Analyst Upgrades

• Valero Energy (VLO) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Changyou.com (CYOU) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Albermarle (ALB) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• ICU Medical (ICUI) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Check Point (CHKP) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• FMC Corporation (FMC) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Rangold Resources (GOLD) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Global Cash Access (GCA) to buy from hold at Duncan-Williams.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CHK, CHKP, DISCA, FMC, GOLD, OC, PCL, RRC, SNI, VLO ...

Analyst Calls: CHK, CHKP, DISCA, FMC, GOLD, OC, PCL, RRC, SNI, VLO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Look, 2009 was a "flush" year. Market rallies were constrained by the low baseline set at the end of 2008, unemployment was high and caution defined nearly every corporate decision. The travel market sucked. The art market sucked. The financial industry labored on with the support of taxpayer money while 140 banks were forced to call it quits. So, we turn to the new year, as yet undefined, for excitement of the type we want ... and it seems likely to deliver. As Nero played from the rooftops, the social media industry inched forward to the climax we hope to see this year -- the initial public offering.

The action hasn't really begun, and the signals emitted are open to various interpretations. Nonetheless, Facebook's new dual-class stock structure is hard to miss, as it would protect the influence of early entrants to the company -- either as investors or options-compensated employees in the event that the 350 million-strong social networking site brings ownership opportunities to the public.

Continue reading Social IPO? Hype Accumulates for 2010 Offerings

Social IPO? Hype Accumulates for 2010 Offerings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One month ago, we featured a special report featuring the favorite China-based stocks among financial newsletter advisors. Since then, the 14 stocks covered in the report have risen an average of more than 15%.

The performance of these stocks -- along with the overall China market -- has far exceeded the 3% gain in the S&P 500 index over the same time period. That report can be viewed here.

Despite these gains, many of the leading advisors remain bullish on China; in particular, several have recently focused on the online gaming sector in Asia. Indeed, Timothy Lutts notes that while the video game market in the U.S. is slowing, the video game market in China is expected to show 20%+ annual growth in coming year.

Continue reading China online gaming: Top advisors' top picks

China online gaming: Top advisors' top picks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now, the division has filed to go public. Crazy? Perhaps not.

Continue reading Changyou looking to light up the IPO market

Changyou looking to light up the IPO market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.