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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MDRX, AREX, FSLR, FSL, JKS, KBH, KR, ORCL, PEP, QSII, STP, TWX, VE, DIS)

Administrator — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:42:38 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Approach Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: AREX) reiterated Buy and raised target to $44 at Canaccord Genuity.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Maintained Hold but cut target to $30 at Canaccord Genuity.

Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL) Raised to Outperform at RBC.

Jinko Solar Holding Co. (NYSE: JKS) maintained Neutral but raised target to $10 at Credit Suisse.

K.B. Home (NYSE: KBH) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) Reiterated Buy at Gabelli.

Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Suntech Power Holdings Co.. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) Cut estimates at Credit Suisse.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Cut to Neutral at Janney Capital.

Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) Raised to Buy at Janney Capital.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AREX, DIS, FSL, FSLR, JKS, KBH, KR, MDRX, ORCL, PEP, QSII, STP, TWX, VE

Calls For 50% to 100% Upside in Energy Stocks (AREX, MHR, NOG, OAS, REXX, SFY, VOG, GDP)

Administrator — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:44:13 +0000

It is not too often that analysts call for stocks to rise 50%, let alone call for them to rise 100%. That is happening as Canaccord Genuity has initiated coverage of many second tier oil and gas companies with buy ratings. The implied upside is frankly off the charts as far as price targets, but what is amazing is that the upside targets are often not that far off from the pack of analysts and some of the stocks have even seen these prices or come close over the last year.

Approach Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: AREX) was started as Buy with a $38.00 price target based upon catalysts driving the horizontal Wolfcamp potential. The current price is $21.58 and the 52-week range is $9.83 to $34.93 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $31.69.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. (AMEX: MHR) was started as Buy with $9.00 price target as the sum of parts analysis is attractive due to a relative mispricing of assets. At $4.62, the 52-week trading range is $3.72 to $8.66 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $8.68.

Northern Oil and Gas (AMEX: NOG) was started as Buy with $37.00 target as the firm sees the company having blowout earnings in the second half due to its accelerated Bakken presence. At $22.41, the 52-week range is $11.72 to $33.98 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $33.40.

Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS) was started as Buy with a $36.00 based on the company positioning its asset base to accelerate growth in 2012. At $27.37, the 52-week range is $16.74 to $36.15 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $36.19.

Rex Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: REXX) was started as Buy with a $18 target based upon meaningful catalysts to “drive second-half alpha generation.” At $13.93, the 52-week range is $9.67 to $14.33 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $16.62.

Swift Energy Company (NYSE: SFY) was started with a Buy rating and a $52.00 price target based upon the thesis that the company’s assets are undervalued and have a significant resource potential. At $32.56, the 52-week range is $25.08 to $48.19 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $48.77.

Voyager Oil & Gas, Inc. (AMEX: VOG) was started as Buy with a $5.00 price target as the firm called this “a high-beta play for a second-half Bakken bounce back.” At $2.39, the 52-week range is $2.20 to $7.75 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $5.29.

Goodrich Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: GDP) was started as Buy with a $31.00 target after management meetings have highlighted the company’s asset quality and it sees a disproportionate equity value upside. At $15.49, the 52-week range is $12.28 to $23.80 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $24.75.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Oil & Gas Tagged: AREX, GDP, MHR, NOG, OAS, REXX, SFY, VOG

Bakken Shale Bursting with Oil, Opportunities (OXY, HES, MRO, EOG, BEXP, CLR, CXO, KOG, FST, SGY, WLL, AXAS, AREX, TPLM, RPC, TLLP)

Administrator — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:40:12 +0000

One of the reasons that the Bakken shale deposits in North Dakota and Montana get relatively little attention is that none of the big integrated oil companies have much presence there. There are some big players there, including Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY), Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES), Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), and EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG). But these are not the companies with the largest lease-holdings.

That honor falls to smaller oil producers including Brigham Exploration Co. (NASDAQ: BEXP), Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CLR), Concho Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CXO), Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: KOG), Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST), Stone Energy Corp. (NYSE: SGY), Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL), Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (NASDAQ: AXAS), Approach Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: AREX), and Triangle Petroleum Corp. (AMEX: TPLM). Among services companies RPC Inc. (NYSE: RES), which doesn’t currently have any presence in the Bakken, is looking to join the bigger players up in the north country. A midstream company that is expanding its presence in the Bakken is Tesoro Logistics LP (NYSE: TLLP), a recent spin-off from refiner Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO).

And last week, SemGroup Corp. (NYSE: SEMG) announced that it plans to create a new midstream company, Rose Rock Midstream LP, through a $181 million IPO. Rose Rock owns and operates a gathering, storage, transportation, and marketing business in the Bakken.

Current production from the Bakken shale is about 360,000 barrels/day and there are those who believe that figure will reach well over a million barrels/day in another five years. The US Geological Survey estimates about 4.4 billion potential barrels from the Bakken. Continental Resources’ chairman suggests that the real potential is about six times that.

Whatever the production, the problem remains how to get the oil to market. More pipelines are needed to get the oil to somewhere other than the market hub at Cushing, Oklahoma. The Bakken’s crude competes with the heavy crude coming from the Alberta oil sands for pipeline space and markets. Rail and truck transportation currently haul most of the Bakken’s crude.

A substantial portion of the Bakken’s production is transported by rail, which is far more expensive than pipeline transportation. But the high prices for crude are boosting rail transportation from the Bakken to the Gulf Coast to around 100,000 barrels/day this year. Some analysts think that number could triple by the end of 2012.

And there’s no end in sight for the transportation bottleneck. Proposed pipelines, like the Keystone XL, face opposition from environmental groups, and another proposal for a pipeline from Cushing to Houston died for lack of shipper interest.

The pipeline shortage can’t last. Moving crude by truck and rail is more expensive and far more likely to result in a massive spill than is pipeline transportation.

Transportation problems aside, the Bakken is booming now and is likely to continue growing for years.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Oil & Gas Tagged: AREX, AXAS, BEXP, CLR, CXO, EOG, FST, HES, KOG, MRO, OXY, RPC, SGY, TLLP, TPLM, WLL

Top Oil & Gas Analyst Calls (December 18, 2007)

247wallst — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 08:05:39 +0000

These are the top analyst research noted that 247WallSt.com has seen in the oil, gas, and energy sector early this morning:

Approach Resources (AREX) started as Overweight at J.P.Morgan.
Atwood Oceanics (ATW) raised to Buy at Banc of America.
Cal Drive (DVR) started as Buy at Banc of America.
Diamond Offshore (DO) started as Buy at Banc of America.
Ensco (ESV) started as Neutral at Banc of America.
Grant Prideco (GRP) downgraded to Hold at Citigroup.
Gulfmark Offshore (GLF) raised to Buy at Banc of America.
Hornbeck Offshore (HOS) started as Buy at Banc of America.
Noble Energy (NE) started as Buy at Banc of America.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) raised to Market Perform at FBR.
Pride International (PDE) started as neutral at Banc of America.
Transocean (RIG) started as Buy at Banc of America; Jim Cramer also noted this one as being one of his top 5-year stocks with earnings visibility.

Jon C. Ogg
December 18, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he produces the SPECIAL SITUATION newsletter and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.