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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AIG, DELL, FWLT, HOG, KBR, MDR, NE, PLG, GOLD, RJF, SKS, TIVO, VLO, VE, WPRT)

Administrator — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:17:23 +0000

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

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Raised to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ: FWLT) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.

KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.

Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE) Reiterated Buy with $50 target at Argus.

Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (NYSE: PLG) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) target raised at Goldman Sachs.

Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) Reiterated Buy with $14 target at Argus.

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Started as Neutral at JPMorgan.

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) Raised to Top Pick at Citigroup.

Veolia Environnement S.A. (NYSE: VE) Raised to Buy at Nomura.

Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: WPRT) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

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: AIG, DELL, FWLT, gold, HOG, KBR, MDR, NE, PLG, RJF, SKS, TIVO, VE, VLO, WPRT

Intel: One More Box on Top of the TV

247wallst — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:54:06 +0000

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) apparently wants to build a set-top box. The company has started conversations with TV networks and studios. Intel may be among the largest tech companies in the U.S. and have an almost universally recognized brand. But the tops of the TVs owned by most Americans already have enough boxes to make the frame of the screen collapse under their weight. Intel is far too late to a business that even the most adroit technology companies have tackled without success.

The cable box is now three decades old. Cable was first build for rural areas that could not get broadcast signals. It quickly moved to cities as pay-TV channels like HBO were created. The cable box has not been pushed out of most homes, despite the efforts of companies like Tivo (NASDAQ: TIVO), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and telecom firms with fiber to the home. These fiber products have been championed by the likes of AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ), which have had a place in American homes where they have provided telephone service for years. Even that presence has not helped them much.

The only industry that can fairly claim it has dislodged cable in many cases is satellite TV. Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) and DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) each have millions of subscribers. But satellite TV firms were early in the video-to-home business, offering service not long after cable companies did.

The attraction of the home living room has been a magnet to the world’s largest tech companies for years, because it is a multibillion-dollar business. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) tried to establish its own home entertainment system, which was Windows based. The project, begun in the early 2000s, was still-born. Microsoft found that consumers did not view TVs as they did PCs. And it had the same problem competing with the nearly universal adoption of cable and satellite. One more service made the living room too crowded.

Video service providers like Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) have had success in the living room, but Netflix does not replace the cable box. It complements it. Netflix may compete with cable VOD, but its does so over broadband and is not the primary signal to the television set. Some cable companies fear that Netflix will create a de facto cable system. That would be difficult. Netfilx would have to set relationships with content providers as disparate as local TV stations and MTV. There is a tiny chance Netflix could do that, but the process would take years. Cable TV operators established those relationships years ago.

Intel, which may create a new set-top service, will be unable to convince consumers that it should be the third, fourth or fifth entertainment and information product in the living room.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: Cable Companies, Entertainment Tagged: AAPL, DISH, DTV, INTC, MSFT, NFLX, T, TIVO, VZ

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (F, GM, TM, EMC, GD, GMCR, POT, TIVO, UNF, PRGS, STZ, MON, FDO, LCAV, REE, NFLX, APKT, LPHI)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:04:24 +0000

Markets opened lower today and stayed in negative territory until mid-afternoon. Car makers reported December sales throughout the day, with Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) both showing gains in the morning. Toyota Motor Co. (NYSE: TM) posted lower sales in the afternoon. Developments in Europe did nothing to boost shares today, with a new rights issue coming from Italy’s UniCredit and a requirement for additional reserves against bad loans coming in Spain. Crude oil gained on word that Europe is nearing a decision to stop crude imports from Iran, possibly sparking a confrontation in the Persian Gulf. WTI crude is up 0.25% at $103.22/barrel and Brent crude is up 1.34% at 113.63/barrel. Gold is up about 0.8% at $1,613.20.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up about 21 points to 12,418.57 (0.17%), the NASDAQ fell less than 1 point (-0.01%) to 2,648.36, and the S&P 500 rose 0.02% or less than 1 point to 1,277.31.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) added to ‘US Focus List’ at Credit Suisse; General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) raised to ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) reiterated ‘buy’ with $94 target price at Canaccord Genuity; Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) started as ‘underperform’ at National Bank; and Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) raised to ‘overweight’ at Evercore Partners.

Earnings reports of note since markets closed yesterday include: Unifirst Corp. (NYSE: UNF) is up more than 3% at $59.83; and Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ: PRGS) is down more than -11% at $17.55. Tomorrow sees earnings from Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE: STZ), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) among others.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

LCA-Vision Inc. (NASDAQ: LCAV) is up more than 40% at $4.33. The laser vision correction system provider said that it performed more than 14,000 procedures in the fourth quarter, up 30% year-over-year.

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (AMEX: REE) is up more than 27% at $4.53. The rare earths miner announced that its resource at the company’s Bear Lodge project is 38% higher than previously believed.

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up nearly 11% at $80.02. The video distributor reported that it streamed more than 2 billion hours of video in the fourth quarter. More details on this story are available here.

Acme Packet Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) is down more than -19% at $25.65, after posting a new 52-week low of $25.20 early this morning. The networking company warned on earnings last night. We have more coverage here.

Life Partners Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPHI) is down more than -15% at $5.38. The life insurance company has been accused of accounting fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

7:30 a.m. – Challenger Gray & Christmas job-cut report
8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
8:30 a.m. – Weekly initial unemployment benefits claims report
10:00 a.m. – ISM non-manufacturing index
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas report
11:00 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
4:30 a.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet and money supply reports

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: APKT, EMC, F, FDO, GD, GM, GMCR, LCAV, LPHI, MON, NFLX, POT, PRGS, REE, STZ, TIVO, TM, UNF

Mornings Movers (LCAV, LPHI, APKT, PRGS, TIVO)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:57:23 +0000

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include LCA-Vision Inc. (NASDAQ: LCAV), Life Partners Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPHI), Acme Packet Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT), Progress Software Corp. (NASDAQ: PRGS), and Tivo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO).

After the first hour of trading this morning, LCA-Vision is up nearly 26% at $3.88. Volume is already nearly double the daily average. The laser vision correction system provider said that it performed more than 14,000 procedures in the fourth quarter, up 30% year-over-year.

LIfe Partners is down nearly -28% at $4.56. Volume is nearly 6x the daily average. The life insurance company has been accused of accounting fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Acme Packet is down more than -20% at $25.42, after posting a new 52-week low of $25.20 earlier. Volume is already more than double the daily average. The networking company warned on earnings last night. We have more coverage here.

Progress Software is down more than -11% at $17.57. Volume has already surpassed the daily average. The enterprise software company reported weak quarterly earnings after markets closed yesterday.

Tivo is up nearly 9% at $9.69. Volume is already about 50% higher than the daily average. The digital video recorder maker has reached a settlement with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) under which AT&T will pay Tivo at least $215 million to license Tivo technology.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Open, The Day Tagged: APKT, LCAV, LPHI, PRGS, TIVO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APKT, AFFX, AKS, AAPL, CCI, EMC, GD, GMCR, LMT, MOS, NTAP, OFG, POT, STLD, TIVO)

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:28:08 +0000

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

Acme Packet, Inc. (NASDAQ: APKT) Cut to Neutral at Wedbush; estimates and targets lowered after revenue warnings from Morgan Keegan and Wells Fargo.
Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Reiterated Outperform with $500 target and raised estimates at Credit Suisse.
Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) added to the U.S. Focus List at Credit Suisse.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Reiterated Buy with $94 target at Canaccord Genuity.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) Cut to Underperform by RBC Capital Markets.
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) Started as Underperform at National Bank.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) Raised to Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Raised to Overweight at Evercore Partners.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, AFFX, AKS, APKT, CCI, EMC, GD, GMCR, LMT, MOS, NTAP, OFG, POT, STLD, TIVO

Media Digest (1/4/2012) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:42:13 +0000

Bill Gross’s PIMCO Total Return Fund has $1.4 billion in outflows in December, according to Morningstar. (Reuters)

MF Global sold some assets to Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) before its collapsed. (Reuters)

As a move toward making its activities more public, the Federal Reserve will publish its rate forecasts. (Reuters)

BP (NYSE: BP) stops payments from its Gulf Coast Claims Facility as it waits for a court hearing on how some outlays should be made. (Reuters)

Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) says small business payrolls rose by 55,000 in December. (Reuters)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) may take the chairman title away from its co-CEOs. (Reuters)

Samsung expects a good Q4 because of rising smartphone sales. (Reuters)

PayPal President Scott Thompson will be named Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) CEO. (AllThingsD)

Venture capitalists cut investment activity after a torrid 2011. (WSJ)

Banks grow concerned about investments in Asia as the economy there slows. (WSJ)

MBIA (NYSE: MBI) wins a ruling in its mortgage suit against Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) Countrywide. (WSJ)

Toyota’s (NYSE: TM) earnings power will be challenged by the value of the yen. (WSJ)

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) hires the CEO of Brookstone to help resurrect Kmart. (WSJ)

Farmers and the food industry want relief from new government rules on consumer intake of dioxins. (WSJ)

The French government will increase its VAT. (WSJ)

Oprah Winfrey’s new TV show has a poor start. (WSJ)

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to raise prices in some parts of the country. (WSJ)

Athabasca Oil Sands will sell 40% of one of its oil sands products to PetroChina (NYSE: PTR). (WSJ)

AT&T (NYSE: T) will pay TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) $125 million for a license to some of its technology. (WSJ)

Ford (NYSE: F) to launch a new SUV in India. (WSJ)

Online sales help the results of UPS (NYSE: UPS) and American Express (NYSE: AXP). (NYT)

The jobless rate in Germany falls to 6.8%. (NYT)

As Spain’s unemployment reaches 23%, evidence grows that Europe has been divided into financial “haves” and “have not” nations. (FT)

Mobile research firm Flurry says that more than 1.2 billion apps were downloaded the week of Christmas. (FT)

Due to a slow global economy, Fiat may be well short of its goal to sell 6 million cars, between its main unit and Chrysler, by 2014. (Bloomberg)

Shares of Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) fall as investors worry about the future of online daily deals. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

http://seg.sharethis.com/getSegment.php?purl=http%3A%2F%2F247wallst.wordpress.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php&jsref=&rnd=1325665944135

Filed under: Press Digest Tagged: AXP, BAC, BP, EBAY, F, GRPN, GS, INTU, MBI, PTR, RIMM, SBUX, SHLD, T, TIVO, TM, UPS, YHOO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AA, AMGN, ADSK, CVC, CBI, LFC, INCY, LNKD, THC, TWC, TIVO)

Administrator — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:29:18 +0000

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

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Amgen Corporation (NASDAQ: AMGN) named as value stock of the day by Zacks.
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Cut to Sell from Neutral with new $32 target at Goldman Sachs.
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) downgraded to Market Perform from outperform at Wells Fargo.
Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE: CBI) maintained as Buy but removed from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
China Life Insurance (NYSE: LFC) maintained Underperform with $35.00 price target and named as Bear of the Day by Zacks.
Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ: INCY) Cut to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD) Raised to Equal-Weight at Evercore; Reiterated “Hold” on growth versus valuation and overhang concerns by Argus.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) Raised to Outperform with $5.50 target by Zacks and named as the key Bull of the Day.
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) Raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Started as Buy with $13 price target at UBS.

Here is a summary of the top analyst upgrades and downgrades from this weekend in a summary format for last week’s top (and a few lousy) Wall Street research calls.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AA, ADSK, AMGN, CBI, CVC, INCY, LFC, LNKD, THC, TIVO, TWC

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (ATVI, AAPL, AMAT, CSCO, GLW, DNKN, LEN, LULU, MSI, NDAQ, SODA, TLB, TEA, TSO, TIVO)

Administrator — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:31:45 +0000

Each morning we review our top upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street research notes. We then look back over these at the end of the week to more closely review calls which highlight underlying catalysts or developments that go far beyond just a one-day impact. Many calls turn out to offer keen insight, but some get a failing grade.

This last week’s top analyst calls of the week were in the following: Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT); Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO); Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW); Dunkin’ Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN); Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN); Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU); Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI); NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ); SodaStream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA); The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB); Teavana Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TEA); Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO); and TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO).

Just a week ago we evaluated the myth of The Curse of September, and so far that myth is not bucking the trend seen in the two years before this one. We saw Credit Suisse trim GDP and the S&P 500 for 2011 and 2012, via the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY). We even saw hedge fund bearish sentiment reach an extreme high, something which usually is a calling card for a reversal by contrarian investors. There were quite a few analyst calls with big impacts this last week.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) was initiated with coverage this last Tuesday with a BUY rating and a $16.00 target at Citigroup. What makes this call so interesting is not just that the pullback this week brought it back down to $11.42 for 40$ upside to the new target. The consensus price target is $14.35. What is interesting here is that the $16 target is close to the cycle highs back in 2008 before the meltdown started. With a great game line-up and with a steady revenue stream from monthly subscriptions, it makes you wonder if there is really that much upside. That is a “Street High” target.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week Tagged: AAPL, AMAT, ATVI, CSCO, DNKN, GLW, LEN, LULU, MSI, NDAQ, SODA, SPY, TEA, TIVO, TLB, TSO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (CRL, CSCO, GLW, EXPE, PPDI, RL, PCLN, REGN, RIMM, RPM, BID, TSO, TIVO, URI)

Administrator — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:06:01 +0000

These are some of this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen having an impact from Wall Street research calls.

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) Started as Hold at Citigroup.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Raised to Sector Perform at RBC.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Maintained Buy but cut target to $25 at BofA/ML.
Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) Started as Outperform at Wedbush.
Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDI) Started as Hold at Citigroup.
Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) Started as Outperform at Wedbush.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
RPM International (NYSE: RPM) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Sotheby’s Inc. (NYSE: BID) called the value stock of the day at Zacks.
Tesoro Corporation (NYSE: TSO) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) Started as Buy at Brean Murray.
United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BID, CRL, CSCO, EXPE, GLW, PCLN, PPDI, REGN, RIMM, RL, RPM, TIVO, TSO, URI

Top Active Trader Alert Stocks (AAPL, CBT, TIVO)

247wallst — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:49:35 +0000

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Thursday morning. We are tracking news and moves in shares of Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT), TiVo, Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO).

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is down 2% premarket on heavy volume to $368.91, within a 52-week range of $235.56-$404.50. Yesterday, company founder and CEO Steve Jobs announced retirement because of his continuing health problems.

Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is up 2.3% premarket to $32.34, relative to a 52-week range of $26.97-$48.77. The company has sold its supermetals division to Global Advanced Metals for $400 million.

TiVo, Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) is up nearly 10% premarket to $8.88, relative to a 52-week range of $7.06-$12.65. The company issued 2Q revenue that exceeded market expectations and its own guidance.

Filed under: Pre-Market Activity, Trading Alert Tagged: AAPL, CBT, TIVO