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Top Ten Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AGU, BLX, GNW, HBC, JEF, MU, NSC, POT, SKS, VVUS)

Administrator — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:27:15 +0000

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

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Cut to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE: BLX) named as value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) Downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Zacks Investment Research.
HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) maintained Underperform but also named as Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF) Cut to Hold from Buy by Meredith Whitney (Late-Wednesday call).
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Maintained Buy with $11 target at Stern Agee; maintained as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Raised to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.
Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) Downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Zacks Investment Research.
VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital; Maintained as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AGU, BLX, GNW, HBC, JEF, MU, NSC, POT, SKS, VVUS

Has Potential Upside Gone Missing in Transport Stocks? (CSX, NSC, UNP, CP, JBHT, LSTR, DSX, DRYS, EXM, FRO)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:30:38 +0000

Railroads and trucking companies have, for the most part, seen share prices rise over the past 12 months, while ocean-going shippers have taken a severe beating. Of four railroads, CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP), only the last has failed to see its share price rise in the past year. Truckers J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) and Land Star System, Inc. (NASDAQ: LSTR) have both gained more than 20%. Shipping companies Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE: EXM), and Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) are all down between -45% and nearly -90%.

To start with the worst, Frontline is down more than -88% for the year, and its median target price has dropped to $6.00 from $7.25 in late October. At today’s share price of $2.98, the potential upside is slightly more than 100%. DryShips is not much better, with a lower target price of $5.00. At today’s price of $2.37, the implied gain is nearly 111%. Neither Excel nor Diana is as bad, but neither is likely to achieve anywhere near their implied gains of 63% and 46%, respectively. The shipping business has too many ships sailing around at unprofitable day rates. Until that situation resolves itself — not likely until 2013 — anything that resembles value in the shipping business is likely a mirage.

Railroads are faring better because rail traffic is up. The Association of American Railroads reported this morning that November carload traffic on US railroads grew 4% compared with November 2010. Intermodal traffic (containers) grew by 3.7% year-over-year. The largest increase came in motor vehicle carloads, which grew by 42% compared with last year and petroleum product carloads which grew by more than 28%.

Another large gain, more than 30%, came in carloads of crushed stone, sand, and gravel. Because beach sand is the most common material used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells, it’s probably a reasonable assumption to give the drilling industry credit for the increase.

Of the four railroads, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have both had target price boosts since late October. Union Pacific’s median target price is $114.00, up from $110.00. At a current price of $102.70, the potential upside in UP’s stock is 11%. The company’s dividend yield of 2.4% is also tied with Norfolk Southern’s for the best in the group.

Norfolk Southern’s median target price is $85.50, up from $82.00. At a current price of $74.90, the stock has a potential upside of 14.5%. With a slightly higher implied gain and an equal dividend yield, Norfolk Southern might be the best bet among the railroads.

In trucking, J.B. Hunt’s median target price fell from $49.00 to $48.00, but that was quite likely due to two brokers dropping coverage. At today’s price of $$45.40, the potential upside for the stock is just 5.7%. The company pays a dividend yield of 1.2%.

Landstar’s median target price is $52.00, up half a dollar from late October, and again likely due to a drop in the number of brokers covering the stock. At today’s price of $45.90, the potential upside for the stock is 13.3%. Landstar pays a dividend yield of 0.5%. Earlier this week, Landstar was downgraded from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ at SunTrust.

Of the two trucking companies, neither has a clear edge over the other. Hunt is more fully valued, but the company reported record results in the third quarter. If Hunt can do that again, then the current target price will be left way behind. Hunt’s strength in intermodal transportation could easily make that happen.

Of all ten stocks reviewed here, Norfolk Southern may be the safest bet, but J.B. Hunt may add more significant growth potential to its relatively limited upside potential.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Transports Tagged: CP, CSX, DRYS, DSX, EXM, FRO, JBHT, LSTR, NSC, UNP

Expected Price Gains in Transportation Stocks (CSX, NSC, UNP, CP, DSX, DRYS, EXM, FRO, JBHT, LSTR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:06:38 +0000

Transportation stocks get a lot more attention as economic bellwethers than they do as market participants. Railroads, ships, and trucks are not particularly glamorous, and the industries are so entrenched that they most resemble utility stocks.

The companies included in today’s overview are CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP), Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE: EXM), Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO), JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT), and LandStar System Inc. (NASDAQ: LSTR).

Of the ten stocks we’re looking at today, only one trades more than 10 million shares a day and most of the others trade less than 3 million. On the surface, it would seem that all these stocks would more or less trade in parallel. In practice, though, railroads and trucking companies are faring far better than sea-borne shippers. Railroads are hauling more coal, and trucking companies are having trouble meeting demand for their services. Shippers overbuilt their fleets, and the resulting collapse in day rates has been punishing for their top and bottom lines.

Cargo traffic is closely watched at this time of year as a predictor of holiday retail sales. Typically, ocean container shipping headed to the US tips the coming strength of retail sales. This year, container shipments have been somewhat lower, and this month’s totals will really tell the tale. Rail and truck traffic has been strong though, although the shortage of available trucks is diverting more container (intermodal) traffic to the railroads.

All data from Yahoo! Finance, and share prices were collected shortly before noon today.

CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) has a median target price of $27.00 from 24 brokers. Shares are trading today at $22.66, for an implied gain of $4.34, or 19%. CSX’s forward P/E is 11.73 and the company pays a dividend yield of 2.3%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $17.69-$27.06, and at today’s price that’s about 28% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 16% below the 52-week high. CSX met analysts’ expectations when it reported third quarter earnings about 10 days ago. The company noted a 15% jump in intermodal freight revenue, although volume was essentially unchanged from the same period a year ago. CSX said at the time that it does not expect significant growth in the US, but neither does it predict a double-dip recession.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) has a median target price of $82.00 from 23 brokers. Shares are trading today at $74.74, for an implied gain of $7.26, or 10%. Norfolk Southern’s forward P/E is 12.91 and the company pays a dividend yield of 2.5%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $57.57-$78.40, and at today’s price that’s about 30% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 5% below the 52-week high. Norfolk Southern hauled 23% more coal in the third quarter than it did a year ago, and its intermodal traffic volume increased by 13%. Like CSX, the company expects modest economic growth in the US going forward. The company’s implied stock price gain is about half that of CSX, but with both coal and intermodal traffic up and growing, Norfolk Southern is more likely to bust through its current target price than the other railroads we’ve looked at today.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) has a median target price of $110.00 from 25 brokers. Shares are trading today at $102.35, for an implied gain of $7.65, or 7.5%. Union Pacific’s forward P/E is 13.15 and the company pays a dividend yield of 2%. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $77.73-$107.89, and at today’s price that’s about 32% above its 52-week low, posted earlier this morning, and 5% below the 52-week high. Union Pacific posted third quarter earnings a week ago, and its international intermodal shipments were down -12% year-over-year. That implies that retailers are buying less in anticipation of a slower holiday shopping season.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, International Markets, Transports Tagged: CP, CSX, DRYS, DSX, EXM, FRO, JBHT, LSTR, NSC, UNP

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALKS, AMP, BWA, CSCO, CLB, DD, GTIV, HIG, JASO, JPM, JWN, NSC, ORCL, PFE, STP, TSL, UAL)

Administrator — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:12:59 +0000

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

Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) Removed from US 1 List but maintained Buy at BofA/ML.
Ameriprise Financial Inc. (NYSE: AMP) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
BorgWarner, Inc. (NYSE: BWA) is Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Buy with $22 target at BofA/ML; Reiterated Outperform at CRedit Suisse.
Core Laboratories NV (NYSE: CLB) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD) Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research (late Tuesday).
Gentiva Health Services (NASDAQ: GTIV) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Maintained Outperform but cut estimates at Credit Suisse.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) Reiterated Buy with $34 target at BofA/ML.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALKS, AMP, BWA, CLB, CSCO, DD, GTIV, HIG, JASO, JPM, JWN, NSC, ORCL, PFE, STP, TSL, UAL

Are There Winners If Oil Falls to $80? (XOM, CVC, COP, SD, VLO, MPC, TSO, WNR, UAL, DAL, AMR, LUV, DRYS, DSX, UNP, CSX, NSC, FDX, UPS, ADM, POT, MOS, CF)

Administrator — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:05:36 +0000

The price for WTI crude oil fell below $83/barrel momentarily today as the market takes another shellacking, down around 200 points just before noon. Both crude and the wider market are making a comeback effort, but today’s overall mood has been decidedly black.

Just as we tried to look at the effects of a crude price of $120/barrel a couple of weeks ago, today is a good day to look at what effect a crude price of $80/barrel might have. First of all, it would be very good news for consumers who might anticipate gasoline prices around $3.25/gallon, at least briefly. And US drivers need some cheering up.

An $80/barrel price would definitely be bad for big oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), and ConocoPhillips Corp. (NYSE: COP). Refiners, however could do better, especially those able to get WTI crude. US refiners situated along the Gulf Coast are essentially tied to Brent prices, while refiners further from the coast can get their hands on the cheaper WTI. That allows these companies to take advantage of the crude differential to achieve more margin.

Of the refiners, Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is most closely tied to the Gulf Coast and higher priced crude. Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC), Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO), and Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) all have more plants outside the Gulf Coast region, and thus, a better chance to take advantage of wider refining margins.

Another industry that should do well with $80/barrel crude is the airlines business. United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL), Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL), AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), and Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), among others, have been slammed by high fuel costs. Provided anyone can still afford to fly, airline fuel costs will fall and fares may follow.

Other transportation industries that use large amounts of fuel are shipping and railroads. Shipping companies like DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), and Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. (NYSE: GNK) could catch a break from lower fuel costs. Unfortunately, over-capacity in dry bulk carriers could hold down any gain that might come from cheaper fuel.

Railroads might fare better. Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) have been moving a lot more goods these days, and lower diesel fuel costs will make these stocks among the best able to take advantage of cheaper fuel. Loads are up, rates are up, and fuel is getting cheaper. That’s a potent combination.

Other transportation winners could include FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS), both of which are shipping more these days and have taken a hit as fuel prices were rising.

Finally, agriculture-related firms like fertilizer companies and machinery makers could get a boost from lower fuel costs. Ag companies like Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT), Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), and Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) all benefit from lower fuel costs in one way or another.

Of all the companies we’ve looked at here, only FedEx, UPS, and CF Industries is showing a gain today. CF Industries raised its annual dividend today from $0.40/share to $1.60/share, on top of a blowout quarterly earnings report. CF Industries’ shares are up more than 70% in the past 12 months, and the company expects the rest of 2011 to be just as strong as the first half.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Agriculture, Airlines, Commodities, Oil & Gas, Transports Tagged: ADM, AMR, CF, COP, CSX, CVC, DAL, DRYS, DSX, FDX, LUV, MOS, MPC, NSC, POT, SD, TSO, UAL, UNP, UPS, VLO, WNR, XOM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADBE, AMD, COH, ELN, KSS, MCD, NSC, OVTI, PBR, RSH, RNET, LUV, WWE, XLNX)

Administrator — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:29:14 +0000

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

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) Maintained Buy with $65 target at BofA/ML.
Elan Corp. plc (NYSE: ELN) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD) Reiterated Outperform with $87 target at Credit Suisse.
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
OmniVision Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) Raised to Outperform and listed as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR), or Petrobras, Reiterated Buy with $55 target at BofA/ML.
RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) Raised to Neutral at Wedbush.
RigNet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNET) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) Reiterated Buy and $18 target at Argus.
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush.
Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) Raised to 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: ADBE, AMD, COH, ELN, KSS, LUV, MCD, NSC, OVTI, PBR, RNET, RSH, WWE, XLNX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ARO, APC, DO, MMM, FDX, SOLR, IPG, JBHT, KLIC, LIZ, MON, MWW, JWN, NSC, PM, RAX, UPS)

Administrator — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:01:02 +0000

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

Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) added to Goldman Sachs’ Conviction Buy List.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) Added to BofA/ML Endeavor List.
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) Kept as Undeperform but cut target to $4 at BofA/ML.
Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) Reiterated Neutral but raised target to $75 at BofA/ML.
Monster Worldwide Inc (NYSE: MWW) kept as Outperform but target raised to $32 at Credit Suisse.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) Raised to Overwight at Morgan Stanley.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Rackspace Hosting, Inc (NYSE: RAX) Removed from BofA/ML Endeavor List.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) Started as Buy at Jefferies.

If you missed yesterday’s analyst calls from 247WallSt.com, the Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades included tickers AMZN, AGNC, AXP, NLY, BUD, ATHR, BJ, BRCD, CHL, DHI, XOM, MSFT, MSI, RAX, GOLD, and TOL.

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: APC, ARO, DO, FDX, IPG, JBHT, JWN, KLIC, LIZ, MMM, MON, MWW, NSC, PM, RAX, SOLR, UPS

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALTR, ACI, CBOE, FWLT, GE, JBHT, KSU, NFLX, NSC, PCX, CRM, MMM, UNP, URI, VVUS, XLNX)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:21:18 +0000

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

Altera Corp. (NASDAQ: ALTR) Started as Neutral at Janney.
Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ: FWLT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Reiterated Outperform and $22 target at Credit Suisse.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.
Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.
Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $158 at BofA/ML.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.
United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) Started as Outperform and $30 target at Credit Suisse.
VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Raised to Buy and target raised to $12 from $6 at BofA/ML (full details).
Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) Started as Neutral at Janney.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ACI, ALTR, CBOE, CRM, FWLT, GE, JBHT, KSU, MMM, NFLX, NSC, PCX, UNP, URI, VVUS, XLNX

Rail Dividends Trending Higher, 2011 Outlook (UNP, GSH, NSC, CSX, CNI, CP, BRK-A, BRK-B)

Administrator — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:44:49 +0000

It turns out that Warren Buffett was right about railroads. They are part of a country’s fabric, and their place as a relatively low-cost shipper is well-fixed in a country’s infrastructure. Now that view is paying off in the form of dividends. Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) has announced that the company is raising its quarterly dividend for a second time this year to $0.38/share. This lifts the company’s yield from 1.4% to 1.7%, and raises Union Pacific’s yield from the bottom of six railway companies to somewhere in the middle.

Along with Union Pacific, we also looked at Guangshen Railway Co. Ltd. (NYSE: GSH), Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE: NSC), CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Canadian National Railway Co. (NYSE: CNI), and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP). Here’s how they stack up on the basis of dividend yield:

Guangshen Railway pays $0.51 for a 2.5% yield;
Norfolk Southern pays $1.44 for a 2.3% yield;
CSX Corp. pays $1.04 for a 1.7% yield;
Canadian National pays $1.07 for a 1.7% yield;
Union Pacific pays $1.52 for a 1.7% yield;
Canadian Pacific pays $1.05 for a 1.6% yield.

There is an obvious here… more dividend raises could be on the way, if the railroads want to maintain current investor yields going forward.

Buffett’s own Burlington Northern Railway has boosted shares in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A; BRK-B), but the company does not pay dividends.

Not everyone sees a silver lining in railroad stocks. Goldman Sachs today downgraded Norfolk Southern from ‘Hold’ to ‘Sell’ and lowered the company’s target share price from $62 to $59. The stock is trading at over $61/share so far today. Goldman cited higher costs, smaller price increases, a negative view on coal shipments from Appalachia, and declining intermodal traffic as reasons for the downgrade. Goldman could be right, but strength in railroad stocks has been building and all the stocks we’ve looked at are priced well below their mean targets.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Buffett, Dividend, Shareholder Issues, Transports Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, CNI, CP, CSX, GSH, NSC, UNP

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.

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