MORNING COFFEE

Iran Plans To Up The Ante. Iran is at it again.  Iran announced plans to hold another round of naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz in February.  This comes after they announced that they would not allow U.S. naval ships to reenter the Straits of Hormuz.  Military officials said that, if U.S. naval ships tried to return through the Straits, they would be attacked. The Iranians have also warned that they could close the Straits, shutting down oil supplies. The news followed reports yesterday that thousands of U.S. troops are headed to Israel to take part in the largest-ever joint drill between the two countries.

J&J Halts Doribax Trials. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced they have halted clinical trials of its Doribax antibiotic after more pneumonia patients who took the product died and fewer were cured. The drug is still considered safe and effective for treating urinary and abdominal infections. Pre-market: 65.50 +0.10 (0.15%)

Upgrades

SanDisk (SNDK): Sterne Agee raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $57.00 on the company. Pre-market: 50.05 +0.94 (1.91%)

TD Ameritrade Holdings (AMTD): Deutsche Bank raised their rating from Hold to Buy and raised their target price from $17.00 to $18.00.

Downgrades

Charles Schwab (SCHW): Deutsche Bank lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $14.00 to $13.00.

Intel (INTC): Sterne Agee lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and placed a target price of $26.00 on the company. Pre-market: 25.30 -0.10 (-0.39%)

Goldman Sachs (GS): Wells Fargo lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered their target range from $105-$115.00 to $95.00 - $105.00. Pre-market: 94.50 -0.08 (-0.08%)

Altria (MO): Davenport lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 28.90 +0.07 (0.24%)

Kohl’s (KSS): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 45.92 -0.60 (-1.29%)

Coinstar (CSTR): Morgan Keegan lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform and placed a target price of $42.00 on the company.

Illinois Tool Works (ITW): Credit Suisse lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral and placed a target price of $53.00 on the company.

Unilever N.V. ADS (UN/UL): ING Group lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. UN Pre-market: 34.03 -0.46 (-1.33%), UL Pre-market: 33.19 -0.45 (-1.34%)

Coverage Initiated

National Oilwell (NOV): Bernstein initiated coverage with a Outperform rating and target price of $100.00.

Corning (GLW): KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with a Hold rating. Pre-market: 13.36 +0.08 (0.60%)

               

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Mosaic (MOS): Ticonderoga reiterated their Buy rating and lowered their target price from $74.00 to $70.00. Pre-market: 53.82 +0.52 (0.98%)

Kraft Foods (KFT): Ticonderoga reiterated their Buy rating and raised their target price from $37.00 to $42.00.

Morgan Stanley (MS): Ticonderoga reiterated their Buy rating and lowered their target price from $22.00 to $19.00. Pre-market: 16.35 +0.07 (0.43%)

Ross Stores (ROST): Avondale reiterated their Market Outperform rating and raised their target price from $50.00 to $60.00.        

    

Earning Reports

Apollo Group (APOL):  Reported EPS of $1.28 beating estimates by +$0.11. Pre-market: 55.01 +1.29 (2.40%)

Ruby Tuesday (RT): Reported EPS of -$0.03 beating estimates by +$0.03.

Markets: 
Futures at 7:07: Dow +0.20%. S&P +0.11. Nasdaq +0.03%. Crude +0.47% to $102.26. Gold +0.18% to $1623.00. 

Europe: London +0.67%. Paris +0.88%. Frankfurt +0.49%. 

Asia: Japan -1.16% to 8390. Hong Kong -1.17% to 18593. China +0.70% to 2163. India +0.07% to 15868. 

MORNING COFFEE

Seed Shortage Could Hit Farmers. Corn seed production may have fallen 25%-50% according to analyst. The shortfall could hurt the 2012 planting season and bring a second year of volatility to corn prices. Although, DuPont’s (DD) Pioneer Hi-Bred unit, Monsanto (MON) and other large seed companies are currently remaining optimistic about meeting demand. DD Pre-market: 46.34 -0.68 (-1.45%), MON Pre-market: 73.20 +0.53 (0.73%)

Eastman Kodak Bankrupt? According to The Wall Street Journal, Eastman Kodak (EK) plans to file for bankruptcy protection in the next few weeks if they fall to sell their many digital patents.  Pre-market: 0.455 -0.015 (-3.17%)

Upgrades

Pacific Sunwear (PSUN): Janney Montgomery Scott raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $4.00 on the company. Pre-market: 1.82 +0.16 (9.64%)

Nokia (NOK): Credit Suisse raised their rating from Underperform to Outperform. Pre-market: 5.23 +0.15 (2.95%)

Downgrades

Google (GOOG): The Benchmark Company lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and placed a target price of $700.00 on the company. Pre-market: 666.50 -1.78 (-0.27%)

UPS (UPS): HSBC Securities lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered their target price from $80.00 to $75.00.

Yahoo! (YHOO): Jefferies lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 15.68 -0.10 (-0.63%)

BlackRock (BLK): Sterne Agee lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral. Pre-market: 178.97 -0.99 (-0.55%)

Sanofi SA (SNY): JP Morgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral. Pre-market: 35.52 -0.98 (-2.68%)

Coverage Initiated

Steve Madden (SHOO): KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with a Hold rating.

Fossil (FOSL): KeyBanc Capital Markets initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $105.00 Pre-market: 79.30 +1.22 (1.56%)

Apple (AAPL): Auriga initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $550.00. Pre-market: 414.95 +1.51 (0.37%)

Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO): Global Hunter initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $58.00.

ENSCO (ESV): Global Hunter initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $66.00.

Earning Reports

Mosaic (MOS): Reported EPS of $1.40 beating estimates by +0.12. Pre-market: 53.10 +0.80 (1.53%)

Constellation Brands (STZ): Reported EPS of $0.50 missing estimates by -$0.02.

Helen of Troy (HELE): Reported EPS of $1.04 beating estimates by +0.02.

Markets: 
Futures at 8:15: Dow -0.45%. S&P -0.24%. Nasdaq -0.40%. Crude -0.54% to $102.65. Gold -0.11% to $1611.00. 

Europe: London -0.27%. Paris -0.86%. Frankfurt -0.30%. 

Asia: Japan -0.83% to 8489. Hong Kong +0.46% to 18813. China -0.96% to 2148. India -0.16% to 15857. 

MORNING COFFEE

Internet Companies Fighting Back.  Many tech giants have voiced their opposed to the Stop Online Piracy Act [SOPA] which they believe will hurt the internet and individuals access to information.  They are so opposed to it they are talking about a "nuclear option" whereby Amazon (AMZN), eBay (EBAY) , Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO) and others would simultaneously go dark to protest the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) is pushing for the approval of the act which is scheduled for debate on January 24.  If the companies go dark it’s expected they would do it on January 23 the day before debate is to begin. Other companies that have voiced their opposition include: AOL (AOL), Etsy, Facebook, foursquare, IAC (IACI), LinkedIn (LNKD), Mozilla, OpenDNS, PayPal, Twitter, Wikimedia Foundation, and Zynga Game Network (ZNGA)   

Kodak May Be Delisted. The NYSE has informed Eastman Kodak (EK) that they have six months to fall back into compliance or risk de-listing since the stock has traded below $1 for the last 30 trading days. To be in compliance, Kodak's shares have to trade at $1 on the closing day six months from now, and have a average price of $1 over the 30 days leading up to the close. Pre-market: 0.630 -0.025 (-3.74%)

Upgrades

American Eagle (AEO): Janney Montgomery Scott raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $20.00 on the company. Pre-market: 15.79 +0.07 (0.45%)

Downgrades

SAP AG (SAP): Ticonderoga lowered their rating from Neutral to Sell and placed a target price of $46.00 on the company. Pre-market: 54.48 +0.05 (0.09%)

Union Pacific (UNP): Stifel Nicolaus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 106.93 -1.07 (-0.99%)

Lockheed Martin (LMT): JP Morgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered their target price from $80.00 to $74.00. Pre-market: 81.12 -0.90 (-1.10%)

Church & Dwight (CHD): BMO Capital lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered their target price from $51.00 to $48.00. Pre-market: 45.00 -0.40 (-0.88%)

Mosaic (MOS): Citigroup lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and lowered their target price from $60.00 to $57.00. Pre-market: 52.09 -0.50 (-0.95%)

Coverage Initiated

Ford (F): Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $11.60. Pre-market: 11.11 -0.02 (-0.18%)

General Motors (GM):  Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $20.06. Pre-market: 21.00 -0.05 (-0.24%)

Intel (INTC): Roth Capital initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $25.00. Pre-market: 24.45 -0.09 (-0.37%)

Groupon (GRPN): Collins Stewart initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $19.00. Pre-market: 19.18 -0.09 (-0.47%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:12: Dow -0.30%. S&P -0.28%. Nasdaq -0.09%. Crude -0.61% to $102.22. Gold +0.03% at $1600.80. 

Europe: London -0.22%. Paris -1.05%. Frankfurt -0.90%. 

Asia: Japan +1.24% to 8560. Hong Kong -0.80% to 18727. China -1.37% to 2169. India -0.36% to 15883. 

MORNING COFFEE

Teva CEO Steps Down. Shlomo Yanai  CEO of Teva (TEVA) announced he is stepping down from his position with the company.  He will be replaced in May by Jeremy Levin, formerly of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Under the leadership of Yanai, who had no previous pharmaceutical experience, Teva shares declined 22% last year. Pre-market: 41.99 +1.63 (4.04%)

Upgrades

Kirby Corp. (KEX): RBC Capital raised their rating from Outperform to Top Pick and raised their target price from $74.00 to $80.00. Pre-market: 65.84 0.00 (0.00%)

Under Armour (UA): Robert W. Baird raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and raised their target price from $84.00 to $90.00. Pre-market: 73.46 +1.67 (2.33%)

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT): Susquehanna raised their rating from Neutral to Positive and raised their target price from $51.00 to $52.00. Pre-market: 42.45 +1.17 (2.83%)

Oshkosh (OSK): JP Morgan raised their rating from Neutral to Overweight. Pre-market: 21.44 +0.06 (0.28%)

Cognizant Tech (CTSH): Nomura raised their rating from Neutral to Buy. Pre-market: 64.31 0.00 (0.00%)

Downgrades

Navistar International (NAV): JP Morgan lowered their rating from Neutral to Underweight. Pre-market: 38.38 +0.50 (1.32%)

Coverage Initiated

Angie's List (ANGI): Oppenheimer initiated coverage with a Perform rating and target price of $16.00.

Markets: 
Futures at 7:24: Dow +1.69%. S&P +1.29%. Nasdaq +1.64%. Crude +1.68% to $101.72. Gold +1.49% to $1590.30. 

Europe: London +0.98%. Paris -0.71%. Frankfurt +0.81%. 

Asia: Japan closed. Hong Kong +2.40% to 18877. China closed. India +2.72% to 15939. 

MORNING COFFEE

Market Closed