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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AET, A, DECK, GPN, TV, HMIN, ITC, IVN, ERIC, MMC, MCD, PAL, RGLD, TEVA, TLAB, TCBI)

Administrator — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:25:13 +0000

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

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) added to Strong Buy List at Zacks.
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Started as Buy at UBS.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Grupo Televisa S.A. (NYSE: TV) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (NASDAQ: HMIN) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ITC) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE: IVN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) maintained Neutral but cut target and estimates by Goldman Sachs.
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Maintained Outperform on Focus List and target raised to $104 at Credit Suisse.
North American Palladium Ltd. (NYSE: PAL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) Raised to Outperform at National Bank.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Cut to Underperform at Zacks.
Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCBI) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: A, AET, DECK, ERIC, GPN, HMIN, ITC, IVN, MCD, MMC, PAL, RGLD, TCBI, TEVA, TLAB, TV

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMGN, ARIA, BIIB, CELG, LFC, CSCO, DRI, FIO, GPN, HUM, LEN, MSI, TLB, TZOO)

Administrator — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:23:27 +0000

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

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Started as Outperform at BMO.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) Started as Outperform at BMO.
Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Started as Underperform at BMO.
Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) Started as Outperform at BMO.
China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) Started as Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Fusion-io Inc. (NYSE: FIO) Started as Sell at Merriman.
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) Started as Outperform at FBR.
Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) Raised to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Travelzoo Inc. (NASDAQ: TZOO) Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMGN, ARIA, BIIB, CELG, CSCO, DRI, FIO, GPN, HUM, LEN, LFC, MSI, TLB, TZOO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AGCO, BP, COF, CRZO, CRDN, FSLR, GPN, MOTR, NDAQ, OAS, RSYS, WBSN)

Administrator — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:24:39 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades seen from Wall Street research calls:

AGCO Corp. (NASDAQ: AGCO) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
BP plc (NYSE: BP) Raised Target (in U.K.) by Goldman Sachs; Raised to Outperform at Macquarie.
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) Started as Perform at Oppenheimer.
Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) Raised to Outperform at BMO.
Ceradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDN) Raised to Buy at Needham.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Maintained Buy but Raised Target to $173 at Auriga.
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) Cut to Neutral at Janney Montgomery; Cut to Market Perform at Barrington Research.
Motricity, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOTR) Started as Buy at Needham.
NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS) Started as Buy at Canaccord; Started as Buy at UBS.
RadiSys Corporation (NASDAQ: RSYS) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
WebSense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AGCO, BP, COF, CRDN, CRZO, FSLR, GPN, MOTR, NDAQ, OAS, RSYS, WBSN

Global Cash Access Loses Largest Customer (GCA, GPN)

Administrator — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:22:30 +0000

Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GCA) just became Global Cashless Access if you look at the trading volume today. A death spiral volume alert was seen at VSInvestor.com this morning. The company issued an SEC filing showing that it has received notice from Harrah’s Operating Company of its intent NOT TO RENEW ITS AGREEMENTS with it for the provision of automated teller machine services, point-of-sale debit services, and credit card cash access services. The agreement will expire on November 30, 2010. Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is the top competitor, yet there is no benefit seen there.

There is a huge discrepancy over what the company says versus the implications in the stock reaction. Global Cash Access Holdings said in the SEC filing that it does not believe the expiration of the Harrah’s Cash Access Agreements will have a material impact on results of operations for calendar year 2010. If the terms are left the same under the agreement as is stated, then of course only one month won’t be the end of the world. The problem is that this leaves a huge void for 2011 and beyond.

We broke out the annual report data from March and saw the exact relationship:

“Our five largest customers accounted for approximately 34.4%, 34.2% and 40.6% of our total revenue in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively, collectively and our largest customer, Harrah’s Operating Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates accounted for approximately 14.1%, 16.1% and 19.3% of our total revenue in 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. No other single customer accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue in 2009, 2008 or 2007, respectively.”

In short, GCA just lost its largest customer. To make matters worse, what happens when other customers see the news and realize that they might be able to strike a better deal with more favorable terms? GCA probably does not want to lose any more large customers. If customers press, the company may be far more flexible on terms than before.

GCA plans to discuss this matter in more detail on its 2010 second quarter earnings call on August 4. After seeing the drop of this size maybe it should consider discussing its solid merits ahead of time.

At 11:00 AM EST we have seen 6.15 million shares trade hands and the stock is down 39.2%at $4.25. The market cap is now $279 million and the low was recorded as being $3.46 today. That $3.46 looks under the market, but that marks a new 52-week low versus a high of $9.26.

The company notes in the Annual Report that Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is its largest competitor, although it worth noting a monster size difference as Global Payments Inc. has a market cap of over $3 billion. Oddly, its shares are also lower but only 0.5% at $37.21.

Behold a man on a pale horse…

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Banking, Business Services, Casinos, Financial Stocks Tagged: GCA, GPN

What Visa Really Gets With CyberSource (V, CYBS, EBAY, AXP, MA, DFS, GPN, TSS, PAY)

Administrator — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:58:55 +0000

There is an interesting merger this morning in the credit card processing industry. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is acquiring CyberSource Corporation (NASDAQ: CYBS) for $26 per share in a deal valued at almost $2 billion. While not a cheap with a price tag of 6-times revenues, it is important to see why Visa is making this deal and what it will get out of it with the CyberSource and Authorize.net brands. Visa is buying a firm that helps in payment processing, payment security, and fraud management…. one that also gives it a sliver of business that is going to Visa’s competitors.

The Authorize.net solution does also accept MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Diners, and even eChecks. CyberSource also deals with PayPal and BillMeLater. So while the company may be referring credit card and transaction processing for outside transaction processors like eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) for PayPal and BillMeLater, American Express Company (NYSE: AXP), Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA), and Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS), it will now start getting a tiny cut of that business as long as it goes through that merchant network under the brands and services being bought.

CyberSource says it plays a role in processing about 25% of all the “ecommerce dollars transacted in the United States” and it is a safe bet that Visa will be getting a small cut from business that would have gone away otherwise. The company serves almost 300,000 merchants through its CyberSource and Authorize.Net brands.

What Visa will get is cutting out one step in using Visa debit, prepaid and credit products for purchases made online. CyberSource is predominantly in the U.S., so Visa can accelerate that business model globally. Visa will get to integrate one more layer of fraud detection, something that ALL banks and credit card processors need to be far better about. Visa will also be gaining an operation in secure payment data hosting solutions.

The deal is not expected to be accretive to earnings on the surface. It is listed as being dilutive in 2010 and also slightly dilutive in 2011. That is because CyberSource is a high-beta name with high multiples against earnings and revenues. What is not said is that this is a double-dip for Visa, and that allows it to get a small piece of the pie as a gatekeeper that would otherwise be going elsewhere. The price is going to be up for debate, but this is a smart acquisition.

CyberSource shares are up almost 32% at $25.62 and this represents highs not seen in a decade. The notion that this was a $50, $60, and $70 stock in 1999 won’t have much importance today.

We do not want to draw too much cause and effect here for secondary or tertiary mergers which could come from this consolidation. The other companies which could come into focus at least from this deal are Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) with a $3.7 billion market cap and Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE: TSS) with a $3.25 billion market cap. In a stretch, one could even argue that companies similar to VeriFone Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) for at-site merchant locations, but again we do not want to try to look for too much cause and effect here.

Visa shares are hardly down on the deal with a drop of 0.25% at $93.84, its market cap is around $70 billion. With close to $6 billion in cash and longer-term securities on hand, this deal is still very affordable for Visa.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Financial Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: AXP, CYBS, DFS, EBAY, GPN, MA, PAY, TSS, V

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMG, AG, IRE, CAG, GPN, JASO, LEA, NTGR, ODFL, YHOO)

247wallst — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:43:47 +0000

These are ten of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiation calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Monday morning with about two hours until the market opens:

Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
AGCO (AG) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Bank of Ireland (IRE) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
ConAgra (CAG) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Global Payments (GPN) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
JA Solar (JASO) Cut to Hold at Lazard.
Lear (LEA) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.
Netgear (NTGR) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Old Dominion Freight (ODFL) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Yahoo! (YHOO) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

JON C. OGG
June 15, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AG, AMG, CAG, GPN, IRE, JASO, LEA, NTGR, ODFL, YHOO

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AMZN, AMAT, NILE, CECE, DCP, GPN, RHT, AUY, YRCW)

247wallst — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:58:53 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades we have seen this Thursday morning:

Amazon.com (AMZN) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Applied Materials (AMAT) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Blue Nile (NILE) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
CECO Environmental (CECE) Started as Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald.
DynCorp (DCP) Started as Buy at Stanford.
Global Payments (GPN) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Red Hat (RHT) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Yamana Gold (AUY) Started as Outperform ar Raymond James.
YRC Worldwide (YRCW) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
December 4, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AMAT, AMZN, AUY, CECE, DCP, GPN, NILE, RHT, YRCW

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (NGG, QGEN, RGC, WSM, GPN, GFI, QSFT, TSRA)

247wallst — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:27:58 +0000

These are the early bird analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen this Tuesday morning with more than two hours to the open:

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
Qiagen (NASDAQ: QGEN) Started as Overweight at HSBC.
Regal Entertainment (NYSE: RGC) Started as Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) Raised to Buy at Merrill lynch.
Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI) Cut to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Quest Software (NASDAQ: QSFT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Tessera Technologies (NASDAQ: TSRA) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Jon C. Ogg
December 2, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: GFI, GPN, NGG, QGEN, QSFT, RGC, TSRA, WSM

Earlybird Analyst Calls (June 18, 2007)

247wallst — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 06:23:00 +0000

ADP started as Sector Perform at CIBC.
ANDW cut to Neutral at B of A.
ASN cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
CKFR raised to Outperform at CIBC.
CPS cut to Sector Perform at CIBC.
EFD cut to Sell at Citigroup.
ENCY cut to Underperform at Rodman & Renshaw.
FCS raised to Outperform at RWBaird.
FIS started as Outperform at CIBC.
FISV raised to Sector Perform at CIBC.
GME raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
GPN started as Sector Perform at CIBC.
KDN raised to Buy at KeyBanc/McDonald.
KYPH cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
NATI raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
TEK raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
WDC cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
June 18, 2007