MORNING COFFEE

S&P Downgrades Spanish Banks.  S&P downgraded 11 Spanish banks, including Santander (STD) and BBVA (BBVA).  Last week the rating agency had downgraded Spanish sovereign debt by two-notch. STD Pre-market: 6.37 -0.10 (-1.55%) BBVA 6.87 0.00 (0.00%)

Sunoco To Be Bought Out. Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) has agreed to buy Sunoco (SUN) for $5.3 billion or $50.13 per share in cash and stock. ETP Pre-market: 49.01 +1.09 (2.27%) SUN Pre-market: 49.36 +8.45 (20.66%)

Upgrades

Kraft Food (KFT): JPMorgan raised their rating from Neutral to Overweight and placed a target price of $45.00 on the company. Pre-market: 39.75 +0.35 (0.89%)

Western Digital (WDC): Noble Financial raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $50.00 on the company. Pre-market: 38.51 +0.58 (1.53%)

Medtronic (MDT): Lazard Capital raised their rating from Hold to Neutral. Pre-market: 37.83 +0.14 (0.37%)

PPG Industries (PPG): Credit Suisse raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and raised their target price from $120.00 to $122.00.

Dollar General (DG): Raymond James raised their rating from Outperform to Strong Buy and placed a target price of $57.00 on the company. Pre-market: 48.89 +1.11 (2.32%)

Downgrades

Procter & Gamble (PG): Oppenheimer lowered their rating from Outperform to Perform. Pre-market: 64.16 -0.28 (-0.43%)

Allscripts (MDRX): Raymond James lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform. Pre-market: 10.66 +0.36 (3.51%)

Olin Corp (OLN): Longbow lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Earning Reports

Humana (HUM): Reported EPS of $1.49 missing estimates by -$0.05. Pre-market: 83.99 -3.83 (-4.36%)

Loews Corp (L): Reported EPS of $0.92 beating estimates by +$0.03.

NYSE Euronext (NYX): Reported EPS of $0.47 missing estimates by -$0.02.

Watson Pharm (WPI): Reported EPS of $1.64 beating estimates by +$0.04. Pre-market: 78.50 +2.34 (3.07%)

Markets: 
Futures at 7:00: -0.15%. S&P -0.29%. Nasdaq -0.36%. Crude -0.73% to $104.15. Gold -0.26% to $1660.50. 

Europe: London -0.50%. Paris -1.05%. Frankfurt -0.26%. 

Asia: Japan -0.43%. Hong Kong +1.70%. China -0.35%. India +0.76%. 

U.S. Economy Slows

The first quarter GDP was released this morning coming in at 2.2%, while still a positive number, economist were looking for the economy to have grown by 2.5%.  The GDP reading missed estimates despite a milder-than-normal winter which boosted economic activity.  This was also a much lower reading than fourth quarter GDP of 3.0%. Some are now worried that the economic slowdown in the Eurozone and China is now spreading to the U.S.

MORNING COFFEE

U.S. Economy Expected to Slow. GDP figures are due to be released this morning, with economists forecasting that Q1 growth slowed to an annual rate of 2.5% from 3% in Q4

S&P Downgrades Spain. The rating agency S&P cut Spain’s credit rating two notches to BBB+ from A.  They also put a negative outlook on the country’s debt, saying the country's "budget trajectory will likely deteriorate against a background of economic contraction in contrast with our previous projections." The unemployment rate in Spain also rose to 24.4% in Q1 from 22.9% in Q4, marking the highest rate in 18 years.

Upgrades

UPS (UPS): Raymond James raised their rating from Outperform to Strong Buy and raised their target price from $85.00 to $95.00. Pre-market: 78.50 +0.25 (0.32%)

ResMed (RMD): Feltl & Co. raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $38.00 on the company. Pre-market: 34.40 +2.35 (7.33%)

JetBlue Airways (JBLU): Dahlman Rose raised their rating from Sell to Hold. Pre-market: 4.65 0.00 (0.00%)

Oceaneering International (OII): Capital One raised their rating from Neutral to Add and placed a target price of $57.00 on the company. Pre-market: 51.28 +0.60 (1.18%)

Downgrades

Allscripts (MDRX): Caris lowered their rating from Buy to Average. Pre-market: 9.51 -6.51 (-40.64%)

Old Dominion (ODFL): Raymond James lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform. Pre-market: 45.51 0.00 (0.00%)

MetroPCS (PCS): National Securities lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 7.08 0.00 (0.00%)

MetroPCS (PCS): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 7.08 0.00 (0.00%)

MetroPCS (PCS): Canaccord Genuity lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $16.00 to $9.00. Pre-market: 7.08 0.00 (0.00%)

Celgene (CELG): Bank of America / Merrill Lynch lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and lowered their target price from $87.00 to $80.00. Pre-market: 73.01 +0.09 (0.12%)

Coverage Initiated

Dycom Industries (DY): Raymond James initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $25.00.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Imperial Capital initiated coverage with an In-Line rating. Pre-market: 57.10 +0.13 (0.23%)

Earning Reports

Allscripts (MDRX): Reported EPS of $0.12 missing estimates by -$0.12. Pre-market: 9.51 -6.51 (-40.64%)

Amazon.com (AMZN): Reported EPS of $0.28 beating estimates by +0.21.

Coinstar (CSTR): Reported EPS of $1.39 missing estimates by -$0.03.

Deckers Outdoor (DECK): Reported EPS of $0.20 missing estimates by -$0.05.

Eastman Chemical (EMN): Reported EPS of $1.22 beating estimates by +$0.10.

Expedia (EXPE): Reported EPS of $0.26 beating estimates by +$0.10.

MetLife (MET): Reported EPS of $1.37 beating estimates by +$0.11.

Starbucks (SBUX): Reported EPS of $0.40 beating estimates by +$0.01.

Western Digital (WDC): Reported EPS of $2.52 beating estimates by +$0.97.

Markets: 
Futures at 9:00: Dow +0.24%. S&P +0.32%. Nasdaq +0.51%. Crude -0.01% to $104.54. Gold +0.21% to $1664.10. 

Europe: London +0.61%. Paris +1.41%. Frankfurt +1.06%.

Asia: Japan -0.43% to 9520. Hong Kong -0.33% to 20741. China -0.35% to 2396. India -0.02% to 17134.

MORNING COFFEE

Chrysler Post Nice Quarter. Chrysler reported Q1 net income of $473 million, up from $116 million a year ago. Quarterly sales increased +33% to 523,000 vehicles. The company also confirmed its 2012 profit guidance of $1.5 billion.  Additionally, the company said that it told auto lender troubled bank Ally Financial, it won't renew their partnership past the April 30, 2013 expiration date.

Upgrades

NETGEAR (NTGR): BWS Financial raised their rating from Buy to Strong Buy.

Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS): Davenport raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $50.00 on the company.

Downgrades

Penske Auto (PAG): KeyBanc Capital Markets lowered their rating from Buy to Hold.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed 

Xilinx (XLNX): Mizuho reiterated their Neutral rating and raised their target price from $36.00 to $38.00.

Apple (APPL): Hillard Lyons reiterated their Buy rating and raised their target price from $660.00 to $740.00.

Earning Reports

Kirby Corp (KEX): Reported EPS of $0.91 in-line with estimates.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Reported EPS of $0.70 beating estimates by +0.12. Pre-market: 57.01 -1.77 (-3.01%)

Raymond James (RJF): Reported EPS of $0.64 beating estimates by +$0.07.

Tractor Supply (TSCO): Reported EPS of $0.55 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 99.44 +1.95 (2.00%)

Oceaneering Intl (OII): Reported EPS of $0.47 beating estimates by +$0.01.

Aetna (AET): Reported EPS of $1.34 missing estimates by -$0.05. Pre-market: 44.87 -4.49 (-9.10%)

Altria (MO): Reported EPS of $0.49 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 31.72 +0.03 (0.09%)

AstraZeneca (AZN): Reported EPS of $1.81 beating estimates by +0.08. Pre-market: 43.22 -2.69 (-5.86%)

Ball (BLL): Reported EPS of $0.63 beating estimates by +0.04.

Bristol-Myers (BMY): Reported EPS of $0.64 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 33.75 -0.54 (-1.57%)

Celgene (CELG): Reported EPS of $1.08 missing estimates by -$0.05. Pre-market: 74.57 -3.34 (-4.29%)

Dow Chemical (DOW): Reported EPS of $0.61 beating estimates by +0.01. Pre-market: 34.61 -1.47 (-4.07%)

Exxon Mobil (XOM): Reported EPS of $2.00 missing estimates by -$0.09. Pre-market: 85.33 -1.52 (-1.75%)

Kellogg (K): Reported EPS of $1.00 beating estimates by +0.02. Pre-market: 50.50 +0.01 (0.02%)

Lockheed Martin (LMT): Reported EPS of $2.02 beating estimates by +0.32. Pre-market: 92.00 +1.02 (1.12%)

Old Dominion (OLDF): Reported EPS of $0.54 beating estimates by +0.01.

PepsiCo (PEP): Reported EPS of $0.69 beating estimates by +0.02

UPS (UPS): reported EPS of $1.00 missing estimates by -$0.02.

           

Markets: 
Futures at 8:51: Dow -0.18%. S&P -0.32%. Nasdaq -0.22%. Crude +0.10% to $104.22. Gold +0.72% to $1654.20. 

Europe: London -0.36%. Paris -0.99%. Frankfurt -0.64%. 

Asia: Japan -0.01%. Hong Kong +0.79%. China -0.09%. India -0.12%. 

MORNING COFFEE

Apple Beats Estimates. Despite slower iPhone sales at both AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) Apple (AAPL) beat street estimates. FQ2 earnings topped estimates as EPS almost doubled to $12.30 and revenue shot up 59% to $39.2B. iPhone shipments jumped 88% to 35.1 million units and iPad sales soared over 150% to 11.8 million. Asia-Pacific, likely driven by China, played a big role in the earnings beat. Pre-market: 614.61 +54.33 (9.70%)

Upgrades

United States Steel (X): Macquarie raised their rating from Underperform to Neutral and raised their target price from $25.00 to $29.00.

Apple (AAPL): Scotia Capital raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $656.00 to $843.00. Pre-market: 614.61 +54.33 (9.70%)

United Tech (UTX): Argus raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $96.00 on the company. Pre-market: 80.83 +0.98 (1.23%)

Panera Bread (PNRA): Miller Tabak raised their rating from Hold to Buy and raised their target price from $175.00 to $178.00. Pre-market: 151.50 +3.25 (2.19%)

Aeropostale (ARO): Janney Montgomery Scott raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $96.00 on the company.

Ryder Systems (R): Robert Baird raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and placed a target price of $61.00 on the company.

Downgrades

McDonalds (MCD): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 95.10 +0.51 (0.54%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 58.00 +0.23 (0.40%)

Symantec (SYMC): Lazard Capital lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed 

Apple (AAPL): Canaccord Genuity reiterated their Buy rating and raised their target price from $740.00 to $775.00. Pre-market: 614.61 +54.33 (9.70%)

Apple (AAPL): ISI Group reiterated their Buy rating and raised their target price from $650.00 to $750.00. Pre-market: 614.61 +54.33 (9.70%)

Apple (AAPL): Mizuho reiterated their Buy rating and raised their target price from $700.00 to $725.00. Pre-market: 614.61 +54.33 (9.70%)

Earning Reports

Aflac (AFL): Reported EPS of $1.68 beating estimates by +$0.04. Pre-market: 44.29 +2.29 (5.45%)

Apple (AAPL): Reported EPS of $12.30 beating estimates by +$2.26. Pre-market: 614.61 +54.33 (9.70%)

DeVry (DV): Reported EPS of $1.00 beating estimates by +$0.01

Boeing (BA): Reported EPS of $1.11 beating estimates by +$0.16.

Caterpillar (CAT): Reported EPS of $2.37 beating estimates by +$0.32. Pre-market: 106.85 -1.55 (-1.43%)

Corning (GLW): Reported EPS of $0.30 beating estimates by +$0.02.

Credit Suisse (CS): Reported EPS of $0.03 beating estimates by +$0.21.

Eli Lilly (LLY): Reported EPS of $0.92 beating estimates by +$0.12.

General Dynamics (GD): Reported EPS of $1.57 missing estimates by -$0.12.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK): Reported EPS of $0.27 missing estimates by -$0.02.

Harley-Davidson (HOG): Reported EPS of $0.74 beating estimates by +$0.02.

Molex (MOLX): Reported EPS of $0.36 beating estimates by +$0.02.

National Oilwell (NOV): Reported EPS of $1.44 beating estimates by +$0.05.

Northrop Grumman (NOC): Reported EPS of $1.96 beating estimates by +$0.37.

Markets: 
Futures at 9:14: Dow +0.39%. S&P +0.72%. Nasdaq +1.99%. Crude +0.45% to $104.02. Gold -0.15% to $1641.30. 

Europe: London +0.26%. Paris +2.22%. Frankfurt +1.63%. 

Asia: Japan +0.98%. Hong Kong -0.15%. China +0.75%. India -0.33%. 

MORNING COFFEE

DOJ Investigates Wal-Mart. Reports out yesterday say that the DOJ has started a criminal probe of Wal-Mart (WMT) for allegations of bribery in Mexico. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act bans companies from bribing foreign officials to win business. Pre-market: 59.45 -0.09 (-0.15%)

Upgrades

Michelin (MGDDY): HSBC Securities raised their rating from Neutral to Overweight.

Netflix (NFLX): Pacific Crest raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $130.00 on the company. Pre-market: 85.90 -15.94 (-15.65%)

Downgrades

Pep Boys (PBY): Argus lowered their rating from Hold to Sell. Pre-market: 14.91 -0.01 (-0.07%)

Charles Schwab (SCHW): Stifel Nicolaus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 13.61 -0.21 (-1.52%)

Big Lots! (BIG): Buckingham lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 37.41 -8.30 (-18.16%)

Big Lots! (BIG): Raymond James lowered their rating from Strong Buy to Market Perform. Pre-market: 37.41 -8.30 (-18.16%)

Big Lots! (BIG): MKM Partners lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 37.41 -8.30 (-18.16%)

Big Lots! (BIG): Deutsche Bank lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 37.41 -8.30 (-18.16%)

Coverage Initiated

Viacom (VIA.B): Maxium initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $59.00.

Earning Reports

Netflix (NFLX): Reported EPS of -$0.08 beating estimates by +$0.19. Pre-market: 85.90 -15.94 (-15.65%)

Texas Instruments (TXN): Reported EPS of $0.32 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 32.95 +1.06 (3.32%)

3M (MMM): Reported EPS of $1.59 beating estimates by +$0.11. Pre-market: 89.45 +2.32 (2.66%)

AT&T (T): Reported EPS of $0.60 beating estimates by +$0.03. Pre-market: 31.20 +0.59 (1.93%)

Baker Hughes (BHI): Reported EPS of $0.86 beating estimates by +$0.06. Pre-market: 43.35 +2.28 (5.55%)

Coach (COH): Reported EPS of $0.77 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 72.68 -2.44 (-3.25%)

Hershey Foods (HSY): Reported EPS of $0.96 beating estimates by +$0.15. Pre-market: 64.80 +2.51 (4.03%)

Novartis AG (NVS): Reported EPS of $1.27 missing estimates by -0.03. Pre-market: 54.83 -0.79 (-1.42%)

RadioShack (RSH): Reported EPS of -$0.06 missing estimates by -0.11. Pre-market: 5.30 -0.67 (-11.22%)

Ryder Systems (R): Reported EPS of $0.59 beating estimates by +$0.01.

U.S. Steel (X): Reported EPS of $0.67 beating estimates by +$0.21.

Markets: 
Futures at 9:05: Dow +0.09%. S&P +0.03%. Nasdaq -0.22%. Crude +0.30% at $103.40. Gold +0.64% to $1643.00. 

Europe: London +0.02%. Paris +0.82%. Frankfurt +0.06%. 

Asia: Japan -0.78%. Hong Kong +0.26%. China +0.01%. India +0.65%.