rating changes posts
FeedPosted Feb 2nd 2007 10:58AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Bad News, Amazon.com (AMZN), Hunt(J.B.) Transport (JBHT)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) and Vornado (VNO) were on today's list of most notable downgrades:
- Bear Stearns downgraded Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Underperform from Outperform to reflect the company's margin erosion, lack of near-term earnings leverage and valuation. They note that margins declined for the fourth consecutive quarter year-over-year in Q4.
- Wachovia downgraded Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) to Market Perform from Outperform citing the higher bid of $56 for Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE: EOP), which increases the company's risk profile.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Citigroup downgraded shares of Apache Corp (NYSE: APA) to Hold from Buy on concerns that the company's poor 2006 reserve replacement cost in the Gulf of Mexico may suggest maturing project inventory.
- JP Morgan downgraded Avid Technology Inc (NASDAQ: AVID) to Underweight from Overweight to reflect the company's weak forecasting and execution after disappointing fourth-quarter results and guidance.
- Matrix USA downgraded J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ: JBHT) to Buy from Strong Buy on valuation.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).Posted Jan 29th 2007 11:13AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Trump Entertainment Resorts (TRMP), Analyst Initiations
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Human Genome Inc (HGSI) and Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (TRMP) topped today's list of most notable initiations:
- Citing risks to Albuferon and Lympho-Stat, Morgan Stanley initiated Human Genome Inc (NASDAQ: HGSI) with an Underweight rating and $8 target.
- Bear Stearns started shares of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: TRMP) with a Peer Perform rating as they believe Street estimates are too high, the company lacks development opportunities outside of Atlantic City, and uncertainty stemming from the new Atlantic City smoking ban.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- Lehman Bros started Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ISIS) with an Overweight rating and $20 target.
- Leerink Swann initiated HealthSouth Corp (NYSE: HLS) with an Outperform rating and was added to the Focus List; one of the firm's consultants performed an analysis of the company's in-patient rehab business in order to determine the impact of the 75% rule after it is completely implemented, as well as determining the opportunities from market consolidation. As a result of the analysis, the firm believes that the company is in a good position to successfully navigate the phase-in of the 75% rule.
- Pali Capital initiated China Mobile Ltd (NYSE: CHL) with a Buy rating and $66 target, based on expectations of sustaining total subs growth over 20%.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).Posted Jan 24th 2007 11:36AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, General Motors (GM), Analyst Initiations, Level 3 Communications (LVLT)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: The only company that topped today's list of initiations was
Armstrong World Industries Inc (NYSE:
AWI).
- Oppenheimer initiated Armstrong, whom they consider a relatively undiscovered, asbestos-related post-bankruptcy company, with a Buy rating and $55 target. They believe Armstrong could aggressively deliver its already conservative balance sheet and ultimately repurchase shares.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) was reinstated at Morgan Stanley with an Equal-Weight rating.
- Cowen initiated Level 3 Communications Inc (NASDAQ: LVLT) with an Outperform rating.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required). Posted Jan 22nd 2007 11:09AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Bad News, Cisco Systems (CSCO), , Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Boeing Co (BA)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: XM Satellite Radio Holdings (XMSR), Boeing (BA) and Cablevision Systems (CVC) were the most notable downgraded companies today:
- Pacific Crest downgraded shares of XM Satellite Radio Holdings (NASDAQ: XMSR) to Sector Perform from Outperform, expecting XM's retail fundamentals to continue to weaken; the firm also believes a merger with Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) would be unlikely.
- Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia, as the firm believes commercial aircraft order cycle has peaked and Boeing's 787 program could face delays.
- Citigroup downgraded Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) to Sell from Hold, with a $27 target, and doesn't expect the Dolan family to raise their $30 bid or a rival company to make a competing offer. Citigroup expects investors to start focusing on Cablevision's decelerating net subscriber additions and slowing growth.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Ann Taylor Stores (NYSE: ANN) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform with a $28 target at Piper Jaffray with expectations that Ann Taylor could face margin pressure in the first-half of 2008 based on a carry-over of fall and holiday products.
- JMP Securities downgraded Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) to Market Perform from Outperform citing closing capacity-related upgrades in enterprise and industry checks.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required). Posted Jan 3rd 2007 11:30AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Analyst Initiations
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Altera Corp (NASDAQ: ALTR) and Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) were the most noteworthy companies initiated today.
- Shares of Altera Corp (NASDAQ: ALTR) were initiated with a Buy rating and $26 at Nollenberger; the firm believes that due to the company's faster growth rate, increasing market share and higher gross margins, shares should trade at a premium to Xilinx Inc (NASDAQ: XLNX).
- Soleil Securities initiated shares of Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) with a Hold rating, believing it may take at least through the spring season to see a meaningful improvement in operating results.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- Spirit Aerosystems 'A' (NYSE: SPR) was initiated by several firms: Jefferies with a Buy and $36 target, Credit Suisse with a Neutral and $35 target, Citigroup with a Sell rating and $24 target, Morgan Stanley with an Overweight and $38 target, Cowen with a Neutral rating and UBS with a Neutral and $38 target.
- NYMEX Holdings (NYSE: NMX) was initiated with an Underweight rating at JP Morgan, citing the rich valuation for its rating.
- Shares of Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) were initiated with an Overweight rating and a $16 target at Morgan Stanley.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required). Posted Jan 3rd 2007 11:22AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Amazon.com (AMZN), General Motors (GM), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Applied Materials (AMAT)
MOST NOTEWORTHY: The Semiconductor Production Equipment sector, General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) topped the massive list of downgrades this morning.
- Goldman Sachs downgraded the Semiconductor Production Equipment sector to Cautious from Neutral, citing expectations for weakness in NAND and DRAM in 2007; the firm also downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) and Credence Systems (NASDAQ: CMOS) to Sell from Neutral.
- General Motors (NYSE: GM) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Bank of America, telling clients it expects market share for the first-half of 2007 to be lower, along with a sharp fourth-quarter decline in new product volume due to overpricing.
- ThinkEquity also downgraded Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) to Sell from Buy with a $15 target, as they believe inventory in the channel is building and prices are falling; furthermore, the broker believes Advanced Micro has little opportunity of meeting the high expectations for margins it set on its recent analyst day.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) was downgraded to Sell from Hold with a $34 target at Citigroup citing valuation that reflects aggressive long-term operating margins.
- Wachovia downgraded shares of Cox Radio 'A' (NYSE: CXR) to Underperform from Market Perform and recommended investors to swap out of Cox and into their top 2007 picks: Lamar Advertising 'A' (NASDAQ: LAMR) or Entravision Communication 'A' (NYSE: EVC).
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required). Posted Dec 29th 2006 11:12AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Analyst Initiations
Given the last day of the trading for 2006, initiations were light.
- Baird initiated Noven Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: NOVN) with an Outperform and $30 target, based on the Daytrana, which Baird believes should be a driver for shares with continued success, milestones and improved profitability.
- Also initiated by Baird, POZEN Inc (NASDAQ: POZN) with an Outperform rating and $26 target; they expect Pozen's Trexima to be approved in mid-2007 and for their marketing partner, GlaxoSmithKline plc ADR (NYSE: GSK), to convert 60% of Imitrix market share to Trexima.
- Thomas Weisel initiated Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) with an Overweight rating and $14.50 target; the firm is positive on the Sensai platform, a robotic catheter control system, which allows unprecedented control and enables new procedures to become minimally invasive.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).Posted Dec 27th 2006 9:59AM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MOST NOTEWORTHY: First Solar (FSLR), which was started by multiple firms, was the most notable initiation today.
- Cowen and Piper Jaffrey initiated First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) with Outperform ratings, First Albany and ThinkEquity started the company with Buy ratings and Morgan Stanley started the company with an Equal Weight rating.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
- The Bank of America and Citigroup initiated the NYMEX Holdings (NYSE: NMX); BofA with a Neutral and Citigroup with a Hold rating, based on valuation.
- Prudential initiated coverage on Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) with a Neutral rating and a $53 target; the firm has concerns that growth in Avonex and Rituxan have peaked and that competition from other MS drugs will continue to erode Avonex market share.
Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).
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