Posts for Ticker ‘RATE’

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ARIA, RATE, IRM, ISLN, MOT, OMX, RTP, SYNA, VSEA, DIS)

These are ten of the top pre-market analyst calls with upgrads and downgrades that we have seen from Wall Street early this Friday morning:

Ariad pharmaceuticals (ARIA) Cut to Sell at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Bankrate (RATE) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Iron Mountain (IRM) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Isilon Systems (ISLN) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity; Raised to Buy at Needham.
Motorola (MOT) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
OfficeMax (OMX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Rio Tinto (RTP) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Synaptics (SYNA) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Varian Semiconductor (VSEA) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Walt Disney (DIS) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
July 31, 2009

Posted on: July 31, 2009 – 8:07 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Downgrades (ASTI, RATE, CHL, JNPR, MTL, SNP, TOT)

These are the top pre-market analyst downgrades and cautious research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Tuesday morning:

Ascent Solar (ASTI) Cut to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
Bankrate (RATE) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
China Mobile (CHL) Removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Juniper Networks (JNPR) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Mechel (MTL) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Sinopec (SNP) Removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Total (TOT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: June 2, 2009 – 6:33 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADBE, RATE, BWA, MRO, RHT, SEPR, SYMC, SINA)

Monday is starting the week off with a pretty light wave of analyst calls.  The top 10 analyst upgrades and downgrades are not even a full 10 calls with more than two hours until the market opens:

Adobe Systems (ADBE) Cut to Hold at Citigroup; Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Bankrate (RATE) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
BorgWarner Inc. (BWA) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Marathon Oil (MRO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Red Hat (RHT) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Sepracor (SEPR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Symantec (SYMC) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Sina Corp. (SINA) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: May 4, 2009 – 6:35 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Day Trader Alerts (RATE)(THOR)(PWAV)(GKK)

Cammonopoly_wideweb__430x3250_2New day trading alerts from VSInvestor

A 33% run-up in Bankrate (RATE),  for more details.

Thoratec (THOR) up 12%, details.

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Posted on: October 31, 2008 – 9:06 am in Research, , , ,

Early Bird Analyst Upgrades (RATE, BBY, GOL, HIW, IPCS, JAH, PPO)

Money_stack_picThese are some of the early upgrades and positive calls we are seeing from Wall Street research analysts this Friday morning with about two and a half hours until the open:

  • Bankrate (RATE) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Best Buy (BBY) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • GOL Linhas (GOL) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Highwoods (HIW) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
  • iPCS (IPCS) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Jarden (JAH) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Polypore International (PPO) Raised to Outperform at Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
October 31, 2008

Posted on: October 31, 2008 – 6:04 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , ,

Early Bird Analyst Downgrades (AAPL, RATE, COP, INFN, MOT, SMOD, TSCM, THO, WM, WGO)

These are not all of the analyst downgrades this Monday morning, but these are some of the standout calls we have seen affecting shares early with more than two hours to the open:

  • Apple (AAPL) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Bankrate (RATE) Cut to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • ConocoPhillips (COP) Cut To Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • Infinera (INFN) Cut To Sell at Goldman Sachs.
  • Motorola (MOT) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Smart Modular Tech (SMOD) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • TheStreet.com (TSCM) Cut to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Thor Industries (THO) Cut to Underperform at Baird.
  • Washington Mutual (WM) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
  • Winnebago Industries (WGO) Cut to Underperform at Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
September 29, 2008

Posted on: September 29, 2008 – 6:06 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Bankrate Earnings: Half Empty & Half Full (RATE)

Bankrate_logoBankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) has just posted non-GAAP EPS of $0.33 on a 70% gain in revenues to $40.2 million.  First Call estimates were $0.33 EPS on $40.22 million.  The trick to judging this is by interpolating the data versus the environment.

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Posted on: August 4, 2008 – 3:20 pm in Earnings, Financial Stocks, Internet,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ACAD, ACE, AACC, RATE, GYMB, KIM, MMC, MVL, NCR, WSH)

These aren’t all of the analyst calls out there today, but these are ten of the calls impacting shares early this Tuesday morning:

  • ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) Raised to Neutral at Banc of America.
  • ACE Limited (ACE) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Asset Acceptance Capital (AACC) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
  • Bankrate (RATE) Cut to Hold from Buy at Collins Stewart.
  • Gymboree (GYMB) Cut to Market Perform from Outperform at FBR.
  • Kimco Realty (KIM) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Marsh & McLennan (MMC) Raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Marvel Entertainment (MVL) Started as Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.
  • NCR (NCR) Raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  • Willis Group (WSH) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
July 8, 2008

Posted on: July 8, 2008 – 6:29 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (RATE, CE, CSCO, DCP, RL, PFG, RYAAY, AKH, VM, XL)

Below are some of the early bird analyst calls that are affecting shares in pre-market trading:

  • Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Celanese (NYSE: CE) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) downgraded to Neutral from overweight at JPMorgan; downgraded to Neutral at Baird; more to come.
  • Dyncorp international (NYSE: DCP) upgraded to Buy at Jefferies; upgraded to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) cut to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.
  • Principal Financial (NYSE: PFG) raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
  • Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY) and Air France KLM (NYSE: AKH) were both raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM) downgraded to Equal Weight at Lehman.
  • XL Capital (NYSE: XL) cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
February 7, 2008

Posted on: February 7, 2008 – 7:20 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Bankrate Shares Hit On Ad Cancels & 2 Acquisitions (RATE)

Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) has just posted earnings of $0.33 non-GAAP EPS on revenues of $25.3 million.  First Call has estimates at $0.39 EPS on revenues of $26.83 million.

The company also gave some raised guidance of $167 to $172 million for fiscal 2008 revenues, and fiscal 2008 and EBITDA of between $64 and $68 million.  First Call has a revenue target for 2008 of $142.75 million, although this guidance likely includes two new additions.  Bankrate has also announced that it has acquired and completed the acquired the assets of two companies in separate
transactions:

  • InsureMe, Inc. for $65 million
  • Lower Fees, Inc., operates feedisclosure, for some $2.85 million.

Thomas R. Evans, President & CEO: "It was an unusual quarter in that we had two record months followed by a soft December, when several display advertisers cancelled booked business in that month as a result of anxiety in the mortgage and financial sectors." 

It appears that this guidance may be including the gains from the extra acquisitions it simultaneously announced.  Shares closed down 5.5% at $53.68 in normal trading today, yet shares are down 8% in after-hours to $49.43.  The 52-week trading range is $32.70 to $57.32, and that high was just two days ago.

Jon C. Ogg
February 5, 2008

Posted on: February 5, 2008 – 4:15 pm in Earnings, Financial Stocks, Internet, Mergers and Buy Outs,

Multiple Downgrades Challenge Bankrate Ahead of Earnings (RATE)

Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) is set to report earnings after the close today.  What in interesting is that we have seen four downgrades in the recent trading days based on valuation, and this stock just put in another yearly high last Friday.

On January 31, Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform.  Yesterday Citigroup downgraded it to Hold from Buy, and Merriman Curhan Ford downgraded it to Neutral from Buy.  Then this morning we saw a downgrade out of Jefferies to Hold from Buy.  Most of these downgrades are based upon valuation and stock performance rather than new competition.

We’d caution against using any consensus estimates as complete gospel right now because of all teh last minute changes, but First Call sows estimates now at $0.39 EPS on $26.83 million revenues.  On last look, next quarter estimates were $0.45 EPS o $33.36 million revenues and fiscal Dec-2008 estimates were $1.96 EPS on $142.75 million.

Regardless of these downgrades upon valuation, the stock is only down 1.5% today and only down about 2% from its all-time highs.  We do not have the end of January short interest yet, but the short interest has been growing as the stock has risen and the mid-January short interest was listed as 5.32 million shares.

With this stock being right up against its highs during a period of a crummy stock market, today’s post-report trading is going to probably be one of the more exciting stocks to watch.

Jon C. Ogg
February 5, 2008

Posted on: February 5, 2008 – 1:54 pm in Analyst Calls, Financial Stocks, Internet, ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ACI, RATE, BKS, GS, HAS, MOS, OXPS, POT, SIRF, YHOO)

These are not the only analyst calls impacting stocks this morning, but these are the key calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on this morning:

  • Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) downgraded to Market Perform at Oppenheimer.
  • Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) raised to Buy at Banc of America.
  • Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) raised to Buy at Citigroup.
  • OptionsXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) started as Sell at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Potash (NYSE: POT) raised to Buy at Citigroup
  • SiRF Tech (NASDAQ: SIRF) downgraded across the board: Jefferies, Lehman, Oppenheimer.
  • Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) raised to Buy at Canaccord Adams; downgraded to Neutral at Banc of America.

Jon C. Ogg
February 5, 2008

Posted on: February 5, 2008 – 7:24 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AXP, COF, DFS, ADBL, RATE, BRCM, CVC, CRL, CVD, GME, HAL, PALM, STI)

These are not the only upgrades and downgrades affecting shares in pre-market trading today, but these are the initial calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on:

  • American Express (NYSE: AXP), Capital One (NYSE: COF), and Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS) downgraded to Sell at UBS.
  • Audible (NASDAQ: ADBL) downgraded to Market Perform at JMP Securities; downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) downgraded to Hold at Citigroup; downgraded to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • Charles River (NYSE: CRL) and Covance (NYSE: CVD) raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  • Gamestop (NYSE: GME) raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
  • Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) raised to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) raised to Overweight from Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • SunTrust (NYSE: STI) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
February 4, 2008

Posted on: February 4, 2008 – 7:16 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bankrate Earnings Will Be Closely Watched By Traders (RATE, MOVE, TSCM)

On Tuesday, we’ll get to see earnings out of Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ:RATE). The estimates from First Call for the internet-based consumer banking company are $0.39 EPS on $26.84 million in revenues.  Estimates for fiscal 2008 are $1.96 EPS on $142.76 million in revenues.

Analysts have an average price target north of $56.00, which is right in line with current share prices.   If Friday’s closing prices are any indicator and if the earnings were coming out immediately, it appears that options traders would be pricing in a move of up to $4.00 in either direction.

It will be interesting to see if the company even mentions the new competition coming soon from TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) as it pursues its new MainStreet.com push in 2008.  We still think it was wiser for the company to partner with Move.com (NASDAQ: MOVE) like it did rather than to acquire it, and this will be the first quarter to reflect any of those efforts.

Bankrate’s 52-week trading range is $32.70 to $56.04 and this one has been doing incredibly well considering its market.  In fact, Friday was yet another 52-week high.

Jon C. Ogg
February 3, 2008

Posted on: February 3, 2008 – 7:51 am in Earnings, Financial Stocks, Internet, , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AXL, JCI, RATE, CBEY, DISCA, ETFC, FNM, KBR, RIMM, UAUA, VNR)

These are not the only impact analyst calls this morning, but these are the ones that 24/7 Wall St. is focusing on:

  • American Axle (AXL) & Johnson Controls (JCI) both downgraded to Equal Weight at Lehman.
  • Bankrate (RATE) raised to Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Cbeyond (CBEY) raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Discovery (DISCA) raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • E*Trade (ETFC) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at B of A.
  • Fannie Mae (FNM) estimates cut sharply at Goldman Sachs.
  • KBR (KBR) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Research in Motion (RIMM) downgraded to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
  • UAL (UAUA) downgraded to Equal Weight at Lehman.
  • Vanguard Natural Resources (VNR) started as Buy at Jefferies.

Jon C. Ogg
December 3, 2007

Posted on: December 3, 2007 – 8:04 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AET, RATE, CELG, DE, FNM, FRE, GRP, ISIL, PHG, SGP, TDW)

Aetna (AET) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Bankrate (RATE) raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.
Celgene (CELG) raised to Buy at Banc of America.
Deere (DE) raised to Buy at Banc of America.
Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac both Downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Grant Prideco (GRP) raised to Buy at UBS.
Intersil (ISIL) downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
Philips Electonics (PHG) raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Schering Plough (SGP) started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Tidewater (TDW) raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Jon C. Ogg
November 26, 2007

Jon Ogg produces the 24/7 Wall St. Special Situation Investing Newsletter; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: November 26, 2007 – 7:45 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (AAI, AMR, BIDU, RATE, FSLR, FWLT, DNA, PCG, TOT, VRTX)

It might not be fair to only break out 10 analyst calls from the myriad of calls out there, because there are dozens to hundreds of changes daily.  Here are the key calls that 24/7 Wall St. is looking at today, besides the Cisco calls:

  • AirTran (AAI) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
  • AMR Corp. (AMR) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS.
  • Baidu.com (BIDU) downgraded to Sector Perform from outperform at RBC Capital Markets; stock down 0.5%.
  • Bankrate (RATE) downgraded at both RBC and at CIBC; stock indicated down $2 pre-market.
  • First Solar (FSLR) raised to Outperform at CIBC; stock up 20+% pre-market after earnings.
  • Foster Wheeler (FWLT) raised to Buy at Citigroup; stock up 3% pre-market.
  • Genentech (DNA) added to Goldman Sachs’ Americas Conviction Buy List, but no change to $102 target; stock indicated up almost 1%.
  • PG&E (PCG) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • Total SA (TOT) raised to Overweight at J.P.Morgan.
  • Vertex Pharma (VRTX) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs; stock up 1.3% pre-market.

There are many other analyst calls not mentioned that will be having an impact on share prices, as always.

Jon C. Ogg
November 8, 2007

Posted on: November 8, 2007 – 8:13 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

TheStreet.com Diversification Buyout, Going After Bankrate Territory (TSCM, RATE)

TheStreet.com (NASDAQ:TSCM) is making an acquisition that is moving away from investor news, research, statistics, and other content data.  The content provider is acquiring Bankers Financial Products Corp., including BankingMyWay (www.BankingMyWay.com) and RateWatch (www.Rate-Watch.com).

The company serves as a market and pricing strategy partner for more than 5,600 financial institutions.  It says it surveys more than 24,000 financial institutions to provide clients with the most accurate up to date competitor rate information and it claims the largest database of rate information in the industry.  RateWatch compiles CD, checking and IRA rates, as well as promotional specials.  It also compiles lending rates for consumers and mortgage products.  It also shows various fees for wire transfers, ATM fees, safe deposit boxes, savings account fees, and checking charges.  RateWatch can also compile historical reports. RateQuest is RateWatch’s new online data querying system allowing instant access to accurate and timely competitive data from the financial industry.

This also allows consumers to conduct free searches to find the best banking rates within their city, zip code or state.

The purchase price listed is approximately $25 million, with $16.9 million being cash and 636,081 shares of TheStreet.com’s common stock.  It is also said to be an accretive content acquisition.  TheStreet.com’s market cap is currently $381 million, and if you wanted a comparison it sure sounds a lot like it is going into some of the same areas as Bankrate.com (NASDAQ:RATE).  This is still in the financial content arena, although it is a far cry away from the traditional investment content it is known for.

Jon C. Ogg
November 2, 2007

Posted on: November 2, 2007 – 8:05 am in Banking, Cramer, Internet, Mergers and Buy Outs, ,

Pre-Market Analyst Calls (October 2, 2007)

ACAD started as Hold at Citigroup.
ALB raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
AMB raised to Buy at B of A.
APD cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
BAC started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
BDN cut to Neutral at B of A.
BIIB cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
BRLC cut to Neutral at R.W.Baird.
CBS cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
CNH cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
CYPB started as Outperform at FBR.
ELN started as Underperform at FBR.
FRX raised to Hold at Citigroup.
MDCO raised to Buy at UBS.
MON removed from Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List.
MPG cut to Sell at B of A.
NOK cut to Mkt Perform at JMP Securities.
NVT raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank (ooops); cut to Neutral at UBS.
ONXX cut to Peer Perform at at Bear Stearns.
PDLI raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
PLD raised to Buy at B of A.
RATE cut to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
SLG cut to Neutral at B of A.
STEI started as Buy at B of A.
UBS raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
VAL cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
WAG cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs (late Monday call); cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Jon C. Ogg
October 2, 2007

Posted on: October 2, 2007 – 6:42 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bankrate & Move: Cheaper To Partner Than Merge (RATE, MOVE)

Bankrate, Inc. (NASDAQ:RATE) And Move, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE) have announced a distribution agreement for Bankrate to be the provider of mortgage and home equity rate data on the Move network of Web sites. Move will also make select content in the form of Bankrate articles and features available to the millions of monthly users on its network.

Just a year ago these companies would have (or maybe could have) likelyjust considered an outright merger.  But with Move being so much moretied specifically to real estate you can’t blame Bankrate for justwanting to partner with them.  In uncertain times for key aspects ofeach company’s operations, for now at least, it is cheaper to partnerthan it is to actually acquire.  This effort costs basically nothing,while merging two companies like this could be more than complicated inan environment where online financial companies have to watch theirbottom line closer than ever.

Bankrates’s market cap is $724 million and Move’s market cap is $441 million. Bankrate shares closed Wednesday at $39.37, and its 52-week trading range is $25.16 to $53.14.  Move shares closed Wednesday at $2.84, and its 52-week trading range is $2.36 to $6.69.

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he produces the 24/7 Wall St. SPECIAL SITUATION INVESTING NEWSLETTER and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: September 6, 2007 – 8:30 am in Financial Stocks, Internet, Mergers and Buy Outs, ,