2 Stocks With Upgrades: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Pharmacyclics
NEW YORK (
) --
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
(GMCR)
and
Pharmacyclics
(PCYC)
were upgraded to buy by TheStreet Ratings on Monday.
Both stocks have risen more than 40% year to date.
|
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
The coffee company reported on Feb. 1 first-quarter earnings of $104.4 million, or 66 cents a share, which rose from $2.4 million, or 2 cents a share a year ago.
Green Mountain's stock was one of the
"winners" in David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital's fund's short portfolio
in the fourth quarter.
Green Mountain was upgraded to a
by TheStreet Ratings on Monday.
"The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, notable return on equity, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income," TheStreet Ratings wrote. "We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company is trading at a premium valuation based on our review of its current price compared to such things as earnings and book value."
Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters hit a 52-week high on Sept. 20 of $115.98. The stock's 52-week low of $34.06 was set on Nov. 11.
Green Mountain has an estimated price-to-earnings ratio for next year of 17.27; the average among food product companies is 13.65. For comparison,
Kellogg
(K) - Get Report
and
H.J. Heinz
(HNZ)
both have forward P/Es of 13.31 and 14.4, respectively.
Of the 14 analysts who cover the stock, nine rated it buy. Three analysts gave Green Mountain a hold rating and two rated it sell.
"In our opinion, on a fundamental basis Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is one of the most compelling companies within the consumer sector," Williams Capital Group analysts wrote in a Feb. 9 report. "This is a very important Consumer Staples name to investors who place a premium on growth and a long-term track record of success. The company has established and growing brands with a solid base of loyal customers."
TheStreet Ratings gives Green Mountain a B- grade and
price target. Shares of Green Mountain closed Friday at $62.85; the stock has risen 40.13% year to date.
Pharmacyclics
The pharmaceutical company reported last Thursday second-quarter earnings of $58.6 million, or 82 cents a share, which rose from a year-ago loss of $6.1 million, or a loss of 10 cents a share.
Pharmacyclics was upgraded from a
by TheStreet Ratings on Monday.
"The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, compelling growth in net income, expanding profit margins and solid stock price performance," TheStreet Ratings wrote. "Although the company may harbor some minor weaknesses, we feel they are unlikely to have a significant impact on results."
Pharmacyclics' stock hit a 52-week high on Friday of $23.57. The stock's 52-week low of $4.75 was set on March 2.
Of the analysts who cover the company, six rated it buy. One analyst gave Pharamcyclics a hold rating and one considered it a sell.
"We recommend investors own PCYC's stock, believing that the magnitude ofthe global development and pre-commercialization efforts for PCI-32765 that willroll out in 2012 will illuminate a multi-billion-dollar product opportunity," Wedbush analysts wrote in a Feb. 10 report.
TheStreet Ratings gives Pharmacyclics a B- grade and
price target. The stock closed Friday at $23.23 and has increased 56.75% year to date.
-- Written by Alexandra Zendrian
>To contact the writer of this article, click here:
Alexandra Zendrian
>To submit a news tip, send an email to:
.
>To follow the writer on Twitter, go to
.
