Advance Auto Parts. Inc. (NYSE: AAP) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) added to Strong Sell List at Zacks.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Carbonite, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB) Reiterated Buy with $16 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank; Raised to Buy at Citigroup; Target raised to $26 from $25 at Credit Suisse.
Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) Cut to Sell at S&P Capital IQ (late-Wednesday); Maintained Buy at Bof A/ML.
Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at Argus.
Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI) Raised to Hold at S&P Capital IQ (late-Wednesday).
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) maintained Hold with $7.50 target at Canaccord Genuity.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Spreadtrum Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRD) Reiterated Buy and raised estimates at Canaccord Genuity.
SurModics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX) named as Aggressive Growth at Zacks.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.

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JON C. OGG

Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is up 13.5% before market open to $16.25, relative to a 52-week range of $9.16 – $27.73. 

Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) is down 26% before market open to $7.70, relative to a 52-week range of $7.81 – $43.96.

Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) is up 116% premarket to $35.80, relative to a 52-week range of $10.96 – $25.50.

PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) is down 5.5% premarket to $40.00, relative to a 52-week range of $37.57 – $48.63.

Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is up more than 10% premarket to $57.51, relative to a 52-week range of $44.62 – $59.94.

Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is up 5.3% before market open to $30.25, relative to a 52-week range of $21.11 – $36.42. 

44.62 – 59.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Cut to Market Perform at William Blair; Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse; Raised target to $90 at Argus.
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Maintained Neutral but cut estimates and target to $87 at Credit Suisse.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) maintained Neutral but target to $4 from $10 at Credit Suisse.
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS.A) Removed from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Reiterated Outperform on Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Polycom Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) Raised to Buy at Argus.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Ryanair Holdings plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) Cut to UNderperform at BofA/ML.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

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JON C. OGG

Both projects include a 250-megawatt CSP plant and combined the two plants will avoid emissions of nearly 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. PG & E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) will purchase the power generated at both plants. The two plants will double the amount of US CSP-generated electricity.

The Genesis project uses proven scalable solar thermal technology and will employ about 800 workers during the construction phase of the project and 47 workers once the plant is in full operation.

The Mojave project is the first US utility-scale plant to use Abengoa’s new Solar Collector Assembly, which uses lighter materials and is less expensive to build and install. The more efficient solar thermal technology requires a smaller number of solar collectors, and the Mojave project will operate without any fossil fuel back-up system.

NextEra is the largest owner and operator of wind systems in North America with an installed capacity of about 8,300 megawatts of wind generation. It is also the largest generator of solar power in the US, generating 315 megawatts.

The Department of Energy has so far made loans or commitments for $32 billion to support 17 projects expected to produce 27 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually. Solar generation projects have received about a third of the total.

A major downside to large solar thermal plants is the amount of land they require. A 500-megawatt plant needs more than 3 square miles of space. BrightSource Energy’s huge Ivanpah project, also located in the Mojave Desert, requires nearly 6 square miles of land to accommodate its 392 megawatts of capacity. There are bound to be conflicts between environmental and energy interests when that much area is needed for a single project.

Some solar stocks were getting a slight boost at opening this morning on news that Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has invested $280 million in a program of rooftop solar installations. Unfortunately, events in Greece and some weak manufacturing data have sent stocks generally lower since then.

NextEra’s shares are down about -0.2% this morning, at $55.77, in a 52-week range of $47.96-$58.98. The Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSE: TAN) is off about -1.5%, at $6.79, in a 52-week range of $6.40-$9.34.

Paul Ausick

Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) is due Wednesday morning and shares were down 2.3% at $78.52 late on Tuesday.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.74 EPS and $1.22 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.92 EPS and $1.32 billion in revenues.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target objective of $80.75 and the 52-week trading range is $56.26 to $80.70.

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is due Wednesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.17 EPS and $536.35 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.22 EPS and $521.22 million in revenues.  The shares were trading around $20.30 late on Tuesday. Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of $24.77 and the 52-week trading range is $18.51 to $27.65.

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) has managed to hold up despite competition and changing demand concerns.  The stock was around $33.50 late on Tuesday with earnings early Wednesday morning. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.33 EPS and $413.09 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.65 EPS and $637.04 million in revenues.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target objective of $31.53 and the 52-week trading range is $26.11 to $39.05.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) may trade around gold more than earnings.  Shares were down 3.3% late in the day at $51.00. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.48 EPS and $1.26 billion in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.53 EPS and $1.36 billion in revenues.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target objective of $64.50 and the 52-week trading range is $38.07 to $56.20.

JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) will come Wednesday afternoon and shares have come back to about $20.25. Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.20 EPS and $448.17 million in revenues; next quarter estimates are $0.25 EPS and $470.18 million in revenues.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target objective of $24.74 and the 52-week trading range is $9.05 to $29.12.

MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) is due Wednesday morning and Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.26 EPS and $15.89 billion in revenues.  Shares were around $46.32 late Tuesday and Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target objective of $55.44 and the 52-week trading range is $35.38 to $48.72.

BrightSource Energy, Inc. has file a preliminary Form S-1 with the US SEC announcing its intention to conduct an initial public offering. BrightSource was listed as one of our 25 most important alt energy companies last year, and it seems to have lived up to its advance billing. The company has scored a $1.6 billion loan guarantee for its 392-megawatt Ivanpah solar thermal power plant in southern California, and a $168 million investment from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). Earlier this month BrightSource received $201 million in venture capital.

The company was founded in 2004 and has completed 14 long-term power purchase agreements to deliver about 2,600 megawatts of electricity to PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) and Southern California Edison, a division of Edison International Inc. (NYSE: EIX). In addition to electricity generation, BrightSource has also developed a solar thermal system to generate steam for use in enhanced oil recovery operations.

BrightSource has not yet specified how many shares would be offered, but did note that 79,135,944 shares of convertible preferred stock would be converted to common stock immediately prior to the IPO. The final number of shares included in the IPO will be determined on the price at the time of the IPO. The underwriters include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DG).

According to the prospectus, the company expects to use the proceeds of the IPO for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures and working capital. It does not appear as though early investors will be cashing out.

BrightSource lost almost $18 million in 2010, equal to its losses in the two previous years combined, and the company expects to continue losing money for the foreseeable future. It takes three to seven years for a solar thermal project to begin commercial operation, so while BrightSource appears to be solid candidate for an IPO, its business could take some time to show profits.

The International Energy Agency has completed a roadmap for development of transportation biofuels through 2050. The IEA projects that by 2050, some 27% of total transportation fuels could be provided by biofuels. To achieve this level of consumption about 250 million acres of arable land would need to be devoted to growing biomass feedstock.

The IEA claims that its goals can be reached without displacing food crops or upsetting biodiversity goals if biofuels costs can be controlled and the conversion efficiency of biomass to fuel can be improved. The cost of meeting the 2050 target is put at $11-$13 trillion, but the IEA notes that “marginal savings or additional costs compared to use of gasoline/diesel are in the range of only +/-1% of total costs for all transport fuels.”

As with so many of the pronouncements from the IEA, government policies are a key factor. The roadmap requires a policy framework that would increase investor confidence and provide for the sustainable expansion of biofuel production. Policy frameworks, incentives, increased R&D, and a sustainable land-use management system to ensure balance with food and timber land also figure into the IEA’s roadmap. Somehow, it’s hard to envision global governments committing to this kind of investment in the current economic climate.

Finally today, the NASDAQ market has sent lead-acid battery maker China Ritar Power a notice of non-compliance and de-listed the company’s stock from trading for failing to file a Form 10-K. The company had announced a delay in its filing because it could not obtain the financial and other information it needed to get the report finished on time. Shares in the company have not traded since April 15th, when they closed at $1.60.

Paul Ausick

Lee Cox, a board member who will be interim CEO, said “Peter concluded that a change in leadership would create the best opportunity for PG&E to move ahead after a challenging year. The board supported his decision. The search for Peter’s replacement is already underway, and an announcement is expected soon.”

Peter’s trouble is that eight people were killed and 30 homes destroyed when one of the company’s gas lines exploded in San Bruno. PG&E thinks the costs of the disaster will be more than $750 million.

The Darbee departure is not unlike the ones of BP’s Tony Hayward or his predecessor Lord Browne. BP had a checkered safety record under Lord Bowne, but he also may have lied to a court about a gay relationship he had while CEO.

Darbee had no real control over the San Bruno pipeline. PG&E has 20,000 employees. Some of them made mistakes at San Bruno, but those people are probably several steps removed from Darbee in the chain of command. He cannot realistically be expected to ferret out every single problem at his company.

Critics of Darbee and Hayward say that CEOs set the tone about safety at their companies. That may be so, but PG&E operates thousand of miles of pipeline. There has not been any trouble with 99.9% of that infrastructure and there probably won’t be.

PG&E shareholders and employees lost a CEO who has done an excellent job running the company. Perhaps his safety rules have saved the lives of people who live near or operate PG&G facilities. There will never be any way to tell if that is that is the case, so Darbee’s board would have needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.

There has been one major accident on Darbee’s 12 year watch. It is a lot to ask that he pay for that.  Of course, the board did not care about his record. One strike and he was out.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Cut to Underperform at FBR.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) Kept as Underperform and named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) Cut to Hold at Wunderlich; Cut to Sell at Kaufman Bros.
Crexus Investment Corp. (NYSE: CXS) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
CTC Media, Inc (NASDAQ: CTCM) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Reiterated Hold but cut 2011/2012 estimates at Argus.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Maintained Neutral with $7.75 target at BofA/ML.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; Raised to Outperform at FBR; Reiterated Buy at Argus.
Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) Maintained Neutral with $46 target at BofA/ML.
PetroChina Co. (NYSE: PTR) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Maintained Underperform but target raised to $70 at Credit Suisse.

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

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
BMC Software Inc. (NYSE: BMC) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Evergreen Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Everest Re Group, Ltd. (NYSE: RE) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML; Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Maintained Buy but cut estimates at Argus.
Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse;target and estimates cut at HSBC.
J.C. Penney Co., Inc. (NYSE: JCP) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
PG & E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

If you are interested in the top research upgrades and downgrades from last week, those include CYH, GOOG, GTXI, MPEL, KWK, RIG, SLW, RGLD, and THC.

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

When asked if building new nuclear power plants was necessary or, even if necessary, too dangerous, 46% said the nukes were necessary and 48% said they were too dangerous. That response is very close to the response to the same question asked in 2009. As Gallup concludes, “A majority of Americans believe nuclear power plants in the U.S. are safe, and attitudes toward increasing their numbers do not appear to have changed in comparison with a previous measure 10 years ago.”

Nuclear power companies, though, can’t afford to wait for the endless reviews that the nuclear accident in Japan will set off. We’ve already seen some big acquisitions. France’s Areva (OTC: ARVCF) acquired US solar thermal company Ausra for $200 million last year, and US nuclear power leader Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) bought the renewables division of Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) for $900 million.

A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) notes that the disaster in Japan could speed up similar acquisitions in the renewables sector. According to PwC, there were 530 mergers & acquisitions in the renewables sector in 2010, but the dollar value of the deals dropped from $48.8 billion in 2009 to $33.4 billion in 2010. Utility company acquisitions fell from $15.8 billion in 2009 to just $3 billion last year as a result of what PwC called “massive capital investment challenges.” The most attractive deals involved energy efficiency companies, which accounted for 91 of the transactions and $3.8 billion.

In the solar sector, the most interesting news comes from the semiconductor capital equipment vendors. Gartner Inc. (NYSE: IT) reports that semiconductor equipment sales grew 143% year-over-year in 2010, to reach a sales total of $41 billion.  Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) remained atop the sector with 15% market share and $6 billion in revenue. ASML Holding NV (NASDAQ: ASML) was the fastest growing company, with a revenue increase of 219%, moving it to second place in the standings with sales of $5.2 billion and 13% market share.

Solar PV wafer makers like MEMC Electronics Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) have increased their wafer production capacity in 2010. Silicon availability remains an issue for most solar PV makers, so MEMC should profit either from higher prices and SunPower should benefit from having a captive supply. Silicon module makers like Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) could face tighter supplies and higher prices for wafers.

In wind energy, Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) has canceled a $400 million, 150-megawatt wind farm project in southeastern North Dakota. The project put a number of bird species at risk, and Xcel pulled the plug on its own under new federal regulations giving wind energy developers the ability to decide on the impact of a project. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was slated to supply the 100 wind turbines for the project.

Finally, the three largest utilities in California have come very close to hitting their target of 20% of power from renewables (not including hydro) by 2010. The state’s public utilities commission said that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE: PCG), Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. generated 17.9% of their power using renewable sources in 2010. Now they just have to meet California’s new requirement of 33% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

Paul Ausick