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business newsUpgrades and Downgrades: Best Buy Gets a Boost
By
Justin Sharon
Mar 29, 2010 8:35 am
Wall Street ratings agencies set the tone for the stock market.
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Britain unveiled a budget deficit amounting to 11.8% of GDP, close enough to the figure for Greece to prompt previously unthinkable calls from across the pond or fresh funds to be raised by selling the country’s Crown Jewels. In which case speed is of the essence since the Girl With a Pearl Earring, who will become Queen upon wedding William, has a habit of losing her jewelry in the unlikeliest places. In a calorific day for corporate earnings Cal-Maine Foods (CALM), Cosi Inc. (COSI) and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) are all expected to report results.
Initiations
Pharmaceuticals: Piper Jaffray initiates Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) at Neutral and establishes a price objective of $26. Theravance (THRX) is assigned an Overweight and $16 target price by the broker.
Gold Stocks: HSBC initiates AngloGold Ashanti (AU), Harmony Gold Mining (HMY), Gold Fields (GFI) and IAMGOLD (IAG) with Neutrals. Randgold Resources (GOLD) gets an Overweight and $90 target.
Brown-Forman (BF.B): Deutsche Bank begins Brown-Forman at a Buy.
Toll Brothers (TOL): picked up with a Neutral by Ticonderoga Securities.
Upgrades
Best Buy (BBY): raised to Hold from Sell at SocGen.
Energy Stocks: Goldman Sachs gives an upgrade to Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN), now Neutral from Sell, and boosts Southwestern Energy (SWN 37.70) to Buy from Neutral.
Progressive Corp (PGR): Saying its focus on growth could push the stock price higher, Oppenheimer upgrades Progressive Corp to Perform from Underperform.
American Campus Communities (ACC): Citigroup raises its American Campus Communities rating 180 degrees (Buy from Sell.)
Commodities: Commodities giant Companhia Vale do Rio (VALE) is raised to Buy from Hold at Canaccord Adams.
Talbots (TLB): taken to Buy from Hold at Lazard.
Downgrades
Molson Coors (TAP): Deutsche Bank downgrades Molson Coors to Hold from Buy.
Kellogg (K): doesn’t start the day off right, downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform by BMO Capital.
O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY 42.03): is taken to Neutral from Overweight by JP Morgan, which maintains its $44 price target.
British Sky Broadcasting (BSY): UBS lowers British Sky Broadcasting, now Neutral from Buy.
Dresser Rand (DRC): gets a Sell-from-Neutral downgrade at Goldman Sachs.
Peet’s Coffee (PEET): Janney Montgomery Scott downgrades Peet’s Coffee to Neutral from Buy.
BRE Properties (BRE): Goldman adds BRE Properties to its Conviction Sell List.
Brookdale Senior Living (BKD): Goldman removes Brookdale Senior Living from its Conviction Buy list.
RBC Bearings (ROLL): KeyBanc cuts RBC Bearings to Hold from Buy, due to valuation.
Lorillard (LO): Deutsche Bank downgrades Lorillard to Hold from Buy.
VeriSign (VRSN): Jefferies reduces VeriSign to Hold from Buy, citing uncertainty around future upside levers.
Airgas (ARG): William Blair downgrades Airgas to Market Perform from Outperform.
No positions in stocks mentioned.
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