StockMarketNews

Monday, July 31, 2006

Breaking News:



SanDisk agreed to buy msystems for $1.55 billion in stock in the latest sign of consolidation in the flash-memory sector. - WSJ



AOL plans an Internet video portal featuring content from both users and cable networks. - WSJ



Two California defense outfits are for sale. Northrop's navigation systems unit could go for up to $1 billion and Wyle Laboratories for under $400 million. - WSJ



Vitamin retailer GNC late Friday said it plans to offer 23.5 million shares at a range of $16-$18 in a bid to raise about $400 million in its upcoming initial public offering. GNC plans to trade under the symbol "GNC" on the New York Stock Exchange. Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and UBS are underwriting the IPO for the retailer. Private equity firm Apollo Management runs a fund that is the principal stockholder of the Pittsburgh company. - MarketWatch



Upgrades/Downgrades by Sector:



Advertising:


  • TFSM 24/7 Media Piper Jaffray Upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform $10 to $11

Aluminum Mining:


  • CENX Century Aluminum Morgan Stanley Downgraded from Overweight to Underweight

Biotech:


  • BTRX Barrier Therapeutics Roth Capital Upgraded from Hold to Buy $10

Business Services:


  • CDI CDI Corp Matrix Research Upgraded from Sell to Hold
  • VOL Volt Information Sciences Matrix Research Upgraded from Sell to Hold

Computer Hardware:


  • AAPL Apple Computer Banc of America Sec Upgraded from Neutral to Buy
  • SNDK SanDisk CIBC Wrld Mkts Upgraded from Sector Per to Sector Outper $60
  • RNOW Rightnow Tech Robert W. Baird Upgraded from Neutral to Outperform $17

Computer Software:


  • INTU Intuit First Analysis Sec Downgraded from Overweight to Equal-Weight
  • SPSN Spansion UBS Initiated at Buy $20
  • WITS Witness Systems CE Unterberg Towbin Upgraded from Market Perform to Buy $19

Construction:


  • EXP Eagle Materials BB&T Capital Mkts Downgraded from Buy to Hold
  • INSU Insituform Tech Morgan Joseph Upgraded from Hold to Buy $27
  • JEC upgraded to Buy from Neutral, target $93 at Goldman Sachs

Financial:


  • SLM SLM Corp Prudential Initiated at Overweight $60

Gaming Operations:


  • PENN Penn Natl Gaming Matrix Research Upgraded from Hold to Buy

Healthcare Equipment:


  • ME Mariner Energy Goldman Sachs Initiated at Buy

Insurance:


  • SFG StanCorp Fin Morgan Stanley Upgraded from Equal-weight to Overweight
  • WCG WellCare Group Goldman Sachs Downgraded from Buy to Neutral $53

Manufacturing:


  • SPSX Superior Essex UBS Price Target raised Buy $40 to $44

Motor Vehicles:


  • LEA Lear Citigroup Upgraded from Sell to Hold
  • LEA Lear Credit Suisse Downgraded from Outperform to Neutral $28 to $24

Non-Ferrous Metals Mining:


  • PD Phelps Dodge Prudential Upgraded from Underweight to Overweight $60 to $110

Oil and Gas:


  • Jefferies Top Picks include HOS, GSF, NE, RIG, and DO;
  • Goldman Top Picks include HAL, NOV, DO, SLB, and WFT;
  • BBG Bill Barrett Goldman Sachs Downgraded from Buy to Neutral
  • CVX Chevron JP Morgan Downgraded from Overweight to Neutral
  • RRC Range Resources First Albany Upgraded from Buy to Strong Buy

Publishing:


  • PRST Presstek Matrix Research Upgraded from Sell to Hold

Regional Banks:


  • VLY Valley National Ryan, Beck & Co Downgraded from Mkt Perform to Underperform $25

REITs:


  • EQ Embarq JP Morgan Upgraded from Underweight to Neutral

Retail Trade:


  • PSUN Pacific Sunwear BB&T Capital Mkts Downgraded from Buy to Hold

Semiconductors:


  • RMBS Rambus BWS Financial Upgraded from Hold to Buy $20 to $22
  • SPIL Siliconware Precision Goldman Sachs Upgraded from Neutral to Buy

Steel and Iron Mining:


  • CRS Carpenter Tech KeyBanc Capital Mkts Upgraded from Hold to Buy $115

Telecommunications:


  • ARRS Arris Matrix Research Upgraded from Buy to Strong Buy
  • KVHI KVH Industries Cowen & Co Upgraded from Neutral to Outperform
  • NT Nortel Robert W. Baird Downgraded from Outperform to Neutral $3 to $2

Tobacco:


  • ITY Imperial Tobacco UBS Downgraded from Buy to Neutral

Utilities:


  • AYE Allegheny Energy Credit Suisse Downgraded from Outperform to Neutral $41 to $44


Fiancial Blogs
Penny Stocks page

Friday, July 21, 2006

Upgrades/Downgrades by sector:



Foods:


  • HSY - price target raised to $62 at STFL


IT / Tech:


  • BRCM - target down $20 to $33 at Jefferies
  • CIBC says that YHOO is not as attractive as GOOG at present levels
  • INTU - initiated with a buy at Smith-Barney


Biotech:


  • GILD - Piper believes this is a buying opportunity
  • AMGN - CIBC would be buyers at these levels


Aerospace


  • ORB Orbital Sciences Kaufman Bros Price Target raised Hold $16 to $18


Business Services


  • DTAS Digitas Matrix Research Upgraded from Hold to Strong Buy
  • EFX Equifax Keefe Bruyette Upgraded from Mkt Perform to Outperform
  • XPRT LECG Corp Matrix Research Downgraded from Buy to Hold


Computer Hardware


  • AVID Avid Tech Roth Capital Downgraded from Buy to Hold $50 to $41
  • FFIV downgraded to Accumulate from Buy, target $53 at THNK
  • FFIV F5 Networks Kaufman Bros Downgraded from Buy to Hold
  • TER Teradyne AG Edwards Downgraded from Buy to Hold


Computer Services


  • NTES Netease.com JP Morgan Downgraded from Overweight to Neutral $25


Computer Software


  • COGN Cognos ICAP Upgraded from Sell to Buy $25 to $35
  • CTXS Citrix Systems Goldman Sachs Upgraded from Neutral to Buy $40
  • HYSL Hyperion Solutions Credit Suisse Downgraded from Outperform to Neutral
  • HYSL Hyperion Solutions Roth Capital Upgraded from Hold to Buy $36 to $38
  • INFA Informatica Goldman Sachs Upgraded from Sell to Neutral $12.50
  • INFA Informatica Maxim Group Upgraded from Hold to Buy $16
  • YHOO Yahoo! Matrix Research Upgraded from Hold to Buy


Healthcare


  • AMSG AmSurg Deutsche Securities Upgraded from Sell to Hold $21
  • NOVA Novamed Deutsche Securities Upgraded from Hold to Buy
  • AMLN Amylin Pharms Lehman Brothers Downgraded from Overweight to Equal-weight


Homebuilders


  • MDC MDC Holdings JMP Securities Downgraded from Mkt Perform to Mkt Underper $35


Household Goods


  • KMB Kimberly-Clark Prudential Downgraded from Neutral to Underweight $65 to $60


Industrial Equipment


  • B Barnes Group Robert W. Baird Upgraded from Neutral to Outperform $20
  • BUCY Bucyrus Stifel Nicolaus Upgraded from Hold to Buy $56
  • IEX IDEX Corp Friedman Billings Upgraded from Mkt Perform to Outperform


Insurance


  • RLI RLI Corp Stifel Nicolaus Upgraded from Hold to Buy $45


Major Pharmaceutical


  • GTXI GTX HSBC Securities Initiated at Overweight $16


Manufacturing


  • CBE Morgan Stanley Price Target raised $97
  • SPWR Sunpower Needham & Co Upgraded from Buy to Strong Buy $36 to $48
  • SPWR Sunpower Thomas Weisel Upgraded from Peer Perform to Outperform


Motor Vehicles


  • GNTX Gentex Citigroup Upgraded from Sell to Hold


Oil and Gas


  • WFT - reiterated Buy at Jefferies with $65 price target
  • DO Diamond Offshore AG Edwards Upgraded from Hold to Buy $96


Paper and Packaging


  • CCK Crown Hldgs Citigroup Initiated at Buy
  • SLGN Silgan Holdings Citigroup Initiated at Buy $45


Personal Services


  • BFAM Bright Horiz Family Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey Upgraded from Reduce to Neutral
  • CTAS Cintas Matrix Research Upgraded from Hold to Buy


Regional Banks


  • ASBC Assoc Banc-Corp Oppenheimer Upgraded from Sell to Neutral
  • BBX BankAtlantic Bear Stearns Downgraded from Outperform to Peer Perform
  • BKMU Bank Mutual Ryan, Beck & Co Price Target raised Outperform $13 to $13.25
  • CMA Comerica Ryan, Beck & Co Price Target raised Outperform $62 to $65
  • FBC Flagstar Bancorp Oppenheimer Downgraded from Buy to Neutral
  • STBA S & T Bancorp Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey Downgraded from Buy to Neutral
  • ZION Zions Bancorp Friedman Billings Upgraded from Mkt Perform to Outperform
  • ZION Zions Bancorp Sandler O'Neill Upgraded from Hold to Buy


REITs


  • TMA Thornburg Mortg Credit Suisse Downgraded from Neutral to Underperform $26 to $23
  • TMA Thornburg Mortg Friedman Billings Downgraded from Mkt Perform to Underperform


Retail Trade


  • ACMR AC Moore Oppenheimer Downgraded from Buy to Neutral
  • SHW Sherwin-Williams JP Morgan Upgraded from Neutral to Overweight
  • UAG United Auto JP Morgan Initiated at Overweight


Savings & Loan


  • WSFS WSFS Financial Friedman Billings Upgraded from Mkt Perform to Outperform $66


Security Systems


  • JCI Johnson Controls Calyon Securities Upgraded from Neutral to Buy $78 to $90
  • JCI Johnson Controls Deutsche Securities Upgraded from Hold to Buy $90
  • JCI Johnson Controls Morgan Stanley Upgraded from Equal-weight to Overweight


Semiconductors


  • KLAC KLA-Tencor Merriman Curhan Ford Downgraded from Buy to Neutral
  • LTXX LTX Corp Merriman Curhan Ford Downgraded from Buy to Neutral
  • SWKS Skyworks Charter Equity Downgraded from Mkt Perform to Mkt Underper
  • SWKS Skyworks Piper Jaffray Downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform $8 to $5
  • UTEK Ultratech Brean Murray Downgraded from Accumulate to Hold $22 to $16.50
  • UTEK Ultratech JP Morgan Upgraded from Underweight to Neutral


Steel and Iron Mining


  • RS Reliance Steel CIBC Wrld Mkts Upgraded from Sector Perform to Sector Outperform


Telecommunications


  • CELL Brightpoint Deutsche Securities Upgraded from Hold to Buy $20 to $17.50


Utilities


  • AYE Allegheny Energy AG Edwards Upgraded from Hold to Buy $45


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Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Upgrades/Downgrades and News by Sector:



IT / Tech & Communications:


  • Semiconductors: expect choppy Q2, valuations priding in weakness@GSCO The firm expects upward revisions from FORM, LLTC, & MCHP. Expects downward revisions from INTC, TXN, SNDK, AMAT, MXIM, MRCL, & MPWR.
    TWPT believes GOOG's "Broad Match" rule set introduced during the quarter will drive price increases for its auction based keywords. The broker raised their Q2 revenue estimate to $1.68B from $1.62B.
  • WBSN - price target lowered to $27 at SOLE and $23 at JMPS
  • KRON - price target lowered to $32 at Jefferies

  • Computer Hardware AAPL Apple Computer JMP Securities Initiated at Strong Buy $70
  • Computer Hardware TTMI TTM Tech Thomas Weisel Downgraded from Outperform » Peer Perform

  • Computer Software SABA Saba Software Maxim Group Initiated at Buy $9

  • Semiconductors GNSS Genesis Microchip Matrix Research Upgraded from Hold » Buy
  • Semiconductors TWB Tween Brands RBC Capital Mkts Initiated at Outperform $45

  • Telecommunications BLS BellSouth AG Edwards Downgraded from Hold » Sell
  • Telecommunications LU Lucent Citigroup Upgraded from Hold » Buy
  • Telecommunications LU Lucent Robert W. Baird Downgraded from Outperform » Neutral $4 » $3
  • Telecommunications VOD Vodafone PLC UBS Downgraded from Buy » Neutral

Oil / Gas


  • Lehman Brothers reshuffled its ratings in the integrated oil and gas sector after recalculating oil companies' net asset values based on a long-term oil price of $50 a barrel. Lehman Brothers upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR) to equal weight from underweight, saying the shares are trading only slightly above NAV, which it said did not take account of the company's "superior growth prospects." Lehman Brothers also downgraded Hess Corp (HES) to underweight from equal weight and Murphy Oil Corp (MUR) to equal weight from overweight, citing valuation under its new NAV calculations. - DJN
  • HES Hess Lehman Brothers Downgraded from Equal-weight » Underweight
  • HOFF Horizon Offshore Oppenheimer Initiated at Buy $36
  • MUR Murphy Oil Lehman Brothers Downgraded from Overweight » Equal-weight
  • PBR Petrobras Brasileiro Lehman Brothers Upgraded from Underweight » Equal-weight
  • STP Suntech Power HSBC Securities Initiated at Overweight $43

REITS:


  • Deutsche Bank upgraded apartment real estate investment trusts AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB), Apartment Investment and Management Co. (AIV), BRE Properties Inc. (BRE) and Camden Property Trust (CPT) to buy from hold. Deutsche Bank said it believes the rent these companies can charge tenants will grow by about 1% more than it previously expected. "There is not a huge amount of absolute upside to our target prices. But we do like the relative return of the apartments compared to the real estate investment trust sector overall," Deutsche Bank said. - DJN
    AVB AvalonBay Deutsche Securities Upgraded from Hold » Buy $108 » $122
    CPT Camden Property Deutsche Securities Upgraded from Hold » Buy $70 » $84
    PNP Pan Pac Rtl Prop AG Edwards Downgraded from Hold » Sell

Transportation:


  • Merrill Lynch downgraded airline operators Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL), US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) and AMR Corp. (AMR), the parent of American Airlines, to neutral from buy, citing valuation. Merrill Lynch said second-quarter results for the airline industry are expected to be strong, and the third quarter could be even better. "Some of the stocks in our universe have responded to the improving fundamental backdrop with a doubling - even a tripling - in share price over the past nine months," said the broker. "But airline stocks are fickle creatures with plenty of downside risk, furthermore, some valuations are now approaching the upper half of their trading range." - DJN

Industrial Manufacturing:


  • APD added to Americas Buy List on valuation, Buy at GSCO
    Industrials: GLYT, HUBB and TNB well positioned for Q2 upside@CIBC CIBC is cautious on ROP and GWW going into Q2 results given both companies' short cycle exposure.

Financial Services:


  • Financial Services: Valuations attractive for group, top ideas listed@BARD Robert W. Baird's survey of 36 financial institutions suggested the demand environment was solid and they continue to recommend the group. They consider Fiserv (FISV), Fidelity (FIS) and Open Solutions (OPEN) as their top ideas.

Apparel:


  • LIZ Liz Claiborne Prudential Downgraded from Neutral » Underweight $40 » $33

Broadcasting:


  • EMMS Emmis Comms Stanford Research Upgraded from Sell » Hold $15.25

Brokerage Services:


  • AMTD Ameritrade Banc of America Sec Upgraded from Neutral » Buy
  • NDAQ NASDAQ Piper Jaffray Initiated at Outperform $39

Business Services:


  • MINI Mobile Mini Robert W. Baird Initiated at Outperform $36
  • SUMT SumTotal Maxim Group Initiated at Buy $10

Healthcare:


  • HCA - downgraded to Neutral at Oppenheimer
  • GPRO Gen-Probe Piper Jaffray Price Target raised Outperform $62 » $64
  • HORC Horizon Health Matrix Research Upgraded from Sell » Hold
  • CGPI CollaGenex Pharm BMO Nesbitt Burns Initiated at Outperform $19
  • CHTT Chattem JP Morgan Upgraded from Neutral » Overweight
  • CNCT Connetics RBC Capital Mkts Upgraded from Sector Perform » Outperform $16 » $10
  • GILD Gilead Sciences Piper Jaffray Price Target raised Outperform $70 » $75
  • KOSP KOS Pharma BMO Nesbitt Burns Initiated at Outperform $49
  • NSTK Nastech Pharm BMO Nesbitt Burns Initiated at Outperform $19
  • PPCO Penwest Pharma BMO Nesbitt Burns Initiated at Outperform $27
  • SEPR Sepracor BMO Nesbitt Burns Initiated at Outperform $65
  • VRGY Verigy Needham & Co Initiated at Buy $23

Heavy Machinery :


  • PCP Precision Castparts Matrix Research Downgraded from Strong Buy » Buy

Insurance:


  • CPS ChoicePoint Credit Suisse Downgraded from Outperform » Neutral $52 » $40
  • CPS ChoicePoint JMP Securities Downgraded from Mkt Outperform » Mkt Perform

Manufacturing


  • ROP Roper Inds Lehman Brothers Initiated at Overweight

Real Estate:


  • AIV Apt Inv & Mgt Deutsche Securities Upgraded from Hold » Buy $42 » $52

Regional Banks:


  • ZION Zions Bancorp Friedman Billings Initiated at Mkt Perform $85

Rental Services:


  • WLSC Williams Scotsman First Albany Initiated at Buy $26

Restaurants:


  • OSI Outback Steakhouse Jefferies & Co Upgraded from Underperform » Hold $35

Retail:


  • Retail Trade ANF Abercrombie RBC Capital Mkts Initiated at Outperform $73
  • Retail Trade ARO Aeropostale Matrix Research Downgraded from Hold » Sell
  • Retail Trade ARO Aeropostale RBC Capital Mkts Initiated at Top Pick $37
  • Retail Trade CSH Cash America Roth Capital Upgraded from Hold » Buy $38
  • Retail Trade FLWS 1-800-FLOWERS Goldman Sachs Upgraded from Sell » Neutral
  • Retail Trade KSS Kohl's Prudential Initiated at Overweight $71
  • Retail Trade LTD Limited RBC Capital Mkts Initiated at Outperform $31
  • Retail Trade TJX TJX Cos Matrix Research Downgraded from Hold » Sell

Savings & Loan:


  • UPFC Utd PanAm Fincl Matrix Research Upgraded from Sell » Hold

Utilities:


  • TE TECO Energy Credit Suisse Upgraded from Neutral » Outperform $17


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