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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAPL, IRE, BWLD, CYMI, DPZ, ETH, FITB, ISRG, JCP, LEG, MCD, RF, SYMC, TWC, UTX, WMT)

Administrator — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:17:11 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls this Wednesday.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Raised to Outperform at Scotia; Maintained Buy with $775 target at Canaccord Genuity.

Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Cymer Inc. (NASDAQ: CYMI) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE: ETH) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) Started as Outperform at Raymond James; Named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) Raised to Market Perform at BMO.

Leggett & Platt, Inc. (NYSE: LEG) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Cut to Hold at Argus.

Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) Raised to Buy at Rochdale Securities.

Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.

Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) Started as Buy at Citigroup.

United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) Raised to Buy at Argus.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Cut to Hold at Argus.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, BWLD, CYMI, DPZ, ETH, FITB, IRE, ISRG, JCP, LEG, MCD, RF, SYMC, TWC, UTX, WMT

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MO, AVP, CE, LFC, EL, FITB, GE, MIND, VRTX, YHOO, YUM, GRPN)

Administrator — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:05:27 +0000

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

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) maintained as Underperform but named the Bear of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.
Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE: EL) Added to Strong Buy List at Zacks Investment Research.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Outperform and raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Mitcham Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIND) named as value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) Raised to Outperform but cut the price target to $37 from $39 by Credit Suisse.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) resumed with a “Sell” rating at Goldman Sachs.
YUM! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Reiterated Buy and raised price target to $66.00 by Argus.

The big move in the land of stock research and analyst calls is the expiration of the Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) quiet period. The online social couponing site was initiated in coverage as follows by some of the syndicate firms:

Overweight and $27.00 price target at Barclays;
Buy with $28.00 price target by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch;
Neutral and $24.00 price target at Citigroup;
Neutral with a $25.00 price target at Credit Suisse;
Buy with a $29.00 price target by Goldman Sachs;
Neutral and $24.00 price target at JPMorgan;
Sector Perform with $25.00 price target at RBC Capital Markets.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AVP, CE, EL, FITB, GE, GRPN, LFC, MIND, MO, VRTX, YHOO, YUM

Beyond Stress Tests: Banks Reach Ridiculous Discounts To Book Value (JPM, BAC, C, WFC, BBT, BK, COF, FITB, GS, MS, JEF, PNC, STI)

Administrator — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:29:01 +0000

The new proposed stress tests are just one more thorn in the side for the banking sector, but analysts from Dick Bove to Meredith Whitney, as well as value and bargain investors and short-selling hedge funds, routinely have an opinion on the banking sector and on individual banks almost daily. Some are good, some are just awful. It seems amazing on the surface if you just look at the screens of the largest banks trading at or under book value. Unfortunately, that implied book value for the foreseeable future is going to be a cap rather than a floor as the market tries to digest the real long-term earnings power being far lower ahead. The trick in evaluating book value is avoiding the obvious value traps.

It still feels as though calculating a bank’s book value is a bit like calculating the cash per share of an emerging biotech that just experienced an implosion due to a poor drug candidate’s test result. The value may be eroded through time. Now that earnings season has passed. 24/7 Wall St. has run a screen of the money-center banks, large broker-dealers, and super-regional banks trading at or under book value from the last quarter under the FinViz screen.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) now trades around $25.30 and its October earning’s book value was listed as $45.93 per share, up from $44.77 one quarter earlier and versus $42.29 a year earlier.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is almost embarrassing, or actually it is embarrassing. After a 2% drop to $5.36 today, BofA’s tangible book value per share in October was $13.22 versus $12.91 a year earlier and compared to $12.65 in the second quarter. The stated book value per share was $20.80 in the third quarter, down from $21.17 a year earlier and up from $20.29 in the second quarter of 2011.

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) is another large discount to book value and the $24.60 price compared to a stated book value $60.56 per share and a tangible book value per share of$49.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), Warren Buffett’s favorite bank, used to trade at a premium to book value but that now trades at 0.93-times its most recently stated book value.

A screen at FinViz gave some key banks that are large and well-known institutions, some of which have no exposure to Europe and/or the PIIGS to speak of, which are trading at a discount to their stated book value. Others screened from FinViz are as follows, and these banks are all expected to be profitable on an operations basis ahead:

The trust and fiduciary banks are also at discounts. BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) trades at 0.88-times its latest book value. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) trades at 0.66-times its latest book value.

Other regional and large banking outfits are at large discounts too… Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) trades at 0.64-times its latest book value. Fifth Third Bancorp (NYSE: FITB) trades at 0.81-times its latest book value. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) trades at 0.64-times its latest book value. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) trades at 0.64-times its latest book value. Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF) is just about to have a quarter-end but it trades at 0.64-times its latest book value. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) trades at 0.78-times its latest book value. SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) trades at 0.47-times its latest book value.

As a reminder, our take is that even if the market were to suddenly recover, tangible book values would be the first line to watch and stated book value would be much later after that. The book value game is one that looks and feels shockingly cheap today because the sector’s earnings power is being challenged each and every day. Until the climate moves beyond winding down prop-trading, not going for many loans, not being able to earn money in the short-term and intermediate-term fixed income markets, and a climate where these are sued over and over for actions of yesteryear and with the regulators running the banks.

Value investors and investors screening for “cheap stocks” still need to look elsewhere, unless they know how to model worst case scenarios for about a year or two out from today or if they think they can quantify the regulatory, legal, and operating restriction-adjusted earnings ahead.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Banking, Bankruptcy, Brokerage Firms, Financial Stocks, Value Investing Tagged: BAC, BBT, BK, C, COF, FITB, GS, JEF, JPM, MS, PNC, STI, WFC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BHP, BP, CIM, DRYS, FITB, GFA, HBAN, JCOM, JBHT, ERIC, MS, PLL, PETM, STX, STM, SYNA)

Administrator — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:19:00 +0000

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

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Hold at Societe Generale; Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
BP plc (NYSE: BP)Started as Neutral at Nomura.
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) Cut to Underperform at Stern Agee.
DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) Started as Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Gafisa S.A. (NYSE: GFA) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
j2 Global Communications (NASDAQ: JCOM) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Reiterated Buy with $19 target at Argus.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL) added to U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) Raised to Outperform at Baird; Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research.
Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA) Raised to Buy at Stern Agee; Raised to Hold at Needham.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BHP, BP, CIM, DRYS, ERIC, FITB, GFA, HBAN, JBHT, JCOM, MS, PETM, PLL, STM, STX, SYNA

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (ERIC, FITB, HBAN, PLCM)

Mike Sauter — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:50:49 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Thursday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB), Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN), and Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM).

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) is up more than 6% before market open to $10.27, relative to a 52-week range of $8.83 – $15.44.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) is up 5.3% premarket to $11.25, relative to a 52-week range of $9.13 – $15.75.

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) is down 3.8% premarket to $5.02, relative to a 52-week range of $4.46 – $7.70.

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) is down 29% premarket to $15.96, relative to a 52-week range of $14.02 – $34.30.

Filed under: General Tagged: ERIC, FITB, HBAN, PLCM

Earnings Hat Trick: Ignore Bank Book Values (JPM, BAC, C, WFC, GS, MS, BBT, BK, COF, FITB, PNC, STI)

Administrator — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:09:39 +0000

You hear it all the time… “This bank is so cheap against book value that it cannot go lower.” Book value, and even tangible book value, has become a pre-recession metric that just does not matter in the current banking climate. In many cases, calculating a bank’s book value can be a bit like calculating the cash per share of an emerging biotech that just experienced an implosion due to a poor drug candidate’s test result.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) will lead off the banks as far as earnings season. It is likely that book value here grew or did not fall much and we will be paying attention to Jamie Dimon’s comments on how his internal customers’ credit metrics came out in Q3. Jamie Dimon showed that book value was listed as $44.77 versus $43.34 the first quarter and versus $40.99 a year earlier. If Chase is the best quality of the money-center banks that there is, then a $33 handle today generates close to 0.75-times book value.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) noted in July that tangible book value per share was $12.65, down from $13.21 in the first quarter of 2011 and up from $12.14 in the second quarter of 2010. Its stated book value per share was listed as $20.29 as of June 30, down from $21.15 in the first quarter and down from $21.45 in the same period of 2010. Shares are trading under $6.50 today. The trick is not that Bank of America is lying about the book value today. We think that the number was actually true based upon a snapshot in time, but the issue is that the street cannot figure out how to model its mortgage exposure and lawsuit exposure and what that does to the book value a year or two out. What if regulators move to press for a break-up of if the company remains under pressure for the long-haul. What if they keep losing customers over the $5.00 fee for using debit cards for buying goods. Also, Bank of America is expected to have a loss this quarter and its charges and other issues have likely continued to pressure the book value metrics. What is there to say about the likely direction of the book value for the foreseeable future.

We ran a screen of banks trading at or under book value from the last quarter under the FinViz screen. Book value should be considered a ceiling rather than a floor for the time being. Ultimately that will change, but we live in a climate where banks are winding down prop-trading, not going for many loans, are not able to earn money in the short-term and intermediate-term fixed income markets, being sued over and over for actions of yesteryear, are under more and more regulation, and more. There is just no real good news that is evident yet and shareholders are going to not care about book value any time soon.

A screen at FinViz gave some key banks valued at over $10 billion and trading under book value, and that is generally the stated book value rather than the tangible book value. We would note that the price changes of the shares may alter these numbers slightly as the prices move up and down into and during earnings season. We have also included earnings estimates for the quarter from Thomson Reuters to show which banks have a shot at higher book value rather than the banks losing money:

BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) trades at 0.92-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.49 EPS.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) trades at 0.69-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.53 EPS.

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) trades at 0.46-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.84 EPS.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) trades at 0.68-times its latest book value. This one is in the midst of digesting additional purchases so tallying up a relevant book value may be a couple of quarters out. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $1.68 EPS.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NYSE: FITB) trades at 0.80-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.33 EPS.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) trades at 0.68-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.37 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) trades at 0.50-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.34 EPS.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) trades at 0.81-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $1.49 EPS.

SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) trades at 0.51-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.35 EPS.

As a reminder, earnings from operations do not assure that any growth will have been seen in stated book value nor in tangible book value.

******

An exception to the rule: Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) at 1.01-times its most recently stated book value. Wells Fargo is around $27.00 now, although the book value per share was listed as $23.84 in its July earnings report. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.72 EPS.

Until Wall Street investors can figure out where these banks are going to make their profits and until Main Street and state and federal agencies stop putting severe pressure on the banks, what good is book value? Book value is current a ceiling rather than a floor.

Value investors and investors screening for “cheap stocks” still need to look elsewhere, unless they know how to model worst case scenarios for about a year or two out from today.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Banking, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Financial Stocks, Value Investing Tagged: BAC, BBT, BK, C, COF, FITB, GS, JPM, MS, PNC, STI, WFC

The Great Overlooked Dividend Hikes During the Panic (COV, CXS, DISCA, FITB, F, HST, LVS, LMT, MCD, MSFT, NEM, O)

Administrator — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:20:45 +0000

This was no good week for stocks even if the markets have bounced off the lows numerous times on Friday. The low of the DJIA on Friday morning of 10,638 was down about 7.5% from the prior Friday’s close of $11,509.09. Ugly no matter how you cut it. What is so interesting is that companies are still making strides in increasing their payouts in dividends to shareholders as a clear message that their businesses are not at all imploding. Maybe things in China are slowing and maybe the Europeans have us fearing another 2008 to 2009 panic, but these companies are raising dividends in an effort to tell you that they believe that they have clarity in their earnings ahead.

The following companies either announced dividend hikes or hinted at dividend hikes soon: Covidien plc (NYSE: COV); CreXus Investment Corp. (NYSE: CXS); Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA); Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB); Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F); Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: HST); Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE: LVS); Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT); McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD); Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT); Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM); and Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O). These are not even all of the hikes as there were many dividend announcements from smaller companies during the week.

Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) is showing that healthcare products aren’t so worrisome after all. The company announced on the evening of September 22 that it increased its quarterly dividend by 12.5% from $0.20 to $0.225 per ordinary share. The new $0.90 anualized payout now generates a dividend yield of roughly 1.97%.

CreXus Investment Corp. (NYSE: CXS) declared on September 20 a bump to its third quarter dividend of $0.30 per share, a 25% gain from the prior $0.25 payout. As with all entities of this sort, it is hard to know whether or not this payout can be continued as income from quarter to quarter can fluctuate substantially. To prove the point, this annualized dividend would be approximately 13% and around $9.15 its 52-week range is $8.26 to $13.51. The company did note, ” We believe our shareholders will continue to see the benefits of the breadth and diversity of our platform in the quarters and years ahead.”

Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) is not a dividend payer, but early this week came word from the Goldman Sachs Media conference that its CEO is pushing for a stock buyback and has said that a dividend initiation is possible. For a media company with no dividend, that could be a coup. The stock is close to $40 per share and its estimates for earnings from Thomson Reuters are $2.36 EPS for 2011 and $2.81 EPS for 2012.

Filed under: Dividend, Shareholder Issues Tagged: COV, CXS, DISCA, F, FITB, HST, LMT, LVS, MCD, MSFT, NEM, O

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MTGE, AMAT, BX, BRCM, DOW, DD, FITB, GNW, GS, HUN, JPM, LYB, M, MCD, SPWRA, TWI, VRSN)

Administrator — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:12:53 +0000

These are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: MTGE) Started as Hold at Citigroup; Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Monday call).
The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) Started as Buy at Ticonderoga.
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Reiterated Buy with $46 target at Argus.
Dow CHemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Started as Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE: LYB) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Cut estimates but maintained Outperform at Credit Suisse.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Titan International Inc. (NYSE: TWI) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Monday call).

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMAT, BRCM, BX, DD, DOW, FITB, GNW, GS, HUN, JPM, LYB, M, MCD, MTGE, SPWRA, TWI, VRSN

Week’s Biggest Market Losers: Motorola, Boeing, And More

247wallst — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:46:53 +0000

Continued success of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone and the chance that a new version of the smartphone would launch in September pressures Motorola Mobility’s shares.

A battle between Walgreen’s and joint venture partner Express Scripts pulled down the drug retailer chain

Boeing (NYSE: BA) share fell as it was pounded by rival Airbus based on orders made by airlines at the Paris Airshow.

BIGGEST STOCK PRICE LOSERS

FOR WEEK, MONTH (JUNE) AND YEAR-TO-DATE AS OF JUNE 24

S&P 500 WEEK: BOTTOM 10 (17 JUN – 23 JUN)	Ticker	Weekly Price Change (%)	Close Price 23Jun11	Close Price 17Jun11	Market Cap ($Mil)
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc	MMI	-5.3	23.46	24.78	6919.7
Walgreen Co	WAG	-4.7	42.59	44.67	38989.4
SunTrust Banks Inc.	STI	-4.4	25.03	26.18	13438.3
Boeing Co	BA	-3.9	71.25	74.16	52602.1
Fifth Third Bancorp	FITB	-3.7	12.09	12.55	11107.4
Cablevision Systems Corp	CVC	-3.6	34.73	36.04	8111.9
First Horizon National Corp	FHN	-3.6	9.85	10.22	2593.9
Goldman Sachs Group Inc	GS	-3.5	132.36	137.23	68527.4
Dean Foods Co	DF	-3.5	12.22	12.66	2238.6
Sears Holdings Corp	SHLD	-3.4	71.50	74.02	7701.0
Source: Capital IQ

Filed under: Research Tagged: AAPL, BA, CVC, DF, FHN, FITB, GS, MMI, SHLD, STI, WAG

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AEO, ADI, MT, BCS, CSCO, DMND, FSLR, FWLT, FITB, HSY, PLCM, ROST, STX, SYMC, TWGP, MTN, WDC)

Administrator — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:28:14 +0000

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

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Reiterated Buy and $50 target at Gleacher & Co.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research.
Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity; Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Reiterated Buy and $160 target at Auriga.
Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ: FWLT) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $47 at Credit Suisse.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) Started as Buy at UBS; Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Seagate Technology PLC (NYSE: STX) Started as Buy at Auriga.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Tower Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWGP) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) Started as Buy at Auriga.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADI, AEO, BCS, CSCO, DMND, FITB, FSLR, FWLT, HSY, MT, MTN, PLCM, ROST, STX, SYMC, TWGP, WDC