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Wall Street didn't want to play with Hasbro after Q3 results

Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) isn't doing too well today. Shares of the toy entity are down 3.5% at the time of this writing in early afternoon trading. Third-quarter results are the catalyst, apparently. Management must hate this, because on Friday, rival Mattel (NYSE: MAT) saw a bid after its own earnings release.

Hasbro's top line contracted 2%, and earnings per share, even with some dilution from a joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) and investments in Hasbro's virtual-studio initiative, increased 11% to 99 cents. Expectations were beat by six pennies. Gee, that was better than Mattel's performance. The maker of Barbie actually saw a per-share earnings decline and came in line with forecasts.

Continue reading Wall Street didn't want to play with Hasbro after Q3 results

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DIS, GE, MCD, MON, USNA, YUM ...

Analyst upgrades:

  • Goldman upgraded General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $15 from $13 citing reports that U.S. House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank has indicated regulatory reform will not require a separation of GE Capital.
  • Syntel (NASDAQ: SYNT) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform by Wells Fargo. The firm upgraded the stock following the company's much better than expected Q2 EPS.
  • Canaccord upgraded USANA (NASDAQ: USNA) to Outperform from Market Perform citing the strong Q2 report and earnings momentum. The firm has a $40 target on the stock.
  • Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
  • Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital.
  • Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DIS, GE, MCD, MON, USNA, YUM ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AGN, TXN, ELN, PALM, DOW

Analyst upgrades:
  • Citigroup upgraded Allergan (NYSE: AGN) to Buy from Hold to reflect increased estimates for Botox and its belief Latisse guidance looks conservative. The firm raised its target on shares to $57 from $45.
  • Jefferies upgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated business is strengthening. Jefferies believes Texas Instruments' September quarter guidance will come in better than expected and raised its target on shares to 23 from $16.
  • FBR Capital upgraded Peabody Energy (BTU) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect "strong" long-term steel and steam demand trends from China and India. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $36.
  • Elan Corp (ELN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Affymetrix (AFFX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  • ASML Holding (ASML) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AGN, TXN, ELN, PALM, DOW

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMGN, CSCO, CX, HAS, T

Analyst upgrades:
  • Bernstein upgraded Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as it believes threats to the core business are priced in at current levels and upside catalysts may come from pipeline news. The firm raised its target on shares to $65 from $57.
  • Stephens upgraded CyberSource (NASDAQ: CYBS) to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation as it believes the recent pullback creates a buying opportunity. The firm raised its target on shares to $16 from $14.
  • JPMorgan upgraded Magna (NYSE: MGA) and Tenneco (NYSE: TEN) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations global auto production has sequentially bottomed with European light vehicle production rebounding in Q2. The firm also sees a short-term trading opportunity in TRW Automotive (NYSE: TRW), but keeps a Neutral rating on the stock.
  • SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
  • Cogent Communications (NASDAQ: CCOI) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMGN, CSCO, CX, HAS, T

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DAI, GT, DB, FIATY, TXN ...

Analyst upgrades:
  • Goldman upgraded shares of Daimler (NYSE: DAI) to Buy from Neutral as it believes the company's restructuring and greater visibility on its outlook could be positive for the stock.
  • JP Morgan upgraded shares of Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) and Cooper Tire (NYSE: CTB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations that industry volumes will improve in the coming quarters.
  • Friedman Billings upgraded Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) following the company's better than expected preliminary Q1 results. The firm maintains a $17 target on shares.
  • Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc.
  • Portfolio Recovery (NASDAQ: PRAA) was raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DAI, GT, DB, FIATY, TXN ...

Analyst calls: CNB, ERIC, ASML, TRMB, BCS, DISCA, JNS, RGEN, GPS and NTY

Analyst upgrades:
  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded shares of Colonial Bancgroup (NYSE: CNB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation following the recent weakness and believes the company will be eligible to receive TARP funds. Morgan Stanley believes the company's valuation adequately reflects risk to the loan portfolio; the firm raised shares to Equal Weight from Underweight.
  • Merrill upgraded Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) to Buy from Underperform and believes their valuation reflects the worst-case for bad news.
  • Oppenheimer upgraded Trimble Navigation to Outperform from Perform on valuation as they believe the company's long-term growth story is intact.
  • Celestica (NYSE: CLS) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
  • KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  • Wachovia raised EastGroup Properties (NYSE: EGP) to Outperform from Market Perform.
Analyst downgrades:
  • UBS cut Barclays (NYSE: BCS) to Neutral from Buy as they believe capital raises could negatively impact earnings and that the dividend is likely to be cut.
  • JP Morgan downgraded Discovery Holdings (NASDAQ: DISCA) to Underweight from Neutral based on valuation and the deteriorating economic outlook.
  • Friedman Billings downgraded shares of Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) to Underperform from Market Perform and lowered its target to $7 from $23 as they see further risk to the downside following the company's weaker-than-expected results.
  • LKQ Corp (NASDAQ: LKQX) was cut to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital.
  • Affymetrix (NASDAQ: AFFX) was lowered to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • RightNow Tech (NASDAQ: RNOW) was downgraded at Baird to Neutral from Outperform.

Continue reading Analyst calls: CNB, ERIC, ASML, TRMB, BCS, DISCA, JNS, RGEN, GPS and NTY

Are reality shows no different than professional wrestling?

I absolutely loved this article from The Hollywood Reporter -- it's about Discovery Channel's popular reality program Deadliest Catch. You know the show -- it's the one that tries to make deep-sea crab-catching look fun and cool and exciting (for me, it would be none of the above). It is an engaging show, though -- I've watched a couple episodes, and I will admit, it was hard to turn away from the events on those fishing boats. The people who make these reality shows have genuine talent when it comes to turning ordinary jobs that otherwise would be boring and monotonous if they were experienced in actual life into magical fantasy worlds that become career goals for the viewer taking them in on the small screen. But, the thrust of the Reporter article is that not everything you see on Catch is necessarily representative of actual events all the time.

Apparently, the producers of the show did some editing on the premiere that spliced together two separate events to make them seem like they were happening at the same moment in time. I won't go into the whole thing, but there was a flooding situation on a boat that occurred during one month, and there were giant waves causing chaos on the sea during an entirely different month. The two sequences were combined, and presto -- you think the waves happening during month B are causing the flooding that took place during month A. An outline is offered up as proof of the creative editing, as the document seems to direct editors to make the combination.

The Reporter article states that this might be considered controversial since Catch is supposed to be a documentary and not a reality show. Well, as I've said, I've seen Catch, and personally, I can tell you it isn't a documentary. Nope; not a chance. This is a reality show, and as such, the viewer will always want to assume that not everything is as it seems.

Continue reading Are reality shows no different than professional wrestling?

Analyst upgrades: RATE, DISCA and KBR

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Bankrate, Discovery Holdings and KBR, Inc were today's noteworthy upgrades:
  • Merriman upgraded shares of Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) to Buy from Neutral on valuation following the recent pullback and believes shares can reach $50-$60 with some positive near term headlines, including price increases across the board and an additional cut in interest rates.
  • Wachovia upgraded Discovery Holdings (NASDAQ: DISCA) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation, uptick in ratings, and strong scatter market.
  • KBR, Inc (NYSE: KBR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, as they see potential for significant awards of major energy and chemicals projects.
OTHER UPGRADES:
  • JMP Securities raised Gevity HR (NASDAQ: GVHR) to Outperform from Market Perform.
  • Oppenheimer upgraded Cybex (NASDAQ: CYBI) to Buy from Neutral.
  • Baird upgraded Integrys Energy (NYSE: TEG) to Outperform from Neutral.

Cramer likes Discovery for a buyout, but don't bet on it....

On today's STOP TRADING! segment on CNBC, Jim Cramer said he loves Discovery Holdings (NASDAQ:DISCA) and thinks it should go private. He was very positive on this name before on one of his MAD MONEY episodes on April 23, 2007.

The problem is that the company is not at a price any "fiscally responsible buyer" would be interested in. It loses money and has negative cash flows at this point, even if that has been on non-recurring items.

The good news is that it is expected to make money this year and grow earnings next year. But it is essentially still on the cusp. The main reason for losses was because of one quarter last year, but the net earnings from operations probably price this out. A buyer at this point would mainly be a vanity buyer or a buyer who thinks he/she can run it much leaner and meaner than current management. It would also be a large gamble considering that the company is already worth more than $6 billion in market cap.

Analyst initiations 4-16-07: Nintendo started with an Overweight at JP Morgan

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Nintendo Co, Ltd (NTDOY) and FuelCell Energy, Inc (FCEL) were the only noteworthy initiations in today's modest-sized list:
  • JP Morgan started Nintendo Ltd (OTC: NTDOY) with an Overweight rating.
  • Lazard initiated shares of FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL) with a Buy rating and $11 target, as the firm believes the company has the best bookings prospects in its history.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
  • Discovery Holding Co (NASDAQ: DISCA) was initiated at Pali Research with a Buy rating and $25.50 target. Pali said Discovery now appears committed to developing unique,"on-brand" proprietary content across all its cable networks that it can exploit through an increasing number of distribution platforms; Pali added that this is a company that no longer feels compelled to be in every country around the globe.
  • Pacific Crest initiated shares of Vocus, Inc (NASDAQ: VOCS) with an Outperform rating and $28 target, as the firm believes the company has a strong competitive position.
  • Cowen initiated Medivation, Inc (NASDAQ: MDVN) with a Neutral rating based on valuation.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

James Cameron finds Jesus ... No, not like that

Remember when James Cameron directed the Terminator movies and he was unequivocally regarded as awesome? Then he made this little period piece about some boat sinking, proclaimed himself "King of the World," which was perceived as arrogant but was really just a quote, traded in wives, and was never really heard from for nearly a decade.

So what's the best way to move back into the limelight? Find Jesus. And not in the same way that Stephen Baldwin has. The Oscar-winning filmmaker said yesterday that a group of stone boxes, originally discovered two decades ago within a hillside tomb in Jerusalem, once held the remains of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.

Continue reading James Cameron finds Jesus ... No, not like that

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+20.0310,246.97
NASDAQ-2.982,151.08
S&P 500-0.071,093.01

Last updated: November 11, 2009: 06:33 AM

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