Bank of America Faces More Lawsuits

Bank of America Faces More Lawsuits. Bank of America (BAC) is again being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with regards to the Federal Housing Administration's direct endorsement program. This is occurring while authorities in North America, Europe and Asia are probing BofA's conduct and practices in forex markets. The troubled banks potential litigation liabilities now stand at $6.1B versus just a year ago when it stood at $3.1B. Pre-market: 16.37 +0.03 (0.18%)

Upgrades:

Kroger (KR): JPMorgan raised their rating from Neutral to Overweight and raised their target price from $38.00 to $46.00.

LinkedIn (LNKD): RBC Capital raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $225.00 to $250.00. Pre-market: 216.60 +6.76 (3.22%)

Masco (MAS): KeyBanc raised their rating from Underweight to Hold. Pre-market: 22.99 +0.29 (1.28%)

Downgrades:

DreamWorks Animation (DWA): Piper Jaffray lowered their rating from Neutral to Underweight. Pre-market: 30.73 -4.47 (-12.70%)

Humana (HUM): Citigroup lowered their rating from Neutral to Sell.

Newmont Mining (NEM): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 23.43 -0.32 (-1.35%)

Safeway (SWY): JPMorgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered their target price from $41.00 to $40.00. Pre-market: 37.00 -0.13 (-0.35%)

Toll Brothers (TOLL): Keefe Bruyette lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered their target price from $42.00 to $40.00.

Coverage Initiated:

La Jolla Pharmaceutical (LJPC): Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $27.00. Pre-market: 9.54 +1.94 (25.53%)

Earning Reports:

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF): Reported EPS of $1.34 beating estimates by +$0.29. Pre-market: 37.90 +1.91 (5.31%)

Dollar Tree (DLTR): Reported EPS of $1.02 beating estimates by +$0.04. Pre-market: 50.55 -2.13 (-4.04%)

DreamWorks Animation (DWA): Reported EPS of $0.20 missing estimates by -$0.20. Pre-market: 30.73 -4.47 (-12.70%)

Dycom (DY): Reported EPS of -$0.09 in-line with estimates.

Lowe’s (LOW): Reported EPS of $0.31 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 49.73 +1.62 (3.37%)

Royal Bank of Canada (RY): Reported EPS of $1.44 missing estimates by -$0.01.

SodaStream (SODA): Reported EPS of $0.16 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 39.78 +0.70 (1.79%)

Target (TGT): Reported EPS of $0.81 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 57.31 +0.80 (1.42%)

TASER (TASR): Reported EPS of $0.13 beating estimates by +$0.05. Pre-market: 20.50 +1.40 (7.33%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:18: Dow +0.07%. S&P +0.09%. Nasdaq +0.10%. Crude +0.55% to $102.39. Gold -0.79% to $1332.20. U.S. 10 Year -3/32 to 2.713%.

Europe: London -0.46%. Paris -0.51%. Frankfurt -0.45%. 

Asia: Japan -0.54% to 14971. Hong Kong +0.54% to 22437. China +0.35% to 2041. India +0.65% to 20987. 

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

Google Buys Boston Dynamics. Google (GOOG) has purchased Boston Dynamics, a manufacture of robots and software for the U.S. military and DARPA. Boston Dynamics is best known for their four legged robots on You Tube where Big Dog and Cheetah resemble something straight from a space sci-fi movie. Cheetah can run at speeds over 29 mph. Atlas is a humanoid robot able to traverse difficult terrain and designed to go where humans cannot. Pre-market: 1,063.80 +3.01 (0.28%)

Upgrades:

Blackberry (BBRY): Bernstein raised their rating from Underperform to Market Perform and placed a target price of $5.50 on the company. Pre-market: 6.18 +0.10 (1.64%)

Charles Schwab (SCHW): Evercore raised their rating from Underweight to Equal Weight.

Citigroup (C): Evercore raised their rating from Equal Weight to Overweight. Pre-market: 51.48 +0.51 (1.00%)

Exxon Mobil (XOM): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $96.00 to $109.00. Pre-market: 96.35 +1.04 (1.09%)

Fifth Third Bank (FITB): Evercore raised their rating from Equal Weight to Overweight.

Monster Beverage (MNST): RBC Capital raised their rating from Outperform to Top Pick and placed a target price of $77.00 on the company. Pre-market: 62.67 +1.21 (1.97%)

St Jude Medical (STJ): BMO Capital raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $59.00 to $66.00.

Taser International (TASR): JPMorgan raised their rating from Neutral to Overweight and raised their target price from $17.00 to $18.50. Pre-market: 16.05 +0.53 (3.41%)

Tiffany & Co. (TIF): Canaccord raised their rating from Sell to Hold and raised their target price from $65.00 to $85.00. Pre-market: 90.20 +0.89 (1.00%)

Verizon Communications (VZ): Maquarie raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform. Pre-market: 48.25 +0.41 (0.86%)

Downgrades:

PNC Financial (PNC): Evercore lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight. Pre-market: 75.22 -0.16 (-0.21%)

Starbucks (SBUX): Stephens lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight and lowered their target price from $95.00 to $85.00. Pre-market: 76.18 -0.17 (-0.22%)

Twitter (TWTR): SunTrust lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and maintained their target price of $50.00. Pre-market: 57.95 -1.05 (-1.78%)

Twitter (TWTR): Wells Fargo lowered their rating from Market Perform to Underperform and maintained their target range of $36.00-$39.00. Pre-market: 57.95 -1.05 (-1.78%)

Coverage Initiated:

Cintas (CTAS): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $56.00.

Markets: 
Futures at 6:20: Dow +0.4%. S&P +0.4%. Nasdaq +0.5%. Crude +0.5% to $97.11. Gold -0.5% to $1228.50. U.S. 10 Year -3/32 2.856%.

Europe: London +0.5%. Paris +0.8%. Frankfurt +1.4%. 

Asia: Japan -1.6% to 15153. Hong Kong -0.6% to 23115. China -1.6% to 2161. India -0.3% to 20660. 

#RLPaler #WallStreet #PreMarket #WealthManagement #EarningReports #AnalystsRatings

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Bank of America Pays for Racial Discrimination Against Black Employees. Bank of America (BAC) will pay $160 million after it was sued by black employees. The lawsuit was brought by hundreds of black financial advisers, who accused the bank of not giving them the same opportunities as white advisors in the areas of account distributions and investment teams. Pre-market: 14.09 -0.02 (-0.14%)

Upgrades:

USG Corp (USG): Longbow raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $28.00 on the company. Pre-market: 23.33 +0.27 (1.17%)

Downgrades:

Taser International (TASR): JPMorgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and placed a target price of $12.00 on the company.

Tiffany & Co (TIF): CLSA lowered their rating from Outperform to Underperform. Pre-market: 79.50 -1.32 (-1.63%)

Coverage Initiated:

Applied Materials (AMAT): Northland Securities initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $19.00. Pre-market: 15.04 -0.03 (-0.19%)

Arch Coal (ACI): FBR Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $6.00. Pre-market: 4.65 +0.03 (0.65%)

Laboratory Corp (LH): Craig-Hallum initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $116.00.

Lam Research (LRCX): Northland Securities initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $59.00.

Earning Reports:

Chico’s FAS (CHS): Reported EPS of $0.27 missing estimates by -$0.05. Pre-market: 15.67 +0.34 (2.22%)

Express (EXPR): Reported EPS of $0.20 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 21.75 +1.95 (9.85%)

Joy Global (JOY): Reported EPS of $1.70 beating estimates by +$0.34. Pre-market: 48.80 -2.51 (-4.89%)

Zale (ZLC): Reported EPS of- $0.25 beating estimates by +$0.58. Pre-market: 10.49 +1.53 (17.08%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:45: Dow +0.09%. S&P +0.04%. Nasdaq +0.09%. Crude +1.28% to $110.38. Gold +0.44% to $1426.40. U.S. 10 Year -15/32 2.767%.

Europe: London -0.60%. Paris -0.49%. Frankfurt -1.54%. 

Asia: Japan -1.51% to 13338. Hong Kong -1.60% to 21525. China -0.11% to 2101. India +0.16% to 17996.