FeedPosted Oct 10th 2009 12:10PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Alcoa Inc (AA), Clorox Co (CLX), Costco Wholesale (COST), Family Dollar Stores (FDO), Yum Brands (YUM), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Alcoa, Costco, Family Dollar, Marriott, PepsiCo, Yum! Brands ...
Posted Oct 9th 2009 11:50AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Viacom (VIA), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Dean Foods (DF), Research in Motion (RIMM), Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- Piper Jaffray upgraded Viacom (NYSE:VIA) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect the improving ad market and better ratings at key cable networks. The firm raised its target on shares to $35 from $29.
- Baird upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) to Outperform from Neutral on valuation as it views the recent weakness as a buying opportunity. The firm keeps an $84 price target on shares.
- Jefferies upgraded Usana (NASDAQ:USNA) to Buy from Hold as it believes direct selling companies have been gaining momentum. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $37.
- AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
- First Merit (NASDAQ:FMER) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
- Spectra Energy (NYSE:SE) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: VIA, RIMM, ARO, JPM, BMY
Posted Oct 8th 2009 7:40AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Earnings reports, Dell (DELL), PepsiCo (PEP), Market matters, International Business Machines (IBM), Alcoa Inc (AA), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Economic data

U.S. stock futures climbed Thursday morning, helped by a surprise profit from aluminum giant
Alcoa (NYSE:
AA). Investors were encouraged by the news, hoping that it's a sign to come for the third quarter earnings season and that once again many companies will beat expectations when reporting earnings.
Despite hopes early Wednesday Wall Street was in for a third day of gains, stocks ended up mixed and basically flat. But since Alcoa's beat came after positive surprised from
Costco (NASDAQ:
COST) and
Monsanto (NYSE:
MON), stock market futures are pointing to a positively higher open.
Continue reading Before the bell: Stock futures climb after surprising results from Alcoa
Posted Oct 6th 2009 11:00AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Tiffany and Co (TIF), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Corning Inc (GLW), Research in Motion (RIMM), General Mills (GIS), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Analyst initiations
Analyst upgrades:
- UBS upgraded Corning (NYSE: GLW) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $19 from $18.50, citing the improved LCD supply-demand outlook and improved sell-through ahead of the holiday season in China.
- Credit Suisse upgraded Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $48 from $44 citing valuation and improved asset quality.
- Stifel upgraded Newfield Exploration and Ultra Petroleum (NYSE: UPL) shares to Buy from Hold based on strong fundamentals and a long-term positive view for the E&P sector. The firm has a $50 target on Newfield and a $58 target on Ultra Petroleum.
- TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.
- General Mills (NYSE: GIS) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
- Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: BP, CMCSA, GLW, MAR, RIMM, TIF, TJX ...
Posted Sep 29th 2009 4:20PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Starwood Hotels Worldwide (HOT), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR)
Timeshares, that wonderful relic from the 1970s, are about as popular as disco and excessive chest hair this year. Thanks to the recession, timeshare sales are forecasted to suffer their worst fall since this vacation option came on the scene more than 30 years ago. The plunge could reach 30 percent, according to Howard Nusbaum, president and CEO of the American Resort Development Association, a trade group, and the next year and a half could be tough, as well.
In the United States, timeshare sales fell 8.5% last year to $9.7 billion. They reached their peak the year before, when sales hit $10.6 billion, according to a study by Ernst & Young. The 2008 decline was the first sustained by the industry since it started keeping score in 1975.
Continue reading Timeshare growth spurt ends severely
Posted Apr 24th 2009 11:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Microsoft (MSFT), AT and T (T), Research in Motion (RIMM), Verizon Communications (VZ), Toll Brothers (TOL), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Analyst initiations, PetroChina Co Ltd ADR (PTR)
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Buy from Hold and added the stock to its Top Picks Live List. The firm believes RIMM's outlook is more secure given its unit growth trajectory and stabilizing margins. Citi raised its target on the stock to $100 from $65.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Overweight from Equal Weight following the company's Q3 results it believes growth is accelerating and expectations are low. The firm raised its target on the stock to $24 from $21.
- Deutsche Bank upgraded Huron (NYSE: HURN) to Buy from Hold as it believes bad news is already priced in and FY09 expectations are achievable. The firm keeps a $46 target on the stock.
- Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS.
- Quicksilver (NYSE: KWK) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Banc of America/Merrill.
- EIG Resources (NYSE: EOG) was lifted at Goldman to Conviction Buy from Neutral.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: RIMM, MSFT, TOL, MAR, VZ, T ...
Posted Feb 17th 2009 10:55AM by Laurie Pasternack (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Google (GOOG), Daimler (DAI), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Analyst initiations, Lloyds TSB Group plc ADS (LYG), Suntech Power Hldgs ADS (STP), China Mobile Limited (CHL)
Analyst upgrades:
- Baird upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT), Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) and Marriott (NYSE: MAR) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and indications that negative sentiment has reached a bottom.
- Citigroup upgraded Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) to Buy from Hold as they find the valuation attractive and think management can grow earnings and book value in 2009/2010. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered their target price to $37 from $45.
- ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
- Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
- Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) was upgraded at Natixis to Buy from Hold.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: HOT, GOOG, WPI, LYG ...
Posted Feb 14th 2009 10:40AM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Diageo plc (DEO), Boeing Co (BA), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Barrick Gold (ABX), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Activision Inc (ATVI), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Wells Fargo (WFC), Nissan Motors (NSANY)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Coke, Pepsi, Hasbro, Marriott, Abercrombie, Wells Fargo and others
Posted Feb 12th 2009 8:05AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Deals, Coca-Cola (KO), General Motors (GM), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Viacom (VIA), Diageo plc (DEO), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Alcoa Inc (AA), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Toll Brothers (TOL), Activision Inc (ATVI), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Rio Tinto plc ADS (RTP), Vonage Holdings (VG)
U.S. stocks were set for a lower open Thursday morning as futures declined ahead of the release of January retail sales and weekly employment statistics. Read more:
Before the bell: Stocks set for lower open ahead of retail sales numbers
Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) will get a
much needed $19.5 billion investment from Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, one of the world's biggest aluminum producers. This would help debt-laden RTP pay some of its debts. As part of the deal, Chinalco agreed to invest $12.3 billion in joint ventures in aluminum, copper and iron ore mining.
Alcoa (NYSE: AA) also
sold its stake in Rio Tinto to Chinalco for $1 billion, well above its $300 million current value. Mind you, RTP shares declined 67% since the acquisition was made.
Continue reading Stocks in the news: RTP, AA, VIA, KO, ATVI, DEO, TOL, SIRI, GM ...
Posted Jan 8th 2009 11:26AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Marriott Intl'A' (MAR), Analyst initiations, Deere and Co (DE)
Analyst upgrades:
- KeyBanc upgraded Epicor (NASDAQ: EPIC) to Buy from Hold based on several near-term catalysts that include possible convertible debt repurchases, reasonable Q4 results, a proxy fight, and a boost from the Epicor 9 product cycle in 2H09.
- KeyBanc also upgraded AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) to Buy from Hold based on relative valuation and said the company could benefit from lower iron ore, scrap natural gas, and labor inputs.
- JP Morgan upgraded Lennar (NYSE: LEN) to Overweight from Neutral based on relative valuation.
- Marriott (NYSE: MAR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Raymond James (NYSE: RJF) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia.
- Deere (NYSE: DE) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
Analyst downgrades:Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AKS, LEN, MAR, DE, KLAC, VIVEF ...
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