Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup (C) to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Cubist Pharma (CBST) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Pentair (PNR) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Heritage Financial (HFWA) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• SL Green Realty (SLG) and Digital Realty (DLR) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• MGM Resorts (MGM) to neutral from Sell at Janney Capital.
• Ciena (CIEN) to buy from neutral and Olin (OLN) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Mellanox (MLNX) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) and Canadian Natural (CNQ) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• IDEX (IEX) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Ctrip.com (CTRP) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• Linear Technology (LLTC) and Analog Devices (ADI) to hold from sell at Auriga.
• Quicksilver (KWK) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADI, BRCM, C, CIEN, COP, INTC, MGM, OXY, QCOM, TXN ...

Analyst Calls: ADI, BRCM, C, CIEN, COP, INTC, MGM, OXY, QCOM, TXN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Expedia (EXPE) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Weatherford (WFT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• MDC Holdings (MDC) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• AutoNavi (AMAP) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Ciena (CIEN) and Nvidia (NVDA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Canadian Pacific (CP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• First Midwest (FMBI) and Quiksilver (ZQK) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Sonic (SONC) to neutral from negative at Susquehanna.
• MIPS Technologies (MIPS) to buy from hold at Benchmark Co.
• Arrow Electronics (ARW) and Avnet (AVT) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ANF, BBBY, CIEN, CP, EXPE, ICE, NVDA, QCOM, SONC ...

Analyst Calls: ANF, BBBY, CIEN, CP, EXPE, ICE, NVDA, QCOM, SONC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ciena Tumbles on Weak Q2 Forecast

Ciena Tumbles on Weak Q2 Forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• SINA (SINA) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Texas Instruments (TXN), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), Xilinx (XLNX) and Valassis (VCI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Salesforce.com (CRM) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Peet's Coffee (PEET) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Invesco Mortgage (IVR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• BTU International (BTUI) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Coca-Cola Femsa (KOF) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Chipotle (CMG) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AKAM, CIEN, CMG, CRM, FDO, GOOG, JNPR, MCC, TXN, YHOO ...

Analyst Calls: AKAM, CIEN, CMG, CRM, FDO, GOOG, JNPR, MCC, TXN, YHOO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Chesapeake (CHK) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Biogen (BIIB) and Regeneron (REGN) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Caribou Coffee (CBOU) to outperform from neutral and Encore Energy (ENP) to neutral from underperform at RW Baird.
• Fluor (FLR) to market perform from underperform at BMO Capital.
• Hornbeck Offshore (HOS) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Saks (SKS) and Zale (ZLC) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BIIIB, CBOU, CELG, CHK, CIEN, HOS, LULU, RHT, SKS, ZLC ...

Analyst Calls: BIIIB, CBOU, CELG, CHK, CIEN, HOS, LULU, RHT, SKS, ZLC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Home Depot (HD) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Delta Air Lines (DAL) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Heico (HEI) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• MB Financial (MBFI) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Oshkosh (OSK) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Volterra (VLTR) and Silicon Laboratories (SLAB) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Ascena Retail Group (ASNA) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Cytec Industries (CYT) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: DAL, CIEN, DGX, HD, IMAX, LOW, OSK, PENN, RDS.A, SWK ...

Analyst Calls: DAL, CIEN, DGX, HD, IMAX, LOW, OSK, PENN, RDS.A, SWK ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Verizon (VZ) to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• CSX (CSX) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• AK Steel (AKS) to overweight from neutral, as well as Lorillard (LO) and Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) to neutral from underweight, at JPMorgan.
• Marathon Oil (MRO) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Corning (GLW) to buy from outperform at CLSA.
• Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to buy from hold at Jefferies and to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.
• Salesforce.com (CRM) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from hold at Weeden and to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate (STX) to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AKS, CIEN, CRM, CSX, DGX, GLW, LO, MRO, OXY, STX, VZ ...

Analyst Calls: AKS, CIEN, CRM, CSX, DGX, GLW, LO, MRO, OXY, STX, VZ ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As noted in September, broadband/bandwidth play Ciena's (CIEN) pop back above the key, 50-day moving average was a good omen, and the stock has since rocketed up to about $21, taking out psychological resistance at $20.

Ciena, first discussed here on May 19, 2009, at a price of $11.27, remains on track to post a roughly 50% increase in revenue in FY2011, after a likely 80% to 90% increase in FY2010, aided by revenue from its $521 million acquisition of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networking business in March.

Continue reading Ciena Shoots Higher

Ciena Shoots Higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ciena (CIEN), an expert in network technology, is rocking. With roughly two hours to go before the end of the trading session, the company's stock was up well over 14% to $18.26. Volume was strong.

Initially, one may have thought that the fiscal Q4 earnings report wasn't so hot. Bloomberg says that, on an adjusted basis, the company lost 18 cents per share. Not only was that worse than what was booked last year, but it was three pennies below expectations. The top line, however, beat the estimates (net sales reflected contributions involving operations purchased from Nortel Networks Corp.). Reuters indicates that the first quarter may be a relatively good one, so the market appears to be responding to that, as well.

Continue reading Ciena Trading Higher After Earnings Report

Ciena Trading Higher After Earnings Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• SanDisk (SNDK) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• JPMorgan resumed Potash (POT) at overweight, up from neutral.
• Ariba (ARBA) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Cirrus Logic (CRUS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Tesoro (TSO) to overweight from equal weight.
• Solarfun Power (SOLF) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Barclays upgraded Ciena (CIEN) to overweight from equal weight.
• Optimer Pharm (OPTR) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.
• Argo Group (AGII) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Green Mountain (GMCR) to buy from underperform and Southern Company (SO) to neutral from underperform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ATW, CIEN, DE, GMCR, GPN, MEE, MT, POT, SNDK, SO, TSO ...

Analyst Calls: ATW, CIEN, DE, GMCR, GPN, MEE, MT, POT, SNDK, SO, TSO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been a tumultuous summer for the stock of broadband/bandwidth play Ciena Corp (CIEN), first discussed here on May 19, 2009, at a price of $11.27. Here's hoping you held on to your shares.

The reason? After staging an impressive rally in the first half of 2010 -- one where the stock roughly doubled from about $10.40 to $19.60, the shares swooned this summer, and gave back almost the entire gain, falling to about $11.55.

Continue reading Ciena Recovers After Summer Swoon

Ciena Recovers After Summer Swoon originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve's next Beige Book report is scheduled to be released this week. This report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts, and it is released eight times a year. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The June report is expected to show strengthening signs of expansion, though results could be mixed across the 12 districts.

Economic data due out this week include:

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Beige Book, Federal Budget, Retail Sales

The Week in Preview: Beige Book, Federal Budget, Retail Sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• AutoZone Inc. (AZO) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, as well as sales and gross margin growth.
• Big Lots Inc. (BIG) beat Q4 earnings expectations, raised its guidance, and lifted its share repurchase program.
• Carmike Cinemas Inc. (CKEC) swung to better-than-expected profit in Q4 and reported strong sales growth.
• Ciena Corp. (CIEN) reported a bigger-than-expected Q1 net loss and some revenue growth, and offered guidance.
• DISH Network Corp. (DISH) posted a year-over-year increase in Q4 revenue but also a decline in per-share earnings.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: AutoZone, Ciena, Fannie Mae, PetSmart, Sotheby's ...

Earnings Highlights: AutoZone, Ciena, Fannie Mae, PetSmart, Sotheby's ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded TiVo (TIVO) to overweight from neutral as it believes Thursday's appeal win against DISH Network could lead to revenue upside. The firm raised its target price for shares to $23 from $15.
• Collins Stewart upgraded DISH Network (DISH) to buy from hold on valuation, as it believes much of the impact from the negative appeals ruling is priced into the stock. The firm has a $30 target for shares.
• Cowen upgraded Ciena (CIEN) to outperform from neutral. The firm believes Ciena's acquisition of MEN is transformative and will accelerate top line growth.
• Progress Software (PRGS) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• Allergan (AGN) was upgraded to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.
• Public Service (PEG) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CIEN, COF, DISH, ED, GME, MOS, POT, TIVO, WEN ...

Analyst Calls: CIEN, COF, DISH, ED, GME, MOS, POT, TIVO, WEN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While Ciena (CIEN) has shown strength lately, the company had a setback Thursday as it disappointed investors on its fiscal first-quarter results. The company, which is a major supplier of telecom equipment, posted a loss of $53.3 million, or $0.58 per share, which compares to a loss of $24.8 million, or $0.27 per share in the same period a year ago. Revenues were up 4.9% to $175.9 million.

Excluding certain one-time items, Ciena's loss came to $0.12 per share. However, the Street consensus was for a loss of $0.09 per share. So, in morning trading, the shares of Ciena were off 9% to $13.24.

Continue reading Ciena Has a Disconnect with Investors

Ciena Has a Disconnect with Investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Advance Auto Parts Inc. (AAP) was downgraded due to concerns about its 2010 earnings outlook.
• Analogic Corp. (ALOG) received an analyst's downgrade after it reported weaker-than-expected earnings.
• AutoZone Inc. (AZO) strong Q1 results beat earnings expectations, but shares rose only a little.
• BWAY Holding Co. (BWY) received an analyst's upgrade following release of its Q4 results.
• Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) topped Q2 earnings estimates but lower revenue fell short.
• Ciena Corp. (CIEN) shares plummeted after it fell short of its earnings expectations for Q4.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: AutoZone, Ciena, Costco, FedEx, Krispy Kreme, Kroger, MetLife, 3M ...

Earnings highlights: AutoZone, Ciena, Costco, FedEx, Krispy Kreme, Kroger, MetLife, 3M ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ciena Corp fourth quarter earnings preview

Ciena Corp fourth quarter earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The earnings season, like the calendar year, is winding down. The sprinkling of quarterly results scheduled for this coming week include S&P 500 components AutoZone (AZO), Ciena (CIEN), H&R Block (HRB) and National Semiconductor (NSM), as well as Dollar General (DG), Imperial Sugar (IPSU), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), Men's Wearhouse (MW), Talbots (TLB) and others.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect to see strong year-over-year and sequential EPS growth from luxury watchmaker Movado Group Inc. (MOV). During its third quarter of fiscal 2010, this Paramus, N.J.-based company was recognized for its innovative use of technology and it reported a big profit decline for the second quarter.

Continue reading The week in preview: Profit expectations for Costco, Kroger, Movado and others

The week in preview: Profit expectations for Costco, Kroger, Movado and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Wells Fargo upgraded Prudential (PRU) to outperform from market perform. The firm thinks the company is in a better position than its peers and will be able to more effectively exploit M&A opportunities.
• UBS upgraded Reliance Steel (RS) to buy from neutral based on potential growth through M&A and valuation. The firm raised its target to $50 from $49.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Eastman Chemical (EMN) to buy from hold on expectations the company's portfolio transformation will drive higher normalized earnings power, which the firm believes is not fully reflected in consensus estimates. Deutsche raised its target price on shares to $70 from $62.
• Amylin Pharma (AMLN) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Cephalon (CEPH) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Acuity Brands (AYI) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BLK, CIEN, PCLN, PRU, RS, TIF, UNP ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BLK, CIEN, PCLN, PRU, RS, TIF, UNP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Starbucks (SBUX) to buy from hold, citing EPS and revenue momentum heading into 2010. The firm raised its target to $25 from $22.
• Soleil upgraded Zions Bancorp (ZION) to buy from hold on valuation as it believes the recent pullback provides an attractive entry point. The firm has a $17.50 price target on shares.
• RBC Capital expects Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL) to sign a partnership for R788 in the next four months to run its global Phase III program. Shares were upgraded to outperform from sector perform and its target was raised to $11 from $9.
• Deere (DE) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Shire (SHPGY) was raised to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Ann Taylor (ANN) was upgraded to overweight from market weight at Thomas Weisel.
• J.M. Smucker (SJM) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANN, AXP, CIEN, DE, RA, SBUX, ZION ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANN, AXP, CIEN, DE, RA, SBUX, ZION ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.