Even though tomorrow is a holiday in the U.S., there are a handful of companies planning to report quarterly earnings nonetheless. Perhaps some may be trying to keep a low profile; others may simply not be concerned with the American holiday schedule. Regardless, here's a quick peek at some of those companies, with the consensus earnings per share estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial compared to the previous quarter and year-ago quarter, the share price at the close on Friday (with charts behind the links), and consensus recommedations.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: InfoSpace, Parexel and Idearc Inc were today's noteworthy initiations:
B. Riley believes InfoSpace (NASDAQ: INSP) is now positioned to further leverage the growing online search market following divestitures. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $13 target.
Oppenheimer assumed coverage of Parexel (NASDAQ: PRXL) with an Outperform rating and $70 target, as they believe the company is well-positioned to benefit from positive CRO industry trends and sees room for continued growth.
Wachovia initiated Idearc (NYSE: IAR) with an Underperform rating, citing the challenging industry and cyclical pressures.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Morgan Keegan initiated GMX Resources (NASDAQ: GMXR) with an Outperform rating.
Goldman assumed coverage of Cigna (NYSE: CI) with a Buy rating.
Merrill started PharMerica (NYSE: PMC) with a Neutral rating.
Progenics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: PGNX) was added to Friedman Billings' Top Picks list and its Outperform rating was maintained. The firm has a high degree of confidence in the success of the MNTX Ph III studies in post-operative ilieus, as well as the FDA approval of the subcutaneous injection in terminally ill patients with opiod-induced constipation around the 1/31/07 PDUFA date.
RBC believes margin expansion will drive long-term appreciation in Tyco Electronics Ltd (NYSE: TEL) and started shares with an Outperform rating and $41 target.
PharMerica Corporation (NYSE: PMC) was initiated with an Underperform rating at Bear Stearns. The firm believes PMC will be pressured by customer losses and generic reimbursement cuts and sees shares trading in $12-$13 range.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY) was initiated with a Market Outperform rating at Avondale.u
MOST NOTEWORTHY: MoneyGram (MGI), F5 Networks (FFIV), ARK Restaurants (ARKR), Nara Bancorp (NARA) and St. Jude Medical (STJ) were today's noteworthy initiations:
AG Edwards initiated MoneyGram (NYSE: MGI) with a Buy rating because it believes the recent pullback in the shares provides an attractive entry point; Stephens started shares of MoneyGram with an Overweight rating, and believes the company is well positioned to create strong transactional growth and take market share.
CIBC expects F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to benefit from strong fundamentals in application networking solutions and started shares with a Sector Outperformer rating and $85 target.
Morgan Joseph initiated ARK Restaurants (NASDAQ: ARKR) with a Buy rating and $43 target; they believe ARK is well positioned to benefit from strong SSS & earnings leverage given its strong store locations, wide ranging price points, and stable unit development pipeline.
Sandler is positive on Nara Bancorp (NASDAQ: NARA), starting shares with a Buy rating and $17 target, based on the company's long-term prospects.
ThinkEquity believes St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) is poised to take market share in the ICD markets and started shares with a Buy rating and $56 target...
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Polo Ralph Lauren (RL), Alcan (AL), Alcoa (AA) and Conn's, Inc (CONN) were today's noteworthy initiations:
Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) was initiated with a Market Perform rating at Piper Jaffray. The firm feels the risk/reward is balanced at current levels given the near-term risks from increased investment and exposure to inconsistent U.S. wholesale markets.
Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of Alcan (NYSE: AL) and Alcoa (NYSE: AA) with Neutral ratings and a $101 target and $48 target, respectively.
Morgan Joseph is positive on Conn's Inc's (NASDAQ: CONN) strong track record of growth, new store growth and easy comps, and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $34 target.
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