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

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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Penny Stocks To watch



  • DOVP - 2.50
  • FO-V - 5
  • NLST - 0.50
  • GHLT - 5.05
  • AENS - 2.80 warnings for 3 breakout;



Breaking News:



  • ~Saudi Arabia is testing a technique that could unlock its hard-to-tap reservoirs of heavy crude. Amid soaring demand for energy, the effort could add significantly to Saudi oil reserves and inject slack into tight energy markets. - WSJ

  • ~Centro Watt agreed to buy Heritage for $1.83 billion, doubling the Australian-American venture's U.S. strip-mall holdings. - WSJ

  • ~Kraft is set to acquire a part of United Biscuits in a deal valued at $1.1 billion that will give the company control of brands like Ritz crackers in Europe. - WSJ

  • ~Disney’s bet on "Pirates of the Caribbean" paid off, as its first sequel scored the biggest North American opening weekend ever. - WSJ


Upgrades/Downgrades and News by Sector:




IT / Tech:



  • Google-GOOG expect strong Q2 results, raising estimates, reit Outperform@PIPR Piper believes Google may still beat its revised Q2 net revenue estimate of $1.672B from $1.589B, but says there are some very high optimistic Street estimates out there.

  • Wireline/Networking checks from China@BOFA BofA says CSCO continues to see a rebound in market share; ALA is well positioned for next-gen networks; and contacts were less positive on JNPR.

  • CRM CEO says software spending remains robust The company's CEO said they expect to "aggressively" boost their headcount in Japan, Asia and Western Europe. -Reuters

  • eBay's (EBAY) stock went tumbling 45% from its high within the last year with the news last week that Jeff Jordan, president of the PayPal unit, will leave the company next year. Mr. Jordan's announcement is the latest chapter over executive turnover and management succession concerns at the Internet company.

Biotechnology:



  • DNA - Prudential and FACT are both positive on and would be buying.

Banks:



  • Banks: Estimates lowered on tougher equity markets@KBWI KBWI estimates some earnings pressure from the weak returns in global equity and fixed income and they have slightly lowered estimates. Top picks for Q2 remain MEL and BK.
    GBE Grubb & Ellis Deutsche Securities Initiated at Buy $12

Defense:



  • Top picks LMT and COL into Q2 results at TWPT

Transportation:



  • Robert W. Baird believes the current environment is favorable for HUB Group (HUBG), J.B Hunt Transport (JBHT) and Pacer Int'l (PACR), but acknowledges the intermodal rail environment is changing and could raise the future risk profile.

  • JPMorgan expects the second quarter for truckloads to be solid due to a pick-up in demand and pricing mid quarter. They single out Swift Transportation (SWFT), J.B Hunt Transport (JBHT), and Heartland Express (HTLD) as companies they expect to have upside to Q2 earnings.

Oil and Gas:



  • Marathon Oil
    MRO and The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE), jointlyannounced today that the companies have signed a letter of intent which couldlead to the formation of a 50/50 joint venture that would construct andoperate a number of ethanol plants. The formation of the joint venture and other related activities are subject to approval by each company's board of directors and the execution of definitive agreements.

  • Diversified offshore drillers most compelling, top picks listed@JEFF Due to the visible earnings growth for diversified offshore drillers through 2008, Jefferies believes that companies like GlobalSanta Fe (GSF), Noble Corporation (NE), Transocean Offshore Inc (RIG) and Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) have the best risk/reward.
    CAM Cooper Cameron Morgan Stanley Upgraded from Equal-weight to Overweight

  • GMXR GMX Resources First Albany Upgraded from Buy to Strong Buy $55 to $61
    HGT Hugoton Royalty AG Edwards Downgraded from Buy to Hold
    SU Suncor Energy Friedman Billings Downgraded from Outperform to Mkt Perform $95
    TSO Tesoro Petroleum Deutsche Securities Downgraded from Hold to Sell $65
    SLB - price target raised to $100 at Morgan Stanley

Health:



  • MDT - downgraded to Market Perform at BMOC

Home Builders:



  • KB Home (KBH) said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing after markets closed Friday that negative trends in the U.S. housing market may continue next year. "While we expect the current negative trends in the U.S. housing market to continue for the remainder of 2006 and, possibly, into 2007, we anticipate individual markets will normalize at different rates depending on the degree of disparity in the balance of these characteristics presently. In the long run, we believe the underlying fundamentals of strong demographics and job growth continue to support favorable domestic housing demand," the home builder said. - DJN

  • WCI WCI Communities Credit Suisse Downgraded from Neutral to Underperform

REITS:



  • KIMCO REALTY (KIM) TO BUY PAN PACIFIC (PNP) FOR $70 A SHARE

Chemicals:



  • Banc of America expects specialties & industrial gases to outpace commodities. The broker has trimmed Q2 estimates for DOW, NCX, EMN, GGC, & DD. Raised 2006 estimates for NCX & LYO. Favorite names remain PPG, DOW, & CE.
    HUN Huntsman BB&T Capital Mkts Upgraded from Underweight to Hold

Business Services



  • AH Armor Holdings Goldman Sachs Upgraded from Neutral to Buy

Computer Software



  • INFY Infosys Prudential Initiated at Overweight $90
  • SY Sybase Jefferies & Co Upgraded from Hold to Buy $23 to $25
  • YHOO Yahoo! Susquehanna Financial Upgraded from Neutral to Positive

Financial



  • AEA Advance America Cash Morgan Stanley Downgraded from Overweight to Equal-weight

Foods



  • PPC Pilgrim's Pride JP Morgan Upgraded from Neutral to Overweight
  • SAFM Sanderson Farms JP Morgan Downgraded from Neutral to Underweight
  • TSN Tyson Foods JP Morgan Upgraded from Neutral to Overweight

Gold and Silver Mining



  • GFI Gold Fields UBS Downgraded from Buy to Neutral
  • HMY Harmony Gold UBS Downgraded from Neutral to Reduce
  • NXG Northgate Minerals UBS Downgraded from Buy to Neutral

Healthcare



  • ACAD ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Brean Murray Initiated at Strong Buy $15
  • ALKS Alkermes Merriman Curhan Ford Initiated at Buy
  • ALGN Align Tech Jefferies & Co Downgraded from Buy to Hold $11 to $8.50
  • CYCC Cyclacel Pharma Needham & Co Initiated at Buy $9
  • MDT Medtronic BMO Nesbitt Burns Downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform
  • QMED Qmed Stifel Nicolaus Downgraded from Buy to Hold

Recreation



  • ELY Callaway Golf Susquehanna Financial Initiated at Positive

Semiconductors



  • ATHR Atheros Communications First Albany Upgraded from Buy to Strong Buy
  • STM STMicroelectronics UBS Downgraded from Buy to Neutral

Telecommunications



  • ADTN ADTRAN Thomas Weisel Downgraded from Outperform to Peer Perform
  • IDCC Interdigital Comm Piper Jaffray Downgraded from Market Perform to Underperform $25
  • NMSS NMS Comms Dougherty & Company Downgraded from Buy to Neutral $5 to $3.50
  • RCNI RCN Merriman Curhan Ford Initiated at Buy

Utilities


  • OKE ONE OK Citigroup Upgraded from Hold to Buy