Continue reading E*TRADE, Amgen and Others Heating Up in Google Searches

E*TRADE, Amgen and Others Heating Up in Google Searches originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (APC) to overweight from neutral on valuation as it views the recent pullback in shares as excessive. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $82 from $90.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Office Depot (ODP) to perform from underperform and upped its target for shares to $7 from $3 after raising its estimates for companies in the Office Products Retail space. The firm expects trends to accelerate for the sector due to moderating unemployment pressures. In conjunction with the upgrade, Opco raised its target for OfficeMax (OMX) to $26 from $21 and target for Staples (SPLS) to $30 from $28. Both stocks remain outperform rated.
• C.K. Cooper upgraded iRobot (IRBT) to buy from hold with a $30 price target following the company's analyst day.
• Seadrill (SDRL) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Vodafone (VOD) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: APC, ODP, IRBT, NFLX, POM, MMSI, NTAP, LULU, LNCE ...

Analyst Calls: APC, ODP, IRBT, NFLX, POM, MMSI, NTAP, LULU, LNCE ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wachovia upgraded Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) to Outperform from Market Perform based on its high margin franchise, valuation, and brand acquisition opportunities, among other reasons.
• Canaccord upgraded Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) to Buy from Speculative Buy based on asset and management quality, size, and liquidity, and view as a potential hedge against inflation and U.S. dollar weakness.
• Cowen upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Outperform from Neutral. The firm expects Amazon to gain more of the consumer wallet as it focuses on lower prices and a superior shopping experience vs. online and offline competitors.
• Ctrip.com (NASDAQ: CTRP) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nomura.
• FedEx (NYSE: FDX) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMZN, FDX, MRO, NOK, SUN ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMZN, FDX, MRO, NOK, SUN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Affiliated Managers Group (NYSE: AMG) to Market Perform from Outperform to reflect the rebound in equity and fixed income markets as well as an attractive risk/reward profile. The firm raised its target on shares to $72 from $61.
• Jefferies upgraded AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) to Buy from Hold as it believes equipment sales in Brazil are holding up better than expected and farm stimulus should set a floor in sales. The firm raised its target on shares to $36 from $25.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Hold to reflect reduced balance sheet risk and a more positive view on the steel sector. The raised its target on shares to $42 from $23
• Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• Synovus (NYSE: SNV) was raised to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust.
• First American (NYSE: FAF) was lifted to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DTV, LEA, MT, WMT, YHOO

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DTV, LEA, MT, WMT, YHOO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC) to Buy from Hold on valuation as it views the risk/reward as favorable at current levels. Deutsche raised its target price to $41.50 from $38.
  
• FBR Capigal upgraded Charlotte Russe (NASDAQ:CHIC) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's Q2 results on expectations merchandise improvements and cost-cutting efforts will drive continued margin expansion. The firm raised its target on shares to $15 from $10.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Fidelity National (NYS:FIS) to Outperform from Perform as it believes the Metavante (MV) acquisition makes strategic sense and the stock's risk/reward is favorable. The firm's target price is $25.
• First American (NYSE:FAF) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Nokia (NYSE:NOK) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Parker-Hannifin NYSE:(PH) was lifted at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: JPM, NOK, PALM, INTU

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: JPM, NOK, PALM, INTU originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Contrary to the words of our economic cheerleaders -- Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson -- the subprime mortgage meltdown refuses to stay contained. This economic cancer has now spread to the lumber and title insurance industries.

Reuters reports that one of the biggest lumber companies, Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY), will probably have to close plants and restrict operations because of weak market conditions. This should not come as a surprise since dropping home prices may crimp new home construction -- leading to less demand for lumber, roofing material, nails, concrete, and all the other materials and labor that go into building a house.

But the Wall Street Journal [subscription required] surprised me by reporting that the title insurance industry -- which issues policies that essentially guarantee a homebuyer is the rightful owner of a property -- also is taking a dive. The paper reports that claims against leading title insurers -- due, in part, to a rise in subcontractors who file a lien for unpaid work on a house -- have spiked 52%. Moreover, title insurance revenues are down which indicates a drop in new mortgages that require title searches to get approved.

Continue reading Mortgage meltdown metastasizes

Mortgage meltdown metastasizes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Banc of America downgraded shares of both Nike and Foot Locker to Neutral from Buy, as the firm believes industry pressures in the U.S. could more than offset the potential turn in Europe and benefit from the 2008 Olympics.
• Cowen downgraded shares of ADTRAN, Bookham and Tellabs to Neutral from Outperform.
• Goldman Sachs also downgraded shares of Tellabs, to Sell from Neutral, as the firm believes the stock fully discounts the expected sales and margin improvement.

• Allergan Inc (NYSE: AGN) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley citing limited upside.
• Friedman Billings removed The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ: CAKE) from its Top Picks and maintained its Outperform rating.
• Lehman downgraded shares of The First American Corporation (NYSE: FAF) to Equal-Weight from Overweight on increasing risk to the company's title margin and regulatory concerns.
• Matrix USA downgraded shares of Lowe's Companies Inc (NYSE: LOW) to Buy from Strong Buy on valuation.

Analyst downgrades 6-08-07: NKE, FL, TLAB, ADTN and BKHM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.