MOST NOTEWORTHY: Smith International, Cerner and Coach were today's noteworthy upgrades:
JP Morgan upgraded Smith International (NYSE: SII) to Overweight from Neutral citing better risk/reward vs. group, and upside to estimates from Latin America drilling and its deepwater rig fleet. Note that Oppenheimer downgraded shares of SII based on valuation.
Jefferies believes Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) in-line results and solid domestic bookings could alleviate the pressure on shares. Shares were raised to Buy from Hold.
Shares of Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) were raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup, citing sales stabilization and compelling valuation.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Medco Health (NYSE: MHS) was upgraded at Oppenheimer to Outperform from Perform.
ThinkPanmure raised VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) to Buy from Accumulate.
SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: National City, Syntax Brillian and Medco Health were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of National City (NYSE: NCC) to Buy from Sell on valuation as they believe their $9.00 target is in-line with the company's franchise value.
Baird upgraded Syntax Brillian (NASDAQ: BRLC) to Outperform from Neutral based on recently announced strategic initiatives and valuation.
Jefferies upgraded shares of Medco Health (NYSE: MHS) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company's renewed PBM contract with United Healthcare (NYSE: UNH) removes a major overhang.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Friedman Billings raised Downey Financial (NYSE: DSL) to Market Perform from Underperform.
Volterra (VNASDAQ: LTR) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Piper.
Alliance Data (NYSE: ADS) was raised at JP Morgan to Overweight from Neutral.
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says that now, teetering financials and homebuilders will topple and safety plays will rule. Ouch.
Couple of tough days ahead. We were overbought going into this Fed decision; now we will have to pay for it, and pay for it big. We have to lose a lot that we gained, expecting that the Fed would work hand-in-hand with the Treasury Department to get us out of this jam.
But that's not going to happen now. You can see what will happen. They will kill the banks again. The fundraising that was going on will be halted. We will get some failures. The homebuilder credit lines? Some will not be extended.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: BEA Systems, Nokia, Medco Health, Quest Diagnostics and PetSmart were today's noteworthy downgrades:
Citigroup downgraded shares of BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Hold from Buy on valuation following the $17/share offer by Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) as they think a public bidding war for the company is unlikely.
ABN Amro downgraded shares of Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) to Hold from Buy on valuation and believes above consensus Q3 results are already priced into shares.
Wachovia downgraded Medco Health Solutions (NYSE: MHS) to Market Perform from Outperform on valuation.
The firm also downgraded Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) to Market Perform from Outperform, as they believe the prospects from stabilizing volumes and cost savings are reflected in valuation and Street estimates.
Credit Suisse downgraded shares of PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) to Neutral from Outperform citing aggressive pricing at Petco, accelerating growth initiatives, limited visibility around expense management, and lack of consistent results.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ: MEOH) was downgraded to Sector Underperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: MRU Holdings (UNCL), CVS/Caremark (CVS), Medco Health (MHS) and Blackboard (BBBB) were today's noteworthy initiations:
Kaufman Bros. expects MRU Holdings (NADAQ: UNCL) to post a profit in Q4 for the first time due to its first student loan securitization and started shares with a Buy rating and $9 target.
Thomas Weisel believes shares of CVS/Caremark (NYSE: CVS) represent a compelling risk/reward at these levels, initiating shares with an Overweight rating and $51 target, given the positive trends in the market and the likelihood of successful merger integration.
Thomas Weisel believes Medco Health (NYSE: MHS) is well positioned to capitalize on continued generic conversions, starting shares with an Overweight rating and $100 target.
Banc of America would be buyers of Blackboard (NASDAQ: BBBB) current levels, initiating shares with a Buy rating and $50 target, given the company's defensible business model and market leadership position.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: The pharmacy benefit managers sector, financials E*Trade Financial Corp (ETFC) and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD) and transports J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) and Knight Transportation (KNX) were today's most noteworthy initiations:
CIBC is positive on the pharmacy benefit managers group given increasing generic utilization, continued growth in specialty pharmacy, improving mail-order penetration and share repurchases. CIBC initiated Express Scripts, Inc (NASDAQ: ESRX) with a Sector Outperformer and $104 target as the firm expects continued strong performance as the company benefits from positive secular industry trends, and initiated Medco Health Solutions (NYSE: MHS) with a Sector Performer and $82 target on valuation.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Pharmion Corp (PHRM), Genesis Microchip (GNSS) and SanDisk Corp (SNDK) were some of today's most notable downgrades:
Pharmion Corp (NASDAQ: PHRM) was downgraded to Sell from Source of Funds at ThinkEquity, citing valuation.
Matrix USA downgraded Genesis Microchip Inc (NASDAQ: GNSS) to Strong Sell from Hold to reflect a share decline in revenues; they also believe shares are overvalued relative to the sector.
SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ: SNDK) was cut to Hold from Buy at WR Hambrecht. The firm said it has learned that a crack in the IP story has occurred, as Samsung has found a way to significantly reduce its royalty payments to SanDisk on its finished SD cards that it is currently shipping. The firm said this step by Samsung puts at risk ~15% of SanDisk royalty revenues as early as Q2:07, as Samsung is no longer willing to pay the 8% royalty rate to SanDisk on NAND MLC SD cards.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
Stephens downgraded Group 1 Automotive Inc (NYSE: GPI) to Equal Weight from Overweight following disappointing Q1 results.
JMP Securities downgraded Flanders Corp (NASDAQ: FLDR) to Market Perform from Outperform.
Oppenheimer cut ValueClick Inc (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.
Matrix USA downgraded L-1 Identity Solutions (NYSE: ID) to Sell from Buy on valuation.
Goldman took Medco Health Solutions Inc (NYSE: MHS) off its Conviction Buy List, citing valuation.
Raymond James lowered Hiland Holdings (NASDAQ: HPGP) rating to Outperform from Strong Buy.
JP Morgan cut Waters Corp (NYSE: WAT) to Neutral from Overweight based on valuation.
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Smith International, Cerner and Coach were today's noteworthy upgrades:
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says that now, teetering financials and homebuilders will topple and safety plays will rule. Ouch.
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