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Analyst Calls: AET, FDX, MAR, MDT, MON, MSFT, NOC, QCOM, SNDK, TSL ...

Analyst Upgrades

  • Janney Montgomery upgraded Microsoft (MSFT) to buy from neutral with a $30 price target, citing valuation and expectations for strong Q4 results.
  • UBS upgraded SanDisk (SNDK) to buy from neutral based on favorable pricing and mobile design win momentum. The firm raised its target to $55 from $46.
  • BMO Capital upgraded Medtronic (MDT) to outperform from market perform based on valuation and its product pipeline. The firm has a $48 price target on the stock.
  • Lorillard (LO) and Qualcomm (QCOM) were upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
  • Monsanto (MON) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
  • FedEx (FDX) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AET, FDX, MAR, MDT, MON, MSFT, NOC, QCOM, SNDK, TSL ...

Hedge fund goes public . . . through the backdoor

Since early 2007, it's been rough for the shareholders of Cowen Group Inc (NASDAQ: COWN), a mid-tier investment bank. The company's stock price has gone from $20 to low of $3.54.

But lately, Cowen's stock price has perked up, primarily because of takeover overtures. For example, there was an offer from Rodman & Renshaw at $7 per share.

However, this was rebuffed. Instead, yesterday Cowen agreed to a so-called "reverse merger" with hedge fund Ramius LLC, which will own 71% of the new entity. On the news, Cowen's shares increased 37%.

Continue reading Hedge fund goes public . . . through the backdoor

Analyst calls: BIIB, ALU, LYG, MAR, HOT, JCP, MYL, CBS ...

Analyst upgrades:
  • JMP Securities upgraded Vertex Pharma (NASDAQ: VRTX) to Outperform from Market Perform following better-than-expected interim data for telaprevir.
  • Lazard Capital upgraded shares of Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Buy from Hold on valuation after their physician survey indicated solid sales growth in the company's MS franchise.
  • Calyon upgraded Data Domain (NASDAQ: DDUP) to Add from Neutral based on positive channel checks and valuation.
  • Goldman added Buckeye GP (NYSE: BGH) to the Conviction Buy List.
  • Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was upgraded to Hold from Sell and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) was raised to Hold from Reduce at WestLB.
  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded Cowen Group (NASDAQ: COWN) to OUtperform from Market Perform.
Analyst downgrades:
  • Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Lloyds TSB Group (NYSE: LYG) to Sell from Hold as they believe loan loss risk will outweigh synergies from the acquisition of HBOS (HBOOY).
  • Citigroup downgraded shares of National Financial Partners (NYSE: NFP) to Hold from Buy and removed the stock from the Top Picks Live List after the company announced July and August revenues and said pressure continues. The firm lowered their target to $20 from $28.

Continue reading Analyst calls: BIIB, ALU, LYG, MAR, HOT, JCP, MYL, CBS ...

Analyst downgrades 6-27-07: FFIV, LPSN, SUN, TSO and VLO

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Mosaic Company (MOS), LivePerson (LPSN) and three U.S. refiners were today's noteworthy downgrades:
  • Stephens downgraded shares of LivePerson Inc (NASDAQ: LPSN) to EqualWeight from Overweight citing execution risk associated with the Kasamba.com acquisition.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
  • Nuvelo Inc (NASDAQ: NUVO) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair.
  • Keefe Bruyette downgraded shares of Cowen Group (NASDAQ: COWN) to Market Perform from Outperform.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 11, 2012: 12:23 AM

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