MOST NOTEWORTHY: Goldman Sachs, Alexza Pharma and SAP AG were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Wachovia upgraded Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) to Outperform from Market Perform, as they believe Goldman has a superior capital position relative to competitors and will likely benefit more than any firm from Bear Stearns' (NYSE: BSC) collapse. They have a $180-$185 target range for the stock.
Following Alexza Pharma's (NASDAQ: ALXA) Q4 report, JMP Securities said they have reduced concerns regarding Loxapine timelines and risks. The firm raised Alexza to Outperform from Market Perform.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein on valuation and a positive view on fundamentals.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
Citigroup upgraded Teekay Shipping (NYSE: TK) and General Maritime (GMR) to Buy from Hold.
RiskMetrics (NYSE: RMG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Fluor, Forward Air and McDermott were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Citigroup upgraded shares of Fluor (NYSE: FLR) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's strong performance and backlog in Q4 and raised their target to $190.50 from $158.
Baird upgraded Forward Air (NASDAQ: FWRD) to Outperform from Neutral citing near-term growth initiatives that are gaining traction.
Citigroup also upgraded shares of McDermott (NYSE: MDR) to Buy from Hold to reflect the company's strong Q4 performance and rising commodity prices.
Verizon reported fourth-quarter earnings that were in line with expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. The company earned $1.07 billion, or 37 cents per share, in the period ending in December, compared to $1.03 billion, or 35 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding charges for severance costs related to layoffs and a loss on the sale of Verizon's operations in the Dominican Republic, the latest earnings were 62 cents per share.
Revenue for the fourth quarter was $23.8 billion, up 5.5% from $22.6 billion a year ago. The average analyst forecast had been $23.96 billion. For all of 2007, Verizon earned $5.5 billion, or $1.90 a share, on $93.5 billion in revenue, compared to a profit of $6.2 billion, or $2.12 a share, on $88.2 billion in revenue the year before.
Shares were up almost 1% on Monday, to close at $38.11. Shares were at 52-week low of $35.40 last week.
Proxy Governance Inc. has recommended that shareholders withhold their support for the board of directors at Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), in light of excessive executive compensation in the face of operational underperformance.
Tyson has underperformed its peer group over the past few years, and Proxy argues that the company's management has not done enough to respond to industry challenges including increased feed costs and export restrictions on beef.
In 2007, Tyson stock declined in value while Richard Bond was paid $24.6 million. Tyson says that "it's apparent they haven't done all their homework." But I think that a CEO getting paid $24.6 million while presiding over the destruction of shareholder value is indicative of a compensation committee that hasn't done its homework: Proxy estimated that Tyson chief executives have been paid 82% more than CEOs at other companies in the peer group.
Executive pay is, as a whole, so out of touch with reality that any company that is overpaying so egregiously that it gets the attention of a proxy advisory firm really doesn't have a leg to stand on. Hopefully Tyson shareholder will send a message to the board.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Tyson Foods, Unilever, Brooks Automation, Akzo Nobel and Yahoo! were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the potential for protein complex improvement.
Goldman upgraded shares of Unilever (NYSE: UN) to Neutral from Sell to reflect the company's diversified product range and growing exposure to developing and emerging markets.
Bear Stearns raised its rating on Brooks Automation (NASDAQ: BRKS) to Outperform from Peer Perform. The firm cited the company's compelling valuation and growth drivers.
Akzo Nobel (OTC: AKZOY) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at SNS Securities, as they see absolute total return greater than 20%.
CIBC upgraded Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer on valuation following the recent pullback and their analysis of Yahoo's non-operating assets. They believe Yahoo's stake in Alibaba Group is now worth about $4/share and raised their target to $31 from $28.
OTHER UPGRADES:
First Analysis upgraded Spss Inc (NASDAQ: SPSS) to Overweight from Equal Weight.
UBS upgraded Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) to Buy from Neutral.
Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) to report Q4 earnings. They are holding a conference call at 9am and a business update later at 10:45am.
Tuesday, November 13
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to report Q3 earnings; pre-recorded conference call at 7am.
Home Depot (NYSE: HD) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 9am.
Fed Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner is the Keynote Speaker at Standard & Poor's Banking Conference in New York at 1pm.
Wednesday, November 14
Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is the Keynote Speaker at Cato Institute Annual Monetary Conference at 9:10am.
Macy's (NYSE: M) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10:30am.
Thursday, November 15
Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) to hold business update conference call at 10:30am.
Nevada District Court: Bayer (NYSE: BAY) vs. Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) on Patent Infringement Lawsuit over the generic birth control drug YAZ.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Total SA, HLTH Corp, Aflac First Solar and Town Sports were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Citigroup upgraded Total SA (NYSE: TOT) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q3 results. JP Morgan upgraded shares to Overweight from Neutral, as they believe the company's Q3 results underlined the strength of exploration and production growth prospects versus peers.
Friedman Billings raised its rating on HLTH Corporation (NASDAQ: HLTH) to Outperform from Market Perform following the company's proposal to merge into WebMD Health Corp (NASDAQ: WBMD) for a combination of cash and stock.
The firm also added shares of Aflac (NYSE: AFL) to its Top Picks List, as they believe Aflac is the only high quality, defensive growth story in the Life Insurance sector.
CIBC upgraded shares of First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer following the Q3 upside and set a $230 target on the stock.
Banc of America upgraded shares of Town Sports (NASDAQ: CLUB) to Neutral from Sell on valuation as they believe the downside risk is now priced into the stock.
OTHER UPGRADES:
Credit Suisse upgraded Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) to Neutral from Underperform.
With its recent acquisition of GoldKist, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC) is now the largest chicken company in the United States. This acquisition was part of a larger consolidation of the chicken industry, a development that has given large companies like PPC and its rival Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) a great deal of pricing power, especially with the industry-wide production cuts that have limited supply and helped sustain higher prices.
This pricing power has been especially important with the rising price of corn, which has increased feed costs to a substantial degree. Fortunately for PPC, it's been able to offset these costs with higher prices, and its most recent quarterly report announced net income of $62 million, compared with a $20 million loss in the same quarter of 2006. For the nine months of fiscal year 2007, PPC's revenues are up nearly 65%.
It's no surprise, then, that PPC's stock price has benefited, and it is now trading near its 52-week high. It's not clear whether its margins will be sustainable, given the potential for corn prices to keep rising and the cyclical nature of poultry prices. But a recent report from Bank of Montreal's food analyst argued that corn prices have been self-correcting (they were down 25% over the summer), and it also pointed to the rise of Blue Ear disease in China, which could mean a rise in demand for protein-rich food like chicken; meanwhile the consolidation and production cuts should stabilize price volatility for the foreseeable future. At the right price, this one could well be a nice meal for your portfolio.
Type of Stock: The largest chicken company in America, with a newfound return to profitability.
Price Target: The Bank of Montreal report predicted a 12-month price target of $47. With the stock near $40, that would be a nice gain of more than 10%. But this stock tends to go up and down a bit, and you might be able to make your purchase closer to $35.
Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: Countrywide Financial (CFC), Toll Brothers (TOL), United Parcel Service (UPS) and OSI Pharma (OSIP) were today's noteworthy upgrades:
Both Friedman Billings and Wachovia upgraded Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) to Market Perform from Underperform following the $2 billion investment by the Bank of America (BAC).
JMP Securities upgraded Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) to Market Perform from Underperform and believes the worst news on housing is reflected and that fears over a disappearing jumbo loan market are overblown.
Matrix upgraded United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) to Buy from Hold to reflect strong demand from overseas shipping.
Wachovia raised OSI Pharma (NASDAQ: OSIP) to Market Perform from Underperform on valuation...
OTHER UPGRADES:
UBS raised Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG) to Buy from Neutral.
China Netcom (NYSE: CN) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
Roth Capital upgraded IMAX Corp (NASDAQ: IMAX) to Buy from Hold.
WedBush raised InfoSpace (NASDAQ: INSP) to Buy from Hold.
Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE: TSN) said last week that it would produce all of its retail chickens without antibiotics, and that could be good for profitability, reported the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column.
A rebel Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) shareholder will describe how the company's stake in U.S. mobile phone operator Verizon Wireless is a "cash drain" on Vodafone, reported the Financial Times (subscription required).
The replacement for NZ Telecom Corporation (NYSE: NZT) CEO Theresa Gattung, who is retiring after eight years on the job, is not yet known but expected to be announced before the end of the week, reported the New Zealand Herald.
In a perhaps somewhat misguided turn that could make carnivores out of the strictest vegetarians (I'm kidding, folks), animal-rights group PETA is considering signing the polarizing Paris Hilton as its latest spokeswoman.
Playing on the fact that the Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) heiress and party girl is currently spending time behind bars, PETA officials hope Ms. Hilton grows to empathize with chickens and other animals who live out their days in cramped, confined spaces.
A PETA spokesperson told MSNBC's gossip columnist that "We're asking Paris to narrate our Kentucky Fried Cruelty video showing how chickens are routinely crammed into tiny cages and suffer broken wings and legs ... unlike inmates at the jail in L.A., these animals get no reprieve or medical treatment."
The group even has the tag line sewn up "KFC - that's not hot." My opinion? That's not creative, and the Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) chain should have nothing to worry about. While the ethical treatment of animals is an important issue, perhaps a more sympathetic, thoughtful spokesperson would better convey the severity of the problem. KFC officials say their chicken is purchased from suppliers such as Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) and Perdue Farms, which are all routinely monitored for animal welfare violations.
While Paris has yet to respond, PETA is encouraged by the precedent of Martha Stewart narrating an anti-fur video after her incarceration.
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MOST NOTEWORTHY: Goldman Sachs, Alexza Pharma and SAP AG were today's noteworthy upgrades:
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With its recent acquisition of GoldKist, 
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In a perhaps somewhat misguided turn that could make carnivores out of the strictest vegetarians (I'm kidding, folks), animal-rights group PETA is 
Just how high will U.S. gasoline prices rise?
Nordstrom and Kohl's post smaller-than-expected Q1 profit declines
Oil hits record $127.43 on supply concerns, raised Goldman forecast
