NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
With stocks headed toward a flat opening amid a drought of corporate news early Wednesday, analyst comments on some of the brokerages, following their strong quarterly reports Tuesday could factor into trading.
Prudential upped its 12-month price target on Morgan Stanley (MDW: Research, Estimates) to $59 from $51 a day after the company reported fiscal third-quarter results that blew past Wall Street's estimates. Shares of the brokerage rose $1.18 to $52.33 Tuesday.
The firm also raised its 12-month price target on Merrill Lynch (MER: Research, Estimates) to $66 from $59. Shares of Merrill added 10 cents to $56.50 Tuesday.
Prudential also raised its 12-month price target for Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEH: Research, Estimates) to $78 from $67, while Smith Barney raised its price target on the firm to $76 from $70 in a research note dated Sept. 23, after it also posted stellar quarterly earnings. Merrill Lynch downgraded Prudential to "neutral." Shares of Prudential (PRU: Research, Estimates) rose 45 cents to $37.92 Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Merrill also weighed in Wednesday on Anglo-Dutch publishing group Reed Elsevier (ENL: Research, Estimates), raising its rating to "buy" from "neutral," citing an attractive valuation of the shares.
"Reed has underperformed the U.K. market and media sector by 17 percent year-to-date, suffering from sector rotation into beta and cyclicality," analyst Paul Sullivan wrote in a note to investors. "At this stage in the cycle we feel Reed represents a good proposition: a defensive growth stock that enjoys an element of cyclicality. It should benefit from multiple expansion either way."
J.P. Morgan said it started coverage of Hershey Foods (HSY: Research, Estimates) with a "neutral" rating. The stock closed at $73.48 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
The firm also cut insurance firm Brown & Brown (BRO: Research, Estimates) to "neutral" from "overweight". The stock closed at $33.45 on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday.
J.P. Morgan was more positive on XL Capital as it raised its rating on the insurance firm to "overweight" from "neutral". XL Capital (XL: Research, Estimates) shares closed at $76.63.
In addition, Lehman Brothers upgraded Adolor to "overweight" from "equal-weight" after the drugmaker said its medication Entereg designed to treat post-operative constipation met the main goal of a late-stage clinical trial.
Deutsche Bank Securities raised its investment rating on J.M. Smucker (SJM: Research, Estimates) to "buy" from "hold." Shares of the food company slipped 24 cents to $14.77 Tuesday.
Cisco (CSCO: Research, Estimates) may help extend the tech momentum Wednesday. After the close of trading Tuesday, the world's largest maker of gear that directs Internet traffic said its board boosted the company's stock buyback plan by up to $7 billion. Cisco shares rose to $21.32 in after-hours trading, from a close at $21.15 on Nasdaq.
Elsewhere, Vivendi Universal (V: Research, Estimates) Chief Operating Officer Jean-Bernard Levy said Wednesday a deal to sell the media group's entertainment assets to NBC will be finalized in a few weeks.
Levy also told a news conference on Vivendi's first half results that the group will manage a net profit in 2003.
Finally, France's Flamel Technologies (FLML: Research, Estimates) said Wednesday it has filed with U.S. regulators to offer 3.8 million American Depositary shares.
The biopharmaceutical company said the offering would consist of 2 million shares of common stock offered by it and 1.8 million shares from a selling shareholder. Flamel shares closed at $40.20 on Nasdaq Tuesday.
On the earnings front, children's book publisher Scholastic (SCHL: Research, Estimates) posted a narrower quarterly loss, helped by record-setting sales of the latest Harry Potter book and cost cutting. Shares of Scholastic bounced 19 cents to $30.88 Tuesday.
Meanwhile, payroll service provider Paychex (PAYX: Research, Estimates) said its quarterly earnings rose, helped by acquisitions. Paychex share added 18 cents to $54.59 Tuesday.
Among companies reporting quarterly results Wednesday: Darden Restaurants (DRI: Research, Estimates), Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY: Research, Estimates), Micron Technology (MU: Research, Estimates), and McCormick & Co (MKC: Research, Estimates).
-- Reuters contributed to the story
|
