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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMZN, ASH, BAC, C, CAT, DB, XOM, MWW, NEM, STX, SXC, WBSN, VRTX)

Administrator — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:18:09 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Wednesday morning.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Maintained Neutral but cut target to $190 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Outperform but lowered estimates at Baird; Lowered target to $225 at Jefferies.
Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ: AMCC) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) named as the Value Stock of the Day at Zack.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) named as Bear of the Day with under current price objective target by Zacks.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) named as Bull of the Day with way above-consensus price target at Zacks.
Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
SunCoke Energy Inc. (NYSE: SXC) Reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Websense Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) Reiterated Outperform and raised target at $42 at Credit Suisse.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AMZN, ASH, BAC, C, CAT, DB, MWW, NEM, STX, SXC, VRTX, WBSN, XOM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ASH, AVNR, CASC, DEO, IGT, IART, LNKD, MCK, MMI, OVTI, SUN, WDC)

Administrator — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:33:32 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Tuesday morning.

Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) Reiterated Buy with $79 target at Argus.
Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVNR) Reiterated Buy with $6 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Cascade Corporation (NASDAQ: CASC) maintained strong buy as value at Zacks.
Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) Added to Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) Reiterated Buy and $61 target at Canaccord Genuity.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Buy at BofA/ML.
McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) Cut to Underperform at BMO.
OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) Raised to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Sunoco, Inc. (NYSE: SUN) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) Reiterated Hold at Argus.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ASH, AVNR, CASC, DEO, IART, IGT, LNKD, MCK, MMI, OVTI, SUN, WDC

Profits in Oil Spill Clean Up (BP, PG, ASH, EMN, NLC, CLH, NR, ARJ, MOPN)

Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:10:52 +0000

Cleaning up messes has grown into a big business since the 1970s. There are a lot of small and medium-sized businesses that get involved in environmental remediation for everything from cleaning up EPA-designated Superfund sites to washing noxious weed seeds off fire trucks used to battle forest fires. The disaster that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible rig that was drilling a deepwater well for BP plc (NYSE:BP) has so far leaked more than 100,000 barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico and a number of companies that have seen their shares rise on the bet that they could see higher revenues and profits as a result.

The remediation players include large companies like Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG); medium-cap companies like Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH), Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE:EMN), Nalco Holding Co. (NYSE:NLC), and Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH); and small-caps Newpark Resources, Inc. (NYSE:NR) and Arch Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:ARJ). There’s even a OTC stock, MOP Environmental (OTC:MOPN) that is likely to benefit from the clean-up.

Procter & Gamble makes Dawn dishwashing detergent, which is the cleaner of choice for wildlife covered with oil. The company has already delivered 2,000 bottles of the detergent to the Gulf coast, and more will likely be needed. The impact on P&G’s bottom line should only be minimal, but this will give the Dawn brand a nice boost and it would be unlike P&G to miss a chance like this to build its image.

Ashland, Eastman, Nalco, and Arch make specialty chemicals that are being used to disperse the oil slick formed by the leaking well. Nalco has already supplied more than 300,000 gallons of its dispersant to BP and the others might be shipping the stuff as well. Ashland provides hazardous waste removal services as well as chemicals. Eastman and Arch make specialty chemicals and solvents that can be used to clean up oil slicks.

Clean Harbors offers ships and crews to the Gulf coast and has been contracted by government agencies to provide logistics and support services. The company today released an update to its expected revenues as a result of its work on the spill. Clean Harbors now forecasts an increase of second quarter revenues of 15%-20% above the First Call estimates of $352 million.

There are more than 650 vessels now in the Gulf to work on containing and cleaning up the oil. Over 1.25 million feet of containment boom is already in place (that’s more than 235 miles worth) and some 440,000 feet of absorbent boom has also been deployed. About 285,000 feet of containment boom and 900,000 feet of absorbent boom is still available for deployment. Almost double the amount of deployed containment boom is already on order from various suppliers, mostly small privately held companies along the Gulf coast.

One company that makes absorbent booms is MOP Environmental Solutions, Inc. MOP booms can absorb the floating oil and the oil can then be extracted from the boom material. The boom itself is recyclable. The company announced in a press release that it has lowered the price on its boom in response to the Gulf spill.

While all these companies are likely to see a revenue boost as a result of their abilities to aid in the clean up of the Gulf, the longer term prospects might be even brighter. It’s almost certain that new federal regulations will be adopted not only to make deepwater drilling safer, but that companies involved in drilling will be required to be better prepared for an a spill. That requirement will provide an opportunity for these companies to do even more business both with the federal government and with the oil companies that will surely be picking up the tab.

With the exception of Clean Harbors, all these companies are trading nearly flat or down today, probably due to the news that BP is having some success with its efforts to contain the spill.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Law, Oil & Gas, Politics Tagged: ARJ, ASH, BP, CLH, EMN, MOPN, NLC, NR, PG

Top Analyst Downgrades (ASH, CSIQ, CMM, VALE, ENER, SPWRA)

247wallst — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:57:43 +0000

These are the early analyst upgrades and downgrades seen from Wall Street analysts early this Tuesday morning:

Ashland (ASH) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
China MAss Media (CMM) Cut to Neutral at B of A Merrill Lynch.
Companhia Vale do Rio (VALE) Cut to Underperform at HSBC.
Energy Conversion (ENER) Cut to Underperform at Macquarie.
SunPower (SPWRA) Cut to Underperform at Macquarie.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ASH, CMM, CSIQ, ENER, SPWRA, VALE

Top Analyst Upgrades (AMD, AXP, ACI, ASH, STD, BRCD, COF, DFS, HIBB, MSCC, RCL, ZMH)

247wallst — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:58:51 +0000

There were quite a few analyst upgrades and positive research calls this Monday morning. These are the calls we have seen from Wall Street firms early this morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
American Express (AXP) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Arch Coal (ACI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Ashland (ASH) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Banco Santander (STD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Brocade (BRCD) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Capital One (COF) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Discover Financial (DFS) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Hibbett Sports (HIBB) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Microsemi (MSCC) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Zimmer Holdings (ZMH) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.

If you wish to be reminded of daily upgrades and downgrades as well as other key market issues like mergers and top stories, you can join our open email distribution list to receive updates several times per week.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ACI, AMD, ASH, AXP, BRCD, COF, DFS, HIBB, MSCC, RCL, STD, ZMH

Top Analyst Upgrades (ARRS, ASH, FCS, GME, ONNN, RTN, RVBD, VOD)

247wallst — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:49:00 +0000

These are the top pre-market analyst upgrades or positive calls from Wall Street which we have seen early this Wednesday morning:

Arris (ARRS) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Ashland (ASH) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Fairchild Semi (FCS) Raised to Buy at UBS.
GameStop (GME) Started as Buy at Needham.
ON Semiconductor (ONNN) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Raytheon (RTN) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Riverbed Technology (RVBD) Started as Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Vodafone (VOD) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ARRS, ASH, FCS, GME, ONNN, RTN, RVBD, VOD

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (ASH, BWA, DSX, EGLE, MGM, PAAS, SONO)

247wallst — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:41:59 +0000

These are some of the top analyst downgrades we are seeing from Wall Street this Thursday morning with about two hours to the open:

Ashland (ASH) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Borg Warner (BWA) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Diana Shipping (DSX) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Eagle Bulk Shipping (EGLE) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
MGM Mirage (MGM) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Pan American Silver (PAAS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
SonoSite (SONO) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Jon C. Ogg
October 30, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ASH, BWA, DSX, EGLE, MGM, PAAS, SONO

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADCT, ANN, ASH, ASMI, CLHB, COST, IDTI, JCG, MRVL, NDAQ)

247wallst — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:01:02 +0000

These are ten of the analyst calls we are focusing on this Friday morning:

ADC Telecom (NASDAQ: ADCT) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
AnnTaylor (NYSE: ANN) raised to Outperform at FBR.
Ashland (NYSE: ASH) cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) started as Underpeform at Jefferies.
Clean Harbors (NASDAQ: CLHB) raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Integrated Device Tech (NASDAQ: IDTI) cut to Neutral at Cowen & Co.
J. Crew (NYSE: JCG) cut to Market Perform at Wachovia; cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan and raised to Outperform at oppenheimer.
NASDAQ (NASDAQ: NDAQ) raised to Overweight at Lehman Brothers.

Jon C. Ogg
May 30, 2008

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ANN, ASH, SCHW, AMTD, COH, DHT, NAT, PHTN, WYNN, BK, LEH, GS, IVZ, STT)

247wallst — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:13:31 +0000

These are not the only research calls this morning affecting stock, particularly as the world is focused on the fleecing that has occurred at Bear Stearns this morning. But these are other brokerage firm calls for Monday morning:
Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Ashland (NYSE: ASH) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) downgraded to Underperform at FBR.
Coach (NYSE: COH) downgraded to Hold at Citigroup.
Double Hull Tankers (NYSE: DHT) downgraded to Underweight at JP Morgan.
Nordic American Tanker (NYSE: NAT) raised to Neutral at JP Morgan.
Photon Dynamics (NASDAQ: PHTN) raised to Overweight at Lehman Brothers.
TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) downgraded to Neutral at UBS; downgraded to Market Perform at FBR.
Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.
UBS downgrades brokers and fiduciaries to Neutral: cuts Bank of New York (NYSE: BK), Lehman (NYSE: LEH), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), InVesco (NYSE: IVZ), State Street (NYSE: STT).

Jon C. Ogg
March 17, 2008