24/7 Wall St. » TEVA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (ORCL, NOV, MMM, TEVA, JDSU, AMCX, MT, HNR, KSS, WIN, DDS, JKS, PGR, SOL, URRE, MNST, WFR)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:04:02 +0000

The major US stock indexes opened significantly higher this morning as investors were heartened by yesterday’s nationalization of Spain’s Bankia. The Bank of England also keps rates and asset purchases stable. This morning’s report on new US claims for unemployment benefits was in-line with expectations (our coverage here). US natural gas inventories rose last week, but the increase was also in-line with expectations (our coverage here).The US dollar index rose today, now up 0.01% at 80.077. The GSCI commodity index is down fractionally at 648.28, with commodities mostly higher on the small change in the dollar. WTI crude oil closed up 0.3% at $97.08/barrel and Brent crude trades down -0.37% at $112.78/barrel. Gold settled up 0.1% today, at $1,595.50/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly XX points to XXX (XX%), the NASDAQ rose more than XX points (XXX%) to XXX, and the S&P 500 rose XX% or nearly X points to XXX.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) cut to ‘hold’ at ThinkEquity; National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) maintained ‘buy’ with a lowered target price of $90 at Argus; 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein; Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) cut to ‘hold’ at Needham; and JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) raised to ‘buy’ at UBS.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) is up 2.4% at $40.58; ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) is up 1.9% at $16.42; Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down -1.6% at $5.71 after posting a new 52-week low of $5.44 earlier today; Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) is down -4.6% at $48.52; and Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN) is down -10.3% at $10.10 after posting a new 52-week low of $9.42 earlier today.

On Friday we are scheduled to get earnings from Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS), Jinkosolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), and Uranium Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE).

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) is up 9.2% at $71.34 in a 52-week range of $32.35-$83.96. The energy drinks company posted strong results, but buyout rumors continue to lead the charge. More coverage here.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is down -24.3% at $2.46 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.41 earlier today. The solar component supplier posted bad results and a weak outlook. More coverage here.

We also took a detailed look today at short interest in a number of stocks — big names, volume leaders, and cult stocks.

Stay tuned for Friday. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMCX, DDS, HNR, JDSU, JKS, KSS, MMM, MNST, MT, NOV, ORCL, PGR, SOL, TEVA, URRE, WFR, WIN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ARMH, BIG, CHKM, CSCO, CPWM, DLB, HGSI, JDSU, LINE, MMM, NOV, ORCL, RGP, TPX, TLLP, TEVA, VRTX)

Administrator — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:25:05 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls this Thursday.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Raised to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.

Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE: CHKM) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Reiterated Buy with $24 target at Argus.

Cost Plus Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush.

Dolby Labs, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Cut to Market Perform at Leerink Swann.

JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Raised to Buy at UBS.

Linn Energy, LLC (NASDAQ: LINE) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) Maintained Buy but cut target to $90 at Argus.

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Hold at ThinkEquity.

Regency Energy Partners LP (NYSE: RGP) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (NYSE: TPX) Raised to Strong Buy at Raymond James.

Tesoro Logistics LP (NYSE: TLLP) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA) Cut to Hold at Needham.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX) Cut to Outperform at RBC.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ARMH, BIG, CHKM, CPWM, CSCO, DLB, HGSI, JDSU, LINE, MMM, NOV, ORCL, RGP, TEVA, TLLP, TPX, VRTX

Teva Launches Generic Seroquel on First Day of Patent Loss (TEVA, AZN)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:29:39 +0000

We noted earlier today that AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) had lost a patent ruling and that the company’s anti-pyschotic drug Seroquel lost its patent protection today. That’s all it took for Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) to kick out its quetiapine generic for Seroquel.

Teva’s price sheet shows the difference a patent makes in the UK. An equal supply of 100-mg coated tablets of Seroquel costs about $180 compared with the generic cost of about $27. In its announcement, Teva notes that it has released 10 new products in 11 weeks, and 7 of those came on the first day of patent expiration.

Teva’s announcement is available here.

The company’s share price is up about 1.5% at $43.72 in a 52-week range of $35.00-$51.30.

Filed under: Drug companies, Pharmaceuticals Tagged: AZN, TEVA

Teva Tries NASDAQ & NYSE Exchange Hat Trick (TEVA)

Administrator — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:47:52 +0000

This is obnoxious when companies do this. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) is trying the hat trick where it changes exchange listings. Now the company plans to transfer the ADR listing to the New York Stock Exchange from the NASDAQ Global Select Market (NASDAQ).

Another pet peeve is when NYSE listed shares have 4-letter tickers and/or when NASDAQ listings have 3-letter tickers. The stock will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on May 30, 2012 under its current stock symbol “TEVA.”

Teva’s real problem is that its stock has been stuck, and now the question is whether the value today represents just the value of the generics business. It is highly unlikely that the exchange listing has had anything to do with this. At $43.24 the market value is roughly $38 billion. This one has been a dud over the last year and the 52-week trading range is $35.00 to $51.30 and analysts have a consensus price target objective of $52.75.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Drug companies, Exchange, Exchange News Tagged: TEVA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DELL, KMB, SWY, RAX, BAC, ANF, CMCSA, XEC, DE, DVN, INCY, NOR, TEVA, ZNGA, BPAX, CSKI, IPSU, ALNY, CYBI)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:07:27 +0000

The three major US stock indexes opened slightly higher this morning, but the DJIA almost immediately turned south and remained in negative territory all session. The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 turned south in the early afternoon. China’s central bank said that it would continue to buy European sovereign debt and do its part to help the Eurozone recover. But nothing much has happened on the continent today to build up hopes for avoiding a Greek default. The afternoon release of the FOMC minutes cooled markets even more as the minutes showed little enthusiasm for another round of quantitative easing. Crude oil is higher today following Iran’s announcement that it was cutting off supplies to six European countries (see our coverage here). WTI is up 1.05% at $101.80/barrel and Brent is up 1.34% at $118.92. Gold rose 0.6% to settle at $1,728.10/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 97 points to 12,780.95 (-0.76%), the NASDAQ fell 16 points (-0.55%) to 2,915.83, and the S&P 500 fell -0.54% or more than 7 points to 1,343.23.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) cut to ‘underperform’ at Sterne Agee; Kimberley-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) cut to ‘neutral’ at Janney; Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) raised to ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; Rackspace Hosting Inc. (NYSE: RAX) cut to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James; and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) cut to ‘market perform’ at Bernstein.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is up 8.2% at $48.25; Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is up 4.5% at $28.48 after posting a new 52-week high of $29.05 earlier today; Cimarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC) is up nearly 19% at $81.66; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) is down -5.4% at $84.21; Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN) is up about 7% at $71.64 (more coverage here); Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ: INCY) is down -5.9% at $17.19; Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) is down -2% at $10.63; Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: TEVA) is up 3.4% at $45.01; and Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is down nearly -15% at $12.21.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSE: TAN) completed a 1:10 reverse split this morning. We have more coverage here.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is up more than 30% at $0.99. The company’s testosterone replacement drug for men has been approved by the FDA and will be co-marketed with Teva.

China Sky One Medical Inc. (NASDAQ: CSKI) China Sky One is down more than -28% at $1.10. Volume is nearly 10x the daily average of about 285,000 shares traded. The nutritional supplement company’s shares were stopped following an announcement of the resignations of 26 managers and the reported illness of the CEO.

Imperial Sugar Co. (NASDAQ: IPSU) is down nearly -14% at $5.75. Investors are likely taking profits today, following a week-long run-up in the share price.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) is up nearly 15% at $12.59. The biopharmaceutical company priced a secondary share offering at $10.75. More coverage here.

Cybex International Inc. (NASDAQ: CYBI) is up more than 19% at $1.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $2.01 earlier this morning. The sporting goods maker posted better-than-expected earnings this morning.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – Housing starts
8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
8:30 a.m. – Producer price index
10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year TIPS auction
4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: ALNY, ANF, BAC, BPAX, CMCSA, CSKI, CYBI, DE, DELL, DVN, INCY, IPSU, KMB, NOR, RAX, SWY, TEVA, XEC, ZNGA

Top Earnings & Economic Previews For The Day Ahead (ANF, A, NILE, CLWR, CMCSA, NVDA, PCG, DVN, DE, GG, WFR, NTAP, TEVA)

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:28:53 +0000

Wednesday is a fairly busy day for earnings expectations. We are expecting the following reports: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF); Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A); Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE); Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR); Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA); NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA); PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG); Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN); Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE); Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG); MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR); NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP); and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA). We have used the consensus estimate data from Thomson Reuters and compiled additional data on each.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is expected to report $1.12 EPS on $1.33 billion in sales; shares are very close to 52-week lows and the downward channel in the chart continues.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) $0.69 EPS and $1.65 billion in sales. Interestingly enough, this one was one of the stocks outperforming Apple so far in 2012.

Blue Nile Inc. (NASDAQ: NILE) $0.42 EPS on $123.17 million.

Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) -$0.35 EPS and $356.72 million in sales; we will be watching closely for any discussions about funding its business plan.

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) $0.41 EPS on $14.87 billion in sales; shares are very close to a 52-week high at $27.20 versus a high of $27.52.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) $0.19 EPS on $950.44 million in sales; expected 7% sales growth and a drop in earnings. The most recent Rambus pact details may become more clear as those patent agreements were not disclosed.

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) $0.85 EPS on $3.49 billion in sales. PG&E shares are off of highs more than other utilities in general and room for the 4.4% dividend to be discussed.

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) $1.48 EPS

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) $1.23 EPS on $6.49 billion in sales; watch currency discussions for guidance ahead.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) is one of the top gold companies with a $36.5 billion market value. Estimates are $0.60 EPS and $1.49 billion in revenue.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is now down big again due to Energy Conversion Devices bankruptcy on fears that the solar sector is again going to crumble. This has moved from a value stock to a value trap now that it is expected to lose money. Estimates are -$0.06 EPS and $769.49 million in sales.

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) $0.58 EPS on $1.56 billion in sales; next quarter $0.63 EPS on $1.68 billion in sales; under $40 it is way under its 52-week high and now valued at only about 16.5-times fiscal April-2012 earnings estimates.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) is going to show whether or not generic ambitions can trump branded drugs. The turnaround in the share price has just not materialized. Estimates are $1.58 EPS and $5.63 billion in sales.

ECONOMIC DATA FOR WEDNESDAY:

8:30 AM EST Empire Manufacturing (Feb.)
9:15 AM EST January Industrial Production expected +0.6%
9:15 AM EST January Capacity Utilization expected 78.6%
10:00 AM EST NAHB optimism (Feb.)
10:00 Treasury’s Geithner testifies to House Ways & Means on 2013 budget
10:30 AM EST EIA Weekly Petroleum Inventory
2:00 PM EST FOMC Minutes

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings, Economy Tagged: A, ANF, CLWR, CMCSA, DE, DVN, GG, NILE, NTAP, NVDA, PCG, TEVA, WFR

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AVAV, AET, ALU, ANN, CAH, CMA, GLW, FDX, JAKK, M, PNC, PPO, RDS-A, SKX, TEVA, UA, WY)

Administrator — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:29:51 +0000

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

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Aetna, Inc. (NYSE: AET) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Sell at S&P Equity Research.
Ann Inc. (NYSE: ANN) Cut to Underperform at Barclays.
Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE: CAH) Reiterated Buy with $52 price target at Argus.
Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) Cut to Market Perform at BMO.
Polypore International Inc. (NYSE: PPO) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE: SKX) Raised to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) Reiterated Buy with $90 target at Argus.
Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) Cut to Sell at UBS.

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: AET, ALU, ANN, AVAV, CAH, CMA, FDX, GLW, JAKK, M, PNC, PPO, RDS-A, SKX, TEVA, UA, WY

Pharma Value Beyond The Patent Expiration Cliff (PFE, MRK, BMY, TEVA, AMGN, GSK)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:37:24 +0000

The tide of patent expirations that is washing over big pharmaceutical houses is cresting now and investors have begun looking forward to how these companies will deal with some sharp blows to their revenues and profits. There are 21 drugs set to lose patent protection in 2012, and that will cost drug makers $11.5 billion in sales this year. We’ve looked at several of the larger pharmaceutical houses with a close eye on their upside potential in 2012.

The companies we’ve included are Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Merck & Co Inc. (NYSE: MRK), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), and GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK).

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) trades around $22.00 and the 52-week range is $16.63 to $22.00. With a $168 billion market cap, this one trades at about 15-times expected earnings and 9.5-times expected 2012 earnings. Thomson Reuters has a mean price target objective of $23.76, indicating implied upside of 8%.

Merck & Co Inc. (NYSE: MRK) trades near $38 and the 52-week range is $29.47-$39.00. With a $117 billion market cap, Merck trades at about 28-times expected earnings and 10-times expected 2012 earnings. The mean price target objective is $39.85, indicating a potential upside of 4.9%.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) trades near $34 and the 52-week range is $24.97-$35.44. With a market cap of about $58 billion, this one trades at about 17-times expected earnings and 17-times forward earnings. The mean price target objective is $32.91, indicating that shares are fully valued and upside potential has gone missing.

Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) trades at about $44 and the 52-week range is $35.00-$57.08. With a market cap of $39 billion, Teva trades at about 13-times earnings and 8-times forward earnings. The mean price target objective is $53.15, indicating an implied upside of nearly 21%. The company has also seen gains since disclosing a new CEO.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) trades at about $66 and the 52-week range is $47.66-$65.70. With a market cap of $58 billion, this one trades at about 16-times earnings and 11-times forward earnings. The mean price target objective is $65.45, and, like Bristol-Myers, Amgen is fully valued and there is no implied gain at the current price.

GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) trades at about $44 and the 52-week range is $36.28-$46.50. With a market cap of $221 billion, this one trades at about 44-times earnings and 13-times forward earnings. The mean price target objective is $49.58, indicating an implied upside of 12.7%.

Only Teva and GlaxoSmithKline have double-digit upside potential percentage gains. Of the two, Teva’s upside potential is greater, largely because it just lost a patent dispute (which pushed the share price down) and gained a new CEO, an industry veteran from Bristol-Myers (which pushed the share price back up). The downside on the company is that it is trading down about -18% over the past 12 months, the only one of these six companies to show a loss for the period.

Glaxo is preparing a regulatory filing in the US with a replacement for the company’s Adair asthma drug which loses patent protection next year. Late-stage trials have been promising, and the stock could get a nice boost if the FDA grants approval. Glaxo also received three new drug approvals from the FDA in 2011,

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Drug companies, Pharmaceuticals, Regulation Tagged: AMGN, BMY, GSK, MRK, PFE, TEVA

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (TEVA, AKS, AU, MTN, GGP, SHLO, EBF, RHT, WINN, SHIP, ZNGA, JAKK, BAC)

Paul Ausick — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:08:34 +0000

US equity markets opened a bit higher this morning, after futures trading pared early morning gains. Early optimism, however, was not to pan out, following some rather downbeat remarks from the president of the European Central Bank. Then investors started pounding on financial stocks absorbing finally the Federal Reserve’s intention to accept the Basel III raise to bank capital requirements. Crude oil has risen slightly in trading today, with WTI crude at $93.78/barrel and Brent crude at $103.58. Gold has finished slightly down, at $1,592.90.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 99 points to 11,766.79 (-0.84%), the NASDAQ fell more than 32 points (-1.28%) to 2,523.14, and the S&P 500 fell -1.18X% or more than 14 points to 1,205.32.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a $52 price target at Canaccord Genuity. Other ratings actions today include AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) raised from ‘market perform’ to ‘outperform’ at Wells Fargo; AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) cut from ‘neutral’ to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) started as ‘outperform’ at Credit Suisse; and General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) cut from ‘outperform’ to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Shiloh Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHLO) is up 0.35% at $8.52; and Ennis, Inc. (NYSE: EBF) is down more than -4% at $12.89. After markets close today, Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) is scheduled to report third-quarter EPS of $0.26 on revenue of $289.6 million.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: WINN) is up nearly 71% at $9.27. The regional grocery chain has agreed to a buyout offer worth about $560 million from Bi-Lo, another regional chain in the southeastern US. The offer of $9.50/share represents a premium of about 75% to Winn-Dixie’s Friday closing price.

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP) is up more than 17% at $2.60, after posting a new 52-week low earlier today. The dry bulk shipper has received a time charter for one of its four Capesize vessels for a period of 11-13 months.

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ) is down more than -5% at $9.00. The social game maker held its IPO last Friday, but shares have not been able to hold the $10/share offering price. More coverage here.

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is down more than -19% at $14.00, after posting a new 52-week low of $13.45 earlier today. The toy and consumer products maker lowered full-year earnings and sales guidance this morning.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is down nearly -4.5% at $4.97, after posting a new 52-week low of $4.93 earlier today. The bank has been hit with concerns over new capital reserve requirements and the effect that will have on profits.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Here are other noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

8:30 a.m. – November housing starts report
1:00 p.m. – Five-year Treasury note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AKS, AU, BAC, EBF, GGP, JAKK, MTN, RHT, SHIP, SHLO, TEVA, WINN, ZNGA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AKS, AU, FTE, GGP, HON, LAZ, PNW, GOLD, TEF, TEVA, TMK, UNFI, URI, MTN, WCG)

Administrator — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:23:47 +0000

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

AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) Cut to Sell from Neutral by Goldman Sachs.

France Telecom S.A. (NYSE: FTE) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.
General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.

Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) Raised to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE: PNW) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Randgold Resources Limited (NASDAQ: GOLD) Cut to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Telefonica, S.A. (NYSE: TEF) Cut to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) Reiterated Buy with $52 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) Raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI) Raised to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) Raised to Top Pick at RBC.
Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) named as value stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AKS, AU, FTE, GGP, gold, HON, LAZ, MTN, PNW, TEF, TEVA, TMK, UNFI, URI, WCG