24/7 Wall St. » PFCB

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (WPI, AZN, ANF, SPWR, YGE, COST, MERU, ACI, VECO, PBY, ADM, CPO, AVP, DPZ, PFE, VLO, ABX, JDSU, MRO, FSLR, V, PFCB, DAL, CHK)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:03:50 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened flat this morning but started to move higher following the better-than-expected ISM report on manufacturing (our coverage here). Construction spending in the US was a bit lower, but not enough to quell the enthusiasm over the manufacturing report. The US dollar index rose slightly today, now up 0.056% at 78.820. The GSCI commodity index is up fractionally at 684.88, with commodities mostly lower on the rising dollar. Cocoa put up a big gain today, while orange juice posted another sharp decline. WTI crude oil closed up 1.2% at $106.16/barrel, and Brent crude trades up 0.17% at $119.67/barrel. Gold settled up 0.1% today, at $1,662.40/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 67 points to 13,280.31 (0.5%), the NASDAQ rose about 4 points (0.13%) to 3,050.44, and the S&P 500 rose 0.57% or nearly 8 points to 1,405.89.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: WPI) reiterated as ‘buy’ at Canaccord Genuity; AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) raised to ‘neutral’ at BofA; Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS; SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) raised to ‘buy’ at Citigroup; Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) cut to ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank; and Meru Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: MERU) cut to ‘neutral’ at RW Baird.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is down -3.8% at $9.39 (more coverage here); Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) is up 14.8% at $34.67 (more coverage here); Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) is down -21.8% at $11.67 (more coverage here); Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) is up 7.9% at $33.25; Corn Products International Inc. (NYSE: CPO) is down -0.14% at $56.98; Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is down -7.6% at $19.95; Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) is down -9.6% at $34.18; Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is down -0.14% at $22.87; and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is up 0.9% at $24.92.

Tomorrow we get earnings from Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU), Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) is up 29.7% at $51.46. The company is being taken private in a deal worth $1.1 billion. More coverage here.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is up 0.8% at $11.05. The airlines bought an oil refinery from newly-public Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX). More coverage here.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is up 6.3% at $19.60. The company’s chairman will be replaced and the company reports earnings after markets close today. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo and Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker are giving speeches. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
7:30 a.m. – Challenger job cut report
8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
10:00 a.m. – Factory orders
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Active Trader, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ABX, ACI, ADM, ANF, AVP, AZN, CHK, COST, CPO, DAL, DPZ, featured, FSLR, JDSU, MERU, MRO, PBY, PFCB, PFE, SPWR, V, VECO, VLO, WPI, YGE

P.F. Chang’s Going Private (PFCB, CHUX, JAX, CMG)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:30:44 +0000

Asian food eatery P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) this morning announced that it is being taken private in a deal worth $1.1 billion. The buyer is private equity firm Centerbridge Partners LP, which is paying $51.50/share for Chang’s. The price represents a 40% premium to Chang’s closing price last night.

The going-private move follows a similar deal for O’Charley’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUX), which agreed to a $221 buyout from Fidelity National Financial Inc. Other restaurant chains that have gotten some action, primarily from activist investors are Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) and J. Alexander’s Corp. (NASDAQ: JAX).

Chang’s also reported first quarter earnings this morning, and both revenue and EPS came in well below consensus estimates. The company reported revenues of $318.9 million versus an estimate of $321.6 million, and EPS of $0.30 versus a consensus estimate of $0.36. EPS is sharply below last year’s $0.46/share, although revenues were up about $1.5 million compared with the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.35, not that far below estimates.

The restaurant reported that same-store sales at its P.F. Chang’s Bistros were down -0.6% and down -1.7% at its Pei Wei stores, due to lower traffic.

Cracker Barrel’s management said last week in a presentation for analysts and institutional investors that it had undertaken a number of “strategic initiatives” to boost shareholder returns. J. Alexander’s adopted a poison pill in March and the company’s independent directors received a letter from Privet Fund LP, which owns 12.6% of the company, urging them to “strive to create results that advance shareholder interests.”

Whether the interest in restaurant chains is a belief that the US economy is turning around and people will begin to dine out more often, or the interest is in the chains’ real estate holdings is not entirely clear. Cracker Barrel posted a new 52-week high in late February after an activist investor started demanding better results.

P.F. Chang’s hit a trough in mid-October 2011 and is facing new competition from a chain called ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, created by Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) last fall. Whether the new owners plan to compete or to sell off existing stores remains to be seen, but both options are now available where only the former was before today.

P.F. Chang’s shares are up 30% in the pre-market this morning, at $51.60.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Food, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mergers and Buy Outs, Retail Tagged: CHUX, CMG, featured, JAX, PFCB

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AMZN, DE, NVDA, LO, WFR, AAP, APA, ABX, DTV, DUK, GM, TAP, STRA, PFCB, JNGW, AEA, HDY, PMFG, CAR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:05:06 +0000

Stocks opened higher this morning following upbeat reports on unemployment claims and new housing starts. With a little more than a half hour left in today’s session, all three indexes have made solid gains today and remain near daily highs. Volume has been quite light, with less than 500 million shares traded today. Lack of news from Europe is probably keeping many investors on the sidelines. The dollar has lost all the gains it started today with. The dollar index is down -0.42% at 79.394, after starting the day up over 80. Crude oil is higher today, with WTI crude up 0.51% at $102.32 and Brent up 1.13% at $120.27. We have more coverage of the jump in Brent prices here and the impact of rising gasoline prices here.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 123 points to 12,904.01 (0.96%), the NASDAQ rose more than 44 points (1.51%) to 2,959.85, and the S&P 500 rose 1.1% or nearly 15 points to 1,358.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) cut to ‘equal-weight’ at Morgan Stanley; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) cut to ‘neutral’ at BofA/ML; Lorillard Inc. (NYSE: LO) started as ‘buy’ at Jefferies; and MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) raised to ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) is up 7.3% at $85.20 after posting a new 52-week high of $86.30; Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) is up 0.14% at $107.82; Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is up 1.24% at $48.02; DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is down -1.9% at $45.41; Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) is up 1.53% at $21.19; General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is up 9% at $27.17; Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) is up 3% at $45.18; Strayer Education Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) is down -8% at $105.81; and PF Chang’s China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) is up 2% at $35.35.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Jingwei International Ltd. (NASDAQ: JNGW) is up more than 43% at $2.08. The Chinese software company is being taken private.

Advance America, Cash Advance Centers Inc. (NYSE: AEA) is up more than 32% at $10.46 after posting a new 52-week high of $10.55 early this morning. The cash advance provider is being acquired by Mexico’s Grupo Elektra for $10.50/share, for a total price of about $655 million.

HyperDynamics Corp. (NYSE: HDY) is down nearly -30% at $1.42 after posting a new 52-week low of $1.01 earlier this morning. The independent oil & gas exploration and production company reported only non-commercial quantities of hydrocarbons at its offshore West African field.

PMFG Inc. (NASDAQ: PMFG) is down nearly -20% at $16.85. The machinery maker has announced a secondary offering of 2.6 million shares at $16/share.

Avis Budget Group Inc. (NYSE: CAR) is down nearly -16% at $12.28. The car rental company posted an unexpected loss in the fourth quarter.

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

8:30 a.m. – Consumer price index
10:00 a.m. – Leading economic indicators

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AAP, ABX, AEA, AMZN, APA, CAR, DE, DTV, DUK, GM, HDY, JNGW, LO, NVDA, PFCB, PMFG, STRA, TAP, WFR

Chipotle Going Asian (CMG, PFCB, MCD)

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:38:44 +0000

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) opens its first Asian-themed store today, called ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, in a move calculated to take advantage of consumer demand for limited-service Asian food. Sales of Asian food grew at nearly a 6% rate in 2010, and are expected to grow by another 5% this year, making the Asian restaurants the fastest growing segment of the limited-service market.

While not a crowded field, there is certainly competition. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) owns and operates 168 Pei Wei stores in the same space and another 200 or so of its namesake stores. Privately-held Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. operates more than 1,300 mall-based Panda Express stores and Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, Inc., another privately-held firm, operates more than 90 Pick Up Stix stores in the US southwest.

Chipotle shares have gained more than 80% in the past 12 months, while P.F. Chang’s shares have fallen by around -40%. The pricier Chang’s has stalled as customers have voted with their feet, staying away from higher priced casual dining in favor of lower cost stores like Chipotle.

But even low-priced stores are having their troubles. McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), which had been growing nicely for several quarters, had a downturn in its August sales. That is not a positive signal for a new lower-priced option like Chipotle’s new ShopHouse brand, and Chipotle originally came from McDonald’s.

And brand is another problem. Building a solid new brand is not easy or cheap in the best economic times — and the US economy is not anywhere near its best right now. Chipotle also faces the problem of essentially being unable to leverage its solid position in Mexican food eateries in a completely different style of cooking. The situation resembles what you might think if your favorite local Mexican restaurant suddenly began serving Thai food. The usual reaction is to ask what the heck the store knows about making Thai food. To avoid that reaction costs a lot and if Chipotle puts enough money behind the ShopHouse stores, the company might come up with a winner.

Chipotle’s revenue grew 22% in its most recent quarter. If the company can keep that up, there’s no reason to think that the ShopHouse stores won’t be successful. But that’s a pretty big ‘if’ as the economic data keeps slowing.

Shares in Chipotle are up about 0.5% today, at $317.40, in a 52-week range of $164.26-$337.32. P.F. Chang’s shares are up more than 1%, at $29.16, in a 52-week range of $27.50-$53.39.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Food, Retail Tagged: CMG, MCD, PFCB

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MDRX, AMR, ADI, BHP, BYD, CHH, KIOR, LEAP, MRO, MAR, PCS, OSG, PFCB, RDC, SKH, TXN, VLO, YNDX)

Jon C. Ogg — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:12:42 +0000

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

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
KiOR, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIOR) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Cut to Neutral at Baird; Maintained Neutral but cut target to $12 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Buy with $22 target at Argus.
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (NYSE: OSG) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank; Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) Cut to Sell at Argus.
Rowan Companies (NYSE: RDC) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) Started as Underperform at BofA/ML.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) Reiterated Buy with $35 target at Argus.
Yandex N. V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

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: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADI, AMR, BHP, BYD, CHH, KIOR, LEAP, MAR, MDRX, MRO, OSG, PCS, PFCB, RDC, SKH, TXN, VLO, YNDX

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (CSCO, ILMN, LVLT, PFCB)

Douglas A. McIntyre — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:53:44 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Wednesday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT), and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (NASDAQ: PFCB).

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is down 2.75% premarket to $15.84, relative to a 52-week range of $14.78-$26.00.

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is down nearly 10% premarket to $62.80, relative to a 52-week range of $41.15-$79.40.

Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) is down more than 3% before market open to $2.15, relative to a 52-week range of $0.83-$2.67.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (NASDAQ: PFCB) is down more than 11% premarket to $34.80, relative to a 52-week range of $37.38-$53.39.

Filed under: Active Trader, Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: CSCO, ILMN, LVLT, PFCB

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BHI, BIIB, BRCD, COF, CLS, CNX, FGP, TFM, INTC, DATE, KOS, MCK, MCP, PCX, PTEN, BTU, PFCB)

Jon C. Ogg — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:25:27 +0000

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

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Raised to Buy at ISI Group.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Maintained Buy with $7.50 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) Reiterated Sell at Argus.
Celestica Inc. (NYSE: CLS) Maintained Buy but cut target to $11 at Argus.
Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
The Fresh Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: TFM) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Maintained Buy with $28 target at Gleacher.
Jiayuan.com International Ltd. (NASDAQ: DATE) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE: KOS) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) Covered as Value Stock at Zacks.
Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BHI, BIIB, BRCD, BTU, CLS, CNX, COF, DATE, FGP, INTC, KOS, MCK, MCP, PCX, PFCB, PTEN, TFM

Food Chains That Will Challenge the McDonald’s Dividend (DRI, EAT, MCD, PFCB, YUM, BAGL)

Jon C. Ogg — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:00:51 +0000

The world of casual dining and dining is one which has survived bad times and thrived in good times. It turns out that some of the casual dining segment, particularly the fast food segment, offers investors a defensive stock strategy. After all, people have to eat and this offers value to consumers.

It is widely believed that McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the king of the food sector when it comes to being defensive because of its product mix and because of its high dividend. There are actually many other restaurant chains, some fast food and some casual dining to upscale dining, that offer close to the same sort of dividend for investors.

Our dividend screen identified the shares of six companies. Among these companies, the highest dividend is almost 3.5%. The lowest yielding restaurant company pays a dividend exceeding 1.8%. Returns of equity (ROE) range from an attractive 16.7% to an eye-catching high exceeding 83%. Except where otherwise noted, the source for all performance and financial data is Finviz.com.

Listed in alphabetical order of their ticker symbols the six restaurant chains are: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT), McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BAGL).

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) pays a 2.7% dividend with an earnings to dividend payout ratio of 36.7%. The company’s return of equity (ROE) is an attractive 24%. Its forward PE of 12.3 is the lowest among these six restaurant chains. In Thursday trading, Darden’s shares closed at $46.86, down 0.32%. Its 52-week price range is $36.27 to $52.12. Red Lobster and Olive Garden are two of the brands here that have helped lead the charge.

Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) pays a 2.4% dividend with an earnings payout ratio of 35.1%. Its forward PE is 13.1 and its ROE is nearly 25%. Brinker International shares closed at $23.20 on Thursday, down 0.56%. Its 52-week range is $13.69 to $25.96. Having Chili’s and Maggiano’s pays off and there appears to be enough earnings power here for that dividend to go higher.

Filed under: Corporate Governance, Defensive Stocks, Dividend, Dividends & Buybacks, Food, Retail, Shareholder Issues, Value Investing Tagged: BAGL, DRI, EAT, MCD, PFCB, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAPL, ATML, CTXS, CMI, ENZN, HD, HBC, PFCB, PLD, RSH, RS, RIMM, SCCO, S, TXN, XLNX)

Jon C. Ogg — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:17:09 +0000

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

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Buy with $415 target at Argus; Reiterated Buy and raised target to $485 at Canaccord Genuity.
Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) Reiterated Buy with $17 target at Gleacher & Co.
Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan after being raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day on Monday by Zacks.
Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ENZN) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro (NASDAQ: PFCB) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) Started as Underweight at Barclays.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company (NYSE: RS) Maintained Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
Southern Copper Corp. (NYSE: SCCO) Cut to Hold at Citi.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) Cut to Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Reiterated Buy with $43 target at Gleacher & Co.
Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, ATML, CMI, CTXS, ENZN, HBC, HD, PFCB, PLD, RIMM, RS, RSH, S, SCCO, TXN, XLNX

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BUD, ATML, DOW, EMN, HES, INTC, JASO, LAD, MCD, MU, OPEN, PMI, PFCB, TWX, TRMB)

Jon C. Ogg — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:24:21 +0000

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

Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $17 at Gleacher & Co.
Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) Raised to Buy with $49 target at Argus.
Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Reiterated Outperform with $28 target on Focus List at Credit Suisse.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research (late Wednesday call).
Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE: LAD) Maintained Buy as Value stock at Zacks.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.
OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE: PMI) Called as Bear of the Day with $1.75 target at Zacks.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Time Warner. Inc (NYSE: TWX) Reiterated Outperform with $40 target on Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Trimble Navigation Limited (NASDAQ: TRMB) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

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: ATML, BUD, DOW, EMN, HES, INTC, JASO, LAD, MCD, MU, OPEN, PFCB, PMI, TRMB, TWX