24/7 Wall St. » SKH

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MDRX, AMR, ADI, BHP, BYD, CHH, KIOR, LEAP, MRO, MAR, PCS, OSG, PFCB, RDC, SKH, TXN, VLO, YNDX)

Administrator — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:12:42 +0000

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

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Boyd Gaming Corp. (NYSE: BYD) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Choice Hotels (NYSE: CHH) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
KiOR, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIOR) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Cut to Neutral at Baird; Maintained Neutral but cut target to $12 at Credit Suisse; Maintained Buy with $22 target at Argus.
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (NYSE: OSG) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank; Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) Cut to Sell at Argus.
Rowan Companies (NYSE: RDC) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) Started as Underperform at BofA/ML.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) Reiterated Buy with $35 target at Argus.
Yandex N. V. (NASDAQ: YNDX) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

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: ADI, AMR, BHP, BYD, CHH, KIOR, LEAP, MAR, MDRX, MRO, OSG, PCS, PFCB, RDC, SKH, TXN, VLO, YNDX

Medicare & Medicaid Killing Nursing Homes & Skilled Nursing Facilities (KND, SUNH, SKH, FVE, SRZ, NHC, AMED, AFAM, SNH)

Administrator — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:03:51 +0000

Maybe you can blame overly inflated healthcare costs or maybe you can blame more austerity measures. In the end, all that matters is that nursing home coverage, rehab, and skilled nursing coverage reimbursement rates are being cut by Medicare and Medicaid. The move is wreaking havoc among some of the providers that cater to this segment.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a final rule that cuts Medicare skilled nursing facility Prospective Payment System payments by 11.1% in FY 2012 by $3.87 billion. The cuts are listed as being to “correct for an unintended spike in payment levels and better align Medicare payments with costs.”

The 2012 recalibration will result in a reduction of 12.6% to skilled nursing facility payments of $4.47 billion, but this would be partially offset by the FY 2012 update with an increase of 1.7% to Medicare payments to skilled nursing facilities. This reflects a market basket of goods and services reduced by a 1% multi-factor productivity adjustment mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

A 2.5% increase for hospice reimbursement is not going to be anywhere close to offsetting the losses here.

Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) is in three segments of hospitals, health services, and rehabilitation. It gets somewhere close to 30% of its revenues from this segment being cut. Its stock opened down at $14.06 and shares are down almost 27% at $13.77 versus a 52-week range of $11.52 to $28.99.

Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH) may have its entire profits gone or at risk now as it has awful exposure here. Its shares opened down at $3.21 versus a $7.00 close. Shares are now down a total of 55% at $3.13 and its shares hit a low so far of $3.10 (52-week low) versus a 52-week high of $15.01.

Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. (NYSE: SKH) operates skilled nursing facilities, as well as assisted living facilities, hospice service providers, home health providers, and a rehabilitation therapy business. Its stock is down a sharp 37% at $5.44 after opening at $6.61 this morning. Its 52-week trading range is $2.33 to $15.93.

Five Star Quality Care Inc. (NYSE: FVE) operates senior living communities via independent living or congregate care communities, assisted living communities, and nursing facilities, is down “only” about 8% at $4.55 versus a 52-week trading range of $3.50 to $8.95.

Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: SRZ), which offers senior living services and independent living services, is down only 3% at $8.53 against a 52-week range of $2.18 to $12.44.

National Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: NHC) operates and manages long-term health care centers, and associated assisted living and independent living centers. Its stock is down 12% at $41.78 against a 52-week range of $33.51 to $53.08.

Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is in home health and hospice services and its shares are down 3% at $25.08. Almost Family Inc. (NASDAQ: AFAM), a home health provider, is down 3.7% at $24.33.

Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) is a REIT in hospitals, nursing homes, senior apartments, independent living properties, and assisted living centers. Its shares are also down today by 2.4% at $23.37 versus a 52-week range of $20.42 to $25.28.

Here is what is interesting about this move… This was “pre-budget deal.” If you think that Medicare and Medicaid payments are the only ones at risk in the weeks, months, and years ahead, you might want to think again. Cuts will be coming for a myriad of reasons and from many angles. Companies which rely heavily or solely on government contracts for goods and services are all under more scrutiny.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Accounting, Consumer Goods, Corporate Governance, Economy, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Politics Tagged: AFAM, AMED, FVE, KND, NHC, SKH, SNH, SRZ, SUNH

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ABC, CAM, CE, CVX, EMC, FII, OII, RSH, RTN, O, SKH, SUNH, VHS, VE, VOD)

Administrator — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:06:32 +0000

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

AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE: ABC) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Cameron International Corporation (NYSE: CAM) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) Reiterated Buy and Raised Target to $125 at Argus.
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Federated Investors, Inc. (NYSE: FII) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Oceaneering International Inc. (NYSE: OII) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH) Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan; Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: VHS) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo; Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Veolia Environment (NYSE: VE) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) Raised to Buy at UBS.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ABC, CAM, CE, CVX, EMC, FII, O, OII, RSH, RTN, SKH, SUNH, VE, VHS, VOD

Top Stocks To Watch This Coming Week, The Unusual Suspects (AMZN, AWK, DYN, ETFC, COF, FSLR, F, GNW, MLNX, LCC, DAL, BKD, FVE, KND, SKH, SUNH)

Administrator — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:10:36 +0000

There are going to be more than just several key equity issues to watch in the week ahead. 24/7 Wall St. has compiled this weekend’s previews of non-earnings events to watch this coming week in equities. The headlines and the markets are still clouded by the developments going on in Washington D.C. over the debt ceiling and the budget and we will see if the positive developments stick by Monday morning.

This is the list of Unusual Suspects to watch in the week ahead: Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN); American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK); Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN); E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC); Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F); Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW); Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX); US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC); Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL); Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD); Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (NYSE: FVE); Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND); Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH); and Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH).

Again, these are intended to be the non-earnings stocks to watch even if some are reporting earnings. In separate notes, we already published an earnings calendar with more than 20 detailed previews of the top earnings reports for this coming week. There are also some carry-over issues that investors will want to track in the Top 11 Analyst Calls of the Week that we have for review and preview with matters that have longer-term implications.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) was given a feature article in Barron’s this weekend titled “It’s All About the Revenues at Amazon” where the financial publication says that it is worth another 25% more than it already is today. If the market is flat or just not real weak due to Washington D.C. on Monday morning we would expect another gain of 2% or so despite all-time highs having been seen last week.

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is one we have routinely featured as being the best water stock out there. The water utility giant almost never reaches a 10% pullback from its highs, but on Friday it did breach that 10% threshold barely at $27.63 would mark it and the low was $27.54. Shares closed at $28.00. The company does have earnings coming up, but that is very rare to get the 10% pullback. We will not be shocked if the company announces a capital raise on strength.

Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) was down over 3% in regular trading on Friday, but shares popped more than 5% in the after-hours session to $6.05 on news that a Delaware court rejected PSEG’s attempt to block the company’s restructuring.

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) could have another buyer as Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) reportedly had considered making a bid back in 2010. This report surfaced after the close on Friday. Our take stands on our “maximum fair market value being $20″ unless a buyer has a way to end the overhang of its ongoing problem loan areas.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) may have earnings come up this next week but word surfaced late Friday that it has Cory Steffek to help the company make acquisitions and/or seek out partnerships. This fits in with our solar mergers expectations in the coming months.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was listed in Barron’s this weekend as being “ready to roll” in an artgicle. Despite having had lower earnings and despite some new UAW labor issues, Barron’s said Ford could top $15 if analysts are right. While that is another 25% higher, that is actually far less aggressive than the consensus price targets from Thomson Reuters.

Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) rose Friday on word that the company is taking steps for a possible splitting-up of the company and to move to reinstate share buybacks. If this is the case, then the gains may have much more to go as a candidate for moving away from mortgage guaranty operations. Keep in mind that the 6% gain to $8.32 on Friday compares to a 52-week range of $7.56 to $14.77.

Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) was noted over the weekend as having large options bets that its gains in cloud computing will keep going. At $34.85, keep in mind that the Israeli-outfit has a 52-week trading range of $14.60 to $35.60.

Two Tales in Airlines: US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) announced late Friday that it was suing its pilot union for illegal job actions for its 5,200 pilots covered in the union. In another bit of weekend news, Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) faces some negative press as two of its jets apparently collided on the ground in Chicago. No injuries were reported, but how organized does that sound?

Woes come to nursing homes… Medicare announced big cuts on Friday afternoon regarding reimbursement and payments to nursing homes as part of what was announced in April to lower overpayments to the nursing home segment. This created a disaster in many key stocks: Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD) was down 6.3% at $20.04; Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (NYSE: FVE) was down 9.5% to $4.48; Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) was down about 20% to $15.00; Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) was down 19% to $7.11; Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH) was down 33% at $4.69.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Airlines, Calendar, Editor's Picks, Healthcare, The Week, Trading Alert Tagged: AMZN, AWK, BKD, COF, DAL, DYN, ETFC, F, FSLR, FVE, GNW, KND, LCC, MLNX, SKH, SUNH

Today’s Analyst Calls (9/14) (SANM, SKH, TER, VSEA, VRGY)

247wallst — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:15:40 +0000

Here are top research calls for analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations made today:

Central European Distribution Corp. (NASDAQ: CEDC) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) Cut to Sector Perform and $70 target at RBC (third cut in two days).
Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMAN) Started as Outperform at Baird; Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Kulicke & Soffa Industries inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.
Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut target to $90 at TD.
Sanmina-SCI Corp. (NASDAQ: SANM) Reiterated Buy at Needham.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Teradyne Inc. (NYSE: TER) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: VSEA) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Verigy, Ltd. (NASDAQ: VRGY) Cut to Underperform at Oppenheimer.

Eds Update

Filed under: General Tagged: SANM, SKH, TER, VRGY, VSEA

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (CEDC, XOM, GMAN, KLIC, RIMM, SANM, SKH, TER, VSEA, NRGY)

Administrator — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 12:17:15 +0000

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

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: CEDC, GMAN, KLIC, NRGY, RIMM, SANM, SKH, TER, VSEA, XOM

Top Day Trader Alerts (DGI, HPQ, LSCC, JADE, MCD, RPRX, SKH, SWSI, YRCW)

Administrator — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:55:28 +0000

The top day trader and active trader alerts seen this Monday are not so much just on earnings as we have seen for the last month. There are still many stocks on the move this Monday, and the top movers we are tracking are as follows: DigitalGlobe, Inc. (NYSE: DGI), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: LSCC), LJ International Inc. (NASDAQ: JADE), McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), Repros Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RPRX), Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH), Superior Well Services Inc. (NASDAQ: SWSI), and YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW). We have listed the news and the move on each and added in colow where appropriate.

DigitalGlobe, Inc. (NYSE: DGI) is surging on its news that it entered into a $3.55 billion agreement with NGA effective September 1, 2010 upon expiration of its NextView agreement. Shares are moving up 10% at $30.61 on this but trading volume remains limited. The 52-week range is $18.05 to $29.10, so count this as a 52-week high.

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) is up or down depending upon where you really peg the Friday close. We had $46 as the prior close but other quote services counted teh 10+% after-hours drop on Friday. You know the news with Mark Hurd out as Chairman and CEO. Shares are around $43.25 after a $41.85 exit price in the after-hours Friday. There have already been over 6 million shares traded this morning.

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: LSCC) announced that its CEO was leaving to pursue another opportunity. Shares are trading down over 5% at $5.15 but trading volume is rather thin.

LJ International Inc. (NASDAQ: JADE) in Hong Kong reported a 47% jump in revenues to $33.0 million and earnings rose to $0.09 EPS from $0.01 in the second quarter of 2009. Shares are up over 10% at $3.25 on over 30,000 shares.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is hard to EVER imagine as a top day trader stock, but the alerts are on as its same-store sales rose 7%. This is also now at a 52-week high. Shares are up 0.9% at $72.36 on about 55,000 shares and the prior 52-week range was $53.88 to $71.84.

Repros Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: RPRX) was only an $11.4 million market cap before this morning’s move. The company reported that it has “received positive written feedback” from the FDA over its drug candidate Androxal for hypogonadal men wishing to preserve fertility. Shares are trading up 33% at $0.48 on over 125,000 shares.

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) is trading up sharply after teh company seeks a new trial in a damages verdict. Jefferies raised the rating to BUY as well based on its chances of getting it reversed. Shares are up 22% at $3.05 on over 30,000 shares. Teh 52-week trading range here is $1.43 to $9.36.

Superior Well Services Inc. (NASDAQ: SWSI) is surging after Nabors (NBR) commenced a tender offer for Superior at $22.12 per share in cash. This is a $900 million deal with approximately a 20% premium. Shares are trading up 21% at $22.03 on over 8 million shares versus a 52-week trading range of $5.66 to $19.96.

YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is still whipping around in post-earnings trading. Shares are trading up 4.7% at $0.33 this morning but we have already seen more than 1 million shares trade hands.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: DGI, HPQ, JADE, LSCC, MCD, RPRX, SKH, SWSI, YRCW

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APC, BVF, JKS, MDT, ZEUS, PG, SKH, TSLA, THQI, VECO, WFMI)

Administrator — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:17:32 +0000

These are some of this Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades seen from Wall Street research calls:

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Biovail Inc. (NYSE: BVF) Cut to Hold at TD.
JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) Reiterated Buy at Auriga.
Medtronic Inc. (NYSE: MDT) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Olympic Steel Inc. (NASDAQ: ZEUS) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ: VECO) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) Raised to Buy at Canaccord.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: APC, BVF, JKS, MDT, PG, SKH, THQI, TSLA, VECO, WFMI, ZEUS

Top Day Trader Alerts (C, DRWI, ENER, LTD, MSG, NANO, SKH, TSLA, FNM, FRE, FNMA, FMCC)

Administrator — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:45:44 +0000

There is another fairly unusual list of active trader and day trader alerts out there this morning. We are seeing news and moves in Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C), DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI), Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER), Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD), Madison Square Garden, Inc. (NYSE: MSG), Nanometrics Incorporated (NASDAQ: NANO), Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH), and Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA). We also have data on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. News and the move is provided on each, along with some trader color where applicable.

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) is trading up 0.5% at $3.92 on active trading volume. The company reportedly sold off some of its private equity group for $900 million. Citi’s price move was muted compared to many of the banks yesterday, part of which may be due to the ongoing overhang of Uncle Sam selling shares.

DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI) is leading the loser-board this morning. The company said its quarterly revenue rose 275% to $48.7 million, but its guidance now expects revenue for Q2 FY 2011 to be about $25 million. Shares are down 16% at $4.70, far worse than the 10% to 12% drop last night.

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) is surging this morning by 8% at $4.58, but on thin trading volume. An active message board discusses strategic alternatives, but that is just chatter and not news from the company so far.

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) is up big after posting June same-store sales gains of 6%, twice the gain that was expected during a soft month. The problem is that volume is very thin, so this could be grossly different by the time the market opens up. Shares are trading up about 7.5% at $25.46 on very thin trading volume.

Madison Square Garden, Inc. (NYSE: MSG) is playing a give-back game this morning after yesterday’s speculative trading that LeBron James might go to the New York Knicks. There was highly unusual options trading. In early trading, MSG is down 3.6% at $20.79.

Nanometrics Incorporated (NASDAQ: NANO) is looking painful this morning after Oppenheimer cut the shares to Perform with a $10 price target. Shares are down 13% at $9.46 after a $10.86 close yesterday.

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) is trying to bounce a bit, but this may just be the proverbial dead cat bounce after yesterday’s implosion. The stock was downgraded to Hold at Jefferies and was also cut late yesterday at JMP Securities and at Credit Suisse after the stock imploded. Shares are up 2% at $1.55 but the pre-8AM trading showed indications up over 5%.

Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is trying to pose a bounce this morning but this is still a busted IPO for all practical purposes. Shares closed at $15.80 and the stock is up almost 3% at $16.25 on about 25,000 shares in early pre-market trading.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) are gone from the NYSE. Fannie is now OTC-BB “FNMA” and Freddie Mac is now OTC-BB “FMCC” on the over the counter markets. Here is a list of their full ticker list for all the preferred shares as well.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: C, DRWI, ENER, FMCC, FNM, FNMA, FRE, LTD, MSG, NANO, SKH, TSLA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIXG, NLY, BUD, AVB, BRK-A, EQR, POT, TEL, CREE, FLEX, JBL, POT, SKH, TEL, VECO)

Administrator — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:06:42 +0000

These are some of this Thursday’s top analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street firms:

Aixtron AG (NASDAQ: AIXG) Started as Buy at Sterne Agee
Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Started as Buy at Wunderlich Securities.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) Started At Overweight By HSBC
AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB) Started as Buy at Jefferies; Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) Cut to Sell from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) Started At Buy By Jefferies
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Cut target ($105) and estimates at CIBC.
Tyco Electronics Ltd. (NYSE: TEL) Started as Underweight at J.P. Morgan.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) Started as Buy at Sterne Agee
Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) Started as Overweight at J.P. Morgan
Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) Started as Overweight at J.P. Morgan
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) Cut target ($105) and estimates at CIBC.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (NYSE: SKH) Cut to Hold at Jefferies; also cut late yesterday at JMP Securities and at Credit Suisse after the stock imploded.
Tyco Electronics Ltd. (NYSE: TEL) Started as Underweight at J.P. Morgan
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Started as Buy at Sterne Agee

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIXG, AVB, BRK-A, BUD, CREE, EQR, FLEX, JBL, NLY, POT, SKH, TEL, VECO