Deutsche Bank is out with its report today on Medicis Pharmaceutical (NYSE: MRX), raising its price target from $35 to $36.

In a note to clients, Deutsche Bank writes, "We are updating our model based on trends for currently marketed products and the discontinuation of LipoSonix and Plexion. We are modestly lowering our EPS ests from $2.53 to $2.51 in 2011, $2.85 to $2.80 in 2012, and $3.19 to $3.14 in 2013. Our new 12-month PT is $36, based on 13x our new 2012 EPS est. Potential risks to our PT being achieved principally relate to the aesthetic franchises and Rx trends for Solodyn and Ziana."


Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/11/02/889975/update-deutsche-bank-raises-pt-on-medicis-pharmaceutical-#ixzz1FGmXw0Qd

Piper Jaffray is upgrading Medicis (NYSE: MRX) to Overweight from Neutral and raising the PT to $38. With Friday's settlement with Teva on the Solodyn generic litigation, with Teva not launching its generics on the 65 and 115 mg doses until February 2018 and on the 55, 80 and 105 mg doses until February 2019, Piper now has more confidence that cash flows from MRX's flagship product are sustainable.

With the greater clarity on Solodyn, plus net cash approaching $800M by year-end, and greater visibility on the pipeline, Piper believes that the potential for significant value creation potential as 2011 progresses is considerable.

Beyond Revance's topical botulinum toxin RT001, which Piper believes could be a significant long-term driver, MRX had not provided much visibility on its pipeline. On Friday however, it noted that it has 6 Phase II/III-stage products in dermatology and/or aesthetics, and conceded that NDA filings in 2011 are possible. Further, MRX remains highly active on the business development front, and suggested that it is exploring the addition of commercial-stage assets.


Source: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/11/02/890157/piper-jaffray-upgrades-medicis-pharmaceutical-to-overweig#ixzz1FGl0QouU

KBW is out with its report today on Ocwen Financial (NYSE: OCN), commenting on its Q4 10 earnings.

In a note to clients, KBW writes, "Operating EPS of $0.21 was down from $0.23 in 3Q. Management highlighted the opportunity for flow business and the creation of a new company that should allow Ocwen to operate with far less capital, which we believe would be a positive for Ocwen. We reduce our 2011 EPS estimate to $1.28 and introduce our 2012 EPS estimate of $1.44. Maintain OP."


Source: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/11/02/890158/kbw-comments-on-ocwen-financials-q4-10-earnings-ocn#ixzz1FGkKM3YF

Piper Jaffray believes Youku (NASDAQ: YOKU) will report 5% upside to Street revenue expectations for Q4, but we believe valuation remains fair considering the growth potential alongside concerns around content costs and competition. While Piper remains Neutral, it notes that video advertising at competitors in China has been growing healthily and it expects Youku as the market leader to also benefit. Piper notes that a license granted the company last week could enable it to gain a foothold in video search that could potentially help traffic sourcing.

A generally overlooked part of Youku's business is its video search engine Soku, which returns results from various video providers in China. Piper notes the company obtained a license enabling it to continue developing the beta search engine. Piper believes that if they create a compelling video search product there is significant traffic they could control as Baidu's Video Search product has roughly 73 million unique users and 1 billion queries in December 2010.


Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/11/02/890291/piper-jaffray-gives-earnings-preview-on-youku-sees-upside#ixzz1FGhTmktZ

KBW is out with its report today on St. Joe's Company (NYSE: JOE), maintaining Outperform.

In a note to clients, KBW writes, "JOE is scheduled now to report Q4 earnings after the close Tuesday, March 1st. The focus will be less on EPS number, which is expected to be negative, but more on strategic initiatives, the recent Board changes, and public dialogue with Fairholme (JOE's largest investor). Record date for shareholder vote is March 18th. Maintain Outperform."


Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/11/02/890176/kbw-maintains-outperform-on-st-joe-company-joe#ixzz1FGglT100

This is an interesting article that touches on EWZ - specifically about it in relation to the other BRICs.

"Investing in the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China) has been hot again, particularly with Brazil and China leading the way. ETFs like iShares MSCI Brazil Index ETF (NYSE: EWZ), iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index ETF (NYSE: FXI) and PowerShares India Portfolio (NYSE: PIN) have done extremely well this year, as money continues to move into these countries."

http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/10/11/568448/an-undervalued-bric-etf

bobbytx1: there is a rumor out that Allianz will acquire HIG at $32/share

source

hmm..there's another takeover rumor out

"Unconfirmed Rumor that United States Steel Corp. (X) is in negotiations to be taken over at $70.00 by Thyssenkrupp."

source

Who set that PT? The median Wall Street PT for RIMM is $65

I think $50 is a very high target for RIMM. There's just something wrong with the stock..some experts recommend shorting

"Traders should consider shorting RIMM on account of the weakness in the stock and the very real questions about the viability of the company's long term business plan."

Source

There seems to be another takeover rumor on benzinga.com this time suggesting that Wynn might be taken over by Boyd at $15. Any opinions?

ya I think it is interesting to see what happens. they have a lot of cash so I'm sure they'll spend it on something

"A former IBM (NYSE: IBM) executive has been sentenced to 6 months in prison for his role in the Galleon insider trading case."

source

there are specualtions that MSFT may be looking to acquire NOK aftert the recent CEO change. I personally don't think that is gonna happen, but who knows..

Source

yeah, up 10 %

here's the latest rumor I found:

"Corinthian Colleges Inc. (COCO) Ackman has reportedly amassed large stake in COCO more than 10%...Looking to take private at $8.00/share."

source

"Casey's General Stores Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) rejected the $38.50 a share offer by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (USA) (OTC: ANCUF) on Tuesday, citing a higher bid."


Source

I'm sorry I forgot to post the link to the Source

Here's a rumor that was published earlier today. What do you think?


"Unconfirmed Rumors that PharMerica Corporation (PMC) will be Taken over by (WAG) at $16.00..Neither company could be reached for comment.(WAG) (PMC).."

source

I haven't heard any relevant news lately.

Weeden downgraded them to Sell today though

Jefferies thinks Cogent acquisition will help 3M :

"Jefferies & Company is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Buy rating on 3M (NYSE: MMM); it has a $110 price target on the stock.

The Jefferies analysts cited the company’s recent announcement that it would purchase Cogent Inc. (NASDAQ: COGT) for $10.50 per share, which values Cogent at roughly 6.7x consensus 2011 EBITDA (after synergies) and 2.6x 2011 sales."

source: Source

You're welcome. I wouldn't necessarily be surprised to see another acquisition in the middle of this m&a mania.

Now, I don't know if this is true but there is a rumor CSCO is after NTAP at $60/share.

Source

I was trying to figure out the reasons for that too and was hoping to get more input from the advfn users.

Lowes CFO sold over 20,000 shares yesterday..

source: http://www.benzinga.com/markets/company-news/insider-trades/10/08/439265/lowes-co-inc-cfo-sells-20-265-shares-of-low

BAC CEO bought 30,000 shares at $13.02/share. I wonder if it is time to buy the stock again..

source: benzinga.com

Yeah, I think oil is very tricky right now and could go either way during the next weeks. That's why I wanted to post expert's insight instead of providing my own guesses..

It's been a bearish day in the oil markets:

"NYMEX crude futures have fallen around 1% on Monday to $73.14, as it seems the selling pressure in oil will not let up as a result of intensifying concerns over the state of the global recovery."

"...The United States Oil Fund ETF (NYSE: USO) has shed another 1.27% today..."

source: benzinga.com

I don't think so either. Standpoint Research set the PT to $18 and upgraded the rating to accumulate

source: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/10/08/438909/standpoint-research-upgrades-bank-of-america-to-accumulat

Don't know if I should trust these rumors..any opinions?

http://www.benzinga.com/markets/company-news/10/08/437498/green-mountain-coffee-roasters-inc-nasdaq-gmcr-there-is-a-rumor-th

Not much talk about SPLS here..

"International Strategy & Investment Group Inc. has a $24 price target and Buy rating on shares of Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) after the company reported earnings yesterday that were stronger than expected."

http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/10/08/437680/staples-has-24-target-at-international-strategy-investmen

There are rumors around that IBM could be looking to acquire NVDA.

source: http://www.benzinga.com/markets/company-news/10/08/436008/ibm-could-be-looking-at-nvidia

Earnings preview:

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is currently lower on the session by 1.19%, trading at $12.04. The company is scheduled to report earnings today, after the closing bell.
• Estimates
The Street is looking for Q2 earnings per share of $0.30 on revenue of $15.21 billion. These estimates have remained the same over the past 90 days. The Whisper number for DELL is $0.32.
• Guidance
The Street is looking for Q3 EPS of $0.32 on revenue of $15.49 billion. The full year 2010 estimates are $1.26 per share on revenue of $61.78 billion; FY 2011 is at $1.46 per share on revenues of $65.39 billion.
• Technical Picture
Dell is, more or less, in a five-year downtrend; over the past twelve months, the stock has drifted lower from the $14.00 level albeit with rallies along the way, some significant. Over the near-term the stock has been selling off from the $17.50 level and is currently trading below the 50-day moving average. The $12.00 is a key pivot point, with the potential for huge moves from the level either way.
• Volatility
Both historical volatility and implied volatility have been down-trending over the past three months after a spike higher in mid-May. Currently HI is at 32% and IV is at 40%. The front month $12.00 straddle is trading at 97.74%; the September $12.00 straddle is trading at 42.30%
Dell Inc. is a holding company, which conducts its business globally, through its subsidiaries. It offers a range of product categories, including mobility products, desktop personal computers, software and peripherals, servers and networking, and storage.

http://www.benzinga.com/markets/company-news/earnings/10/08/435812/earnings-preview-dell-inc-dell

X is rallying after the takeover rumors by Benzinga: http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_(A_to_Z)/Stocks_U/threadview?m=tm&bn=20234&tid=91581&mid=91581&tof=11&frt=2

I read a rumor today that KWK might be taken over by EnCana Corp

Oppenheimer lowered RIMM's PT earlier today to $58. ( http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/10/08/433687/rimm-advised-to-mind-the-gap-pt-lowered-by-oppenheimer )

I personally would not expect higher than $55 based on their past performance

Yep, just makes me wonder why he did it

"Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) President, Anthony C. Gallo, reported that he sold 49,984 shares of WFMI on August 17th for an average price of $36.92."

http://www.benzinga.com/markets/company-news/insider-trades/10/08/432287/whole-foods-market-president-sells-48-984-shares-of

Thanks, I did not write it though. I found it from that website.

Couple ideas of how to play AKAM:

• Bulls:
Buy the stock here at $43.88 and sell the November $35/50 strangle for $3.06. This gets you longer at the 200-day and short at the next resistance level. Max gain = 20.82% over the holding period (76.9% yearly gain).

• Bears

Buy the November $39/35 1x2 put spread for a net credit of $0.10. This gets you short the stock for minimal cash outlay, though does voice the opinion that the stock will not meaningfully break the 200-day moving average. Max gain = $3.90 (~3900%) at $35.00. Losses do not accrue until ~$33.00, down 23%.

source: Benzinga.com