Google Shares Split

Google Shares Split. 

Google will split their shares today with investors will receive one class-C share for each class-A and class-B shares they own. The split will allow founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to maintain control of the company through their class B shares they currently hold. The class-C shares will have no voting rights. Both class-A and class-C share will be included in the S&P 500 index. The class- A shares will trade under the ticker (GOOGL) and the class-C shares will trade under (GOOG) ticker. Both classes of shares are expected to trade with little spread to each other. As part of a settlement with investors the company agreed to reimburse holders of the class C shares should they fail to trade in line with the existing A shares.

Upgrades:

Eli Lilly (LLY): Cowen & Company raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $68.00 on the company.

Monsanto (MON): JPMorgan raised their rating from Neutral to Overweight and placed a target price of $125.00 on the company. Pre-market: 116.00 +1.58 (1.38%)

Downgrades:

BB&T Corp (BBT): Raymond James lowered their rating from Strong Buy to Outperform and placed a target price of $44.00 on the company.

CSX (CSX): Barclays lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight and placed a target price of $30.00 on the company. Pre-market: 28.92 -0.30 (-1.03%)

Deutsche Bank (DB): Morgan Stanley lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral. Pre-market: 45.13 -0.90 (-1.96%)

Royal Caribbean (RCL): Swedbank lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 56.14 -0.43 (-0.76%)

Coverage Initiated:

Altera Corp (ALTR): Piper Jaffrey initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and target price of $41.00.

Altera Corp (ALTR): FBR Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating.

BP p.l.c (BP): BMO Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating. Pre-market: 48.33 -0.11 (-0.23%)

ConAgra (CAG): Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and target price of $30.00.

ConocoPhillips (COP): BMO Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform and target price of $70.00.

Chevron (CVX): BMO Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform and target price of $125.00.

Total (TOT): BMO Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform. Pre-market: 65.86 +0.06 (0.09%)

W.P. Carey (WPC): Capital One initiated coverage with an Equal Weight and target price of $64.00.

Earning Reports:

Greenbrier Comp (GBX): Reported EPS of $0.51 missing estimates by -$0.10. Pre-market: 45.74 -1.97 

Perry Ellis (PERY): Reported EPS of $0.06 beating estimates by +$0.03. Pre-market: 14.55 +0.30 (2.11%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:36: Dow +0.05%. S&P 0.00%. Nasdaq -0.01%. Crude -0.12% to $99.48. Gold -0.60% to $1283.10. U.S. 10 Year -1/32 to 2.800%

Europe: London +0.10%. Paris +0.23%. Frankfurt +0.17%. 

Asia: Japan +0.84% to 15072. Hong Kong +0.18% to 22565. China -0.74% to 2044. India -0.19% to 22509. 

#RLPaler #TopWealthManager #WallStreet #Stocks #GoogleSplit 

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

Wealth Gap Widest in Large Affluent Cities

Wealth Gap Widest in Large Affluent Cities.  A new report indicates the gap between the wealthy and the poor is most extreme in several of the U.S.’s largest cities. The largest disparities in wealth where found to be in the democratically lead cities of Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C.  Some economists are pointing out that many of these cities have higher immigrant and illegal alien populations and higher high school dropout rates that they say add to the wealth gap. Of the nation’s 50 biggest cities, just 18 experienced greater income inequality since the recession. The report also found that not all the 50 largest cities saw large wealth gaps. Some Western and Sun Belt cities, such as Mesa, AZ and Arlington, TX that have smaller downtowns had a noticeably smaller wealth gap than the national average.

Upgrades:

Seagate Tech (STX): RBC Capital raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform. Pre-market: 51.10 +1.08 (2.16%)

Tim Hortons (THI): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform.

Total SA (TOT): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Sell to Neutral. Pre-market: 62.36 +0.94 (1.53%)

Downgrades:

Columbia Sportswear (COLM): McAdams Wright lowered their rating from Hold to Sell.

Groupon (GRPN): RBC Capital lowered their rating from Sector Perform to Underperform and lowered their target price from $11.00 to $7.00. Pre-market: 9.00 -1.28 (-12.44%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Stifel lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and placed a target price of $83.00 on the company. Pre-market: 73.26 -0.26 (-0.35%)

Earning Reports:

Charter Comm (CHTR): Reported EPS of $0.35 beating estimates by +$0.06.

DISH Network (DISH): Reported EPS of $0.63 beating estimates by +$0.22.

Groupon (GRPN): Reported EPS of $0.04 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 9.00 -1.28 (-12.44%)

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ): Reported EPS of $0.90 beating estimates by +$0.06. Pre-market: 30.45 +0.26 (0.86%)

Intuit (INTU): Reported EPS of $0.02 in-line with estimates.

Priceline.com (PCLN): Reported EPS of $8.85 beating estimates by +$0.56. Pre-market: 1,315.93 +32.93 (2.57%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:02: Dow +0.18%. S&P +0.19%. Nasdaq +0.19%. Crude -0.27% to $102.46. Gold +0.38% to $3121.90. U.S. 10 Year -5/32 to 2.768%

Europe: London +0.09%. Paris +0.27%. Frankfurt +0.13%. 

Asia: Japan +2.88% to 14866. Hong Kong +0.78% to 22568. China -1.17% to 2114. India +0.80% to 20701. 

#TopWealthManager #RLPaler #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports #WallStreet #FinancialPlaner 

Actavis to Buy Forest Labs

Actavis to Buy Forest Labs. Generic drug maker Actavis PLC (ACT) will buy Forest Labs (FRX) for approximately $25 billion in cash and stock. Actavis will pay $89.48 per share, representing a premium of 25% to Forest's closing price on Friday. The offer comprises $26.04 in cash and 0.3306 Actavis share for every Forest share. Actavis said the deal should increase its profits by double-digit percentages in 2015 and 2016, including about $1 billion in tax and operating savings.

Upgrades:

Abbott (ABT): ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold.

Allstate (ALL): ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B): First Call raised their rating from Buy to Strong Buy.

Blackberry (BBRY): FBR Capital raised their rating from Underperform to Market Perform and raised their target price from $6.75 to $10.00. Pre-market: 9.38 +0.40 (4.45%)

Express Scripts (ESRX): Monness Crespi raised their rating from Neutral to Buy. Pre-market: 76.99 +0.24 (0.31%)

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK): ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG): First Call raised their rating from Hold to Buy.

J.M. Smucker Co. (SJM): Stephens raised their rating from Equal Weight to Overweight and raised their target price from $110.00 to $115.00. Pre-market: 92.07 +0.26 (0.28%)

Kraft (KRFT): ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold.

Mosaic (MOS): ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold.

Praxair (PX): ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold.

Total SA (TOT): ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold.

Waste Management (WM): ResearchTeam raised their rating from Reduce to Hold. Pre-market: 42.40 -1.27 (-2.91%)

Downgrades:

Hormel (HRL): ResearchTeam lowered their rating from Hold to Reduce.

Intel (INTC): ResearchTeam lowered their rating from Hold to Reduce.

Microsoft (MSFT): ResearchTeam lowered their rating from Hold to Reduce. Pre-market: 37.58 -0.04 (-0.11%)

Coverage Initiated:

Allscripts Healthcare (MDRX): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $18.00.

Credit Suisse (CS): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating. Pre-market: 32.07 +0.62 (1.97%)

Deutsche Bank (DB): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating. Pre-market: 49.27 +0.35 (0.72%)

UBS (UBS): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Hold rating. Pre-market: 20.97 +0.13 (0.62%)

Earning Reports:

Coca-Cola (KO): Reported EPS of $0.46 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 38.10 -0.83 (-2.13%)

Diana Shipping (DSX): Reported EPS of -$0.12 missing estimates by -$0.06. Pre-market: 11.90 -0.79 (-6.23%)

Duke Energy (DUK): Reported EPS of $1.00 beating estimates by +$0.05. Pre-market: 71.45 0.00 (0.00%)

Genuine Parts (GPC): Reported EPS of $0.97 beating estimates by +$0.04.

Medtronic (MDT): Reported EPS of $0.91 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 57.00 +0.12 (0.21%)

Waste Management (WM): Reported EPS of $0.56 missing estimates by -$0.04. Pre-market: 42.40 -1.27 (-2.91%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:34: Dow +0.09%. S&P +0.03%. Nasdaq +0.09%. Crude +0.90% to $101.20. Gold -0.02% to $1318.50. U.S. 10 Year +5/32 to 2.732%.

Europe: London +0.33%. Paris -0.25%. Frankfurt -0.06%. 

Asia: Japan +3.13% to 14843. Hong Kong +0.23% to 22588. China -0.77% to 2119. India +0.83% to 20634. 

#TopWealthManager #RLPaler #WallStreet #PreMarket #WealthManagement #FinancialPlanning #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports

Employment Data Stuns Wall Street.

Employment Data Stuns Wall Street. The U.S. employment data for December was released this morning and the results stunned Wall Street. Wall Street economists had estimated that the economy would generate 196,000 new jobs down from Novembers 203,000 jobs. The actual results can in far less, at a terrible 74,000. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% down from 7%, but analysts say that the decline was due to people giving up on looking for work. The latest data is giving more ammo to those who believe that President Obama’s economic policies are deeply flawed.

Upgrades:

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF): Janney Capital raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $49.00 on the company.

Baidu (BIDU): Maxium raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $200.00 on the company.

Macy’s (M): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $54.00 to $65.00.

Downgrades:

Baker Hughes (BHI): Iberia lowered their rating from Outperform to Sector Perform.

Fossil Group (FOSL): KeyBanc lowered their rating from Hold to Underweight and placed a target price of $100.00 on the company.

Pacific Sunwear (PSUN): Janney Capital lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Pfizer (PFE): Cowen lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform.

Schlumberger (SLB): Iberia lowered their rating from Outperform to Sector Perform.

Total SA (TOT): BNP Paribas lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral.

Whole Foods Market (WWFM): Cleveland Research lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Coverage Initiated:

Micron Tech (MU): Argus initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $31.00.

Precision Cast Parts (PCP): Cleveland Research initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $320.00.

TRW Automotive (TRW): FBR Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target price of $75.00.

Visteon (VC): FBR Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $100.00.

Earning Reports:

Alcoa (AA): Reported EPS of $0.04 missing estimates by -$0.02.

Barracuda Networks (CUDA): Reported EPS of $0.01 beating estimates by +$0.01.

Helen of Troy (HELE): Reported EPS of $1.16 beating estimates by +$0.07.

Infosys (INFY): Reported EPS of $50.32 beating estimates by +3.58.

PriceSmart (PSMT): Reported EPS of $0.71 missing estimates by -$0.03.

Markets: 
Futures at 8:57: Dow +0.20%. S&P +0.07%. Nasdaq +0.24%. Crude +1.64% to $93.18. Gold +0.78% to $1239.20. U.S. 10 Year +17/32 to 2.905%.

Europe: London +0.90%. Paris +0.69%. Frankfurt +0.70%. 

Asia: Japan +0.20% to 15912. Hong Kong +0.26% to 22846. China -0.71% to 2013. India +0.22% to 20758. 

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