Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded Western Digital (WDC) to overweight from equal weight.
• LDK Solar (LDK) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• Legg Mason (LM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Agilent (A) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Dean Foods (DF) to outperform from market perform and Developers Diversified (DDR) to market perform from underperform.
• Deutsche Bank also upgraded Developers Diversified, to buy from hold.
• Northrop Grumman (NOC) was upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman.
• MYR Group (MYRG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: A, CQB, DDR, DF, LDK, NOC, RIMM, S, STRA, TTM, WDC ...

Analyst Calls: A, CQB, DDR, DF, LDK, NOC, RIMM, S, STRA, TTM, WDC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 'Big Short' Eisman Guns for Education Stocks

'Big Short' Eisman Guns for Education Stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: When Every Bit of Data Rules (STRA, ADSK, SKS, INTC, ENER, LGF, REXX)

Closing Bell: When Every Bit of Data Rules (STRA, ADSK, SKS, INTC, ENER, LGF, REXX) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Options Update: General Mills Calls Active on Elevated Volatility originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Another Down To The Wire Day (PAR, DELL, DYN, STRA, APOL)

Closing Bell: Another Down To The Wire Day (PAR, DELL, DYN, STRA, APOL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• BMO Capital upgraded Concho (CXO) to outperform from market perform and has a $73 price target on the stock. The firm cites valuation and sustainable growth for the upgrade.
• Sterne Agee upgraded City Holding (CHCO) to buy from neutral based on valuation. The firm has a $34 target on the stock.
• UBS upgraded Werner Enterprises (WERN) to neutral from sell based on valuation. The firm raised its price target to $21.50 from $21.
• Nvidia (NVDA) was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Colfax (CFX) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Camden Property (CPT) was upgraded to top pick from outperform at RBC Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: CHCO, CXO, EAT, EDMC, GPC, NVDA, PJC, WERN ...

Analyst Calls: CHCO, CXO, EAT, EDMC, GPC, NVDA, PJC, WERN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Oppenheimer upgraded Williams-Sonoma (WSM) to outperform from perform. Opco believes the company's business model is being underappreciated by investors and upped its target price for shares to $40 from $26.
• BMO Capital upgraded Tractor Supply (TSCO) to market perform from underperform and set a $75 target. The firm upgraded the stock after the company's positive preannouncement.
• JCPenney (JCP) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• DISH Network (DISH) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• BJ's Wholesale (BJ) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Taseko Mines (TGB) was upgraded to buy from hold at TD Newcrest.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, BJ, CELG, DISH, JCP, MGM, TJX, TSCO, WSM ...

Analyst Calls: AA, BJ, CELG, DISH, JCP, MGM, TJX, TSCO, WSM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Macquarie upgraded Boeing (BA) to outperform from neutral based on increased delivery forecasts for next year. The firm has an $83 target on the stock.
• William Blair upgraded Polycom (PLCM) to outperform from market perform, citing strong industry demand and improving execution.
• Rodman & Renshaw upgraded Idera Pharmaceuticals (IDRA) to outperform from market perform to reflect the company's platform technologies and partnership potential.
• Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Jacobs Engineering (JEC) was raised to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Felcor Lodging (FCH) was upgraded at FBR Capital to outperform from market perform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, DLTR, DT, PLCM, SLB, STRA, UA, WFMI ...

Analyst Calls: BA, DLTR, DT, PLCM, SLB, STRA, UA, WFMI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The earnings crunch rolls on this coming week, with quarterly reports expected from Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Kellogg (NYSE: K), MasterCard (NYSE: MA), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), Travelers (NYSE: TRV), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), U.S. Steel (NYSE: X), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), and many others.

Below are some reporting companies for which analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have high hopes. What does that mean? Well, all of them are expected to report double-digit earnings grown in the most recent quarter. They have tended to offer positive surprises in recent quarters. They have long-term EPS growth forecasts of greater than 10%, and they have earnings multiples that are higher than their industry or sector averages, or higher than at least one top competitor. And they all have First Call consensus recommendations to buy.

Continue reading The week in preview: Some expected earnings winners

The week in preview: Some expected earnings winners originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) to Outperform from Perform on expectations that upcoming regulatory events, mainly approvals of Mozobil and 2,000L Myozyme, will serve as positive catalysts.
  
• Ladenburg analyst Dick Bove raised Bank of New York (NYSE: BK) to Buy from Neutral as he now believes the Russian lawsuit is turning in the bank's favor and is no longer a significant risk.
  
• Societe Generale upgraded UBS (NYSE: UBS) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's deal with the Swiss government.
  
• Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ :BBBY) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
  
• RC2 Corp (NASDAQ: RCRC) was lifted at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform.
  
• Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.

Analyst downgrades:

Continue reading Analyst calls: GENZ, UBS, RIMM, BBBY, WYNN, RTP . . .

Analyst calls: GENZ, UBS, RIMM, BBBY, WYNN, RTP . . . originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Baird believes Heelys (NYSE: HLYS) is poised to report strong results through FY07, which is not reflected in current valuation, and started shares with an Outperform rating and $47 target.

• JMP Securities believes a growing number of consumers will opt to acquire books and physical CD audio books digitally over the internet and started shares of Audible (NASDAQ: ADBL) with an Outperform rating and $12.50 target.

• Caris believes Response Genetics' (NASDAQ: RGDX) diagnostics opportunity may represent a significant long-term growth driver and initiated shares with a Buy rating and $7.50 target...

• JP Morgan initiated DeVry (NYSE: DV), Corinthian Colleges (NASDAQ: COCO) and Strayer Education (NASDAQ: STRA) with Overweight ratings, ITT Educational Service (NYSE: ESI), Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) and Career Education (NASDAQ: CECO) with Neutral ratings and Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI) with an Underweight rating.

Analyst initiations 7-16-07: CECO, COCO, HLYS and UTI originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• William Blair assumed coverage of Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ: APOL) and Strayer Education Inc (NASDAQ: STRA) with Outperform ratings and Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CECO) with a Market Perform rating. The broker also assumed coverage and downgraded DeVry Inc (NYSE: DV) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA) with a Buy rating and $88 target, GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (NYSE: GOL) and TAM SA (NYSE: TAM) with Neutral ratings and Lan Airlines SA (NYSE: LFL) with a Sell rating and $93 target; Lan Airlines was also initiated at Morgan Stanley with an Overweight rating and $105 target.
  
• Asta Funding was initiated at Kaufman Brothers with a Buy rating and $55 target. The firm believes the company should grow earnings at a midpoint of 20% over time, with near-term growth at 15% and longer-term growth at 20%-25%.
  
• Citigroup initiated shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill with a Buy rating and $100 target, as the firm expects the company will see unit growth at a rate in the high-teens while experiencing above-average SSS and some margin expansion.

• BMO Capital initiated shares of CDC Corp (NASDAQ: CHINA) with a Market Perform rating and $11 target.
  
• Jazz Technologies Inc (NYSE: JAZ) was initiated with a Buy rating and $5 target at Wedbush Morgan Securities.
  
• Calyon Securities initiated shares of Pinnacle Entertainment Inc (NYSE: PNK) with an Add rating and $32 target.
• Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX) was initiated with a Buy rating at Pacific Growth Equities.

Analyst initiations 6-29-07: ASFI and CMG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.