e-Coops

As hot areas of the stock market cool off, it’s time to consider where that money will head next, said Jim Cramer.

One place to look is to the more traditional stocks — the Colgates (CL) , Procter & Gambles (PG) and Kelloggs (K) .

“Those are quintessentially safer,” Cramer said in Monday’s Wall St. Confidential video.

Those stocks will get a boost as investors flee the “mo-mo” areas of the market, like real estate investment trusts. “I see profit-taking from the REITs,” said Cramer, who agreed that the recent Equity Office Properties (EOP) deal marked the top in that sector. “The issue is that there are no value-buyers [that] going to come in at these levels.”

As for other momentum favorites such as Google (GOOG) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) , they’re subject to the whims of the fast-money crowd. “You gotta let these things bottom before you come in.”

Drilling plays such as Hanover Compressor (HC) and Norsk Hydro (NHY) are in another area to mine profits. Wall Street doesn’t like them, but they’re growing at 25%-30% a year, and Main Street does like them.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007 at 10:23 am and is filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

As hot areas of the stock market cool off, it’s time to consider where that money will head next, said Jim Cramer.

One place to look is to the more traditional stocks — the Colgates (CL) , Procter & Gambles (PG) and Kelloggs (K) .

“Those are quintessentially safer,” Cramer said in Monday’s Wall St. Confidential video.

Those stocks will get a boost as investors flee the “mo-mo” areas of the market, like real estate investment trusts. “I see profit-taking from the REITs,” said Cramer, who agreed that the recent Equity Office Properties (EOP) deal marked the top in that sector. “The issue is that there are no value-buyers [that] going to come in at these levels.”

As for other momentum favorites such as Google (GOOG) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) , they’re subject to the whims of the fast-money crowd. “You gotta let these things bottom before you come in.”

Drilling plays such as Hanover Compressor (HC) and Norsk Hydro (NHY) are in another area to mine profits. Wall Street doesn’t like them, but they’re growing at 25%-30% a year, and Main Street does like them.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 4th, 2007 at 9:30 am and is filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

CHANGE IN RATINGS Alliance Data (ADS) downgraded at JP Morgan: ADS was downgraded to Neutral at JP Morgan. Abacus purchase should add to earnings, but MA offer better growth and visibility at current levels.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW) upgraded at Credit Suisse: Credit Suisse is upgrading BBW to Outperform from Neutral based on favorable risk/reward due to long-term earnings growth. Raises target price to $37 from $27.

Circuit City (CC) downgraded at Goldman Sachs: Goldman is downgrading CC to Neutral from Buy based on valuation and competitive constraints. See modest risk/reward following stock’s bounce since yearend and competitive pressures stemming from aggressive pricing at Best Buy. Target price at $23.

Ford Motor (F) downgraded at Merrill: Rating on F was downgraded from Neutral to Sell at Merrill Lynch. Stock is up 30% from its December lows, and is already pricing in a profit recovery by the end of the decade.

General Motors (GM) upgraded at Merrill: GM was upgraded from Sell to Buy at Merrill Lynch. $50 price target. Company should be able to leverage its pension to improve its overall finances.

Hansen Natural (HANS) downgraded at JP Morgan: HANS was downgraded from Overweight to Neutral at JP Morgan. Stock is up 65% since November, and is also being taken off the Focus List. Fundamental thesis remains intact. $44 price target.

Hansen Natural downgraded at Goldman Sachs: Goldman is downgrading HANS to Neutral from Buy due to more appropriate valuation following recent share gains. See upside risk to consensus earnings forecasts for the second half of 2007. Price target at $46.

Level 3 (LVLT) upgraded at Deutsche: LVLT was upgraded from Sell to Hold at Deutsche Bank. $5.40 price target. Company should meet the majority of its 2007 targets, though free cash flow expectations should prove aggressive.

Mastercard (MA) upgraded at JP Morgan: MA was upgraded from Neutral to Overweight, JP Morgan . Estimates also raised to reflect blowout fourth quarter results. Growth in payment processing outweighs legal risks and fear of execution problems.

Red Hat (RHT) upgraded at Jefferies: RHT upgraded to Buy rating from Hold at Jefferies. Price target jumps to $30 from $21. 2008 EPS estimate lifts to $0.71 from $0.67 and initiates 2009 estimate at $0.84. STOCK COMMENTS / EPS CHANGES Chemtura (CEM) estimates lowered at Goldman: 2006 estimates on CEM cut to $0.38 from $0.46, Goldman . Company reported disappointing Q4 results attributed to continued weakness in non-flame retardant plastic additives and related products. See higher pricing only partially offsetting increased raw material costs. Maintained Neutral rating. Price target at $10.

Chattem (CHTT) price target raised at Goldman: Goldman is upping its target on CHTT to $55 from $50.50 after company provided updated guidance for 2007. See shares fairly valued after strong run-up since announcement of JNJ deal in Oct. Maintained Neutral rating.

Lincare Holdings (LNCR) numbers raised at Jefferies: LNCR numbers raised at Jefferies. Price target rises to $37 from $33 and 2007 EPS estimates bump up to $2.45 from $2.41. Reiterates Hold rating.

Priceline.com (PCLN) price target increased at Goldman: Target on PCLN raised to $55 from $49, Goldman . Company reported healthy Q4 gross bookings, revenue and earnings, bolstered by strong international results. Maintained Neutral rating.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 at 8:03 pm and is filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

RIM’s Cultured Pearl

Research In Motion (RIMM) is now offering some sweet hand candy to hook all the kids on BlackBerry.

The half-inch-thick Pearl is the first truly stylish entry into the general market by RIM.

Measuring close to two inches wide by four inches tall, the itty-bitty Pearl bears almost no resemblance to the bulky BlackBerrys holstered on the belts of all those thoroughly addicted business types.

As devotees will tell you, BlackBerrys are marvels of mobile emailing machinery.

And the Pearl is the best yet — not only is it charmingly small and equipped with a big screen, it provides a simple setup for everything from email and photo icons to downloading applications.

In fact, if it weren’t for two demerits — the compromised keypad and slow Internet speeds — the Pearl might be at the top of the current smartphone class.

The phone retails for $150, after rebate, with a contract. The Stats

RIM conquered the wireless email space by providing portable devices with mini keyboards that gave people access to their office computer’s inbox.

The simple, immediate, one-handed connection to emails and attachments made BlackBerriys indispensable to the worker bees.

In making the Pearl, the Waterloo, Ontario, tech shop didn’t sacrifice any of the widely praised BlackBerry email features in adding a camera and music player to the works.

And it would be wrong at this point to focus too much on how weak the camera and music player are, considering the magnitude of the makeover.

The Pearl has no rival when it comes to consumer email phones. The BlackBerry system takes messages sent to work email and delivers them to your phone. This so-called push email system is the true beauty of mobile connections.

With just a few setup steps and additional monthly charges, users can have mail from Web accounts such as Yahoo! sent to the Pearl.

RIM is the current leader in this arena, but Motorola’s (MOT) acquisition of Good Technology and Nokia’s (NOK) purchase of Intellisync promise to bring email to a whole new group of consumers.

Every smartphone has its own strengths.

Palm (PALM) Treos, for example, are good PDAs. Motorola’s Q phone does decent video, Nokia’s E62 renders good Web views and has a smooth, often fault-free operating system.

But BlackBerrys’ true calling is email, and the T-Mobile Pearl is even stronger in that regard than many of its predecessors.

Pearl’s email activation is a snap, for example. The IT department simply adds your address to the BlackBerry server; the system automatically finds the phone and synchronizes your contacts wirelessly.

I discovered this to my puzzled surprise within hours of turning on the phone. While studying the new gem, I noticed that a friend in Baltimore was on the line.

Warning: The voice-activated dialer has a side button that is a little too easy to push unintentionally. The phone heard a name, searched my address book and dialed.

This of course is not unique to the Pearl, but the ability of BlackBerry to stock your contact list automatically without a cable connection to your computer is brilliant.

The Pearl won’t easily win many old-time BlackBerry fans with its controversial “suretype” keyboard, which squeezes two letters on most of the buttons.

Picture your computer keyboard shrunk by half. Suretype tries to predict the letters and words you are typing. In most cases, not including names and passwords, it does a good job.

Critics rightly point out you can type faster on a conventional qwerty keyboard.

But in defense of this predictive text feature, it saves space, and if you can stop fighting it and simply go with it, you’ll manage most typing tasks.

As for Internet speeds, the EDGE technology, while fine for email, crawled on the Web, taking up to 30 seconds to deliver a page.

The blisteringly slow wait time was a big disincentive to attempting quick searches. With 3G widely available in most cities, there’s no reason to keep Pearl in the slow lane.

But the Pearl keeps you happily distracted with numerous pleasant surprises.

Among the bonus features is a standby/mute button on the top of the phone.

There are certain times when an easy-to-find kill switch can be handy.

Also, the memory potential is huge.

The phone takes a micro SD card, which allows plenty of storage for pictures and songs.

Unfortunately, the flash memory card slot is under the battery.

Another crowd pleaser: The Pearl’s T-Mobile service, a unit of Deutsche Telekom (DT) , supports OZ, an instant-messaging application that allows AOL IM, ICQ, MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger to work on the phone.

(AT&T’s (T) Cingular, by the way, also offers the Pearl.)

Thankfully, the Pearl is set up so you can download applications to the phone.

Google Maps, for example, was so surprisingly useful and cheap (free) that it may get you to think twice about any plans to buy a stand-alone GPS device for hundreds of dollars.

The Pearl will have a half-year jump on Apple’s (AAPL) hotly anticipated iPhone, scheduled for delivery in June.

The iPhone, an all-in-wonder device, will likely capture a big portion of the smartphone spending this year and take some of the luster off the Pearl.

As a camera, the Pearl is still a cell phone with very grainy images, and as a music player it offers an awfully small challenge to iPod.

Apple’s iPhone will attract a crowd, but a whole new generation of avid mobile email fans will also find out what all the BlackBerry fuss is about with a satisfying Pearl fix.

Enjoy the Good Life? http://apps.thestreet.com/cms/tsc/feedback.do?authorId=1100652 with what you’d like to see in future articles.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 16th, 2007 at 1:53 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Change in Ratings

Belo (BLC) was downgraded from Buy to Hold, Deutsche Bank said. $19 price target. Newspaper trends and year-over-year comparisons will be very difficult in the first half of 2007.

Goldman said it is initiating coverage on Deere (DE) with a Buy, given bullish agriculture outlook and potential for 25% to 30% operating leverage this cycle. Price target at $133.

Callaway Golf (ELY) was downgraded to Hold, AG Edwards said. Valuation call, as the stock is already pricing in solid growth through 2008.

Energy Conversion (ENER) was downgraded to Sector Perform, CIBC said. Company lacks strategic direction and has been unable to execute on PV expansion.

Embarq (EQ) was downgraded from Buy to Hold, Deutsche Bank said. Valuation call, as the stock is within 5% of the $60 price target. Earnings upside potential is likely limited in 2007.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Embarq from equalweight to overweight, but raises price target from $53 to $59.

Expeditors (EXPD) initiated with Buy rating at UBS. Price target set at $53 with FY07 EPS estimates at $1.29.

Bear Stearns downgrades Forward Air (FWRD) from peer perform to underperform on concerns about downside operating leverage.

Emdeon (HLTH) was downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform, Raymond James said. Stock is now above the $13 price target and 22% above December’s tender offer.

Penn National Gaming (PENN) downgraded to Hold rating from Buy at Jefferies. 2007 EPS estimates drop to $1.86 from $1.91. However, price target rises to $48.50 from $43.50.

Praxair (PX) upgraded to Buy rating from Hold at Jefferies. Price target lifts to $48.50 from $43.50. 2007 EPS estimates upped to $3.45 from $3.35.

Bear Stearns upgrades Qualcomm (QCOM) to outperform, as it expects more meaningful 3G uptake and a potential second-half 2007 resolution with Nokia.

Silicon Labs (SLAB) was upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform, Piper Jaffray said. Sale of Aero product line allows the company to focus on higher margin goods. $33 price target.

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) was downgraded from Outperform to Neutral, Robert Baird said. $61 price target. Valuation call. Earnings upside could also be limited in 2007, because of a higher marketing spend.

United Parcel (UPS) was upgraded from Neutral to Outperform, Robert Baird said. $86 price target. Fundamentals remain intact, though the stock is trading near its historical low valuations.

Rating on US Steel (X) was cut from Outperform to Sector Perform, CIBC said. Production discipline could raise prices, but the stock is already trading at a premium to its peers. $98 price target. Stock Comments/EPS Changes

Credit Suisse said it is cutting its 2007 estimates on Applied Materials (AMAT) to $1.15 from $1.25, based on oversupply in memory sector and expectations that the company will guide April orders down. Remain positive long-term based on valuation. Price target at $21 and maintained Overweight rating.

Broadcom (BRCM) numbers raised at UBS. Price target lifts to $41 from $38 and 2007 EPS estimates bump up to $0.79 from $0.77. Reiterates Buy rating.

Goldman said it is cutting its 2008 estimates on Coldwater Creek (CWTR) to $0.59 from $0.78, following management guidance significantly below expectations. Primary cause is weak sales trends, which are likely to force markdowns during 2007. Price target cut to $20 from $23 and maintained Neutral rating.

Credit Suisse said it is reducing its target on Digital River (DRIV) to $68 from $69 based on slower progress in transactions from revised Symantec contract. Believe upside limited in short-term. Maintained Overweight rating.

Goldman said it is adjusting its 2007 estimates on Eastman Kodak (EK) downward to a $2.10 loss from a $0.40 profit, based on increased restructuring expenses and dilution from pending Healthcare group sale. Note the management stated 2007 would be last big restructuring year. No price target or rating.

Target on NYSE Group (NYX) cut to $105 from $120, Goldman said. See softer trading volumes in January and potential headwinds during the first half of 2007. Removed from Americas Buy List and maintained Neutral rating.

Goldman said it is upping its target on Prudential (PRU) to $98 from $93, to reflect better sales and opportunities in 2007. 2007 estimates raised to $6.90 from $6.72. New numbers are inline with management’s raised guidance. Maintained Buy rating.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2007 at 10:44 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

RIM’s Cultured Pearl

Research In Motion (RIMM) is now offering some sweet hand candy to hook all the kids on BlackBerry.

The half-inch-thick Pearl is the first truly stylish entry into the general market by RIM.

Measuring close to two inches wide by four inches tall, the itty-bitty Pearl bears almost no resemblance to the bulky BlackBerrys holstered on the belts of all those thoroughly addicted business types.

As devotees will tell you, BlackBerrys are marvels of mobile emailing machinery.

And the Pearl is the best yet — not only is it charmingly small and equipped with a big screen, it provides a simple setup for everything from email and photo icons to downloading applications.

In fact, if it weren’t for two demerits — the compromised keypad and slow Internet speeds — the Pearl might be at the top of the current smartphone class.

The phone retails for $150, after rebate, with a contract. The Stats

RIM conquered the wireless email space by providing portable devices with mini keyboards that gave people access to their office computer’s inbox.

The simple, immediate, one-handed connection to emails and attachments made BlackBerriys indispensable to the worker bees.

In making the Pearl, the Waterloo, Ontario, tech shop didn’t sacrifice any of the widely praised BlackBerry email features in adding a camera and music player to the works.

And it would be wrong at this point to focus too much on how weak the camera and music player are, considering the magnitude of the makeover.

The Pearl has no rival when it comes to consumer email phones. The BlackBerry system takes messages sent to work email and delivers them to your phone. This so-called push email system is the true beauty of mobile connections.

With just a few setup steps and additional monthly charges, users can have mail from Web accounts such as Yahoo! sent to the Pearl.

RIM is the current leader in this arena, but Motorola’s (MOT) acquisition of Good Technology and Nokia’s (NOK) purchase of Intellisync promise to bring email to a whole new group of consumers.

Every smartphone has its own strengths.

Palm (PALM) Treos, for example, are good PDAs. Motorola’s Q phone does decent video, Nokia’s E62 renders good Web views and has a smooth, often fault-free operating system.

But BlackBerrys’ true calling is email, and the T-Mobile Pearl is even stronger in that regard than many of its predecessors.

Pearl’s email activation is a snap, for example. The IT department simply adds your address to the BlackBerry server; the system automatically finds the phone and synchronizes your contacts wirelessly.

I discovered this to my puzzled surprise within hours of turning on the phone. While studying the new gem, I noticed that a friend in Baltimore was on the line.

Warning: The voice-activated dialer has a side button that is a little too easy to push unintentionally. The phone heard a name, searched my address book and dialed.

This of course is not unique to the Pearl, but the ability of BlackBerry to stock your contact list automatically without a cable connection to your computer is brilliant.

The Pearl won’t easily win many old-time BlackBerry fans with its controversial “suretype” keyboard, which squeezes two letters on most of the buttons.

Picture your computer keyboard shrunk by half. Suretype tries to predict the letters and words you are typing. In most cases, not including names and passwords, it does a good job.

Critics rightly point out you can type faster on a conventional qwerty keyboard.

But in defense of this predictive text feature, it saves space, and if you can stop fighting it and simply go with it, you’ll manage most typing tasks.

As for Internet speeds, the EDGE technology, while fine for email, crawled on the Web, taking up to 30 seconds to deliver a page.

The blisteringly slow wait time was a big disincentive to attempting quick searches. With 3G widely available in most cities, there’s no reason to keep Pearl in the slow lane.

But the Pearl keeps you happily distracted with numerous pleasant surprises.

Among the bonus features is a standby/mute button on the top of the phone.

There are certain times when an easy-to-find kill switch can be handy.

Also, the memory potential is huge.

The phone takes a micro SD card, which allows plenty of storage for pictures and songs.

Unfortunately, the flash memory card slot is under the battery.

Another crowd pleaser: The Pearl’s T-Mobile service, a unit of Deutsche Telekom (DT) , supports OZ, an instant-messaging application that allows AOL IM, ICQ, MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger to work on the phone.

(AT&T’s (T) Cingular, by the way, also offers the Pearl.)

Thankfully, the Pearl is set up so you can download applications to the phone.

Google Maps, for example, was so surprisingly useful and cheap (free) that it may get you to think twice about any plans to buy a stand-alone GPS device for hundreds of dollars.

The Pearl will have a half-year jump on Apple’s (AAPL) hotly anticipated iPhone, scheduled for delivery in June.

The iPhone, an all-in-wonder device, will likely capture a big portion of the smartphone spending this year and take some of the luster off the Pearl.

As a camera, the Pearl is still a cell phone with very grainy images, and as a music player it offers an awfully small challenge to iPod.

Apple’s iPhone will attract a crowd, but a whole new generation of avid mobile email fans will also find out what all the BlackBerry fuss is about with a satisfying Pearl fix.

Enjoy the Good Life? http://apps.thestreet.com/cms/tsc/feedback.do?authorId=1100652 with what you’d like to see in future articles.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2007 at 7:34 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Feb. 13 at 10:18 a.m. EST. It’s being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

How do you get your auto stock up? Pretty simple, you fire people. And then you fire some more. You retreat. You become small. And you accept the fact that Toyota ™ is going to take over the world because it has no legacy costs and is non-union.

Ford (F) , General Motors (GM) and DaimlerChrysler (DCX) have done well because all of them have decided to go for profitability. They all have it in reach because they can buy out people and start over.

But they can’t be big.

What’s interesting is that the demand is there for cars. Amazingly there. In fact, the demand is more robust that anyone would think, given the need for people to finance cars and all of the problems we see in financing for the less-well-off.

These guys just can’t keep losing money meeting the demand.

In reality, you have a virtuous circle going on: GM, Ford and Daimler cut production and go up; Toyota increases production, and its stock goes up.

Nice.

Random musings: The Fed is still prepping for a May cut. … Goldman (GS) breaking out to be pinned at $215. Sears (SHLD) attempting to be pinned at $180. Altria (MO) obviously at $85. Can IBM (IBM) go to $100? Can GE (GE) break out? I don’t think so. … Apple (AAPL) trapped; AIG (AIG) slated to go to $70 and Microsoft (MSFT) to $30. … Deere (DE) puts being used to buy common, as the ag-as-oil trade keeps going. … First Solar (FSLR) actually makes money by manufacturing low and making solar economic; no wonder it is up so much.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 15th, 2007 at 4:25 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

CHANGE IN RATINGS Alliance Data (ADS) downgraded at JP Morgan: ADS was downgraded to Neutral at JP Morgan. Abacus purchase should add to earnings, but MA offer better growth and visibility at current levels.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW) upgraded at Credit Suisse: Credit Suisse is upgrading BBW to Outperform from Neutral based on favorable risk/reward due to long-term earnings growth. Raises target price to $37 from $27.

Circuit City (CC) downgraded at Goldman Sachs: Goldman is downgrading CC to Neutral from Buy based on valuation and competitive constraints. See modest risk/reward following stock’s bounce since yearend and competitive pressures stemming from aggressive pricing at Best Buy. Target price at $23.

Ford Motor (F) downgraded at Merrill: Rating on F was downgraded from Neutral to Sell at Merrill Lynch. Stock is up 30% from its December lows, and is already pricing in a profit recovery by the end of the decade.

General Motors (GM) upgraded at Merrill: GM was upgraded from Sell to Buy at Merrill Lynch. $50 price target. Company should be able to leverage its pension to improve its overall finances.

Hansen Natural (HANS) downgraded at JP Morgan: HANS was downgraded from Overweight to Neutral at JP Morgan. Stock is up 65% since November, and is also being taken off the Focus List. Fundamental thesis remains intact. $44 price target.

Hansen Natural downgraded at Goldman Sachs: Goldman is downgrading HANS to Neutral from Buy due to more appropriate valuation following recent share gains. See upside risk to consensus earnings forecasts for the second half of 2007. Price target at $46.

Level 3 (LVLT) upgraded at Deutsche: LVLT was upgraded from Sell to Hold at Deutsche Bank. $5.40 price target. Company should meet the majority of its 2007 targets, though free cash flow expectations should prove aggressive.

Mastercard (MA) upgraded at JP Morgan: MA was upgraded from Neutral to Overweight, JP Morgan . Estimates also raised to reflect blowout fourth quarter results. Growth in payment processing outweighs legal risks and fear of execution problems.

Red Hat (RHT) upgraded at Jefferies: RHT upgraded to Buy rating from Hold at Jefferies. Price target jumps to $30 from $21. 2008 EPS estimate lifts to $0.71 from $0.67 and initiates 2009 estimate at $0.84. STOCK COMMENTS / EPS CHANGES Chemtura (CEM) estimates lowered at Goldman: 2006 estimates on CEM cut to $0.38 from $0.46, Goldman . Company reported disappointing Q4 results attributed to continued weakness in non-flame retardant plastic additives and related products. See higher pricing only partially offsetting increased raw material costs. Maintained Neutral rating. Price target at $10.

Chattem (CHTT) price target raised at Goldman: Goldman is upping its target on CHTT to $55 from $50.50 after company provided updated guidance for 2007. See shares fairly valued after strong run-up since announcement of JNJ deal in Oct. Maintained Neutral rating.

Lincare Holdings (LNCR) numbers raised at Jefferies: LNCR numbers raised at Jefferies. Price target rises to $37 from $33 and 2007 EPS estimates bump up to $2.45 from $2.41. Reiterates Hold rating.

Priceline.com (PCLN) price target increased at Goldman: Target on PCLN raised to $55 from $49, Goldman . Company reported healthy Q4 gross bookings, revenue and earnings, bolstered by strong international results. Maintained Neutral rating.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 at 2:22 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

As hot areas of the stock market cool off, it’s time to consider where that money will head next, said Jim Cramer.

One place to look is to the more traditional stocks — the Colgates (CL) , Procter & Gambles (PG) and Kelloggs (K) .

“Those are quintessentially safer,” Cramer said in Monday’s Wall St. Confidential video.

Those stocks will get a boost as investors flee the “mo-mo” areas of the market, like real estate investment trusts. “I see profit-taking from the REITs,” said Cramer, who agreed that the recent Equity Office Properties (EOP) deal marked the top in that sector. “The issue is that there are no value-buyers [that] going to come in at these levels.”

As for other momentum favorites such as Google (GOOG) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) , they’re subject to the whims of the fast-money crowd. “You gotta let these things bottom before you come in.”

Drilling plays such as Hanover Compressor (HC) and Norsk Hydro (NHY) are in another area to mine profits. Wall Street doesn’t like them, but they’re growing at 25%-30% a year, and Main Street does like them.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 at 7:23 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

As hot areas of the stock market cool off, it’s time to consider where that money will head next, said Jim Cramer.

One place to look is to the more traditional stocks — the Colgates (CL) , Procter & Gambles (PG) and Kelloggs (K) .

“Those are quintessentially safer,” Cramer said in Monday’s Wall St. Confidential video.

Those stocks will get a boost as investors flee the “mo-mo” areas of the market, like real estate investment trusts. “I see profit-taking from the REITs,” said Cramer, who agreed that the recent Equity Office Properties (EOP) deal marked the top in that sector. “The issue is that there are no value-buyers [that] going to come in at these levels.”

As for other momentum favorites such as Google (GOOG) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) , they’re subject to the whims of the fast-money crowd. “You gotta let these things bottom before you come in.”

Drilling plays such as Hanover Compressor (HC) and Norsk Hydro (NHY) are in another area to mine profits. Wall Street doesn’t like them, but they’re growing at 25%-30% a year, and Main Street does like them.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 at 7:23 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Change in Ratings

Belo (BLC) was downgraded from Buy to Hold, Deutsche Bank said. $19 price target. Newspaper trends and year-over-year comparisons will be very difficult in the first half of 2007.

Goldman said it is initiating coverage on Deere (DE) with a Buy, given bullish agriculture outlook and potential for 25% to 30% operating leverage this cycle. Price target at $133.

Callaway Golf (ELY) was downgraded to Hold, AG Edwards said. Valuation call, as the stock is already pricing in solid growth through 2008.

Energy Conversion (ENER) was downgraded to Sector Perform, CIBC said. Company lacks strategic direction and has been unable to execute on PV expansion.

Embarq (EQ) was downgraded from Buy to Hold, Deutsche Bank said. Valuation call, as the stock is within 5% of the $60 price target. Earnings upside potential is likely limited in 2007.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Embarq from equalweight to overweight, but raises price target from $53 to $59.

Expeditors (EXPD) initiated with Buy rating at UBS. Price target set at $53 with FY07 EPS estimates at $1.29.

Bear Stearns downgrades Forward Air (FWRD) from peer perform to underperform on concerns about downside operating leverage.

Emdeon (HLTH) was downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform, Raymond James said. Stock is now above the $13 price target and 22% above December’s tender offer.

Penn National Gaming (PENN) downgraded to Hold rating from Buy at Jefferies. 2007 EPS estimates drop to $1.86 from $1.91. However, price target rises to $48.50 from $43.50.

Praxair (PX) upgraded to Buy rating from Hold at Jefferies. Price target lifts to $48.50 from $43.50. 2007 EPS estimates upped to $3.45 from $3.35.

Bear Stearns upgrades Qualcomm (QCOM) to outperform, as it expects more meaningful 3G uptake and a potential second-half 2007 resolution with Nokia.

Silicon Labs (SLAB) was upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform, Piper Jaffray said. Sale of Aero product line allows the company to focus on higher margin goods. $33 price target.

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) was downgraded from Outperform to Neutral, Robert Baird said. $61 price target. Valuation call. Earnings upside could also be limited in 2007, because of a higher marketing spend.

United Parcel (UPS) was upgraded from Neutral to Outperform, Robert Baird said. $86 price target. Fundamentals remain intact, though the stock is trading near its historical low valuations.

Rating on US Steel (X) was cut from Outperform to Sector Perform, CIBC said. Production discipline could raise prices, but the stock is already trading at a premium to its peers. $98 price target. Stock Comments/EPS Changes

Credit Suisse said it is cutting its 2007 estimates on Applied Materials (AMAT) to $1.15 from $1.25, based on oversupply in memory sector and expectations that the company will guide April orders down. Remain positive long-term based on valuation. Price target at $21 and maintained Overweight rating.

Broadcom (BRCM) numbers raised at UBS. Price target lifts to $41 from $38 and 2007 EPS estimates bump up to $0.79 from $0.77. Reiterates Buy rating.

Goldman said it is cutting its 2008 estimates on Coldwater Creek (CWTR) to $0.59 from $0.78, following management guidance significantly below expectations. Primary cause is weak sales trends, which are likely to force markdowns during 2007. Price target cut to $20 from $23 and maintained Neutral rating.

Credit Suisse said it is reducing its target on Digital River (DRIV) to $68 from $69 based on slower progress in transactions from revised Symantec contract. Believe upside limited in short-term. Maintained Overweight rating.

Goldman said it is adjusting its 2007 estimates on Eastman Kodak (EK) downward to a $2.10 loss from a $0.40 profit, based on increased restructuring expenses and dilution from pending Healthcare group sale. Note the management stated 2007 would be last big restructuring year. No price target or rating.

Target on NYSE Group (NYX) cut to $105 from $120, Goldman said. See softer trading volumes in January and potential headwinds during the first half of 2007. Removed from Americas Buy List and maintained Neutral rating.

Goldman said it is upping its target on Prudential (PRU) to $98 from $93, to reflect better sales and opportunities in 2007. 2007 estimates raised to $6.90 from $6.72. New numbers are inline with management’s raised guidance. Maintained Buy rating.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 9th, 2007 at 5:24 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Change in Ratings

Belo (BLC) was downgraded from Buy to Hold, Deutsche Bank said. $19 price target. Newspaper trends and year-over-year comparisons will be very difficult in the first half of 2007.

Goldman said it is initiating coverage on Deere (DE) with a Buy, given bullish agriculture outlook and potential for 25% to 30% operating leverage this cycle. Price target at $133.

Callaway Golf (ELY) was downgraded to Hold, AG Edwards said. Valuation call, as the stock is already pricing in solid growth through 2008.

Energy Conversion (ENER) was downgraded to Sector Perform, CIBC said. Company lacks strategic direction and has been unable to execute on PV expansion.

Embarq (EQ) was downgraded from Buy to Hold, Deutsche Bank said. Valuation call, as the stock is within 5% of the $60 price target. Earnings upside potential is likely limited in 2007.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Embarq from equalweight to overweight, but raises price target from $53 to $59.

Expeditors (EXPD) initiated with Buy rating at UBS. Price target set at $53 with FY07 EPS estimates at $1.29.

Bear Stearns downgrades Forward Air (FWRD) from peer perform to underperform on concerns about downside operating leverage.

Emdeon (HLTH) was downgraded from Outperform to Market Perform, Raymond James said. Stock is now above the $13 price target and 22% above December’s tender offer.

Penn National Gaming (PENN) downgraded to Hold rating from Buy at Jefferies. 2007 EPS estimates drop to $1.86 from $1.91. However, price target rises to $48.50 from $43.50.

Praxair (PX) upgraded to Buy rating from Hold at Jefferies. Price target lifts to $48.50 from $43.50. 2007 EPS estimates upped to $3.45 from $3.35.

Bear Stearns upgrades Qualcomm (QCOM) to outperform, as it expects more meaningful 3G uptake and a potential second-half 2007 resolution with Nokia.

Silicon Labs (SLAB) was upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform, Piper Jaffray said. Sale of Aero product line allows the company to focus on higher margin goods. $33 price target.

Telephone & Data Systems (TDS) was downgraded from Outperform to Neutral, Robert Baird said. $61 price target. Valuation call. Earnings upside could also be limited in 2007, because of a higher marketing spend.

United Parcel (UPS) was upgraded from Neutral to Outperform, Robert Baird said. $86 price target. Fundamentals remain intact, though the stock is trading near its historical low valuations.

Rating on US Steel (X) was cut from Outperform to Sector Perform, CIBC said. Production discipline could raise prices, but the stock is already trading at a premium to its peers. $98 price target. Stock Comments/EPS Changes

Credit Suisse said it is cutting its 2007 estimates on Applied Materials (AMAT) to $1.15 from $1.25, based on oversupply in memory sector and expectations that the company will guide April orders down. Remain positive long-term based on valuation. Price target at $21 and maintained Overweight rating.

Broadcom (BRCM) numbers raised at UBS. Price target lifts to $41 from $38 and 2007 EPS estimates bump up to $0.79 from $0.77. Reiterates Buy rating.

Goldman said it is cutting its 2008 estimates on Coldwater Creek (CWTR) to $0.59 from $0.78, following management guidance significantly below expectations. Primary cause is weak sales trends, which are likely to force markdowns during 2007. Price target cut to $20 from $23 and maintained Neutral rating.

Credit Suisse said it is reducing its target on Digital River (DRIV) to $68 from $69 based on slower progress in transactions from revised Symantec contract. Believe upside limited in short-term. Maintained Overweight rating.

Goldman said it is adjusting its 2007 estimates on Eastman Kodak (EK) downward to a $2.10 loss from a $0.40 profit, based on increased restructuring expenses and dilution from pending Healthcare group sale. Note the management stated 2007 would be last big restructuring year. No price target or rating.

Target on NYSE Group (NYX) cut to $105 from $120, Goldman said. See softer trading volumes in January and potential headwinds during the first half of 2007. Removed from Americas Buy List and maintained Neutral rating.

Goldman said it is upping its target on Prudential (PRU) to $98 from $93, to reflect better sales and opportunities in 2007. 2007 estimates raised to $6.90 from $6.72. New numbers are inline with management’s raised guidance. Maintained Buy rating.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 9th, 2007 at 5:23 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.