MOST NOTEWORTHY: C

• Suntrust downgraded CheckFree (NASDAQ: CKFR) to Neutral from Buy based on the Fiserv (FISV) acquisition.

• Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) was removed from Goldman's Conviction Buy List.

• Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

• Jefferies, RBC Capital, Piper Jaffray, Friedman Billings and Credit Suisse downgraded Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) to Underperform based on liquidity concerns.

• Matrix cut Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY) to Sell from Hold, and said Avery is being affected by the growing price competition in North America and Europe for self-adhesive labels and tabs...

• Merrill downgraded Westwood One (NYSE: WON) to Sell from Neutral.

• Morgan Keegan downgraded Haverty Furniture (NYSE: HVT) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Hambrecht cut Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) to Hold from Buy.

• Raymond James downgraded Domtar (NYSE: UFS) to Outperform from Strong Buy.

Analyst downgrades: AKAM, AVY, CKFR, CL and WMT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) today reported second quarter profit of $415.8 million, or 76 cents per share, compared with $283.6 million, or 51 cents a year earlier. Excluding charges, profit was 84 cents. Revenue rose 13% to $3.4 billion. Wall Street analysts had expected profit of 84 cents on revenue of $3.31 billion. Click here for the earnings release, here for the MarketWatch story and here for the AP story. More detailed post later.

Flash: Colgate-Palmolive posts in-line quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Unilever (NYSE: UL)'s shares were up sharply in European trading early this morning and its ADRs continued higher in trading on the NYSE. At one point, the shares were up 4% to $33.77, a 52-week high.

Speculation is that Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) might make a run at the Dutch company. The fit would make sense. Unilever's core businesses are in food and personal care products. The company owns a large number of brands, including Dove soap, Slim Fast, Lipton, and Hellman's. Last year the company had sales of over $52 billion.

Unilever has a market cap of $44 billion, and that may be the problem -- Colgate's market cap is just $34 billion. As the smaller company, it would have to take on considerable debt or dilute its shareholders by an astonishing amount. While Colgate's businesses match Unilever's well, the duplicate corporate costs would not likely mean much if they were taken out of companies this large.

Nice rumor but not much more.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Unilever to Colgate? It doesn't wash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 19:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of CNOOC Ltd (NYSE: CEO) to Outperform from Neutral to reflect projections for output growth...

• Piper upgraded NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) to Market Perform from Underperform as they believe the risk/reward is balanced following the completion of the Euronext acquisition. They believe shares can move higher if the company's market share is stabilized...

• Bear upgraded shares of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) to Outperform from Peer Perform citing the integration of the L.A. systems, which they feel is progressing smoothly, and potential for increased equity returns...

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Digital River (NASDAQ: DRIV) to Buy from Hold on valuation as they find the risk/reward attractive at current levels and believe new customers such as Microsoft (MSFT) and Electronic Arts (ERTS) will diversify the company's revenue base...

• Home Depot (NYSE HD) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel following the company's sale of its HD Supply unit, as well as its $22.5B repurchase program...

• Morgan Stanley raised Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

• RBC Capital upgraded Allos Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ALTH) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

• Merrill Lynch was upgraded Centene Corp (NYSE: CNC) to Neutral from Sell.

• BB&T upgraded Airgas (NYSE: ARG) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades 6-20-07: CEO, CL, HD, NYX and TWC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• CIBC upgraded shares of RF Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer as the firm expects the company to benefit from improving late CY07 trends.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY) as the firm believes strong Q1 results suggest sustained earnings recovery may be ahead.

• AG Edwards believes Colgate's (NYSE: CL) cost cutting efforts have been paying off, creating a greater "position of strength" for the company, upgrading shares of to Buy from Hold.

• Cowen raised EarthLink Inc (NASDAQ: ELNK) to Neutral from Underperform, believing downside was limited given core business cash flow.
  

• Hutchinson Technology Inc (NASDAQ: HTCH) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at W.R. Hambrecht, believing their thesis has played out and that further risks to estimates are priced into shares at current levels...

• Ciena Corp (NASDAQ: CIEN) was upgraded to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Wiesel, citing accelerated strength growth specific opportunities and improving sector fundamentals.

• Banc of America raised shares of M&T Bank Corp (NYSE: MTB) to Neutral from Sell.

• Goldman upgraded shares of Continental Airlines, Inc (NYSE: CAL) to Buy from Sell.

• Longbow Research upgraded shares of Cummins Inc (NYSE: CMI) to Neutral from Sell.

• Wedbush upgraded shares of Deckers Outdoor Corp (NASDAQ: DECK) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades 4-30-07: BMY, CL, CAL and CIEN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Apr 2007 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs upgraded both The Coca-Coca Co (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP) to Buy from Neutral: The upgrade for Coca-Coca was to reflect the company's recent strong results, and Pepsi's upgrade was to reflect Gatorade's expected profit re-acceleration by the second half of 2007.

• General Mills Inc (NYSE: GIS) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital Markets with a $58 target based on achievable outlook and absence of any negative catalysts.

• Bank of America upgraded Colgate-Palmolive Co (NYSE: CL) to Buy from Neutral with a $74 target. The firm believes Colgate's long-term growth rate can accelerate to 12-13% from 10% on margin upside.

• Prudential upgraded shares of Avon Products Inc (NYSE: AVP) to Neutral from Underweight to reflect the company's improving fundamentals; the firm believes that news over the last six months has been getting more positive.

• Buckingham upgraded Tween Brands Inc (NYSE: TWB) to Accumulate from Neutral.

• CIBC upgraded Cablevision Systems Corp (NYSE: CVC) to Buy from Hold. Raymond James raised Lithia Motors (LAD) to Strong Buy from Market Perform following its Q4 report and guidance.

• First Albany upgraded Stamps.com Inc (NASDAQ: STMP) to Buy from Neutral, with a $19 target.

• Deutsche Bank upgraded International Paper Co (NYSE: IP), Packaging Corp of America (NYSE: PKG) and Smurfit-Stone Container Corp (NASDAQ: SSCC) to Buy from Hold. The firm believes momentum is turning and backlogs and pricing are emerging from the winter doldrums stronger than expected.

Analyst upgrades 2-16-07: Coke & Pepsi upgraded at Goldman originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.