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Commentary

Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning

Upgrades

IT – Gartner initiated with a Outperform at Northland Securities

OXY – Occidental Petro upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse

TWC – Time Warner Cable downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo

FORR – Forrester Research initiated with a Market Perform at Northland Securities

PEP – PepsiCo initiated with a Buy at Deutsche Bank

KO –  Coca-Cola initiated with a Buy at Deutsche Bank

HOS – Hornbeck Offshore upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Pritchard

WFM – Whole Foods upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse

SPLS – Staples initiated with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley

BCS – Barclays PLC upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

FOSL – Fossil initiated with a Buy at BofA/Merrill

AMD – Advanced Micro upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo

LLY – Eli Lilly upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at First Global

SPB – Spectrum Brands initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse

S – Sprint Nextel upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie

M – Macy’s initiated with a Buy at Nomura

PC – Panasonic upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse

Downgrades

ED  – Con Edison downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital

HS – Healthspring downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna

NFLX – Netflix target lowered to $100 at Oppenheimer

DPS – Dr Pepper Snapple initiated with a Hold at Deutsche Bank

VMED – Virgin Media removed from Pan Europe Conviction Buy List at Goldman

HPY – Heartland Payment Systems downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Suntrust

NUVA – NuVasive downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair

NCI – Navigant Consult downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Suntrust

LAMR – Lamar Advertising downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

BBD – Banco Bradesco ADS downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC

AIXG – Aixtron downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee

CMS – CMS Energy downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Suntrust

ARBA – Ariba downgraded to Hold from Buy at Craig Hallum

BMY – Bristol-Myers downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at Credit Suisse

ORI – Old Republic downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James

PCS – MetroPCS downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA/Merrill

SPG – Simon Properties downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

MDR – McDermott downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair

SCHN – Schnitzer Steel downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill

VLY – Valley National downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

IRBT – IRobot downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

KIM –  Kimco Realty downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James

NATL – National Interstate downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James

PLL – Pall downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

CWEI – Clayton Williams downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James

FCBC – First Comm Banc downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

CVE – Cenovus Energy downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

IRM – Iron Mountain downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Comments »

Gapping up and Down This Morning

Gaping up 


QTM +4.3%, SOHU +4.2%, SLV +4.2%, SINA +4.1%, YOKU +3.9%, QIHU +3.7%, LVS +3.5%, DANG +2.8%,

WY +2.6%, EXEL +2.4%, ELGX +2.3%, VRSN +2.2%, CERN +1.9%, BAC +1.3%, X +1.3%, VRTX +1.3%,

ALGN +13.4%, CLF +8.4%, HLIT +7.5%, BIDU +6.7%, TORM +6%, AMD +4.7%, STMP +4.5%, DECK +4.4%,

 

Gapping down

 

TSYS -5.6%, INPH -5.4%, EXPE -5.1%, AMKR -4.7%, ARBA -4.4%, ERTS -4.1%, VMED -3.7%, SONS -3.4%,

NANO -14.9%, CSTR -11.2%, QLIK -9.9%, MF -9.1%, IPCM -8.7%, LEG -5.8%, DRIV -5.7%, PWER -5.7%,

ING -3.3%, VAR -2.6%, INSP -2.4%, MT -2.1%, TOT -2%, NTGR -1.9%, YHOO -1.6%, BP -1.5%, UBS -1.4%,

BHP -1.3%, RIO -0.9%,

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Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning

Upgrades

URBN – Urban Outfitters upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup

APKT – Acme Packet added to buy list at Deutsche Bank

CSCO – Cisco Systems upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

MOS – Mosaic initiated with Sector Performs at RBC Capital

POT – Potash initiated with Sector Performs at RBC Capital

AGU – Agrium initiated with an Outperform at RBC Capital

TJX – TJX target raised to $70 from $60 at Stifel Nicolaus

HSP – Hospira upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill

OC – Owens Corning upgraded to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

CETV – Central European Media upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill

NSC – Norfolk Southern target raised to $88 from $85 at Stifel Nicolaus

Downgrades 

BAC – Bank of America downgraded to Equalweight at Morgan Stanley

V – Visa downgraded to Mkt Perform at FBR Capital

PNRA – Panera Bread downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee

PNR – Pentair downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Suntrust

CNP – CenterPoint downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie

CVH – Coventry Health Care downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein

MWV – MeadWestvaco downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at BMO Capital

NEWP – Newport target lowered to $21 from $25 at Stifel Nicolaus

EAT – Brinker downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Sterne Agee

ANN – AnnTaylor removed from Top Picks Live list at Citigroup

HCC – HCC Insurance downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette

POR – Portland Gen Elec downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie

LHCG – LHC Group downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Suntrust

UBSI – United Bankshares downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

ARX – Aeroflex downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

BTU – Peabody Energy target lowered to $50 from $65 at Stifel Nicolaus

HS – Healthspring downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies

PUK – Prudential Plc initiated with a Hold at Jefferies

PX – Praxair downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA/Merrill

DPS – Dr Pepper Snapple downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

TMO – Thermo Fisher downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Lazard

FIO – Fusion-io downgraded to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Comments »

Gapping Up and Down This Morning

Gapping up

The entire world;

NVLS +3.3%, CDNS +3.3%, HBC +3.2%, LLNW +5.2%, OTEX +5.2%, SFSF +5%, BAC +4.7%, EXXI +4.7%,

CMRE +4.3%, MS +4%, NSC +3.9%, STD +3.6%, ISIL +2.7%, DB +14.7%, AKAM +12.7%, PEIX +11.8%, ING +7.8%,

FRO +7.7%, BCS +7.6%, UBS +6.6%, DCTH +6.5%, CS +6.1%,AIXG +6%, IDCC +5.9%, RBS +5.5%, SKX +5.4%,


Gapping down

bearish portfolios

V -2.2%, LSI -2%, VALE -0.7%, LOGM -4.8%, AGNC -3.5%, GPRE -3.2%, CA -2.4%, SYMC 2.3%, ESIO 15.7%,

AXTI -15.5%, HGR -15.4%, MDR -14.6%, TQNT -13.5%, ACOM -9.2%,

SFLY -7.8%, BMC 7.4%, FOE 7.3%, EQIX -5.3%,

Comments »

John Stossel Argues More Competition in School Only Way to Save Kids

Conventional wisdom says that government should run schools. This idea is intuitive. It is also wrong. The free market would do a much better job.

This week in my syndicated column, I compare the public school system to the cars produced by governments:

The Trabant was the best — the pride of the Eastern Bloc. It was produced by actual German engineers — known for their brilliance. Yet even the Trabant was a terrible car. Drivers had to put the oil and gas in separately and then shake the car to mix them. Trabants broke down and spewed pollution. When government runs things, consumers suffer.

Our school system is like the Trabant. Economist Milton Friedman understood this before the rest of us did. In 1955, he proposed school vouchers. His plan didn’t call for separating school and state — unfortunately — but instead sought a second-best fix: Give a voucher to the family, and let it choose which school — government-run or private — their child will attend. Schools would compete for that voucher money. Today, it would be worth $13,000 per child. (That’s what America spends per student today.) Competition would then improve all schools.

50 years later, school vouchers are finally becoming a reality, although the education establishment still resists them.

Ronald Holassie, a graduate of the Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, came on my Fox Business show last week to talk about the dramatic difference between a government school and his private school:

“In the public school system when I was in there, (there were) lots of fights. There were shootings, stabbings, and it was really unsafe — drugs.” … But he got the voucher and a good education, and now he’s in college.

Despite the data showing that voucher kids are ahead in reading, the biggest teachers union, the NEA claims: “The D.C. voucher program has been a failure. It’s yielded no evidence of positive impact on student achievement.”

Holassie asks: “How is it a failure when the public school system is failing students? I don’t understand that.”

I don’t either.

The rest of my column here.
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/stossel/blog/2011/10/26/school-competition-rescues-kids#ixzz1bwcW4Xa5

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Whitney Tilson is Now Buying NFLX

After getting crushed on his short position, Whitney is now buying the stock.

This is what he had to say:

“it’s been frustrating to see our original investment thesis validated, yet not profit from it. It certainly highlights the importance of getting the timing right and maintaining your conviction even when the market moves against you. The core of our short thesis was always Netflix’s high valuation. In light of the stock’s collapse, we now think it’s cheap and today established a small long position. We hope it gets cheaper so we can add to it.”

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