Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) Maintained Buy but cut target price down from $75 to $63 at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. (NASDAQ: CRZO) Reinstated as Neutral with $30 target at Credit Suisse.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) Maintained Buy with $44 target at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

E-House China Holdings Limited (NYSE: EJ) Reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Reiterated Buy with $30 target at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) Started as Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphreys.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.

PACCAR (NASDAQ: PCAR) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.

Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.

SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Maintained Neutral with $20 target at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

Here were Thursday’s Five Highly Unusual Upgrades and Downgrades which really stood out or which moved stocks.

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JON C. OGG

We had many key calls that stood out this week in shares of the following: Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU); Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC); Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE:CXW); Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF); Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD); Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN); The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD); Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL); Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR); SurModics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX); Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA); Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX); and YRC Worldwide. Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW).

We have broken each of these calls out and added in color where applicable.

Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) can’t get off the floor and it keeps disappointing.  Shares even closed at $1.99 after seeing a year low of $1.92 on Friday.  Alcatel’s chart looks almost the same as the chart of late-2008, but it cannot blame the market this time.  We saw three downgrades worth noting this last week: Cut to Sell at Citigroup; Cut estimates and target at Argus; and Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) had two big calls this last week.  The main call was on Friday when Nomura issued a very unenthusiastic NEUTRAL rating.  The other call came on Thursday when Zacks added it to the STRONG SELL list.  With valuations still very high and with profit margins running razor-thin, it seems that at least some caution should prevail unless the holiday season is going to blow the doors of the hinges here.

Advance Auto Parts. Inc. (NYSE: AAP) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) added to Strong Sell List at Zacks.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Carbonite, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARB) Reiterated Buy with $16 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank; Raised to Buy at Citigroup; Target raised to $26 from $25 at Credit Suisse.
Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) Cut to Sell at S&P Capital IQ (late-Wednesday); Maintained Buy at Bof A/ML.
Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) Reiterated Buy with $40 target at Argus.
Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI) Raised to Hold at S&P Capital IQ (late-Wednesday).
Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) maintained Hold with $7.50 target at Canaccord Genuity.
PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Spreadtrum Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRD) Reiterated Buy and raised estimates at Canaccord Genuity.
SurModics Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX) named as Aggressive Growth at Zacks.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.

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Amerisafe, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMSF) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Maintained Outperform but cut target to $420 at Oppenheimer; Maintained Outperform; Zacks cautious on iPad3 launch.
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE: BDX) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $96 at Argus.
Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) Raised to Buy with $129 target at Deutsche Bank.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Reiterated Buy and $26 target at Argus; Cut estimates at BofA/ML.
Forest Oil Corporation (NYSE: FST) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL) Cut to Strong Sell at S&P Equity Research (late-Monday).
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) Maintained Buy but cut estimates at BofA/ML.
Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: OXY) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) rating cut to ‘B’ and outlook negative at Fitch.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Raised to Hold at Wunderlich.
SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR) Added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. (NYSE: WEN) Raised to Hold at Argus.

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JON C. OGG

In each company we have offered a background and/or a preview of what to expect and added color and share price trend data in if applicable or if merited.  You will notice that we do not have a single earnings report in this piece.  There is actually going to be a big list of companies (about 20 big companies) reporting earnings this coming week and we created a separate earnings calendar with detailed previews on each company.  Another similar weekend feature was our Top Ten Analyst Calls of the Week.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) are sort of two-in-one as both sort of confirmed on Friday the omens we saw on Thursday.  Technicians, or chartists, have taken note and these are equally concerning.  Apple has broken its 200-day moving average for the first time in this market cycle; Google broke under $500 for the first time since last September and a simple chart read would signal that weakness is more likely than strength.

Deer Consumer Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: DEER) is a maker of small home and kitchen electronic appliances in China, and it has been caught up in the middle of the huge drop in Chinese stocks.  Friday was awful with a 21% drop to $5.07 after an outside research warning that it deserved closer scrutiny.  The company announced after the close that it reaffirmed guidance, affirmed its $0.05 dividend, said it had no negative corporate developments, claimed that all rumors were false, and it filed lawsuit against short sellers and fictitious bloggers alleging “an orchestrated scheme to manipulate and depress Deer’s stock.”  Anything out of China as a stock right now is under closer scrutiny, at best, so you have to do your own due diligence.

Express-1 Expedited Solutions, Inc. ( Amex: XPO) is a company that most have not heard of, even in the world of third-party logistics. It came on the map this last week after announcing that Bradley S. Jacobs, founder of both United Rentals and United Waste Systems, took a $150 million stake with co-investors. Jacobs will take over as chairman and CEO and he went on record saying that he plans “to build a multi-billion dollar transportation brokerage business over the next several years.”  Shares went from $2.19 to $2.83 during the week, but the peak price on the news was $3.13.  This company just got on the map and will be watched long beyond this week.

Five Star Quality Care Inc. (NYSE: FVE) will be on to watch after its secondary of 10 million shares priced at $5.00 and closed Friday only at $5.14.  This stock was all the way up at $7.20 less than two weeks ago and a 28% haircut is still far too much even when you consider the dilution.

Liberty Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LBTYA) is set to hold its annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday.  This is the one day of the year that shareholders have any say in John Malone’s and his management team’s international cable operation.

We have gone in and described each call, made other references, and provided color on each if applicable.  Again, having the “Top Research Call of the Week” status is not always a compliment nor is it always just bullish.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) is one that scored with its winning acquisition of ING Direct.  The $9 billion price tag seems high, but now “What’s in your wallet?” went from the #8 bank to the #5 bank by deposits in America.  Our take is that this may set off a wave of smaller to mid-sized financial deals among those firms which are not burdened by Treasury oversight.  After the deal was confirmed, the stock was raised to “Buy” at SunTrust and a lesser upgrade came from S&P Equity Research to “Hold” from “Sell.”

Ctrip.com International Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTRP) was a bit odd because shares were initially up after the open with the broader market.  Still, Goldman Sachs cut its rating to SELL on the travel services outfit that is in China.  A competing call from ThinkEquity maintained an “Outperform” rating but it was the Sell rating that ruled the roost on Friday as shares closed down 0.7% at $39.95 against a 52-week trading range of $31.35 to $53.16.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) was an example of a research call that was very late to the game as it had been under review for months and just now gotten to.  S&P decided in its infinite wisdom just now that the Greek banks might have some collateral damage with the Greek economy under debt restructuring fears and in the age of austerity.  The irony is that the ADR of NBG closed out the week higher than before the credit rating cut by S&P was issued.

Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) was a strange IPO and we called it a value hat trick game ahead of the open.  Our concern was not unwarranted.  After raising about twice as much as originally expected, Pandora was a classic “Gap & Crap” trade.  The underwriters cannot initiate coverage for 30 days, but a firm that was not in the underwriting called BTIG was able to cover it.  BTIG issued a SELL rating with a $5.50 target at BTIG.  There is a flip side call here… Maxim Group issued a “Buy” rating with a $23 price target.  Is there a paradox when a company called Pandora tanks as the Greeks riot?  Pandora is an example of the sins of the underwriting world.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE: ABC) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $50 at Argus.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $94 at Credit Suisse.
Central European Distribution Corp. (NASDAQ: CEDC) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse; Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Reiterated Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ: FWLT) Reiterated Buy at Gabelli.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Started as Buy at UBS.
J.P.Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) Started as Buy at UBS.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) Maintained Outperform at Credit Suisse; Maintained Buy at Gabelli.
Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $22 at Argus.
Mylan, Inc. (NYSE: MYL) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP) Cautious as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE: RBA) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research (lathe Tuesday).
SIRIUS XM Radio inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) Maintained Buy with private market value of $2.85 at Gabelli.
SurModics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRDX) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
ValueClick, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCLK) Raised to Buy at Jefferies; Raised to Buy at Needham.

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

While the study did not show which exact stents were under comparison, it does at least give some timeframes.  The larger historic drug-eluting stents and their makers are Taxus by Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) with Angiotech (NASDAQ: ANPI) as the molecule maker for Taxus, and  Cypher by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) with SurModics (SRDX) as the molecule maker for Cypher.

Endeavor by Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) is also a newer on the market drug-eluting stent system with approval in 2008.  Abbot Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by Xience was not on the market at that time.  Abbott alsosupplies a private-label version of XIENCE V to Boston Scientificcalled the PROMUS.

These stocks may not move much on the focus study here and based uponthe larger diversification, but this is yet another partial victory formakers of drug-eluting stents.   It is also a win for those who arestent candidates. 

Drug-eluting stents showed improved outcomes as compared with baremetal stents in diabetics, and no excess adverse events were found withdrug-eluting stents in diabetic patients.  This data was reported byresearchers at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions2008 in New Orleans.  You can read the full study results at BioHealthInvestor.com with additional details.  This is stilljust another good feather in the cap for ALL drug eluting stent makers.

Jon C. Ogg
November 11, 2008

• STOCK TICKERS: ABT, BSX, MDT, JNJ, SRDX, ANPI, BAYRY, MAXY, AMGN, CRA, INGN, CELG, MRK, SNY, GSK, AKRX, ARYX

This week we saw another FDA Approval in stents as Abbott’s (NYSE: ABT) XIENCE drug-eluting coronary stent was approved for marketing.  While this is causing a resurgence in stents, this space is about to become highly competitive (stocks covered: ABT, BSX, MDT, JNJ, SRDX, ANPI).  Introgen (NASDAQ: INGN) has a new twist for head and neck cancer… give it a cold, literally.  Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ: CELG) actually won out as a competitor’s bone marrow disease trials failed to meet expectations.  Merck (NYSE: MRK) was an FDA decision winner as it gets to keep its lead on the cervical cancer vaccine market in the U.S. tied up for at least 6-months longer than it was anticipated (stocks covered: MRK, SNY, GSK).

This may be a tiny company, but a patent was awarded in bone marrow and stem cell transplants.  While a biotech turned over its hemophelia treatments to a larger company, hemophelia treatments may be better off now (stocks covered: BAYRY, MAXY, AMGN).  Vaccine awards are going to keep sales up at one small vaccine maker.  One Alzheimer’s Disease treatment that originally had high hopes has bitten the dust.  P&G walked away from a partner this week, killing a tiny biotech (stocks covered: PG, ARYX).

And on the front for reviews:

• Do you remember all the hype and hopes for synthetic blood?  This looks like the last player has gone on to greener pastures.
• What is a good investment that has backed way off from highs that should show steady growth in the China health care sector?  We evaluated one potential company for this.

These issues are more stock issues than anything else:

• Celera Corporation (NASDAQ: CRA) completed its journey to independence and took its 3-letter ticker over to NASDAQ.
• Bayhill Therapeutics withdrew its plans for an IPO.  MS and diabetes patients will have to look elsewhere, for now.

Have a happy and safe LONG Fourth of July weekend.  I think there is a new treatment on the market for burnt hand trauma from fireworks, but the FDA has it on hold until next February.

Jon C. Ogg
July 4, 2008