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Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BRK-A, KO, CCU, DD, EMC, EOG, GDI, AWAY, JBHT, KLAC, NTAP, PG, SBUX, HOT, TSRA, TXN, WTW, YUM)

Administrator — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:57:04 +0000

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

AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM) Reiterated Buy with $33 target at Argus.
American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) Raised to Market Perform at KBW.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) Raised to Buy with $31 target at Argus.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Maintained Buy but cut target to $140 at Argus.
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE: PPG) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
StanCorp Financial Group (NYSE: SFG) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) Raised to Hold at Citigroup.

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: AWAY, BRK-A, CCU, DD, EMC, EOG, GDI, HOT, JBHT, KLAC, KO, NTAP, PG, SBUX, TSRA, TXN, WTW, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (BRK-A, KO, CCU, DD, EMC, EOG, GDI, AWAY, JBHT, KLAC, NTAP, PG, SBUX, HOT, TSRA, TXN, WTW, YUM)

Administrator — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:09:21 +0000

You already know about the S&P U.S. credit rating downgrade, but these are some of the top equity analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Monday morning.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (NYSE: CCU) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
E.I. DuPont de Nemours (NYSE: DD) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE: GDI) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks.
HomeAway, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWAY) Started as Hold at Stifel Nicolaus; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Cut to Neutral at Robert W. Baird.
KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) Raised to Buy at Auriga.
Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
Tessera Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRA) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) Started as Overweight with $80 target at Credit Suisse.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

You can also see the top analyst calls of last week here, which have a much longer-term impact rather than just a day or two. Stocks noted: BAC, BRCD, DNDN, DG, LNKD, HK, POT, RSH, SNDK, SYMC, MCD, TEVA, TA, WMT, and YHOO.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AWAY, BRK-A, CCU, DD, EMC, EOG, GDI, HOT, JBHT, KLAC, KO, NTAP, PG, SBUX, TSRA, TXN, WTW, YUM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (APD, AIXG, BRCD, CLF, JDSU, MCO, PEP, SPWRA, VOD, WTW)

Administrator — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:24:55 +0000

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

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Aixtron AG (NASDAQ: AIXG) Started as Sell at Citigroup.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) Raised to Buy at Wunderlich; Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) Raised to Buy at S&P Equity Research (late-Thursday call).
JDS Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ: JDSU) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) Raised to Outperform at the Bull of the Day at Zacks.
PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) Cut to Neutral with $69 target at Credit Suisse.
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA) Raised to Buy at Jefferies; Maintained Neutral but Raised target to $20 at Credit Suisse.
Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD) Raised to Hold at RBS.
Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) Raised to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.

You can 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: AIXG, APD, BRCD, CLF, JDSU, MCO, PEP, SPWRA, VOD, WTW

October’s Largest Buybacks (PPG, OKE, CY, EBAY, WTW, EMC, KO, VAL, WAG, IRM, FDO, CVX)

Administrator — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:37:15 +0000

Despite the rise of the stock market, many companies are continuing to repurchase their shares in the open market. Many investors prefer dividends over buybacks, but asking which is a better reward for shareholders depends solely upon whom you ask. While these are not all of the buybacks throughout October, we have tracked some key buybacks from the likes of PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG), ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE), Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), Valspar Corporation (NYSE: VAL), Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO), and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX).

We have offered color on each with applicable data on how each compares to size and volume, along with other statistical reference.

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE: PPG) approved an additional 10 million shares of outstanding common stock, effective immediately and without an expiration. Back in December 2009, PPG authorized 5 million shares in a buyback and approximately 3.1 million shares of that plan are still available for repurchase. Average volume here is 1.2 million shares and the market cap is $12.65 billion. This is large in dollar terms, but not a massive game-changer on its float if it buys shares back at roughly the same rate it has. At $76.60, the 52-week range is $55.89 to $77.95.

Natural gas distributor ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) has approved $750 million over a three year period. The market cap here is $5.33 billion and with shares at $50.05 the 52-week trading range is $29.56 to $50.85. This buyback is large in size and large in scope as the current share price would retire 14% of the stock based on today’s prices and the buyback represents over 22 days worth of trading volume.

Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY) may have found an alternative to M&A. After announcing a buyback plan of up to $600 million, the market cap today is only about $2.15 billion. At $13.35, the 52-week trading range is $8.05 to $13.89. This won’t happen overnight as the cash and equivalents on the books come in at about $279 million.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) rose after earnings, but the buyback and leveraging of the books may have contributed more than anything here along with $300 million spent buying back stock in the last quarter. eBay said that the company authorized up to $2 billion for additional share buybacks. It also authorized a commercial paper program of up to $1 billion and has approved the sale of up to $1.5 billion in term-debt financing under an existing shelf registration.

Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE: WTW) approved a buyback plan of up to $250 million, which is a combination and add-on to a prior share buyback plan. This represents 10% of the implied shares that could be bought back and at current prices it represents almost 29-days worth of volume.

Filed under: Dividend, Stock Buybacks Tagged: CVX, CY, EBAY, EMC, FDO, IRM, KO, OKE, PPG, VAL, WAG, WTW

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (CMG, FLR, MSO, MU, SNH, SSS, VIA.B, WTW, WFMI)

247wallst — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:36:15 +0000

These are not the only calls out there from analysts, but these are the top analyst calls that 247WallSt.com is looking at this Friday morning:

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.
Fluor (NYSE: FLR) raised to Buy at UBS.
Martha Stewart (NYSE: MSO) started as Outperform at RBC Capital.
Micron Tech (NYSE: MU) initiated as Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Senior Housing (NYSE: SNH) raised to Buy at UBS.
Sovereign Self Storage (NYSE: SSS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Viacom (NYSE: VIA.B) raised to Buy at UBS.
Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW) raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) downgraded to Underweight at Lehman.

Jon C. Ogg
February 15, 2008

52-Week Low Club (AMLN, CYMI, NTCH, KEYN, MMA, NATI, STE, WTW)

247wallst — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:53:09 +0000

There was a much larger list of companies which hit 52-week lows, but these were some of the larger percentage changes that we looked at:

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN) closed at $29.34 versus a prior 52-week low of $29.73 (high $53.25). Poor future outlook and inflated costs…. stock starting to look like the "Amylin-ville Horror."
Cymer Inc. (CYMI) down 20% to $27.00, prior 52-week range was $31.25 to $45.16. Cymer was downgraded after missing earnings yesterday.
Hutchinson Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: HTCH) fell 33% to $16.18; prior 52-week range was $17.69 to $27.85. Low sales projections and downgrades from Caris and Brean Murray.
Keynote Systems Inc. (KEYN) tanked 28% to $9.20 versus prior 52-week trading range of $10.35 to $17.35. A Bad note of losses and downgrades.
Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC (NYSE: MMA) down 22% to $7.13, versus prior 52-week range of $9.05 to $32.20. Woes continue, stock heading to pink sheets/OTC.
National Instruments Corp. (NASDAQ: NATI) fell almost 10% to $26.23, but intraday lows were $24.88; 52-week trading range $25.80 to $36.06. Citi downgraded after Q1 earnings outlook looked short.
Steris Corp. (NYSE: STE) fell 14% to $23.48; prior 52-week range $24.65 to $31.71. It is involved in the development, manufacture, and marketing of infection prevention, contamination control, microbial reduction, and surgical and critical care support products and services. For a nearly-recession proof business, you wonder why its outlook wasn’t in-line.
Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW) fell 2.2% today to $41.94, although its intraday low was $41.49; prior 52-week trading range was $41.52 to $58.24. No real news today, maybe losing weight equals losing share prices? We doubt it. This may be economically sensitive even if this is one of the few ongoing methods of weight loss that will actually work.

Jon C. Ogg
January 30, 2008

Cramer’s #1 Buybacks=Buyouts Pick (WTW)

247wallst — Mon, 07 May 2007 17:51:22 +0000

Cramer has a new method for predicting takeovers. Four of the fourteen largest buybacks have either been taken over or have agreed to be taken over in the last few months. Cramer thinks the other 10 are great buyback targets as well. Cramer has 3 picks out of these 10. His #3 pick was United Stationers (USTR-NASDAQ) and his #2 pick was Brinks (BCO-NYSE). He also said that he is only focusing on buyout candidates that he thinks are good all on their own.

The #1 pick from Cramer in buybacks is Weight Watchers (WTW-NYSE). I hate to tout any ex-picks here but this was one of my buyout picks last summer when the shares were sliding and sliding because of a potential leveraging effect and what would probably a better diet and nutrition plan than others.

Jon C. Ogg
May 7, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in any of the companies he covers.