Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE), a digital publisher of personal finance content, has agreed to a merger with privately held Red Ventures in which Bankrate shareholders will receive $14 in cash for each Bankrate share. The total value of the all-cash deal is approximately $1.4 billion.

The acquisition price represents a premium of 31% to Bankrate’s three-month average closing price and has been approved unanimously by the Bankrate board of directors.

The company’s stock closed at $12.85 on Friday and traded up more than 7% Monday morning at $13.75. The stock’s 52-week range is $6.91 to $12.95.

Red Ventures is headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and specializes in online marketing, telephone sales and building technology, according to a Bloomberg profile of the company. It was founded in 2000 and has operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Seattle, as well as São Paolo, Brazil and Waltham, Massachusetts.

[nativounit]

Ric Elias, CEO of Red Ventures said:

We’re excited to join forces with the Bankrate team, which has built an impressive and powerful platform of consumer-facing financial services content and brands. Our capabilities are highly complementary. We see significant potential to leverage our technology, strategic partnerships and digital expertise and build on Bankrate’s leading platforms to help more consumers find the financial services and products that meet their needs.

Bankrate CEO Kenneth Esterow said:

We are thrilled to have reached an agreement that delivers immediate and significant value to our shareholders while joining with Red Ventures, a world-class organization that will take the Bankrate businesses to the next level of success. As a part of Red Ventures, Bankrate will be better positioned than ever to be the partner of choice for providers to acquire customers.

The transaction is expected to close this year, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

[wallst_email_signup]

The post Bankrate Acquired by Red Ventures in $1.4 Billion Deal appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

[cnxvideo id=”625477″ placement=”ros”]Stocks were indicated slightly lower on Wednesday, although a 20-point Dow drop and three-point S&P 500 retreat are hardly worth getting down in the dumps about. After all, the Dow is still above 20,000 and the S&P 500 remains within striking distance of the 2,300 level. Despite this bull market being eight years old, investors keep finding new reasons to buy every sell-off. Those same investors are also looking for new and overlooked opportunities. And there is still a path for DJIA 21,422 later in 2017 or in early 2018.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each day of the week. The goal is to find new investing and trading ideas for our readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other reports cover stocks to sell or avoid.

Most of the following featured analyst calls include some color, and Thomson Reuters was used for consensus analyst price target data. These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, February 8, 2017:

Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was maintained as a Top Pick (official Outperform rating) and the price target was raised to $225 from $200 at RBC Capital Markets. Broadcom’s 52-week trading range is $114.25 to $207.40, and it has a consensus analyst target price of $216.23.

[nativounit]

Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT: LNG) was started with an Outperform rating at Wells Fargo. Cheniere was down 1.4% at $47.81 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $23.74 to $50.53 and with a consensus price target of $51.30.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) was last indicated down 7% at $68.03 after earnings and guidance left a lot of room for disappointment to creep in despite a serious value here. Gilead was maintained as Buy at Jefferies, but the firm cut the price target to $83 from $93 (versus a $73.13 prior close). Citi downgraded Gilead to Neutral from Buy and cut the target price to $76 from $87. Gilead’s 52-week range is $69.78 to $103.10, so mark this up as a 52-week low.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) was raised to Strong Buy at Needham and the price target was raised to $100 from $75 (versus a $69.92 prior close). Microchip Tech was indicated up 8% at $75.35, as acquisitions are helping boost its earnings, in a prior 52-week range of $39.01 to $69.73. The consensus target price was $71.81.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was up 1.8% at $18.26 on Tuesday and was indicated up 2.1% at $18.65 on Wednesday. Twitter was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $25 price target (versus an $18.26 close) at BTIG. Twitter has a 52-week range of $13.73 to $25.25, and it has a consensus price target of $16.32.

Follow @Jonogg on Twitter to get analyst calls and research summaries posted directly to your feed.

Other key analyst calls were seen in the following:

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $14 price target (versus a $10.60 prior close) at Oppenheimer.

Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (NYSEMKT: CQP) was started with an Outperform rating at Wells Fargo.

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $38 price target at BTIG.

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) was raised to Neutral from Sell and the price target was raised to $64 from $51 at UBS.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) was started with a Sell rating and assigned a $13 price target (versus a $16.32 close) at BTIG.

Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $56 price target at BTIG.

LendingTree Inc. (NASDAQ: TREE) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $129 price target (versus a $113.50 price target) at Oppenheimer.

Loxo Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: LOXO) was started as Buy and assigned a $50 price target (versus a $39.68 close) at Jefferies. The analysts noted that larotrectinib is nearing the finish line and that there is still room for upside.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) was downgraded to Outperform at CLSA.

NetGear Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

NGL Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: NGL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

NVR Inc. (NYSE: NVR) was started at Neutral at BTIG.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (NYSE: RBS) was raised to Hold from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) was started at Neutral at BTIG.

Varian Medical Systems Inc. (NYSE: VAR) was maintained as Buy but the price target was cut to $88 from $102 (versus a $78.43 close) at Jefferies.

YY Inc. (NASDAQ: YY) was started with a Hold rating and assigned a $45 price target (versus a $41.11 close) at Jefferies.

Tuesday’s top analyst calls included Best Buy, Caterpillar, Nokia, UnitedHealth, Wal-Mart and over a dozen more.

[wallst_email_signup]

Argus noted about the metrics of the stock market as of February 7, 2017:

We have pointed out that February is not a terrific market month, particularly since the turn of the millennium. But for now, the chief fundamental market mover likely will remain the pace of policy pronouncements from Washington. The upwardmoving stock market seemingly has priced in stimulative action, such as tax cuts and infrastructure spending, that needs more than the president’s pen. The pace at which these items gradually wend their way to and through Congress should remind investors that major changes require time. In the interim, improving earnings and better GDP will be needed to buttress the stock market.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Broadcom, Cheniere, Gilead, Microchip Tech, Twitter, Lennar, Bankrate and Many More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were indicated to open marginally higher despite lower oil and despite a big loss in China’s stock markets. There is still a fight over the stance of selling into rallies and buying the dips. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each day to find new investing and trading ideas for its readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, and other calls cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday, February 25, 2016.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was maintained as Outperform at Credit Suisse, but the price target was trimmed to $18 from $20 (versus a $12.13 prior close). The firm lowered 2016 and 2017 EPS estimates to $1.35 and $1.55, respectively. They introduced a 2018  estimate of $1.70 per share, based on lower Federal Reserve rate hikes and the cost of the weaker capital markets.

Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) was already rated as Buy at Jefferies, but now the firm has added it to its Franchise Picks list and it has an $8 price target. Encana closed at $3.68 and was called a well-funded outfit with high-quality assets trading at a sharp discount to its $8 value. RBC has a Sector Perform rating but raised its target to $8 from $7.

Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price objective was cut to $28 from $30 (versus a $29.72 close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The firm is worried that Energy Transfer Equity may need to help on Energy Transfer Partners cash distribution sustainability after its EBITDA was almost 10% shy of the firm’s estimate, and they see a higher probability of a cash distribution cut at Energy Transfer Partners.
[recirclink id=316736]
Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RH) was up 1.3% at $51.92 before earnings guidance, but shares were last seen down 23% at $40.00 or so versus a pre-news analyst target of $95.56. Restoration Hardware was downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at Keybanc Capital Markets. R.W. Baird downgraded it to Neutral from Outperform with a $52 target.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) closed down 0.6% at $62.52 before earnings but was up over 9% at $68.50 afterward. It was reiterated as Hold at Jefferies, but the firm raised its target to $60 from $54. FBR has an Outperform rating but lowered its price target to $82 from $88. Credit Suisse reiterated its Outperform rating and $100 price target.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) was maintained as Underperform at Credit Suisse, but the firm cut its price target to $5 from $10 (versus an $8.20 close). Their take is that things are not getting any easier. Transocean has a consensus analyst target of $9.28 and a 52-week trading range of $7.67 to $21.90.

You can follow @Jonogg if you would like the daily analyst calls and other market calls and research directly on your Twitter feed.

Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Thursday included the following:

• Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $9 price target (versus a $12.68 close) at Topeka Capital Markets.
• Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) was maintained as Sector Perform at RC Capital Markets, but the price target was cut to $4 from $5.
• Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: CTB) was raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
• DENTSPLY International Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY) was raised to Neutral from Sell with a $60 price target at UBS.
• Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Roth Capital.
• Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $2.85 close (versus a $31.8 close) at UBS.
• La Quinta Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LQ) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.
• Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral with a $67 price target (versus a $49.49 close) at JPMorgan.
• PowerSecure International Inc. (NYSE: POWR) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity.
• Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (NYSE: BIN) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

If you missed Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they included First Solar, Ford, Frontier Communications, JPMorgan, Macy’s, Yamana Gold and a dozen or so more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: BofA, Encana, Energy Transfer, Restoration Hardware, Salesforce.com, Transocean and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were lower on Monday to start off the week, mainly on overseas weakness. Investors have shown time and again for four years now that they are willing to buy any pullback, and they are looking for new opportunities and hidden value. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst reports each day of the week to find new ideas for its readers. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, while other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) was raised to Buy from Underperform with a price target of $18.00 (versus a $14.47 prior close) at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Bankrate has a consensus analyst target price of $13.29 and a 52-week trading range of $8.87 to $15.80.

FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) was maintained as Outperform at Imperial Capital, but the firm slashed the target price to $32 from $55 after last week’s hugely disappointing guidance. FireEye is one of the top companies that burned their shareholders last week and it caught many key analyst downgrades and target cuts.

First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) was started as Outperform and the price target was set at $21 at Cowen. Wells Fargo started First Data as Outperform, Evercore ISI started it as Buy and Barclays started coverage as Overweight. First Data closed at $17.08, within its post-IPO range of $14.99 to $17.30.

Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) was started with a Sell rating and was given a price target of $7.00 (versus an $8.19 close) at UBS. Pier 1 has a consensus price target of $10.41 and a 52-week range of $6.52 to $17.52.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) was downgraded to Hold from Buy with an $11 price target (versus a $10.13 close) at Deutsche Bank. It has a consensus price target of $10.85 and a 52-week range of $8.54 to $10.87.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was slashed to $28 from $40 (versus a $27.59 close) at Deutsche Bank. Stratasys has a consensus price target of $28.94 and a 52-week range of $24.80 to $106.86.

ALSO READ: 10 Brands That Will Disappear in 2016

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) was started as Buy with an $88 price target (versus a $77.22 close) at Citigroup. Target has a consensus analyst price target of $84.76 and a 52-week range of $64.14 to $85.81.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) started as Neutral with a $60 price target (versus a $58.78 close) at Citigroup. Wal-Mart has a consensus price target of $62.95 and a 52-week range of $56.77 to $90.97.

ZS Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ZSPH) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight, but the price target was raised to $90 from $76 (versus an $89.04 close) at Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight but raised its target to $90 from $75. This is after a 40% gain on Friday, and it was one of our top biopharma movers that now cannot be ignored.

Other key analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations on Monday were in the following:

Amplify Snack Brands Inc. (NYSE: BETR) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $16.00 price target (versus a prior $13.00 target and a $12.38 close) at Credit Suisse.

CPI Card Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PMTS) was started as Buy with a $16 price target (versus an $11.90 close) at Goldman Sachs.

Heritage Oaks Bancorp (NASDAQ: HEOP) was raised to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

Inphi Corp. (NASDAQ: IPHI) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $31 price target (versus a $31.23 close) at Northland Securities.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy and the price target was cut to $14 from $16 (versus a $13.39 close) at Deutsche Bank.

LendingTree Inc. (NASDAQ: TREE) was started as Buy with a $150 price target (versus a $124.97 close) at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

ALSO READ: Why GE Is the Best Conglomerate Stock of 2015

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RH) was started as Buy at UBS.

RSP Permian Inc. (NYSE: RSPP) was started as Buy with a $33.00 price target (versus a $26.96 close) at Canaccord Genuity.

South Jersey Industries Inc. (NYSE: SJI) was reiterated as Buy with a $30 fair value estimate (versus a $24.44 close) at Janney Capital Markets.

TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) was maintained as Neutral with a $68.00 fair value estimate (versus a $77.42 close) at Janney Capital Markets.

Vascular Biogenics Ltd. (NASDAQ: VBLT) was started as Overweight with a $14 price target (versus a $5.95 close) at Piper Jaffray.

24/7 Wall St. has also tracked down an analyst montage of recent IPOs that could still have big potential upside. Also, is the Hewlett-Packard breakup now a bargain?

ALSO READ: 5 Big Oil and Gas Stocks Analysts Want You to Buy Now

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Bankrate, FireEye, First Data, Pier 1, Regions, Stratasys, Target, Wal-Mart, ZS Pharma and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Americans are having their personal records stolen at retailers, banks and even game consoles to which they have given name, rank and serial numbers. They also have seen hackers from North Korea and China hack government data. Is it any wonder that 77% (in theory that is tens of millions of people) of Americans worry about identity theft? And why not?

According to a new study by Bankrate:

Nearly eight in 10 Americans (77%) are frightened of having their identity stolen, according to a new Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report, including 23% who are very frightened. About half of Americans (46%) have either been a victim of identity theft or know someone who was, up 12 percentage points from 2008.

One in five Americans is not at all worried about having their identity stolen. 30-49 year-olds are the most nervous about identity theft, while millennials (18-29 year-olds) are the least concerned.

Many Americans aren’t taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves from identity theft. 42% don’t check their credit reports regularly and 41% conduct banking and other sensitive business on unsecured Wi-Fi networks that do not require a password.

Some of the worry is that none of the companies that are supposed to protect personal records or keep personal computers and other devices secure do a very good job.

ALSO READ: Data Breaches Top 600 to Date in 2015

The problem, at least as it is described in the press and by software executives, is that the Chinese military and teenage hackers can stay ahead of security efforts meant to thwart them.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, even the FBI has been hacked by a teenager:

An intelligent and fame-hungry teenage hacker who crashed FBI and Home Office websites has avoided jail Charlton Floate’s actions cost the Government £15,000 and temporarily halted the reporting of internet crime in the US during targeted attacks masterminded from his family home in Solihull, West Midlands.

A judge said Floate played the “central role” in planning, recruiting for and launching damaging cyber assaults and “craving recognition” then boasted online of his success.

The 19-year-old self-styled internet and online marketing guru had previously admitted three charges under the Computer Misuse Act and two of possessing prohibited images.

And Ireland is a U.S. ally.

ALSO READ: 4 Tech Stocks That Could Trade Much Higher on Solid IT Spending

The post Tens of Millions of Americans Terrified About ID Theft appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were indicated higher on Monday morning on hopes that Greece may get a deal done. The one trend which has remained constant over the last three and a half years has been that investors want to buy every single pullback. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst and brokerage research reports each morning of the week to find value and upside or new trading and investing ideas for our readers. Some analyst calls cover stocks to buy, and other analyst calls are about stocks to sell or stocks to avoid.

These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations.

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $12 price target (versus $11.93 close) at Sterne Agee. Alcoa’s consensus price target is $16.91 and its 52-week range is $11.85 to $17.75.

FireEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS. FireEye has a consensus price target of $50.33 and a 52-week range of $24.81 to $55.33.

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $68.00 (versus $56.23 close) at RBC Capital Markets. MetLife has a consensus target price of $58.67 and a 52-week range of $46.10 to $57.57.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) was started as Outperform with a price target of $34.00 at Cowen & Co. Micron was also downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, and the price target is now $19.00 from $27.00. Micron’s consensus price target was $36.42, and this followed one upgrade and one downgrade last week. Micron’s 52-week range is $23.70 to $36.59.

Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS. This is ahead of Symantec’s split. Symantec has a consensus price target of $25.64 and a 52-week range of $21.66 to $27.32.

ALSO READ: 5 Analyst Stocks Called to Rise 50% to 100%

Other key analyst upgrades and downgrades seen this Monday were as follows:

AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) was raised to Neutral from Underweight with a $55.00 price target (versus $52.68 close) at JPMorgan.

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKBA) was started as Market Outperform with a price target of $24.00 (versus $7.99 close) at JMP Securities.

Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOLD) was started as Buy with a $16.00 fair value estimate (raised from $15.00 and versus $13.49 close) at Janney Capital Markets. The firm says that Amicus is set to emerge in orphan diseases.

Bankrate, Inc. (NYSE: RATE) had a bad week after falling to $11.19 after being at almost $14.00. Now Needham & Co. is starting it as Buy with a $14.00 price target. The consensus price target is $12.90, and Bankrate’s 52-week range is $9.39 to $18.19.

Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

ALSO READ: 4 Cheap Tech Stocks With Huge Upside Calls

Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $98.00 (versus $80.48 close) at Nomura.

Ignyta, Inc. (NASDAQ: RXDX) was started as Overweight with a $34 price target (versus $16.73 close) at Piper Jaffray.

Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $17.00 price target (versus $12.89 close) at Canaccord Genuity.

OncoSec Medical Incorporated (NASDAQ: ONCS) was started as Buy with a price target of $25.00 (versus $6.96 close) at H.C. Wainwright & Co. OncoSec has a 52-week range of $4.00 to $13.20 and a tiny market cap of $103 million.

Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at William Blair.

Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $31.00 price target (versus $28.08 close) at Raymond James.

Radius Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDUS) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Maxim Group.

TerraForm Power Inc. (NASDAQ: TERP) was started as Buy with a price target of $43.00 (versus $37.60 close) at Evercore ISI.

WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ: WETF) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $25.00 (versus $21.97 close) at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

ALSO READ: 10 Stocks to Own for the Next Decade

In case you missed Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of BioMarin, BP, Micron, Vonage, Finisar, ConEd, Red Hat and over a dozen more companies.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Alcoa, FireEye, MetLife, Micron, Symantec and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were higher on Thursday morning as investors start to move past Greece and think about a Federal Reserve that still looks somewhat dovish. The one path that keeps emerging is that investors find different reasons to buy every single market pullback. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst and brokerage research reports each morning to find new trading and investing ideas for its readers. Some of these analyst calls cover stocks to buy, while others are about stocks to sell or avoid.

These are this Thursday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $12 from $18 (versus a $13.85 close) at SunTrust. Bank of America Merrill Lynch reinstated coverage as Underperform (previously Buy) with a $11 price objective.

Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) was reiterated as Buy but the price target was raised to $92 from $80 at Argus. The firm talked up positive pipeline developments and noted that this new target generates a more appropriate dividend yield versus peers.

Embraer S.A. (NYSE: ERJ) was raised to Outperform from Neutral with a $42.00 price target (versus a $31.61 close) at Cowen. Embraer’s consensus price target is listed as $36.84, and its 52-week trading range is $29.55 to $40.52. The highest analyst price target is $43.00.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) saw shares fall 7% or so after earnings. It was maintained as Outperform with a $50 target at Credit Suisse, with the firm noting that Oracle is booking its way to cloud growth while it is lowering estimates. Jefferies maintained its Hold rating and $41.00 price target. Merrill Lynch reiterated its Buy and $48.00 price objective, with the note that its drop is overdone.

Southwest Airlines Inc. (NYSE: LUV) was downgraded to Underweight from Overweight with a price target slashed to $39 from $50 (versus a $33.84 close) at Barclays.

ALSO READ: 10 Stocks to Own for the Next Decade

Additional top analyst upgrades and downgrades were in shares of the following companies this Thursday:

Advisory Board Co. (NASDAQ: ABCO) was started as Outperform and with a $65.00 price target (versus a $52.38 close) at Oppenheimer.

Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) was raised to Outperform from Neutral and the price target was raised to $78.00 from $75.00 at Credit Suisse.

Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays, and the price target was raised to $200 from $167 (versus a $168.06 close).

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACGL) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $67.00 price target (versus a $66.29 close) at BMO Capital Markets.

Cerner Corp. (NASDAQ: CERN) was started as Outperform with a price target of $89.00 (versus a $67.81 close) at Oppenheimer.

ALSO READ: 4 Merrill Lynch High Quality and Dividend Yield Stocks to Buy Now

CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) was started as Outperform with a price target of $119.00 (versus a $103.82 close) at Oppenheimer.

Digital Ally Inc. (NASDAQ: DGLY) was started as Buy with a price target of $24.00 (versus a $13.56 close) at H.C. Wainwright.

Energen Corp. (NYSE: EGN) was raised to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) was raised to Buy with target of $104 at Argus. The firm sees stronger earnings in all four business segments.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H) was started as Buy with a price target of $68.00 (versus a $56.34 close) at Brean Capital.

Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL) was started as Buy with a price target of $85.00 (versus a $71.23 close) at B. Riley.

Nimble Storage Inc. (NYSE: NMBL) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich.

Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) was raised to Neutral from Sell but the price target was cut to $18 from $20 (versus a $18.45 close) at UBS.

Silver Spring Networks Inc. (NYSE: SSNI) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $16.00 from $12.00 (versus a $13.45 close) at Northland Securities.

Spirit Airlines Inc. (NYSE: SAVE) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a price target cut to $69.00 from $75.00 (versus a $62.42 close) at Credit Suisse.

Webster Financial Corp. (NYSE: WBS) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $36.00 price target (versus a $39.78 close) at Morgan Stanley.

ALSO READ: Merrill Lynch’s Top Cybersecurity Stocks to Buy

In case you missed out on Wednesday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of Arista Networks, Baidu, Chevron, Lexmark International, Occidental Petroleum, Salesforce.com and over a dozen more companies.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Bankrate, Eli Lilly, Embraer, Oracle, Southwest Air and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

From a total of 10 million prepaid debit and payroll cards in use in 2010, an estimated total of 25.6 million such cards are expected to be in consumers’ hands in 2015. The amount of dollars loaded onto the cards is expected to rise from $56.6 billion in 2010 to an estimated $149.1 billion this year.

Prepaid debit cards are attractive to consumers who cannot get or do not want either a checking account or a credit/debit card. The cards also appeal to parents who want either to teach their kids financial responsibility or to limit how much their college student offspring spend.

Many employers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), and Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), either offer or require employees to receive their pay by prepaid card or direct deposit to a bank account instead of receiving a paper check. The companies are saved the cost of issuing paper checks, a significant expense for employers with hundreds of thousands of employees. Payroll cards are reloaded at each pay period.

A survey of 31 prepaid cards conducted by Bankrate.com Inc. (NYSE: RATE) revealed wide variation in both the types of fees charged on prepaid cards and the amount of those fees. For example, some 29% of prepaid card issuers do not belong to an ATM network, which means that card holders will pay a fee of $1 to $3 to the card issuer, as well as a separate fee to the bank that owns the automated teller machine, for every cash withdrawal. A single withdrawal from the prepaid card could end up costing $5 or more.

ALSO READ: America’s Highest Paying Companies

Checking the balance on the card is not free for 39% of the cards surveyed by Bankrate.com. Fees ranged from $0.50 to $1.50 for checking a balance at any ATM. If the card issuer does belong to an ATM network, 42% of those issuers will let customers check balances for free at an in-network machine, but charge the same fee for out-of-network balance checks. More than half — 55% — of card issuers make customers pay $1 to $5.95 for a paper statement.

Then there are activation fees that run from $1.88 to $9.95 on 48% of cards. Monthly maintenance fees apply on 75% of the prepaid cards unless customers arrange for a direct deposit to the card.

Then there’s the ever-popular “overdraft protection,” wherein the card issuer covers a purchase for which the card does not have sufficient cash then charges the customer a fat fee in addition to the amount lent the next time cash is loaded on the card. The good news is that only two of the 31 cards reviewed by Bankrate.com still offer this “service.”

Among what the survey noted as “weird” fees at the margin are these:

• Almost a quarter of cards charge some kind of fee for making a purchase at a point of sale, ranging from $0.50 up to $2.00.
• Inactivity fees, charged to cards that are not used for a certain period, still appear on 16% of cards.
• The number of prepaid cards charging for a call to customer service is falling, but 16% of cards still charge a fee of $0.50 to $4.95.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is currently preparing a rule that would give the agency the power to regulate prepaid cards.

ALSO READ: Is Legalized Marijuana Coming to 3 More States?

The post Fees for Prepaid Cards Vary Widely — and Wildly appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks were soft on Tuesday after mixed fanfare on Monday. Investors are still looking for opportunities now that some stocks have pulled back. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning to find new investment and trading ideas for its readers. Some research reports feature stocks to buy, but others cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations covered by 24/7 Wall St.

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral and the price target was cut to $3 from $4 at Nomura.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Topeka Capital Markets.

BE Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAV) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at J.P. Morgan.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was started as Market Perform with a $43 price target at Cowen.

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) was started as Buy with a $5 price target (versus a $2.87 close) at Deutsche Bank in a late-Monday call.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. (NYSE: HPY) was started as Buy with a $58 price target at Sterne Agee.

READ ALSO: 6 Stocks Being Sold to Pay for Alibaba Stakes

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) was started as Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Laredo Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: LPI) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was started as Buy and an $85 price target at Sterne Agee, and it was started as Overweight and $91 target at Piper Jaffray.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was started as Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets. Argus maintained its Hold rating.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) was started with a Sector Perform rating at RBC Capital Markets. Here is the 24/7 Wall St. earnings preview and review ahead of Thursday’s earnings report.

Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) was downgraded to Reduce from Neutral and the price target was cut to $11 from $13 at Nomura.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) was started as Outperform with a $106 price target at Cowen.

Scorpio Bulkers Inc. (NYSE: SALT) was started with a Buy rating at Deutsche Bank.

Tableau Software Inc. (NYSE: DATA) was raised to Outperform from Neutral by Credit Suisse.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was started as Buy with a $265 price target at Sterne Agee. It was also started as Overweight with a $265 price target at Piper Jaffray.

READ ALSO: Evaluating SodaStream as Value Versus Growth

If you missed Monday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades, they were in shares of AMC, ADP, Barrick Gold, Cree, Rackspace, Costco, Walmart and more.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Arch Coal, Coca-Cola, Duke Energy, Microsoft, Oracle, Visa and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

September 15, 2014: The following stocks are among the 133 equities making new 52-week lows today:

Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) dropped about 4.7% on Monday to post a new 52-week low of $40.66. Share volume is about 40% above the daily average of around 1.7 million. The stock’s 52-week high is $75.98. The company downgraded to Neutral from Buy and the price target was cut to $48 from $60 at Goldman Sachs.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) sank to a new 52-week low on Monday of $45.12. Based on Friday night’s closing price of $46.03 that’s a drop of about 2%. The stock’s 52-week high is $83.51.The company had no news today but nemesis Bill Ackman announced this morning that Pershing Square will raise $2 billion for a new fund that will trade publicly in Amsterdam and will have a market cap of at least $5 billion after an IPO now scheduled for next month. Trading volume for Herbalife was about 50% below the daily average of around 2.5 million shares.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) dropped nearly 23% today to post a new 52-week low of $10.66. Share volume was more than 4-times higher than the average daily volume of around 700,000 shares. The stock’s 52-week high is $23.14. The financial website appointed an interim CFO this morning to replace the current CFO who will remain with the company as a senior vice-president. The company also said that the SEC is investigating its financial reporting for 2012.

Terex Corp. (NYSE: TEX) dropped about 7.8% today to post a new 52-week low of $32.00. Volume is roughly 3.5-times higher than the daily average of around 1.9 million shares. The construction and heavy equipment maker lowered profit guidance Monday morning. The stock’s 52-week high is $45.46.

ALSO READ: The 10 Most Affordable Housing Markets in America

The post The 52-Week Low Club for Monday appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

When most investors think of Internet stocks, the first ones that usually come to mind are the industry giants like Google, Yahoo and Facebook. The reality is there is a world of top Internet stocks that, while they lack mega-cap status, are extremely successful at making money and could always end up as a target for the big boys.

A new research report from the Internet team at RBC indicates that current expectations for the smaller Internet stocks in their coverage universe are biased toward the positive side going into the earnings for the quarter. The group has outperformed the S&P 500, rising anywhere from 8% to 10% versus the index gain of 4%.

We screened the RBC report for the three top picks, and for additional Internet stocks with the least amount of risk from second quarter earnings expectations.

Zulily Inc. (NASDAQ: ZU) is one of the top three picks from the RBC team. They believe that the recent stock underperformance creates a very attractive entry point for investors and continued expansion beyond core children’s apparel segment implies proven value to vendor partners. Their survey results highlight the company’s leadership position as a flash-sales website with high customer satisfaction with price, customer selection and discovery viewed as company’s best features.

The RBC price target for Zulily stock, which is rated Outperform, is $50. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target is at $48.86. The stock closed Tuesday at $37.42 a share.

SEE ALSO: Credit Suisse’s Top Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy for Rest of 2014

Shutterstock Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) is one of the stocks RBC believes holds less risk in front of earnings and is a top pick. The company is the undisputed leader for online commercial digital imagery. It is the “you name it, we have it” one-stop shop for any commercial or personal image or video need. The company offers its products for users to enhance their visual communications, such as websites, digital and print marketing materials, corporate communications, books, publications and video content.

The RBC team is impressed with the company’s ability to take advantage of what they see is a secular movement of imagery and photography online. With the additions of added salesforce, new products, expansion and acquisitions all designed to help growth, and partnerships with Facebook and Salesforce.com, the stock could be poised for big growth. The stock is rated Outperform, and the RBC price objective is a big $90. The consensus target is $89.20. Shares closed Tuesday at $76.11.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) has underperformed despite fundamentals the RBC analysts see as coming around. One overhang has been the departure of the company’s CEO, which should fade with time. The new products and offering from the company, which include Mobile, MyBankRate, Data analytics and Caring.com, could add significantly to earnings in the second half of the year and in 2015. The stock is another one of the top picks and is rated Outperform at RBC with a $21 price target. The consensus figure is set at $21.22. The stock close Tuesday at $17.49.

Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW) is one of the names that the RBC team sees very little front-end risk in as it already pre-announced positive earnings numbers. While Orbitz no longer has an exclusive relationship with Kayak, which rival Priceline.com recently bought, to help drive results, the company is benefiting from a large uptick in online spending in the travel industry. Orbitz is rated Sector Perform with a $10 target. The consensus target is $9.10, and shares closed Tuesday at $9.01.

Shutterfly Inc. (NASDAQ: SFLY) has secured a quality niche in the Internet landscape for photos and is another stock the RBC team feels is a low-risk company is front of earnings; it reports after the close on July 30. Many Wall Street analysts have cited the firm’s positive thesis citing growth opportunities, its e-commerce model, quality products and culture of innovation.

The RBC analysts expect Shutterfly to continue to invest in long-term growth opportunities and adjacencies such as enterprise printing and mobile/cloud-based photo sharing. RBC rates the stock Outperform and has a $60 price target. The consensus target is $54.25. Shares close Tuesday at $47.47.

ALSO READ: 12 Analyst Stocks to Buy Under $10 With Huge Potential Upside

While many investors like the comfort and security of the mega-cap Internet leaders, much of the growth in some of the top stocks may have been already priced well in. Some of these smaller stocks with big market presence may be good additions to aggressive growth portfolios with a high risk tolerance.

The post RBC’s Smaller Internet Stocks to Buy With Big Upside Potential appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Stocks are looking for direction after the European Central Bank decision. Investors are being conditioned almost daily by the financial media that the bull market has now turned into a stock picker’s market. 24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each morning of the week, hunting for new ideas and hidden gems for our readers. Some of these analyst calls are about stocks to buy, but some of the research reports cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

These are this Thursday’s top Wall Street analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $685 from $610 at BMO Capital Markets. Just this week we noted that there have been almost 10 analyst price target hikes now.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $21 price target at RBC Capital Markets.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight by Barclays.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) is being reiterated as Outperform with a $59 price target (versus a $46.59 close) at Credit Suisse. The firm believes that the street is being too negative on the company and a call with physicians leads it to think that the company’s lung cancer study design is not as hazardous as the negativity has been.

ALSO READ: The Highest-Yielding Dividends That Are Safe to Hold

Cardtronics Inc. (NASDAQ: CATM) was started with an Outperform rating at Wells Fargo, ahead of a presentation at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Sterne Agee. The firm agrees that challenges remain in the company, but the upgrade is now that shares have broken under the firm’s own $43 price target.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform with a $49 price target (versus a $40.32 close and $43 prior target) at FBR Capital markets. FBR believes that Satya Nadella’s focus on the cloud and mobile will pay off.

National Bank of Greece S.A. (NYSE: NBG) was raised to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank in a sector call for Greek banks. The team also gave Buy ratings to Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank. Keep in mind that Nomura just this same week said it is time to Buy NBG as well.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) was reinstated as Outperform at Credit Suisse, now that the spin-off has been completed.

ALSO READ: 11 Ways to Avoid a Stock Market Crash

Protective Life Corp. (NYSE: PL) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays after the acquisition offer from Japan.

Statoil ASA (NYSE: STO) was reiterated as Overweight and the price target was raised by over 10% on Norwegian Kroners (local) by J.P. Morgan, due to its low-risk portfolio, asset structure and exploration performance.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) was started as Outperform with a $45 price target at Pacific Crest. The firm thinks that app-install ads will act as a revenue growth driver, even if it does acknowledge that there are risks with the company.

ALSO READ: Companies That Should Win From Stricter EPA Regulations

Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNT) was raised to outperform from Neutral with a $57 price target (versus a $46.59 close) by Credit Suisse, based on organic growth and its new cybersecurity platform deal.

Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR) was started with a Buy rating and a $170 price target (versus a $141.61 close) at Sterne Agee.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) was started with an Outperform rating and assigned a $48 price target (versus a $38.38 close) at Imperial Capital. We recently featured a special on why Whole Foods is losing so many of its customers, but this stock has already been gutted in 2014.

The big economic report of the week is due Friday via the unemployment and payrolls report from the Labor Department. Bloomberg is calling for the unemployment rate to rise 0.1% to 6.4% in May, with nonfarm payrolls up 213,000 (vs. 288,000 in April) and private sector payrolls up 215,000 (vs. 273,000 in April). The ADP report may have lowered expectations, but the TrimTabs report was more in line with BLS expectations than it was with the ADP report itself.

The post Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Apple, Lululemon, Microsoft, NBG, Twitter, Whole Foods and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Buyers looking for a new house or homeowners looking to refinance a mortgage get hit with a blizzard of fees and charges that are collectively known as closing costs. The costs vary depending on the amount borrowed and local variations for some standard services.

In June, Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) conducted a survey of 10 lenders in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, seeking a good-faith estimate for a $200,000 mortgage loan for a borrower with excellent credit and a 20% down payment. As Bankrate noted, the final charges very likely will be higher because some of the high-priced items like title insurance, title search, taxes, escrow fees and local government fees vary wildly.

There are a few interesting changes in the rankings compared with last year. In 2012, California was ranked 35th and New Mexico was ranked 43rd. New York, which was ranked first in 2012, fell to 37th. The lowest closing costs were recorded in Wisconsin — a total of $2,119 — but Wisconsin ranked fifth in 2012.

Bankrate’s senior mortgage analyst Holden Lewis offered this response to our query about New York’s fall from the top spot:

For years, New York consistently has been No. 1 or 2. We’re not sure why it dropped so far in the rankings this year. We’ll have a better guess in a year or two, when we can speculate whether it’s a trend or a one-year anomaly. Generally speaking, the most expensive states tend to remain among the most expensive year in and year out, and the same goes with the least-expensive states. But every year, there are a few states that zoom up and down in the rankings. Mostly, we chalk this up to changes in the survey group.

Total closing costs include lender origination fees and third-party fees like appraisal fees, title search and the like. Compared to 2012, when national average closing costs totaled $2.264, costs in 2013 rose 6% to $2,402. Here’s the top 10:

1. Hawaii: $1,970 in origination fees and $949 in third-party fees, for a total of $2,919
2. Alaska: $1,925 plus $750, for a total of $2,675
3. South Carolina: $1,935 plus $723, for a total of $2,658
4. California: $1,977 plus $662, for a total of $2,639
5. New Mexico: $1,807 plus $760, for a total of $2,566
6. North Carolina: $1,840 plus $718, for a total of $2558
7. New Jersey: $1,804 plus $741, for a total of $2,545
8. Oklahoma: $1,919 plus $600, for a total of $2,519
9. Florida: $1,798 plus $719, for a total of $2,517
10. Delaware: $1,742 plus $760, for a total of $2,502

The post Mortgage Loan Closing Costs, Fees Up 6%: 10 States Where Costs Are Highest appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

July 30, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning as traders and investors wait for tomorrow’s announcement from the FOMC. There was little economic data published today. In the U.S., the S&P Case-Shiller house price index posted another sharp jump in May. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index came in lower than expected.

The U.S. dollar index is trading higher today, now at 81.8620. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.1% at 636.48. WTI crude oil closed down 1.4% today, at $103.08 a barrel. Brent crude trades down 0.8% at $106.69 a barrel. Natural gas is down 1.3% today at about $3.43 per million BTUs. Gold for August delivery settled down 0.4% today at $1,324.80 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down less than 2 points to 15,520.59 (-0.01%), the NASDAQ rose more than 17 points (0.48%) to 3,616.47, and the S&P 500 rose 0.04% or less than 1 point to 1,685.96.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades<<LINK>> today, including:

• Nasdaq OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) cut to ‘sell’ and price target cut to $28 at Goldman Sachs;
• Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) reiterated as ‘buy’ and price target raised to $84 at Argus;
• SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs;
• D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) cut to ‘underperform’ at Raymond James; and
• Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) cut to ‘equal weight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some prices move today:

• Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) is up 0.3% at $88.92;
• Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) is up 17.2% at $18.49 after posting a new 52-week high of $19.75 earlier today;
• Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX) is down 3% at $64.90;
• Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is down 0.3% at $60.40 after posting a new 52-week high of %66.23;
• 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) is down 5.1% at $47.99 on less-than-stellar earnings;
• Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) is down 0.4% at $63.15;
• Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is down 4.9% at $3.92 on a weak forecast;
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) is down 1.3% at $15.20;
• Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) is down 0.5% at $2.46;
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) is down 2.3% at $88.43;
• Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is up 0.7% at $29.74; and
• United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) is down 6.6% at $17.73.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings results from Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI), Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), Boston Beer Company Inc. (NYSE: SAM), Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW), Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES), Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), and Weatherford International Inc. (NYSE: WFT).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) is down 16.2% at $31.76. The Canadian fertilizer maker after a Russian potash producer fled a cartel and threatened to go after market share by cutting prices.

Stereotaxis Inc. (NASDAQ: STXS) is up 233.1% at $5.92 after posting a new high of $6.90 earlier. The medical device maker received FDA clearance to market its robotic instrument navigation systems in the U.S.

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up 7.2% at $37.94. The social media company announced a new distribution system for games developers, on top of a very well-received earnings report last week. Just a few more pennies and the stock will hit its IPO price.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. The FOMC ends a two-day meeting today. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
• 8:30 a.m. – GDP report
• 8:30 a.m. – Employment cost report
• 9:45 a.m. – Chicago PMI
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 2:00 p.m. – FOMC meeting announcement
• 3:00 p.m. – Farm prices

The post Closing Bell for Tuesday on Wall Street: Markets Open Higher, Drift to Mixed Close appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Investors and traders are often on the hunt for new research ideas that will generate higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many analyst research calls from Wall Street brokerage and research firms to find great ideas in value stocks, growth stocks and dividend stocks. Some are stocks to buy, but some ideas are actually stocks that Wall Street thinks it is time to sell. These are 10 of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from select Wall Street research calls this Tuesday.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Corporate Office Properties Trust (NYSE: OFC) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at R.W. Baird.

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.

Nasdaq OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) was downgraded to Sell from an already cautious Neutral rating, and the target was cut to $28 from $30, by Goldman Sachs.

PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) and Ryland Group Inc. (NYSE: RYL) were both upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, however Pulte was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Spirit Airlines Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) was reiterated Buy and the target was raised $7 to $84 at Argus.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) was downgraded to Sell from an already cautious Neutral rating, and the price target was cut to $40 from $41 at Goldman Sachs.

UBS has issued a list of stocks to buy to benefit from the new global economy of the future.

The post Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Nasdaq, SanDisk, Starbucks, Teva and More appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

If you are between the ages of 18 and 29, you think you have more job security today than you did a year ago. Only 18% of workers older than that feel more secure today. Whether it is the callowness of youth bumping up against the experience of age is hard to say.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) compiles a financial security index based on a survey of six questions posed to about 1,000 respondents living in the continental United States. Overall, the financial security index reading came in at 102.4, indicating that Americans are feeling a bit more secure than they did a year ago.

The more you earn, the more secure you feel. According to Bankrate’s survey, 44% of respondents making at least $75,000 a year are comfortable with their debt levels, while only 25% of those making less feel comfortable.

Nearly half of all respondents making at least $75,000 a year say their net worth is higher than it was a year ago. Just 15% of those making less than $50,000 say their net worth is higher.

When asked about their overall financial situation compared with a year ago, 29% said it was better, 20% said it was worse and 49% said it was about the same. Among Democrats, 22% say they are worse off today, compared with 14% of Republicans. And among young workers, 44% say they are doing better, and only 25% of those older than 30 say they are doing better.

As the following chart shows, Bankrate’s financial security index has hovered around 100 for the past four months, and this month’s reading is the best in more than a year. The improving employment climate certainly has helped, but we will have to see what happens now that interest rates have started rising again.

The post Job Security High Among Younger Workers appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a weaker-than-expected employment report from ADP and concern that Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will follow the ADP lead (more coverage here). In other U.S. data out today, the April ISM manufacturing index ready came in lower than expected and the March report on construction spending was substantially weaker than forecast (more coverage here). In Asia, China’s PMI was lower than expected and raised worries that the Asian growth is slowing down (more coverage here). Markets in China and Hong Kong were closed today for the May Day holiday. The FOMC announcement in mid-afternoon offered a slightly different view on how the Fed’s asset buying may proceed (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.28% today, now at 81.521. The GSCI commodity index is down 0.9% at 624.44. WTI crude oil closed down 2.6%, at $91.03 a barrel, following a massive increase in commercial inventories (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 2.4% at $99.89 a barrel, as the spread between WTI and Brent now falls below $10 a barrel (more coverage here). Natural gas is down 0.4% today at about $4.32 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 1.8% today at $1,446.20 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 139 points to 14,700.95 (-0.94%), the NASDAQ about 30 points (-0.89%) to 3,299.13, and the S&P 500 fell -0.93% or nearly 15 points to 1,582.70.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) removed from “Conviction Buy” list and cut to ‘neutral’ at Goldman Sachs; Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) raised to ‘buy’ at Nomura; Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) added to “Conviction Buy” list at Goldman Sachs; and Oil States International Inc. (NYSE: OIS) cut to ‘underperform’ at BMO Capital Markets and cut to ‘market perform’ at Raymond James.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) is down 8% at $3.35; Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) is up 14.7% at $15.46; Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) is down 3.2% at $5.54; Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPB) is down 4.6% at $53.44; Trulia Inc. (NYSE: TRLA) is up 13.1% at $32.86; Vanguard Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: VHS) is down 8.3% at $13.41; ADT Corp. (NYSE: ADT) is down 6.9% at $40.65; Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is down 2.1% at $19.14 (more coverage here); Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is up 1.2% at $41.81 (more coverage here); Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is up 4.4% at $77.38; James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) is up 32.8% at $2.19; Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA) is down 2.3% at $540.47; Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is down 2.1% at $59.68 (more coverage here); and Viacom Corp. (NASDAQ: VIAB) is up 3.2% at $66.01 after posting a new 52-week high of $69.00 earlier today.

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS), Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX), Tesoro Corp. (NYSE: TSO), Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR), Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI), Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG), and Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) is up 13.1% at $3.19. The chipmaker had no big news today, although it did introduce two new microprocessors and made some pricing changes that indicate that the company’s pricing may have stabilized.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is up 3.4% at $3.36 after posting a new 52-week (and 5-year) high of $3.39 earlier today. The satellite radio company posted a second consecutive high today, continuing to feast off yesterday’s earnings report.

Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) is down 2.8% at $45.67. The drug maker slid on its lackluster earnings results and took a slice out of its sales and earnings targets for the rest of the year.

Stay tuned for Thursday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:30 a.m. – Challenger job-cut report
• 8:30 a.m. – International trade
• 8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
• 8:30 a.m. – Productivity and costs
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly natural gas storage report
• 4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply

The post 24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — Wednesday: Markets Cannot Shake-off Low Open and Sink to Close appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

U.S. equity markets opened mixed this morning as investors weighed conflicting data from the U.S., Europe, and Asia. In Europe, retail sales declined more than expected in Germany, Italy’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 11.5%, and eurozone inflation moderated to 1.2%, below a forecast for inflation of 1.6%. In Asia, Japanese industrial production rose less than expected, retail unexpectedly fell, and unemployment came in below expectations. In the U.S., the S&P Case-Shiller housing price index rose more than expected (more coverage here), while the Chicago PMI came in well below expectations and chilled investors for a spell this morning (more coverage here). The latest U.S. consumer confidence index came in higher than expected, which put some heat back into the morning trading session (more coverage here).

The U.S. dollar index is trading down 0.47% today, now at 81.762. The GSCI commodity index is up 1.2% at 629.99. WTI crude oil closed down 1.1%, at $93.46 a barrel, down 3.9% for the month of April. Brent crude trades down 1.6% at $102.19 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.4% today at about $4.15 per million BTUs. Gold settled up 0.3% today at $1,472.10 an ounce, but lost 7.8% for the month, the largest drop in 16 months.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 20 points to 14,839.18 (0.14%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 22 points (0.66%) to 3,328.79, and the S&P 500 rose 0.24% or nearly 4 points to 1,597.45.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) initiated as ‘sector perform’ at RBC Capital Markets; Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) cut to ‘hold’ at KeyBanc; Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) raised to ‘buy’ at Deutsche Bank (more coverage here); PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM) cut to ‘neutral’ at J.P. Morgan; and SINA Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) raised to ‘buy’ at Jefferies.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) is up 6.7% at $34.94; Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX) is up 1.6% at $59.38; General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) is up 2.2% at $22.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.80 earlier today; Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) is up 2.7% at $39.78 (more coverage here); Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) is up 0.2% at $24.03 after posting a new 52-week high of $24.79 earlier today; Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) is down 5% at $32.27 after posting a new 52-week low of $31.33 earlier today; Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD) is up fractionally at $14.86; 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) is up 7.3% at $38.39; Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) is up 2.5% at $57.55 after posting a new 52-week high of $58.63 earlier today; Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (NYSE: BUD) is up 0.3% at $95.72; Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is up 4.5% at $23.23 after posting a new 52-week high of $24.30 earlier today; BP plc (NYSE: BP) is up 2.3% at $43.61 (more coverage here); Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) is down 5.5% at $3.25; Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) is down 4.9% at $78.39; Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) is up 4.9% at $3.88; United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) is up 0.3% at $17.59; and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) is down 2.5% at $40.17 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX), Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE), Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPB), Trulia Inc. (NASDAQ: TRLA), Vanguard Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: VHS), ADT Corp. (NYSE: ADT), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC), Mastercard Inc. (NYSE: MA), and Viacom Corp. (NASDAQ: VIAB).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is up 5.5% at $3.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $3.25 earlier today. The satellite radio company posted good numbers and made permanent the hire of interim CEO James Meyer.

Delcath Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: DCTH) is down 39.8% at $0.84. The pharmaceutical and medical device maker will have to repeat a clinical trial.

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) is down 16.6% at $13.52. The business equipment company had a 57% drop in profits and cut its dividend.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) concludes a two-day meeting. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:15 a.m. – ADP employment report
• 8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index
• 10:00 a.m. – ISM manufacturing index
• 10:00 a.m. – Construction spending
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 2:00 p.m. – FOMC meeting announcement

The post 24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — Tuesday: Markets Mixed at Open, Closes Slightly Higher appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning despite low flash PMI readings from the eurozone. Germany’s manufacturing PMI reading was especially notable, falling to 47.9 from 49, and the country’s services PMI fell as well (more coverage here). In Asia, China’s flash manufacturing PMI fell from 51.60 last month to 50.50, which was worse than expected (more coverage here). In the U.S., the flash PMI reading fell from 54.6 to 52, which is still positive, but barely (more coverage here). U.S. house prices rose in February (more coverage here) and new home sales were also up after a drop in January (more coverage here). An afternoon “flash crash” followed a false report of an explosion at the White House caused by a hacker attack on the AP Twitter feed.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.43% today, now at 83.032. The GSCI commodity index is flat at 609.10. WTI crude oil closed flat today, at $89.18 a barrel on the June futures contract. Brent crude trades down 0.1% at $100.26 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.8% today at about $4.23 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.9% today at $1,408.80 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 152 points to 14,719.53 (1.05%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 36 points (1.11%) to 3,269.33, and the S&P 500 rose 1.04% or more than 16 points to 1,578.78.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) raised to ‘overweight’ with a price target of $100 at J.P. Morgan; Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $25 at SunTrust Robinson Humphreys; and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $25 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up 24.9% at $217.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $219.38 earlier today (more coverage here); Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is down 1.5% at $53.22; Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) is up 1.2% at $10.99; Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) is up 2.5% at $35.67 after posting a new 52-week high of $36.23 earlier today (more coverage here); AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) is up 0.5% at $2.94; Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) is up 10.5% at $55.88; Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is down 5.2% at $19.94; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) is up 1.5% at $97.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $99.49 earlier today (more coverage here); and RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is up 2.1% at $3.21 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW), Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR), Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is up 9.8% at $16.62. The air lines reported decent earnings today, but is forecasting lower fuel costs going forward. More coverage here.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is up 5.2% at $40.60. The insurer won a lawsuit dismissal in California today.

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is down 5.9% at $4.60. The coal miner’s quarterly report came in as poorly as expected and its outlook is now particularly strong. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 1:00 p.m. – 5-year note auction

The post 24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — April 23, 2013: Flash Crash Has No Impact on Rising Stocks appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Investors often get to see many Buy ratings from Wall St. analysts, but they often do not see when these analysts give lists of stocks to sell nor when the analysts have very cautious comments about companies. We review many fresh research calls each and every day to find great ideas from value stocks to growth stocks to dividend stocks.

These are this Tuesday’s top analyst downgrades and cautious research notes from Wall St.

Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was reiterated as Sell as earnings trends were unsustainable according to Argus.

Compass Minerals International Inc. (NYSE: CMP) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was maintained as Hold but earnings estimates were cut in 2013 and 2014, based on lower Windows 8 sales, by Argus.

Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE: RCI) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform but still called a core holding at Credit Suisse.

SLM Corp. (NASDAQ: SLM) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight by Evercore Partners.

Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was downgraded to Underperform from Buy at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

See also: Top Analyst Upgrades and Positive Research Calls

The post Top Analyst Downgrades and Cautious Views from Wall Street appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..