Coca-Cola Announces Reorganization

Coca-Cola Announces Reorganization. Coca-Cola (KO) has announced a major reorganization of its Americas business.  The company will split its North American unit into two units as part of their strategy to return to a franchise model in the U.S. Additionally, Steve Cahillane head of Americas, who was considered a possible successor to CEO Muhtar Kent will depart the company. This now leave International boss Ahmet Bozer as the number two in the company and possible CEO successor. Pre-market: 39.64 +0.43 (1.10%)

Upgrades:

Advance Auto Parts (AAP): RBC Capital raised their rating from Outperform to Top Pick and placed a target price of $131.00 on the company.

Amazon.com (AMZN): ISI Group raised their rating from Buy to Strong Buy. Pre-market: 385.25 +4.00 (1.05%)

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY): ISI Group raised their rating from Cautious to Neutral.

FedEx (FDX): Raymond James raised their rating from Outperform to Strong Buy and raised their target price from $124.00 to $190.00. Pre-market: 138.00 +1.66 (1.22%)

Northern Trust (NTRS): Macquarie raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform.

Quicksilver (ZQK): B. Riley raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $6.50 to $10.00. Pre-market: 7.82 +0.09 (1.16%)

United States Steel (X): Cowen raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform.

Western Digital (WDC): Citigroup raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $71.00 to $100.00.

Downgrades:

BP plc (BP): UBS lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 45.74 -0.43 (-0.93%)

Restoration Hardware (RH): Piper Jaffray lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered their target price from $92.00 to $65.00. Pre-market: 60.00 -5.27 (-8.07%)

Coverage Initiated:

Chevron (CVX): RBC Capital initiated coverage with a Sector Perform rating and placed a target price of $120.00 on the company. Pre-market: 121.20 +0.21 (0.17%)

Coca-Cola (KO): Janney Capital initiated coverage with a Buy rating and placed a target price of $52.00 on the company. Pre-market: 39.64 +0.43 (1.10%)

Exxon Mobil (XOM): RBC Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and placed a target price of $105.00 on the company. Pre-market: 95.75 +0.39 (0.41%)

Earning Reports:

Adobe Systems (ADBE): Reported EPS of $0.32 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 57.60 +3.61 (6.69%)

Quicksilver (ZQK): Reported EPS of -$0.04 missing estimates by -$0.08. Pre-market: 7.82 +0.09 (1.16%)

Restoration Hardware (RH): Reported EPS of $0.32 beating estimates by +$0.04. Pre-market: 60.00 -5.27 (-8.07%)

Markets: 
Futures at 6:31: Dow +0.29%. S&P +0.38%. Nasdaq +0.41%. Crude -0.45% to $97.06. Gold +0.24% to $1228.30. U.S. 10 Year +2/32 to 2.877%.

Europe: London +0.16%. Paris +0.28%. Frankfurt +0.18%. 

Asia: Japan +0.40% to 15403. Hong Kong +0.12% to 23246. China -0.31% to 2196. India -1.00% to 20716. 

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Facebook Added to S&P 500. Standard & Poor’s will be adding Facebook (FB) to the S&P 500 Index at the close of trading on December 20.  It will also be added to the S&P 100. Facebook will replace test-equipment vendor Teradyne (TER) in the S&P 500 index and will replace Williams Companies (WMB) in the S&P 100 Index. Alliance Data Systems (ADS) and Mohawk Industries (MHK) will also be added to the S&P 500 replacing Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and JDS Uniphase (JDSU).

Upgrades:

Exxon Mobil (XOM): ISI Group their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $105.00 on the company. Pre-market: 94.61 +0.35 (0.37%)

Intel (INTC): Nomura raised their rating from Reduce to Neutral and raised their target price of $20.00 to $24.00. Pre-market: 24.59 +0.17 (0.70%)

iRobot (IRBT): JPMorgan raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral and placed a target price of $32.00 on the company.

Micron Technology (MU): Nomura raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price of $16.00 to $30.00. Pre-market: 22.71 +0.21 (0.93%)

Southwest Airlines (LUV): BofA Merrill Lynch raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price of $18.00 to $23.00. Pre-market: 18.24 +0.27 (1.50%)

Downgrades:

Brown & Brown (BRO): William Blair lowered their rating from Market Perform to Underperform.

Oracle (ORCL): RBC Capital lowered their rating from Outperform to Sector Perform and placed a target price of $35.00 on the company. Pre-market: 33.75 -0.81 (-2.34%)

Texas Instruments (TXN): Nomura lowered their rating from Neutral to Reduce and placed a target price of $30.00 on the company. Pre-market: 42.35 -0.46 (-1.07%)

Coverage Initiated:

Freeport McMoRan (FCX): Bernstein initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $42.00. Pre-market: 34.60 +0.15 (0.44%)

Nucor (NUE): Bernstein initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target price of $56.00.

United States Steel (X): Bernstein initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target price of $27.00. Pre-market: 26.37 +0.10 (0.38%)

Weyerhaeuser (WY): JPMorgan initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and placed a target price of $37.00 on the company.

Earning Reports:

Ciena (CIEN): Reported EPS of $0.16 missing estimates by -$0.08. Pre-market: 20.49 -2.41 (-10.52%)

Markets: 
Futures at 7:53 Dow -0.13%. S&P -0.06%. Nasdaq -0.09%. Crude +0.22% to $97.65. Gold -1.81% to $1234.40. U.S. 10 Year -1/32 to 2.866%.

Europe: London -0.82%. Paris -0.37%. Frankfurt -0.66%. 

Asia: Japan -1.12% to 15342. Hong Kong -0.51% to 23218. China -0.06% at 2203. India -1.16% at 20926. 

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Gun Sales Propel Smith & Wesson. Smith & Wesson's (SWHC) reported FQ2 earnings of $0.28 beating estimates by a wide margin.  The company also issued higher-than-expected FQ3 guidance. Revenue for the weapons manufacture rose 2% to $139.3M, while income from continuing operations increased to $17.1M. Sales of handguns at the company continue to climb, up a whopping +27% as people rush to purchase weapons for self protects and amid a fresh push for gun control. Pre-market: 12.76 +0.64 (5.28%)

Upgrades:

3M Co. (MMM): Nomura raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $150.00 on the company. Pre-market: 128.15 +0.60 (0.47%)

Cardinal Health (CAH): Leerink raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $64.00 to $75.00.

General Dynamics (GD): CRT Capital raised their rating from Sell to Fair Value and placed a target price of $89.00 on the company.

Downgrades:

Scripps Networks (SNI): Citigroup lowered their rating from Neutral to Sell. Pre-market: 81.02 +5.77 (7.67%)

Coverage Initiated:

Cisco Systems (CSCO): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and placed a target price of $23.00 on the company.

Cisco Systems (CSCO): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Sell rating and placed a target price of $18.00 on the company.

Ericsson (ERIC): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Buy rating and placed a target price of $15.00 on the company. Pre-market: 11.88 -0.06 (-0.50%)

Motorola Solutions (MSI): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and placed a target price of $63.00 on the company. Pre-market: 21.05 -0.16 (-0.75%)

Nokia (NOK): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and placed a target price of $8.00 on the company. Pre-market: 7.94 +0.02 (0.25%)

Twitter (TWTR): Macquarie initiated coverage with a Neutral rating. Pre-market: 52.90 +0.91 (1.75%)

Earning Reports:

Costco (COST): Reported EPS of $0.96 missing estimates by -$0.06. Pre-market: 118.50 -1.54 (-1.28%)

H&R Block (HRB): Reported EPS of -0.42 missing estimates by -$0.05. Pre-market: 28.55 -0.25 (-0.87%)

Joy Global (JOY): Reported EPS of $1.11 missing estimates by -$0.01. Pre-market: 53.30 -2.94 (-5.23%)

Smith & Wesson (SWHC): Reported EPS of 0.28 beating estimates by +$0.07. Pre-market: 12.76 +0.64 (5.28%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:10: Dow +0.08%. S&P -0.28%. Nasdaq +0.01%. Crude -0.15% at $98.38. Gold -0.52% to $1254.60. U.S. 10 Year -3/32 to 2.819%.

Europe: London +0.37%. Paris +0.76%. Frankfurt +0.29%. 

Asia: Japan -0.62% to 15515. Hong Kong -1.71% to 23338. China -1.49% at 2204. India -0.39% at 21171. 

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Government Motors is No Longer

Government Motors is No Longer. The U.S. government has sold its remaining 31.1M shares in General Motors (GM) for $9.2B. Because of the government ownership some had called the company Government Motors. The sale ends restrictions on executive pay and would allow the payment of dividends and share buybacks. The wisdom of the sale at this time is being questioned since the sale netted only $39B from an initial investment of $49.5B. The total loss to U.S. taxpayers will be over $10.5B.

Upgrades:

Broadcom (BRCM): Charter Equity raised their rating from Market Perform to Buy.

Celgene (CELG): Credit Suisse raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform.

Johnson Controls (JCI): RBC Capital raised their rating from Outperform to Top Pick and placed a target price of $61.00 on the company.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY): S&P raised their rating from 3 Stars to 4 Stars.

United Rentals (URI): RBC Capital raised their rating from Outperform to Top Pick and placed a target price of $85.00 on the company.

Downgrades:

Quest Diagnostics (DGX): Bank of America Merrill Lynch lowered their rating from Buy to Underperform and lowered their target price from $64.00 to $55.00.

Old Dominion Freight (ODLF): Longbow lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Tenneco (TEN): RBC Capital lowered their rating from Top Pick to Outperform and placed a target price of $66.00 on the company.

Tyson Foods (TSN): Miller Tabak lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $35.00 to $33.00.

Coverage Initiated:

IMAX (IMAX): Ascendiant Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $32.00.

Papa John’s International (PZZA):  Jefferies initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $86.00.

Rambus (RMBS): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $13.00.

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Earning Reports:

AutoZone (AZO): Reported EPS of $6.29 beating estimates by +$0.01.

Burlington Stores (BURL): Reported EPS of -$0.05 in-line with estimates.

Toll Brothers (TOL): Reported EPS of $0.54 beating estimates by +$0.10.

Markets: 
Futures at 6:20: Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.1%. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude +1.2% to $98.49. Gold +1% to $1246.30. 

Europe: London +0.1%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt +0.2%. 

Asia: Japan -0.3% to 15611. Hong Kong -0.3% to 23744. China -0.02% at 2237. India -0.3% at 21256. 

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Blain and Gate Capital Look to Buy Compuware.

Blain and Gate Capital Look to Buy Compuware. Private equity firms Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital are reportedly in talks to acquire software provider Compuware (CPWR). The firms have already agreed to acquire BMC Software (BMC) in May.  

Upgrades:

Kraft Foods (KRFT): Morgan Stanley raised their rating from Equal Weight to Overweight placed a target price of $60.00 on the company. Pre-market: 54.59 +1.04 (1.94%)

Mohawk Industries (MHK): Credit Suisse raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and raised their target price from $142.00 to $166.00. Pre-market: 140.00 +1.05 (0.76%)

Valero Energy (VLO): JPMorgan raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral and raised their target price from $34.00 to $44.00. Pre-market: 47.50 +0.92 (1.98%)

Downgrades:

Ingersoll-Rand (IR): MKM Partners lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and placed a target price of $58.00 on the company. Pre-market: 56.30 -0.39 (-0.69%)

Noble Energy (NBL): Deutsche Bank lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $82.00 to $75.00. Pre-market: 68.80 -0.70 (-1.01%)

Coverage Initiated:

Allscripts Healthcare (MDRX): JPMorgan initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and target price of $18.00.

American Airlines (AAL):CRT Capital initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $31.00.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $44.00.

Masco (MAS): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $25.00. Pre-market: 21.55 -0.09 (-0.42%)

Masco (MAS): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Sell rating and target price of $29.50. Pre-market: 21.55 -0.09 (-0.42%)

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $71.00.

TJX Cos. (TJX): Atlantic Equities initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and target price of $75.00. Pre-market: 62.73 +0.39 (0.63%)

Markets: 
Futures at 6:20: Dow +0.04%. S&P +0.11%. Nasdaq +0.10%. Crude +0.05% to $97.70. Gold +0.08% to $1230.20. U.S. 10 Year +4/32 2.842%.

Europe: London -0.07%. Paris -0.16%. Frankfurt +0.38%. 

Asia: Japan +2.69% to 15650. Hong Kong +0.29% to 23811. China +0.05% to 2,238. India +1.57% to 21286.

 
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