Armed Russian Soldiers Take Over Ukrainian Airports

Armed Russian Soldiers Take Over Ukrainian Airports. In an escalation of events in Ukraine, Russian soldiers have taken over two airports in Crimea.  This comes after armed soldiers stormed government building yesterday and removed the Ukrainian flag while replacing it with the Russian flag. Ukraine's acting interior minister said that the actions by Russia are an "armed invasion and occupation." The heavily armed soldiers equipped with AK47’s, machineguns, and RPG’s are wearing Russian uniformed with all markings removed. The Russian government is not commenting on any troop movements in Ukraine. Ukraine’s interim government has called for emergency U.N. meetings to address the situation. Additionally, Ukraine's central bank has limited foreign-currency bank withdrawals to 15,000 hryvnia ($1,500) a day.

Upgrades:

Deckers Outdoor (DECK): Susquehanna raised their rating from Neutral to Positive and raised their target price from $78.00 to $87.00. Pre-market: 74.47 -10.20 (-12.05%)

Dynergy (DYN): ISI Group raised their rating from Cautious to Neutral and placed a target price of $24.00 on the company.

Gap (GPS): Atlantic Equities raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral. Pre-market: 43.62 -0.06 (-0.14%)

Total S.A. (TOT): UBS raised their rating from Neutral to Buy. Pre-market: 64.48 +0.94 (1.48%)

Downgrades:

Diego PLC (DEO): RBC Capital lowered their rating from Sector Perform to Underperform. Pre-market: 126.22 +0.92 (0.73%)

Fresh Market (TFM): Raymond James Lowered their rating from Strong Buy to Outperform.

Mylan (MYL): Needham lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 55.80 -0.47 (-0.84%)

NII Holdings (NIHD): Raymond James lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform. Pre-market: 1.33 -1.25 (-48.35%)

Earning Reports:

Gap (GPS): Reported EPS of $0.68 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 43.62 -0.06 (-0.14%)

Iron Mountain (IRM): Reported EPS of $0.22 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 28.89 +0.48 (1.69%)

NII Holdings (NIHD): Reported EPS of -4.33 missing estimates by -$2.48. Pre-market: 1.33 -1.25 (-48.35%)

Ross Stores (ROST): Reported EPS of $1.02 in-line with estimates.

Salesforce.com (CRM): Reported EPS of $0.07 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 66.00 -0.22 (-0.33%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:26: Dow -0.04%. S&P -0.07%. Nasdaq -0.07%. Crude -0.21% to $102.19. Gold +0.07% to $1332.70. U.S. 10 Year -7/32 to 2.666%.

Europe: London -0.14%. Paris -0.22%. Frankfurt +0.13%. 

Asia: Japan -0.55% to 14841. Hong Kong +0.04% at 22837. China +0.44% to 2056. India +0.63% to 21120. 

#TopWealthManager #RLPaler #WallStreet #Ukraine #FinancialPlanning #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Facebook Users Upset Over Privacy. Once again Facebook (FB) users are upset once they learned about the company newly proposed privacy language. The new language would allow for the indiscriminate use of members' information, likeness, and user-generated content for advertising purposes. Privacy groups are warning that the company is attempting to "routinely use the images and names of users for commercial advertising without consent. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Watchdog, Patient Privacy Rights, U.S. PIRG, and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse have all voiced their concerns to the FTC in a letter.

Upgrades:

Diego PLC (DEO): Citigroup raised their rating from Neutral to Buy. Pre-market: 124.21 +1.13 (0.92%)

Ericsson (ERIC): Credit Suisse raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform. Pre-market: 13.00 +0.46 (3.67%)

Korn/Ferry (KFY): RW Baird raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and raised their target price from $20.00 to $24.00. Pre-market: 19.72 +1.00 (5.34%)

Moody’s Corp (MCO): Lazard Capital raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $74.00 on the company.

Stryker (SYK): Credit Suisse raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and maintained their target price of $77.00. Pre-market: 68.50 +0.71 (1.05%)

Coverage Initiated:

Arch Coal (ACI): Macquarie initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $4.50. Pre-market: 4.78 +0.05 (1.06%)

Brinker International (EAT): Wunderlich initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $44.00.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL): Wunderlich initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $106.00. Pre-market: 98.71 0.00 (0.00%)

Darden Restaurants (DRI): Wunderlich initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $50.00. Pre-market: 47.43 +0.57 (1.22%)

Jack in the Box (JACK): Wunderlich initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $46.00.

Peabody Energy (BTU): Macquarie initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $18.00. Pre-market: 18.20 +0.20 (1.11%)

Under Armour (UA): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $71.00. Pre-market: 77.35 +0.46 (0.60%)

Zillow (Z): Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $83.00

Earning Reports:

Korn/Ferry (KFY): Reported EPS of $0.33 beating estimates by +$0.03. Pre-market: 19.72 +1.00 (5.34%)

Smithfield Foods (SFD): Reported EPS of $0.27 missing estimates by -$0.16. Pre-market: 33.88 -0.08 (-0.24%)

Smith &Wesson (SWHC): Reported EPS of $0.45 beating estimates by +$0.09. Pre-market: 10.85 -0.63 (-5.49%)

Zumiez (ZUMZ): Reported EPS of $0.20 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 24.05 -1.24 (-4.90%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:31: Dow +0.34%. S&P +0.39%. Nasdaq +0.30%. Crude +0.17% to $109.17. Gold +0.88% to $1386.00. U.S. 10 Year +31/32 2.881%.

Europe: London -0.16%. Paris -0.12%. Frankfurt +0.53%. 

Asia: Japan -1.45% to 13860. Hong Kong +0.10% to 22621. China +0.83% to 2139. India +1.53% to 19263. 

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

U.S. GDP Tops Estimates. The advanced GDP reading on the U.S. economy was released this morning and topped Wall Street estimates. Economist had expected that the U.S. economy had slowed to a growth rate of only 1.1% down from the previous quarters 1.8% growth.  For Q2 the U.S. economy grew by 1.7%, however Q1 GDP was revised downwards to only 1.1% from the prior 1.8%.

Areas of strength in the economy included: Residential fixed investment which increased 13.4%, personal consumption which rose 1.8% and spending on durable goods which increased 6.5%.

Upgrades:

Boyd Gaming (BYD): JPMorgan raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral and raised their target price from $8.00 to $12.00.

Fresh Del Monte (FDP): CL King raised their rating from Neutral to Buy.

Downgrades:

Barclays PLC (BCS): Societe Generale lowered their rating from Buy to Hold.

Diego PLC ADS (DEO): Canaccord lowered their rating from Buy to Hold.

Jacobs Engineering (JEC): Johnson Rice lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight.

Mosaic (MOS): Scotia lowered their rating from Outperform to Sector Perform.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons (RRD): The Benchmark Company lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $20.00 to $15.00.

Sprint Nextel (S): FBR Capital lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform and placed a target price of $6.00 on the company.

Earning Reports:

AFLAC (AFL): Reported EPS of $1.62 beating estimates by +$0.11.

Amgen (AMGN): Reported EPS of $1.89 beating estimates by +$0.15.

Anheuser-Bush InBev (BUD): Reported EPS of $0.93 missing estimates by -$0.12.

Comcast (CMCSA): Reported EPS of $0.65 beating estimates by +$0.02.

Fiserv (FISV): Reported EPS of $1.50 beating estimates by +$0.06.

MasterCard (MA): Reported EPS of $6.96 beating estimates by +$0.30.

Symantec (SYMC): Reported EPS of $0.44 beating estimates by +$0.08.

Markets: 
Futures at 6:15: Dow 0.0%. S&P +0.5%. Nasdaq 0.0%. Crude +0.2% to $103.33. Gold +0.5% to $1332. U.S. 10 Year -16/32 2.674%

Europe: London +0.6%. Paris +0.02%. Frankfurt +0.08%. 

Asia: Japan -1.45% to 13668. Hong Kong -0.32% to 21884. China +0.19% to 1994. India -0.05% to 19,339.