Analyst Upgrades

• TCF Financial (TCB) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Exelon (EXC) to market perform from underperform at Wells Fargo.
• Nvidia (NVDA) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.
• Estee Lauder (EL) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Webster Financial (WBS) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Skilled Healthcare (SKH) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.
• Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) to outperform from market perform at Leerink.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
• Barnes & Noble (BKS) to neutral from underperform and Pioneer Natural (PXD) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Autodesk (ADSK) to buy from neutral at Goldman.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AA, AAPL, ATHR, BKS, CL, CLX, EL, HBAN, NCR, NVDA, XRTX ...

Analyst Calls: AA, AAPL, ATHR, BKS, CL, CLX, EL, HBAN, NCR, NVDA, XRTX ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Things will be pretty quiet on the earnings front again this week as the quarter winds down. But here's a look at what analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting from a few of the stragglers that are scheduled to report results.

In the three months that ended in February, Mosaic Co. (MOS) declared a quarterly dividend and denied that the company was for sale. Analysts expect this potash and phosphate producer to report that fiscal third-quarter earnings surged nearly 80% from the same period of last year to $0.63 per share. Revenue for the period is expected to be 31.6% higher to $1.8 billion. So far, analysts anticipate sequential and year-over-year EPS and revenue growth in the fourth quarter. However, Mosaic's earnings results have fallen short of expectations in three of the past four quarters, by as much as 11 cents per share.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: End-of-Season Earnings from DG, MOS, RIMM ...

The Week in Preview: End-of-Season Earnings from DG, MOS, RIMM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Aeropostale Inc. (ARO) reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue and offered rosy guidance.
• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) higher Q4 earnings matched analysts' estimates, but shares rose afterward.
• AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (ANN) swung to a profit in Q4 even though same-store sales dropped; shares fell.
• Cbeyond Inc. (CBEY) received an analyst's upgrade following its Q4 results and guidance for the full year.
• Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. (PLCE) posted strong Q4 earnings even though same-store sales were flat.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Aeropostale, H&R Block, IMAX, J. Crew, Kroger ...

Earnings Highlights: Aeropostale, H&R Block, IMAX, J. Crew, Kroger ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Computer storage concern Xyratex (XRTX) reported Q4 results Tuesday after the bell. The tech company had a lot of pressure on its back going into the release. As Trey Thoelcke observed in his earnings preview, there were high expectations in terms of the bottom line. The market was looking for 38 cents per share.

Unfortunately, management wasn't able to deliver on those expectations, posting instead an adjusted per-share profit of 26 cents. The top line also had a tough time, decreasing roughly 15%.

Continue reading Xyratex's Q4 Misses High Expectations

Xyratex's Q4 Misses High Expectations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded MetLife (NYSE: MET) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company's capital and liquidity profile are very solid relative to this week's sell-off.
  
• The firm also upgraded shares of MSCI (NYSE: MXB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe near-term challenges are already priced into shares.
  
• Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan based on valuation and strong pricing outlook.
• Costco (NASDAQ: COST) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Pali Capital lifted Virgin Mobile (NYSE: VM) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Merrill upgraded Pall (NYS: PLL) and Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) to buy from Neutral.

• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ: TRMB) to Perform from Outperform as they believe the company's Engineering and Construction division is facing a challenging period due to the credit market strain.
  
• Stephens downgraded Seacoast Banking (NASDAQ:SBCF) to Underweight from Equal Weight as they believe a dilutive capital raise is possible given future losses from real estate credits in coastal Florida.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MET, COST, WAG, CAG...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MET, COST, WAG, CAG... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even if the national headlines weren't already providing enough focus on the economy, plenty of economic data is due out as the month and the quarter wind down. U.S. economic data scheduled to be released this week include:

• Personal income (Aug. 2008): Monday 8:30 AM
• Consumer confidence index (Sept, 2008): Tuesday 10:00 AM
• Challenger job cut announcement (Sept, 2008): Wednesday 7:30 AM
• ISM manufacturing survey (Sept. 2008): Wednesday 10:00 AM
• Construction spending (Aug. 2008): Wednesday 10:00 AM
• New motor vehicle sales (Sept. 2008): Wednesday 4:00 PM
• Monster employment index (Sept. 2008): Thursday 6:00 AM
• Factory orders (Aug. 2008): Thursday 10:00 AM
• Employment situation (Sept. 2008): Friday 8:30 AM
• ISM nonmanufacturing survey (Sept. 2008): Friday 10:00 AM

Other economic events scheduled for this week include:

• Fed's Hoenig speaks on "The Economy and Monetary Policy": Monday 9:45 PM
• Fed's Lockhart speaks on the economic outlook: Tuesday 1:00 PM
• Ford Motor Co. September 2008 Sales Conference Call: Wednesday 1:00 PM
• AMETEK Inc. at Oppenheimer Industrials Conference: Thursday 8:00 AM
• DuPont at Citigroup Ethanol on the Cob Conference: Thursday 12:50 PM
• Fed's Evans speaks at Agricultural Markets and Food Price Inflation conference: Thursday 1:00 PM
• Fed's Bullard speaks at Indiana University Department of Economics: Thursday 7:00 PM
• Fed's Hoenig speaks on "The Economy and Monetary Policy": Thursday 9:45 PM
• National Association for Business Economics 50th Annual Meeting to address Future Economic Challenges: Friday 9:00 PM

Continue reading The week in preview: End-of-quarter expectations

The week in preview: End-of-quarter expectations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In last week's preview we took a peek at expectations for Campbell Soup earnings, but now the company is scheduled to report fiscal fourth quarter results this coming Thursday. With Krispy Kreme also among the handful of companies scheduled to report this week, we may yet see whether consumers are turning to comfort foods in these uncertain times.

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), the world's biggest soup maker, is still expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial to post net income of 25 cents per share (up 44.0% from a year ago) on revenue of $1.7 billion (up 7.4%). The Camden, N.J.-based company has just missed earnings estimates in the past few quarters. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is 7.9%, which is less than the industry average, but about the same as rivals Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) and HJ Heinz (NYSE: HNZ). The analysts' consensus recommendation is currently to buy Campbell.

Hip, Canadian apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) is also anticipated to be a big earnings gainer when it reports this week. Net income is expected to come in at 13 cents per share (up 46.2% from a year ago) on revenue of $88.2 million (up 50.3%). Lululemon met expectations when it reported 12 cents per share in the previous quarter. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is a healthy 40.2%, which is better than the industry average and that of rival Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA). The analysts' consensus recommendation is currently to buy Lululemon.

Continue reading The week in preview: Chicken soup (or a doughnut) for the recession-weary soul?

The week in preview: Chicken soup (or a doughnut) for the recession-weary soul? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Piper Jaffray downgraded shares of Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Sell from Neutral after their June channel checks indicated continued market share losses in the company's North American handset business.
  
• Keefe Bruyette downgraded shares of MF Global (NYSE: MF) to Market Perform from Outperform on the anticipated dilutive effect of the company's convertible offerings.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) to Market Perform from Outperform citing valuation.

• Xyratex (NASDAQ: XRTX) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird and to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia.
  
• Goldman downgraded the U.S. Financial Sector and Consumer Discretionary Sector to Underweight from Neutral. Goldman removed Nucor (NYSE: NUE) from the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Merrill downgraded AU Optronics (NYSE: AUO) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: MOT, MF and ACOR originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Wachovia downgraded shares of Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT) to Market Perform from Outperform reflect several challenges to the company's key franchises. In particular, Wachovia cites the potential delay of the drug-eluting stent Xience launch in the U.S. and decelerating growth of Humira.
  
• ABN Amro downgraded shares of Barclays (NYSE: BCS) to Hold from Buy to reflect the capital markets, lower UK bank non-interest income and higher bad debts.
  
• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Neutral from Buy as they expect many of the advantages that drove shares to unwind in Q4 and into 1H08.
  
• Mission West Properties (NYSE: MSW) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel, as they now believe the possibility of a sale is 50%/50% and could be pushed back to 1H08.
  
• Think Equity downgraded shares of Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Source of Funds from Accumulate as they believe competition could hinder Q4 and 2008 growth for wireless.

• Citigroup downgraded Xyratex Ltd (NASDAQ: XRTX) and Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Piper downgraded Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ: NDAQ) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Lehman downgraded Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (NYSE: BNI) to Equal Weight from Overweight and CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) to Underweight from Equal Weight.
  
• UBS downgraded Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) to Neutral from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: ABT, BCS, SNDK, MSW and TXN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

An important measure of the excellence of an original equipment manufacturer's products and services is the reputation of the companies on its client list. When it comes to computer storage devices, there is an English OEM that serves the biggest names in the business.

Xyratex Ltd (NASDAQ: XRTX) is engaged in the design, development and manufacture of data storage subsystems, controllers and PCI cards that analyze and manage network data. These are based on RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) and SBOD (Switched Bunch of Disks) technologies, in support of a range of performance specifications. The firm also develops production test systems, servo writers and disk automation systems for disk drive manufacturers. Customers include Network Appliance (NASDAQ: NTAP), Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) and Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC).

The firm pleased the Street last week, when it reported fiscal Q1 EPS of 40 cents and revenues of $236.4 million. Analysts had been looking for 30 cents and $229.1 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 9-19 cents (16 cent consensus) and Q2 revenues to $203-218 million ($210.52 million consensus). Needham and Caris subsequently rated the issue a "buy."

Continue reading Xyratex: Quality storage devices for the computer hardware community

Xyratex: Quality storage devices for the computer hardware community originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Apr 2007 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Hard-disk drive makers Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) and Xyratex Ltd (NASDAQ: XRTX) were upgraded by Citigroup to Buy from Hold to reflect improving fundamentals; namely easing concerns related to inventory levels and pricing.
• New Century Financial Corporation (NYSE: NEW) was upgraded by UBS to Neutral from Reduce. UBS said New Century's credit outlook is reflected in the shares and its liquidity risk is ok near-term.
  
• The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight from Equal Weight on valuation and improving fundamentals, with a price target of $56.

• Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) was upgraded by Merrill Lynch to Buy from Sell.

Analyst upgrades 2-23-07: Coca-Cola upgraded to Overweight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.