Analyst Upgrades

• Deere (DE) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• American Eagle (AEO) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• FedEx (FDX) and Shaw (SJR) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Superior Energy (SPN) and Rowan Cos. (RDC) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Tesoro (TSO) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Mechel (MTL) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• SunPower (SPWRA), LDK Solar (LDK) and First Solar (FSLR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AEO, AMP, DE, EBAY, FDX, FRO, FSLR, HBC, SPWR, TSO ...

Analyst Calls: AEO, AMP, DE, EBAY, FDX, FRO, FSLR, HBC, SPWR, TSO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Banks could face another mortgage crisis, according to Barron's, if they are forced to buy back subprime, Alt-A and options adjusted home mortgage securities they've sold prior to the financial crisis, mostly as mortgage-backed securities. Already some buyers, like Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC), have enjoyed some success returning defective mortgages. And this could be just the beginning.

The banks, of course, are fighting vigorously to fend off these demands. As usual, the courts will have to settle the matter. The focus of the debate seems to be founded on the issue of representations and warranties that may or may not have been violated.

There are no surprises among the 11 banks mentioned. It is the conspicuous absence of names you might expect to find that is.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Banks, Barron's and Buffett

Chasing Value: Banks, Barron's and Buffett originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Accenture (ACN) to outperform from market perform following the company's Q4 results, citing improved tone and increased visibility. The firm raised its target range for shares to $51 to $53 from $41 to $44.
• Macquarie upgraded FirstMerit (FMER) to outperform from neutral and has a $21 price target on the stock. The firm cites FirstMerit's strong fundamentals and competitive advantage for the upgrade.
• Macquarie transferred coverage on Marshall & Ilsley (MI) with a neutral from an underperform based on improved risk/reward.
• Eaton (ETN) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• HSBC (HBC) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Walgreen (WAG) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ACN, ADM, BRCM, CAT, DE, FMER, GOOG, MI, NFLX, UAL, WAG ...

Analyst Calls: ACN, ADM, BRCM, CAT, DE, FMER, GOOG, MI, NFLX, UAL, WAG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Auriga upgraded Leap Wireless (LEAP) to buy from hold following the company's Q2 results and analyst day, citing valuation, longer-term potential for consolidation and prospects for business improvements. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target for shares to $16 from $19.
• Goldman upgraded Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from sell following the company's announcement to explore strategic alternatives. The firm raised its price target to $15 from $12.
• RBC Capital upgraded ESCO Technologies (ESE) to sector perform from underperform following the better-than-expected Q3 report. The firm raised its price target to $30 from $28.
• MetLife (MET) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Priceline.com (PCLN) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• HSBC (HBC) was upgraded to outperform from underperform at CLSA.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMD, BKC, BKS, BP, DOW, HBC, LEAP, LLY, MET, PCLN, ...

Analyst Calls: AMD, BKC, BKS, BP, DOW, HBC, LEAP, LLY, MET, PCLN, ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Stocks with Ties to Independence Day - Part 1: US vs. UK

Stocks with Ties to Independence Day - Part 1: US vs. UK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Southern Copper (SCCO) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and positive near-term catalysts. The firm raised its target for shares to $38 from $35.
• JMP Securities upgraded Ultimate Software (ULTI) to outperform from market perform. The firm cites the company's expanding employee base for the upgrade. The firm has a $40 target on the stock.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Aeropostale (ARO) to neutral from underweight following the company's Q4 results and raised its target for shares to $31 from $24.
• Kennametal (KMT) was upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman.
• Lifetime Brands (LCUT) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Barrington.
• Volvo (VOLVY) was upgraded to overweight from underweight at JPMorgan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ABT, ARO, BMY, CELG, DNDN, FACT, GS, PSUN, SCCO, ULTI ...

Analyst Calls: ABT, ARO, BMY, CELG, DNDN, FACT, GS, PSUN, SCCO, ULTI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With sovereign debt crises in Europe and record deficits in the US, speculation in gold is on the rise. Add to the mix, record low interest rates in the US and speculators are jumping back into gold. Let's look first at the bullish side:

• Billionaire, George Soros, increased his holdings in the SPDR gold trust by 152%.
• Bloomberg analysts predict prices will increase to $1,300 per ounce this year.

Continue reading Soros Sees a Gold Bubble Underway

Soros Sees a Gold Bubble Underway originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Export orders were on the rise in October in China, suggesting a strengthening recovery and an opportunity to cut back on stimulus spending. The manufacturing measure grew at its fastest rate in the past year and a half, according to the HSBC (NYSE: HBC) purchasing managers' index. It increased to a seasonally adjusted 55.4 from 55 in September.

If you're looking for a reason behind the gain, it's all in the flow of capital. In addition to the government's economic stimulus package, $1.27 trillion in new loans were written to help deliver the country from the global financial crisis.

Continue reading Manufacturing, economic growth in China

Manufacturing, economic growth in China originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Do you feel good about $173 billion of your tax money helping to keep American International Group (NYSE: AIG) from going bust? If you made the decisions that put AIG at death's door you might be. But the odds are pretty good that you had absolutely nothing to do with AIG's failure and received not a penny of compensation during the time when its executives were reporting profits -- and getting millions in compensation that they're not paying back now that it's losing money.

That's one of the reasons why I was arguing on KCRW's To the Point that the U.S. ought to disclose who is getting the taxpayer money that goes to AIG. After all, they just got another $30 billion this week after reporting history's biggest quarterly loss of $61 billion. A professor on the program suggested that we should not disclose the names of the recipients because it would threaten the stability of the financial system. I thought this professor's argument was unpersuasive -- and now we'll get a chance to see who was right.

Continue reading How much of AIG's $173 billion bailout went to European banks?

How much of AIG's $173 billion bailout went to European banks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) was upgraded following its Q1 release and guidance.
• America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) posted higher earnings in Q3 and same-store sales growth.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was upgraded by an analysts who felt that consensus estimates are beatable.
• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE BRK.A) suffered a big profit decline, its fifth straight quarterly decline.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) posted horrible Q4 results as the values of its portfolio shrank.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Berkshire Hathaway, Blackstone, Costco, Toll Bros. and more

Earnings highlights: Berkshire Hathaway, Blackstone, Costco, Toll Bros. and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading HSBC announces earnings and U.S. closings; more pain to come

HSBC announces earnings and U.S. closings; more pain to come originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) is a dog of a brokerage house and a broken company. Yet, every time Wall Street turns around, some other financial company is considering investing in it. According to Reuters, "HSBC and the Chinese bank, along with top U.S. hedge funds, are competing with Korea Development Bank."

The fascination with Lehman is fascinating. While it may have a strong money management arm, the value of its commercial property portfolio is falling apart. It has the same kind of toxic mortgage-backed paper on its balance sheet as the one that plagues the balance of the financial industry. If they have any sense, top managers at Lehman will be getting out.

If investors are right about Lehman, the company may not make it. The stock trades at $16, down from a 52-week high of almost $68. With a market cap of only $11 billion, a $5 billion investment could push shares to below $9.

Credit markets are supposed to get worse this year. At least that is what the newspapers say. Lehman is as likely to be further damaged by that as any other large financial firm.

A few outside investors see something in Lehman that the markets don't. Perhaps they would be willing to share that with the rest of the world.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

The odd competition to buy Lehman Brothers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

• American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) blamed another big loss on housing and credit markets.
• Barrett Business Services Inc. (NASDAQ: BBSI) beat Q2 estimates and raised its Q3 guidance.
• Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) Q2 loss was three times more than analysts had predicted.
• Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) big loss was due to loan write-offs, but revenue rose 10%.
• HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) reported a drop in profit and warned of more difficulties to come.
• InterContinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) posted Q2 results that were in line with Wall Street expectations.
• Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) posted strong Q2 results on Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies.
• Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY) widened its Q2 net loss as revenues slumped.
• News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) posted strong Q4 results on asset gains, and warned of slower growth.
• Playboy Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: PLA) posted a worse-than-expected Q2 loss despite cost controls.
• Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) healthy Q4 and full-year results beat analysts' expectations.
• RadiSys Corp. (NASDAQ: RSYS) easily beat Q2 expectations on strong demand for wireless products.
• Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) net income slumped on declining AOL subscriber fees (see transcript).
• Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) beat Q3 earnings expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Whole Foods Market International (NASDAQ: WFMI) posted dismal results and suspended its dividend.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Fannie Mae, Time Warner, P&G, Playboy, News Corp. and others

Earnings highlights: Fannie Mae, Time Warner, P&G, Playboy, News Corp. and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 09 Aug 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the bell: Futures slump -- HBC, GM, AAPL, TWX, C ...

Before the bell: Futures slump -- HBC, GM, AAPL, TWX, C ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

More worries about financials drag down Asian markets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It says a mouthful when banks start to call for higher interest rates. The view of managements at financial companies may be coming around to the point where they believe inflation is a bigger problem than rates are.

According to Reuters, "The chief executive of Europe's biggest lender on Tuesday called on central bankers to raise interest rates in order to combat inflation." The head man at HSBC (NYSE:HBC) fears that there is no overall plan in the financial community to keep rising prices down.

The viewpoint about inflation is probably right, but that does not mean that governments will begin to up rates. In places like the US, where people are still defaulting on mortgages at record rates, and auto loans and credit card payments are under pressure, upping interest rates would be hard to swallow.

There is also the matter that increasing banking rates may do nothing to halt the spike in food and gas prices. These are being set, to a large extent, by demand outside the US, especially in developing nations. Messing with the cost of lending is not likely to fix that.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and the author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 letter.

HSBC (HBC): Even banks want higher interest rates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 May 2008 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that a federal judge said that the government had "sufficient evidence" for a jury to conclude that a conspiracy to fraudulently boost the financials of American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) began with former CEO Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg. That led to a transaction that artificially inflated AIG's loss reserves.
• Citigroup Incorporated's (NYSE: C) Falcon Strategies fixed income hedge fund is down 75%, the Wall Street Journal reported, bad news for the three U.S. banks that invested in it to help increase returns on employee life insurance. One of the banks, Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB), is suing Transamerica Life and Smith Barney, both of whom helped to arrange the investment, and some are now questioning whether Citigroup will be forced to give back some of the investments as they have with individual investors.
• After it stopped offering some mortgages last month because it was swamped by volumes of new applications, the Financial Times reported that First Direct, a unit of HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC), has resumed lending to new customers. The bank said it has continued to receive "significant interest" in its mortgages from existing customers.

• In an effort to raise capital from shareholders, the Telegraph reported that Barclays Plc (NYSE: BCS) is considering a takeover bid for a rival in the U.S. or UK. Sources believe Barclays may attempt to acquire an investment bank, a struggling bank or a deal in a fast-moving economy. Potential names mentioned include UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH).

Newspaper wrap-up: Citigroup may have to repay some hedge fund losses originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 May 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is expected to beat out The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) for an approximate $1.8B contract to from the U.S. Air Force to build a new generation of navigation satellites, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• According to the Wall Street Journal, former American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) CEO Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg is pressing the troubled insurer to turn the company around. He says that he and other major shareholders have "deep concern about the persistent and seemingly endless destruction of value at AIG."
• Hybrid Capital Second, a Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) investment vehicle, increased its stake in internet start-up Livedoor to 18.15% from 12.76% in March, the Financial Times reported, superseding the company's founder, Takafumi Horie.

• After it incurred $3.2B of bad debts in the first three months of the year, the Telegraph reported that Knight Vinke, an HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) shareholder, has renewed calls for the bank to shed its U.S. consumer finance business.

Newspaper wrap-up: Lockheed expected to win $1.8B contract for navigation satellites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 May 2008 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that a spokesperson for New Corporation (NYSE: NWS) said the company has dropped out of the bidding for Tribune Co's (NYSE: TXA) Newsday. This leaves Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) as the apparent winner of the auction.
• According to people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that American International Group Inc's (NYSE: AIG) airplane-leasing unit is considering a split from the company. The people said International Lease Finance Corp have grown "increasingly concerned" the company will be hurt by AIG's financial troubles.
• Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE: RDS.A) and Spain's Repsol YPF SA (NYSE: REP) are pulling out of one of Iran's biggest gas projects, the $10B-plus development of phase 13 of South Pars, the world's largest gas field, the Financial Times reported.

• Bloomberg reported that HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE: HBC) set aside a smaller-than-forecast $3.2B for bad loans in the U.S. The bank also said its Q1 profit was higher than Q107.

Newspaper wrap-up: HSBC's allowance for bad U.S. loans is lower than expected originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 May 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) to Underweight from Equal Weight to reflect expected losses at the company's U.S. unit.
  
• ABN Amro cut WPP Group (NASDAQ: WPPGY) to Hold from Buy as they expect slowing top-line growth from stagnant marketing budgets.
  
• Merriman downgraded shares of Aware (NASDAQ: AWRE) to Neutral from Buy after DSL royalty revenue declined for a third straight quarter.

• Goldman removed McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Suntrust downgraded Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE: GDP) to Reduce from Neutral.
  
• Merrill lowered Grupo Aeroportuario (NASDAQ: OMAB) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: HBC, WPPGY and AWRE originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 May 2008 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.