Continue reading Long-Term Puts are Popular on Chesapeake Energy

Long-Term Puts are Popular on Chesapeake Energy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Late Monday, Amgen (AMGN) unveiled positive results for its bone drug, denosumab. A clinical study of 1,432 men with hormone refractory prostate cancer revealed that denosumab, which is also known as Xgeva, improved bone metastasis-free survival by 4.2 months. However, the overall survival rate was comparable to a placebo group.

Denosumab is already used to treat osteoporosis under the brand name Prolia, and has been approved under the brand name Xgeva for the prevention of skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors. The drug has not yet been approved for the prevention of SREs in multiple myeloma patients.

Continue reading Amgen Boosted by Upbeat Drug Data

Amgen Boosted by Upbeat Drug Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Consumer-goods behemoth Unilever (UN) was among the stocks making headway Tuesday morning. The British firm received an upgrade to overweight from underweight by brokerage firm Morgan Stanley, which stated, "We double upgrade Unilever to overweight, as we see the risk/reward profile for the shares as more attractive now than at any point in the past three years."

I am not going to agree or disagree with the decision for the upgrade right now; I want to take a look at the equity's chances to further this rally (at more than 3% as of this writing). There is evidence for both the continuation and the stall of the rally

Continue reading Unilever Receives a Double Upgrade

Unilever Receives a Double Upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Salesforce.com Hits a New High After Earnings

Salesforce.com Hits a New High After Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ford (F) was more than 2% higher Thursday morning thanks to an upgrade from Barclay's Capital. The brokerage house upped the automaker to overweight from equal weight and elevated Ford's price target to $16 from $15.

Barclay's feels that investors "appear to be ignoring the fundamental increase in Ford's earnings power even in a slower growth environment." The brokerage continued to say that favorable products on top of a stripped-down cost base, even assuming no further gains in the firm's U.S. market share, could lead to U.S. SAAR growth expectations by 1.5 million. This fact leads Barclay's to maintain their Ford earnings estimates materially, with a new earnings estimate of $2.00, which remains atop the consensus estimate of $1.84.

Continue reading Ford Upgraded by Barclay's Capital

Ford Upgraded by Barclay's Capital originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) Monday morning was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital. The brokerage house cited valuation as the reason for the upgrade, stating that the shares are "attractively priced at three times next year's expected discretionary cash flow compared to a median multiple of around five times at the group's larger peers," according to MarketWatch.

BMO also feels CHK's use of joint ventures to raise cash and finance capital expenditure could lead to higher cash flow yields and returns on capital, MarketWatch reported. Along with the upgrade, the ratings house assigned a price target of $30 per share for CHK.

Continue reading BMO Capital Upgrades Chesapeake Energy

BMO Capital Upgrades Chesapeake Energy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Technology firm SanDisk (SNDK) is enjoying a nice morning thanks to favorable coverage from brokerage firm UBS.

The brokerage house upgraded SanDisk to buy from neutral and assigned a new target price of $55 per share, an elevation from $46 per share. UBS's analyst believes that strong second-half demand will outweigh any risks the stock may hold. The analyst predicts "better than expected ASP trends" continuing in the second half, combining with tight market supply to boost the shares.

Continue reading SanDisk Benefits from UBS Upgrade

SanDisk Benefits from UBS Upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Put Volume Spikes on Arena Pharmaceuticals

Put Volume Spikes on Arena Pharmaceuticals originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Analysts Upgrade BP to Buy?

Analysts Upgrade BP to Buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wednesday morning, brokerage house UBS (UBS) upgraded fellow broker JPMorgan Chase (JPM) to buy from neutral. UBS believes that JPMorgan is currently at an attractive entry point that reflects its earnings and risk while overlooking potential offsets and better footing.

UBS added that it sees "current universal bank valuations as an opportunity to get into top quality names, and JPM is as good as it gets." UBS also believes that the regulatory reform will be less strict than initially thought. In addition, UBS feels that JPMorgan's broad business mix should help the brokerage.

Continue reading JPMorgan Chase Upgraded by UBS

JPMorgan Chase Upgraded by UBS originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While economists are still worried we may see a slump in the housing market now that the homebuyer tax credits have expired, analysts still believe Home Depot (HD) is going to thrive as consumer confidence picks up and people start tackling long-overdue home-improvement projects.

An analyst at Longbow Research upgraded Home Depot from neutral to buy today -- setting a price target for the stock at $39.

Continue reading Home Depot Rises as Honey-Do Lists Expand

Home Depot Rises as Honey-Do Lists Expand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 May 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Office Depot Upgraded a Day Ahead of Earnings

Office Depot Upgraded a Day Ahead of Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wednesday morning, Boeing (BA) posted earnings that topped the consensus estimate, but cut future forecasts in the process. Thursday morning, Credit Suisse decided to accentuate the positive for Boeing, issuing an upgrade to outperform on the air carrier. The brokerage house had rated the aerospace firm at neutral.

Technically, the stock has pulled back a bit, rebounding off the support from its 10-week moving average in the past week. This trendline is advancing through the upper $69 region and could combine with the round-number $70 level to act as double-barreled support. A glance at the bigger picture indicates that the stock could get bogged down in the $75 to $77 region, as this area provided support for the shares in the past.

Continue reading Boeing Scores an Upgrade from Credit Suisse

Boeing Scores an Upgrade from Credit Suisse originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Citigroup, Inc. (C) attracted a bullish note this morning from analyst Richard Bove of Rochdale Securities. The outspoken financial analyst hiked his rating on the shares from neutral to buy, citing the banking issue's healthy liquidity position.

"This gives management the flexibility to off-load the problem operations and to support longer term growth," wrote Bove in a note to clients. "It will be a money-making machine again and the stock is long-term cheap."

Bove also raised his price target on Citi shares from $3.75 to $5, implying expected upside of 28.2% to the stock's closing price on Friday.

Continue reading Citigroup Upgraded to Buy

Citigroup Upgraded to Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Merck Scores an Upgrade from Credit Suisse

Merck Scores an Upgrade from Credit Suisse originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Casual restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) scored an upgrade on Monday, with Morgan Keegan raising its rating from market perform to outperform. As a result, the shares kicked off the week by rallying more than 4%, and reclaiming a perch above the 10-day and 20-day moving averages.

However, option traders were hardly impressed by Morgan Keegan's bullish note, or by the stock's resulting gains. During the course of Monday's session, speculators on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 1,000 puts on BWLD, compared to just 181 calls. The equity's single-day put/call volume ratio of 5.52 reveals that bearish bets were snapped up at a much faster pace than their bullish counterparts.

Continue reading Bears Not Buying Buffalo Wild Wings Upgrade

Bears Not Buying Buffalo Wild Wings Upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Visa will become part of the S&P 500 Index

Visa will become part of the S&P 500 Index originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) was shot out of a proverbial cannon Thursday morning, gaining more than 5% in the first minute of trading.

Ahead of the opening bell, Merill Lynch/Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and lifted its price target by five bucks to $28.

The bank noted that fourth-quarter sales could be better than expected, as recent cold weather trends might send people into the stores looking to supplement their cold-weather wear. (Side note: negative 16 wind chill in Chicago today, and yes, I still love living here).

Continue reading Dick's Sporting Goods scores an upgrade

Dick's Sporting Goods scores an upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to FlightGlobal, Boeing (NYSE: BA) is going to "surge" (a very popular word nowadays) 787 production early in order to meet customer demand. The surge is part of the establishment of the Charleston 787 line. Boeing will use "transitional surge capability" until the second 787 line is on line; this capability will take place at Boeing's current Washington line. As far as the new South Carolina plant, the facility will support the testing and the delivery of the airplanes.

In addition to this news, Boeing received an upgrade from Macquarie Research, as the airliner was elevated to "outperform" from "neutral." Valuation was the main reason for the upgrade, as the brokerage feels that the current pullback may afford a good buying opportunity.

Continue reading Boeing announces more 787s, receives an upgrade

Boeing announces more 787s, receives an upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Monday morning has greeted the Street on an optimistic note toward large banks, as Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has upped its coverage on the banking sector to "attractive" from "neutral." Goldman went as far as to name some specific banks, including Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), which it upped to "buy."

Goldman believes that Wells Fargo's capital position is improving, with it eventually benefiting from its takeover of Wachovia. The brokerage stated that Wells Fargo purchased Wachovia at a "distressed price" and that will help its assets increase 70% from the second quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2009.

Continue reading Goldman Sachs upgrades banks, Wells Fargo rallies

Goldman Sachs upgrades banks, Wells Fargo rallies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.