24/7 Wall St. » KEY

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (BAC, CHK, SAM, ERJ, PAA, GE, MCD, KMB, ALK, ALTR, COF, HBI, SNDK, KEY, AEP, CP, CTIC, RCL, PCX, RVBD, RMBS)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:05:19 +0000

Markets opened higher this morning although a decline in tech stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, leaving the index with only a small gain going into the last hour of trading. Energy stocks boosted the Dow and the S&P. Asian and European markets were higher today, except in Japan, where tech stocks held the market down. The IMF’s attempts to build its Eurozone firewall fund to around $400 million are meeting with mixed success, with the failure of the BRIC countries to jump on board (our coverage here). The US dollar index fell today, now down -0.46% at 79.193. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 672.63, with most commodities gaining on the falling dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.8% at $103.05/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 0.54% at $118.64/barrel. Gold settled up 0.01% today, at $1,642.80/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 65 points to 13,029.19 (0.5%), the NASDAQ fell more than 7 points (-0.24%) to 3.000.45, and the S&P 500 rose 0.12% or nearly 2 points to 1,378.53.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) cut to ‘sell’ at Credit Agricole; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) started as ‘neutral’ at UBS; Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; and Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) started as ‘overweight’ at Barclays.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is up 1.4% at $19.41 (more coverage here); McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is up 0.7% at $95.90 (more coverage here); Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) is up 1.6% at $76.50 after posting a new 52-week intraday high of $77.09 (more coverage here); Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) is down -0.4% at $34.55; Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) is down -8.1% at $35.38; Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) is up 0.05% at $53.96; Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) is up 11.7% at $30.09 (more coverage here); Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) is down -12.2% at $35.55 (more coverage here); KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is down -0.06% at $7.87; American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) is up 1.1% at $38.29; Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP) is up 0.8% at $77.08 (more coverage here); Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CTIC) is flat at $1.16; and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is down -7.8% at $26.61.

We have a preview of next week’s big earnings reports here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE: PCX) is down -8% at $6.19. The coal miner announced another mine closure today, along with a lowered production estimate. Patriot is scheduled to report earnings after markets close today.

Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is down -28.6% at $19.89. The network equipment maker missed earnings expectations. More coverage here.

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) is down -12% at $4.92. The dhip maker missed EPS estimates today and offered a lower-than-expected forecast.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6- month bill auction

Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Earnings, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AEP, ALK, ALTR, BAC, CHK, COF, CP, CTIC, ERJ, GE, HBI, KEY, KMB, MCD, PAA, PCX, RCL, RMBS, RVBD, SAM, SNDK

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIG, CMA, CNO, DE, DRQ, GOOG, HBAN, JEF, KEY, NVDA, OFG, PNRA, P, PEG, RF, URS, VE, ZUMZ)

Administrator — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:08:25 +0000

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

American International Group (NYSE: AIG) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at BofA/ML.

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO) Started as Buy with $9 target at Goldman Sachs.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Reiterated Buy with $104 target at BofA/ML.

Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE: DRQ) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Reiterated Buy with $730 target at Argus.

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) Started as Neutral at Citigroup.

Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF) Raised to Buy at Rochdale Securities.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Started as Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Oriental Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: OFG) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.

Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) Started as Outperform with $190 target at Credit Suisse.

Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) Started as Underweight at Barclays.

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE: PEG) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at Argus.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) Started as Neutral at Citigroup.

URS Corporation (NYSE: URS) Reiterated Underperform with $49 target at BofA/ML.

Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.

Zumiez, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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: AIG, CMA, CNO, DE, DRQ, GOOG, HBAN, JEF, KEY, NVDA, OFG, P, PEG, PNRA, RF, URS, VE, ZUMZ

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (DVA, DNDN, GS, HGG, KEY, MCD, MS, ORCL, RF, SBUX, ZNGA)

Administrator — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:15:28 +0000

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

DaVita, Inc. (NYSE: DVA) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) maintained Neutral with $14.00 target at Zacks; Started as Hold at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Energy Partners Limited (NYSE: EPL) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
hhgregg, Inc. (NYSE: HGG) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Cut to Underperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Cut to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer (valuation call).
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) Raised to Outperform at RBC Capital; Cut to Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Zynga, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) Started as Overweight at Barclays; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: DNDN, DVA, GS, HGG, KEY, MCD, MS, ORCL, RF, SBUX, ZNGA

The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index: Companies With The Worst News (July 7)

247wallst — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:37:00 +0000

Nothing compared to the negative press News Corp (NYSE: NWS) has gotten in the last three days as its The News of The World is accused of tapping the phone of a dead girl and erasing messages in a full mailbox to leave room for more.

The Flame Index started as a research tool in 2008 at the NY Innovation Design Lab (nyidlab). It was used as a general metric to evaluate companies and their risk in the media. Publicly traded Fortune 500 companies are used as a measure to calculate an overall market of negative news and the companies are ranked within that market.

Rank	Company	Ticker	Score	Change in Rank	Comments
3	News Corp.	NWSA	52.659	+585	One of its UK paper, The News of the World, hacks dead girl’s phone
4	National Oilwell Varco	NOV	45.259	+252	Buys Ameron International for $772 million
7	ConocoPhillips	COP	34.577	+553	Oil leaks hurt China output
18	KeyCorp	KEY	25.337	+382	New debt card cap will cost $60 million.
21	Novartis	NVS	24.63	+557	Russian police search its offices
27	Quest Diagnostics	DGX	23.777	+497	UK competitor say Quest overcharged government by $1 billion
35	Pfizer	PFE	22.07	+462	Drug Lyrica does well in Japanese tests
38	eBay	EBAY	21.805	+636	UK Twitter account hit by hackers
42	Autodesk	ADSK	21.379	+508	Large exposure to EU economic slowdown
43	Kellogg	K	21.349	+367	More concern and agri-product costs are up

Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.

Filed under: General, Research Tagged: ADSK, COP, DGX, EBAY, K, KEY, NOV, NVS, NWS, PFE

Anticipating the Citigroup Reverse Stock Split, Trading Implications are Major and Many (C, AIG, NYX, BAC, WFC, JPM, RF, KEY, BPOP, IRE, AIB, NBG)

Administrator — Fri, 06 May 2011 18:47:19 +0000

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) is about to get a huge stock makeover. This is its last week as a stock in the single-dollar digits. At least that is what the world hopes. Its 1 for 10 reverse stock split is set to take effect and shares today are up 1.2% at $4.53. We want to examine the impact of this ad see if there are other implications.

For starters, Morgan Stanley raised the rating to Overweight this morning and assigned a price target objective of $6.00 per share. After today, consider that a $60.00 price target. Earlier this week came a report from UBS with a “Buy” rating and $5.60 target. As far as how this compares to consensus, Thomson Reuters has a mean objective price target of $5.64 for the stock.

As we also noted at earnings, Citigroup listed a book value per share of $5.85 per share and a tangible book value per share of $4.69. The hope is that with it restructuring and with it having real earnings again that perhaps the current prices will tend to act as a floor since it is under book value. The wrench that can break that machine’s thought is that Citi is still trying to shrink itself down to a Core-Citi and that means more asset sales or divestitures.

Reverse stock splits are not always bad. American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is currently above $31.00 and its pre-split shares before its 1-for-20 reverse split were trading at an equivalent price of $19.44. Those shares did tank in the days after that as they were cut in half, but then recovered handily and it took about a month for shares to get back to the pre-split price. Within another month of that, AIG’s stock had doubled.

The biggest loser here in the Citigroup reverse-split will be the NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) as Citigroup trades an average of over 400 MILLION shares a day. That is often one-tenth or more of the NYSE’s total share volume. Ouch.

There is a flip-side to consider here. This could be a boom for a few other stocks. Traders will likely look for other lower-priced bank stocks. Many others like Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) already trade at much higher prices. They are also far healthier.

It is possible that this will bring even more trading into Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) as it has a lower price of $12.32. It also trades under book value, and that has not really boosted shares as investors and traders are worried that billions more in charges could come from the mortgage mess via foreclosure woes and putback concerns.

We do not expect to see exponential volume gains in smaller low-priced active bank stocks, but it would be easy to expect that traders and speculators will play the lower priced banks when there is big news that impacts the financial stocks. We think a few of these could become the new go-to Citibank-alternative stocks.

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) could be one of those with shares around $7.10 and a market cap of close to $9 billion. Its 52-week trading range is $5.12 to $8.96 and the average daily volume is about 13 million shares.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is another as the parent of KeyBank. Its shares are close to $8.53, its 52-week range is $7.13 to $9.77, its market cap is $8 billion, and its average volume is close to 15 million shares.

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP) is close to $3.06 and a market cap of $4.2 billion. Its 52-week trading range is $2.37 to $3.73. The average volume is about 9 million shares per day.

There are also the two crazy Irish banking stocks. The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) is close to $1.90 and the 52-week range is $1.38 to $9.00 and average volume is about 4 million shares. Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB) has already seen a reverse split of its own. Its shares are around $3.18 and the adjusted 52-week range is $2.00 to $18.65 with an average daily volume of 1.6 million shares.

Another bank from the lands of the PIIGS could be National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG). Its ADRs trade only at $1.41, its 52-week range is $1.35 to $3.23, and the average volume is closer to 6 million shares a day.

Citigroup is about to look a lot different starting next week. Some of these low-priced bank shares may see a rise in share volume when financial news hits, but some likely will not. Stay tuned.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: ADR, Banking, Stock Splits, Trading Alert Tagged: AIB, AIG, BAC, BPOP, C, IRE, JPM, KEY, NBG, NYX, RF, WFC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAPL, BBVA, STD, CAP, CNW, DYN, INTU, KEY, LEAP, ODFL, PLXS, SWIR, SBUX, SNPS, TTWO, YUM)

Administrator — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 13:21:40 +0000

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

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Raised to Outperform as the Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: STD) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
CAI International Inc. (NYSE: CAP) Started as Outperform with $24 target at Credit Suisse.
Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW) Raised to Outperform and $39 target at Credit Suisse.
Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late-Tuesday call).
Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL) Raised to Neutral and $32 target at Credit Suisse.
Plexus Corporation (NASDAQ: PLXS) Cut to Underperform and named the Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Sierra Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: SWIR) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Started as Outperform with $40 target at Williams Capital.
Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) Reinstated as Buy at BofA/ML.
Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
YUM! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Reiterated Buy with $58 target at Argus.

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: AAPL, BBVA, CAP, CNW, DYN, INTU, KEY, LEAP, ODFL, PLXS, SBUX, SNPS, STD, SWIR, TTWO, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMD, BIDU, CHC, GLW, CTRP, CSX, DISCA, FSLR, GME, HON, HGSI, KEY, NSC, PWRD, SVVS, SHLD, SINA, SBIB)

Administrator — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:25:10 +0000

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

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
China Hydroelectric Corp. (NYSE: CHC) Started as Buy at Roth Capital.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Ctrip.com International (NASDAQ: CTRP) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) Raised to Outperform at Cowen.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Cut to Hold at Citi; Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD) Cut to Sell at Citi; Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
SAVVIS Inc. (NASDAQ: SVVS) Raised to Buy at Kaufman Bros.
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) Maintain Underperform but Cut target to $55 at Credit Suisse.
Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Sterling Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

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

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMD, AUO, BIDU, CHC, CSX, CTRP, DISCA, FSLR, GLW, GME, HGSI, HON, KEY, NSC, PWRD, SBIB, SHLD, SINA, SVVS

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALU, ALL, AMZN, AU, CA, CHKP, COST, GE, HON, KEY, MYGN, PCLN, SIX, SFD, MMM, TYC, UTX)

Administrator — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:19:28 +0000

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

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) Started as Outperform at RBC.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASAQ: AMZN) Cut to Hold at Benchmark.
AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
CA Inc. (NYSE: CA) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Started as Buy at Nomura.
Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) Started as Buy at Nomura.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Myriad Genetics inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE: SIX) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) Raised to Outperform at BMO.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Started as Reduce at Nomura.
Tyco International (NYSE: TYC) Started as Reduce at Nomura.
United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) Started as Buy at Nomura.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALL, ALU, AMZN, AU, CA, CHKP, COST, GE, HON, KEY, MMM, MYGN, PCLN, SFD, SIX, TYC, UTX

JPMorgan Vs. Meredith Whitney on Regional Banks (CMA, KEY, SIVB, PBCT)

Administrator — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:28:46 +0000

You have to love it when there are two high profile calls on the same topic that effectively say the exact opposite of each other. That is the case when it comes to research calls on regional banks. Last week it was Meredith Whitney with a call against regional banks, but today comes a call from JPMorgan noting that regional bank stocks are poised to rise. A few of JPMorgan’s banks named were Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) and KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), followed by SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) and People’s United Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: PBCT).

Last week on CNBC, Meredith Whitney told Maria Bartoromo, “… The banks have been all over the place so to say at this point and time the banks are off a little bit. I don’t think there’s any way to make money on the banks. But in terms, the regional banks for the state’s reason alone are in an impossible situation. I would absolutely sell the regional banks.” It can’t get much stronger of a call against the regional banks.

JPMorgan sees the world a bit differently. The brokerage and banking giant is out loosely defending and recommending regional banking stocks. This research note calls for increased exposure to the regionals. The reason is based on credit improvement and as loan balance contractions are slowing. Despite the economic recovery’s pace having slowed down, JPMorgan feels that this is now reflected in current valuations. The call also notes that some of the regionals are likely to see double digit returns through 2011.

It is interesting when you see analysts using the same information and coming to opposite conclusions. That is what makes a ballgame.

JON C.OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Banking, Economy, Financial Stocks Tagged: CMA, KEY, PBCT, SIVB

Top Day Trader Alerts (AAPL, MS, WFC, KEY, YHOO, CSIQ, VITC, JNPR)

Administrator — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:09:48 +0000

We have some big movers this morning, mostly on earnings news. We have provided the basics for each here with a link to more detail at VSInvestor.com where applicable on each:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is still holding to all-time highs despite being under the highs of the reopen last night.

BANKS ON THE MOVE after earnings: Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) trading up 3%; Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) down over 2%; KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) up 3%.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is now down after originally trading higher after beating earnings.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is down almost 9% and it could have been worse.

Vitacost.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: VITC) is the biggest loser so far with a drop over 30%.

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) is down 7% after beating earnings but guiding in-line.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AAPL, CSIQ, JNPR, KEY, MS, VITC, WFC, YHOO