MOST NOTEWORTHY: Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO), Rosetta Genomics (ROSG), U.S. Steel (X) and BioFuel Energy (BIOF) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Halozyme (NASDAQ: HALO) was initiated with a Buy rating and $14 target at Oppenheimer. The firm is positive on Halozyme's prospects for signing additional multi-product Enhanze deals in the next 12 months and the company's expanding internal pipeline.

• Oppenheimer also initiated shares of Rosetta Genomics (NASDAQ: ROSG) with a Buy rating and $11 target, as the firm is positive on Rosetta's intellectual property position in the emerging microRNA field related to the development and commercialization of research, diagnostic and therapeutic products, and other applications.

• Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of U.S. Steel Group (NYSE: X) with a Neutral rating.

• BioFuel Energy (NASDAQ: BIOF) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Cowen, as the firm sees a lack of catalysts until the company's plants under construction come on line in Q108...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Brightpoint (NASDAQ: CELL) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $18 target at Credit Suisse.

• MasterCard (NYSE: MA) was initiated with a Market Perform rating at Wachovia on valuation.

• Citigroup initiated shares of Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY) with a Buy rating and $39 target and shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) with a Sell rating and $24 target.

• Pacific Growth Equities started shares of Altair Nanotechnologies (NASDAQ: ALTI) with a Neutral rating.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: AstraZeneca (AZN), Ametek (AME), InterNAP Network Services (INAP) and Rosetta Genomics (ROSG) were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Cowen believes AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) faces challenges from patent expirations, patent challenges, high-risk pipeline and value creation from deals, and initiated shares with a Neutral rating.

• Ametek (NYSE: AME) was initiated at Friedman Billings with an Outperform rating and $44 target, as the firm believes AME has turned into a collection of niche-oriented high-value-added manufacturers of precision instrumentation, resulting in a high-margin, high-return business with above average growth.

• InterNAP (NASDAQ: INAP) was initiated at Thomas Weisel with an Overweight rating, as the firm is positive on INAP's unique service offerings, VitalSteam acquisition opportunities, high growth customers, and improving collocation and bandwidth demand fundamentals.

• Cantor expects Rosetta Genomics (NASDAQ: ROSG) to launch the world's first microRNA-based cancer diagnostic in the second-half of 2008 with a market of $200 million, and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $15 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Banc of America initiated shares of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings (NYSE: SPR) with a Buy rating and $42 target.

• Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) was initiated with a Market Perform rating at BMO Capital.

• Merrill Lynch initiated shares of JMP Group (NYSE: JMP) with a Buy rating.

• UBS initiated shares of Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) with a Neutral rating and $82 target.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Last December, over 100 stocks were featured in our Top Picks for 2007 report. Now, at mid-year, we turn to the 20 advisors whose picks showed the strongest gains to get an update on their previous picks, as well as a new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

Chris Mayer, editor of Capital & Crisis, chose Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSE) as his top pick for 2007. The stock rose 32%, as of June 1, 2007. Here is Chris's original recommendation for Rosetta and his new favorite stock for the rest of 2007.

Updating Rosetta, the advisor now says, "I continue to like ROSE, which should increase production greatly this year. The company is in good financial shape. It still has a relatively low-risk portfolio of drilling projects.

"I also feel good about the future of natural gas prices. In a world where we're draining the conventional natural gas wells at a fast rate, large fields of relatively untapped gas potential in the lower 48 are going to be worth a lot. Rosetta has that in its Rio Vista interests.

The company also keeps blowing away estimates. In the March quarter, earnings came in 33% better than analysts expected. In December, they beat the consensus by 24%. All of this and it still trades for a reasonable multiple -- only 14 times next year's (too low) estimate."

See all 20 stocks the advisors picked for the second half of 2007.

During Apple's recent 3rd Quarter earnings report analysts asked a few illuminating questions that give some insight into a couple stumbling blocks Apple faced during the last quarter. Japanese sales have fallen 10% year over year, and the new MacPro might not be selling as well as Apple would like.

In the conference call Apple Computer, Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) admitted that there still seems to be some delay in MacPro purchasing sales, and that this is due to Adobe's Creative Suite not being a Universal Application. While Apple is proud of the technical achievement of having switched all its units over to Intel chips, this involves application developers needing to create new code to take advantage of the new architecture. Apple's OS provides a form of emulation called Rosetta that due to the power of the new Intel chip runs applications compiled for the PowerPC chip just as fast on the Intel chip through some seamless emulation. But to get full advantage of Intel's increased speed and power, applications must be tailored for the new chip. Applications thus tailored are 'Universal Applications.'

Some advanced MacPro users are faced with laying out money for a machine that will currently run a program that will not offer significant speed bumps until is readied for the Intel chip. It's no surprise they're not necessarily ready to move away from their G-5 PowerMacs. I'll bet there have been a few calls to Adobe from Apple. Apple will needing a Universal version of Adobe to help move sales of the MacPro in the next quarter.

Apple is facing an additional slow down in Japanese sales: a 10% drop. Although as Apple pointed out in their conference call, revenue was actually *up* due to strong iPod sales. Apple admitted they were 'not pleased' with the 10% drop, and that they will be looking into it. In mid-July Apple's chief of marketing Joshiaki Sakito resigned. It looks like Apple is still struggling there.

Tobias Buckell is an author, freelancer, and professional blogger. He owns shares in Apple.

The new MacBook. I still want to call it an iBook, but I guess change is inevitable. Like going from Motorola chips to Intel chips for Apple's computers. Apple started the 'i' everything frenzy, and now they're moving away from it. Nonetheless, the change has been good, and the ability of Apple's new products to run both Windows and Apple's OS-X means heads have turned. And that includes the folks at the Times, who nominated the MacBook 13 inch laptop last week as the 'gadget of the week.

Some of the things that impressed them enough to highlight the laptop were the price, coming in at just over $1,000 with all its various features and abilities, as well as the remote that allows you to control the media functions of the laptop from across a room.

[Disclosure: I own Apple stock at the date of this post]