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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ACI, AMT, BRK-B, CLF, CCI, DE, DPZ, GES, LOW, LULU, SINA, SNN, WNR, WAG, SLF, WPI, TEVA)

Administrator — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:19:44 +0000

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

Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) named as Bear of the Day with a $13.00 price target at Zacks.
American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.B) named as Bull of the Day with a $91.00 price target at Zacks.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Crown Castle International Corporation (NYSE: CCI) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) Started as Hold at KeyBanc.
Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to Buy at KeyBanc.
Sina Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank
Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Western Refining Inc. (NYSE: WNR) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Argus made changes to its institutional model portfolio: added shares of Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) and sold out of shares of Sun Life Financial Inc. (NYSE: SLF).

Credit Suisse is out positive on generics saying that the news flow on generic Lipitor has obscured the bigger picture on Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA). The firm recommends buying WPI after its recent weakness as strong fundamentals just got cheaper. It also recommends buying TEVA for the longer term and as a turnaround story for 2012.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ACI, AMT, BRK-B, CCI, CLF, DE, DPZ, GES, LOW, LULU, SINA, SLF, SNN, TEVA, WAG, WNR, WPI

The Unusual Suspects for the Week Ahead (AAPL, BP, DANG, EMC, XOM, DVN, GENZ, JCG, RVBD, SNN, VOD, WMT, FXI, MUB, PZA)

Administrator — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:11:53 +0000

There are many new characters in this week’s installment of “The Unusual Suspects for the Week Ahead.” We have tracked news and added color on each where applicable. The cast of characters in “The Unusual Suspects” includes Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), BP Plc (NYSE: BP), E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NASDAQ: DANG), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN), Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ), J. Crew Group Inc. (NYSE: JCG), Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN), Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD), and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT). In ETFs were have some calls to watch in the iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (NYSE: FXI), iShares S&P National AMT-Free Muni Bond (NYSE: MUB) and the PowerShares Insured National Muni Bond (NYSE: PZA).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is back in the health focus as Steve Jobs sent a memo to employees saying that he is taking a second medical leave of absence in two years so that he can focus on his health. Be advised, Frankfurt trading in Apple is generally quite thin but Frankfurt trading on Monday had Apple shares down about 6.7%. If that were to hold in the U.S. on Tuesday then we’d be sitting just above $325 all over again.

BP Plc (NYSE: BP) rose 2% in London trading on Monday after it signed a ROSNEFT share exchange pact that allows it to get access into Russian oil. BP made our own “Best Big Oil Stock for 2011″ but we would caution that if the Monday gain holds that BP’s ADR shares will be back above $50.00 for the first time since May after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (NASDAQ: DANG) is one where the plot is thickening over hot Chinese IPOs for US ADRs. The quiet period is about to end and a blogging post from China Dangdang’s CEO criticized Morgan Stanley for under-pricing its IPO. AT $33.86 on Friday, the post-IPO range has been $22.57 to $36.40 after its 17 million shares sold at $16..00 per share after an initial price target range of $11 to $13 per share.

Filed under: Calendar, Management Change, Mergers and Buy Outs, Technology Companies, The Week Tagged: AAPL, BP, DANG, DVN, EMC, FXI, GENZ, JCG, MUB, PZA, RVBD, SNN, VOD, WMT, XOM

Smith & Nephew Becomes Worth an Arm and a Leg in M&A (SNN, JNJ, ZMH, SYK, MDT)

Administrator — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:34:45 +0000

Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) is trading higher today on reports that it rebuffed an approach for a takeover by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). What is interesting about the implied $10.9 billion, or 750 pence per share in London, was called too low.

If you have been around in the investing world of medical devices for long, Smith & Nephew has has been discussed for some time as a possible buyout target. S&N is a company in orthopedics, endoscopy, and wound management; but it is perhaps best known for its hip, knee, and shoulder joint replacement systems.

This seems a natural fit into the DePuy unit at J&J. At issue is that J&J has recall problems in many aspects of its business, including its hip replacement system. Some have felt that Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH) and Stryker Corp. (NYSE: SYK) could be acquirers to enhance their joint replacement offerings. The problem with Zimmer is that it would be closer to a merger of equals. Stryker is worth more than twice S&N by market cap. Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) is another name that could be considered a possible player if it were to choose to. With a $39 billion market cap it has the chips to play if it wishes.

The Daily Mail reported over a month ago that private equity firms were considering a bid higher than J&J’s 750 pence bid up around 800 pence. Nothing has come to fruition there and many, including us, wonder if a private equity consortium might do better looking elsewhere to spend more than $10 billion in a club deal. Club deals have fallen by the wayside since the private equity bubble burst, as have deals greater than $10 billion in size. Biomet was taken private back in 2007 by a private equity consortium for about $11.4 billion. At issue is this: compare the world of 2007 to the world of 2011, even for billionaires wanting to buy companies.

It seems now that the question is not whether S&N would make an attractive target. The question seems to boil down to price. Nearing $11 billion is getting up there for the upper limits of new deals for private companies and public companies alike. S&N’s management maintains that it is undervaluing the company. S&N’s ADRs are up almost 11% at $56.39 on Monday and its year high is now $56.80 from this morning. This one traded above $60 in ADR terms back in 2007 and 2008 before the market went south.

They say that ‘Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.’ It just depends upon how much the beholder sees as the crossing-point where value becomes fully-priced.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: ADR, Medical, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, Rumors Tagged: JNJ, MDT, SNN, SYK, ZMH

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (CP, CME, GOOG, GDOT, ICE, NDAQ, N, NVTL, NYX, CRM, SNN, SMSI, SYMC, WFMI)

Administrator — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:01:45 +0000

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

Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.
CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Maintained Buy and price target Raised to $700 from $625 at Goldman Sachs.
Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT) Started as Outperform at Macquarie.
IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) Started as Market Perform at BMO.
Novatel Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: NVTL) Raised to Buy at Jefferies (as Verizon iPad beneficiary).
NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Started as Outperform at BMO.
Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) Cut to Neutral at BNP Paribas.
Smith Micro Software Inc. (NASDAQ: SMSI) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan (as Verizon iPad beneficiary).
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

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: General Tagged: CME, CP, CRM, GDOT, GOOG, ICE, N, NDAQ, NVTL, NYX, SMSI, SNN, SYMC, WFMI

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIB, AMAT, IRE, ENR, FCEL, GEOY, HBC, SNN, TEF, VVUS, WX)

Administrator — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:13:35 +0000

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

Allied Irish Bank Group (NYSE: AIB) Cut to Hold and Target Cut to 1.02 (Euro) at RBS; Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) Started as Hold at Needham.
GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HBC) Cut to Hold at RBS.
Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Telefonica, S.A. (NYSE: TEF) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Cut to Sell at Brean Murray.
WuXi PharmaTech Inc. (NYSE: WX) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AIB, AMAT, ENR, FCEL, GEOY, HBC, IRE, SNN, TEF, VVUS, WX

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (AZN, EXFO, FTE, HCBK, LPX, PT, SNN, USB, VOD)

Administrator — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:01:12 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research early this Wednesday. Some of the U.S. calls will get pretty thin as we get closer to July 4 weekend, which is why there is a large portion of ADRs in this mornings calls.

AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) Raised to Hold at Jefferies; Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan; Targets raised by Morgan Stanley.
EXFO Electro Optical Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO) Raised to Buy at TD.
France Telecom S.A. (NYSE: FTE) Cut To Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Hudson City Bancorp (NASDAQ: HCBK) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX) Raised to Sector Outperform at Scotia Capital.
Portugal Telecom SGPS, S.A. (NYSE: PT) Cut To Neutral From Buy By Goldman Sachs
Smith & Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN) Started At Buy By Jefferies
U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Vodafone plc (NYSE: VOD) Target Cut at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AZN, EXFO, FTE, HCBK, LPX, PT, SNN, USB, VOD

Top Analyst Downgrades (AU, BP, CBST, GFI, SNN, STJ, TSM)

247wallst — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:56:45 +0000

These are this Wednesday mornings top Wall Street analyst downgrades and cautious research calls we have seen early this morning:

Anglogold (AU) Cut to Neutral at Nomura.
BP plc (BP) Cut to Hold at RBS.
Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) Cut to Neutral at RW Baird.
Gold Fields (GFI) Cut to Neutral at Nomura.
Smith & Nephew (SNN) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
St. Jude Medical (STJ) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) Cut to Neutral at UBS.

You can join our open email distribution list which goes out several times per week for reminders of the top day trader alerts, analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO’s, key secondary offerings, guru investor data on Buffett and others, mergers, and more.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AU, BP, CBST, GFI, SNN, STJ, TSM

Citi Upgrades Smith & Nephew (SNN) to Buy

247wallst — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:25:46 +0000

Citi upgrades Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) from Hold to Buy, saying core business areas have remained relatively immune to economic pressure.

Citi analyst says, “Q4 results provided reassurance that core business areas have remained relatively immune to economic pressure and that steps are already in place to control costs in those divisions more exposed to the economy, namely endoscopy…”

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (COF, CELG, ROCK, MOD, SNN, AFL, AMX, SPSS, VQ, WMS)

247wallst — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:31:23 +0000

These are ten of the top pre-market analyst calls for upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street this Wednesday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

Capital One (COF) Raised to Market Perform at FBR.
Celgene (CELG) Started as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Gibralter Industries (ROCK) Raised to Neutral at Baird.
Modine Manufacturing Co. (MOD) Raised to Neutral at Baird.
Smith & Nephew (SNN) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
AFLAC (AFL) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
America Movil SA (AMX) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
SPSS (SPSS) Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Venoco, Inc. (VQ) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
WMS Industries Inc. (WMS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: AFL, AMX, CELG, COF, MOD, ROCK, SNN, SPSS, VQ, WMS

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (MDRX, BDX, ED, CRXL, CSX, RTN, SGR, SNN)

247wallst — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:23:54 +0000

These are the early bird upgrades and positive analyst calls we have seen from Wall Street this Friday morning:

Allscripts-Misys (NASDAQ: MDRX) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Crucell (NASDAQ: CRXL) Raised to Buy at RBS.
CSX (NYSE: CSX) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Shaw Group (NYSE: SGR) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
January 9, 2009

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: BDX, CRXL, CSX, ED, MDRX, RTN, SGR, SNN