Analyst Upgrades

• State Street (STT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Roth Capital upgraded Intel (INTC), Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Nvidia (NVDA) to buy from neutral.
• Bebe Stores (BEBE) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery.
• W&T Offshore (WTI) was upgraded to buy from accumulate at Global Hunter.
• Citigroup upgraded International Rectifier (IRF) and Timberland (TBL) to hold from sell.
• Watson Pharma (WPI) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Atmel (ATML) was upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Ashford Hospitality (AHT) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Oppenheimer upgraded MetroPCS (PCS) to outperform from perform.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: GDP, INTC, LVS, MON, MRVL, NTRS, NVDA, STT, WYNN ...

Analyst Calls: GDP, INTC, LVS, MON, MRVL, NTRS, NVDA, STT, WYNN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Susquehanna upgraded Yahoo! (YHOO) to positive from neutral. The firm, which has a $19 price target on the stock, cites the steep decline in shares for the upgrade.
• UBS upgraded Time Warner Cable (TWC) to buy from neutral. The firm believes fears regarding FCC reclassification of broadband are "overblown" and that industry fundamentals are bullish. The firm has a $57 target on the stock.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Stifel Financial (SF) to outperform from market perform on valuation following the recent pullback in shares. The firm has a $64 price target for the stock.
• Boeing (BA) was upgraded to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• RBC Capital upgraded Southern Union (SUG) to sector perform from underperform.
• Rubicon Technology (RBCN) was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, GR, MCO, RAX, SF, SSNC, SXE, TWC, WAG, YHOO ...

Analyst Calls: BA, GR, MCO, RAX, SF, SSNC, SXE, TWC, WAG, YHOO ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 May 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The editor of The Moneypaper explains, "The pair developed a Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) model to determine if a company was worth its market price. Their formula subtracts all liabilities, including short-term debt and preferred stock, from a company's current asset balance"

Continue reading A Value Shopper's List of Graham and Dodd Stocks

A Value Shopper's List of Graham and Dodd Stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"Our favorite conservative pick for 2008 is natural gas transmission, storage, and distribution company Southern Union (NYSE: SUG)," says Bill Martin, editor of BullMarket.com.

"Over the last few years, Southern Union has transformed itself from a staid utility company to a faster-growing pipeline and LNG-centric company. The company recently announced plans to create its own master limited partnership (MLP) into which it will transfer a portion of its gathering and processing assets.

"Southern Union's stock has been under some pressure recently, as investors were disappointed that the company didn't sell its pipeline assets to another MLP after being offered a substantial premium to its purchasing price a few years ago. However, management believes these assets can create greater shareholder value over time as a standalone MLP, and we agree.

"We expect several catalysts to kick-in for Southern Union in 2008. Under the favorable tax structure of an MLP, the market should value Southern Union's pipeline assets at a much higher multiple than they are currently priced at.

Continue reading Best Stocks for 2008: Natural gas gains with Southern Union (SUG)

Best Stocks for 2008: Natural gas gains with Southern Union (SUG) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• UBS upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) to Buy from Neutral as they expect the company to benefit from increased capital spending by Rexchip, the joint venture of Elpida and Powerchip. After speaking to contacts, UBS believes shipments to Rexchip will total around $640M in 2007.

• Southern Union (NYSE: SUG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

• Credit Suisse upgraded shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Outperform from Neutral on improved earnings visibility and the potential for incremental cost savings.

• SMH Capital upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR) to Buy from Neutral after the conference call indicated the run rate for digital deployment is increasing, while capex per board is declining. The firm thinks the Street may be overlooking the potential for significant earnings acceleration into 2008.

• Nollenberger upgraded shares of Trump Entertainment Resorts (NASDAQ: TRMP) to Neutral from Sell based on valuation and believes fair value is $14/share...

• SunTrust upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) to Buy from Neutral.

• Raymond James raised Steak n Shake (NYSE: SNS) to Market Perform from Underperform.

• Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) upgraded shares to Buy from Hold.

• Buckingham upgraded Blackrock Inc (NYSE: BLK) to Strong Buy from Neutral.

• RBC Capital upgraded US Auto Parts Network (NASDAQ: PRTS) to Outperform from Sector Perform.

• HSBC raised Chartered Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CHRT) to Neutral from Underweight.

Analyst upgrades 5-11-07: AEO, ALU, AMAT and NVDA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 May 2007 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• B. Riley believes NDS Group (NASDAQ: NNDS) is in an attractive space with 42M digital TV subscribers, increasing competition between TV service providers and declining digital deployment costs, starting shares with a Buy rating and $66.50 target.
• KeyBanc McDonald initiated shares of Payless ShoeSource Inc (NYSE: PSS) with a Buy rating and $42 target.
• Calyon started Southern Union Co (NYSE: SUG) with a Buy rating and $38 target and sees positive catalysts over the next 12-18 months, including a potential takeover or monetization and the formal creation of an MLP.
• Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) was started with a Hold rating at Needham. The firm finds it unlikely that shares will outperform until new management sets forth their new plan, which is expected to take 3-6 months.

• Credit Suisse imitated Akamai Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: AKAM) with an Outperform rating and $65 target.
• American Technology believes Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc's (NASDAQ: CADX) two late-stage products fill an important, unmet medical need and started the company with a Buy rating and $24 target.
• UBS started shares of NuStar GP Holdings, LLC (NYSE: NSH) with a Neutral rating and $30 target.
• TeleTech Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: TTEC) was initiated with a Buy rating at Merrill Lynch.

Analyst initiations 4-09-07: Akamai Tech & Take-Two Interactive initiated today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Apr 2007 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Adobe Systems Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $47 target at Credit Suisse. The firm said Adobe is one of the best-positioned large-cap software companies given its leading position in digital media and growing presence in enterprise mobile and Web 2.0 markets.

• CA Inc (NYSE: CA) was initiated with a Hold rating and $27 target at Jefferies. While CA is being looked at by private-equity players, Jefferies believes shares are richly valued.

• DSW Inc (NYSE: DSW) was initiated with a Sell rating and $30 target at Wedbush, as they believe the consensus' 3-5 year annual EPS growth rate of 20% to be too high.

• Credit Suisse started Southern Union Co (NYSE: SUG) with an Outperform rating and $33 target.

• Needham assumed coverage of Ikanos Communications Inc (NASDAQ: IKAN) with a Hold rating, as the firm believes a rebound of VDSL spending is unlikely until the second-half of 2007.

• Morgan Joseph is positive on Denny's Corp (NASDAQ: DENN) improving operations and started the food retailer with a Buy rating and $7 target.

• Jefferies started HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY) with a Buy rating and $25 target. The firm believes HMS Holdings is positioned to serve the needs of government healthcare programs.

• Credit Suisse initiated WebEx Communications Inc (NASDAQ: WEBX) with a Neutral rating at $50 target based on valuation.

Analyst initiations 2-06-07: Adobe started with an Outperform at Credit Suisse originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx Corp (FDX) top today's modest list of initiations.

• United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) was initiated with a Buy rating and $85 target at Citigroup. The firm said more upside is seen given the expectation for double-digit EPS growth over the next few years.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) was initiated with a Buy rating and $132 target at Citigroup. The firm said FedEx has a favorable risk/reward given the expectation for 13% EPS growth over the next few years.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Level 3 Communication (NASDAQ:LVLT) was initiated with a Market Perform rating and $5 target at Janco.
• Morgan Stanley initiated Southern Union (NYSE:SUG) with an Underweight rating.

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

Analyst initiations 11-13-06: UPS and FedEx initiated with Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.