24/7 Wall St. » RGLD

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GRPN, BIG, DAL, RGLD, SD, SPWRA, TSL, SBUX, LNKD, ANLY, OXGN, RST, MTZ, ALJ, DRWI, LEDS, CHK, IPSU, SGEN)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:09:35 +0000

Markets opened lower this morning, and a modest gain of 80,000 non-farm jobs and a slight improvement of the US unemployment rate to 9.0% didn’t lift investors’ spirits before the opening. Today’s confidence vote in Greece kept financial stocks down as investors try to figure out what it will mean if the Greek prime minister is booted out and the country doesn’t accept the latest batch of austerity tied to the country’s $180 billion bail-out package. The IPO of Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) went off at $20, with shares rising to $31.44 before pulling back to $26.11 in the last half hour of trading. Crude oil is basically flat and gold has pulled back less than -0.5%. The dollar is slightly stronger against both the euro and the yen, putting weight on commodities.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 61 points to 11,983.32 (-0.51%), the NASDAQ fell more than 11 points (-0.44%) to 2,686.15, and the S&P 500 fell -0.63% or more than 7 points to 1,253.23.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) raised to ‘outperform’ at Wedbush. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) was raised to ‘outperform’ at Zack’s and was named the firm’s Bull of the Day; Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) was cut to ‘sector perform’ at National Bank; SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) was cut to ‘hold’ at Stifel Nicolaus; Sunpower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWRA) was cut to ‘underperform’ at Macquarie; and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) was cut to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie. We noted a change in the solar sector earlier today.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is up about 6.4%, at $44.04, after posting a new 52-week high earlier in the day; LinkedIn Corp. (NASDAQ: LNKD) is down more than -6%, at $82.09; Analysts International Corp. (NASDAQ: ANLY) is up nearly 28%, at $4.67; Oxigene, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN) is down -33%, at $1.22; Rosetta Stone, Inc. (NYSE: RST) is down more than -23%, at $7.77, after posting a new low earlier today; and MasTec, Inc. (NYSE: MTZ) is down -20%, at $17.52.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE: ALJ) is up nearly 46%, at $11.40. The Israeli-based oil refiner has struck a deal to receive 25,000 barrels/day of WTI crude at its Louisiana refinery, which will give its margins a sharp boost.

DragonWave, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI) is up 36%, at $4.91. The company has agreed to buy the microwave business from the joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks.

SemiLEDS Corp. (NASDAQ: LEDS) is up nearly 37%, to $4.04. The company got a huge boost from the Chinese government’s announcement that it will ban incandescent light bulbs beginning next year.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is down more than -6%, at $27.24. The company reported better-than-expected earnings this morning, but asset sales to generate cash are causing concerns among investors.

Imperial Sugar Co. (NASDAQ: IPSU) is down more than -12%, at $6.01, after posting a new 52-week low of $5.75 earlier today. The company is suspending its quarterly dividend.

Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) is down about -18%, at $18.02. The shares posted an all-time high earlier this week, but the stock price run-up may have exaggerated the company’s growth prospects.

Stay tuned for Monday. Boston Federal Reserve president Eric Rosengren is giving a speech in the morning. We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):

11:00 a.m. – Four-week Treasury bill announcement
11:30 a.m. – Three- and six-month Treasury bill auction
3:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve consumer credit report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Analyst Calls, HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ALJ, ANLY, BIG, CHK, DAL, DRWI, GRPN, IPSU, LEDS, LNKD, MTZ, OXGN, RGLD, RST, SBUX, SD, SGEN, SPWRA, TSL

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BIG, CHS, DAL, ERII, PPG, PLXS, GOLD, RGLD, SD, SWK, SPWRA, RIG, TSL, VICL, VVUS, YRCW)

Administrator — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:25:18 +0000

These are some of Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) Raised to Outperform at Wedbush.
Chico’s FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Energy Recovery Inc. (NASDAQ: ERII) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE: PPG) named as Value stock of the Day at Zacks.
Plexus Corporation (NASDAQ: PLXS) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) Cut to Sector Perform at National Bank.
SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK) Raised to Buy at Argus.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Cut to Underperform at Macquarie.
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) Cut to Underperform at Macquarie.
Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
Vical Inc. (NASDAQ: VICL) Started as Outperform with $7 target at Credit Suisse.
VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Started as Outperform with $15 target at Credit Suisse.
YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) Raised to Hold fro Sell at Stifel Nicolaus.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BIG, CHS, DAL, ERII, gold, PLXS, PPG, RGLD, RIG, SD, SPWRA, SWK, TSL, VICL, VVUS, YRCW

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (AVP, BBBY, FSLR, KND, NFLX, POT, RSH, RGLD, SIRI, S, TLAB, WFM, CSCO, BIDU)

Administrator — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:01:56 +0000

Each morning 24/7 Wall St. issues its list of some of the key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research firms. We review these calls and other calls made throughout the week to see which stand out the most. Some are great calls that were greatly insightful. Other calls may be relevant well into the future, and some calls turn out to be total duds that were very painful for the analysts who made them (and the traders that listened). After reviewing and filtering all of these research reports, we end up with the top analyst calls of the week.

This weeks top analyst calls were in the following stocks: Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP); Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND); Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX); Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT); RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH); Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD); Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI); Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S); Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB); and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM).

We have a runner up call in Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and we also have a highlight on Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) despite some valuation concerns.

We have compiled the ratings news and relevant data around the reaction to each or around the implications on each. Color has also been provided if relevant on the name.

Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) had an awful post-earnings week due to a drop and due to an SEC investigation. On Friday came news that Citigroup was reiterating a “Buy” rating as the worst is likely price in. The problem is that Citi highlighted more negative than positive and it cut the target to $22 from $29 in the call. Around $19.00, that is not really enough upside even if the stock is now getting “cheap.” Avon was cut to “Neutral” by UBS on Friday.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) rarely pulls back very much, Shares were down over 3% on Friday because Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with a quite boring “Underweight” rating. Interesting considering that its client base never spends like there is a recession. On Wednesday Bed Bath & Beyond was reiterated at “Buy” and the target was raised to $70 at Argus.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) may have taken more downgrades after its CEO firing/resignation SNAFU, but at least one analyst is defending the position. Argus came out and lowered the price target to $90.00 but the firm is maintaining its “BUy” rating. This one has gotten so ugly that perhaps there is some value. We just hate trying to think about former high-flying stocks as “value” because it means things went really bad. Interestingly enough, shares bounced more than 20% from the lows of the week.

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: KND) may have been beaten up too much during the malaise around healthcare reimbursement rates. We would caution that earnings are due this coming Thursday (NOV 3). In July this was above $20.00 then the reimbursement rate woes came on at the time as a bad sell-off. Zacks has finally said enough is enough and named it the Value Stock of the Day this last Thursday as the research shop sees this trading well under ten-times next year’s earnings estimates.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week Tagged: AVP, BBBY, BIDU, CSCO, FSLR, KND, NFLX, P, POT, RGLD, RSH, S, SIRI, TLAB, WFM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (T, BK, CELL, FDO, FRX, HWAY, JASO, LVLT, LOW, NFLX, RGLD, VECO)

Administrator — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:26:08 +0000

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

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
The Bank of New York-Mellon (NYSE: BK) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Brightpoint, Inc. (NASDAQ: CELL) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO) named Growth & Income stock of the day at Zacks.
Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: FRX) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Healthways Inc. (NASDAQ: HWAY) downgraded at William Blair, Barclays, and Piper Jaffray.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) Raised to Neutral at Citigroup.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) Raised to Buy at Janney.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) downgraded by Reed Hastings and everyone left who was still positive.
Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) Raised to Overweight at HSBC.
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Cut to Neutral at Sterne Agee; Reiterated Sell ar Canaccord Genuity.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BK, CELL, FDO, FRX, HWAY, JASO, LOW, LVLT, NFLX, RGLD, T, VECO

24/7 Closing Bell (ORCL, RNOW, CAT, MCD, IVN, PAL, RGLD, MAT, SJM, SLE, CI, HS, ETN, LO, METR, NFLX, TXN, ADLR, MOBI, ASYS, SXCI, DRAM)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:12:36 +0000

Stocks opened higher this morning, helped along by a host of merger announcements. Techs got boost when Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) said it would pay $1.5 billion for cloud-based customer service provider RightNow Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RNOW). Strong earnings from Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) were among quarterly reports that gave markets a push higher as well. Investors are also buying on news from Europe that the EU’s takeover fund will be significantly expanded. Oil prices gained nearly 4% on an improved global economic outlook. The market gave back some gains late in the day on word that another downgrade of US debt may be coming if the Congressional supercommittee fails to deliver a budget agreement.The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 106 points to 11,914.75 (0.89%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 62 points (2.35%) to 2,699.44, and the S&P 500 rose 1.29% or nearly 16 points to 1,254.21.There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including a re-iteration of the ‘outperform’ rating for McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) at Credit Suisse. The brokerage maintained the company on its Focus List and lifted the stock’s target price to $104. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE: IVN) was started at ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse, as was North American Palladium Ltd. (NYSE: PAL). Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) was raised to ‘outperform’ at National Bank.

We also want to call out some of the other mergers and acquisitions announced this morning. Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) acquired HIT Entertainment for $680 million. J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) is paying $350 million for the food service coffee and tea business of Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE). Today’s biggest deal has insurance company CIGNA Corp. (NYSE: CI) paying $3.8 billion for HealthSpring Inc. (NYSE: HS) as the insurance industry keeps on consolidating.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Caterpillar’s shares are up nearly 5%, at $91.66; Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) up about 4.5%, at $44.12; Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO) down less than -0.5%, at $115.16 after missing EPS estimates this morning; Metro Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: METR) down nearly -8% after posting an EPS loss of -$0.41; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) up more than 1.5% in anticipation of the company’s earnings release after the bell today; and Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) up more than 3.6% on expected earnings after today’s markets close.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Adolor Corp. (NASDAQ: ADLR) is up about 132%, at $4.49, on news of its acquisition by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) for $190 million, or $4.25/share. Adolor’s 52-week trading range is $1.09-$4.53, and the high was set today, anticipating that the company will hit milestones in the acquisition offer that could add up to $35 million to the purchase price.

Sky-mobi Ltd. (NASDAQ: MOBI) is up 42%, at $5.55, on a strategic partnership with SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA). Sky-mobi’s Maopao mobile social network will now be able to offer SINA’s Weibo.com microblog as a downloadable application.

Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYS) is up more than 23%, to $11.25. The company, which makes manufacturing equipment for solar makers, is getting boost from today’s rise in solar stocks.

SXC Health Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: SXCI) is down more than -20%, at $44.98. HealthSpring, which is being acquired by CIGNA, is one of SXC’s biggest customers, accounting for about a third of the company’s sales.

Dataram Corp. (NASDAQ: DRAM) is off more than -10%, at $1.10. Spot prices for dynamic RAM continue to weaken, a trend that caused Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) results to tumble last quarter.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: General Tagged: ADLR, ASYS, CAT, CI, DRAM, ETN, HS, IVN, LO, MAT, MCD, METR, MOBI, NFLX, ORCL, PAL, RGLD, RNOW, SJM, SLE, SXCI, TXN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AET, A, DECK, GPN, TV, HMIN, ITC, IVN, ERIC, MMC, MCD, PAL, RGLD, TEVA, TLAB, TCBI)

Administrator — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:25:13 +0000

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

Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) added to Strong Buy List at Zacks.
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Started as Buy at UBS.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Grupo Televisa S.A. (NYSE: TV) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (NASDAQ: HMIN) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ITC) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE: IVN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) maintained Neutral but cut target and estimates by Goldman Sachs.
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Maintained Outperform on Focus List and target raised to $104 at Credit Suisse.
North American Palladium Ltd. (NYSE: PAL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) Raised to Outperform at National Bank.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Tellabs Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) Cut to Underperform at Zacks.
Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCBI) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: A, AET, DECK, ERIC, GPN, HMIN, ITC, IVN, MCD, MMC, PAL, RGLD, TCBI, TEVA, TLAB, TV

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADTN, AGN, AAPL, ADP, ABX, C, EXPE, GILD, LNKD, MA, NOK, OPEN, PWRD, RIMM, RGLD, TSM, AMTD, VECO)

Administrator — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:07:20 +0000

These are some of this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Adtran Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN) Reiterated Buy and $49 target at Argus.
Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Maintained Buy with $490 target at BofA/ML.
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADP) Reiterated Buy and $60 Target at Argus.
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) named value stock of the day at Zacks.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Raised to Buy at Societe Generale.
OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Started as Underweight at Barclays.
Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James; Maintained Neutral but cut target to $30 at BofA/ML.
Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, ABX, ADP,, ADTN, AGN, AMTD, C, EXPE, GILD, LNKD, MA, NOK, OPEN, PWRD, RGLD, RIMM, TSM, VECO

The Strongest Big Gold Stocks (GLD, GDX, GG, NEM, AUY, RGLD)

Administrator — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:46:11 +0000

You have already seen how gold has gone through the roof almost daily to higher highs. The world of print money is dying compared to the hard asset of gold. What is amazing is how many gold mining and exploration companies have either not participated as much or have lagged the market’s rise for the love of gold. We have covered some of the laggards on many occasions and today we wanted to highlight those gold stocks which actually are living up to the hype of gold.

The rally in gold has really started to pull up the rest of the gold sector since the middle of last week. To show this, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) tracks the largest gold miners and it came within about 1% of 52-week highs today. Shares closed Monday up almost 4% at $63.70 and the 52-week trading range is $49.57 to $64.62. The high on the day was $64.05.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is based in Vancouver, Canada and it acquires, explores, develops and operates mines and gold operations throughout Canada, United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. The stock closed up 4.8% at $54.14 against a 52-week trading range of $39.04 to 56.20. That is less than 4% from a 52-week high for the $43.7 billion gold giant.

Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) is a $31 billion Colorado-based producer with operations in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico. The stock closed up 4.8% at $54.14 against a 52-week trading range of $50.05 to $65.50. That is right at 4% under a 52-week high and this one was helped by a Citigroup upgrade this morning.

Yamana Gold, Inc. (NYSE: AUY) is a $12 billion Toronto, Canada-based producer and explorer throughout many properties in Central and South America. The stock closed up 3.7% at $16.09, and the stock hit a new 52-week high of $16.18 today. Yamana’s all-time high was close to $20.00 back in early 2008.

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) is a $4 billion Colorado-based acquirer of gold mining and production royalties and shares hit a new 52-week high of $73.78 today. The close was up about 4% at $73.00 for the day after hitting a 52-week high of $73.78. That was also an all-time high.

The SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) hit a new high, as did gold of course, today at $184.82. At last look, gold was trading up $45.30 in New York at $1,897.50 per ounce.

The run higher in gold each day is beginning to feel more and more like the crude oil rally from 2007 into 2008. That is a market where the base just keeps rising and rising for virtually the same news each day. The difference here is that gold does not run economies in the same manner as oil. At least it does not as long as the gold-barter system doesn’t return.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Commodities, Luxury, Metals Tagged: AUY, GDX, GG, GLD, NEM, RGLD

Should Private Equity Firms Only Buy Very Unique Companies? (APO, CKXE, CLCT, DEST, LULU, MSG, OMEX, PRXI, RICK, RGLD)

Administrator — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:19:29 +0000

Private equity firms are known for finding value and milking additional value out of many public companies. Some companies are very generic and bought for cash flow, while others are unique and harder to value. This morning came news that private equity giant Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) is making a very uniques acquisition of CKX Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE). This deal is only likely to highlight other ‘value’ in other unique public company business models.

CKX is far from a normal public company and it was one of several highly unique public companies we have recently featured and most of these could even be classified as cult stocks. Pinpointing a real value in CKX comes down to “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The company owns the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, the operations of Graceland, and proprietary rights to the IDOLS and So You Think You Can Dance television brands. Robert F.X. Sillerman resigned as its Chairman and CEO to pursue a possible acquisition of the company but those talks ended in 2010. The company’s total assets were $460.8 million at the end of 2010 and the buyout is being valued at close to $510 million.

We have highlighted each of these other unique public companies in a brief description below and that full prior article on unique companies goes much deeper into the operations and values of each. Today we have only a brief description and a market capitalization rate compared to total asset values (not book values).

Collectors Universe Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT) is effectively the last public company out there pertaining to grading and evaluating collectibles and grading other items. The market cap here is about $120 million and the assets are about $37 million.

Destination Maternity Corporation (NASDAQ: DEST) screens out as a retailer, but it is effectively a pure-play in maternity clothing and apparel, with over 1,700 retail locations. The market cap here is only about $300 million versus a total asset size of about $200 million.

Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) has become so large that it will almost be forced to live up to its yoga-monopoly image. Amazingly, very few ‘knock-off’ imitation companies exist on their own. Lulu’s market cap is now over $7 billion and its valuations totay are likely to scare away a buyer; its total assets were valued recently a about $500 million.

Madison Square Garden, Inc. (NASDAQ: MSG) fits right in for private equity via sports teams, entertainment, and highly recognized venues. The Garden has a $2 billion market cap and its total assets were listed as worth close to $2.2 billion.

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (NASDAQ: OMEX) is basically a publicly traded treasure hunting outfit. Why not get a bunch of billionaires to scuba dive ancient shipwrecks? Total assets are listed as about $19 million versus a market cap of about $235 million. That market cap does not really include its potential project values and future finds.

Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRXI) is truly unique, part artifact-owner and part museum. It owns the BODIES exhibit and has the Salvor-In-Possession rights to the shipwreck of HMS Titanic and has the museum exhibit Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. Its market cap is only about $85 million and its total assets are listed as being about $37 million.

Rick’s Cabaret International Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) is truly unique as it screens out as a “restaurant” in financial screens. It is America’s broadest play on “adult nightclubs for businessmen and professionals.” Its market cap is just over $100 million with a total asset valuation of close to $150 million. Obviously, the big question will be if a private equity firm wants to explain why it suddenly owns strip clubs.

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) is not your normal gold stock as it is involved in royalty acquisitions. Amazingly, it has only about 20 employees and commands a market cap of $3.25 billion with a total asset valuation of $1.86 billion.

Maybe some of these companies can fit into a private equity portfolio. Keep in mind that some may be too unique or may be in industries which private equity firms choose to avoid.

That more detailed review of very unique public companies is here.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: business and finance, Corporate Governance, Cult Stock, Entertainment, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, Retail Tagged: APO, CKXE, CLCT, DEST, LULU, MSG, OMEX, PRXI, RGLD, RICK

The Top 6 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades of the Week (CYH, GOOG, GTXI, MPEL, KWK, RIG, SLW, RGLD, THC)

Administrator — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:35:56 +0000

This last week was the beginning of earnings season and analysts were making many calls. While we track a dozen or more key research calls each day, we always find a few that stand out above and beyond the rest. Some of these calls were large impact calls and some are fringe calls with big implications down the road.

While there are more than six companies mentioned here, the top analyst upgrades and downgrades seen this week were in shares of Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), GTX Inc. (NASDAQ: GTXI), Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL), Quicksilver Resources Inc. (NYSE: KWK), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) and Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD).

We have outlined the implications and the impact on each. We have also added color if applicable here.

Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) saw a major whip-saw this week after Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) sued the company over fraud over Medicare abuse as a means to prevent a hostile acquisition. The prior Friday had Community Health shares up above $40.00 and shares closed at $25.89 on this last Monday. By Friday shares had risen to $31.90 but news of a US subpoena on claims took out another 13% of value and shares went back to about $27.50 in the after-hours session Friday afternoon. We are curious to see how this pans out now because we some analysts defending this one during the week as follows:

Citigroup raised the target to $38 with a “Buy” rating after having earlier cut the target to $34 from $46.
Jefferies initiated it with a “Hold” rating and a $36 price target.
Deutsche Bank defended it with a “Buy” rating
Caris actually cut this to “Average”

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) had a mixed earnings report. Larry Page spoke only very briefly in his remarks as his first quarter earnings report as CEO, making analysts investor worried that he is not going to be very forthcoming. More importantly, Google is just spending too much money as its expenses are rising significantly faster than its revenues. We saw several price targets get cut after earnings and shares closed down almost $48.00 or 8.25% at $530.70 on Friday after the report. Some of the new targets we saw are as follows:

Citigroup downgraded the stock to Hold;
Credit Suisse cut to $700;
Gabelli maintained “Buy” rating;
Goldman Sachs cut to $690;
Oppenheimer cut to $650
Stifel Nicolaus cut to $750;

GTX Inc. (NASDAQ: GTXI) is small enough that 90% of our readers will ask “Who or what is that?”… The market cap is a mere $199 million even after a large rise for the biotech outfit targeting cancer, osteoporosis, bone loss, and muscle loss. This last Wednesday came an upgrade from Citigroup to “Buy” from “Hold.” What was so amazing was the reaction as shares literally traded up almost 34% to $3.68 and shares had been up closer to 50% at a high of $4.18 during the trading day. The stock volume was more than 3.8 million shares and average daily volume was only about 140,000 shares prior to this jump. GTX Inc. only traded 3+ million shares on two trading days in 2010 and it is important that its shares rose for two more days after this call to close at $3.85 for the week.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, The Week Tagged: CYH, GOOG, GTXI, MPEL, RGLD, THC