Analyst Upgrades

• Xilinx (XLNX) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Orion Energy (OESX) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Goodyear Tire (GT) to buy from fair value at CRT Capital.
• RadioShack (RSH) to neutral from underperform at Wedbush.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) to buy from neutral at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ADBE, CE, CISG, DOW, ELN, GT, NSC, NVO, RSH, XLNX ...

Analyst Calls: ADBE, CE, CISG, DOW, ELN, GT, NSC, NVO, RSH, XLNX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded PG&E (PCG) to outperform from market perform and raised its range for shares to $50 to $52 from $44 to $46, citing the proposed settlement in the company's 2011 General Rate Case.
• Jefferies upgraded Huntsman (HUN) to buy from hold and raised its price target for shares to $17 from $12, citing valuation and the likelihood for favorable earnings revisions.
• RBC Capital upgraded Jack in the Box (JACK) to outperform from sector perform with a $28 target, citing checks showing improved fast food sales in recent months and easy comps.
• Sonic (SONC) was upgraded to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital and $12 price target.
• Synaptics (SYNA) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan and $40 price target.
• Excel Maritime (EXM) was upgraded to buy from hold at Cantor and raised its price target to $7 from $5.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALTR, ANR, BJRI, COP, HUN, JACK, OSG, PCG, PEP, PM, SONC ...

Analyst Calls: ALTR, ANR, BJRI, COP, HUN, JACK, OSG, PCG, PEP, PM, SONC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: No economic help today (CBST, AMZN, ABK, BAC, HUN, DD, STEM, STI)

Closing Bell: No economic help today (CBST, AMZN, ABK, BAC, HUN, DD, STEM, STI) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The complicated legal fight over the implosion of the private equity buyout of Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) has been settled. The firm was able to get $632 million in cash and $1.1 billion in financing from Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) and Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB).

Basically, Huntsman claimed that these financial firms failed to uphold their responsibilities in backing the takeover from Hexion Specialty Chemicals, which was struck in July 2007 at $28 per share. Now, Huntsman is trading at $5.92, primarily because of the plunge in the global chemicals sector.

Continue reading Huntsman deal to kill private equity?

Huntsman deal to kill private equity? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the world of private equity and M&A, Henry Silverman is a giant. And, at 68 years old, he's getting back into the game. That is, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal [a paid publication], he has joined Apollo Management as the chief operating officer.

With the credit crunch and terrible economy, Apollo has suffered a variety of setbacks over the past two years, such as the bankruptcy of Linens 'N Things and the legal battle over Huntsman (NYSE: HUN). So, the firm definitely needs a boost.

Continue reading Legendary dealmaker joins Apollo

Legendary dealmaker joins Apollo originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Stocks end lower, but come off session lows; AAPL, BIDU, GM, HUN, TLAB

Closing Bell: Stocks end lower, but come off session lows; AAPL, BIDU, GM, HUN, TLAB originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been the key question for Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN): Deal or no deal?

Now we know. This week, the company reached an agreement with its private equity sponsor, Apollo Management, to end its $6.5 billion buyout transaction.

For the past six months, the parties have been embroiled in heated litigation with Huntsman getting the edge as the Delaware court ruled that Apollo had to use best efforts to close the deal . As a result, Apollo's settlement is not cheap. The fees come to about $1 billion.

Although, it's a good deal for both parties. Apollo could have lost even more money if the merger agreement had been enforced. As seen with the collapse of the BCE (NYSE: BCE) deal, there is no appetite for multi-billion-dollar deals. And since Huntsman is in a highly cyclical business - specialty chemicals -- it would have likely made it difficult to justify a buyout.

The dispute is far from over, though. Huntsman is still pursuing a lawsuit with its bankers -- Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank -- on the deal. In other words, Huntsman may even snag even more money from the broken deal.

Still, Wall Street isn't too thrilled. In today's session, Huntsman's shares are down 44% to $3.27 by midday trading.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

Apollo out of the Huntsman noose originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Stocks in the news: GM, F, JPM, KBH, TM, FNM, MO, HUN, AAPL, HON ... (update)

Stocks in the news: GM, F, JPM, KBH, TM, FNM, MO, HUN, AAPL, HON ... (update) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Dow closes down 5%; MT, GHL, HUN, IACI, S

Closing Bell: Dow closes down 5%; MT, GHL, HUN, IACI, S originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Dow ends 2.4% down; DDS, HUM, HUN, THOR, VZ

Closing Bell: Dow ends 2.4% down; DDS, HUM, HUN, THOR, VZ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back in the summer of 2007, Apollo Management LP struck a typical private equity buyout. The deal called for paying $6.5 billion for Huntsman (NYSE: HUN), a chemicals company. In fact, the deal provided lots of synergy since Apollo already controlled a variety of similar businesses (through an entity called Hexion).

Well, of course, this was the peak of the private equity boom - and the credit markets began to unwind fairly quickly. What's more, the fundamentals of Huntsman started to weaken.

As a result, Apollo tried to extricate itself from the deal. And this meant a tough litigation fight.

Of course, this can be pretty a dicey thing. That is, the Delaware court ruled against Apollo and there was an order to get the deal done.

Yet again, this was bad news for Apollo (which has other faltering deals, such as Linens 'N Things). Actually, some of the top private equity firms have been taking some major hits lately, such as the TPG Group with its Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) disaster.

So, to deal with the court ruling, Apollo has agreed to pony up $540 million to close the Huntsman transaction. Interestingly enough, Apollo has also agreed to give up its lucrative fees (amounting to $100 million or so).

This means that Huntsman should be on firm footing (especially in terms of its solvency). And, something else: the banks on the deal - which include Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank - will have to raise the necessary funding, which will likely mean losing several billion on the transaction.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website

More pain for Apollo Management: paying $540 milliont to Huntsman (HUN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Closing Bell: Stocks rebound as Uncle Sam comes to rescue, maybe; ANF, HUN, INTC all up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rolm and Hass (NYSE:ROH) is up 70% on a buy-out bid from Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW)

Ruby Tuesday (NYSE:RT) is trading higher by almost 20% on news that its earnings were better than expected.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) is up over 15% on news that a Delaware court will expedite hearing a case over a broken buy-out of the company.

Dow Chemical is down 8% on news of its planned buy-out of ROH.

Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) is off about 8% on weak same-store sales.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than in the regulare session.

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

Pre-market movers (ROH) (DOW) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This week, we've seen two major buyout deals come undone: the $6.1 transaction for Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) and TPG's play for Bradford & Bingley. In fact, according to FactSet Research, about 20% of leveraged buyouts (LBOs) since mid-2007 have been terminated.

Despite all this, some deals are getting done. Perhaps the most notable is the BCE (NYSE: BCE) LBO. BCE has reached an agreement with its private equity sponsors and banks to close its $51 billion LBO. This will represent the biggest buyout in history.

Now, there are some wrinkles. The closing date will be extended to December and there will not be any dividend payments for the rest of the year. The break-up fee was also upped from $1 billion to $1.2 billion.

Yet, the fact is that the price tag will remain unchanged (at $42 per share). No doubt, this is a big feat, especially in light of the credit crunch.

Apparently, there was much discussion about renegotiating the price. Then again, the prospects of massive litigation were daunting, as we have seen in a variety of other deals such as with Clear Channel, SLM (NYSE: SLM) and Huntsman Corp. (NYSE: HUN).

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Finally, BCE's buyout is a real deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• ThinkPanmure upgraded Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) to Buy from Accumulate based on improved execution, stable growth in core business, and ramping competitive position in some high-growth businesses.
  
• Baird upgraded Cardinal Financial (NASDAQ:CFNL) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation, the company's favorable credit risk profile in Northern Virginia, and its excess capital position.
  
• Societe Generale raised BP Plc (NYSE: BP) to Hold from Sell as it believes the bad news is priced into shares and earnings could be better than expected.

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) was upgraded at Merrill Lynch to Neutral from Underperform.
  
• Jefferies lifted Hunsman (NYSE: HUN) to Hold from Underperform.
  
• Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:TEVA) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

Analyst upgrades: SYMC, CFNL and BP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• DJIA 12062.93 (+33.87)
• S&P500 1342.86 (+5.05)
• NASDAQ 2462.07 (+32.36)
• 10YR T-NOTE 4.199% (+0.045%)
• 52-Week Lows
• Top 10 Analyst Calls

Continue reading Closing bell: Bulls prevail as oil barrels cheapen

Closing bell: Bulls prevail as oil barrels cheapen originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Credit Suisse downgraded shares of UBS (NYSE:UBS) to Neutral from Outperform as they believe UBS will have difficulty rebuilding the franchise and do not expect a quick recovery for its private bank unit.
  
• Wachovia downgraded Coventry Health (NYSE:CVH) to Market Perform from Outperform citing concerns regarding visibility around higher than expected inpatient/outpatient costs following reduced 2008 guidance.
  
• UBS downgraded Express Scripts (NASDAQ:ESRX) and Medco Health to Neutral from Buy citing the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/Ranbaxy settlement, which reduces the likelihood of a generic Lipitor launch in 2010.

• Goldman downgraded ENI SpA (NYSE:E) to Neutral from Buy and removed the stock from the Pan-Europe Conviction Buy List.
  
• Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) was downgraded to Underperform from hold at Jefferies.
  
• Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) was cut at Citigroup to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: UBS, CVH and ESRX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Huntsman deal collapses; is Penn National next?

Huntsman deal collapses; is Penn National next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Huntsman (NYSE: HUN), a chemical company, controlled by private equity investor David Matlin and Jon Huntsman, rejected Apollo Managements attempt to back out of merger a $28 cash merger agreement.

HUN is recently trading at $13.10 in pre-open trading, below its close of $20.86.

HUN overall option implied volatility of 82 was above its 26-week average of 48 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: Huntsman volatility up; rejects Apollo attempt to back out of merger originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ:ESLR) is up almost 10% ahead of its analyst meeting.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) is down over 30% after Apollo pulled out of a deal to buy the company.

Coventry Health (NYSE:CVH) is down almost 17% after cutting its forecasts.

United Healthcare (NYSE:UNH) is down over 7% on the Coventry news.

Stocks may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

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

Pre-market movers (HUN) (UNH) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.