MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sprint Nextel, Safeway, PharmaNet Development, Millennium Pharmaceutical and Telefonica were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Wachovia upgraded shares of Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company is within six months of reaching a sustainable turnaround in subscriber growth and that investor expectations can not get much lower.
CIBC upgraded shares of Safeway Stores Inc (NYSE: SWY) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer after the company's strong quarter in a challenging environment.
Jefferies raised its rating on PharmaNet Development Group Inc (NASDAQ: PDGI) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company should achieve leverage in margins after executing its turnaround.
Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: MLNM) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird. The firm said expectations for Millennium and Velcade are low and would be buyers for the quarter given the ASH meeting and downstream pipeline visibility.
Telefonica SA (NYSE: TEF) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup following the company's earnings growth guidance.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman Brothers.
Progenics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PGNX) was added to Friedman Billings' Top Picks list and its Outperform rating was maintained. The firm has a high degree of confidence in the success of the MNTX Ph III studies in post-operative ilieus, as well as the FDA approval of the subcutaneous injection in terminally ill patients with opiod-induced constipation around the 1/31/07 PDUFA date.
RBC believes margin expansion will drive long-term appreciation in Tyco Electronics Ltd (NYSE: TEL) and started shares with an Outperform rating and $41 target.
PharMerica Corporation (NYSE: PMC) was initiated with an Underperform rating at Bear Stearns. The firm believes PMC will be pressured by customer losses and generic reimbursement cuts and sees shares trading in $12-$13 range.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was initiated with a Market Outperform rating at Avondale.u
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sprint Nextel, Safeway, PharmaNet Development, Millennium Pharmaceutical and Telefonica were today's noteworthy upgrades: .gif){kind=logo}
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