Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades: Target
CHANGE IN RATINGS
Adobe Systems
(ADBE) - Get Adobe Inc. Report
downgraded at UBS from Buy to Neutral. $28 price target. While field checks suggest that sales have stabilized, the company will likely not post large upside to quarterly results next month.
Burger King
(BKC)
upgraded at Merrill/BofA from Neutral to Buy. Stock looks inexpensive on an earnings basis, relative to its peers. $22 price target. Food costs are also coming in.
Intel
(INTC) - Get Intel Corporation Report
upgraded at Morgan Stanley from Equal-weight to Overweight. $19 price target. Stocks still looks attractively valued based on EV/sales. Consensus earnings estimates also appear too low.
Intel
(INTC) - Get Intel Corporation Report
target boosted at UBS to $18. Expect a sharp gross margin recovery in the second half of the year. Buy rating.
Kinder Morgan Partners
(KMP)
downgraded at Goldman Sachs to Neutral from Buy based on preference for higher-beta names that have greater upside. Note high liquidity, capital market accessibility, and stable asset base, but expect investors to shift away from defensive MLPs. Target lowered to $53 from $59.
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Mastercard
(MA) - Get Mastercard Incorporated Class A Report
upgraded at Deutsche Bank from Hold to Buy. $205 price target. 35% discount to Visa appears too steep. Estimates also raised, as the company has locked down costs.
Marathon Oil
(MRO) - Get Marathon Oil Corporation Report
downgraded at Credit Suisse to Neutral from Outperform based on valuation. Stock now traded in line with other Big Oils on earnings and cash flow multiples. Raised target price to $30 from $28.
Red Hat
(RHT) - Get Red Hat, Inc. Report
upgraded at UBS from Neutral to Buy. $23 price target. 2009 guidance is likely conservative, and the company still holds value for a potential acquirer.
Ralph Lauren
(RL) - Get Ralph Lauren Corporation Class A Report
downgraded at Merrill/BofA from Neutral to Underperform. $42 price target. Pressures in US wholesale could continue through fiscal 2010.
RenaissanceRe
(RNR) - Get RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. Report
downgraded at Credit Suisse to Neutral from Outperform based on lower investment income and less robust gains from Florida. Lowered target price to $57 from $59.
Sepracor
(SEPR)
upgraded at J PMorgan to Overweight from Neutral due to recent signs of stabilization of core franchises. Note solid cash position and future cash flow generation from generic Lunesta entry in 2014. Price target raised to $17 from $16.
Sina Corporation
(SINA) - Get SINA Corp. Report
downgraded at Oppenheimer. Rating lowered to Perform from Outperform. Eliminates $25 price target. Lowers 2009 EPS estimates to $1.45 from $1.52.
Symantac Corporation
(SYMC) - Get Symantec Corporation Report
upgraded to overweight from market weight with $23 price target at Thomas Weisel. Analyst believes SYMC offers attractive relative valuation, trading at 11X 2010 estimates vs. its peer group at 14x. Weisel checks have indicated that the storage business (37% of revenue) had a solid quarter and continue to hear that the Vontu acquisition inside the enterprise Security and Compliance Group (26% of revenue) continues to do well as the demand for data loss prevention technology remains high.
Target
(TGT) - Get Target Corporation Report
estimates, target raised at Barclays. Shares now seen reaching $48. Estimates increased, given improved sales trends and solid expense controls. Overweight rating.
Target
(TGT) - Get Target Corporation Report
downgraded at Merrill/BofA to Underperform. $32 price target. Company will likely see negative comp sales for some time. Square footage growth is also slowing and new store productivity has been weak.
Urban Outfitters
(URBN) - Get Urban Outfitters, Inc. Report
upgraded at Pali Capital. Rating raised to Buy from Neutral. Establishes $25 price target. Maintains 2009 EPS estimates of $1.00.
STOCK COMMENTS / EPS CHANGES
Comcast
(CMCSA) - Get Comcast Corporation Class A Report
estimates, target raised at Morgan Stanley through 2011. Company posted strong first quarter results, though it may be difficult to maintain operating momentum throughout the year. Equal-weight rating and new $16 price target.
Chevron
(CVX) - Get Chevron Corporation Report
estimates through 2010, target increased at Barclays Capital. Stock may move higher, despite difficult quarter, given the company's strong upstream production assets. Overweight rating and new $99 price target.
Consolidated Edison
(ED) - Get Consolidated Edison, Inc. Report
estimates cut at UBS through 2010. Company is realizing a lower ROE. Neutral rating and $38 price target.
Research in Motion
(RIMM)
price target raised at Goldman to $85 from $82 based on higher smartphone market unit growth. Expect upward estimate revisions and multiple expansion as smartphone demand increases, RIMM gains market share, and handset market bottoms. Maintained Buy rating.
Wendy's-Arby's
(WEN) - Get Wendy's Company Report
estimates cut at UBS through 2010. Weak sales are offsetting cost cuts. Neutral rating and $5.80 price target.
This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.
