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Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MS, JCG, BKC, LVLT, NWS ...

Analyst upgrades:

  • Keefe Bruyette upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Outperform from market Perform after transferring coverage to a new analyst. The firm expects Morgan to benefit from the pending joint venture with Smith Barney and improvements in its operating environment.
  • FBR Capital upgraded Winn-Dixie (NASDAQ: WINN) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes the company is executing well and shares are cheap at current levels. The firm keeps a $16.50 target on the stock.
  • Baird believes Polaris's (NYSE: PII) consensus expectations and valuation are too low and that the company will expand beyond powersports. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Neutral and raised their target to $37 from $32.
  • J. Crew (NYSE: JCG) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
  • Lexmark (NYSE: LXK) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
  • Global Hunter upgraded Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) to Buy from Neutral.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MS, JCG, BKC, LVLT, NWS ...

The week's top biotech gainers

This was quite a week in biotechnology. You had a major premium buyout and had much data come out from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and others. This is far from all of the movers, but it is a brief summary of the major gainers from BioHealthInvestor.com showing how large some moves were in biotechnology this week.

Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR) had a great week after it announced positive data from a second Phase III study of its Fampridine-SR for patients' walking abilities who suffer from multiple sclerosis (MS). FULL DETAILS

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUXL) was a strange stock this week. The company reported great news but shares slid before the market figured out it had misinterpreted news in the company. INITIAL DETAILS

Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ISPH) saw a surge after it reached its primary endpoint in Phase III trial of Denufosol for Cystic Fibrosis. FULL DETAILS

Continue reading The week's top biotech gainers

Newspaper wrap-up: WaMu under SEC investigation

MAJOR PAPERS:
  • Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER), under intense pressure from billions of dollars of mortgage write-downs may get about a $5B capital investment from Temasek Holdings, a Singapore state-owned investment firm, the Wall Street Journal reported.
  • The WSJ also reported that the SEC is investigating how Washington Mutual Incorporated (NYSE: WM) handled and reported on mortgage loans which may have been based on inflated home appraisals.
WEB SITES:
  • BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street," Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) is looking to transform from a pariah on the Street into success. The number one photography company has been restructuring since 2003, and analysts expect to see strong profitability and cash flow in 2008.
  • Aldabra 2 Acquisition Corp (AMEX: AII) may be another success story, BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" noted, particularly if it gets a boost in output and "possible listing on the Big Board."
  • Analysts are bullish on Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ISPH), BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" reported, which has conjunctivitis drug AzaSite on the market and several drugs in its pipeline. AzaSite sales are expected to come in around $45M next year, but the company could grow further with its cystic fibrosis drug Denufosol, now in phase III trials.

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-70.4410,380.51
NASDAQ-16.872,159.14
S&P 500-6.091,100.15

Last updated: November 24, 2009: 10:28 AM

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