Analyst upgrades:

• Stephens upgraded shares of Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) to Overweight from Equal Weight to reflect the company's restructuring program, reductions in inventory and share repurchase program.
  
• AIMCO (NYSE: AIV) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  
• UBS upgraded D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) to Neutral from Sell.
• Argus believes BigBand Networks (NASDAQ: BBND) is succeeding by adding new customers and driving new business with existing customers. Shares were upgraded to Buy from Hold.
  
• ThinkPanmure expects Capella Education (NASDAQ: CPLA) to attract students at a faster rate in the coming quarters and to improve operating margins. The firm raised shares to Buy from Accumulate and raised its target to $60 from $62.
• Advanced Medical (NYSE:EYE) was lifted to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.

Continue reading Analyst calls: ANN, AIV, DHI, BA, BT, LINTA, B, WW ...

Analyst calls: ANN, AIV, DHI, BA, BT, LINTA, B, WW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) lowered its Q3 earnings forecast below analysts' estimates.
• Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (NYSE: EYE) lowered guidance led to an analyst's downgrade.
• Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) fell well short of Q3 estimates on lower demand and falling prices.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) Q3 profits fell more than estimated, and it cut its dividend.
• Brunswick Corp. (NYSE: BC) forecast a full-year loss and accelerated layoffs.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) Q4 earnings just missed estimates thought revenues were up.
• Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) earnings results and growth prospects impressed one analyst.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) earnings may be diluted by its acquisition of Bill Me Later.
• Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) earnings prospects led to an analyst's downgrade.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) results were in line with low expectations, and dividends will be sustained.
• General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) earnings prospects for 2009 impress Jim Cramer.
• Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST) Q3 earnings tumbled while revenue slipped.
• IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) surprised Wall Street by offering strong Q3 preliminary results.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: GE, IBM, Bank of America, Alcoa, Yum! Brands and others

Earnings highlights: GE, IBM, Bank of America, Alcoa, Yum! Brands and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• William Blair upgraded Parexel (NASDAQ: PRXL) to Outperform from Market Perform on increased conviction in the company's earnings growth outlook following channel checks.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded UDR Inc (NYSE: UDR) to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its target to $22 from $26 citing the company's approximate 8% implied cap rate on is vastly improved apartment portfolio.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Hold from Sell on valuation as they believe weak fundamentals are now priced into the stock.
• Goldman upgraded Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) to Buy from Neutral and added shares to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• StellarOne (NASDAQ: STEL) and Union Bankshares (NASDAQ: UBSH) were upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
  
• Bernstein upgraded DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Align Tech (NASDAQ: ALGN) to Hold from Buy as they believe macroeconomic pressures will limit the company's ability to reach longer term growth expectations. Align's target was lowered to $8 from $14.
  
• Jefferies downgraded shares of Advanced Medical (NYSE: EYE) to Underperform from Buy and lowered its target to $9 from $28 following the company's lowered guidance as they believe macroeconomic pressures affecting LASIK volumes and the unanticipated slowdown in lens care should put continued pressure on the stock.
  
• ThinkPanmure expects the macro slowdown and credit crunch to slow Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) growth and IT capex spending. The firm downgraded shares to Sell from Buy, lowered its 2009 EPS estimate to $1.01 from $1.35, vs. consensus of $1.46, and cut Intel's target to $12 from $24.
• MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) was lowered to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.
  
• Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) was downgraded at William Blair to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Deutsche Bank cut Heinz (NYSE: HNZ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA) to Hold from Buy.

• Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ: OSBC) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and $17 target at Keefe Bruyette. The firm believes the company's exposure to strong markets should generate above-average returns.
  
• Susquehanna assumed Affiliated Computer (NYSE: ACS) with a Positive rating and $55 target and is positive on the company's low levels of customer concentration and high levels of geographic diversification.
  
• Cowen resumed coverage of AnnTaylor (NYSE: ANN) with a Neutral rating, citing the company's share loss to competitors and top-line weakness..
• MetLife (NYSE: MET) was assumed with an Overweight rating at Morgan Stanley.
  
• JMP Securities initiated HFF Inc (NYSE: HF) with a Market Perform rating.
  
• Genpact (NYSE: G) was initiated at Susquehanna with a Neutral rating.

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: PRXL, ANF, DISH, INTC, HNZ, MA, MET ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Advanced Medical Optics (NYSE: EYE) manufactures and sells a variety of medical devices used to correct vision problems. Its cataract/implant products include artificial lenses used to replace human lenses, plus instruments and systems employed during the implantation surgery. Its laser systems are used in a variety of FDA-approved vision correction procedures. Its eye care product line features contact lens care solutions.

The company pleased investors earlier in the month, when it reported a Q1 loss of three cents per share and revenues of $304.6 million. Analysts had been looking for a loss of six cents and $287.4 million. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $1.25-$1.45 ($1.37 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $1.22-$1.24 billion ($1.22B consensus).

Continue reading Advanced Medical Optics (EYE): Shares cycle in bullish 'pennant'

Advanced Medical Optics (EYE): Shares cycle in bullish 'pennant' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• JP Morgan upgraded shares of Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation, as they believe current levels provide an attractive entry point. JP Morgan thinks their bearish view on 2008 growth and margins has been priced into shares.
  
• JP Morgan added Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) to its U.S. Focus List, as the firm believes current sentiment is overly bearish, that printing share gains are healthy and costs savings should continue.
• Jefferies upgraded shares of Advanced Medical (NYSE:EYE) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they believe the stock is oversold at current levels.

• Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
  
• Lehman upgraded Peugeot (PEUGY) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
  
• UBS raised Illumina (ILMN) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: DELL, HPQ and EYE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• First Albany sees upside potential in GameStop (NYSE: GME) through 2008 and upgraded shares to Strong Buy from Buy.

• JMP Securities upgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Market Outperform from Market Perform on valuation.

• Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) was upgraded to Buy from Sell on valuation at Matrix USA.

• JMP Securities' checks indicate Altec Lansing's im600 iPod docking station/FM radio is selling better than expected, and upgraded shares of Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) to Market Outperform from Market Perform.

• Merrill upgraded shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's inclusion in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index in September as well as the positive global carbon steel environment...

• Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

• Morgan Stanley raised RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

• Matrix upgraded Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) to Buy from Hold.

• Jefferies upgraded Advanced Medical (NYSE: EYE) to Hold from Underperform.

Analyst upgrades: BRCD, GME, PBG and RFMD originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), NYSE Euronext Inc (NYSE: NYX) is investigating the trading of ABN Amro Holdings NV (NYSE: ABN) shares in March when it announced it may sell itself to Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS).
• Barron's (subscription required) "Inside Scoop" column reported that hedge fund ValueAct Capital Partners has boosted its stake in Advanced Medical Optics Inc (NYSE: EYE) to 12.6%, up from 9.9% disclosed at the beginning of June.
• The Financial Times reported that Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) is not going to reduce its financing of buyouts in the near future, said Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince.
• Spanish telecom company Telefonica SA (NYSE: TEF) has made a EUR3B-plus offer to Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT) for exclusive control of Vivo Participacoes (NYSE: VIV), reported the Financial Times.

• Australian mining company BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) has opened talks with private equity firms about a possible $40B takeover of aluminum company Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA), reported the UK Times.

Newspaper wrap-up 7-10-07: BHP talking with private equity about possible Alcoa bid originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Whether your eye care requirements involve an artificial lens implant, corrective laser surgery, or just some contact lens solution, there is an outfit in Santa Ana, California that makes what you need.

Advanced Medical Optics (NYSE: EYE) manufactures and sells a variety of medical devices used to correct vision problems. Its cataract/implant products include the artificial lenses used to replace human lenses, plus instruments and systems employed during the implantation surgery. Its laser systems are used in a variety of FDA-approved vision correction procedures. Its eye care product line features contact lens care solutions. The firm is expanding, having acquired laser correction rival IntraLase last month. Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) is a major competitor.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported Q1 EPS of 23 cents (ex-items) and revenues of $251.7 million. Analysts had been looking for 16 cents and $243.1 million. Management also guided FY07 EPS to $1.40-$1.55 ($1.44 consensus) and FY08 EPS to $2.25-$2.40 ($2.18 consensus). Although IntraLase numbers were not included in the Q1 results, the firm noted that its acquisition's first quarter sales grew 30%, to about $39 million. EYE shares popped on the news and are now forming a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the shares with one "strong buy," five "holds" and two "sells." Analysts see a 55% growth rate, through the next year. The EYE Price to Sales ratio (2.39), Price to Cash Flow ratio (15.10) and Operating Margin (21.29%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages.

Institutions hold about 95% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $32.71 and $52.90. A stop-loss of $35.90 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

Advanced Medical Optics: Seeing to the health of your eyes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 May 2007 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In unrelenting pursuit of double digit EPS growth for fiscal year 2007, it was announced Friday March 23, that Luxottica Group (NYSE:LUX) had acquired two South African eye wear chains. The reported total expenditure for the dual purchases was $13.4 million. Luxottica says the acquisition fits snugly into the company's strategy of maintaining market dominance, increasing cash flow generation and staying ahead of the eye wear industry growth curve.

Andrea Guerra, Luxottica Group's chief executive officer said that nearly two thirds of the world's population is just beginning to explore the fashion eye wear market. The drivers in the market can be divided into: 1) People attempting to express individuality through choices made in fashion eye wear has never been stronger. 2) As people in emerging economies come to realize the simplicity of vision enhancement through eye wear, they are also coming to grasp the realities of personal expression that fashion eye wear choices can make. 3) As baby-boomers age, there is an ever increasing pool of new clients who are visiting fashion eye wear stores for the very first time.

Continue reading Luxottica continues growth initiatives

Luxottica continues growth initiatives originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.