Friday's Analysts' Upgrades and Downgrades
CHANGE IN RATINGS
Cardinal Health
(CAH) - Get Report
downgraded at Morgan Stanley from overweight to equalweight and drops its $85 price target.
Circuit City
(CC) - Get Report
downgraded at Bear to a Peer Perform rating due to lack of visibility, inconsistent execution, and soft consumer environment.
Diana Shipping
(DSX) - Get Report
upgraded at Bear to an Outperform rating with a target of $30 based upon 10% dividend yield.
Force Protection
(FRPT) - Get Report
coverage initiated at FBR with a Market Perform rating and $18 target price. Expectations for production may be too high and delays in funding could impact deliveries.
Nasdaq
downgraded at FBR to a Market Perform rating on valuation. Stock is now fairly valued after deal announcement.
Nasdaq price target raised at Goldman to $44 from $40 following the sale of its LSE stake to Borse Dubai and agreed to partner with BD to acquire OMX, selling a 19.99% investment in NDAQ. Note that moving the LSE stake off the balance sheet should unlock value, and acquisitoin of OMX at initial offer price is a better result than investors had expected. Maintained Buy rating.
PNM Resources
(PNM) - Get Report
upgraded at Jefferies to Buy rating from Hold. However, 2008 EPS estimates dip to $1.85 from $2.15 while price target holds at $24.50.
Telephone & Data Systems
(TDS) - Get Report
upgraded at Morgan Stanley from underweight to equalweight and moves price target to $71.
STOCK COMMENTS / EPS CHANGES
AutoNation
(AN) - Get Report
full-year estimates cut at Deutsche Bank by 10 cents to $1.54 a share due to weakening new vehicle sales market and company specific performance issues. Maintained Hold rating.
Air Products
(APD) - Get Report
numbers raised at Jefferies. Price target upped to $107 from $105 and FY 2008 EPS estimates lift to $4.95 from $4.90. Reiterates Buy rating.
FedEx
(FDX) - Get Report
full-year estimates cut at Bear to $6.75 a share due to weak guidance and poor freight economy outlook. Maintained Peer Perform rating.
Goldman Sachs
(GS) - Get Report
numbers raised at UBS. Price target lifts to $245 from $235 and FY 2007 EPS estimates upped to $23.48 from $20.66. Reiterates Buy rating.
Nike
(NKE) - Get Report
numbers raised at UBS. Price target rises to $69 from $67 and FY 2008 EPS estimates jump to $3.64 from $3.40. Reiterates Buy rating.
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Report
numbers raised at UBS. Price target lifts to $25 from $24 and FY 2008 EPS estimates upped to $1.20 from $1.17. Reiterates Buy rating.
Praxair
(PX)
numbers raised at Jefferies. Price target goes to $91 from $87 and FY 2008 EPS estimates lift to $4.10 from $4.05. Reiterates Buy rating.
Scholastic
(SCHL) - Get Report
target increased at Goldman to $35 from $32 based on strong Q1 results. Harry Potter No. 7 was more profitable than analysts had expected, leading to the earnings upside. Maintained Neutral rating.
Tektronix
( TEK) 2008 estimates lowered at Credit Suisse to $1.65 from $1.79 based on weak guidance provided by management. Weak orders from Japan were a key focus in Q1 results, as instruments and comms orders were down 18% and 26% quarter-over-quarter, respectively. Maintained price target of $33.