Analyst Upgrades

• JMP Securities views Yahoo!'s (YHOO) risk-reward as compelling, especially as cyclical and secular growth of online advertising improves. The firm upgraded shares to outperform from market perform and has a $21 target.
• FBR Capital upgraded PNC Financial (PNC) to outperform from market perform, citing an attractive valuation and better risk profile following the company's capital raise. The firm raised its target price on shares to $65 fro $55.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded SEI Investments (SEIC) to buy from neutral on expectations the company's revenues will accelerate in 2011. The firm has a $28 price target on shares.
• Research in Motion (RIMM) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.
• Cisco (CSCO) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Macy's (M) was upgraded to buy from hold at Soleil.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMTD, CSCO, M, PALM, PNC, RIMM, YHOO ...

Analyst Calls: AMTD, CSCO, M, PALM, PNC, RIMM, YHOO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• JP Morgan upgraded Alcoa (NYSE: AA) to Overweight from Neutral and added shares to its Focus List. The analyst said the equity offering and dividend cut provide enough "liquidity insurance" to make it through 2009 and now views risk/reward as attractive.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Asbury Automotive (NYSE: ABG) to Buy from Hold as it finds the current valuation attractive and thinks the company's cost savings will drive upside in a recovery. The firm raised its target price to $7 from $5.50.
  
• Barclays upgraded Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC) to Overweight from Equal Weight. Following their healthcare conference and management meetings, the firm sees increased visibility into revenues.
• Waddell & Reed (NYSE: WDR) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Nokia (NYSE: NOK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) was lifted to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, NOK, EXPE, MTB, CSC ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, NOK, EXPE, MTB, CSC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Argus upgraded CBRL Group (NASDAQ: CBRL) to Buy from Hold as it believes increased efficiency at Cracker Barrel will help to boost restaurant traffic and same-store sales. The firm has a $33 target on shares.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company's blood-thinning drug Effient is on track for a Q2 U.S. launch. The firm raised its price target on shares to $41 from $36.
  
• Needham upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Buy from Hold after recent channel checks suggested Intel's PC OEM orders are tracking better than expected. The firm expects Intel to keep prices and product mix stable, enabling margins to recover in Q2. Needham has an $18 target on INTC shares.
• SEI Investments (NASDAQ: SEIC) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
  
• Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) was raised at Jefferies to Buy from Hold.
  
• Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO) was lifted to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CBRL, INTC, LLY, RDS.A, NTDOY ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CBRL, INTC, LLY, RDS.A, NTDOY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Friedman Billings believes Spirit Aerosystems (NYSE: SPR) is well-positioned on key aircraft platforms and has significant revenue visibility. The firm started shares with an Outperform rating and $33 target.
  
• Baird is positive on Genpact's (NYSE: G) recurring, non-discretionary revenue, strong growth in Global Client revenue, market leading position; shares were assumed with an Outperform rating and $16 target.
  
• SEI Investments (NASDAQ: SEIC) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and $27 target at Keefe Bruyette, as they are cautious in the near-term due to industry headwinds.

• Merrill Lynch initiated Sirius Satellite (NASDAQ: SIRI) with a Sell rating.
  
• Lehman started Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) with an Overweight rating and $52 target.
  
• Oppenheimer initiated Cavium Networks (NASDAQ: CAVM) with a Perform rating.

Analyst initiations: SPR, G and SEIC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In August I posted on the danger that subprime mortgages pose to people who invest in money market funds. Today, the New York Times reports that several such funds have invested in commercial paper (CP) issued by Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs) backed by subprime mortgage-backed securities (MBSs). I think all money market funds should start a public information campaign to let people know if they have the SIV virus and if so, what they're doing to protect their customers from it.

Earlier, I posted on all the new vocabulary words I've learned in the last year thanks to the subprime mortgage meltdown. This $1.3 trillion market consists of mortgages to people who can't afford to repay in many cases. Forty seven percent of the loans were made without documentation of the borrower's income -- these are known as liar loans. The subprime mortgages were packaged as MBSs and among the buyers were SIVs -- off-balance sheet entities that use a bank's good credit rating to issue CP to invest in MBSs.

Thanks to the subprime mortgage meltdown, the CP is not worth as much as before so the money market funds that bought it are now forced to break the $1 per share constant value or put money into the fund to make up for the lost value. So far, analysts say that most SIV securities are trading at 97 to 98 cents on the dollar. But if more SIVs are forced to unwind, the resulting fire sale would put pressure on prices.

Continue reading Thought your money market fund was safe? Think again

Thought your money market fund was safe? Think again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Buy at Broadpoint on valuation, as they believe all concerns are overdone.
  
• Think Equities upgraded Under Armour (NYSE: UA) to Buy from Accumulate on valuation.
  
• Wachovia upgraded CME Group (NYSE: CME) to Overweight from Market weight, as they expect fed income volumes to benefit from a more active Federal Reserve.
  
• Goldman added Air France (NYSE: AKH) to its Pan-European Conviction Buy List citing valuation following the recent sell-off.
  
• Citigroup upgraded shares of Kilroy Realty (NYSE: KRC) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe concerns are overblown and the company's underleveraged balance sheet can drive growth.

• UBS raised SXC Health Solutions (NASDAQ: SXCI) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Think Equities upgraded Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) to Accumulate from Source of Funds.
  
• DA Davidson & Co upgraded Texas Industries (NYSE: TXI) to Buy from Hold.
  
• Lehman upgraded Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
  
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded SEI Investments (NASDAQ: SEIC) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades: NTRI, UA, CME, AKH and KRC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.