Analyst Upgrades

• Deere (DE) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• American Eagle (AEO) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• FedEx (FDX) and Shaw (SJR) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Superior Energy (SPN) and Rowan Cos. (RDC) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Tesoro (TSO) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Mechel (MTL) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• SunPower (SPWRA), LDK Solar (LDK) and First Solar (FSLR) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AEO, AMP, DE, EBAY, FDX, FRO, FSLR, HBC, SPWR, TSO ...

Analyst Calls: AEO, AMP, DE, EBAY, FDX, FRO, FSLR, HBC, SPWR, TSO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"An Obama administration is likely to be very aggressive in subsidizing and promoting alternatives, including a windfall tax on oil firms to support development of alternative energy; SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) is our pick to play an Obama victory," says Elliott Gue in The Energy Strategist.

"Obama's energy plan calls for generating 10% of electricity from renewable sources by 2012 and 25% by 2025, an aggressive goal when you consider that less than 3% of America's power comes from non-hydropower renewables today.

"Obama has also proposed a windfall tax on oil companies that would be used to support the development of alternatives like solar and wind power.

"SunPower manufactures and sells photovoltaic (PV) solar panels for the residential, commercial and utility-scale markets.

"Residential and commercial solar systems are solar panels installed on the roofs of homes and businesses, designed to supplement power supply from the electric grid.

"And SunPower recently won a contract with Florida-based utility FPL to build the largest photovoltaic plant in North America, a 25 megawatt utility-scale plant in DeSoto County, Florida.

Continue reading Obama stock: SunPower (SPWR) set to shine

Obama stock: SunPower (SPWR) set to shine originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

"Through the campaign season, Barack Obama has spoken at length about the need to boost spending on alternative energy; if he was elected, that should be good news for solar power company SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR)," says Roger Conrad, editor of The Utility Forecaster.

"Obama has discussed both the need to increase U.S. energy independence and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming.

"The real promise for Sunpower, a leading manufacturer of solar panels, is in constructing utility-scale plants. The first of these is a 280-megawatt unit to provide power for Pacific G&E. Utilities in more than two dozen states, including California, are moving to meet mandates to get up to 20% of power sold from renewable sources.

"That's likely to become a national mandate under an Obama administration. Unlike homeowners and small businesses -- the primary customers for solar panels -- utilities are basically recession-resistant customers capable of dishing out huge contracts.

"Sunpower's move in that direction takes it to a whole new level of sustainability and growth. The shares are down on the financial crisis, as bankrupt Lehman is holding shares that could dilute the stock by around 3%. That gives aggressive investors a new opportunity to buy up to 80."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Obama stock: SunPower (SPWR) should shine originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked financial experts to name their top stock pick if McCain or if Obama wins the election.

Which stocks would benefit from a victory by either Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama? To help investors sort through the sectors and stocks best positioned to benefit in a post-election environment, we posed this question to some of the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Importantly, this is not a partisan report; each participating advisor has provided a favorite stock for both candidates, focused not on political preferences but unbiased stock analysis. Below we feature those stocks and ETFs that the advisors believe will be the winners depending on which candidate prevails.

McCain Stocks:

Roger Conrad - Comcast (NYSE: CCW)
Gregg Early - Elbit Systems (NASDAQ: ESLT)
Elliott Gue - Paladin Resources (Toronto: PDN)
Doug Fabian - Market Vectors Nuclear Energy (NYSE: NLR)
Vivian Lewis - Barclays (NYSE: BCS)
Bill Martin - CGG Veritas (NYSE: CGV)'
Yiannis Mostrous - Lonking Holdings (OTC: CIMHF)
Carla Pasternak - Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (NYSE: EVT)
Nate Pile - SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD)
John Reese - General Dynamics (NYSE: GD)
Nathan Slaughter - USEC (NYSE: USU)
Paul Tracy - Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR)
Kelley Wright - CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL)
Tom Vass - Molex (NASDAQ: MOLX)
Martin Hutchinson - Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG)

Obama Stocks:

Roger Conrad - SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR)
Gregg Early - AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV)
Elliott Gue - SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR)
Doug Fabian - Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLI)
Vivian Lewis - Cosan (NYSE: CZZ)
Bill Martin - Geron (NASDAQ: GERN)
Yiannis Mostrous - Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY)
Carla Pasternak - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP)
Nate Pile - Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
John Reese - American Eagle (NYSE: AEO)
Nathan Slaughter - Fluor (NYSE: FLR)
Paul Tracy - Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy (NYSE: GEX)
Kelley Wright - Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH)
Tom Vass - Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR)
Martin Hutchinson - Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR)

Election bets: Advisors vote on McCain and Obama stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• DJIA 11,659.90 +43.97 (0.38%)
  
• S&P500 1,298.19 +5.26 (0.41%)
• NASDAQ 2,452.52 -1.15 (-0.05%)
• 10YR T-Note 3.852% (-0.04%)
• 52-WEEK LOWS
• Top Analyst Upgrades
• Top Analyst Downgrades

Continue reading Closing Bell: Dow and S&P up slightly. Mixed day, yet felt like a win

Closing Bell: Dow and S&P up slightly. Mixed day, yet felt like a win originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SunPower (SPWR) shoots higher on PG&E deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

UBS downgraded SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) to Neutral from Buy, according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Citigroup upgraded Qwest (NYSE:Q) to Buy from Hold and Morgan Keegan upgraded Ciena (NASDAQ:CIEN) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) was raised to Neutral at HSBC, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial site also reports that American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) was cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Early analyst calls (Q) (CIEN) (LLY) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Minyanville's Sean Udall dares to share the kind of keen insight and actionable information you won't find in any prospectus. Here he answers a reader's burning question about "green" stocks. For more original thought, visit www.minyanville.com.

Professor Udall,

Do you have any opinions on Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT)? My wife wants me to buy everything "green". Her last "green" company idea was General Electric (NYSE: GE). I know, right? I bought a little just to quiet the noise level. I'm into a little SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) and Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR). Does Zoltek have legs?

Thanks,

Minyan L.

Minyan L.,

First, that's hysterical. Second, a word of caution: Going all green, or all of any one thing, is something I'd never advocate. If you do, you do so at your own risk, as nothing in the market is ever as obvious as it seems, especially when it seems totally obvious.

Continue reading Mailbag: Using Green for Green Stocks

Mailbag: Using Green for Green Stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tech Vibes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Oppenheimer believes H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) has shown several catalysts over the past few months, most importantly the sale of its mortgage business. The firm, which upgraded shares to Outperform from Perform, believes the company's strong 2008 tax season will lead to future growth, and they think the stock can appreciate 20%+, as catalysts are not yet fully reflected in the stock.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company has several sources of cash to avoid a liquidity crisis, charge card EPS contribution provides good visibility, improved merchandise margins, and better merchandising.
  
• Credit Suisse raised SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) to Outperform from Neutral citing strength in Italy and other geographies.

• Agco (NYSE: AG) was raised at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• UBS upgraded Metso Oyg (OTC: MXCYY) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• JMP Securities upgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Market Perform from Underperform.
  
• Stifel upgraded eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) to Buy from Hold.

Analyst upgrades: HRB, TLB, SPWR, AG, EBAY, SNDK originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup downgraded shares of Shanda Interactive (NASDAQ:SNDA) to Hold from Buy following the company's lower-than-expected guidance as they see a lack of positive catalysts.
  
• Merrill downgraded Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ:ESLR) and SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) to Sell from Neutral citing a potential reduction in German tariffs.
  
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Marriott (NYSE:MAR) to Equal Weight from Overweight citing economic pressures on business travel.

• Vivus (NASDAQ:VVUS) was downgraded at Wachovia to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• UBS lowered Juniper(NASDAQ:JNPR) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Cemex (NYSE:CX) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

Analyst downgrades: SNDA, ESLR, SPWR and MAR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 May 2008 11:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR), a manufacturer of solar systems, is recently down $3.30 to $79.70 in pre-open trading.

Calyon says: "The German solar feed-in tariff (FIT) is under fire, as lawmakers are considering an accelerated digression that would reduce rates 25% by 2010 versus 15% under current law."

SPWR over all option implied volatility of 60 is below its 26-week average of 70 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing risk. SPWR puts are priced higher than calls because SPWR is difficult to borrow.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update: SunPower volatility low; Germany considers tariff reductions originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 May 2008 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Oil's not the widespread tax it used to be

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Oil's not the widespread tax it used to be originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 May 2008 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Citigroup believes SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) is faced with high cell production costs, its silicon cost and installation cost advantages are increasingly commoditized and finds the risk/reward even at current levels. Shares were initiated with a Hold rating and $105 target.
  
• Citigroup believes Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR) faces significant financing requirements over the next few years, making it difficult to see a sustained period of EPS growth beyond the $1 range. The firm sees downside to $5/share. Shares were assumed with a Sell rating and $8 target.
  
• UBS started Abbott Lab (NYSE: ABT) with a Buy rating and $61 target. The firm is positive on Humira potential growth and expects Xience to drive vascular operating margins to positive.

• Lazard initiated Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) and Rubicon Tech (NASDAQ: RBCN) with Hold ratings.
  
• BMO Capital started Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) with an Outperform rating and $70 target.

Analyst initiations: SPWR, ESLR and ABT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 May 2008 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cypress Semi (CY) lower on Sunpower downgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading What 'American Idol' can teach you about solar stocks

What 'American Idol' can teach you about solar stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Stocks to own in the era of a no-grow Fed

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Stocks to own in the era of a no-grow Fed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Why Jamie Lynne Spears' pregnancy matters to investors

Why Jamie Lynne Spears' pregnancy matters to investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading LDK Solar has further upside potential

LDK Solar has further upside potential originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week we spoke about data storage giant EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) being way undervalued, based on its core business plus its holding in VMWare (NYSE:VMW). Today, I'd like to focus on another stock that appears to be trading at a big discount to actual value.

Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE:CY), a chip company, trades with a market cap of about $6.3 billion, and has shown decent revenue growth. It holds a 53% share in Sunpower Corp. (NASDAQ:SPWR), which makes solar panels and cells. Sunpower has been flying ever since its IPO, and currently trades at a market cap of $13.2 billion. This makes Cypress's share in Sunpower around $6.9 billion. I am aware that in situations like this the parent company will rarely trade based on the full value of its holdings, but this is a bit silly. It's not like Cypress's core business stinks.

"Assuming we do not encounter any major macroeconomic disruptions, we are well-positioned to sustain substantial revenue gains into 2008," Cypress CEO T. J. Rodgers said. This doesn't sound like a business that is being valued at negative $600 million (approx.).

Yesterday, Credit Suisse analyst John Pitzer noted that Cypress alone is worth somewhere around $2 billion. In a perfect world that should give Cypress a market cap near $9 billion. Again, I understand that we don't live in a perfect world, but at a 40% discount, Cypress looks like a nice, cheap play.

Disclosure: Writer holds stock in EMC. Writer has clients who own CY, but does not own it personally. He holds no position in any other stock mentioned as of 11/8/07.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com.

Cypress Semiconductor: Ridiculously undervalued originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.