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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AES, AIV, APO, ADSK, BRFS, CAP, CRAI, GPS, INTU, JPM, LEAP, PCS, MMI, PM, QIHU, RRGB, RGS, CRM, S, SYMC, TSN, ZLC)

Administrator — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:25:12 +0000

It is a big day for analyst research calls. These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Friday morning.

The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Apartment Investment & Management Co. (NYSE: AIV) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) Started as Outperform at KBW.
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) reiterated Buy and raised target to $50 at Canaccord Genuity.
BRF - Brasil Foods S.A. (NYSE: BRFS) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
CAI International Inc. (NYSE: CAP) Maintained Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
CRA International (NASDAQ: CRAI) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Started as Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM) Raised to Strong Buy at S&P Equity Research (late-Thursday).
Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NYSE: QIHU) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (NASDAQ: RRGB) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Regis Corporation (NYSE: RGS) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Maintained Buy with $170 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $24 at Argus.
Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) Raised to Buy with $4.75 at BofA/ML.

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: ADSK, AES, AIV, APO, BRFS, CAP, CRAI, CRM, GPS, INTU, JPM, LEAP, MMI, PCS, PM, QIHU, RGS, RRGB, S, SYMC, TSN, ZLC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALKS, AEO, ADM, BHP, CSCO, DOW, GBL, ITW, JNY, MRK, PHG, DGX, RGS, RIO, SKS, TSN, VIA-B)

Administrator — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:30:59 +0000

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

Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Swann.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Cut to Neutral at Janney.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) Started as Buy at RBS.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Started as Buy at boutique firm BGC Financial.
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) Maintained Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
GAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
The Jones Group Inc. (NYSE: JNY) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Reiterated Buy and $41 target at Argus.
Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (NYSE: DGX) reiterated Outperform but on Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Regis Corporation (NYSE: RGS) Kept at Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) Started as Buy at RBS.
Saks Incorporated (NYSE: SKS) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA-B) Raised to Buy at Argus.

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: ADM, AEO, ALKS, BHP, CSCO, DGX, DOW, GBL, ITW, JNY, MRK, PHG, RGS, RIO, SKS, TSN, VIA-B

Morgan Stanley’s Credit Analyst Lends Weight To Equity Fears (MS, DFS, RGS, KLIC, AAI)

247wallst — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:49:08 +0000

An appetite for risky assets that has sent small-cap and emerging market stocks and junk bonds flying since March now is getting more scrutiny from a market heavyweight. Greg Peters, head of credit strategy at Morgan Stanley, (NYSE: MS) is the latest to question the rallying assets of debt-laden companies. In an interview with Bloomberg, he calls the market incredibly dangerous, noting that average debt relative to earnings among high-yield offerings is at an 11-year high. And the strong rally is happening despite rising default rates. How long can any rally last when it’s being driven by the worst assets?

Turning to the equity market, we made a similar argument about the quality of strongly rallying assets last month, using Altman Z-scores, a measure of balance sheet health. As of last month, there were 131 stocks in the S&P 500 with Z-scores in the “distress” zone. If only one fifth of those become insolvent by mid-2011, that’s more than two dozen companies that could potentially wipe out investors. As GM and Lehman Brothers showed, no one wants to be left holding stock in a bankrupt company. The trouble is, those are the Z-scores for supposedly top companies. the Z scores are even worse among the small-cap and emerging market stocks from many of the same companies that are issuing junk bonds.

Even if Z-scores are too pessimistic in forecasting bankruptcies, the news isn’t good. Companies that pull through with weak balance sheets often have to raise funds using secondary or convertible offerings that dilute stock value for existing shareholders. In the past, many companies have announce those types of offerings after a few months of strong gains.

We’re seeing a wave of secondary offerings such as the ones so far this week from Discover Financial Services Inc. (NYSE: DFS), Regis Corp. (NYSE: RGS), Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: KLIC) and Air Tran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI). It just so happens that every company that just posted a secondary this week has a Z score that’s in the danger zone of potentially going bankrupt, with the exception of Discover. But Discover is an exception because Z scores don’t work with financial companies.

There are times when the worlds of credit and equity move in tandem. With quality in question, this might be one of them. It’s why equity investors to heed what the credit guy is saying.

Mike Tarsala

Posted in Analyst Calls, Bonds, Secondary Offering Tagged: AAI, DFS, KLIC, MS, RGS

As Market Plunges, Major Stocks Fall Under $10 (Part 2) (LTD, OMTR, RSH, RGS, SCOR, LUV, SBUX, WFMI)

247wallst — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:53:33 +0000

It has been almost impossible for most stocks to avoid the carnageand mayhem of late. It is interesting just how many widely held stocks have broken under the $10.00 share price level today. This can screw up optionstrading and begins to genuinely worry investors who were alreadyworried. Shares never dip under $10.00 because things are great.

Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) broke $10.00 Monday, and it keeps looking farther and farther away at $8.80. Candles, body products, and undies… not recession-proof.

Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) re-broke the $10.00 barrier this week. Business optimization must not be good when the recession is there whether you optimize or not.

Radio Shack (NYSE: RSH), same boat as Best Buy sales even if CircuitCity died. Consumer electronics aren’t doing so hot, and PC’s under$500 just can’t be that profitable.

Regis Corp. (NYSE: RGS) broker under $10.00 today for the first timethis entire decade. Hair hasn’t stopped growing but in a financialpinch maybe less costly cuts and less product buying is being used.

comsScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) broke under $10.00 today for the firsttime since its IPO in late-2006. Paying for web metrics in a recessionmay be used, but the answer to the survey is the same as elsewhere:"The numbers suck, big time!"

Southwest Air (NYSE: LUV) just broke under 410.00 today, prior 52-weeklow of $10.26. The best fuel hedger in the world, now in the same boatas other carriers.

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) broke the $10.00 barrier briefly ahead ofearnings on Monday. I did my part to support it this morning andyesterday by buying its coffee, but shares are around $9.50 now.This is basically a decade-low.

Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) traded under $10.00 last week ahead of andafter earnings, but now "Whole Paycheck" is well under $10.00 at$9.15. The new acronym for the stock is now officially what tradersabbreviate the ticker as: "Whiff Me!"…

The only good news in this is that our weekly "10 Stocks Under $10"newsletter is getting more and more widely held stocks as candidates tobe covered.

Here is a link for the first list of major stocks breaking under $10.00 today or this week.

Jon C. Ogg
November 12, 2008

Posted in HI/LOW, Trading Alert Tagged: LTD, LUV, OMTR, RGS, RSH, SBUX, SCOR, WFMI