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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APA, BBT, CVC, CHK, DRI, EMN, EW, MRO, NBL, PEET, RIMM, RBS, SLM, URBN)

Administrator — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:07:02 +0000

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

Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) Raised to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: APA, BBT, CHK, CVC, DRI, EMN, EW, MRO, NBL, PEET, RBS, RIMM, SLM, URBN

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (AAPL, BAC, BSX, GOOG, HGSI, JNPR, NDAQ, NEM, P, PCLN, RIMM, SGEN, SQNM, SLM, VVUS, VMW, INT, JPM, GOOG)

Administrator — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 11:31:29 +0000

Each morning we review our top upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street analysts. At the end of the week, we review these more closely along with other calls made throughout the week and we find many calls which highlight underlying catalysts or developments that go far beyond the impact of a call on one day.

These become the top analyst calls of the week. This last week there were many such calls with keen insight and some which stand out from the pack… For better or worse.

This last week’s top research calls were in shares of the following: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI); Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR); NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ); Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM); Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P); Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN); Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM); Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN); Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM); SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM); VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS); VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW); and World Fuel Services Corporation (NYSE: INT).

We have included the impact and pricing data on each, as well as added in some outside trading color if applicable.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was in the news after the departure of Steve Jobs as CEO. What is interesting is that almost every research analyst out there came out and defended Apple saying that this was mostly factored in and that the prospects for Apple remain solid. Here were some of the calls that we saw:

Maintained Overweight at JPMorgan;
Maintained Outperform at Credit Suisse;
Maintained Buy at BofA/ML;
Reiterated Buy at Canaccord Adams;
Maintained Buy at Gabelli;
Maintained Buy at Deutsche Bank.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week Tagged: AAPL, BAC, BSX, GOOG, HGSI, INT, JNPR, JPM, NDAQ, NEM, P, PCLN, RIMM, SGEN, SLM, SQNM, VMW, VVUS

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AGU, IPI, NEM, OVTI, PMI, SGEN, SLM, SPWRA, TM, UA, YGE)

Administrator — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:29:49 +0000

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

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI) Reiterated Buy with $38 target at Canaccord Genuity.
PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE: PMI) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Seattle Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGEN) Reiterated Sell with $10 target at Canaccord Genuity.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Raised to Hold at Auriga.
Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) Started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

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: AGU, IPI, NEM, OVTI, PMI, SGEN, SLM, SPWRA, TM, UA, YGE

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (AIG, ACM, ARMH, BBBY, BRK-A, BSX, CSCO, KO, CREE, FSLR, AWAY, ERIC, MHR, SLM)

Administrator — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 15:14:18 +0000

Each morning of the week we pull the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street research reports. It turns out that some research calls were far more important or far more impacting than others and many have ramifications that will last for quite some time. These make “The Analyst Calls of the Week.” This week’s top research calls were in the following: American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG); AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM); ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH); Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY); Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A); Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO); Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE); First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR); HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY); LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC); ; Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. (NYSE: MHR); and SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM).

We have highlighted the calls individually with the rating and target, along with an implied impact. Color has also been added if applicable.

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) could use all the friends it can get. One of the most hated companies in America was Raised to Market Perform at KBW on Tuesday and the call actually helped it close higher on the week from when it was made. Shares went from $22.58 to close out the week at $23.13, even if this was down from $25.10 the prior Friday.

AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM) will not sound like much because it was just Reiterated as a Buy rating at Argus on Tuesday. It was the $33 price target objective that implies some 60% upside or so. It turns out that the consensus target is still above $32.00 and the trick here is understanding the upside when so much core infrastructure business is at risk in the age of austerity.

ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) rallied on Friday even though the ADR was cut from Buy down all the way to Underperform at BofA/Merrill Lynch. This company has grown massively with the smartphone and mobile web explosion and BofA sees the competition coming on strong now. What is so interesting is that Goldman Sachs added the mobile chip and processor outfit to the prized Conviction Buy List at the same time. At $25.65, the 52-week range is $14.16 to $32.18.

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) is one that you rarely get big pullback buying opportunities because its customer base buys the housing needs there whether times are good or bad. On Friday this retailer was raised to Outperform from Perform by Oppenheimer and the price target was raised from $59 to $63 in the call. Shares had briefly dipped under $53 during the peak selling this week and the 52-week range is $26.50 to $57.90. The call seems late, but the highlight is that you rarely get big opportunities here in Bed Bath & Beyond.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) does not have much of an analyst following for its size due to so many moving parts and due to a lock-down of information to the outside. So when you see two big research calls you have to wonder. Mr. Buffett and friends saw Berkshire Raised to Outperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods and also was Raised to Overweight by Barclays. Very rare to see two in a week.

Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) needs all the research help it can get. The turnaround medical devices company was Raised to Outperform on Tuesday by Zacks, but more important was the additional “Bull of the Day” assignment along with it. Shares were at $6.00 before the call and the stock closed out the week at $6.41 for nearly a 7% gain.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Editor's Picks, The Week Tagged: ACM, AIG, ARMH, AWAY, BBBY, BRK-A, BSX, CREE, CSCO, ERIC, FSLR, KO, MHR, SLM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADBE, ALU, ARMH, BBBY, BP, BRCM, BRCD, LFC, DISCA, EIX, FFIV, LPS, ERIC, M, NKA, ORCL, SLM, HOT)

Administrator — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:23:18 +0000

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

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Cut to Underperform at RBC.
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) Reiterated Hold at Argus.
ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
BP plc (NYSE: BP) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Market Perform at William Blair.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Reiterated Hold and Cut estimates at Argus.
China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LFC) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Edison International (NYSE: EIX) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
Lender Processing Services (NYSE: LPS) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (NYSE: NKA) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations were in AAP, ADM, COF, CVX, CSCO, CREE, IDTI, ISRG, KGC, NOV, NYX, TEVA, TDW, WYN.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ADBE, ALU, ARMH, BBBY, BP, BRCD, BRCM, DISCA, EIX, ERIC, FFIV, HOT, LFC, LPS, M, NKA, ORCL, SLM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (MO, AMZN, BLK, C, EBAY, GOOG, HANS, HDB, HNZ, HRC, NFLX, NOK, RAD, SLM, SYKE, TIF, WAG, YHOO)

Administrator — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:03:47 +0000

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

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $30 at BofA/ML.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) Started as Outperform at RBC.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Hansen Natural Corporation (NASDAQ: HANS) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
HDFC Bank Ltd. (NYSE: HDB) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
HJ Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HRC) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) Started as Neutral at UBS.
SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM) Raised to Outperform at Bull of the Day at Zacks.
SYKES Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYKE) Reiterated Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) Started as Buy at UBS.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AMZN, BLK, C, EBAY, GOOG, HANS, HDB, HNZ, HRC, MO, NFLX, NOK, RAD, SLM, SYKE, TIF, WAG, YHOO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ARO, BRCM, CPB, CCL, DMND, HMA, KBH, LPX, DGX, RCL, SLM, S, TSO, TXN, TWC, WRB)

Administrator — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:20:05 +0000

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

Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) Raised to Hold at KeyBanc.
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) Started as Neutral with $43 target at Credit Suisse.
Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) Cut to Hold at BB&T.
Health Management Associates Inc. (NYSE: HMA) Removed from Focus List at Credit Suisse.
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) Reiterated Hold at Argus; Maintained Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE: LPX) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) Started as Outperform and $55 target at Credit Suisse.
SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) Cut to Neutral at Zacks.
Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) Reiterated Outperform with $8 target at Credit Suisse.
Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO) Maintained as Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Reiterated Buy and $40 target at Argus.
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) Reiterated Buy at Argus.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

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: ARO, BRCM, CCL, CPB, DGX, DMND, HMA, KBH, LPX, RCL, S, SLM, TSO, TWC, TXN, WRB

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APA, JPM, JCOM, FCX, PLD, RTP, SLB, SCR, SLM, TXN, UNH, X, ZMH)

247wallst — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:30:03 +0000

These are this morning’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls:

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) Started as Sector Underperform at Scotia.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
j2 Global Communications (NASDAQ: JCOM) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) Cut to Neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs.
ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) Cut to Underperform at Wells Fargo.
Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) Raised to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.
Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) Raised to Buy at Calyon.
Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (NYSE: SCR) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) Cut to Neutral at Ladenberg Thalmann.
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) Raised estimates but Maintained Sell at Auriga.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
United States Steel (NYSE: X) Cut to Buy from Conviction Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) Started as Buy at Jefferies.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: APA, FCX, JCOM, JPM, PLD, RTP, SCR, SLB, SLM, TXN, UNH, X, ZMH

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (GLW, CPN, DYN, DE, EIX, IR, LM, STX, SLM, WOOF)

247wallst — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:37:42 +0000

These are this Thursday’s top ten independent analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades and initiations from Wall Street brokerage firms with more than two hours until the market opens:

Corning (GLW) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Calpine (CPN) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Dynegy (DYN) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Deere (DE) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Edison (EIX) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Ingersol-Rand (IR) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Legg Mason (LM) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Seagate Tech (STX) Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
SLM Corp. (SLM) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
VCA Antech (WOOF) Raised to Buy at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey.

Jon C. Ogg
June 25, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: CPN, DE, DYN, EIX, GLW, IR, LM, SLM, STX, WOOF

SLM & DOE, Salvation Of A New Tune (SLM)

247wallst — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:28:01 +0000

Sallie Mae, or SLM Corp., (NYSE: SLM) is soaring this morning. In fact, it looks like the stock was briefly trading above $9.00 for the first time since it became a political target. This move comes on the heels of the company announcing that the U.S. Department of Education selected the former GSE for a student loan servicing contract.

The Department of Education has selected Sallie Mae for its Federal Student Aid Title IV Student Loan Management/Servicing procurement. Sallie Mae was one among four contract awardees. This servicing contract is for federal student loans owned by the Department of Education and does not include loan origination or other Title IV services.

The terms for this contract are five-years and actual terms of the award are unknown. This does not give SLM the same strength of its old topdog lender position, but it is at least gives more the company more of a chance for survival.

Sallie Mae shares were trading north of $9.00 in early pre-market trading. The last trade seen now was $8.75 at 9:22 AM EST and we have crossed the 1 million share mark. Shares closed at $7.69 yesterday and the 52-week trading range is $3.11 to $24.51.

Jon C. Ogg

Posted in Financial Stocks, Politics, Trading Alert Tagged: SLM