Analyst Upgrades

• SINA (SINA) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Texas Instruments (TXN), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), Xilinx (XLNX) and Valassis (VCI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Salesforce.com (CRM) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Peet's Coffee (PEET) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Invesco Mortgage (IVR) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• BTU International (BTUI) to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Coca-Cola Femsa (KOF) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Chipotle (CMG) to market perform from underperform at Morgan Keegan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AKAM, CIEN, CMG, CRM, FDO, GOOG, JNPR, MCC, TXN, YHOO ...

Analyst Calls: AKAM, CIEN, CMG, CRM, FDO, GOOG, JNPR, MCC, TXN, YHOO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• BP (BP) to buy from hold at RBS.
• Symantec (SYMC) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• GenOn Energy (GEN) and Nationwide Health Properties (NHP) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Logitech (LOGI) and Patriot Coal (PCX) to neutral from sell, as well as ARM Holdings (ARMH) to buy from neutral, at Goldman.
• Silvercorp Metals (SVM) to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Cinemark (CNK) to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Smith & Nephew (SNN) to market perform from underperform at Bernstein.
• Molex (MOLX) to overweight from underweight at JPMorgan.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AB, ARMH, BP, DANG, JNS, LOGI, PCX, SYMC, YHOO, YOKU ...

Analyst Calls: AB, ARMH, BP, DANG, JNS, LOGI, PCX, SYMC, YHOO, YOKU ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During the past year, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) went from near-death to profitability. Yes, Wall Street can be extremely resilient.

In its latest quarterly report, Morgan Stanley posted a profit of $757 million, or $0.38 per share. This was far below the company's results in the same period a year ago, which came to $7.7 billion, or $6.97 per share (keep in mind there was a large one-time gain for this quarter).

Continue reading Morgan Stanley gets a profit and top spot for M&A

Morgan Stanley gets a profit and top spot for M&A originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Invesco, Kimberly Clark and Crawford & Company were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Jefferies finds Invesco (NYSE: IVZ) compelling given the company's focus on expense control, strong cash flow characteristics, and attractive valuation. Shares were assumed with a Buy rating and $33 target.
  
• Caris started Kimberly Clark (NYSE: KMB) with a Below Average rating and $58 target. The firm believes consensus estimates may be too high given the high cost of commodities.
  
• Suntrust started Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRDB) with a Buy rating and $8 target, and believes the company is at the "front end" of a turnaround in operations.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Bernstein initiated Energizer Holdings (NYSE: ENR) with an Outperform rating and $100 target.
  
• BMO Capital assumed Range Resources (NYSE: RRC) with an Outperform rating and $85 target.
  
• Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) was started with a Sell rating and $40 target at Soleil.

Analyst initiations: Invesco, Kimberly Clark, Crawford & Co. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 May 2008 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cardionet, Molson Coors and TIM Participacoes were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Cardionet (NASDAQ: BEAT) initiated with an Overweight, target $29 at Thomas Weisel, who believes Cardionet is well positioned for future growth in the ambulatory monitoring market.
  
• Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) was initiated with a Market Perform, target $61 at BMO Capital.
  
• TIM Participacoes (NYSE: TSU) was re-initiated with an Outperform at Bear Stearns.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Invesco (NYSE: IVZ) was initiated with an Overweight at J.P. Morgan.
• Orion Marine Group (NASDAQ: OMGI) was initiated with a Buy, target of $18, at SMH Capital.
• Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) was initiated with a Neutral, target of $12, at Bank of America.

Analyst initiations: Cardionet, Molson Coors, TIM Participacoes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Stephens believes Diana Shipping's (NYSE: DSX) current share price represents an attractive entry point for investors. Shares were started with an Overweight rating and $40 target.
  
• Avanex (NASDAQ: AVNX) was initiated with a Buy rating at Merriman. The firm believes the recovery in optical that began in late 2005 is in a relatively early stage and that new product introductions and strong optical trends will drive growth and leverage.
  
• Jefferies assumed coverage of Fushi International (NASDAQ: FSIN) with a Buy rating and $20 target and believes the telecom infrastructure build-out in emerging markets, particularly China, and high copper prices continue to create opportunities for the company.

• Mattel (NYSE: MAT) was assumed at Caris with an Above Average rating and $25 target.
  
• Lehman initiated Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) with an Equal Weight rating.
  
• Keefe Bruyette initiated Invesco (NYSE: IVZ) with an Outperform ratin gand $28 target.

Analyst initiations: DSX, AVNX and FSIN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Keefe Bruyette believes Invesco's (NYSE:IVZ) initiatives will drive significant revenue and operating leverage to any improvement in the operating environment. The firm started shares with an Outperform rating and $28 target. Visa was started ast Cowen with an Outperform rating, as they are positive on the Visa's growth prospects and attractive business model.
  
• Keefe Bruyette also recommends owning Visa (NYSE:V), assuming coverage with an Outperform rating and $80 target, and established FY08, FY09, and FY10 EPS estimates of $1.89, $2.33 and $2.80.
  
• Netscout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) was initiated at ThinkEquity with a Buy rating and $13 target. ThinkEquity believes Netscout is well positioned to outperform and win share in its addressable market niche following the Network General acquisition. Additionally, the firm views NTCT as an attractive takeover candidate for larger infrastructure management players.

• JP Morgan initiated Signature Bank (SBNY) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Wendy's (WEN) was reinstated at Goldman with a Sell rating and $21 target.
  
• Needham started NeuStar (NSR) with a Hold rating.

Analyst initiations: IVZ, V and NTCT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Merriman believes NuVasive's (NASDAQ:NUVA) expanding product and distribution should continue to drive growth and feels the recent pullback provides a good entry point into shares. Merriman started NuVasive with a Buy rating.
  
• Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) was initiated at Jefferies with a Hold rating and $30 target as they believe consensus estimates are aggressive and that shares are approaching fair valuation.
  
• William Blair believes Invesco's (NYSE:IVZ) investment capabilities and diversified client base are key differentiators that will drive superior relative growth over the long term; shares were assumed with an Outperform rating.

• Baird initiated XenoPort (NASDAQ:XNPT) with an Outperform rating and $74 target.
  
• KeyBanc assumed Felcor Lodging (NYSE:FCH) with a Buy rating and $14 target.
  
• Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ:TRMB) was initiated at Thomas Weisel with a Market Weight rating and $30 target.

Analyst initiations: NUVA, BWLD and IVZ originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The SEC has moved closer to approving the issuance of active exchange-traded funds by Invesco Plc's (NYSE: IVZ) PowerShares Capital Management. The Wall Street Journal reported that this is the start of additional SEC approvals that will change the face of the mutual fund industry.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that despite some major cost cutting efforts, General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) may be challenged to come close to breaking even this year. The company still has "serious kinks" in its core automotive business in North America.
• According to the Financial Times, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) will not be able to form a landmark securities joint venture in Vietnam after the government gave in to pressure from rival banks that did not approve of the deal.

• The Associated Press reported that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), looking to compete with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) in the e-mail security for businesses space, is expected to announce tools today that will build upon technology acquired last year from Postini and are designed to protect against leaks of information and to weed out potential viruses.

Newspaper wrap-up: SEC moves closer to approving issuance of ETFs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Genesis Energy (AMEX: GEL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $40 target at Stanford, as the firm believes the company's affiliation with Denbury Resources and pending acquisition of petroleum products, terminals, and transportation businesses from the Davison family will drive rapid growth.

• EnerNoc Inc (NASDAQ: ENOC) was initiated with a Hold rating and $42 target at Jefferies, due to valuation. EnerNoc was also initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal Weight rating and $40 target.

• Stifel expects Comcast (OTC: CMCSA) to benefit from higher penetration levels of DVR and HDTV set-top boxes over the next several years and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $34 target.

• Select asset managers were initiated at Credit Suisse:

• AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB), Affiliated Managers (NYSE: AMG), Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG), Invesco (NYSE: IVZ), Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) and T Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) were initiated with Outperform ratings.

• Blackrock (NYSE: BLK), Calamos Asset Mgmt (NADAQ: CLMS), Eaton Vance Corp (NYSE: EV), Federated Investors (NYSE: FII), Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS), Legg Mason Inc (NYSE: LM) and Waddell & Reed (NYSE: WDR) were initiated with Neutral ratings.

• Deutsche Bank initiated Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL) with a Buy rating and $52 target, as well as Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) and Meritage Homes Corp (NYSE: MTH) with Hold ratings and a $23 target and $29 target, respectively.

Analyst initiations 6-27-07: BEN, BLK, CMCSA, PHM and RYL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.