24/7 Wall St. » URBN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (SIRI, IBM, AZN, URBN, ZOLT, YUM, MT, BP, KO, EMR, LPX, MNI, CSTR, SPF, NSU, BPAX)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:06:42 +0000

US equity markets opened lower this morning, but after the first hour or so of trading, the three major indexes moved to positive territory where they remained for the rest of the day. There was talk that a deal was forthcoming on the Greek debt swap deal, but that did not materialize. Maybe tomorrow? Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke didn’t have anything new to say to the US Senate committee this morning, and today’s earnings reports didn’t impress traders much either. A late day report on a big jump in December levels of consumer credit has given the market a small jolt in the last hour of trading. Crude oil is up today, with WTI crude up sharply by 1.82% at $98.67/barrel and Brent crude up 0.23% at $116.20/barrel. Gold closed up 1.4% at $1,748.40/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 33 points to 12,878.43 (0.26%), the NASDAQ rose more than 2 points (0.07%) to 2,904.08, and the S&P 500 rose 0.20% or nearly 3 points to 1,347.05.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) started as ‘underweight’ at Barclays; IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) started as ‘buy’ with a $230 target price at Sterne Agee (our coverage here); AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/ML; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) cut to ‘sell’ at Brean Murray; and Zoltek Cos. Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) cut to ‘underperform’ at Needham (our coverage here).

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) is up 2.67% at $64.88 after posting a new 52-week high of $65.79 earlier today; ArcelorMittal AS (NYSE: MT) is up 3.5% at $22.19; BP plc (NYSE: BP) is down -0.41% at $46.68; Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is up 1% at $68.71 (our coverage here); Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) is down -2.6% at $51.99; and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX) is down -6.5% at $8.31 (our coverage here).

Our preview of tomorrow’s earnings releases is here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

The McClatchy Co. (NYSE: MNI) is up 21% at $2.71. The newspaper company reported stronger-than-expected earnings today on cost-cutting.

Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) is up 16.5% at $58.90 after posting a new 52-week high of $60.81 earlier today. The video rental company will join with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) to offer a streaming video service to compete with Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and others. More coverage here and here.

Standard Pacific Corp. (NYSE: SPF) is up 15.8% at $4.69 after posting a new 52-week high of $4.85 earlier today. The homebuilder posted good earnings today and reported that orders are up 8% in January.

Nevsun Resources Ltd. (AMEX: NSU) is down more than -30% at $4.43. The junior gold miner issued a preliminary 2012 outlook that included a sharp drop in production and in its reserves estimates.

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) is down more than -18% at $0.86. The company is the target of a new lawsuit charging it with misrepresentation. We have more coverage of BioSante here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. San Francisco Federal Reserve president John Williams is giving a speech. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications report
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – Treasury 10-year note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: AZN, BP, BPAX, CSTR, EMR, IBM, KO, LPX, MNI, MT, NSU, SIRI, SPF, URBN, YUM, ZOLT

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).

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: AON, AZN, CRM, CSCO, DLR, DRIV, HSIC, IBM, PBY, SIRI, SNH, SOHU, SSW, SXL, THO, URBN, ZOLT

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (MRO, PEET, RIMM, URBN, CHK, GILD, GNW, PCCC, NVLS, PKI, BEAM, EL, WY, THLD, TUDO, ZOLT, STRI, MNKD)

Paul Ausick — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:09:33 +0000

Major indexes reacted positively to this morning’s non-farm payrolls report and the drop in the US unemployment rate from 8.5% to 8.3%. Expectations for the unemployment rate had been no better than flat, and jobs growth of 243,000 was also a big surprise. The report ISM service jobs was also higher than expected this morning, although data on new factory orders was lower than expected. The Nasdaq composite posted an 11-year high today, and yields on US Treasuries also rose as investors headed into equities. Crude oil rose sharply today on the good economic news. WTI crude is up 1.32% at $97.63/barrel and Brent crude is up 2.10% at $114.42/barrel. Gold, as might be expected, dropped -1.64% today to $1,730.50/ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 157 points to 12,862.23 (1.23%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 46 points (1.61%) to 2,905.66, and the S&P 500 rose 1.46% or more than 19 points to 1,344.90.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus; Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) raised to ‘outperform’ at Baird; Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) cut to ‘underperform’ at Jefferies; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) raised to ‘buy’ at Janney Capital; and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) started as ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is up more than 11% at $54.83 after posting a new 52-week high of $54.90 earlier (see our coverage here); Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is up more than 13% at $9.12; PC Connection Inc. (NASDAQ: PCCC) is down nearly -20% at $10.22; Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is down -0.73% at $48.98, but posted a new 52-week high of $49.92 earlier in the day; PerkinElmer Inc. (NYSE: PKI) is up more than 6% at $26.21; Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) is up 2.4% at $54.28; Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. (NYSE: EL) is down -3.64% at $56.71 (more coverage here); and Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) is up more than 5% at $21.19.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD) is up nearly 115% at $2.77. The pharmaceuticals firm has announced a global development deal with Germany’s Merck.

Tudou Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: TUDO) is up nearly 19% at $16.66. The Chinese online video company has signed a deal with Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) to provide a video platform for Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like social site.

Zoltek Cos. Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) is up nearly 39% at $13.14. The specialty fibers maker posted good earnings number and forecast continued growth in the market for wind turbines which use its carbon fibers in blade construction.

STR Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: STRI) is down nearly -20% at $9.08. The company manufactures materials used in solar PV modules, and lowered its fourth-quarter guidance this morning.

Mannkind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) is down nearly -13% at $2.15 after posting a new 52-week low of $2.14 earlier. The biotech company has priced its public offering of units containing one share of stock and warrant to purchase another 0.6 shares. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Monday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month Treasury bill auction
3:00 p.m. – Treasury STRIPS

Have a great weekend.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire Tagged: BEAM, CHK, EL, GILD, GNW, MNKD, MRO, NVLS, PCCC, PEET, PKI, RIMM, STRI, THLD, TUDO, URBN, WY, ZOLT

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APA, BBT, CVC, CHK, DRI, EMN, EW, MRO, NBL, PEET, RIMM, RBS, SLM, URBN)

Administrator — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:07:02 +0000

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

Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) Raised to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: APA, BBT, CHK, CVC, DRI, EMN, EW, MRO, NBL, PEET, RBS, RIMM, SLM, URBN

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (ALU, WBMD, URBN, RL, AWK, LEN, SVU, SHIP, LEDS, SNX, JASO, YRCW, CROX, HL, HRC)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:05:20 +0000

Equities opened modestly down this morning and the three major indexes have stayed within a few points of flat all day. The NASDAQ composite has remained in positive territory as the technology sector has benefited from a sharp buying trend in solar stocks. The EIA’s weekly petroleum report came in with a crude build of 5 million barrels, way above an expected gain of 1 million barrels. The report weighed on energy stocks since mid-morning. The euro has also been weaker today, adding a bit of push to equity buying. Crude oil is ending the day down, with WTI crude down about -1.3% at $100.92/barrel and Brent crude is down 0.64% at $112.55/barrel. Gold closed higher, at $1,640.50/ounce, after posting a four-week high earlier today.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 13 points to 12,449.08 (-0.11%), the NASDAQ rose more than 8 points (0.31%) to 2,710.76, and the S&P 500 rose 0.03% or less than 1 point to 1,292.44.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (NYSE: ALU) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank; WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) cut to ‘sell’ at Citigroup; Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) cut to ‘market perform’ at Wells Fargo; and American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) raised to ‘buy’ at Ladenburg Thalmann.

Earnings reports since markets closed yesterday have led to some price changes: Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) is up 6.3% at $22.07 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.53 earlier today; Supervalu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) is down nearly -13% at $7.33; Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP) is up more than 5.5% at $2.65; SemiLEDS Corp. (NASDAQ: LEDS) is more than 5% at $3.69; and Synnex Corp. (NYSE: SNX) is up more than 8% at $34.80.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is up more than 37% at $1.97. The Chinese solar maker is among several Chinese solar companies getting a boost today from news that solar panel prices appear to be stabilizing. We have more coverage here.

YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW) is up nearly 16% at $11.38. The transportation company has said it will auction 62 of its surplus US sites.

Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) is up more than 17% at $18.73. The funny-shoe company has estimated that sales in the current fiscal year will top $1 billion for the first time.

Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL) is down about -22% at $4.55, after posting a new 52-week low of $4.25 earlier today. The silver miner has lowered its production estimate due to a forced closure of a shaft at its Nevada mine.

Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HRC) is down nearly -12% at $30.45. The medical equipment maker and services provider lowered fourth-quarter and full-year guidance last night.

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

8:30 a.m. – Initial unemployment benefits claims report
8:30 a.m. – Census Bureau retail sales report
10:00 a.m. – Census Bureau business inventories report
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas status report
1:00 p.m. – 30-year bond auction
2:00 p.m. – US Treasury budget
4:30 p.m. – Federal Reserve balance sheet

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close, The Day Tagged: ALU, AWK, CROX, HL, HRC, JASO, LEDS, LEN, RL, SHIP, SNX, SVU, URBN, WBMD, YRCW

Morning Movers (DLA, URBN, HL, SVU, P)

Paul Ausick — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:19:56 +0000

There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Delta Apparel Inc. (NYSE: DLA), Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN), Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL), Supervalu Inc. (NYSE: SVU), and Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P).

Delta Apparel is down more than -26% at $14.08. Volume is already more than double the daily average. The clothes maker lowered guidance this morning..

Urban Outfitters is down more than -19% at $23.80. Volume is already double the daily average. The clothing retailer’s CEO has resigned.

Hecla Mining is down nearly -23% at $4.51, a new 52-week low. Volume is already nearly equal to the daily average. The company has lowered its silver production forecast from 9.5 million ounces to 7 million ounces following an order from a federal regulator to close one of its shafts.

Supervalu is down more than -10% at $7.52. Volume is heavy, with more than half the daily average number of shares already traded. The supermarket company missed revenue expectations this morning and has lowered guidance.

Pandora Media is up more than 6% at $12.19. Volume has already surpassed the daily average. The Internet radio company has announced that it has deals with 23 automakers and more than 450 consumer electronics companies to carry its programming.

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Market Open, Market Roundups, The Day Tagged: DLA, HL, P, SVU, URBN

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AKS, ALU, AWK, APA, AF, AZK, DRI, HBAN, PHG, LTD, PIR, Rl, RL, UL, URBN, VIP, WBMD, WCC)

Administrator — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:07:18 +0000

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

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Outperform with $12 target at Credit Suisse.
Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Raised to Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann.
Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Astoria Financial Corporation (NYSE: AF) Cut to UNderweight at JPMorgan.
Aurizon Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AZK) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LTD) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Started as Hold at Argus.
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
WebMD Health Corporation (NASDAQ: WBMD) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
WESCO International (NYSE: WCC) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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, IPOs, M&A, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AF, AKS, ALU, APA, AWK, AZK, DRI, HBAN, LTD, PHG, PIR, RL, UL, URBN, VIP, WBMD, WCC

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades of the Week (MO, ANGI, AAPL, CIT, GS, GMCR, HUN, KKD, LULU, NOK, SHLD, URBN, VZ, WSM, HOGS)

Administrator — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:35:49 +0000

This was the first week after the holidays and many analyst calls were made this week with updated outlooks for 2012. 24/7 Wall St. saw many influential analyst calls this week with either long term ramifications or which caused big moves in the underlying stocks.

We have covered this in more detailed summaries below, but the following included the top stock upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in this last week: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO); Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT); Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS); Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR); Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN); Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD); Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU); Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK); Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD); Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN); Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ); Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM); and Zhongpin, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOGS).

We have given a summary and notes on each below.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) could be in for a 15% drop now that shares became overvalued per the Barron’s cover story to kick off 2012 and Davenport downgraded the stock also.

Angie’s List, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) had a rough week after its quiet period ended from its late 2011 IPO. The stock closed out 2011 at $16.10 and ended the week down at $13.23 for a loss of about 18%. Analyst initiation summary as follows:

Neutral with $18 target at BofA/ML;
Sector Perform with $17 target at RBC;
Perform with $16 target at Oppenheimer;
Buy with $22 target at ThinkEquity;
Buy with $21 target at Stifel Nicolaus;
Buy with $19 target at Janney Capital Markets.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) may have just been a reiterated call, but this was the $560 price target call from Canaccord Genuity. Apple’s price target was also lowered to $513 from $530 at Morgan Keegan.

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was noted as a “if, then” possible takeover candidate in a SunTrust Robinson Humphrey call this week that is frankly hard to agree with.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) was among the banking sector downgrades this week, although shares still managed to close on a positive note if you just compare the price to the prior Friday. Meredith Whitney, Wells Fargo, and Credit Suisse all gave negative calls with downgrades or lower sales and earnings.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, Research, The Week, Trading Alert Tagged: AAPL, ANGI, CIT, GMCR, GS, HOGS, HUN, KKD, LULU, MO, NOK, SHLD, URBN, VZ, WSM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AGCO, APOL, BSX, CECO, DNDN, FDX, GS, HUN, ITW, INTC, KSS, SNDK, AMTD, TRV, UPS, URBN, VOD, HOGS)

Administrator — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:19:44 +0000

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

AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) Reiterated Outperform and Raised Target to $60 at Credit Suisse.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) Maintained Hold but lowered estimates at Argus.
Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ: CECO) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Reiterated Neutral with $10 target at Baird.
FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Market Perform by Wells Fargo.
Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Illinois Tool Works. Inc. (NYSE: ITW) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Cut to Neutral at Stern Agee.
Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) Cut to Hold at Argus.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Raised to Buy at Stern Agee.
TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) Raised to Outperform at Wells Fargo.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE: UPS) Started as Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Started as Underperform and named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Vodafone Group PLC (NYSE: VOD) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Zhongpin, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOGS) Started as outperform at Oppenheimer.

If you enjoyed this morning’s Wall Street research notes, you can sign up to receive these directly in your inbox each morning by joining our free email list in the box below. We also include major movers, key stock calls, news on Warren Buffett and other gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AGCO, AMTD, APOL, BSX, CECO, DNDN, FDX, GS, HOGS, HUN, INTC, ITW, KSS, SNDK, TRV, UPS, URBN, VOD

24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (T, FFIV, URBN, AMGN, BAX, CAG, GIS, NAV, SAFM, JEF, NKE, ORCL, TRGT, CIE, CSIQ, PBH, HOV, CVS)

Paul Ausick — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:06:30 +0000

US equity markets opened sharply higher this morning and have been able to sustain and even add to those gains throughout the day. Business and consumer confidence indexes in Europe were higher, giving an early boost to share prices. Then an unexpectedly large jump in new housing starts, especially multi-family dwellings, put an extra charge into investors. Proposed Federal Reserve rules governing big banks have had little impact on financial stocks, which are up about 4% in the late afternoon. Today’s auction of five-year Treasury went out at 0.880%, a record low yield. Crude oil is also sharply higher today, with WTI trading at $97.22/barrel, up more than 3.5%, and Brent is up 3.34% at $106.98. The US dollar has traded weaker all day today. Gold settled on the Comex up about 1.3%, at $1,616.80.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly 336 points to 12,101.92 (2.85%), the NASDAQ rose more than 80 points (3.19%) to 2,603.73, and the S&P 500 rose 2.98% or nearly 36 points to 1,241.22.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) cut to ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan. Other ratings actions today include F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) cut from ‘perform’ to ‘underperform’ at Oppenheimer; Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) raised from ‘outperform’ to ‘Top Pick’ at FBR Capital; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) added to ‘Strong Buy List’ at Zacks; and Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) lowered from ‘Top Pick List’ to ‘outperform’ and target price lowered from $61 to $58 at RBC Capital Markets.

Here are today’s post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) is up 4% at $26.18; General Mills Inc. is down about -1% at $39.19; Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) is up nearly 7% at $39.05; Sanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) is down -4% at $48.66; and Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF) is up more than 22% at $14.46. After markets close today we get earnings from Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL). See our 360 coverage on Oracle here and coverage of the ConAgra and General Mills reports here.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

Targacept Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT) is down more than -35% at $5.01, after posting a new 52-week low of $4.92 earlier in the day. The pharmaceutical maker’s anti-depressant drug, developed in conjunction with AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) has failed a late-stage trial.

Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) is up nearly 38% at $13.81. The oil & gas exploration company has signed a production-sharing agreement for a block offshore of Angola. Cobalt owns 40% of the project and is the operator.

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is up nearly 33% at $2.93. The solar panel maker has sold about 86 megawatts of generation to TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP) for approximately $455 million.

Prestige Brand Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PBH) is up nearly 21% at $11.27. The drug and cleaning supplies company paid $660 million for a selection of nonprescription drugs from GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK).

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: HOV) is up more than 18% at $1.50. The home builder is riding the wave of good news about new housing starts.

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) is up about 9% at $39.85, after posting a new 52-week high earlier of $39.86. The healthcare company raised fiscal year guidance and boosted its quarterly dividend by 30%, to $0.1625/share.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. The most widely anticipated report for tomorrow is due at 8:30 a.m. from the National Association of Realtors, which will be revising its new home sales data from 2007 forward. Lower sales of up to -13% are expected. Here are other noteworthy events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
1:00 p.m. – 7-year Treasury note auction

Paul Ausick

Filed under: HI/LOW, Market Close Tagged: AMGN, BAX, CAG, CIE, CSIQ, CVS, FFIV, GIS, HOV, JEF, NAV, NKE, ORCL, PBH, SAFM, T, TRGT, URBN