24/7 Wall St. » VRSK

Big Changes to Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Stock Holdings, A to Z

Administrator — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:05:01 +0000

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) and Warren Buffett have just released their most recent U.S.-listed equity holdings for the Berkshire Hathaway empire. This cut off date is as of March 31, 2012 and Mr. Buffett has already said that he was buying some shares since the end of the quarter on weakness.

Also, keep in mind that portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are still new and those new positions of under $200 million $300 million are likely tied to them.

24/7 Wall St. has gone through line by line of each position to see which stocks have been bought and sold as new positions, as well as having added in whether or not the number of shares grew or shrank on each since the prior quarter. We had added some color in on some of the positions if applicable.

Be advised that the number of subsidiaries that this filing covers is 14 entities rather than 18 entities in the prior quarter. There is also a note in the 13F filing showing that the SEC has granted “Confidential Treatment” on some Berkshire stock holdings and that likely suggests that Buffett is still acquiring a position he does not want the public to know about yet. This filing does not signal the half-dozen or more European shares that Buffett said he bought so that remains an outstanding issue as well.

The value of the stock portfolio was $66,151,587,000 at the end of 2011 and this was listed as $75,300,250,000 at the end of March 2012.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was over 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) is now 5.6 million shares, HIGHER THAN the 1,793,915 shares last quarter.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is the SAME SIZE at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter and having been raised one quarter ago.

Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was right at 200 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is roughly 29.1 million shares, roughly the SAME AS BEFORE but it is still lower than previous quarters in past reports.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 4,333,363 Shares, SAME AS last quarter after having lowered it before.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is now 6 million shares worth $541 million and that LARGER THAN BEFORE after having been a new position of 2.684 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION listed at 22.999 million worth over $1.13 billion. This one had been 20.348 million shares worth $870 million one quarter earlier and it had been a new position just two quarters ago at 4.249 million shares.

Filed under: Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Compensation, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds Tagged: AXP, BK, BRK-A, BRK-B, CDCO, COP, COST, CVS, DG, DVA, featured, GCI, GE, GM, GSK, IBM, INTC, IR, JNJ, KFT, KO, LMCA, MA, MCO, MTB, PG, SNY, TMK, UPS, USB, USG, V, VIA, VRSK, WFC, WMT, WPO

What Happens to Warren Buffett’s Top 10 Performing Stocks of 2012? (BRK-B, BRK-A, USG, IR, MCO, AXP, WFC, V, BK, VRSK, INTC, MA, AAPL, JNJ, BAC)

Administrator — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:46:56 +0000

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) will be in the news quite a bit now that the world’s most famous investor, chairman Warren Buffett, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. We already have offered a brief road map of what investors can expect in the months ahead based on the face value of the news and based on Mr. Buffett’s comments. With so many investors wondering what comes next, we wanted to take a look at Berkshire Hathaway’s best-performing stock holdings so far in 2012.

Some investors may worry that, if Buffett were to leave, the portfolio would perhaps find a large rotation out of current positions. While anything is possible, we expect almost no change whatsoever to the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio based on the cancer news. Some new stocks may still get added with two new portfolio managers inside the conglomerate. Some stocks also may get paired down further. That being said, Buffett has treated these holdings in many cases as though they are “partner companies” rather than mere stock investments that are to be bought and sold solely based on the price gain or loss at a certain time.

Buffett’s top 10 performers so far this year are significantly outperforming the broader market indexes. The DJIA is currently up about 8.1% so far in 2012, and the S&P 500 Index is outperforming the DJIA with a gain of 11.3%, due to such a high weighting and strong performance of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is only up by 5.7% so far in 2012, and that is before the effect of Buffett’s cancer news. Only one of Berkshire Hathaway’s 30-plus common stocks is down so far in 2012, and that is Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), with a loss of only 1.2%.

What was most interesting about the holdings noted as 2012’s 10 best performers is that the dividends are often paltry. Most have dividend yields that are well below average. We have given some color on each position, shown some trends on each, and shown the price and relative price performance on each. It is no coincidence that the financial stocks in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio are up so much when you consider that the financial sector led the market in the first quarter and so far this year.

USG Corporation (NYSE: USG) is Warren Buffett’s single best stock performer so far in 2012, as Americans continue to look for ways to play a coming housing recovery. The latest NAHB confidence dip may be a concern, but perhaps a remodel housing economy can be enough to return a turnaround here. What is interesting is that Thomson Reuters is currently looking for a loss of $1.30 per share in 2012 and a loss of $0.52 in 2013, despite what it expects to be rising sales. Unlike most of Buffett’s top stocks, USG pays no common dividend. The $16.89 share price compares too a 52-week trading range of $5.75 to $19.44.

Ingersoll-Rand Plc (NYSE: IR) turned out to be Buffett’s second-best common stock in 2012, with a gain of 32%. The company makes tools, compressed air systems, ARO fluid products and lifting and material handling products, among other products and services. The dividend yield here is roughly 1.6%. At $40.06, its 52-week trading range is $25.86 to $52.33.

Filed under: Activist Investor, Banking, Buffett, Conglomerates, Dividend, Editor's Picks, Financial Stocks, Insider Activity, Large Cap Stocks, Mutual Funds, Shareholder Issues Tagged: AAPL, AXP, BAC, BK, BRK-A, BRK-B, INTC, IR, JNJ, MA, MCO, USG, V, VRSK, WFC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AAPL, ADP, ESRX, GGP, KFT, LULU, MHS, MCO, P, PG, VRSK, VRML)

Administrator — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:03:58 +0000

These are some of this Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls.

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) named Bull of the Day and raised to Outperform with $654 target at Zacks.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADP) Raised to Focus List at Credit Suisse.

Express Scripts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESRX) Raised to Outperform at Macquarie.

General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) Started as Neutral at Citigroup.

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

MedcoHealth Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) Started as Neutral at UBS.

Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James; Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) Started as Neutral at UBS.

Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML) Cut to Sell at Ladenberg Thalmann.

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: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls Tagged: AAPL, ADP,, ESRX, GGP, KFT, LULU, MCO, MHS, P, PG, VRML, VRSK

Berkshire Hathaway & Buffett’s Stock Holdings ‘L to Z’ (BRK-B, BRK-A, LMCA, MA, MTB, MCO, PG, SNY, TMK, USB, USG, UPS, VRSK, V, WMT, WPO, WFC)

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:05:03 +0000

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) and Warren Buffett have just released the latest holdings of U.S.-listed equities as of December 31, 2011. We have included some accompanying notes on each and this has been broken into two groups to make it more concise on each page.

Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LMCA) is a NEW POSITION of 1.7 million shares worth some $132.7 million.
M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) is 5.38+ million shares, SAME AS last quarter.
Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was 405,000 shares, the SAME AS last quarter and up from the quarter before that.
Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) was 28.4 million; SAME AS last quarter but way down from prior quarters and years.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) was 76.7 million shares, SAME AS last quarter but lower than the 96.3 million shares in prior quarters.
Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was 4.06 million shares; SAME AS before.
Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) was more than 4.2 million, SAME AS last quarter after having been raised in a prior quarter.
US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was roughly 69 million shares; SAME AS before.
USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) was 17.072 million shares; SAME AS before.
United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) was 1.429 million shares; SAME AS before.
Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) was already a LOWER POSITION at 3.445 million shares after being recently added as a new position and then grown.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a LARGER POSITION of 2.865 million shares worth $291 million; was 2.291 million shares previously.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was just over 39 million shares; SAME AS before after having been raised in 2010.
Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) was over 1.72 million shares; SAME AS before.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was a LARGER POSITION AGAIN at more than 383 million shares.

PAGE ONE…BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘A to K’

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Buffett, Conglomerates Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, LMCA, MA, MCO, MTB, PG, SNY, TMK, UPS, USB, USG, V, VRSK, WFC, WMT, WPO

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BHP, CCL, DLPH, MN, MFRM, MCP, PKD, PCCC, PMT, SHLD, JOE, VRSK)

Administrator — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:27:22 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Wednesday morning. As usual for the week between Christmas and New Years, the volume of analyst calls is light but there may be some great hidden gems during this time.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) Cut to Underperform from an already-cautious Neutral rating and named as the “Bear of the Day” by Zacks Investment Research.
Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) maintained Hold (with Long-Term Buy) but cut estimates at Argus.
Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Manning & Napier, Inc. (NYSE: MN) Started as Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus; Started as Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MFRM) Started as Buy at UBS.
Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP) Lowered estimates and target to $39 from J.P. Morgan.
Parker Drilling Company (NYSE: PKD) named as value stock of the day by Zacks Investment Research.
PC Connection, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCCC) named as the aggressive growth stock of the day at Zacks Investment Research.
PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) Maintained Buy and raised target to $19 at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (late Tuesday) after distressed asset purchase.
Sears Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) Maintained Underperform but cut estimates and cut target to $20.00 at Credit Suisse.
The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) Upgraded to Outperform from Neutral and named as the “Bull of the Day” by Zacks Investment Research.
Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) Maintained as Outperform but target price is only $40.00 (versus $39.95 share price) by Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: BHP, CCL, DLPH, JOE, MCP, MFRM, MN, PCCC, PKD, PMT, SHLD, VRSK

America’s 10 Highest Paid CEOs (Which Are Worth It?)

Charles B. Stockdale — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:22:17 +0000

Several lists of the highest paid CEOs in America are published each year mostly by the business media and shareholder groups. All are based on proxy statements. Long before the lists are published, the boards of directors of these companies try to justify the compensation packages for shareholders. Investors often are skeptical of these defenses, and they should be. It is rare, but not impossible, to show that a chief executive deserves $50 million, or even $100 million a year.

Read America’s 10 Highest Paid CEOs

Based on the annual CEO Pay Survey 2011 by GMI, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 highest paid CEOs. We then analyzed company performance of the highest paid CEOs to determine which pay packages were worth the investment.

Such a review about management compensation is by its nature subjective and different from a board’s reasoning. A board may take into account the long-term record of a CEO who has held his or her job for several years. The board might set a pay package based on an extraordinary year. The directors also may pay a CEO well just before he or she retires. 24/7 Wall St. has downplayed each of these factors, but has not eliminated them. Our judgment of “fairness” is based on what shareholders received in the year as the CEO’s compensation year. Our primary measurements are revenue growth, earnings growth and stock price change.

This is the 24/7 Wall St. list of the 10 highest paid CEOs for 2010 and an analysis of whether their compensations were worth the payments in terms of shareholder returns. All compensation considerations used to set pay, which include board of director criteria from each company, come from SEC-filed proxies.

Filed under: General, Special Report Tagged: AET, CVS, GBL, GGP, MCK, OCR, RL, TRW, VNO, VRSK

Ten Highest Paid CEOs of 2010 (MCK, OCR, TRW, VRSK, CVS, GGP, RL, VNO, AET, GBL)

Paul Ausick — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:07:59 +0000

When it comes to executive pay, the amounts paid to today’s highest paid CEOs equals the GDP of a small emerging nation. The ten most highly compensated CEOs according to a recent survey by GMI took home about $770 million, more than the GDP of Vanuatu or Samoa, among others.

The GMI survey measures what the firm calls “total realized compensation,” which is further defined as “compensation that has been received by the CEO, rather than any notional estimates, accounting costs, or other uncertainties.” Here’s the list:

CEO	Company	Ticker	Compensation
John Hammergren	McKesson Corp.	MCK	$145,266,971
Joel Gemunder	Omnicare, Inc.	OCR	$98,283,242
John Plant	TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.	TRW	$76,841,646
Frank Coyne	Verisk Analytics, Inc.	VRSK	$69,416,726
Thomas Ryan	CVS Caremark Corp.	CVS	$68,079,823
Adam Metz	General Growth Properties, Inc.	GGP	$66,707,460
Ralph Lauren	Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.	RL	$66,651,515
Michael Fascitelli	Vornado Realty Trust	VNO	$64,402,468
Ronald Williams	Aetna, Inc.	AET	$57,787,786
Mario Gabelli	GAMCO Investors Inc.	GBL	$56,608,736

Paul Ausick

Filed under: Compensation Tagged: AET, CVS, GBL, GGP, MCK, OCR, RL, TRW, VNO, VRSK

Berkshire Hathaway & Buffett’s Stock Holdings ‘L to Z’ (BRK-B, BRK-A, MA, MTB, MCO, PG, SNY, TMK, USB, USG, UPS, VRSK, V, WMT, WPO, WFC)

Administrator — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:08:08 +0000

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) and Warren Buffett have just released the latest holdings of U.S.-listed equities as of September 30, 2011 and this is the second group of ‘L to Z’ in the public equities. We have included some accompanying notes on each. Keep in mind that Todd Combs is a new portfolio manager and his new positions were given ‘special exemptions’ from being disclosed last quarter.

M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) is 5.38+ million shares, UP ONLY A TAD from the 5.363 million last quarter but this one had been cut in prior quarters.
Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was 405,000 shares valued at $128.45 million. The position is the SAME AS last quarter but still almost double from the quarter before.
Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) was 28.4 million; SAME AS last quarter but way down from prior quarters and years.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) was 76.7 million shares and listed as THE SAME as last quarter but lower than the 96.3 million shares in prior quarters.
Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was 4.06 million shares; SAME AS before.
Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) was more than 4.2 million, a LARGER POSITION than the 2.82 million shares last quarter.
US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was roughly 69 million shares; SAME AS before.
USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) was 17.072 million shares; SAME AS before.
United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) was 1.429 million shares; SAME AS before.
Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) was ALMOST DOUBLE in shares at 4.202 million worth $146.1 million versus the 2,101,125 shares a quarter before when it had been started as a new position.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is a NEW POSITION of 2.291 million shares worth $96.44 million.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was just over 39 million shares; SAME AS before after having been raised in 2010.
Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) was over 1.72 million shares; SAME AS before and Buffett kept his word so far about holding the Washington Post shares despite stepping down from its board.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) over 361 million shares a HIGHER POSITION than the 352+ million last quarter.

PAGE ONE…BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘A to K’

As noted earlier… today’s holding disclosure has missing data as Berkshire Hathaway was given permission and likely still does not include the full holdings: Confidential information has been omitted from the Form 13F and filed separately with the Commission.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Activist Investor, Buffett, Mutual Funds Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, MA, MCO, MTB, PG, SNY, TMK, UPS, USB, USG, V, VRSK, WFC, WMT, WPO

Most Likely Stock Purchases by Warren Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B, BAC, DG, XOM, COP, MA, VRSK, WMT, WFC)

Administrator — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:41:55 +0000

Warren Buffett and his team at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) went out buying stocks in this last quarter according to the firm’s quarterly report. Sadly, no one outside of Buffett, Combs, and a few other people know which positions were added to. 24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of likely add-on positions and the rationale behind each.

Some positions which we expect ro would just assume are in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA), Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC). Just keep in mind that Berkshire Hathaway is granted “Confidential Treatment” in some positions, so it is possible that many others are present but not known by the public.

The total invested was $23.9 billion in the quarter and that appears to be more than any quarter of the last decade and then some. Almost $7 billion of that was classified as equities. Keep in mind that the $5 billion for BofA and the $9 billion or so for Lubrizol were a part of the total figures.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) was not in the prior holdings one quarter ago, but what we do know is that Buffett came to the rescue with a $5 billion preferred share purchase where Buffett also gets all of those warrants. Technically this will not appear in the mid-November filing that shows Buffett’s September 30, 2011 holdings. It doesn’t matter. This is now one of his larger positions.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) was listed as a new of 1,497,800 shares a quarter ago and our take is that Buffett (actually Todd Combs) will have bought more shares in a recent secondary offering. There is a reason this was one of our own Top Stocks To Own for the Next Decade.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is one we continue wonder why Team Buffett lightened up on. The team already pledged long ago to wind out if ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and that really never happened. Berkshire’s latest Exxon position was 421,800 shares, which saw the same as before but lower than the 1.276 million shares originally. Buffett cannot easily just put a few billion to work in most companies, but he easily could accomplish that in Exxon.

Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was a recent position and it was almost doubled in the last quarter to some 405,000 shares. With how well this performed and with its toll-keeper business model we would just assume that Team Buffett still likes it and maybe likes it even more.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) was another new position and it seemed an odd fit for Team Buffett. That is likely because it was Todd Combs making the call. The position was 2,101,125 shares worth “only” about $72.7 million as of June 30. If they liked it before, maybe they liked it again.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is another retailer that we belive Team Buffett may have warmed to for dividends and for valuation. This position was raised in 2010 but has held steady at just over 39 million shares. If you see that Wal-Mart is barely 1% off of its 52-week high, it sure seems as though some investors might be betting that the old man in Omaha decided that good things were happening in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) has long been Warren Buffett’s favorite bank and he has gradually been adding shares more and more through time. This position was just over 368.6 million shares and it has grown each quarter of late. If Team Buffett was adding big positions, it seems that they might have kept their finger on the “buy button” here even when you consider the BofA $5 billion preferred share and warrant investment.

Berkshire Hathaway’s most current portfolio of equity holdings is available here.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Activist Investor, Banking, Buffett, Compensation, Conglomerates, Retail Tagged: BAC, BRK-A, BRK-B, COP, DG, MA, VRSK, WFC, WMT, XOM

24/7 Wall St. Top Analyst Calls of the Week (BAC, BBY, BIIB, BCSI, GOOG, LXK, MMI, NOK, ODP, ORCL, PAAS, RIMM, RVBD, S, SBUX, TEVA, VRSK, V)

Administrator — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:45:27 +0000

We won’t bother telling you what hard week this was, but we will tell you that at least some smart-money investors are out looking for bargains right now since stocks have sold off so much and since they can’t make any money in bonds now. We cover about 15 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations each morning that are moving stocks. After going through these and filtering the noise out, we often find some very smart calls and very intuitive calls that offer great upside. Unfortunately we also sometimes find some just awful research calls. These become the Top Analyst Calls of the Week.

This week’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations were seen in shares of the following: Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY); Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB); Blue Coat Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BCSI); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK); Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI); Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK); Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP); Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL); Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS); Research-in-Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM); Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD); Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S); Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX); Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NASDAQ: TEVA); Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK); and Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V).

In this week’s calls we have pointed out the summary, the price action, an impact elsewhere, and have added color in on some of the summaries.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) may have been defended a week before by Dick Bove of Rochdale, but the stock slid further to close the week out at $6.97. Investors better hope that Credit Suisse knows something that no one else knows. On Wednesday, after a $7.40 close the day before, Credit Suisse maintained its Buy rating but lowered target to $14.00. This was a downgrade light, but frankly that is a double over the next year “IF” the call is accurate.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is trying to stabilize now that shares are down another 20% or so from the post-earnings reaction. The valuation is dirt cheap here when you consider its recent guidance, even if a sensible analysis would say that the estimates might need to come in some more. It trades at less than 8-times earnings. S&P Equity Research said “enough is enough” late on Thursday and raised the rating to “Buy” due to dirt cheap valuation and too much of a sell-off.

Filed under: Analyst Calls, The Week Tagged: BAC, BBY, BCSI, BIIB, GOOG, LXK, RIMM, RVBD, S, SBUX, TEVA, V, VRSK