24/7 Wall St. » LXK

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BHI, ICE, LXK, MTG, MU, RDN, GOLD, SWY, TSLA, XL)

Administrator — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:03:00 +0000

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

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG) Started as Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette Woods.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN) Started as Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette Woods.

Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) Cut estimates at Goldman Sachs.

Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Raised to Buy at Wunderlich.

XL Group, Plc (NYSE: XL) named as Bear 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: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: BHI, gold, ICE, LXK, MTG, MU, RDN, SWY, TSLA, XL

S&P Slashes Europe GDP Targets, Still No Double Dip Recession (CAT, FLS, PCAR, OI, PLL, ADBE, LXK, F, GM, PM, CCE, MCD, YUM)

Administrator — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:00:07 +0000

Europe posted anemic GDP growth in the second quarter of 2011, but the continent can still avoid a double-dip recession if European governments could solve a few problems. First is high unemployment which is having a direct effect on consumer spending. Second, converting the accommodative monetary policies of European banks into the real economy.

These are the conclusions of a new report from Standard and Poor’s in which the agency lowers Europe’s GDP growth forecasts for the rest of 2011 and all of 2012. What does this slowdown mean for US companies that do significant business in Europe?

S&P sees demand for European goods continuing to grow in emerging markets, but that’s not much help for US industries’ European sales. But European capital spending is increasing slightly, which should continue to be good news for Caterpillar Corp. (NYSE: CAT), which generated 26% of its total revenues last quarter in Europe, at a year-over-year growth rate of 53%, the highest of all the company’s geographic regions. Other industrial manufacturers like Flowserve Corp. (NYSE: FLS), Paccar Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR), Owens-Illinois Inc. (NYSE: OI), and Pall Corp. (NYSE: PLL), all of which do more than 40% of their business in Europe, could also benefit from increased capital spending.

Technology companies like Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE), which does about 33% of its business in Europe, and Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK), with 36% of its business in Europe, have not had a lot of success in Europe recently and increased capital spending may not help tech companies very much..

Consumer-oriented companies like automakers Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and tobacco company Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) have experienced sales declines. The European “cash for clunkers” programs finally expired last quarter and that has put a damper on new car sales.

Some consumer products are doing fine, however. Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) does about 60% of its business in Europe and it reports good sales growth. But a bottle of Coke is a lot cheaper than even a Ford Escort.

Fast-food leader McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) got 22% of its revenue from its European region last quarter. Comparable store sales for the quarter were up 5.2% year-over-year. Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) is more focused on building its operations in China, but sales in its international division, which includes Europe, grew 6% in the second quarter, with same-store sales up 2%.

S&P expects a “rather more gloomy outlook emerging for consumer demand” in the UK than in the rest of Europe. Like their American cousins, citizens of the UK are more highly leveraged than Eurozone citizens. The UK is deleveraging, which, in turn, causes spending on consumer goods to fall. High unemployment and government austerity moves don’t really help the situation.

S&P now expects German GDP to grow at 2% in 2012, down from a forecast of 2.5% in July. Growth in France is now forecast at 1.7%, compared with 1.9% for 2012 just a month ago. The GDP growth forecast for Spain has been cut from 1.5% to 1%, and the UK forecast for 2012 from 2% to 1.8%.

Even if the S&P forecasts turn out to be on target, GDP growth in Europe will be about the same as forecast for the US. That’s not a particularly bright picture for the next 18 months. The only consolation is that it could be worse.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Economy, International Markets, Regulation, Research Tagged: ADBE, CAT, CCE, F, FLS, GM, LXK, MCD, OI, PCAR, PLL, PM, YUM

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (BAC, BBY, BIIB, BCSI, GOOG, LXK, MMI, NOK, ODP, ORCL, PAAS, RIMM, RVBD, S, SBUX, TEVA, VRSK, V)

Administrator — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:45:27 +0000

We won’t bother telling you what hard week this was, but we will tell you that at least some smart-money investors are out looking for bargains right now since stocks have sold off so much and since they can’t make any money in bonds now. We cover about 15 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations each morning that are moving stocks. After going through these and filtering the noise out, we often find some very smart calls and very intuitive calls that offer great upside. Unfortunately we also sometimes find some just awful research calls. These become the Top Analyst Calls of the Week.

This week’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations were seen in shares of the following: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY); Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB); Blue Coat Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BCSI); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK); Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI); Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK); Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP); Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL); Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS); Research-in-Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM); Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD); Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S); Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX); Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA); Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK); and Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V).

In this week’s calls we have pointed out the summary, the price action, an impact elsewhere, and have added color in on some of the summaries.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) may have been defended a week before by Dick Bove of Rochdale, but the stock slid further to close the week out at $6.97. Investors better hope that Credit Suisse knows something that no one else knows. On Wednesday, after a $7.40 close the day before, Credit Suisse maintained its Buy rating but lowered target to $14.00. This was a downgrade light, but frankly that is a double over the next year “IF” the call is accurate.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is trying to stabilize now that shares are down another 20% or so from the post-earnings reaction. The valuation is dirt cheap here when you consider its recent guidance, even if a sensible analysis would say that the estimates might need to come in some more. It trades at less than 8-times earnings. S&P Equity Research said “enough is enough” late on Thursday and raised the rating to “Buy” due to dirt cheap valuation and too much of a sell-off.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, The Week Tagged: BAC, BBY, BCSI, BIIB, GOOG, LXK, RIMM, RVBD, S, SBUX, TEVA, V, VRSK

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AET, AIXG, CTSH, FFIV, GDOT, HFC, ITW, IBM, LXK, MWV, NTAP, OPTR, ORCL, PIR, TYC, UA, UIS, V, VMW, GWW)

Administrator — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:18:37 +0000

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

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) Reiterated Buy with $51 target at Argus.
Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) Removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
HollyFrontier Corporation (NYSE: HFC) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OPTR) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Raised to Top Pick at FBR.
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

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: Annual Report Tagged: AET, AIXG, CTSH, FFIV, GDOT, GWW, HFC, IBM, ITW, LXK, MWV, NTAP, OPTR, ORCL, PIR, TYC, UA, UIS, V, VMW

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMZN, ACAS, AINV, ACI, BMRN, COF, CSCO, EMR, FSLR, IACI, IBM, JOYG, LXK, PNRA, SWC, TSM, WYNN)

Administrator — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:23:24 +0000

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

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $220 at Oppenheimer; Reiterated Buy with $198 target at BofA/ML; Maintained Buy with $220 target at Canaccord Genuity.
American Capital, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Apollo Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: AINV) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research (late-Tuesday call).
BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: BMRN) Cut to Neutral as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) Maintained Buy but raised target to $65 at BofA/ML.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Maintained Neutral but cut target to $22 at BofA/ML.
Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Raised to Buy at Kaufman Bros.
IAC/InterActiveCorp. (NASDAQ: IACI) Raised to Buy at Citigroup; Raised target to $39 at BofA/ML.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $190 at Argus.
Joy Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYG) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) Maintained Neutral but raised target to $135 at BofA/ML
Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE: SWC) Reiterated Outperform and $28 target at Credit Suisse.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Maintained Buy at Zacks.

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: ACAS, ACI, AINV, AMZN, BMRN, COF, CSCO, EMR, FSLR, IACI, IBM, JOYG, LXK, PNRA, SWC, TSM, WYNN

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (DRIV, FTLK, LXK, PCL, PLD, RF, SUPG, TLAB, TXN, VECO, X, ZRAN)

Administrator — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:50:53 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Tuesday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV), Funtalk China Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FTLK), Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK), Plum Creek Timber Co. (NYSE: PCL), Prologis (NYSE: PLD), Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF), SuperGen Inc. (NASDAQ: SUPG), Tellabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB), Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN), Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO), United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X), and Zoran Corporation (NASDAQ: ZRAN).

Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) rose in after-hours trading by as much as 6% last night after it forecast 2010 earnings of at least $0.87 EPS vs. $0.77 estimates. Shares are still up about 2.5% at $36.51 versus a 52-week range of $21.83 to $36.93.

Funtalk China Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FTLK) is trading lower after announcing that it intends to offer about 7,000,000 ordinary shares in a public offering. Shares are down 6.8% at $7.22 and the near-200K shares is already above an average day’s trading volume before the market is even open. Keep in mind that FunTalk postponed this offering once before due to market conditions.

Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) is getting hit after earnings and after its CEO is retiring. Shares are down 7.8% at $44.00 in early trading.

Plum Creek Timber Co. (NYSE: PCL) was lower last night after the timber-land giant posted $0.20 EPS rather than $0.24 EPS targets; it also lowered 2010 guidance. Shares were down 4% last night a the stock is indicated down almost 6% now at $34.83 versus a 52-week range of $30.71 to $43.75,

Prologis (NYSE: PLD) was down 5% last night after it disclosed the sale of 80 million shares and plans to cut its quarterly dividend. Shares are down 5.4% at $12.18 versus a 52-week range of $9.15 to $15.04.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) may be advertising more on TV but the earnings came up short of estimates and the stock is getting clipped. Shares are down 9.7% at $6.35 in active pre-market trading.

SuperGen Inc. (NASDAQ: SUPG) is soaring in percentage terms this morning after beating earnings and raising 2010 guidance on strong Dacogen royalties. Shares are up 24.5% at $2.90 on nearly 100,000 shares; average volume is only 280,000 shares and the 52-week range is $1.71 to $3.80.

Tellabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) reported earnings this morning that beat estimates but it issued a disappointing guidance for Q4 of revenues in a range of $410 to $430 million versus Thomson Reuters estimates of $441.2 million. Shares are down 11.9% at $7.10 this morning versus a 52-week range of $5.36 to $9.45.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) was at a two-year high going into earnings. Despite beating estimates, there was a sell-the-news reaction as guidance was put at $0.59 to $0.67 EPS vs. $0.63 estimates. Shares were down about 1% around $28.70 last night.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) was lower after lower guidance of down to $285 million versus estimates closer to $315 million. Shares were down 6% at $37.44 in the after-hours session and the stock was down 5.5% at $37.55 on last look this morning.

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) is trading lower on earnings, well on losses. The company lost $51 million for the quarter and shares are down 5.4% at $40.00 in active trading versus a 52-week trading range of $33.25 to $70.95.

Zoran Corporation (NASDAQ: ZRAN) tanked last night after poor earnings and a significant cut to guidance. Shares hit new 52-week lows as a result, assuming last night’s levels come close to holding. Shares are down 21.7% at $5.92 pre-market versus a prior 52-week range of $6.81 to $12.32.

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: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: DRIV, FTLK, LXK, PCL, PLD, RF, SUPG, TLAB, TXN, VECO, X, ZRAN

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMAT, BBY, EXPE, FCX, KLAC, LXK, MPEL, NUE, RADS, SAP, X, VCLK)

Administrator — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:45:37 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research notes:

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Started as Underperform at BNP Paribas.
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Started as Equal-weight at BNP Paribas.
Lexmark International (NYSE: LXK) Started At Neutral By Susquehanna
Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) Raised Target at Citigroup.
Nucor (NYSE: NUE) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Radiant Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: RADS) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
U.S. Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
ValueClick, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCLK) Raised to Buy at Benchmark Capital.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMAT, BBY, EXPE, FCX, KLAC, LXK, MPEL, NUE, RADS, SAP, VCLK, X

Top Day Trader Alerts (GS, AAPL, AIG, NEXM, LXK, TLAB)

Administrator — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:12:52 +0000

We have several big movers this morning in our day trader and active trader alerts. Two current favorites… Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is down 1% ahead of the CEO testimony; Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is indicated lower this morning. The rest can be found with more detail at VSInvestor.com via the links provided:

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is down as KBW issued a $6 target.

NexMed, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEXM) is the top gainer this morning despite it being a penny stock.

Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) is up after earnings at 52-week highs.

Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) is hitting highs since OCT-2007 after earnings.

JON C. OGG

Sponsor: 26 Cheap Stocks to Sell - Cheap stocks have been on a tear recently, but nine out of 10 cheap stocks are circling the drain!

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AAPL, AIG, GS, LXK, NEXM, TLAB

Today’s Best Market Rumors (March 24, 2010)

Administrator — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:29:34 +0000

Updated throughout the trading day….

This was out yesterday throughout the day but there have been rumors that Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) may ditch the WebOS for Android. Hardly seems fathomable, problems at Palm or not… (Wired)

More rumors keep coming about the Nintendo (NTDOY) 3DS launch after the company’s own announcement.

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is rumored to have the release date for its Nexus One launch next week.

Rumor or research from yesterday and today… Lexmark International (NYSE: LXK) is touted as a potential takeover target via an LBO according to Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. You have to decide that one for yourself.

PAI Partners (French private equity) is considering an IPO of Danish food ingredients company Chr. Hansen. (Dow Jones)

The 24/7 Wall St. Team

Filed under: Rumors Tagged: LXK, NTDOY, PALM, VZ

Top Day Trader Alerts (CITP, DHI, ITMN, LXK, SIRI)

247wallst — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:59:15 +0000

These are today’s top day trader and active trader alert stocks. We have links over to VSInvestor (except on one) with more details and analysis on each story:

Comsys IT Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: CITP) is the top winner of Tuesday on a buyout this morning.

D R Horton (NYSE: DHI) is trading up 8% after posting a quarterly gain.

InterMune Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) volatility went through the roof yesterday on options pricing and on options trading. Details at BioHealthInvestor.com.

Lexmark International Inc.(NYSE: LXK) is up almost 10% at new 52-week highs.

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was raised on its debt rating last night at Moody’s and it looks like we’ll have 52-week trading highs this morning. Full upgrade details here at 247 WallSt.com rather than VSInvestor.com. Shares are up 3.75% at $0.91 on 2 million shares as of 8:53 AM EST.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: CITP, DHI, ITMN, LXK, SIRI