Wall to Wall Street Coverage: Upgrades and Downgrades
Companies:Alcoa, Inc.Expedia Inc.Gold Fields Ltd.
Justin Sharon, On Tuesday April 13, 2010, 8:30 am
The gains were slim but Greek gifts and a merger Monday still sent the Dow up over 11,000 for the first time since September of '08 as volatility touched a three-year low. Palm (PALM) surged another 17.05% on takeover talk, prompting investors to offer it high fives which went unreciprocated as the firm was too busy waving a middle finger at analysts who only a month ago said shares were worthless. See also Palm Investors Banking on a Miracle. Meanwhile Tiffany (TIF) broke $50 and reached a fresh 52-week high as it held out hope (and an expensive index finger) an eight time recipient of its wedding rings was in the market for another. Alas Elizabeth, like many a tailor before her, ultimately decided a stitch in time saves nine.
Alcoa (AA) opened earnings season with a revenue miss, although at least its arithmetic is above reproach given the caliber of its audit committee. And investment manager turned author Liaquat Ahamed's liquid assets increased $10,000 by virtue of his Great Depression era history ("Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World") deservedly winning a Pulitzer Prize. Should he pen a sequel on the Great Recession, still going on as of yesterday, the cover need only be changed from this to this. On the corporate front CSX Corp (CSX), Fastenal (FAST), Intel (INTC), and Linear Technology (LLTC) all expected to report results today.
Initiations
Warnaco (WRC): Sterne Agee starts Warnaco with a Buy and assigns a $58 price target. The broker believes both international and retail will provide the fuel for growth in fiscal 2010 and beyond.
Ryanair (RYAAY): Low cost Irish carrier Ryanair is a new Neutral at HSBC.
Red Hat (RHT): UBS resumes Red Hat at a Buy.
Pharmasset (VRUS): The stock is initiated with a Overweight and $35 price objective at JP Morgan.
InterMune (ITMN): The stock is assigned the same rating with a $60 target price.
WW Grainger (GWW): GWW gets picked up at a Buy ($130 target) at Jesup & Lamont.
Upgrades
ConocoPhillips (COP): The oil stock is upgraded to Outperform from Perform with a $70 price objective at Oppenheimer, which cites an announcement that it will sell its 9% stake in Syncrude, the Canadian heavy oil project, to China's SINOPEC (SHI) for $4.65 billion.
Crocs (CROX): Thomas Weisel takes Crocs to Overweight from Market Weight and maintains its $12 target.
Gold Fields (GFI): The mining stock gets an Outperform-from-Sector Perform boost by RBC Capital. For more on this sector, see Three Reasons to Add Gold to a Portfolio.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A): UBS raises its Royal Dutch Shell rating to Buy from Neutral.
Expedia (EXPE): The stock gets a Buy-from-Neutral upgrade at Goldman Sachs, which takes its target to $31 from $25 and also adds the shares to their Americas Conviction Buy List.
UnitedHealth (UNH): Leerink Swann lifts UnitedHealth to Outperform from Market Perform.
A123 Systems (AONE): The stock is hoisted to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Education Stocks: Stay in school, kids. ITT Educational (ITT) and DeVry (DV) are each upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Mirant (MIR): The stock is moved to Market Perform from Underperform by BMO Capital.
Downgrades
Alcoa: Dow component Alcoa is now Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Heineken N.V. (HINKY): Shares of Dutch brewer Heineken N.V. are lower in London today after an Underweight-from-Neutral downgrade at J.P. Morgan Cazenove, which says "lower medium-term growth prospects warrant a discount to the sector".
Ameristar Casinos (ASCA): JP Morgan cuts Ameristar Casinos to Neutral from Overweight.
First Community Corp (FCCO): The regional bank is lowered to Hold from Buy by BB&T Capital. See also Why Investors Are Running to Regional Banks.
Commerce Bancshares (CBSH): UBS reduces its rating on Commerce Bancshares, now Neutral from Buy.
KeyCorp (KEY): The stock is cut to Sell from Neutral, also at UBS.
Cheesecake Factory (CAKE): The stock is pulled from the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.
Priceline.com (PCLN): Goldman also downgrades Priceline.com, now Neutral from Buy.
Harley-Davidson (HOG): The motorcycle manufacturer is downgraded to Hold from Buy by Deutsche Bank. Target is $33.50.
Royal Gold (RGLD): The stock gets reduced to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Nothing contained in this article is intended as a solicitation for business of any kind or for investment in the firm.
© 2010, Minyanville
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