Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) is expected to close on its purchase of Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) in Q3 pending regulatory approvals. PCZ will receive 1.28 shares in the new company for each of their shares while SU holders will receive one share.

SU closed at $30.60. PCZ closed at $38.83. WTI Crude oil is recently down 0.21% to $71.34 according to Bloomberg. SU August option implied volatility of 53 is below its 26-week average of 60, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Petro-Canada August option implied volatility is at 54, below its 26-week average of 59, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Suncor Energy and Petro-Canada volatility low into merger originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Canadian energy giants Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) and PetroCanada (NYSE: PCZ) announced their intention to merge; Suncor, a holding in our 'Wildcatters Portfolio' will be the surviving entity," says Elliott Gue.

In his The Energy Strategist, he explains, "The combined firm will be the fifth-largest energy company in North America and the largest in Canada." Here, he explains why the new stock remains a buy.

"The combined firm will have more financial flexibility than Suncor did on its own. Debt ratios will be healthier, and the combined firm will also be able to redirect certain planned capital expenditures to higher return potential projects.

Continue reading Suncor (SU): A merger 'made in Canada'

Suncor (SU): A merger 'made in Canada' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 May 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Kaufman Bros. assumed coverage of Ctrip.com (NASDAQ: CTRP) and upgraded the stock to Buy from its previous Hold rating. The firm thinks the company's Q2 targets are achievable while 20%-plus growth should return in Q3 as comps ease.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Cogdell Spencer (NYSE: CSA) to Neutral from Sell as it believes last night's capital raise removes risk. The firm has a $4.50 target on shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Map Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: MAPP) to Buy from Hold following the positive Levadex Phase 3 results as it believes the migraine drug could generate peak sales of $250M in the U.S. if approved. Deutsche raised its target on shares to $12 from $5.
• Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE: NWN) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) was upgraded to Add from Reduce at WestLB.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: PCZ, ALU, BIG, GOOG ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: PCZ, ALU, BIG, GOOG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 May 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Oil Industry Narrows Focus on Deep Water
• Cramer: Leaders of the Pack

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Skeptical of oil drillers

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Skeptical of oil drillers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) will be purchased by Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), the world's second-largest oil-sands producer, for about $14 billion.

PCZ will receive 1.28 shares in the new company for each of its shares, while SU holders will receive one share. PCZ April option implied volatility closed at 64, below its 26-week average of 71, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

SU April call option implied volatility closed at 82, puts at 89, above its 26-week average of 80, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Petro-Canada volatility low into Suncor Energy purchase originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oppenheimer downgraded Level 3 (NASDAQ:LVLT) from Market Perform to Underperform, according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Citigroup intiated KB Home (NYSE:KBH) with a Hold.

Petro-Canada (NYSE:PCZ) was cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial news site also reports that Tween Brands (NYSE:TWB) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Early analyst calls (LVLT) (KBH) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bear upgraded Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) to Peer Perform from Underperform as they believe the company's balance sheet will stabilize and the company's Private Banking business is holding up well in difficult conditions. Goldman, which raised shares to Neutral from Sell, believes the worst is over regarding the market downturn.
• Citigroup upgraded Masimo Corporation (NASDAQ: MASI) to Buy from Hold citing expectations of a strong Q1 report, expected FDA approval for hemoglobin monitoring in 2H08, and valuation.
• Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ: MRVL) was raised at Friedman Billings to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation and improved business conditions.

• Goldman raised LM Ericsson Telephone Company (NASDAQ: ERIC) to Neutral from Sell.
• JP Morgan upgraded Big Lots Inc (NYSE: BIG) to Overweight from Neutral.
• Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) was upgraded at CIBC to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.

Analyst upgrades: CS, ERIC, MASI and MRVL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Goldman downgraded shares of Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) to Sell from Neutral and added the stock to their Conviction Sell List citing credit concerns. They believe negative headlines on writedowns will continue to weigh on shares.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Grant Prideco (NYSE: GRP) due to its acquisition by National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV).
• Collins Stewart downgraded shares of Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) to Underperform from Buy after the company did not receive MRAP vehicles ordered last night. They believe shares are likely to trade at book value of $3.58 or lower in the short term and set a target price of $2.90.

• Keefe Bruyette removed Navigators Group (NASDAQ: NAVG) from its Best Ideas List.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) to Underweight from Equal Weight.
  
• Jefferies downgraded Exelon (NYSE: EXC) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: BCS, GRP and FRPT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $160 target at Banc of America, as the firm still sees a significant amount of upside in the stock from Mac share gains, strong iPod unit growth, and the iPhone, which they believe is being underestimated.

• Caris believes investors should focus on companies with strong product cycles that are gaining market share. They resumed coverage of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) and National Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NSM) with Above Average ratings, and resumed Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) with a Sell rating; Caris started Intel with a $26 target, Texas Instruments with a $41 target, National Semi with a $29 target, and AMD with a $10 target.

• CDC Corp (NASDAQ: CHINA) was initiated at Piper Jaffray with an Outperform rating and $11.50 target.

• Banc of America started shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) with Buy ratings and a $56 target, $6.25 target and $35 target, and shares of IBM Corp (NYSE: IBM) with a Neutral rating and $125 target.

• BMO Capital started shares of NuVasive (NASDAQ: NUVA) with an Outperform rating and $33 target.

• Raymond James initiated shares of Petro-Canada (NYSE: PCZ) with an Outperform rating.

Analyst initiations 8-02-07: AAPL, AMD, IBM, INTC and SUNW originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.