A number of stocks were upgraded and downgraded by equities research analysts today, as reported by Analyst Ratings Network (http://bit.ly/equitybriefdaily) and Equity Brief:
FBR Capital reiterated its outperform rating on shares of Apple, Inc (AAPL). They have a $725.00 price target on the stock.
BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Ancestry.com Inc (ACOM) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating.
JPMorgan Chase downgraded shares of AMC Networks (AMCX) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating.
Deutsche Bank upgraded shares of Amgen, Inc. (AMGN) from a hold rating to a buy rating. They wrote, "Despite a recent move in shares, we continue to see upside as Amgen still trades at a discount to its pharma peers despite better ROE (28% vs 21%), EPS growth (14.8% vs. -0.3%) . We think the co's dividend will continue to grow closer to the pharma avg over the next 2 years (we model 35-40% dividend growth and a dividend yield of 3% by 2014-ABOVE consensus). Amgen also looks attractive from the biotech view, as the co trades at a 20-30% discount vs its biotech peers despite EPS growth that is only 10% lower than the group. Long-term pipeline is underappreciated by both groups."
Jefferies Group lowered its price target on shares of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (APD) from $107.00 to $94.00. They have a buy rating on the stock. They wrote, "Air Products shares will likely remain range-bound into the spring until it becomes clearer how much of the soft 2013E outlook relates to company-specific execution issues rather than end-market demand or pension accounting issues that will affect most companies in the sector. We are lowering 2013E $0.55 to $5.70 to reflect softer near-term volumes, higher pension costs, taxes, option creep and the PUI exit."
Deutsche Bank reiterated its buy rating on shares of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (APD). They have a $95.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $100.00. They wrote, "FY13 guidance disappointing but backlog intact. 3 P/E discount to PX. Buy. Air Products shares fell 6% following disappointing FY13 guidance (7% below consensus) and the company's acknowledgement that it would not meet its 2015 financial goals. While Air Products forecast of a continuation of difficult macro conditions in FY13 (weakness in Europe, electronics and Asia) was, in our view, largely, reflecting in consensus and priced into the shares, the company's acknowledgement that customers are delaying new project start-ups was concerning as Air Products record $3B backlog is the heart of its investment story. With project delays likely transitory and valuation compelling at 13.6x C13E EPS, and a 3x P/E discount to Praxair, Buy."
Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Ariad Pharmaceutical (ARIA) from an outperform rating to a perform rating. Their analysts now have a $23.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $20.00.
Societe Generale downgraded shares of Baker Hughes (BHI) from a buy rating to a hold rating.
Stifel Nicolaus lowered its price target on shares of Baidu.com, Inc. (BIDU) from $165.00 to $140.00. They have a buy rating on the stock.
Credit Suisse initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock Kelso (BKCC). They issued a neutral rating on the stock.
Wunderlich downgraded shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp (BMRC) from a buy rating to a hold rating. Their analysts now have a $40.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $42.00.
Stay on top of analysts' coverage with Analyst Ratings Network's free daily email newsletter that provides a concise list of analysts' upgrades, downgrades and initiations. Register at http://bit.ly/equitybriefdaily
Content and Media Contact: [email protected]
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Equity Brief via Thomson Reuters ONE
HUG#1651602
