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Analyst downgrades 6-13-07: AL, COST, DF and HOFF

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Some of today's more noteworthy downgrades included Dean Foods Co (DF), Louisiana-Pacific Corp (LPX), Costco Wholesale Corp (COST), Alcan Inc (AL) and Horizon Offshore, Inc (HOFF):
  • Dean Foods Co (NYSE: DF) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan to reflect future guidance concerns after management's cautious tone.
  • Louisana-Pacific Corp (NYSE: LPX) was downgraded to Strong Sell from Buy at Matrix USA. The firm believes a weak housing market is having a significant negative impact on shares and sees downside to $14/share.
  • Bear Stearns cut Alcan (NYSE: AL) to Peer Perform from Outperform based on valuation.
  • Oppenheimer downgraded Horizon Offshore (NASDAQ: HOFF) to Neutral from Buy on news of the acquisition by Cal Dive International (NYSE: DVR) as the firm believes the likelihood of a materially higher bid is low...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
  • Nucor Corp (NYSE: NUE) was taken off Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Analyst initiations 3-15-07: MasterCard & Domino's Pizza initiated today

MOST NOTEWORTHY: MasterCard Inc (MA), Domino's Pizza, Inc (DPZ), STEC, Inc (STEC) were some of today's more notable initiations:
  • Suntrust initiated MasterCard Inc (NYSE: MA) with a Buy rating and $130 target, believing the company is the best positioned to benefit from the secular shift from cash to e-payments at the point of sales.
  • Domino's Pizza Inc (NYSE: DPZ) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $38 target at Friedman Billings.
  • AG Edwards initiated STEC Inc (NASDAQ: STEC) with a Buy rating and $12 target. The firm feels shares are undervalued and that the company's growth profile and profitability should dramatically improve post-consumer business sale and revenue recognition change.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
  • California Pizza Kitchen (NASDAQ: CPKI) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and $35 target at Friedman Billings.
  • Stanford believes Watts Water Technologies, Inc (NYSE: WTS) is one of the more compelling names in the water infrastructure space and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $42 target.
  • Morgan Keegan believes Horizon Lines Inc's (NYSE: HRZ) earnings potential has yet to be realized and initiated shares with an Outperform rating.
  • Lazard initiated several solar power companies with Buy ratings: SunPower Corp (NASDAQ: SPWR), First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR), Evergreen Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: ESLR) and Energy Conversion Devices, Inc (NASDAQ: ENER).
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Market highlights for next week

The first non-holiday week of 2007 will also kick of the January earnings period and feature two of the biggest technology conferences of the year: The Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld 2007.

Monday January 8
  • Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from 1/8 - 1/11
  • Macworld 2007 in San Francisco from 1/8 - 1/12
Tuesday January 9
  • Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 5 p.m.
  • Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) to hold investor meeting at 8 a.m.
Wednesday January 10
  • Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) to hold sales conference call at 8:30 a.m.
  • Walgreen Company (NYSE: WAG) to hold shareholder meeting at 3 p.m.
  • Genentech, Inc (NYSE: DNA) to hold earnings conference call at 5:15 p.m.
Thursday January 11
  • General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) to hold 9 a.m. conference call to discuss 2H07 outlook
  • XM Satellite Radio Holdings (NYSE: XMSR) to hold Q4 earnings conference call at 1 p.m.
Friday January 12
  • Horizon Lines, Inc. (NYSE: HRZ) to hold 10 a.m. conference call to discuss 2007 guidance

The Wal-Martization of organics: will they ever be the same?

organic curly kaleOrganics are in the news. Over the weekend, consumers were paying attention to whether major organic milk producers are really honoring the spirit of organic foods, and last week, media outlets were buzzing about how just about every mainstream grocery store is launching its own organic foods line, from Safeway to SuperValu. Organics are getting cheaper, and the move by huge retailers to expand organic offerings may mean that the demand for pesticide-free goods will change the way farmers in the U.S., and elsewhere, operate.

Nowhere is the presence of organic products more incongruous than on Wal-Mart shelves. Wal-Mart is doubling the amount of organic produce in its grocery shelves for its shoppers "convenience" (and, one would imagine, to allow the retailer the ability to charge more -- and pocket higher margins as a result). The chain is also offering organic cotton clothing and organic baby formula. And while a few customers are surely happy, it seems, the larger response is... oh, no.

I feel your pain, oh ye people who are committed to organics. And I have to ask: is Wal-Mart, by trying to do good, actually doing bad?

Continue reading The Wal-Martization of organics: will they ever be the same?

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Last updated: February 13, 2012: 04:16 PM

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