Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AONE, ACM, ALXN, AEP, LFC, CLNE, COP, CVA, CREE, ENOC, FXCM, IRM, MET, NYX, PCLN, SD, LEDS, VLO, WFSL)

Administrator — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:23:08 +0000

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

A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) Kept at Buy but Removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LFC) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Reiterated Buy and $95 target at Argus.
Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) Raised to Buy at BofA/ML.
Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
EnerNOC, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENOC) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
FXCM Inc. (NYSE: FXCM) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) Reiterated Buy with $54 target at Argus.
NYSE Euronext Inc. (NYSE: NYX) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) Started as Neutral at Baird; Started as Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
SemiLEDS Corporation (NASDAQ: LEDS) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) Maintained Strong Buy as Value at Zacks.

Washington Federal Inc. (NASDAQ: WFSL) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ACM, AEP, ALXN, AONE, CLNE, COP, CREE, CVA, ENOC, FXCM, IRM, LEDS, LFC, MET, NYX, PCLN, SD, VLO, WFSL

Second Line Banks Line Up For TARP Bailout Money (FITB, HBAN, KEY, NTRS, WFSL)

247wallst — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:32:10 +0000

This is one of the first rounds of the regional banks formally getting in line and formally receiving approval to participate in the $700 billion government TARP bailout package. Prior to this it had been the major banks and brokers which had been given clearance. Many of the healthy banks seem to be cautious to participate, but they also fear missing the boat in case things get far worse for them and they didn’t get in on the take.

There are likely others which have applied to participate or which havebeen given approval by the Treasury, but here is a brief list of thebanks we saw today issuing a "TARP" decision:

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) $3.4 billion (applied for, decision not announced)
Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) $1.4 billion
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) $2.5 billion
Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) for $1.5 billion
Washington Federal (NASDAQ: WFSL) $200 million

What is very interesting here is how many banks have announced that they are reviewing the plan but have not made any decision as of yet. Many banks want the funds just in case, but the acknowledgment that the money comes with a price seems to be an issue for many of the managers at the more healthy regional banks.

There will likely be hundreds of banks which ultimately get involved in the TARP fund applications.

Jon C. Ogg
October 27, 2008

Posted in Banking, Economy, Financial Stocks Tagged: FITB, HBAN, KEY, NTRS, WFSL

24/7 Wall St. » WFSL

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AONE, ACM, ALXN, AEP, LFC, CLNE, COP, CVA, CREE, ENOC, FXCM, IRM, MET, NYX, PCLN, SD, LEDS, VLO, WFSL)

Second Line Banks Line Up For TARP Bailout Money (FITB, HBAN, KEY, NTRS, WFSL)