Analyst upgrades:

• JPMorgan upgraded Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) to Overweight from Underweight to reflect performance and sales improvements, as well as benefits from the weakening U.S. dollar. The firm has a $94 target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded FormFactor (NASDAQ: FORM) to Outperform from Perform after channel checks indicated orders are recovering. The firm raised its target on shares to $30 from $22.
• KeyBanc upgraded Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) to Buy from Hold citing the company's MRAP-ATV contract win, which they view as a "game changer." The firm has a $30 target on the stock.
• Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Ternium (NYSE: TX) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Cathay General (NASDAQ: CATY) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: LLY, NVLS, OSK, QCOM, RDS.A, RTP ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: LLY, NVLS, OSK, QCOM, RDS.A, RTP ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  
• Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
• B. Riley upgraded S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ: STBA) to Buy from Neutral and lowered its target to $35 from $38 on valuation, as they believe the sell-off post-Q3 results is overdone.
  
• Jefferies upgraded GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC) to Buy from Hold on valuation after Q4 revenue guidance was reset lower. The firm lowered their target to $13 from $18.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded shares of DHT Maritime (NYSE: DHT) and General Maritime (NYSE: GMR) to Overweight from Neutral on the company's valuation and dividend stability.

• HSBC cut Prudential (NYSE: PUK) to Neutral from Overweight as they believe capital has eroded and debt refinancing is increasingly difficult.
  
• Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.
  
• Logitech (NASDAQ: LOGI) was lowered to Hold from Buy at Citigroup and to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst calls: WFMI, ADM, AZO, PUK, FCX, LOGI, TTWO, URBN, AEO ...

Analyst calls: WFMI, ADM, AZO, PUK, FCX, LOGI, TTWO, URBN, AEO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Morgan Stanley downgraded Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to Underweight from Equal Weight as they believe the company may need to raise an additional $12B in capital in Q4 and cut its dividend by 20%.
  
• Citigroup cut Entercom Comm (NYSE:ETM) to Sell from Hold as they see near-term downside risk for radio stocks given the weaker economic backdrop and underperforming radio ad spend. The firm lowered their target to $5 from $9.75.
  
• Merriman downgraded Opnext (NASDAQ:OPXT) to Neutral from Buy following the acquisition of Stratalight, as they believe the deal is too stock heavy given the current valuation and has concerns about competition in the 40G market.

• Columbia Banking (NASDAQ:COLB) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Deutsche Bank cut Luxottica (NYSE:LUX) to Hold from Buy. Cadbury (NYSE:CBY) was lowered at Merrill to Underperform from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades: BAC, ETM and OPXT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman upgraded shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) to Neutral from Sell to reflect the recovery of U.S. corporate bond yields which they believe is positive for the company's long-term pension liability. Goldman also thinks analyst estimates may have bottomed.
  
• Thomas Weisel raised Opnext (NASDAQ:OPXT) to Overweight from Market Weight after their research indicated an acceleration in optical communications component industry revenue growth.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded American Axle (NYSE:AXL) to Buy from Hold to reflect the cost savings from the UAW contract.

• MFA Mortgage (NYSE:MFA) was upgraded at Keefe Bruyette to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Flagstone Reinsurance (NYSE:FSR) to Buy from Hold.
  
• Merrill raised Crane Co (NYSE:CR) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades: ALU, OPXT and AXL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 May 2008 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Och Ziff Capital Management Group (NYSE: OZM) was initiated with an Overweight by JP Morgan, which believes the company should be able to better sustain and build its earnings power than traditional asset managers in the challenging market conditions.
  
• JP Morgan started FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS) with a Neutral, as the firm is looking for a better entry point given the probability of an upcoming financial data and analytics spending slowdown.
  
• Forest Labs Inc. (NYSE: FRX) was initiated with a Buy by Roth Capital, which cited Lexapro and the company's near-term EPS as reasons for the rating.
  
• Thomas Weisel initiated optical component maker and provider companies Avanex Corp. (NASDAQ: AVNX), Bookham Inc. (NASDAQ: BKHM), Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR), Optium Corp. (NASDAQ: OPTM), Opnext Inc. (NASDAQ: OPXT), and Oplink Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: OPLK) with Market Weight ratings, as the firm expects the unfavorable industry structure to create margin volatility.

• JP Morgan assumed coverage of American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) with an Overweight rating.
• Morgan Stanley initiated Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ: EGLE) with an Equal Weight.

Analyst initiations: Och-Ziff Capital, FactSet, Forest Labs, optical component makers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• UBS started shares of Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) with a Reduce rating and $17 target on valuation and management's overly optimistic outlook.

• Deutsche Bank prefers to wait of a better entry point for Goodrich Corp (NYSE: GR) and initiated shares with a Hold rating.

• Opnext Inc (NASDAQ: OPXT) was initiated at JP Morgan with a Neutral rating citing concerns regarding new transceiver margins.

• Prudential believes Terex Corp (NYSE: TEX) is well positioned to take advantage of strong sustainable growth in the global infrastructure and mining markets over at least the rest of the decade, starting shares with an Overweight rating.

• RBC Capital started Aruba Networks (NASDAQ: ARUN) with a Sector Perform rating while Lehman Bros initiated Aruba with an Overweight rating.

• Deutsche Bank started Delta Petroleum Corp (NASDAQ: DPTR) with a Buy rating and $27 target.

• JMP Securities started Hersha Hospitality Trust (AMEX: HT) with an Outperform rating and $14 target.

• Credit Suisse assumed coverage of Interline Brands, Inc (NYSE: IBI) with an Outperform rating and $34 target.

• Credit Suisse reinstated Brooks Automation, Inc (NASDAQ: BRKS) with a Neutral rating.

• Goldman Sachs started CenturyTel, Inc (NYSE: CTL) with a Sell rating and $42 target on valuation.

• B. Riley initiated Insteel Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: IIIN) with a Buy rating and $24 target.

Analyst initiations 5-07-07: BRKS, DAL and GR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 May 2007 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cramer's SELL BLOCK on recent IPO picks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Vaughan Foods (FOOD), a 5M-share IPO for this salads and foodstuffs company. Paulson is the lead manager. Filing range: $8.00-$10.00.
• Triangle Capital (TCAP), 3.5M-share IPO for this special financing company. Morgan Keegan and BBN Capital Markets are the lead managers. Filing price: $15.00. [Note - This deal is expected to price at mid-week: hence, it could take place Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.]

Continue reading IPO & secondary preview: week of Feb. 12, 2007

IPO & secondary preview: week of Feb. 12, 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Optical IPOs slowly coming back originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.