Analyst Upgrades

• Time Warner Cable (TWC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at Bernstein.
• Citigroup upgraded MEMC Electronic (WFR) and Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Administaff (ASF) was upgraded to buy from hold at Roth Capital.
• The Buckle (BKE) was upgraded to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded DreamWorks (DWA) to neutral from underperform.
• Corrections Corp. (CXW) was upgraded to buy from neutral at SunTrust.
• Marvell Technology (MRVL) was upgraded to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ARO, BA, BKE, DWA, MRVL, SGEN, TWC, WFR ...

Analyst Calls: ARO, BA, BKE, DWA, MRVL, SGEN, TWC, WFR ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Mosaic (MOS) to buy from hold and raised its price target to $78 from $64 citing improving ag fundamentals and the potential for BHP (BHP) to issue a higher bid for Potash (POT), which Citi feels would bode well for Mosaic.
• Cowen upgraded VMware (VMW) to outperform from neutral, citing recent share weakness and the company's significant growth opportunity.
• Citigroup upgraded CareFusion (CFN) with a $29 price target, citing valuation and the potential for margin expansion.
• Pfizer (PFE) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Juniper (JNPR) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• Stryker (SYK) was upgraded to buy from gradually accumulate at Soleil.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ALKS, AMLN, BAC, CFN, FWLT, MOS, PFE, VMW, WFR ...

Analyst Calls: ALKS, AMLN, BAC, CFN, FWLT, MOS, PFE, VMW, WFR ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) earnings prospects may have encouraged the machinist union to strike.
• Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) Q3 results and weak guidance led shares to a new 52-week low.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) lowered its Q3 earnings guidance below previous and analysts' forecasts.
• Dollar Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: DLLR) beat Q4 estimates and posted record 2008 results.
• Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) was downgraded because it could miss Q3 earnings expectations.
• Esterline Technologies (NYSE: ESL) topped Q3 expectations due to robust aerospace and defense markets.
• Joy Global Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYG) posted strong Q3 results due to a sharp increase in orders.
• Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) backed away somewhat from its previous 2008 earnings guidance.
• Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) earnings prospects for the next several quarters led to an analyst downgrade.
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) mid quarter update warned of declining demand for chips.
• Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) was upgraded following a strong Q3 report.
• New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) ongoing losses haven't diminished Rupert Murdoch's interest in it.
• Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) warned that it would miss earnings estimates due in part to weak sales.
• Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA) better-than-expected Q2 led to an analyst upgrade.
• Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) Q2 earnings slipped while revenues rose, beating expectations.
• Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) Q3 results soared but cut its Q4 guidance.
• Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) was upgraded on its prospects for beating expectations.
• Terex Corp. (NYSE: TEX) warned that earnings for Q3 and Q4 would be lower than estimates.
• Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) posted better-than-expected Q2 results and offered full-year guidance.
• Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) reported its fourth straight quarterly loss, but it was smaller than expected.

Also, Jim Cramer discusses a decline in earnings resulting from a collapse of oil and oil services.

Upcoming quarterly reports include Korn/Ferry (NYSE: KFY), Pep Boys (NYSE: PBY), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD), and Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Earnings highlights: Toll Bros., Take-Two, Tiffany, Staples, Kraft, Corning and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CBS Corp., Thornburg Mortgage and DiamondRock Hospitality were among today's noteworthy downgrades:

• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia, citing the weak ad environment and potential M&A strategy to acquire growth, which will limit upside near-term.
  
• Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) was downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Friedman Billings, which said the recent capital raise and related transactions result in 95% dilution, and questions how shares will trade when 2.9B restricted common shares are registered and start trading in mid- May.
  
• DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE: DRH) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird following the company's reduced guidance.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Savvis Inc. (NASDAQ: SVVS) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman following the company's Q1 report and guidance.
  
• Memc Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan, who cited high Street expectations and a very tight capacity expansion schedule over the next few quarters.

Analyst downgrades: CBS, Thornburg Mortgage, DiamondRock Hospitality originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) profits rose 30%, easily beating analysts' expectations.
• AMETEK Inc. (NYSE: AME) beat Q1 estimates on global strength and recent acquisitions.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) easily beat Q2 expectations but offered a weak outlook.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) posted strong Q1 results thanks to the popularity of the iPhone.
• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) beat earnings and saw an upgrade from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C).
• Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Q1 profit soared, and it raised its guidance.
• Cymer Inc. (NASDAQ: CYMI) beat Q1 estimates and announced a share million buyback program.
• Electronic Data Systems Inc. (NYSE: EDS) posted Q1 profits on cost cutting and new contracts.
• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) Q1 earnings fell on on acquisition-related charges.
• Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) beat Q1 estimates on increased commercial aerospace sales.
• Huaneng Power ADS (NYSE: HNP) earnings plunged on coal prices, but the stock went higher.
• Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) narrowed its loss on higher sales of networking services.
• McAfee Inc. (NYSE: MFE) Q1 profit plunged on product development and marketing costs.
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) missed analysts' estimates for the first quarter.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) beat earnings expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) profit soared in the first quarter on increase in subscriptions.
• Nintendo Co. (OTC: NTDOY) posted record results due to the popularity of the Wii system.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Microsoft, Yahoo!, Apple, Amazon, Texas Instruments and others

Earnings highlights: Microsoft, Yahoo!, Apple, Amazon, Texas Instruments and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This market is tough. Pros and novices alike are having a tough time. Particularly in a down market, a market commentators like to call a ""stock picker's market," I find it illustrative to dig deeper into the holdings of those special professional money managers that have found a way to make a go of it.

Take the CGM Focus (CGMFX) fund. This fund consistently shows up at the top of 1-year, 3-year, and multi-year best performers. CGM Focus has returned on average 37% per year for the past five years. While this is absolutely no guarantee that it will continue to perform like this, fund manager Chuck Heebner seems to have the special sauce -- at least for now.

So, what has been so successful for the fund?

Commodity picks like fertilizer plays Potash (NYSE: POT) and Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) have been big positions and have been big winners. Steel plays like US Steel (NYSE: X) have performed very nicely for CGM as well.

Looking at what worked is somewhat like looking into a rear-view mirror. These gains were in the past. What's Heebner and team buying now?

Continue reading Piggybacking the pros: CGM Focus Fund

Piggybacking the pros: CGM Focus Fund originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• DJIA 12,626.03 (+20.20; +0.16%)
• S&P500 1,369.30 (+1.77; +0.13%)
• NASDAQ 2,363.30 (+1.90; +0.08%)
• 10YR-TBond 3.591% (+0.008)
• 52-week lows

Continue reading Closing Bell: Stocks survive Bernanke testimony & weak jobs

Closing Bell: Stocks survive Bernanke testimony & weak jobs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• An even more interesting analyst call in alternative energy today was where Lazard Capital called Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST) as a potential double to $2.50 per share. This one has been around forever and used to be considerably higher.
  
• If you want a more diversified play, you can always look at the best ETF in the sector: PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy (AMEX: PBW).

Looking at Cramer's favorite green stocks (WFR, CPST, PBW) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 17:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Sunpower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR), the Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY) spin off, makes semiconductors for solar cells and solar panels
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc (NYSE: WFR) makes the polysilicon that is needed to manufacture the solar cells and panels based on semiconductor technology
• Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP), First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR), Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ) and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) were other stocks mentioned.

Solar power investments warming up? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Making money in solar power originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Feb 2007 00:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.