include e-mail systems, unified messaging, virtual private network (VPN) for remote users, and secure backup and file sharing. Soup to nuts, CBeyond offers the smaller enterprise the full package of communications with ease of use and simplified pricing programs.

The systems are delivered through T1 circuits right on the customer's premise and CBeyond guarantees carrier-grade quality of service and functionality. Most customers sign up for 3- to 5-year contracts, thus providing CBeyond with excellent revenue visibility going forward.

Small-to-medium business enterprises are ripe for bundled services, as CBeyond offers the one-stop shopping convenience for these enterprises. CBeyond monitors the "what's new" factor for its customers and builds in to the contracts, the upgrades when available. This allows the end customer to not be concerned about what is new in the technology world. CBeyond provides the so-called peace-of-mind solution.

Continue reading Top 25 stocks for the NEXT 25 years: CBeyond

Top 25 stocks for the NEXT 25 years: CBeyond originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Jun 2007 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bank of America upgraded Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) to Buy from Neutral with a $58 target to reflect the low valuation and the company's opportunities to increase earnings growth over the next year.

• Altria Group (NYSE: MO) was added to Goldman Sachs' Conviction Buy List. The firm believes shares, excluding Kraft (KFT), could reach $76 over the next 12 months. Goldman also thinks Altria may announce a spinoff of its Philip Morris International unit this summer.

• TreeHouse Foods Inc (NYSE: THS) was upgraded to Buy from Sell on valuation at Matrix.

• Suncor Energy Inc (NYSE: SU) was upgraded Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

• Melco PBL Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

• Prudential upped J.M. Smucker Co (NYSE: SJM) to Neutral from Underweight.

• BMO upgraded Smurfit-Stone Container Corp (NASDAQ: SSCC) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Raymond James upgraded Cbeyond, Inc (NASDAQ: CBEY) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• Stifel upgraded Accenture Ltd (NYSE: ACN) to Buy from Hold with a $44 target.

Analyst upgrades 3-28-07: Citigroup Inc & Altria Group upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.