Analyst Upgrades

• Akamai (AKAM) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Aetna (AET) to Outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• Hot Topic (HOTT) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Colonial Properties (CLP) upgraded to Outperform from market perform at FBR Capital and to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Altera (ALTR) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• American Reprographics (ARC), CarMax (KMX) and American Campus (ACC) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Zebra Tech (ZBRA) to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• IMAX (IMAX) to buy from hold at Canaccord.
• Basic Energy (BAS) to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Mednax (MD) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• UTi Worldwide (UTIW) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AET, AKAM, BBY, DVN, HOG, IMAX, LVS, RIMM, UNH, URBN ...

Analyst Calls: AET, AKAM, BBY, DVN, HOG, IMAX, LVS, RIMM, UNH, URBN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading SAIC. Inc. (SAI): Invest in Cyber-Security

SAIC. Inc. (SAI): Invest in Cyber-Security originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to overweight from equal weight and said investor concerns regarding Advair and Avandia are overdone.
• Leerink upgraded Bristol-Myers (BMY) to outperform from market perform, citing management's pipeline execution. Shares were also upgraded at Citigroup this morning to buy from hold.
• Goldman upgraded Medco Health (MHS) to buy from neutral and raised its price target on shares to $76 from $67. The firm cites valuation and expectations that earnings will accelerate in 2H10 driven by a stronger generic outlook.
• U.S. Steel (X) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Blyth (BTH) was upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• IPC The Hospitalist Co. (IPCM) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BMY, FSLR, GSK, LGF, MHS, PVH, SAI, SU, WAG, X ...

Analyst Calls: BMY, FSLR, GSK, LGF, MHS, PVH, SAI, SU, WAG, X ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Potash (POT) to hold from sell due to valuation. The firm maintains a $100 price target for shares.
• FBR Capital upgraded Arkansas Best (ABFS) to market perform from underperform after the company reached a tentative agreement with the Teamsters to amend its existing contract to include a 15% wage concession. The firm has a $34 price target for shares.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Zions Bancorp (ZION) to market perform from underperform following the company's Q1 results and raised its target for shares to $25 from $17.
• Apache (APA) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• MGM Mirage (MGM) wasupgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Monster Worldwide (MWW) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: ABFS, APA, CSTR, ESL, MGM, POT, SAI, TIVO, UL, ZION ...

Analyst Calls: ABFS, APA, CSTR, ESL, MGM, POT, SAI, TIVO, UL, ZION ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Acuity Brands Inc. (AYI) Q2 results were essentially flat but an analyst's upgraded helped boost shares.
• Borders Group Inc. (BGP) reported strong Q4 earnings due to cost cutting but revenue continued to decline.
• Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (CALM) received an analyst's downgrade on valuation following release of its Q3 report.
• CarMax Inc. (KMX) rose to a new 52-week high following better-than-expected Q4 earnings and sales results.
• Charming Shoppes Inc. (CHRS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q4 net loss and said same-store sales declined.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Borders, CarMax, LDK Solar, Mosaic, RIM, Rite Aid ...

Earnings Highlights: Borders, CarMax, LDK Solar, Mosaic, RIM, Rite Aid ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While SAIC (SAI) provides technical services for a variety of sectors, the core business is still in defense and homeland security. However, the company is starting to have troubles finding growth.

In the latest quarter, revenues increased 7% to $2.68 billion and earnings came to $123 million, or $0.31 per share, up from $120 million or $0.29 per share in the same period a year ago. The consensus was $0.32 per share.

Continue reading SAIC Gets Pinched by Tighter Defense Budgets

SAIC Gets Pinched by Tighter Defense Budgets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the Bell: Futures Lower Ahead of Jobs Data

Before the Bell: Futures Lower Ahead of Jobs Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• UBS upgraded Starbucks (SBUX) to buy from neutral, citing expectations for sales momentum. The firm raised its price target to $29 from $27.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Sonic (SONC) two notches to overweight from underweight on expectations the company's sales and margin trends are set to improve. The firm raised its target price for shares to $12 from $8.
• BMO Capital upgraded Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI) to outperform from market perform, citing its outlook for earnings growth. The firm has a $30 target on the stock.
• Clorox (CLX) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Alexion Pharma (ALXN) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.
• Compellent (CML) was upgraded to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CBI, CLX, PBR, PSYS, SWSI, SONC, SBUX, UNH, VRUS, WU ...

Analyst Calls: CBI, CLX, PBR, PSYS, SWSI, SONC, SBUX, UNH, VRUS, WU ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) to Outperform from Market Perform on expectations that derivatives trading will increase in the coming quarters.
• NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral by Janney Montgomery, which believes that the company's earnings have hit bottom, while the company could report better-than-expected Q1 results.
• Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital. The firm thinks the company is an early-cycle story that has significant upside potential.
• UBS upgraded Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) to Buy from Neutral citing cost cutting efforts and slowing store growth.
• Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Benchmark Co.
• Safeway (NYSE: SWY) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by BB&T.
• Needham upgraded Targacept (NASDAQ: TRGT) to Buy from Hold.
• Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR) was raised to Buy from Hold at Jesup & Lamont.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: GOOG, HOG, NOK, SWY, WAG, WSM ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: GOOG, HOG, NOK, SWY, WAG, WSM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Summer is winding down and so is another earnings season. Most of the S&P 500 have reported results for the past quarter, but there are still a few things of note coming up this week.

In its second quarter, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA), one of the largest entertainment media companies in China, announced plans for an IPO for its Shanda Games business and bought a majority stake in music producer and distributor.

Continue reading The week in preview: Summer (and the earnings season) winds down

The week in preview: Summer (and the earnings season) winds down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As the calendar quarter winds down, let's take look at some of this coming week's biggest expected earnings gainers.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Memphis-based Fred's Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED) to report fourth-quarter earnings of $0.22 per share, 36.4% higher than a year ago, and revenue of $472.5 million, down 4.4%. For the full year, the forecast is for a profit of $0.66 per share on revenue of $1.8 billion, compared to $0.52 per share and $1.8 billion in the previous year. The discount retailer beat or met earnings estimates in the past three quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 14.0%, which is better than the industry average and that of larger rival Walmart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), and the forward PE ratio estimate is 15.0. In the third quarter, the company had more cash than debt. The consensus recommendation of analysts is to buy FRED. The share price has risen 2.7% since the beginning of the year to $11.05.

Continue reading The week in preview: Earnings winners, Geithner testimony, housing sales

The week in preview: Earnings winners, Geithner testimony, housing sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ: SNDA) to Outperform from Perform following the company's better-than-expected quarter to reflect its growth acceleration in the casual games platform and margin improvements.
  
• SAIC (NYSE: SAI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform following the solid Q2 report and guidance.
  
• Susquehanna upgraded Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) to Positive from Neutral citing positive August comps, revised merchandising, easier comps, and solid financial position.
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Pharm Product Development (NASDAQ: PPDI) and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded the Semiconductor Capital Equipment sector to In-Line from Attractive citing optimistic expectations for Q4 orders following the recent bounce in stocks. The firm downgraded Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) to Underweight from Overweight and KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) KLAC to Equal Weight from Overweight.

Continue reading Analyst calls: SAI, KLAC, QCOM, MRVL, UL, CMG, HPQ, AAPL, DELL ...

Analyst calls: SAI, KLAC, QCOM, MRVL, UL, CMG, HPQ, AAPL, DELL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup downgraded shares of BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) to Hold from Buy on valuation and views a takeout as less likely given the current credit market conditions.
  
• Wachovia downgraded shares of Affiliated Managers (NYSE: AMG) to Market Perform from Outperform as they believe credit quality concerns and record commodity prices will hinder the company's recovery in equity flows.
  
• Thomas Weisel downgraded Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Underweight from Market Weight based on visibility into fundamentals and another potential reorganization that will likely be met with skepticism.

• Third Wave (NASDAQ: TWTI) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Baird.
  
• Charles Rivers Labs (NYSE: CRL) was lowered at Goldman to Neutral from Buy.
  
• United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) was downgraded at Baird to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• SAIC, Inc (NYSE: SAI) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

Analyst downgrades: BJ, AMG and YHOO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Macrovision (NASDAQ: MVSN) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they think the stock looks "very cheap" if the Gemstar (NASDAQ: GMST) deal does not get done; if the deal does get done, they think investors will get paid, but admits it may take longer.
  
• JP Morgan upgraded SAIC Inc. (NYSE: SAI) to Overweight from Neutral as they expect the company to beat consensus estimates as margins surprise to the upside given cost reductions and cargo detection sales.
  
• Dassault Systemes (NASDAQ: DASTY) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley as they find the company's recurring business and lack of exposure to troubled markets attractive in the current market.

• GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at Bear Stearns.
  
• Lehman upgraded Cigna (NYSE: CI) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Alpha Bank (OTC: ALBKY) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades: Macrovision, SAIC, Dassault Systemes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of UBS (NYSE:UBS) to Outperform from Peer Perform after UBS announced a $10B write-down and replenished capital, as they now believe the subprime issue is broadly behind the company and capital ratios are restored.
  
• Goldman raised its rating on Burger King (NYSE:BKC) to Buy from Neutral as they expect it to outperform the broader restaurant segment amid the current consumer weakness.
  
• SAIC, Inc (NYSE:SAI) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies following the better-than-expected Q3 results, as they believe the company continues to outperform competitors and that margin expansion should continue.

• eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) was added to Citigroup's CIR Recommend List.
  
• Banc of America upgraded Reliant Energy (NYSE:RRI) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• MasterCard (NYSE:MA) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Analyst upgrades: UBS, BKC and SAI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As is the case in the corporate world, government agencies have "go to" consultants. So far as the U.S. defense community is concerned, there is an outfit in San Diego that is on the list.

SAIC, Inc. (NYSE: SAI) provides scientific, engineering, systems integration and technical services to all branches of the U.S. military, agencies of the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. Government civil agencies. The firm also offers technology-driven consulting services to the oil & gas, utility and pharmaceutical industries. SAIC employs more than 44,000 people, in over 150 cities worldwide. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a major competitor.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q2 EPS of 24 cents and revenues of $2.2 billion. Street analysts had been looking for 21 cents and $2.17 billion. Management also guided FY08 EPS to 83-88 cents (85 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $8.7-$9.0 billion ($8.79B consensus).

Continue reading SAIC, Inc. (SAI): Technical solutions for the U.S. defense community

SAIC, Inc. (SAI): Technical solutions for the U.S. defense community originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Kaufman initiated Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) with a Hold rating and $13 target, citing the company's direct exposure to nearly $2B of Alt A residential mortgage loans originated by its U.S. operations and approximately $250M of exposure to another $4B of collateralized, securitized mortgage pools.

• MRU Holdings (NADSAQ: UNCL) was initiated with a Buy rating and $8.50 target at Roth Capital. Roth Capital believes MRU Holdings is on the threshold of potentially explosive growth in the fast growing segment of the education lending market, that of private loans.

• JMP Securities said CDC Corp. (NASDAQ: CHINA) , with its resources and connections in China, has excellent deal flow and has been a disciplined, value oriented buyer, and started shares with a Market Outperform and $10.50 target.

• Piper believes Oscient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OSCI) experienced management team and PCP sales force are competitive advantages and will lead to attractive partners. Piper initiated Oscient Pharmaceuticals with an Outperform rating and $5 target...

• Raymond James started SAIC (NYSE: SAI) with a Market Perform rating.

• Morgan Keegan initiated Hilltop Holdings (NYSE: HTH) with an Outperform rating.

• Dice Holdings (NYSE: DHX) was initiated with an Overweight rating and $15 target at Morgan Stanley.

• RBC Capital initiated VMware (NYSE: VMW) with a Sector Perform rating and $75 target.

Analyst initiations 8-30-07: CHINA, DHX, SAI and UNCL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• ThinkEquity started Kenexa Corp (NASDAQ: KNXA) with an Accumulate rating, citing the company's attractive business model that can deliver high-value, high-margin content, but questions the company's plans to compete with best-of-breed vendors.

• Banc of America initiated CACI International (NYSE: CAI) with a Neutral, citing the challenging budget environment and margin trends.

• Banc of America believes shares of SI International (NASDAQ: SINT) offers a compelling risk/reward given the improving civilian funding environment and upside potential from recent M&A activity, and assumed coverage with a Buy rating and $38 target.

• Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL) was started with a Hold rating at Deutsche Bank, citing risks to the company's potential turnaround.

• Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) was re-initiated with an Outperform rating at Friedman Billings on valuation and considers any stock price weakness from the increased costs as a buy opportunity.

• Banc of America assumed the following Government IT Services companies with Buy ratings: SRA International (NYSE: SRX) and SI International.

• Banc of America assumed the following Government IT Services companies with Neutral ratings: CACI International, MTC Technologies (NASDAQ: MTCT), SAIC (NYSE: SAI), and ManTech International Corp (NASDAQ: MANT).

Analyst initiations 7-03-07: CAI, MANT and YUM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The next generation of military satellites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just as in the corporate world, government agencies seem to have "go to" consultants. So far as the defense community is concerned, there is an outfit headquartered in San Diego, California that is on the list.

SAIC, Inc. (NYSE: SAI) provides scientific, engineering, systems integration and technical services to all branches of the U.S. military, agencies of the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. Government civil agencies. The firm also offers technology-driven consulting services to the oil & gas, utility and pharmaceutical industries. SAIC employs more than 44,000 people, in over 150 cities worldwide. Major competitors include Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC).

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 20 cents and revenues of $2.15 billion. Street analysts had been looking for 17 cents and $2.07 billion. Management also guided FY08 EPS to 83-88 cents (85 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $8.7-9.0 billion ($8.77B consensus).

Continue reading SAIC: Serving up technical solutions for Uncle Sam

SAIC: Serving up technical solutions for Uncle Sam originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.