24/7 Wall St. » SOHU

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMGN, AUO, AONE, ELN, EXPE, IR, MMM, MRH, NYX, POST, RIMM, SOHU, AAPL)

Administrator — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:29:44 +0000

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

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer; named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
AU Optronics Corporation (NYSE: AUO) targets raised by Nomura and also by Credit Suisse.
A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) Cut to Sell at Wunderlich.
Elan Corp. (NYSE: ELN) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) Cut to Hold at S&P Capital IQ.
Ingersoll-Rand plc (NYSE: IR) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Montpelier Re Holdings (NYSE: MRH) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) Resumed as Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST) Started as Overweight at Barclays.
Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Reiterated Hold with $15 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

See the new high $665 price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) from this morning.

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: AAPL, AMGN, AONE, AUO, ELN, EXPE, IR, MMM, MRH, NYX, POST, RIMM, SOHU

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (NLY, MT, BP, CBOE, DMD, RDY, ING, MS, NOV, OPEN, SOHU, UBS, VSH, YUM)

Administrator — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:18:44 +0000

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

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Cut to Sell at S&P Capital IQ.
BP PLC (NYSE: BP) Raised Estimates by UBS; Cut to Hold at Soc-Gen.
CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
Demand Media Inc. (NYSE: DMD) Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. (NYSE: RDY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
ING Group, N.V. (NYSE: ING) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Cut to Hold at Collins Stewart.
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) raised target to $96 at Argus.
OpenTable Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer; Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse; Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) lowered targets by Credit Suisse and Nomura.
UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank.
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Credit Suisse makes a change to its favorite biotech list.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: BP, CBOE, DMD, ING, MS, MT, NLY, NOV, OPEN, RDY, SOHU, UBS, VSH, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AON, AZN, CSCO, DLR, DRIV, HSIC, IBM, PBY, CRM, SNH, SSW, SIRI, SOHU, SXL, THO, URBN, ZOLT)

Administrator — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:12:21 +0000

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

AON Corporation (NYSE: AON) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Outperform with $26 target at Credit Suisse.
Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR) Started as Sell at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) Started as Buy with $230 target at Stern Agee. (LINK: FULL DETAILS)
Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack Inc. (NYSE: PBY) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Seaspan Corporation (NYSE: SSW) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Started as Underweight at Barclays.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) downgraded to Hold at RBS and Cut to Neutral at Susquehanna.
Sunoco Logistics, LP (NYSE: SXL) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE: THO) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Cut to Sell at Brean Murray.
Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) Cut to Underperform at Needham (LINK: FULL SUMMARY).

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AON, AZN, CRM, CSCO, DLR, DRIV, HSIC, IBM, PBY, SIRI, SNH, SOHU, SSW, SXL, THO, URBN, ZOLT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (FDX, WY, CMA, GLW, RDS-A, IDTI, MCK, PCL, CYOU, HUM, LAZ, L, SYY, SURW, CHUX, SOHU, GBG, DNDN)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:07:48 +0000

US equity markets opened lower this morning and never moved into positive territory all day. Greek debt swap negotiations made no discernible progress today and there was no scheduled data on tap to move the market one way or the other. The dollar picked up strength against the euro today, but faltered against the British pound and the Japanese yen. The dollar index rose 0.1385 to 79.051. Crude oil was mixed with WTI crude down -0.76% at $97.10/barrel and Brent crude up 1.39% at $116.17/barrel. Gold closed down -0.9% at $1,724.90/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 17 points to 12,845.20 (-0.13%), the NASDAQ fell almost 4 points (-0.13%) to 2,901.99, and the S&P 500 fell -0.04% or less than 1 point to 1,344.33.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBS; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) raised to ‘outperform’ at Piper Jaffray; and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last week have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Integrated Device Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) is down -0.98% at $6.60; McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) is up 1.71% at $82.18; Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) is up 0.32% at $39.81; Changyou.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYOU) is down -12.43% at $25.50; Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is down -5.8% at $84.90; Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is down -4.3% at $27.65; Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) is down -0.85% at $38.28; and Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) is down -4% at $29.66.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW) is up more than 44% at $22.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.69 earlier. The telecom provider has agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) for about $341 million, or $23/share.

O’Charley’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUX) is up nearly 42% at $9.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.88. The company has agreed to be acquired by Fidelity National Financial Inc. (NYSE: FNF) for $221 million, about $9.85/share.

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) is down nearly -15% at $53.61. The Chinese internet company posted solid earnings, but its Q1 forecast was below expectations.

Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX: GBG) is down -11% at $1.05. The junior gold miner reported preliminary results today that were worse than expected and lowered first quarter production estimates.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is up about 17.6% at $16.66. The drug maker is getting a boost from a negative report on a prostate cancer drug treatment that would compete with Dendreon’s Provenge.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Senate Budget Committee. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week Treasury bill auction
3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit report

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: CHUX, CMA, CYOU, DNDN, FDX, GBG, GLW, HUM, IDTI, L, LAZ, MCK, PCL, RDS-A, SOHU, SURW, SYY, WY

Mid-day Movers (SURW, CHUX, BLRX, SOHU, CYOU)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:35:29 +0000

At about noon, the DJIA is still down 43 points at about 12,819, the Nasdaq has made up some ground, but is still down about 8 points at around 2,898, and the S&P 500 has also made up some of its earlier losses but remains down about 3 points at 1,342.

Among the major movers at around noon today are SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW), O’Charley’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUX), BioLineRx Ltd (NASDAQ: BLRX), Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQL: SOHU), and Changyou.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYOU).

Shares of SureWest are up about 43% at $22.27. About 565,000 shares have been traded so far today, compared with a 3-month daily average of about 46,000 shares traded. The telecom provider has agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) for about $341 million, or $23/share.

O’Charley’s is up nearly 42% at $9.80 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.88 earlier. Nearly 15 million shares have traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of around 87,000. The company has agreed to be acquired by Fidelity National Financial Inc. (NYSE: FNF) for $221 million, about $9.85/share.

BioLineRx is up nearly 34% at $5.52. Nearly 2 million shares have traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of about 158,000. The pharmaceuticals firm has signed a worldwide licensing agreement for its oral hepatitis C drug.

Sohu.com is down nearly -15% at $53.96. About 5 million shares have traded by mid-day, compared with a daily average of about 1.25 million. The Chinese internet company posted solid earnings, but its Q1 forecast was below expectations.

Changyou.com shares are down more than -12% at $25.56. More than 1 million shares have already traded this morning, compared with a 3-month daily average of about about 273,000 shares. The Chinese gaming company reported better-than-expected earnings today, but Sohu.com’s weakness is weighing on shares.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: BLRX, CHUX, CYOU, SOHU, SURW

Morning Movers (SURW, BLRX, THLD, SOHU, ANAC)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:11:46 +0000

The three major US equities indexes opened lower this morning on continued worries about the still-pending Greek debt swap. The DJIA is about 43 points at about 12,819, the Nasdaq Composite is down nearly 15 points at about 2,891, and the S&P 500 is down more than 6 points at about 1,339.

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW), BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX), Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD), Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), and Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAC).

After the first half hour of trading this morning, SureWest is up nearly 43% at $22.27 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.69. Volume is about 3x the daily average of about 46,000 shares traded. The telecom provider has agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) for about $341 million, or $23/share.

BioLineRx is up about 38% at $5.69. Volume is about 9x the daily average of 158,000 shares traded. The pharmaceuticals firm has signed a worldwide licensing agreement for its oral hepatitis C drug.

Threshold is up more than 25% at $3.75 after posting a new 52-week high of $3.96 earlier. Volume is nearly 20x the daily average of about 348,000 shares traded. The pharmaceuticals firm has announced a global development deal with Germany’s Merck last week, and the stock continues to soar after more than doubling last Friday.

Sohu.com is down about -15% at $53.58. Volume is more than double the daily average of about 1.25 million shares traded. The Chinese internet company posted solid earnings, but its Q1 forecast was below expectations.

Anacor is down more than -8% at $6.80. Volume is already above the daily average of about 287,000 shares traded. The company manufactures materials used in solar PV modules, and lowered its fourth-quarter guidance this morning.

Intermec is down more than -11% at $7.77. Volume is already more than double the daily average of about 68,000 shares traded. The pharmaceuticals firm’s shares were halted this morning, before news that GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) had halted a trial of Anacor’s drug to treat urinary tract infection.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: ANAC, BLRX, SOHU, SURW, THLD

The Great Online Video Hype in China, Still Just Hype (YOKU, TUDO, SOHU, RENN)

Administrator — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:15:00 +0000

The craze for online video is everywhere. Billions upon billions have been invested by great companies, yet the business model has proven that not all efforts have endless financial return. New data from Analysys International is putting the value of Chinese online video at a mere 1.48 billion yuan despite some 139% growth from a year earlier and despite 48% growth sequentially.

The report noted that Youku Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), Tudou Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: TUDO) and Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) Video still maintained the top three spots in the China online video market this quarter. Youku’s share raised by 2.2%, while the gap between Tudou and Sohu Video was cut down to 1.2%. Tudou increased the copyright purchase and made the first tie market more competitive.

Also noted, “In the 2nd tie market, as a black horse Qiyi.com overtook Xunlei … Tencent started its original exclusive platform and it plans to increase differentiated content development and to join the online video market competition relying on its huge user volume.”

Another keynote is that Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN), one of the worst IPOs of 2011, has announced its acquisition of video site 56.com for the equivalent of $80 million to increase its number of users and revenue volume.

To put this into a relative size, the translation is a market of about $235 million for the quarter when translated into dollar terms, even after 139% growth from a year earlier. The CIA World Factbook lists the estimated population of China as being 1.336 billion people. Is that really only a market worth a mere $0.175 per head in China?

This all assumes every company’s great Chinese accountants are counting the numbers properly as well.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: ADR, China, Internet, Media Tagged: RENN, SOHU, TUDO, YOKU

Chinese Online Video IPO: Tudou (TUDO, YOKU, SOHU)

Administrator — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:44:55 +0000

After everything you have seen from IPOs with a small float and with all of the accounting scares out of China, imagine a Chinese internet IPO today that is bringing out a limited float in an IPO. This is more or less the case for Tudou Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: TUDO). The company’s chief rival is considered to be Youku.com Inc. (NYSE: YOKU)

Tudou is a leading online video company in China and the company priced its initial public offering of 6,000,000 ADRs at $29.00 per share. Each ADR (or ADS) represents four Class B ordinary shares. The total offering is listed as $174 million without considering an overallotment exercise.

Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are the joint bookrunners and Oppenheimer & Co. is the sole co-manager of the IPO. Tudou granted the underwriters a 30-day overallotment option to purchase up 900,000 additional shares at the same terms as the offering.

The good news is that at least the bulk of the offering is being sold by the company itself: Tudou is selling 5,570,000 shares and the selling shareholder is selling 430,000 shares. The offering was within the proposed price range of $28.00 to $30.00 per share.

Another thing to consider is the reporting that the IPO was first filed back in November but it was delayed due to a CEO marital legal dispute over assets.

A research outfit in China called Analysis International puts the online video market share as follows: Youku.com Inc (NYSE: YOKU) at 23.4%, Tudou Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: TUDO) at 14.0%, and Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) at 13.0%. Youku.com has an implied market cap of $2.7 billion and at $23.92 its post-IPO range has been $19.78 to $69.95; Sohu has an implied market cap of about $3 billion and at $79.05 its 52-week range is $45.81 to $109.37. Tudou is actually said to have seen a lower market share than at the end of 2010.

A quick Wikipedia search under Tudou shows that this is the Romanized Chinese for “potato” and is supposed to be based on “couch potato” for more clarity.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: ADR, China, Internet, IPOs Tagged: SOHU, TUDO, YOKU

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (NLY, CSH, DDS, HBC, IPG, LVS, WFR, MRH, PRSP, SI, SOHU, TEVA, TA, VOD, WMT)

Administrator — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:15:57 +0000

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

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) Reiterated Outperform but Raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Cash America International Inc. (NYSE: CSH) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
Dillard’s, Inc. (NYSE: DDS) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HBC) Cut to Hold at RBS.
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Raised to Buy at Argus.
MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) Maintained Outperform but cut target to $11 at Credit Suisse.
Montpelier Re Holdings (NYSE: MRH) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Prosperity Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: PRSP) Raised to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) Removed from Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List.
Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
TravelCenters of America LLC (AMEX: TA) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

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: CSH, DDS, HBC, IPG, LVS, MRH, NLY, PRSP, SI, SOHU, TA, TEVA, VOD, WFR, WMT

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (AVNR, BRCD, SOHU)

247wallst — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:52:59 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Monday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of AVANIR Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVNR), Brocade Communications Systems (NASDAQ: BRCD), and Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU).

AVANIR Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVNR) is up 4.25% premarket to $4.41, on a 52-week range of $1.31-$5.80. Shares gained more than 9% on Thursday.

Brocade Communications Systems (NASDAQ: BRCD) is up 2.5% premarket to $6.11, relative to a 52-week range of $4.64-$6.88. The company was upgraded from “neutral” to “ourperform,” with a price tag of $8, at Robert W. Baird.

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) is up 3.25% premarket to $98.80, on a 52-week range of $40.05-$102.42. The company’s earnings and revenue were above wall st. expectations.

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AVNR, BRCD, SOHU