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

247wallst — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:07:14 +0000

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 in Analyst Calls Tagged: ARIA, DIS, IRM, ISLN, MOT, OMX, RATE, RTP, SYNA, VSEA

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

247wallst — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:33:12 +0000

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 in Analyst Calls Tagged: ASTI, CHL, JNPR, MTL, RATE, SNP, TOT

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

247wallst — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:35:24 +0000

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 in Analyst Calls Tagged: ADBE, BWA, MRO, RATE, RHT, SEPR, SINA, SYMC

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

247wallst — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:06:16 +0000

New day trading alerts from VSInvestor

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

Thoratec (THOR) up 12%, details.

Powerwave (PWAV) drops 45%, details.

Gramercy Park (GKK) up 55%, details.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Research Tagged: GKK, PWAV, RATE, THOR

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

247wallst — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:04:37 +0000

These 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 in Analyst Calls Tagged: BBY, GOL, HIW, IPCS, JAH, PPO, RATE

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

247wallst — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 06:06:48 +0000

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 in Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, COP, INFN, MOT, RATE, SMOD, THO, TSCM, WGO, WM

Bankrate Earnings: Half Empty & Half Full (RATE)

247wallst — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:20:50 +0000

Bankrate 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.

The company noted that it had previously lowered guidance back on July7, 2008, on advertising revenue softness. It puts revenues at $164 to$169 million and $54 to $58 million in adjusted EBITDA for 2008. Wehave estimates at $165.6 million in revenues for the year. Previousguidance for revenue was between $167 to $172 million and AdjustedEBITDA of between $64 and $68 million.

Calling this one is somewhat like tossing a coin in the odds makingbusiness. The good news is that things are not seeming to drop furtheroff a cliff. The bad news is that it isn’t saying that the pessimistictone was only temporary.

As this was not any worse or at least not adding salt on an open wound,we’d give it a "chicken bull" verdict with a directional marketcaveat. If that doesn’t sound like very much conviction that’s becauseof the environment.

Bankrate shares closed up 0.1% at $31.59 in regular trading and its 52-week trading range is $24.54 to $57.32.

Jon C. Ogg
August 4, 2008

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

247wallst — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:29:31 +0000

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

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

247wallst — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:20:09 +0000

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

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

247wallst — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:15:52 +0000

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