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Analyst initiations: VMW, VR and HOLX

MOST NOTEWORTHY: VMWare, Validus Holdings and Hologic were today's noteworthy initiations:

VMWare Inc (NYSE: VMW) was initiated by a host of firms: Banc of America believes the current valuation captures most of the upside potential, and started shares with a Neutral rating and $75 target. Wachovia started shares with a Market Perform rating and Deutsche Bank started shares with a Hold rating and $80 target on valuation. The stock was also started with a Buy rating and $92 target at UBS, with a Buy rating and $100 target at Citigroup and with an Overweight rating at JP Morgan and with a Neutral rating at Merrill Lynch.
Validus Holdings (NYSE: VR) was started with a Buy rating and $29 target at UBS on valuation and benefits from the Talbots (NYSE: TLB) acquisition. Shares were also initiated at JP Morgan with a Neutral rating.
CIBC resumed coverage of Hologic Inc (NASDAQ: HOLX) with a Sector Outperformer rating and $77 target as the firm is positive on Hologic's merger with Cytyc Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTC) and views it as one of the top mid-cap stories in the coming year.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

B. Riley initiated shares of EuroBancshares (NASDAQ: EUBK) with a Buy rating and $10 target.
Rodman resumed coverage of Ziopharm Oncology Inc (NASDAQ: ZIOP) with a Market Outperform rating and $8 target.
Citigroup started shares of Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) with a Buy rating and $43 target.
MercadoLibre Inc (NASDAQ: MELI) was initiated with a Sector Perform rating and $39 target at RBC Capital.

MAJOR PAPERS:

General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) has hired Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to find a buyer for its WMC Mortgage subprime mortgage unit, signaling its exit from the mortgage business, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
GE's CNBC cable business news channel and the Financial Times Group are in discussions to share resources and shore up their Web business, reported the Wall Street Journal.
VeriSign Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN), which oversees dot-com and dot-net domain names registry, has recorded an additional $160M in compensation expenses related to stock option grants made between 1998 and 2006, causing the CFO to resign, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Virgin Media Inc (NASDAQ: VMED) has hired financial services company UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) yesterday to pursue strategic buyers.

OTHER PAPERS:

Investors are paying attention to Arbitron Inc (NYSE: ARB), the media research company that compiles radio ratings.
Ziopharm Oncology (NASDAQ: ZIOP) is testing the use of ZIO-101 arsenic [organic] to treat myeloma and other blood cancers.
Zoltek Companies Inc's (NASDAQ: ZOLT) carbon fiber used in wind turbines is in-demand, as windmill demand soars as an alternative energy source.

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