Juniper Networks (JNPR) is on the upswing, with the stock catching a 6% boost Wednesday morning on the heels of a well-received fourth-quarter earnings report. Juniper reported a quarterly profit of $190.2 million, or 35 cents per share, substantially improved from its year-ago results of $22.9 million, or 4 cents per share. Excluding items, earnings improved to 42 cents from 32 cents per share on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, revenue for the quarter increased 26% to $1.19 billion. Gross margin retreated slightly, falling to 66.6% from 67.1%.

Continue reading Juniper Networks Jumps Higher After Q4 Earnings Beat

Juniper Networks Jumps Higher After Q4 Earnings Beat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Salesforce.com Hits a New High After Earnings

Salesforce.com Hits a New High After Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here we go again. Disney (DIS) receives some good news in the form of a price-target upgrade. According to Dividend.com, Barclays Capital now thinks $42, not $36, is a proper goal for the stock. Oh, if only that will happen!

I haven't been happy with my Disney holding for quite a while. I've made this clear in previous articles. Yet, I still own the company in my portfolio. Go figure. What's keeping me from selling?

Continue reading Disney Receives Better Price Target -- Does It Matter?

Disney Receives Better Price Target -- Does It Matter? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Mosaic Company (MOS) is slated to take its turn on the earnings stage after Monday's closing bell, with the agricultural chemical concern set to unveil its fiscal first-quarter results.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating a profit of 72 cents per share, substantially higher than the company's year-ago earnings of 23 cents per share. Mosaic has a dismal history in the earnings spotlight, having fallen short of Wall Street's consensus profit expectations in three of the past four quarters.

Continue reading Can Mosaic Co. Tackle Resistance After Q1 Earnings?

Can Mosaic Co. Tackle Resistance After Q1 Earnings? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AutoZone Inc. (AZO) is scheduled to release its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings before the market opens Tuesday, Sept. 21. The retailer has a solid track record in the earnings spotlight, having exceeded analysts' per-share profit predictions in each of the past four reporting periods -- and AZO has managed to surpass Wall Street's consensus estimate by an increasingly wide margin in each sequential quarter.

Ahead of the report, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are anticipating AutoZone to bank a profit of $5.42 per share, up from $4.45 per share in the year-ago period. Sales are expected to arrive at $2.39 billion.

Continue reading Earnings Preview: Can AutoZone Rev Higher After Q4 Report?

Earnings Preview: Can AutoZone Rev Higher After Q4 Report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ford (F) was more than 2% higher Thursday morning thanks to an upgrade from Barclay's Capital. The brokerage house upped the automaker to overweight from equal weight and elevated Ford's price target to $16 from $15.

Barclay's feels that investors "appear to be ignoring the fundamental increase in Ford's earnings power even in a slower growth environment." The brokerage continued to say that favorable products on top of a stripped-down cost base, even assuming no further gains in the firm's U.S. market share, could lead to U.S. SAAR growth expectations by 1.5 million. This fact leads Barclay's to maintain their Ford earnings estimates materially, with a new earnings estimate of $2.00, which remains atop the consensus estimate of $1.84.

Continue reading Ford Upgraded by Barclay's Capital

Ford Upgraded by Barclay's Capital originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Technology firm SanDisk (SNDK) is enjoying a nice morning thanks to favorable coverage from brokerage firm UBS.

The brokerage house upgraded SanDisk to buy from neutral and assigned a new target price of $55 per share, an elevation from $46 per share. UBS's analyst believes that strong second-half demand will outweigh any risks the stock may hold. The analyst predicts "better than expected ASP trends" continuing in the second half, combining with tight market supply to boost the shares.

Continue reading SanDisk Benefits from UBS Upgrade

SanDisk Benefits from UBS Upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Citigroup, Inc. (C) attracted a bullish note this morning from analyst Richard Bove of Rochdale Securities. The outspoken financial analyst hiked his rating on the shares from neutral to buy, citing the banking issue's healthy liquidity position.

"This gives management the flexibility to off-load the problem operations and to support longer term growth," wrote Bove in a note to clients. "It will be a money-making machine again and the stock is long-term cheap."

Bove also raised his price target on Citi shares from $3.75 to $5, implying expected upside of 28.2% to the stock's closing price on Friday.

Continue reading Citigroup Upgraded to Buy

Citigroup Upgraded to Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Late Tuesday, an advisory panel of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) voiced its approval for pirfenidone, the experimental lung drug from InterMune (ITMN). The panel voted 9-3 in favor of recommending pirfenidone to patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The FDA is expected to follow the advice of the advisory panel, although it's not required to do so. The regulatory agency is due to issue its final ruling on the drug's fate by early May.

Continue reading InterMune Showered with Analyst Love on FDA Approval

InterMune Showered with Analyst Love on FDA Approval originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Deutsche Bank has reiterated its buy rating and a $48 price target on electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY). The price target implies expected upside of nearly 19% from BBY's closing price on Tuesday.

"BBY reported that Black Friday comps were up double digits. While we expect some slowdown from that level, store checks show that trends remain solid throughout December," wrote Deutsche Bank in a note to clients. "This, coupled with an easy comparison should enable positive high single digit comps domestically. We also believe that web sales, which were up 20% in 3Q continue to grow, which helps comps. Also, TV pricing remains relatively rational, which should help offset some of the margin decline from mix to laptops."

Continue reading Deutsche Bank Still Bullish on Best Buy

Deutsche Bank Still Bullish on Best Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Genworth Financial (GNW) attracted some mixed attention Tuesday. While the insurance issue started off on the right foot with a price-target boost from KBW, the stock was then slapped with a credit-rating downgrade from Standard & Poor's.

Beginning with KBW, the brokerage firm adjusted its price targets on a slew of U.S. insurers Tuesday morning. In a note to clients, KBW explained that it's overweight on the insurance sector for 2010, because it expects a significant earnings recovery and a modest revenue rebound for the group.

Continue reading Can Genworth Financial Live Up to Its New Price Target?

Can Genworth Financial Live Up to Its New Price Target? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of Century Aluminum (CENX) caught a lift Friday morning, as analysts at JPMorgan Chase adjusted their price targets on a number of metals and mining issues. Century's price target was hiked from $9 to $13, representing a premium of 13.2% to the stock's closing price on Thursday.

In the first hour of Friday's session, CENX soared to a gain of 7.8% as traders cheered the upbeat note. Technical support from the stock's 10-week and 20-week moving averages also helped to add some lift; these two trendlines are now on the verge of a bullish cross. A finish above $12 would be a major development for the equity, since this level has capped all of CENX's weekly closes since August.

Continue reading Call players take profits as Century Aluminum surges

Call players take profits as Century Aluminum surges originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A Financial Times report indicates that American International Group (AIG) could soon receive an offer on its aircraft leasing unit, known as International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC). The newspaper claims that a consortium of private equity investors, led by current ILFC CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy, "is close to making a bid for about half of the aviation-leasing business."

The consortium reportedly includes Onex, Greenbriar and Canada Pension Plan. An offer could be made as early as this week, according to FT's sources. AIG set a deadline of Dec. 3 for bids on the unit, in hopes of making a decision by Dec. 15.

Continue reading Put players target AIG after ILFC bid rumors, price-target cut

Put players target AIG after ILFC bid rumors, price-target cut originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Morgan Stanley upgrades General Mills

Morgan Stanley upgrades General Mills originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Brokerage firm Barclays this morning raised its price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) from $188 to $208. The new target represents a premium of 25.8% to AAPL's closing price on Wednesday. Additionally, Barclays reiterated its upbeat Overweight rating on the shares.

In a note to clients, analyst Ben Reitzes cited Apple's solid product pipeline and strong free cash flow outlook. "New products should begin to flow again within a few weeks," said Reitzes. "We are more upbeat about the long-term prospects for the iPhone & Mac lines with potential new products."

Continue reading Apple Inc. buoyed by Barclays' price-target boost

Apple Inc. buoyed by Barclays' price-target boost originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the wake of its second-quarter earnings report, SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) has garnered no fewer than four price-target increases and at least two upgrades. Running through the list, FBR upgraded the shares from "market perform" to "outperform," while Collins Stewart upped the equity from "sell" to "hold." FBR also hiked its price target from $22 to $40, while Citigroup upped its target from $15 to $18. Elsewhere, Credit Suisse raised the stock's price target from $20 to $32, and Canaccord Adams increased its 12-month estimate from $21 to $29.

In fact, Wedbush Morgan is the lone bearish holdout this morning, with the brokerage firm bucking the trend by downgrading SPWRA from "outperform" to "neutral."

Continue reading Analysts impressed by SunPower Corp. earnings

Analysts impressed by SunPower Corp. earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Harley-Davidson has certainly recovered from its 52-week low made back in March of this year. The stock bounced back from $7.99 to a price of $16.55 as of this writing.

Continue reading Harley-Davidson not riding too much higher according to analyst

Harley-Davidson not riding too much higher according to analyst originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tech stock VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is broadly higher today on the heels of an upbeat note from Goldman Sachs. VMW was added to the brokerage firm's Conviction Buy list, with Goldman noting an expected boost in sales. The firm also thinks that VMW is better-positioned than many of its competitors to ride out the economic recession.

In addition to the Conviction Buy nod, Goldman also hiked its price target on VMW to $29, representing a premium of 22.8% to the equity's Tuesday closing price. The stock could attract additional price-target increases during the short term, as Thomson Reuters pegs its average 12-month target from analysts as $23.31 -- a modest discount to yesterday's close.

Continue reading VMware rallies on Goldman Sachs' bullish endorsement

VMware rallies on Goldman Sachs' bullish endorsement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Douglas Harned of Sanford C. Bernstein chopped his price targets on several defense stocks today, including Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT). "Trends in the defense budget remain the most important driver of defense stocks, and the cash flow outlook is strong for the defense businesses," said Harned in a note to clients.

Harned cut LMT's price target from $104 to $96, but he reiterated an "outperform" rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin remains the analyst's top pick in the defense sector, thanks to its strong overall growth potential and support from its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Despite his forecast for a reduction in supplemental defense budgets, Harned expects the F-35 program will remain fully funded.

Continue reading Lockheed Martin hit with price-target cut on defense budget concerns

Lockheed Martin hit with price-target cut on defense budget concerns originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Given the current economic and regulatory environment, we felt this was a prudent step to take to further enhance our capital position and our liquidity," said President and CEO Larry D. Richman in a statement.

Continue reading PrivateBancorp plummets after slashing its quarterly dividend

PrivateBancorp plummets after slashing its quarterly dividend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.