Upgrades and Downgrades (BXP, CCL, DPZ, GPS, HBC, MRVL, FDO, JDSU, ORCL, FB, GM, YHOO, YUM)

Boston Properties Inc. (NYSE: BXP) reiterated Buy with a target price of $120 at Argus.

Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) reiterated Hold but kept as Long-Term Buy at Argus.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. (NYSE: DPZ) reiterated Outperform and raised target to $50 from $44 at Oppenheimer.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

HSBC Holdings PLC (NYSE: HBC) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.

Most investors and traders were out on Monday and Wednesday, but here are some of the standout calls that were still listed with upgrades and downgrades this week:

Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) reiterated as Buy with a $77 target at Goldman Sachs, but Raymond James lowered its price target to $68 from $72 due to margin pressure (both calls Wednesday).

JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) reiterated Outperform at Piper Jaffray, but the price target was raised to $16 from $12 in the call.

Credit Suisse commented that Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) could make the software as a service (SaaS) market come with higher multiples. Those noted positively were RNOW and TLEO, and others were CNQR, CSOD, CTCT, JIVE, MKTG, RP, SNCR and ULTI. (Wednesday)

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) reiterated Buy but the price target raised to $33 from $25 at Needham. (Monday)

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) started as Buy with $35 price target at Goldman Sachs. (Monday)

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) reiterated Buy but price target raised to $26 from $19 at Needham. (Monday)

Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) reiterated Buy with $76 target at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. (Monday)


Read more: Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (BXP, CCL, DPZ, GPS, HBC, MRVL, FDO, JDSU, ORCL, FB, GM, YHOO, YUM) - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2012/12/27/top-analyst-upgrades-and-downgrades-bxp-ccl-dpz-gps-hbc-mrvl-fdo-jdsu-orcl-fb-gm-yhoo-yum/#ixzz2GGHWE5AN

Top Stocks Moving the Market Today ....

That's a big reason why the Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) fell 6.4% on the week. It's why Bank of America (BAC) fell 12.7%. It's why copper (-HG) fell 16.6% and gold (-GC) fell 9.6%. And it is a big reason why futures trading early Monday suggested the Dow will open down maybe 100 points, with the S&P 500 down 10 points and the Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX) down 25 points.

Sector Watch

Strong

construction machinery; electronic manufacturing services; diversified financial services; diversified banks; electric utilities; apparel and accessories retailers

Weak

food distribution; gold

Article continues below.

If that's not enough to drive traders crazy, Dow component Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) booted Leo Apotheker as CEO after just 11 months in favor of former eBay (EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman

Markets for the week
			9/23/2011			9/16/2011			% chg.			YTD chg.
Dow Industrials			10,771.48			11,509.09			-6.41%			-6.96%
S&P 500			1,136.43			1,216.01			-6.54%			-9.64%
Nasdaq			2,483.23			2,622.31			-5.30%			-6.39%
Russell 2000			652.43			714.31			-8.66%			-16.74%
Crude oil			$79.85			$87.96			-9.22%			-12.62%
(per barrel)
U.S. Dollar Index			79.23			76.59			3.44%			-0.08%
10-yr. Treasury			1.81%			2.08%			-12.91%			-45.30%
Gold			$1,639.80			1,814.70			-9.64%			15.37%

Here's what else to watch from the economy:

New home sales for August, due Monday from the Commerce Department. Don't expect any improvement from July's dismal sales rate of 285,000 units.

S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index for July, due Tuesday, from Standard & Poor's. Look for another year-over-year price decline of maybe 4%.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, due Tuesday. This is also expected to show little improvement.

Durable good orders, due Wednesday from the Commerce Department. This might offer some real cheer, according to Capital Economics, the British economic consulting firm. Defense orders are rising. So are commercial airplane orders.

Initial jobless claims, due Thursday from the Labor Department. Claims fell to 423,000 in the week ending Sept. 17. But the 4-week moving average rose to 421,000. Claims have stalled at 410,000 to 430,00 in recent weeks, likely the result of increased layoff announcements.

Second-quarter Gross Domestic Product, due Thursday from the Commerce Department. This is a revised estimate that's expected to show a small bit of improvement, from an annualized 1% to 1.3%.

Personal income and spending, due Friday from the Commerce Department. The August jobs report showed no gains in jobs. Don't expect much on the income side, either, says IHS Global Insight.

Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, due Friday. This is a final report. It may rise from August's reading of 55.7 to maybe 56.8, IHS says, but that will be down from the first reading of 57.8. Market turmoil will be the culprit.

Micron is the top earnings report

The week ahead is not heavy on earnings reports. The third quarter doesn't end until Friday, and earnings season only starts with Alcoa (AA) on after the close on Oct. 11.

Here are the week's key reports:

Monday: Egg-producer Cal-Maine Foods (CALM).

Tuesday: American Greetings (AM), circuit-board maker Jabil Circuit (JBL), payroll processor Paychex (PAYX) and drugstore chain Walgreen (WAG). The theme to watch is what the companies have to say about job expansion.

Wednesday: Discounter retailer Family Dollar Stores (FDO) and spice-maker McCormick & Co. (MKC).

Thursday: Semiconductor-maker Micron Technology (MU) and steel-maker Worthington Industries (WOR). Micron's results will be closely watched because it offers a look at the health of the personal computer business.
MARKET UPDATE

• US
• INTERNATIONAL

NAME		LAST	CHANGE	% CHANGE
#	DOW	10,771.48	+37.65	+0.35
#	NASDAQ	2,483.23	0.00	0.00
#	S&P	1,136.43	0.00	0.00
#	Russell 2000	652.43	0.00	0.00
#	10 Yr Note	102.66	0.00	0.00

NAME		LAST	CHANGE	% CHANGE
#	Nikkei	8,374.13	-186.13	-2.17
#	FTSE 100	5,118.80	+51.99	+1.03
#	DAX	5,164.21	-269.59	-4.96

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market mustered its first gain of the week on Friday. The gain, although modest, came as participants moved to cover their positions following four days of concerted selling. ... More

 

Currencies

NAME	LAST	CHANGE	% CHANGE
Euro/Dollar	1.34935	-0.00237	-0.18
Pound/Dollar	1.55231	+0.00337	+0.22
Dollar/Yen	76.51109	-0.06891	-0.09

Moving the Market

Tone improves after choppy start Gold, oil, and other commodities remain under pressure

Treasuries and US dollar slip after standing out early as favorite safe havens

Top March 2009 Stock Picks ! ( Family Dollar Stores & Allos Therapeutics

1. ALTH 5.84 a share Target price 12.00 by 12/09

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that is focused on developing and commercializing small molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer. The Company’s lead product candidate, PDX (pralatrexate) an antifolate is in Phase 2 trial in patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma. The Company is also investigating PDX in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and a range of other lymphoma sub-types. The Company’s other product candidate is RH1, a targeted chemotherapeutic agent, which is in a Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced solid tumors or non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
No doubt the market has cost investors a lot of money over the past year and a half. The image of people too afraid to open their 401(k) statements has become cliché. And the common wisdom says that years will pass before those losses are recovered.
But that’s not necessarily the case. Speculating on the right stocks could generate sizable returns, enough to fill some of the holes this recession has poked in your portfolio. That’s one of the reasons that Cramer’s a fan of calculated risk taking. The potential payoff is significant. Speculation’s also a way to keep things interesting. Instead of banking with the usual suspects – maybe Coca-Cola
[KO 40.85 -0.22 (-0.54%) ]
Johnson & Johnson
[JNJ 50.00 -2.44 (-4.65%) ]
[AAPL 89.31 0.12 (+0.13%) ]
– investors can put their money in a small up-and-comer.
So who’s the latest Mad Money Spec Friday pick? Allos Therapeutics
[ALTH 5.64 -0.42 (-6.93%) ]
, a biotech with a $5.64 share price and a market cap of under $500 million. Like all speculation plays, Allos has a catalyst – the probable Food & Drug Administration approval of its cancer drug – that should send the stock higher.
Allos makes an orphan drug called Pralatrexate, or PDX, used to treat peripheral T-cell lymphoma, a fast-spreading cancer that affects white blood cells. Remember an orphan drug is one that treats a very rare condition. So the FDA usually fast tracks approval, the company gets exclusivity rights to the drug, and the sales usually bring in big, big money.
Exclusivity or not, though, PDX is the only treatment for peripheral T-cell lymphoma, so there’s no competition here anyway. President Obama’s plan for Medicare, where the government will negotiate bulk drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies, could hurt those with similar treatments, but not Allos. And orphan drugs in Europe, where the government already negotiates prices, usually cost the same as, if not more than, those in the U.S. Besides, PDX has been proven to extend patients’ lives. Don’t expect the White House to put a price on that.
On Feb. 4, Allos released data that showed patients who had previously not responded to treatment were responding to PDX, and for longer than expected. The stock popped as a result, and then the market’s decline took ALTH back down. Now ALTH is two points below where it was before the data release, giving investors a great entry point.
Cramer expects Allos to file for final FDA approval by the end of June, which means the drug could be on the market by year’s end. Worst-case scenario, analysts have said, PDX is available to the public by 2010. Sales for the drug could reach as high as $400 million a year, with the chance for even better numbers given PDX’s potential for off-label uses, much like Genentech’s
[DNA 85.55 -1.93 (-2.21%) ]",

Avastin. PDX is more potent than other chemotherapy drugs, so there’s a good chance it could treat other cancers.
Allos makes a great takeover target as well. The company’s a natural fit for any big-time firm with a blood cancer franchise, such as Celgene
got a bid.
Allos reports Tuesday, March 3, so Cramer cautioned against buying before then. The company has no sales yet, so management offer clues as to whether the company’s still on track and possibly even date-release dates on the horizon.
ALTH is a buy at $6, Cramer said, but no more. At $7, the deal doesn’t work. Investors who want in should remember to be patient and use limit orders.



2. FDO 27.44 A SHARE AS OF 3/1 , TARGET PRICE 41.00 by 9/09

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. operates a chain of more than 6,500 general merchandise retail discount stores in 44 states, providing consumers with a selection of merchandise in neighborhood stores. The Company’s merchandise assortment includes consumables, home products, apparel and accessories, and seasonal and electronics. The Company’s products include apparel, food, cleaning and paper products, home decor, beauty and health aids, toys, pet products, automotive products, domestics, seasonal goods and electronics. With a Dividend of .14 a share , is a great buy in this market !In the same boat as Wal-Mart, discount retailers are the some of the few companies showed success in 2008. FDO's stock price gained 36% in 2008.Recession time will prompt more people to go to the dollar stores to $ave MONEY!!!! Due to people needing to cut back, people are going to eventually go from Walmart to Family Dollar as both are in the same merchant category and serve much the same purpose, but Family Dollar seems to undercut Walmart's prices for many items... but does so at a cost: lack of the wide range of products that Walmart does, but from what I've seen, this doesn't effect business one bit.Not bad on debt, fairly good P/E. I'm seeing a lot more "recession fashion" and how-to's on living more cheaply....this company is made for these times.I do about 75% of my regular shopping there (condiments, small food, bread, milk, some clothes.) The stores should do well in hard times.family Dollar Stores . . . need I say more?