24/7 Wall St. » HLF

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AVP, BAC, BBY, BA, DCI, FB, GS, HLF, KIRK, MS, MYGN, NUAN, PBR, RHI, ROST, SWY, SPLK, TJX, ZBRA)

Administrator — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:35:55 +0000

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

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Cut to Sell at UBS.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Market Underperform at JMP Securities.

Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY) Cut to Hold at BB&T.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Raised to Buy at Argus.

Donaldson Company. Inc. (NYSE: DCI) Reiterated Outperform and raised estimates at Credit Suisse.

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Market Underperform at JMP Securities.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Reiterated Buy at Argus.

Kirkland’s, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIRK) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Cut to Market Underperform at JMP Securities.

Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.

Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN) Started as Neutral with $25 target at Goldman Sachs.

Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) Raised to Buy at Societe Generale.

Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Safeway (NYSE: SWY) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

Splunk, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) Started as Overweight at Barclays.

TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ: ZBRA) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

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: AVP, BA, BAC, BBY, DCI, FB, GS, HLF, KIRK, MS, MYGN, NUAN, PBR, RHI, ROST, SPLK, SWY, TJX, ZBRA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ANF, A, BBVA, CME, CROX, DE, DELL, DKS, HLF, HP, HBAN, ICE, LM, SINA, V, WAT)

Administrator — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:23:52 +0000

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

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas.

CME Group Icc. (NASDAQ: CME) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) Started as Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Reiterated Buy with $96 target at Argus.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Raised to Neutral at Stern Agee.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $58 at Argus.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Raised to Buy at Caris; David Einhorn did not discuss the issue at the Value Investing Congress on Wednesday; Reiterated Buy with $76 target at Canaccord Genuity.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) Raised to Buy with $55 target at Argus.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) Maintained Outperform but cut 2012/2013 estimates and maintained $8 target at Credit Suisse.

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) Raised to Strong Buy at Raymond James.

Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Maintained Buy but removed from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: A, ANF, BBVA, CME, CROX, DE, DELL, DKS, HBAN, HLF, HP, ICE, LM, SINA, V, WAT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CHK, LVLT, QCOM, CRM, DSX, COCO, APA, WNR, YRCW, SHOO, SRE, SLE, RGLD, OWW, GM, MGM, AES, LNG, DUK, EL, PGR, WPO, GMCR, KNSY, HLF)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:08:03 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened mostly flat this morning following a softer-than-expected report from the Institute for Supply Management on non-manufacturing growth (our coverage here). The report on new unemployment benefits claims came in better than expected, but not enough to overcome the ISM numbers (more coverage here). Retail sales reports were also weak, with growth of just 0.8% compared with an estimate of 1.5% (more coverage here). The energy sector has been particularly hard hit today on reports that supply is keeping up with demand, some weak earnings reports, and a comment from OPEC that it would like to see Brent crude at $100/barrel, not $120 or more (our coverage here).

The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.11% at 79.221. The GSCI commodity index is down about -1.3% at 678.65, with commodities mixed on the small gains in the dollar. WTI crude oil closed down -2.6% at $102.54/barrel, and Brent crude trades down -1.84% at $116.02/barrel. Gold settled down -1.2% today, at $1,634.80/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 62 points to 13,206.59 (-0.47%), the NASDAQ fell more than 35 points (-01.16%) to 3,024.30, and the S&P 500 fell -0.77% or nearly 11 points to 1,391.57.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) maintained as ‘buy’ but target price cut to $31 at BofA/ML and raised to ‘outperform’ at Bernstein; Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) reiterated ‘buy’ at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and cut to ‘neutral’ at Piper Jaffary; Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reiterated as ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) raised to ‘outperform’ with a $185 target price at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) is down -4.4% at $7.63; Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO) is down -21.6% at $3.05; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is down -3.7% at $91.99; Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) is down -2.6% at $18.42; YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is down -8% at $6.79; Steve Madden Ltd. (NASDAQ: SHOO) is down -1.7% at $43.54; Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) is up 0.6% at $64.29 after posting a new 52-week high of $65.37 earlier today; Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) is down -1% at $22.10; Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) is down -2.6% at $59.43 (more coverage here); Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW) is up 4.9% at $4.09; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is down -2.3% at $22.42 (more coverage here); and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is down -4.4% at $12.95.

Tomorrow we get earnings from AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX: LNG), Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL), Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), and The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is down -47.3% at $26.11. The company reported earnings last night, and lowered guidance. More coverage here and here.

Kensey Nash Corp. (NASDAQ: KNSY) is up 32.2% at $38.35. The company is being acquired by a Dutch firm for $360 million. More coverage here.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is down -12.7% at $46.02. The nutrition products company flubbed some questions at last night’s conference call. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Friday. San Francisco Fed President John Williams is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Non-farm payrolls
3:00 p.m. – Treasury STRIPS

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AES, APA, CHK, COCO, CRM, DSX, DUK, EL, GM, GMCR, HLF, KNSY, LNG, LVLT, MGM, OWW, PGR, QCOM, RGLD, SHOO, SLE, SRE, WNR, WPO, YRCW

Herbalife Sinks on Lack of Info (HLF, NUS)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:33:28 +0000

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) are trading at about 9x average daily volume today following some weak answers on the company’s conference call yesterday. The network marketer of nutrition and weight loss products took an immediate hit in after-hours trading when David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital asked why the company did not reveal the amount of the company’s products sold directly to consumers, not distributors, and why Herbalife no longer provided a breakdown of the different types of distributors is sells to.

The answers were lame and lamer and even the company’s announcement that it would re-purchase about $428 million of outstanding stock didn’t stop the slide. Another company with a similar business model, Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: NUS), is also taking a hit today. Nu Skin announced its own $250 million stock buyback yesterday.

The aim of Einhorn’s questions was to get Herbalife to indicate whether or not distributors were selling the products or just letting them stack up in the warehouse or garage. If they’re just stacking up, at some point the distributor will have to stop buying and that won’t be good for Herbalife.

Surely company executives must or should have this information. Without it they’re steering the ship blindfolded and it didn’t take investors long to reach a conclusion.

Herbalife shares are down about -9.5% today, at $47.68 after posting a new 52-week low of $46.50 earlier. The prior 52-week range was $47.50-$73.00. Nu Skin shares are down about -4.3% at $45.97 in a 52-week range of $33.52-$62.02.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, Food, Healthcare, HI/LOW Tagged: HLF, NUS

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIZ, CERN, CHK, LFC, COP, FLEX, GNW, HLF, RSH, STM, TEX)

Administrator — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:10:29 +0000

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

Assurant Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Cut to Neutral at R.W. Baird.

China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Raised to Buy at Auriga.

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.

STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE: STM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs; Raised to Neutral at Citigroup.

Terex Corporation (NYSE: TEX) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIZ, CERN, CHK, COP, FLEX, GNW, HLF, LFC, RSH, STM, TEX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ACI, CAB, CHL, DKS, DHI, GFIG, GMCR, HLF, JNJ, KBH, KSS, LEN, LPNT, MDT, TOL, WTW)

Administrator — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:20:08 +0000

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

Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.

Cabela’s, Inc. (NYSE: CAB) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (NYSE: DKS) Started as Buy at Argus.

D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

GFI Group (NASDAQ: GFIG) Raised to Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Started as Overweight at Barclays.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Started as Hold at Jefferies.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) Started as Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) Cut to Sell at Argus.

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Weight Watchers International Inc. (NYSE: WTW) Started as Overweight at Barclays.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ACI, CAB, CHL, DHI, DKS, GFIG, GMCR, HLF, JNJ, KBH, KSS, LEN, LPNT, MDT, TOL, WTW

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADP, FSLR, FIO, HLF, IACI, MA, PAYX, PRA, SD, TRN, UPL, V, WAG, WEN)

Administrator — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:19:49 +0000

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

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) Started as Buy at UBS.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Maintained Buy but cut target to $50 at Argus.

Fusion-io, Inc. (NYSE: FIO) Started as Outperform with $50 target at Credit Suisse.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $76 at Argus.

InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) Started as Neutral at UBS.

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) Started as Buy at UBS.

ProAssurance Corp. (NYSE: PRA) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) Cut to Sell at Canaccord Genuity.

Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE: TRN) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

Ultra Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: UPL) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) Started as Neutral at UBS.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

Wendy’s Company (NYSE: WEN) Cut to Neutral at Janney.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: ADP,, FIO, FSLR, HLF, IACI, MA, PAYX, PRA, SD, TRN, UPL, V, WAG, WEN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BIDU, CYOU, CLB, CSX, EBAY, HLF, M, MON, PVH, PLCM, REG, WDC, WU, WYNN, YOKU)

Administrator — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:28:15 +0000

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

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Changyou.com Limited (NASDAQ: CYOU) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Core Laboratories N.V. (NYSE: CLB) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Maintained long-term outperform and near-term hold at Zacks; reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Herbalife (HLF: NYSE) Reiterated Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray; Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE: REG) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Western Union (NYSE: WU) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Youku.com Inc. (NYSE: YOKU) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BIDU, CLB, CSX, CYOU, EBAY, HLF, M, MON, PLCM, PVH, REG, WDC, WU, WYNN, YOKU

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ARUN, CMI, DMND, ENZN, FCEL, FIG, HLF, KFT, MYGN, NTAP, OIS, PMTC, PTR, PETD, SWFT)

Administrator — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:23:53 +0000

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

Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) Started as Buy at UBS.
Cummins, Inc. (NYSE: CMI) Reiterated Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENZN) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) Maintained Buy with $3 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $63 at Argus.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE: OIS) Reiterated Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
Parametric Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: PMTC) Reiterated Buy with $28 target at Canaccord Genuity.
PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE: PTR) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Petroleum Development Corporation (NASDAQ: PETD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Swift Transportation Co., LLC (NYSE: SWFT) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

You are invited to 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: ARUN, CMI, DMND, ENZN, FCEL, FIG, HLF, KFT, MYGN, NTAP, OIS, PETD, PMTC, PTR, SWFT

The 52-Week Low Club (THC)(HLF)(HNT)(FCSX)

247wallst — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:01:01 +0000

Tenet Healthcare (THC) Misses numbers and forecasts. Down to $2.52 from 52-week high of $6.88.

Herbalife (HLF) Bad outlook equals three-year low. Falls to $17.23 from 52-week high of $51.09.

Health Net (HNT) Nice eight-year low on bad earnings and forecast. The daily double. Sells off to $9.57 from 52-week high of $52.96.

FCStone Group (FCSX) Last quarter hurt by commodities prices. Plunges to $2.90 from 52-week high of $53.25.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in HI/LOW Tagged: FCSX, HLF, HNT, THC