In a new report just out, the analysts at Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) have an outstanding list of small cap stocks to buy that you may want to consider. We screened their report for the top picks by sector, with the highest percentage upside to their price target.

Consumer: Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: PNK) tops the list in this sector. It has casinos and other resorts located throughout the United States, and the stock was up more than 7% on Friday. Deutsche Bank upgrades the stock from Hold to Buy, with a $23 price target. The Thomson/First Call estimate is $17.

Airlines: SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW) tops the small cap airline stocks to buy. Operating regional flights for most of the major carriers has led to strong earnings. The Deutsche Bank price target is $20, while the Wall St. consensus target is much lower at $14.50.

Health care: Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) is the hands down top pick. Due to anticipated strong results from three new drugs in phase II studies, revenues are primed to grow dramatically over the next two years. The target price for the stock is $15. The Wall St. consensus price target is slightly lower at $14.50.

Energy: Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD) makes the Deutsche Bank list of top names to buy. Providing ultra-deepwater drilling services around the world on a contract basis, Pacific Drilling has been the benefactor of extremely high day rates. The price target for the stock is $13, and the consensus estimate is at $12.

Financials: Ellington Financial LLC (NYSE: EFC) makes the cut. Specializing in mortgage-backed bonds, Ellington Financial recently committed $140 million in capital to buy rental homes. The Deutsche Bank price target for the stock is $27. The consensus estimate is very close at $26.97. Investors receive a large 12% yield.

Technology: Ixia (NASDAQ: XXIA) is the top stock to buy here. Ixia provides converged Internet protocol (IP) network validation and network visibility solutions in the United States and internationally. The price target for the stock is $24. The consensus is the same at $24.

Typically, small cap stocks are pretty far off the financial media radar. It is no stretch that some readers are not familiar with the Deutsche Bank top stocks to buy, as this is where solid research comes in handy. Investors that add an allocation of small caps to their portfolios in front of an improving economy may just be in for some solid gains.

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Cut to Sell from Underperform at Credit Agricole.

Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) Started as Neutral at UBS.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo; called “a stock to avoid on more ‘off balance sheet’ debt and ‘Founders Well’ issues” by Argus.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) Started as Buy at Stern Agee.

Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ: EZPW) Cut to Underperform at Stern Agee.

Gran Tierra Energy, Inc. (AMEX: GTE) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Ixia (NASDAQ: XXIA) Raised to Buy at Wunderlich.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LL) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) Raised to Outperform at Cowen.

Nexen Inc. (NYSE: NXY) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) Raised to Buy at UBS.

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA) Started as Overweight at Barclays.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer; downgrades and price target and estimates have been cut at multiple boutique firms.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; downgraded or estimate and price targets cut at several other boutique firms.

Syntroleum Corporation (NASDAQ: SYNM) Started as Market Outperform with $1.80 price target at JMP Securities.

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.

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JON C. OGG

The current picks are Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ), Dana Holding Corporation (NYSE: DAN), Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX), Ixia (NASDAQ: XXIA), and Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL).  Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is not on the list after it was removed as the only repeat stock of the prior quarter on the list.  We would note that Gabelli is generally much higher than the consensus analyst targets from Thomson Reuters and Gabelli’s FOCUS FIVE upside targets range from gains of 34.5% to as much as 63%.

In the FOCUS FIVE list, Gabelli often looks for what would be considered special situations, or undervalued opportunities based upon not-yet finalized information.  Some are very speculative in nature, while some are not so speculative.  In most cases, many investors follow the Gabelli team because they are often looking for mergers and acquisitions or some other special situation that the market may still be discounting.

We have included price information, a summary of the call, shown the 2011 earnings estimates, and shown the Gabelli “private market value.”  We also gave upside price targets comparisons for the Gabelli target versus a Thomson Reuters consensus price objective target as well as what the “PMV” has for upside. 

Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) is at $21.43 and Gabelli wants to know if China will restart its nuclear efforts.  The uranium producer is said to be on track to double its uranium production to 40mm pounds by 2018.  A focus on China is here because it may restart issuing new nuclear reactor licenses after having suspended them in the wake of the Fukushima, Japan incident. 

Gabelli believes that China will likely start giving out new licenses in late 2011 to early 2012.  Gabelli sees $1.20 EPS in 2011 and has a private market value of $35.00 for Cameco.  As this is a higher-risk scenario, Gabelli’s implied upside is over 63%.

Dana Holding Corporation (NYSE: DAN) is at $14.14 and Gabelli noted the recent quarterly earnings showed sequential improvement in the Commercial Driveline segment with 60bps of sequential margin expansion, despite commodity headwinds. Gabelli also noted 12% EBITDA margin within the segment.  Another focus was Dana’s “optimal position to benefit from a global light and commercial vehicle growth” and it concluded that management has a strategy to “continue improving internal operations and enhancing margins.” 

The Gabelli private market value is $23.00 for Dana, a bit higher than the $21.31 consensus target provided by Thomson Reuters. If Gabelli’s target gets hit then there is 58.5% upside in Dana.

AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) hit a new low today on no direct news from a 52-week range of $22.06 to $39.42.  Shares were down over 7% late in the day at $20.91.  Hmm.. products, services, and maintenance to the airlines.  Go figure.

Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc (NYSE: AVR) down to a new low despite an upgrade by Broadpoint Capital. Ethanol stocks have dipped this month after a report that corn-supplies will be tight this year. Hit a new low of $4.22 late in the day from a 52-week range of $4.39 to $20.85.

Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX: LNG) down today on a downgrade by Lehman Brothers yesterday, despite announcements that its LNG terminal in Louisiana will begin to receive shipments on August 12. Shares down over $2.00 to new low of $16.17 off a 52-week range of $18.40 to $43.50.  This huge drop almost seems counterintuitive with sub-projects coming online and with energy prices in the stratosphere, but that downgrade from Lehman yesterday is ruling the roost.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) down to lowest points since 2004. Thursday, a Bernstein analyst estimated that third-quarter earnings could be lower than previously expected. Shares hit as low as $55.16 earlier today on a 52-week range of $55.37 to $69.36.  Maybe the public realized how bad bleach is for the water supply.

Cintas Corp. (NASDAQ: CTAS) dropped to a new low after a downgrade by Lehman Brothers. Shares hit a new low of $27.35 before recovering late in the day on a 52-week range of $27.41 to $41.04.  Uniform sales… what gets cut as employees get fired and as businesses trim expenses? Oh yeah, uniforms.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) fell along with the market today with the other computer companies. They just happened to hit a new low. They dropped to $18.44 on a 52-week range of $18.53 to $ 30.77.  The good news is that late in the day shares were back above the prior low.  The bad news is that nothing is going its direction.

Ixia (NASDAQ: XXIA) taking a hit from downgrades by JMP Securities and Ferris Baker Watts. They also cut their own guidance for first quarter estimates. It hit a new low of $6.30 off a 52-week range of $6.51 to $10.70.

LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET) down to a new low of $5.70 today. Apparently good hospitality isn’t enough keep the shareholders comfortable. The 52-week range is $5.90 to $38.11.  As people cut back, maybe those in-hotel movies are easier to cut spending on.

Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST) hit a new low today with a 52-week range of $23.00 to $50.28. It shouldn’t be out of a job anytime soon but if it is, it will know where to look.  Shares down almost 4% at $22.20 late in the day.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) taking a hit in the wake of Frontier Airlines bankruptcy scare. Hit a new low of $8.22 on a 52-week range of $8.43 to $20.34.  Stock edged back above that $8.50 level in last 20 minutes today.

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (NASDAQ: SSCC) dipped to a new low off a 52-week range of $6.65 to $14.08.  Shares were at $6.35 in the last 20 minutes today, down almost 8%.  paperboard and packaging… what gets cut when stuff stops selling stores?  Oh yeah, the packaging.

Jon C. Ogg
April 11, 2008