Amid Valentine’s Day celebrations,
S&P 500 (^GSPC) stocks started a year with seven straight weekly gains for the first time since the Make Love Not War heyday of 1967. Back then,
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was a hit at the box office, but there were no such issues last week, with romantic sunsets proving especially popular as
SunPower (SPWR) surged 44%. Copernicus, an early adopter of solar power and
Google (GOOG) doodled this morning, would approve.
Warren Buffett got into the spirit of
Random Acts of Kindness Week by paying a pretty premium for
Heinz (HNZ), whose baked beans are said to give you gas. (At
current prices? You gotta be kidding.) Handbag man
Michael Kors (KORS) jumped 10.8% and
Avon (AVP) ladies surged 22%. Elsewhere
Ameriprise Financial (AMP) finished at the highest level in its history on Friday, which should even put a smile of its
insufferably surly spokesman.
No top-tier economic data due today, but earnings announcements are expected out of
Allscripts Healthcare (MDRX),
Analog Devices (ADI),
CF Industries (CF),
Dell Inc. (DELL),
Deutsche Börse (PINK:DBOEY),
Express Scripts (ESRX),
Fidelity National Financial (FNF),
Herbalife (HLF),
Marriott International (MAR),
Medtronic (MDT),
Newfield Exploration (NFX),
Northeast Utilities (NU),
Sealed Air (SEE),
Terex (TEX), and
Westlake Chemical (WLK).
European Supermarkets: JPMorgan establishes Overweights on
Ahold (PINK:AHONY) of the Netherlands, France’s
Carrefour (PINK:CRRFY), and
Tesco (PINK:TSCDY) of Britain, which has lately been
dogged by a scandal involving horse meat masquerading as beef burgers. Shares are trading higher across the Atlantic this morning as a result of the upbeat assessment. The analyst is less bullish on Neutral-rated
Delhaize Group (NYSE:DEG), while
J. Sainsbury ((PINK:JSAIY) and
William Morrison Supermarkets (PINK:MRWSY) are each assigned an Underweight.
Interpublic (IPG): Piper Jaffray resumes the advertising giant at a Neutral. Its price objective is $11.
LipoScience (LPDX): The stock is launched with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Millennial Media (MM): Shares are a new Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
PVH Corp. (PVH): The clothing company, previously known as Phillips-Van Heusen, is picked up at Outperform by Credit Suisse.
Tile Shop (TTS): Citigroup starts the stock at a Buy.
(See also:
Stock Upgrades: Best Buy a Screaming Buy? and
Stock Downgrades: No Ka-Ching for Coinstar.)
No positions in stocks mentioned.
The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.
Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
