Posts related to ‘Analyst Calls’

Verisk Analysts, Lackluster Initiations (VRSK)

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) is seeing some very cautious or at least unexciting analyst initiations now that its quiet period has ended.  This post-IPO has at least held its value, which is more than many other post-IPOs can claim.  The risk management suite of actuarial data came public in early-October in a $1.9 billion IPO after it sold 85.25 million shares at $22.00 per share.

It turns out that many felt it was a fully priced deal.  Yet the stock popped above the pricing and has never gone back close to it.  Since the deal opened, it has traded in a trading range of $26.10 to $30.00.  The problem is that today’s slate of analyst initiations has failed to give investors any solid endorsement nor any solid hope of a real growth of shares.
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Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 1:45 pm in Analyst Calls, Brokerage Firms, Financial Stocks, Software,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (CADX, COH, DELL, HTE, JWN, RIMM, S, STP, URI, VRSK)

These are the top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street research calls early this Monday:

Cadence Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CADX) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Started as Buy with $19 target at Goldman Sachs.
Harvest Energy (NYSE: HTE) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) Started as Hold, $66 target, at Auriga.
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) Raised to Neutral (from Underweight) at HSBC.
United Rentals (NYSE: URI) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ: VRSK) Started as In-Line at Fox-Pitt; Started as Market Perform at KBW.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week to be notified of key analyst calls, top early morning day trader alerts, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 8:13 am in Analyst Calls, Technology Companies, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (ADBE, FDX, JNPR, LVS, MSFT, ORCL, QCOM, CRM, NCTY, WYNN)

These are this Friday’s top early analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street research calls which may be moving shares of the underlying stocks:

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) Started as Buy at UBS.
FedEx (NYSE: FDX) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) Started as Buy at UBS.
Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) Started as Buy at UBS.
QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Started as Neutral at UBS.
The9 Ltd (NASDAQ: NCTY) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week to be notified of key merger news, key analyst calls, top early morning day trader alerts, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 13, 2009 – 7:59 am in Analyst Calls, Technology Companies, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (BRCD, BNI, COH, CHK, CSX, HOG, KWK, MBT, NDAQ, SIRI)

These are this Thursday’s top early analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street research calls which may be moving shares of the underlying stocks:

Brocade Communications (NASDAQ: BRCD) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray; Cut to Hold at ThinkEquity; Cut to Hold at Lazard.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Started as Hold at KeyBanc.
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) Started as Buy at Lazard.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) Raised to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) Started as Underweight at KeyBanc.
Quicksilver Resources Inc. (NYSE: KWK) Started as Buy at Lazard.
Mobile TeleSystems (NYSE: MBT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) put on positive credit watch at S&P late yesterday during trading hours.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week to be notified of key analyst calls, top early morning day trader alerts, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, key merger news, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 12, 2009 – 7:52 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

SIRIUS Cautious Praise At S&P (SIRI)

SIRIUS LOGOSIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) has been reaffirmed on its corporate debt rating at “B-” late in the day.  While this is still very deep in “junk bond” territory at S&P, the outlook has been revised to positive from stable.  This is after the earnings that we called mostly headed in the right direction last week, but it follows a relatively recent mid-August upgrade by S&P and it is fairly rare to see another call this fast on a controversial stock (and company) like Sirius.  Still, there are some mixed notions in the call as the rating is so far from investment grade status.
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Posted on: November 11, 2009 – 5:41 pm in Analyst Calls, Bonds, Media, Satellite,

Top Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (ADBE, BCS, STV, FPL, FLR, GME, PCLN, TOL, TSN, TROW)

These are this Wednesday’s top 10 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls:

Adobe Systems NASDAQ: ADBE) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS) Cut to Hold at RBS.
China Digital TV (NYSE: STV) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
FPL Group (NYSE: FPL) Raised to Buy at Citi.
Fluor (NYSE: FLR) Raised to Hold at Citi.
GameStop (NYSE: GME) Removed from Convition Buy List at Goldman Sachs (still Buy rated).
Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week to be notified of key merger news, key analyst calls, top early morning day trader alerts, along with news of IPO’s, key offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 11, 2009 – 8:11 am in Analyst Calls, Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , , ,

Moody’s to AIG Rescue? (AIG)

AIG LogoAmerican International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is running this morning.  The stock is trading higher this morning on a debt rating comment from last night. It turns out that Moody’s might have some relevance after all with the gains we are seeing.  Moody’s issued a report last night noting that AIG will be able to repay its Federal Reserve credit line, and that it will be able to repay much or all of the investment from the US Treasury Department’s if financial markets stabilize.  That is still an “IF” and not a definite event.
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Posted on: November 10, 2009 – 8:31 am in Analyst Calls, Bonds, Financial Stocks, Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert,

Top Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (ADBE, CETV, ENER, SOLR, KR, RL, RAX, SQNM)

These are this morning’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen early this Tuesday morning from Wall Street research calls:

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Raised to Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Central Euro Media Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: CETV) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) Cut to Sell at Citigroup; Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Hold at Lazard.
GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) Cut to Underweight at Piper Jaffray.
Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer; Raised to Buy at Kaufman
Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) Maintained Sell and $3 target at Auriga.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 10, 2009 – 7:35 am in Analyst Calls, Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (ADBE, ARIA, BX, CMO, CRL, GPS, RHT, RSH, VECO, VRSN)

These are this Monday’s top ten analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations in Wall Street research calls:

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA) Raised to Overweight at JP Morgan.
Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Charles River Labs (CRL) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Gap Inc. (GPS) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Capstead Mortgage (NYSE: CMO) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

Jon C. Ogg
November 9, 2009

Posted on: November 9, 2009 – 7:56 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

GE No Rescue for Financial Junk Stocks (GE, FNM, FRE, AIG)

GE LogoGeneral Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) may be the one single bright spot taking the market higher this Friday when you consider the 10.2% unemployment rate and when you look over the latest round of earnings. Both Oppenheimer and Bernstein raised their official GE ratings to “Outperform” in research calls this morning. It depends upon which way the wind blows, but there are many times that GE trades more like some of the troubled financial stocks rather than as the top industrial stock in America.

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) are all headed in opposite direction of GE. We noted that Fannie had broken the buck in pre-market trading and is back above the $1.00 level now. It is also dragging down Freddie Mac. AIG is adding to larger losses seen at the open.

GE shares are trading up 5.4% at $15.21 and we have already seen over 30 million shares trade hands in the first 20 minutes and pre-market period.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 6, 2009 – 9:57 am in Analyst Calls, Conglomerates, Financial Stocks, Trading Alert, , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (AMZN, ANSS, BEBE, CAH, CNQ, CROX, GCO, PEET, O, SBUX)

These are this morning’s top 10 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls:

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein and target raised from $125 to $160.
ANSYS (NASDAQ: ANSS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE) Cut to Hold at Brean Murray.
Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) Reiterated Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Genesco (NYSE: GCO) Raised to Outperform at R.W. Baird.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea (NASDAQ: PEET) Started as Buy at Janney.
Realty Income (NYSE: O) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) Reiterated Overweight at Piper Jaffray and raised 2010 targets.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 6, 2009 – 8:29 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (BRK-A, CMCSA, MDT, TAP, NVAX, LNUX, THQI, YMI)

These are this mornings top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen early this Thursday from Wall Street research calls:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A) was put on CreditWach (negative) on Wednesday afternoon, which would take the AAA away to match where Moody’s already is.
Comcast (CMCSA) Cut to Hold at Collins Stewart.
Medtronic (MDT) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Molson Coors (TAP) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
NovaVax (NVAX) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan.
SourceForge (LNUX) Cut to Neutral at Merriman.
THQ Inc. (THQI) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
YM BioSciences (YMI) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 5, 2009 – 8:23 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (AEO, BNI, ENR, GET, GES, GD, STEC, VIA, YUM)

These are this Wednesday’s top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls:

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) Raised to Top Picks at FBR Capital; but shares were also Cut to Hold at Lazard.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Energizer Holdings (NYSE: ENR) Cut to Neutral from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET) Raised to Market Perform at both FBR and at Wells Fargo.
Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) Cut to Hold at Lazard.
General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
STEC, Inc. (NASDAQ: STEC) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer; Cut to Source of Funds at ThinkEquity.
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) Started as Buy at Janney Montgomery.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 4, 2009 – 8:09 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Analyst Sees Windows 7 Pricing Data & Penetration Rates (MSFT, DELL, HPQ, YHOO)

Windows 7 LogoAuriga is a boutique research firm that many have not heard of, but this morning the firm has reiterated its BUY rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and its $33.50 price target after yesterday’s $27.88 closing bell price.  The reason for today’s call is that the firm obtained detailed Windows 7 pricing in as-sold models from Microsoft for six of the OEM companies from more than 100 PCs.  And the first weeks of data may offer more insight than any official price target on overall market penetration rates. Particularly when you compare the data to other outside and independent research for overall Windows 7 penetration rates.

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Posted on: November 3, 2009 – 9:52 am in Analyst Calls, PC Companies, Software, , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (ARI, CSIQ, CSX, DDRX, HEV, INTC, NVDA, VCLK, VITC)

These are the top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning:

Apollo Commercial Real Estate (NYSE: ARI) Started as Overweight at Barclays; Started as Hold at Citigroup.
Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) Raised to Equal Weight at Barclays.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Diedrich Coffee (NASDAQ: DDRX) Cut to Hold at Roth Capital.
Ener1 (NASDAQ: HEV) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Valueclick (NASDAQ: VCLK) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.
Vitacost.com (NASDAQ: VITC) Started as Buy at Needham; Started as Buy at Jefferies; Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 3, 2009 – 8:35 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (BIIB, INCY, MOT, CMCSA, JWN, ODP, PALM, RIMM, RCL, YUM)

These are this Monday’s top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms:

Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ: INCY) Started as Outperform at Leerink Swann.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Cut to Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Research-in-Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
YUM! Brands (NYSE: YUM) Raised to Outperform at RBC Capital.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 2, 2009 – 9:25 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (COH, ITG, K, LYG, WFR, STI, TWX, TOL, VMW, ZUMZ)

These are this Friday mornings top ten analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations of coverage from Wall Street firms:

Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Investment Technology Group (NYSE: ITG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE: LYG) ADR upgraded at both BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse.
MEMC Electronics (NYSE: WFR) Raised to Buy at Soleil.
SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
VVMware (NYSE: VMW) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Zumiez (NYSE: ZUMZ) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: October 30, 2009 – 8:09 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Initiations (MT, BMRN, ELN, FITB, FSLR, GCI, GT, HAL, PVTB, URBN)

These are this Thursday morning’s top 10 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations we have seen in early research calls from Wall Street:

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Raised to Buy at Societe Generale.
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Elan Corp. plc (NYSE: ELN) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Fifth Third Bancorp Raised To Outperform From Neutral By Baird
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.
Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) Cut to Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
PrivateBancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: October 29, 2009 – 7:45 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Goldman Sachs’ Last Minute GDP Cut (GE)

Burning Money PicMuch of today’s weakness in the equity markets is not just due to a stronger dollar or an equity market that still may be ahead of itself.  A strategist call from Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) with a lower target on Q3 Gross Domestic Product may have just piled on top of other weaker economic data.   A weaker-than-expected durable goods this morning and a drop in new homes only added to the pressure.  The call from Goldman Sachs is for Q3 GDP of 2.7%, down from a prior forecast 0f about 3.0%.  The official Bloomberg estimate was still 3.0% for Q3.
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Posted on: October 28, 2009 – 4:15 pm in Analyst Calls, Brokerage Firms, Economy

Credit & Equity Analyst Ratings Duel at Palm (PALM)

Palm LogoPalm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) has lost that massive stock surge that we saw for what felt like way too long throughout 2009.  There are two key analyst calls that now may act as an analyst duel.  One is yesterday’s BMO Capital Markets and the other is non other Standard & Poor’s.  Throw in a high, but declining, short interest and the race is back on in Palm as to whether its future is made of shinola or made of something else in the notorious analogy.

Palm was weak yesterday and fell $0.90 to downgraded yesterday to $13.38 after BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock to an “Underperform” rating from an already neutral “Market Perform” rating.  BMO already took its sub-market target down to $10.00 from $11.00.  BMO was concerned over Apple’s iPhone and R-I-M’s Blackberry competition, as well as what is coming down the pipe from Google’s Android phones.  Yet this morning we have an upgrade on the corporate credit side of Palm from Standard & Poor’s.
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Posted on: October 28, 2009 – 11:36 am in Analyst Calls, Consumer Electronics, Technology Companies, Telecom, Wireless, , , ,