BloggingStocks

Analyst Calls: AZN, BYI, CCL, ENDP, JCG, MFE, MGM, PLCE, RRC, WYNN ...

Eric Buscemi — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST

Analyst Upgrades

Citigroup upgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to buy from hold and raised its price target for shares to $40 from $28 following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm believes the deal makes financial and strategic sense. Shares were also upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer with a $40 price target following the company's acquisition of Qualitest. The firm views the deal as potentially transformative for Endo.
Goldman upgraded Carnival (CCL) to buy from neutral, citing low supply growth and cost-cutting measures. The firm also raised its price target to $44 from $36.
Needham upgraded Jabil Circuit (JBL) to strong buy from buy with a $23 target.
Siliconware Precision (SPIL), United Microelectronic (UMC) and Advanced Semiconductor (ASX) were upgraded to buy from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
Check Point (CHKP) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
Raymond James (RJF) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ticonderoga.

Eric Buscemi — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST

Analyst Upgrades

FBR Capital upgraded Franklin Resources (BEN) to outperform from market perform and raised its target price for shares to $127 from $105 to reflect its belief the company is well positioned in the current environment.
UBS upgraded Nuance (NUAN) to buy from neutral and has an $18 price target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and believes the company could be an acquisition target.
Morgan Stanley upgraded DryShips (DRYS) to equal weight from underweight and has a $5.50 target on the stock. The firm cites the firmer ultra-deepwater drilling market for the upgrade.
Becton Dickinson (BDX) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
Edwards Lifesciences (EW) was upgraded to market perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
Arkansas Best (ABFS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Eric Buscemi — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:20:00 EST

Analyst upgrades:

Citigroup upgraded Emergency Medical Services (NYSE: EMS) to Hold from Sell as it believes earnings estimates and valuation multiples could expand should Congress extend insurance coverage to the currently uninsured. The firm raised its target on shares to $38 from $29.
JPMorgan upgraded Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) to Neutral from Underweight on expectations the company's fixed income business will drive earnings.
KeyBanc expects U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) to benefit from a global recovery in flat-rolled products and a potential stabilization in energy end markets. The firm upgraded shares to Buy from Hold.
Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Soleil.
Pinnacle Financial (NASDAQ: PNFP) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Stephens.
BP Plc (NYSE: BP) was raised to Buy from Hold at ING Group.

Eric Buscemi — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:12:00 EST

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Anadigics, American Axle and Caterpillar were today's noteworthy downgrades:

Stephens downgraded shares of Anadigics (NASDAQ: ANAD) following the company's Q2 results, as they believe shares could trade sideways until the macro environment improves. The firm lowered their target to $9 from $14. Jefferies downgraded shares to Hold from Buy to reflect the company's lower than expected outlook. The firm lowered their target to $9 from $15.
Deutsche Bank cut American Axle (NYSE: AXL) to Hold from Buy to reflect the risk associated with the company's exposure to General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler. The firm lowered their target price to $7.50 from $11.
JP Morgan downgraded Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) to Neutral from Overweight based on increasing macro headwinds and likely multiple pressure.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) was cut to Sell from Neutral at Piper.
United Microelectronic (NYSE: UMC) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.
Downey Financial (NYSE: DSL) and City National (NYSE: CYN) were lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette.

Analyst downgrades: ANAD, AXL and CAT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Eric Buscemi — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 11:30:00 EST

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Kelly Services, Iron Mountain, Covenant Transportation and the biotech sector were today's noteworthy upgrades:

Merrill Lynch upgraded Kelly Services Inc (NASDAQ: KELYA) to Neutral from Sell and Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) to Buy from Neutral after they adjusted estimates in the group to reflect risks of a recession in the U.S.
AG Edwards upgraded shares of Covenant Transportation Group (NASDAQ: CVTI) to Buy from Hold as they believe the stock is oversold after the company was able to renegotiate its debt covenants without significant cost increases.
Bernstein upgraded the biotech sector citing valuation and typical seasonality for the group. The firm reiterated shares of Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN), Genentech Inc (NYSE: DNA), Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ: GILD), Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) with Outperform ratings...

OTHER UPGRADES:

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Wedbush. The firm also upgraded shares of Kenexa Corporation (NASDAQ: KNXA) to Buy from Hold.
Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of United Microelectronics (NYSE: UMC) to Buy from Hold.
UBS upgraded shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.
Lehman Brothers upped regulated utilities to Neutral from Negative, and Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG) and Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE: WEC) to Overweight from Equal Weight.