24/7 Wall St. » RS

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AKAM, ANGI, AAPL, CBE, FIO, GGP, GES, PETD, PMCS, PLD, REG, RS, UA, PANL, VTR, WSM)

Administrator — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:20:51 +0000

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

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Janney Capital Markets.
Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; Started as Perform at Oppenheimer; Started as Buy at Janney Capital Markets.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) lowered price target to $513 from $530 at Morgan Keegan.
Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Fusion-io, Inc. (NYSE: FIO) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Guess?, Inc. (NYSE: GES) Cut to Underperform from Neutral as Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Petroleum Development Corporation (NASDAQ: PETD) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
PMC-Sierra Inc. (NASDAQ: PMCS) Cut to Neutral with $6 target at Goldman Sachs.
Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE: REG) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company (NYSE: RS) named as value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Raised to Outperform with $90 target at Baird.
Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: PANL) maintained Hold and lowered estimates and target to $35 at Canaccord Genuity.
Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) Raised to Long-Term Outperform and named as the Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) Cut to Sell at Janney Capital Markets.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, AKAM, ANGI, CBE, FIO, GES, GGP, PANL, PETD, PLD, PMCS, REG, RS, UA, VTR, WSM

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (SHLD, MCP, RYN, RS, WIN, PSOF, MOSY, TGAL, ARL, MERU, LEAP)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:12:40 +0000

Stocks opened lower this morning and have trended down all day. There was no major news today, although major European exchanges closed the year with losses: Germany’s DAX was down -15% on the year, France’s CAC was off -17%, and the UK’s FTSE was down almost -6%. Asian equities also finished the year with losses: the Nikkei was down -17%, the Hang Seng was down -20%, and Shanghai was down nearly -22%. US Treasuries closed the year up 9.6%, better than any of the major US indexes. Crude oil is down slightly today, but higher for the year. WTI crude is down -0.68% at $98.97/barrel and Brent crude is down -0.67% at 107.29. Gold has stopped its recent slide, rising about 1.5% to $1,564.30/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 70 points to 12,217.18 (-0.57%), the NASDAQ fell more than 8 points (-0.33%) to2,605.15, and the S&P 500 fell -0.43% or more than 5 points to 1,257.60.

There were a few analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Sears Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) and Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) added to ‘strong sell list’ at Zack’s Investment Research; Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) and Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS) added to ‘strong buy list at Zack’s; and Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN) started as ‘neutral’ at Piper Jaffray.

There was just a single earnings report of note scheduled today: Pansoft Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: PSOF) is down nearly -15% at $1.80 in the last half hour of trading.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

MoSys Inc. (NASDAQ: MOSY) is up more than 37% at $4.07. The memory chip designer has sold a portfolio of patents to a subsidiary of Tessera Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRA) for $35 million in cash.

Tegal Corp. (NASDAQ: TGAL) is up more than 40% at $3.24. The green energy product maker has sold patents valued at about $4 million.

American Realty Investors Inc. (NYSE: ARL) is up more than 19% at $1.80. The real estate investment company could be responding to technical breakthrough, or there could be some short covering going on.

Meru Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: MERU) is up nearly 22% at $4.17. The wireless networking company could also be gaining from short covering. As of December 15th, about 25% of the company’s shares were short.

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) is up nearly 10% at $9.32. The wireless carrier has been mentioned as a possible takeover target for AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) now that AT&T’s deal for T-Mobile USA has been abandoned.

US markets are closed Monday. Stay tuned for Tuesday. Here are the noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

10:00 a.m. – ISM manufacturing index
10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auction
2:00 p.m. – Federal Open Market Committee minutes released

Have a Happy New Year!

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: ARL, LEAP, MCP, MERU, MOSY, PSOF, RS, RYN, SHLD, TGAL, WIN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (GDI, HBC, AGCO, WCRX, FRX, WIN, RYN, RS, AEM, BMI, K, SHLD, MCP)

Administrator — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:56:23 +0000

Finding analyst calls from Wall Street research and brokerage firms on the last trading day of the year is a bit like looking for four-leaf clovers. Still, there are a few analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this morning.

Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE: GDI) named as the Value Stock of the Day at Zacks Investment Research. HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) was named as the Bear of the Day and AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) was named as the Bull of the Day by Zacks Investment Research.

Warner Chilcott plc (NASDAQ: WCRX) lowered price target to $25 and Forest Labs Inc. (NYSE: FRX) target cut to $40 at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Windstream Corporation (NASDAQ: WIN) Started as Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) and Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS) were added to the #1 (Strong Buy) List at Zacks Investment Research. The Zacks additions to the #5 (strong Sell List are as follows: Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM); Badger Meter Inc. (NYSE: BMI); Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K); and Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD).

Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is one where we said earlier in the week that the efficient market theory cannot be applied, and Zacks included it on the Strong Sell ratings list this morning to close out 2011.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AEM, AGCO, BMI, FRX, GDI, HBC, K, MCP, RS, RYN, SHLD, WCRX, WIN

Earnings Season Arrives, Top Earnings Previews For The Week Ahead (NVLS, AA, ADTN, HST, PEP, GOOG, JBHT, JPM, SWY, MAT)

Administrator — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:15:40 +0000

They’re Here! Next week will launch the corporate earnings season for the third quarter. The media is going to tell you that this is the most important earnings season in quite some time. The media always says that, but this time it is true because investors want to know whether to still model in growth or whether they need to dig in for a recessionary climate.

24/7 Wall St. has compiled detailed earnings previews for the following companies: Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS); Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA); ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN); Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST); Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT); J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM); Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY); and Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT).

Some of these companies will not really seem on the surface to be sector-movers or market-moving companies, but these have been selected because they are the first ones of their peer groups to be reporting earnings.

We have created a detailed earnings preview for each with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters and added color in on each for investors to see what exactly is worth consideration this earnings season. We have also added in recent price history and named where to look for additonal action (or fallout).

Monday, October 10

Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is the first chip equipment player to report for this earnings season. it has been a few weeks since we have had earnings reports or guidance in the sector so we will be paying close attention since so many companies that are chip equipment customers have talked down their numbers in recent weeks. Our belief is that expectations are very low for the quarter ahead. Estimates are $0.68 EPS and $311.9 million in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $278.5 million in revenue. With shares hovering around $30.00 on Friday, the 52-week range is $25.26 to $41.82 and shares were above $36 in early July. After Novellus reports, we would be watching the following: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC), and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX).

Tuesday, October 11

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) has already talked down aluminum prices and we have already seen slowing demand out of China talked about by many sectors. Alcoa keeps maintaining that it can double its business by 2020 and we do not expect that to be changed by management even if it guides lower expectations ahead. Estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.24 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.11 billion in revenue. At $9.80 on Friday, the 52-week range is $8.45 to $19.47 and this one was above $16 at the start of July. There are many metals stocks to watch, some in aluminum and some in other metals: Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX), Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS); Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU); Titanium Metals Corporation (NYSE: TIE); and Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE).

Filed under: Calendar, Corporate Governance, Earnings, Earnings Warning, Economy, Editor's Picks Tagged: AA, ADTN, AMAT, BAC, C, CENX, CHH, CIEN, GOOG, HAS, HST, JBHT, JPM, KALU, KLAC, KO, KR, LRCX, LSTR, MAR, MAT, NUE, NVLS, PEP, RS, SWY, TIE, TLAB, WFC

Goldman Sachs Says Yes On Metals & Mining: Growth Vs. Value (FCX, AA, CENX, RS, WOR, XME, COPX)

Administrator — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:22:48 +0000

Is the world economy slowing or are we at the trough? It depends upon whom you ask. A report today from Goldman Sachs is highlighting the great value in the metals and mining sector noting that global metal demand is likely to remain fairly healthy. The driver of course is emerging markets. The larger issue is that this generally seems to be a more of a valuation call than a growth call.

Goldman Sachs’ research team noted that the most recent price drop in many of the metals and mining shares has created very attractive entry points for many of the best stocks in the sector. The firm is remaining bullish on copper fundamentals, which is hard to say is a value call. To be bullish on copper almost always translates back to the global growth trade.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was reiterated as a “Buy.” Goldman is less aggressive on Aluminum, but has some bright spots. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was reiterated as “Buy” as a move away from the linkage to spot aluminum prices due to strong aerospace business opportunities coming down the pipe in the years ahead. Freeport-McMoRan shares are up 3.75% at $48.35, bot bad for a $45 billion market cap. Alcoa is up almost 4% at $12.84 this morning.

Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) was raised to “Neutral” from “Sell,” but it needs to be noted that the target went to $11.50 from $14.50 before; the 52-week range is $8.72 to $20.76. Shares are still up 5% at $12.38 on the news.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) was raised to “Buy” from “Neutral,” but the price target was taken to $52 from $60 against a 52-week range of $36.62 to $60.60. Reliance shares are up a sharp 5% at $43.26 this morning.

Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WOR) in steel and metals processing was not given the same love. Goldman Sachs cut the rating there to “Sell” from an already cautious “Neutral” rating. Worthington shares are down 2.5% at $16.28 on the call and the 52-week range is $14.07 to $23.75.

The key ETF is on the move too. The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining (NYSE: XME) is up 1.8% at $59.66 and its 52-week range is $47.31 to $77.44. In copper mining ETF trends, the Global X Copper Miners ETF (NYSE: COPX) is up over 3% at $17.15 against a 52-week range of $12.35 to $20.98.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Economy, Emerging Markets, International Markets, Metals, Value Investing Tagged: AA, CENX, COPX, FCX, RS, WOR, XME

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

Administrator — 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.

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: AAPL, ATML, CMI, CTXS, ENZN, HBC, HD, PFCB, PLD, RIMM, RS, RSH, S, SCCO, TXN, XLNX

Alcoa Not Weighing On Aluminum Sector (AA, ACH, RS, CENX, NOR, KALU)

Administrator — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:27:28 +0000

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was the first component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to report earnings. Last night’s report was actually above estimates on earnings even if revenues were a tad soft. The company is calling for growth as well in 2011 and is calling for the aluminum sector to double by 2020. The problem is that shares were already up significantly ahead of earnings and we are seeing a “Sell The News” reaction in Alcoa. What is interesting is that the news is actually not weighing on other aluminum players.

Aluminum Corporation Of China Limited (NYSE: ACH) is up 1.2% at $23.42. Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) is up 0.3% at $53.01 on thin volume against a 52-week range of $34.58 to $55.47. Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is actually up 0.3% at $16.60 in very thin trading versus a 52-week trading range of $8.25 to $18.77. Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) nor Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU) have not yet traded.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) shares are indicated down 1.3% at $16.27 before the open and its 52-week range is $9.81 to $17.60.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Earnings, Metals Tagged: AA, ACH, CENX, KALU, NOR, RS

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AKS, COMV, DCI, EPR, GOOG, GBX, RNWK, RIMM, RS, SOHU, SBUX, SYMC, TLEO)

Administrator — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:56:50 +0000

These are some of this Tuesday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Comverge, Inc. (NASDAQ: COMV) Cut to Neutral at Roth Capital.
Donaldson Co. (NYSE: DCI) Removed from US Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Entertainment Properties (NYSE: EPR) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late yesterday call).
Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) Started At Outperform By Wells Fargo
RealNetworks Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK) Cut to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late yesterday call).
Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Hold at Kaufman Bros.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) Maintained Buy but target Raised to $38 at Argus.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Raised to Buy at ISI Group.
Taleo Corp. (NASDAQ: TLEO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: DCI, EPR, GBX, GOOG, RIMM, RNWK, RS, TLEO

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AAPL, BYI, BHP, DWA, FRO, IGT, CSCO, JPM, PCLN, RS)

Administrator — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:07:05 +0000

These are ten of this Wednesday’s top analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research notes:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Raised estimates and Target to $348.00 at Piper Jaffray.
Bally Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BYI) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan (Cazenove).
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) Removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
International Game Technologies (NYSE: IGT) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Started as Overweight with $32 target at Atlantic Securities.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Started as Outperform at FBR Capital.
Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) Raised to Buy with $240 target at Goldman Sachs.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE: RS) Raised to Buy at UBS.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, BHP, BYI, CSCO, DWA, FRO, IGT, JPM, PCLN, RS

Top Analyst Downgrades (CRDN, FSLR, NUE, RS, SINA, TLB)

247wallst — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:56:16 +0000

These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades and cautious research calls we have seen early this Wednesday morning:

Ceradyne (CRDN) cut to Underperform at Wachovia; Cut to Accumulate at ThinkEquity.
First Solar (FSLR) Cut to Hold at Soleil.
Nucor (NUE) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Reliance Steel (RS) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Sina (SINA) Cut to Neutral at Pali.
Talbots (TLB) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: CRDN, FSLR, NUE, RS, SINA, TLB