Posted Jun 9th 2009 11:40AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, U.S. Steel (X), Nucor Corp (NUE), Analyst initiations, Marvell Technology Group (MRVL)
Analyst upgrades:
- Keefe Bruyette upgraded American Capital (NASDAQ: AGNC) to Outperform from Market Perform on expectations the company's book value and earnings are trending higher. The firm raised its target price to $22.
- Jefferies upgraded Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company's EPS and sales momentum will return with the Michigan economy likely bottoming out. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered its target price to $18 from $24.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded U.S. Steel (X) to Overweight from Equal Weight due to its favorable product mix and leverage to improving operating rates.
- CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Mueller Water (NYSE: MWA) was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
- Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at JMP Securities.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: CSX, JBL, MRVL, NUE, STT, X ...
Posted May 5th 2009 10:30AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Intel (INTC), Market matters, Bank of America (BAC), Black and Decker (BDK), Research in Motion (RIMM), United Parcel'B' (UPS), U.S. Steel (X), Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Wells Fargo (WFC), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it's hard not to capitulate when your clients demand irrationality. When I was weighted short and we would have these seemingly endless days of rallying, it was the mornings that would get me. The mark-ups of the futures, the refusal of Asia or Europe to go down, the "tone." It was relentless.
Then I would get to the office and, after a long period in which all I heard were downgrades, I would be greeted by upgrades, where I would always scream, "Now? Now they upgrade
Intel (NASDAQ:
INTC) (
Cramer's Take)?" Or, "He's putting
Research In Motion (NASDAQ:
RIMM) (
Cramer's Take) on the list now, after this run?" Or, "
Wells Fargo (NYSE:
WFC) (
Cramer's Take) goes from hold to buy? After it ran up 4 points? What is he thinking?"
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: The pain of being rational
Posted May 2nd 2009 2:40PM by Trey Thoelcke
Filed under: Earnings reports, Time Warner (TWX), Pfizer (PFE), Motorola (MOT), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Viacom (VIA), Revlon (REV), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Domino's Pizza (DPZ), Procter and Gamble (PG), U.S. Steel (X), Under Armour'A' (UA), E*TRADE (ETFC)
Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:
Continue reading Earnings highlights: P&G, DreamWorks, E*Trade, Netflix, Under Armour, Humana and more
Posted Apr 28th 2009 9:50AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: General Motors (GM), Market matters, McDonald's (MCD), Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chevron Corp (CVX), Yum Brands (YUM), U.S. Steel (X), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says opportunities will arise, but it's still too early. You can't fight the unseen. Whether it be a local E. coli outbreak for Taco Bell or Chernobyl or SARS or swine flu, you have to let the epidemic run its course before the obvious buying opportunity. What do we know about this swine flu now? 1) It is not under control, and 2) We haven't had fatality counts yet in this country that will freak people out.
Does it matter that the president says it is not out of control? Not to investors. This is a convenient excuse to sell everything consumer, including anything that needs people to go out and do something that is not at home.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Wait for clarity on this flu outbreak
Posted Mar 16th 2009 9:00AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Intel (INTC), General Motors (GM), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Market matters, 3M Corporation (MMM), Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Chevron Corp (CVX), U.S. Steel (X), Wells Fargo (WFC), Politics, Oil, Cramer on BloggingStocks, Recession, Financial Crisis
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says economic fundamentals haven't changed enough to make last week's rally a lasting force. Stocks are the tools to tell the tale, and last week made you want to own stock. The banks showed you they need not be wards of the state,
GM (NYSE:
GM) (
Cramer's Take) acted as if didn't need to be a ward of the state and oil held its own. Drug companies, among the enterprises with the best balance sheets, decided to "give up" and combine in the face of diminishing returns courtesy of changes in governments worldwide, but particularly in the United States, that would impinge on long-term profitability.
Most important, the backtracking of Obama in his position toward business, something that would never be articulated but most surely occurred as the stock market was no longer ignored -- a Bill Clinton moment in a tone-deaf White house -- set a better tone for risk-taking.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Don't let this rally fool you
Posted Feb 13th 2009 9:45AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: China, Market matters, Caterpillar (CAT), Centex Corp (CTX), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), U.S. Steel (X), Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Stocks to Buy, Union Pacific Corporation (UNP), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says stocks you'd sell on America alone are buys when you consider that great engine in Asia. Here's some real tension. The best stocks to play China with may be the worst stocks to own here. Look at
Freeport (NYSE:
FCX) (
Cramer's Take) yesterday, which did that giant and hugely successful secondary. There is no doubt in my mind that housing starts won't even get to 600,000 this year, not after that travesty of a stimulus bill -- or when considering the reaction expressed by the stocks of
Lennar (NYSE:
LEN) (
Cramer's Take) and
Pulte (NYSE:
PHM) (
Cramer's Take) and, perhaps most hobbled,
Centex (NYSE:
CTX) (
Cramer's Take).
There is also no doubt that China's stock market being up 35% means that Freeport's Asian arm, the biggest, will soon be getting huge orders.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: In the great tug of war, China wins
Posted Feb 6th 2009 6:00PM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Dell (DELL), Ford Motor (F), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Estee Lauder (EL), Caterpillar (CAT), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Avon Products (AVP), Costco Wholesale (COST), U.S. Steel (X), Harley-Davidson (HOG), Stocks to Buy, Stocks to Sell, Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG)

Amazingly, this week is about to end with stock markets logging gains. Not grim earnings, not glum retail sales, not dismal car sales, nor even weaker-than-expected jobs report seemed able to put a dent in investors' hopes the stimulus bill would pass.
And it's not even the Dow stocks that are leading the advances. As of noon today, the Dow was up about 3% for the week, while the S&P 500 gained about 4.5% and the Nasdaq composite soared some 7%. If you're sorry you didn't take part of this rally, and think perhaps there's more to come after the Senate finally approves the stimulus plan, then BloggingStocks contributors have some ideas for long-term holdings, as well as a few warnings:
Continue reading Stock picks and pans for troubled times: CAT, MON, EL, ISRG, NTT, RIG, SIRI ...
Posted Jan 31st 2009 10:00AM by Chris Johnson
Filed under: U.S. Steel (X), Stocks to Buy
You can't talk about the Steelers and the stock market without thinking about U.S. Steel (NYSE: X).
The company's headquarters pierces the Pittsburgh skyline like the Steelers' defense pierces opposing offensive lines.
The U.S. steel industry has been dramatically affected by the global economic slowdown, as demand for autos, buildings and other steel-based products has declined rapidly.
As a result, X is now trading at $30 after hitting a high of almost $200 in June 2008. That's an 85% decline in seven months.
But X has been trying to root out a bottom around $25 for the past three months, and the long-term potential for X is becoming more positive.
And, for what it's worth, X gained 25% in the three months following the Steelers' last Super Bowl victory.
Chris Johnson is a contributor to OptionsZone.com.
Posted Jan 20th 2009 12:30PM by Steven Halpern
Filed under: Newsletters, Alcoa Inc (AA), U.S. Steel (X), Commodities, Stocks to Buy, Obama Picks
"President Obama's proposed rebuilding plans are great news for steel and other industrial metals makers," says resource sector specialist Larry Edelson, who recommends a pair of beneficiaries: U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) and Alcoa (NYSE: AA).
The editor of Real Wealth newsletter explains, "Obama has pledged to give the U.S. economy a massive shot in the arm with the biggest public works spending package this nation has seen in more than 50 years.
"Besides spending on road, bridge, school improvements and construction, the plan is likely to include upgrading our deteriorating electrical grid and greater investments in public transportation, among other infrastructure projects. The plan is also expected to create about 2.5 million jobs.
"While steel and other base metal prices have tanked sharply this year on slumping global demand, companies that produce the metals have staged some massive cutbacks in production and many have shuttered large chunks of their operations.
Continue reading Industrial metals: Strong plays on Obama's rebuilding plans
Posted Jan 3rd 2009 4:30PM by Greg Tucker
Filed under: Boeing Co (BA), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), U.S. Steel (X), Valero Energy (VLO), Recession
Oct. 28: Dow 9,065 (up 889 points); trading range, 958 points
Try to figure this one out:
Consumer confidence reaches the lowest levels on record since the survey began 41 years ago ...
Home prices in 20 major metro areas fall 16% year-over-year and have been falling for 20 consecutive months ...
And the market rallies to post its second-largest gain of the year.
Huh?!?
The volatile session ended with the benchmark index almost 900 points higher as bargain hunting and short-covering ruled the day, with some help from strength in the overseas markets.
A labor agreement at Boeing (NYSE: BA), and better-than-expected earnings at U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) and energy sector names Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) and BP (NYSE: BP) also added fuel to the market's fire (pun intended).
Greg Tucker is the executive editor of OptionsZone.com.
Posted Dec 3rd 2008 9:28AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: Earnings reports, Market matters, Nokia Corp. (NOK), Research in Motion (RIMM), U.S. Steel (X), Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Commodities, Garmin Ltd (GRMN), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says we're in a relentlessly terrible market. Slew of bad news to wake up to.
Freeport (NYSE:
FCX) (
Cramer's Take) eliminates its dividend to conserve cash as copper has had an unmitigated decline. Impairments coming; ugly, but somewhat predictable given the stunning stock drop.
Research In Motion (NASDAQ:
RIMM) (
Cramer's Take) overnight becomes
Nokia (NYSE:
NOK) (
Cramer's Take) or maybe even
Garmin (NASDAQ:
GRMN), (
Cramer's Take) as the commoditization of tech continues apace. We can sell everything cell-phone-related off that. Tech down again.
Too bad, because it wrecks the rally from yesterday and confirms -- endlessly -- how bad this market is.
It's also too bad because China was up big last night, which I believe will put in a bottom to the mineral and steel market components someday. Pricing will get tight eventually as
U.S. Steel (NYSE:
X) (
Cramer's Take) and Freeport are taking out a huge amount of capacity. They have to; the pricing falls are that devastating. There will be plenty of companies in these industries that simply won't survive because of the pricing.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: More bad news is bringing us back down
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