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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AKAM, GAS, AAPL, ARMH, B, COST, XOM, FR, HTH, IART, IGT, MRK, P, PENN, PVH, RBS, SCCO, THOR)

Administrator — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:09:46 +0000

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

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup.
AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE: GAS) Started as Underperform and named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Buy with $460.00 price target objective by Argus; maintained Conviction Buy List and target raised to $550 from $520 at Goldman Sachs.
ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Started as Underperform at Bernstein.
Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) Cut to Underperform at Bernstein.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Reiterated Buy at Goldman Sachs.
First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE: FR) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Hilltop Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HTH) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: IART) Cut to Hold at Argus.
International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) Removed from US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) Started as Buy at Needham.
Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) Added to the US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
PVH Corporation (NYSE: PVH) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE: RBS) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Southern Copper Corporation (NYSE: SCCO) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ: THOR) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, AKAM, ARMH, B, COST, FR, gas, HTH, IART, IGT, MRK, P, PENN, PVH, RBS, SCCO, THOR, XOM

Top Debt and Ratings Agency Actions (PKX, HOV, PENN, DRI)

Administrator — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:19:51 +0000

Today’s top debt rating story has to be the downgrade by Moody’s of Italian bonds by three notches, from ‘Aa2′ to ‘A2′, while keeping a negative outlook on the country’s debt. And the agency warned that the rating could fall further in the event long-term uncertainty over availability of liquidity from external sources — say, for example, Germany. Moody’s said in mid-September that it was reviewing Italy’s rating, and no one really expected a result much different from what the agency announced today.

Other significant ratings actions were taken on Korean steelmaker POSCO (NYSE: PKX), homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: HOV), gaming company Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN), and dining company Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI).

POSCO’s (NYSE: PCX) domestic Korean engineering and construction subsidiary Posco E&C received a downgrade on its long-term corporate credit from ‘BBB+’ to ‘BBB’ from Standard & Poor’s. The agency also put the company’s long-term corporate credit outlook at ‘negative’. S&P suggested that except for the parent company’s strength the rating could be lower. Weak demand for new housing in Korea coupled with the E&C company’s projected weakness in a soft foreign market for new building led to the downgrade.

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: HOV) received a downgrade of its corporate credit rating from ‘CCC’ to ‘CC’ from S&P. The agency also downgraded $1.6 billion in the company’s rated debt securities. The downgrades were due to an exchange offer from one of the company’s subsidiaries that S&P viewed as a ‘distressed exchange’ and “tantamount to a default.” The existing senior notes carry coupons ranging from 6.25% to 11.875% maturing in 2014-2017, and the exchange offer includes new 2% secured notes maturing in 2021. S&P said that if the company goes through with the exchange offer the agency will downgrade the corporate rating to ‘SD’ and the existing exchanged notes to ‘D’. Hovnanian shares posted a new 52-week low today of $1.05, and is trading at about $1.06, down -4.5%, in the late afternoon. The stock’s 52-week high is $5.00.

Fitch Ratings also placed Hovnanian on Rating Watch ‘Negative’ following the exchange offer.

Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) received an issue-level ratings upgrade on its subordinated debt from ‘BB-’ to ‘BB’ at S&P. The resort and gaming company has agreed to fund redemption of $250 million in 6.75% senior subordinated notes due 2015 with its new revolving $2.15 billion revolving credit facility. Penn’s shares are trading up more than 3%, at $35.19, in a 52-week range of $30.34-$44.29.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) received a ‘BBB’ rating on a proposed issuance of $350 million in senior unsecured notes due 2021 from Fitch Ratings. The rating outlook is ‘stable’. The new notes will rank equally with existing senior unsecured debt. Darden’s shares are trading up about 2.75%, at $43.17, in a 52-week range of $40.69-$53.81.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Bonds Tagged: DRI, HOV, PENN, PKX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (A, AMSG, BUD, AAPL, BBBY, GLW, CMRE, DAC, FTE, NU, PENN, CRM, SSW)

Administrator — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:17:43 +0000

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

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) raised targets as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
AmSurg Corp. (NASDAQ: AMSG) Cut price/estimates as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) Reiterated Buy and $67 target at BofA/ML.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Strong Buy and $430 target at S&P Equity Research (late yesterday call).
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $60 at Argus.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Maintained Buy and $28 target at BofA/ML.
Costamare Inc. (NASDAQ: CMRE) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $21 at BofA/ML.
Danaos Corporation (NYSE: DAC) Maintained Underperform and $6.50 target at BofA/ML.
France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) Cut to Sell at RBS.
Northeast Utilities (NYSE: NU) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $41 at Argus.
Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) Reiterated Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Seaspan Corp. (NYSE: SSW) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: A, AAPL, AMSG, BBBY, BUD, CMRE, CRM, DAC, FTE, GLW, NU, PENN, SSW

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (APC, APA, ITT, KEM, PENN, PCG, SEE, TWC, WLL)

Administrator — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:13:19 +0000

Today’s research section is being hampered due to post-holiday absence and due to the Northeast blizzard having shut much of the Northeast down. These are some of this Monday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) Riased target to $86 from $74 at Credit Suisse.
Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
ITT Corporation (NYSE: ITT) Raised targets and estimates at BofA/ML.
KEMET Corp. (NYSE: KEM) Started as BUy at KeyBanc.
Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) Maintained as “top operator pick” with raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) Maintained Buy with $56 target at Argus.
Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) Reiterated BUY and raised target to $75 at Argus.
Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL) Reiterated Outperform and raised targets and estimates at Credit Suisse.

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: APA, APC, ITT, KEM, PCG, PENN, SEE, TWC, WLL

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ANAD, MT, BIDU, LSCC, MAR, PENN, HOT, UNP, WYNN)

Administrator — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 12:25:21 +0000

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

Anadigics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAD) Raised to Buy at Needham.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Reiterated Buy and target raised to $115 at Goldman Sachs.
Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: LSCC) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) Started as Buy at Jefferies
Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) Cut to Neutral at Baird; Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Cut to Hold at Soleil.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ANAD, BIDU, HOT, LSCC, MAR, MT, PENN, UNP, WYNN

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AMAT, AZN, BSX, CCL, ENDP, JCG, KLAC, LRCX, LVS, MDT, MPEL, MGM, NVLS, PENN, DGX, TKC, WYNN)

Administrator — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:44:18 +0000

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

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Started as Neutral at Susquehanna.
AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Hold at RBS.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG) Cut to Neutral at Janney.
KLA-Tencor Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC) Started as Positive at Susquehanna.
Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) Started as Negative at Susquehanna.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) Started as Hold at Jefferies.
Melcro Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Novellus Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) Started as Neutral at Susquehanna.
Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX) Started as Buy at Kaufman Bros.
Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (NYSE: TKC) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMAT, AZN, BSX, CCL, DGX, ENDP, JCG, KLAC, LRCX, LVS, MDT, MGM, MPEL, NVLS, PENN, TKC, WYNN

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ALL, ADSK, CVX, INTC, KBH, LEN, MWA, PENN, PHM, PNRA)

247wallst — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:59:53 +0000

These are ten of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from this Tuesday’s research calls from Wall Street:

Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Mueller Water (NYSE: MWA) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN) Cut to Conviction Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) Raised to Equal-Weight at Barclays.

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 16, 2010

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADSK, ALL, CVX, INTC, KBH, LEN, MWA, PENN, PHM, PNRA

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (ADBE, AGU, CMI, INTU, MOS, NST, PENN, CRM, SCG, SGP, SYMC, TEX, XRTX)

247wallst — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:38:27 +0000

These are the top analyst downgrade calls we are seeing this Friday morning with two hours to the open:

Adobe Systems (ADBE) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Agrium (AGU) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
Cummins Inc. (CMI) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Intuit (INTU) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Mosaic (MOS) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
Nstar (NST) Cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
Penn National Gaming (PENN) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Salesforce.com (CRM) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Scana (SCG) Cut to Underperform at Merrill Lynch.
Schering-Plough (SGP) Cut to Underperform at Merrill Lynch.
Symantec (SYMC) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Terex Corp. (TEX) Cut to Market Perform at Wachovia.
Trimble Navigation (TRMB) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Xyratex (XRTX) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.

Jon C. Ogg
October 3, 2008

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ADBE, AGU, CMI, CRM, INTU, MOS, NST, PENN, SCG, SGP, SYMC, TEX, XRTX

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (ALK, AMR, AAPL, CAL, DAL, DELL, JPM, LDK, PENN, SCR, SNSS, LCC)

247wallst — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:23:22 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades and positive calls we are seeing this Tuesday morning:

Alaska Air (ALK) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
AMR Corp. (AMR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Apple (AAPL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse; reiterated Overweight at Lehman.
Continental Air (CAL) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Delta Air (DAL) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Dell (DELL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) Started as Outperform at Bernstein.
LDK Solar (LDK) Raised to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Penn National Gaming (PENN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Simcere Pharmaceutical Group. (SCR) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SNSS) Started as Buy at Piper Jaffray.
US Airways (LCC) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
August 12, 2008

Penn Actually Wins In Merger Implosion (PENN, FIG)

247wallst — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:48:12 +0000

Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) has been considered a dead merger for quite some time, yet it only officially became a dead merger this morning. This was the last of the big multi-billion deals still officially on the books that was put together back before we had a full blown credit crunch.

PNG Acquisition Company Inc. was the entity that was going to do the acquisition, and that was an entity indirectly owned by certain funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) and Centerbridge Partners, L.P.

The buyout price of $67.00 per share was older than Methuselah. Since January, this stock slid steadily from over $60.00 down to under $30.00. The deal was a known to be dead by everyone. But there is actually a silver lining here for the company. Penn National will get $1.475 Billion in cash out of this. The breakdown is a $225 million deal termination fee, and the rest will be a $1.25 Billion redeemable preferred equity due 2015. Affiliates of Fortress, affiliates of Centerbridge, affiliates of Wachovia, and affiliates of Deutsche Bank will all be holders of those notes. To top it off, Fortress Investment Group’s Chairman & CEO, Wesley Edens, will join the Penn National Gaming Board of Directors.

Penn National has also issued preliminary 2008 guidance of $2.5388 Billion in revenues, with $682.3 million in EBITDA, and $487.2 million in income from operations. It will also repurchase $200 million in shares.

Wall Street is actually applauding this somewhat. Shares are up 1.4% at $28.97 shortly after the open. Penn National Gaming has a $2.5 Billion market cap as of today. Penn isn’t a pure casino play as it also hold raceways. But that sector has also seen a 50% drop (or worse) in many of the key names from last year’s highs, so the share price drop here is actually in-line performance.

Penn had $2.9+ Billion in long-term debt and total liabilities stood at $3.85+ Billion in total liabilities. This looks like it is going to bolster the company’s books more than any hurt an already-known dead merger was going to do. It is always possible you’ll see a selling response, but after looking it over the company is going to have a better operating structure with far less leverage than it would have been under that merger.

Jon C. Ogg
July 3, 2008