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Analyst downgrades 5-02-07: DJ, HOT, KKD, LCC and LIZ

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Websense Inc (WBSN), Dow Jones & Co, Inc (DJ), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), US Airways Group, Inc (LLC), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc (HOT) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:
  • Jefferies downgraded Websense Inc (NASDAQ: WBSN) to Underperform from Hold with a $20 target to reflect slowing growth in the URL market, near-term business disruption from the pending SRF deal and summer software seasonality.
  • Dow Jones & Co (NYSE: DJ) was cut to Hold from Buy at Gabelli and to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Prudential.
  • Goldman downgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the weaker-than-expected quarterly fundamentals reported by the major hotel companies. The firm believes investors should stay away from the lodging sector...
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
  • Genesco Inc (NYSE: GCO) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Piper Jaffray.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Cramer likes carbs: Krispy Kreme delicious, he says

Today on MAD MONEY: sweet nothings. Jim Cramer said on this evening's show that, while there are some analysts whose recommendations he wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, Prudential's Howard Penney isn't one of them. When Prudential initiated Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE:KKD) with a 'buy' recommendation last week, Cramer agreed. [But disagreeing with the general consensus among BloggingStocks writers, it should be pointed out.]

Although Cramer admitted he has made a joke of KKD for five years, but he says now it is worthy of a "Buy." Prudential's analyst report converted him thanks to his "honest y" and previous good calls, such as OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc. (NYSE:OSI).

Cramer explained that Prudential has no conflicts because the company does no investment banking. There is risk here, but if you look rationally at the stock the call makes sense. The company's doughnuts are good and, as Prudential points out, international prospects can outweigh the historically dismal financial performance.

Cramer said that anyone who owns the stock now has already weathered a storm and isn't going to panic. They are all strong holders and the shorts are out in force on the name still.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 247 Wall Street and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Krispy Kreme: don't waste your kash

krispy kreme doughnuts in melbourneWhen I went to college, I ventured far from my safe liberal hippie Portland, Ore. home -- all the way to a little town in Virginia. Robert E. Lee's horse was buried a few feet from my freshman dorm room, if that's any description. And that's when I was introduced to Krispy Kreme.

My immediate reaction? Eww! "Krispy Kreme" sounded like something that had been left in the hall's refrigerator since the early 80s. I didn't even try the doughnuts until five years later, and swayed by a friend who loved them and the convenient location in New York's Penn Station, I grew to hunger for their swift sugary rush. When I moved back to Portland at about the same time embarked on its wild expansion across the U.S., I jumped on the bandwagon and bought a little stock.

A year later everything in my portfolio was doing brilliantly with the marked exception of Krispy Kreme, which had lost roughly two-thirds of its value, closed 100 of its 400 stores, and initiated a program of franchise buybacks that is now being "informally inquired" about by the SEC. I let it sit there, soaking up the juice thrown off by winners like eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) and J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) with its nutritionally empty sweetness. It's still there, and let me tell you, I'm not planning on utilizing those 12 shares as a down payment on my retirement vacation home.

That's why when I saw Prudential had initiated with a 'Buy' and a $15 price target. My reaction was one of gaping, open mouth.

Continue reading Krispy Kreme: don't waste your kash

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Last updated: February 13, 2012: 03:02 PM

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