Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to Outperform from Neutral based on field research that indicates improving traffic trends and visibility from cost savings initiatives.
• FBR Capital upgraded E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Outperform from Underperform citing an attractive risk/reward following the company's capital raise and debt exchange commencement. The firm believes the worst is behind the company and has a $2 target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC) to Outperform from Perform on expectations demand trends will improve, leading to more normalized profitability.
• Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DUK, ETFC, MOT, MTB, SBUX

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DUK, ETFC, MOT, MTB, SBUX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to Outperform from Market Perform due to valuation and the company's better balance sheet following capital raises. The firm raised its target on shares to $16.50.
  
• Merriman upgraded Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ:BCSI) to Buy from Neutral to reflect stabilizing demand and merger synergies from the Packeteer acquisition.
  
• Thomas Weisel upgraded Genomic Health (NASDAQ:GHDX) to Overweight from Market Weight based on valuation, a new colon cancer assay expected in 2010, and upside from new sales hires.
• Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  
• Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Ericsson (nASDAQ:ERIC) was upgraded at Societe Generale to Buy from Hold.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BAC, ERIC, UNH, WRC

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BAC, ERIC, UNH, WRC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Amedica (AMCA), a 4.65M-share IPO for this artificial joints company. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Lehman Brothers are the lead managers. Filing range: $13.00-$15.00.
• Concho Resources (CXO), a 21.2M-share IPO for this oil and gas company. JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Lehman Brothers are the lead managers. Filing range: $14.00-$16.00.
• Dolan Media (DM), a 10.5M-share IPO for this media services company. Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch are the lead managers. Filing range: $13.50-$15.50.
• Genpact (G), a 35.3M-share IPO for this information technology services company. Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and JP Morgan Chase are the lead managers. Filing range: $16.00-$18.00.
• NanoDynamics (NDMX), a 6.6M-share IPO for this specialty chemicals company. Jefferies is the lead manager. Filing range: $12.00-$14.00.
• Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (SCMP), a 3.75M-share IPO for this pharmaceutical company. Cowen is the lead manager. Filing range: $14.00-$16.00.
• Virtusa (VRTU), a 4.4M-share IPO for this information technology services company. JP Morgan Chase is the lead manager. Filing range: $14.00-$16.00.

Continue reading IPO & secondary preview -- Week of July 30, 2007

IPO & secondary preview -- Week of July 30, 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.