Top Analyst Upgrades: YHOO, AMGN, CVC, COF

PUBLISHED: Oct 24 2012 @ 11:55 | Comments (0) | More info about Ed Liston

Analyst reports are your allies when it comes to gathering the tools you require for analyzing your portfolio. Analysts have superior information and tools at their disposal to make informed decisions.

I use analysts’ reports both as a stepping stone to start my analysis and as a validation tool for reaffirming my verdict about a stock. You can get these reports from your broker or can read excerpts over the internet. However, for your convenience, here is my list of recent top upgrades:

Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO): Yahoo reported its third quarter results and the numbers looked better than expected. The impact is clearly visible on analysts’ ratings as well. Susquehanna upped its rating for the stock from Neutral to Positive. It also raised the price target from $17 to $20. Similarly, Cantor Fitzgerald also increased the price target from $16 to $17. Yahoo is currently trading at $16.71, up 0.23 percent from its previous close of $16.67. The stock is trading at the Price Earnings ratio of 5.14. It has traded in the range of $14.35 and $6.79 in the past 52 weeks. However, the stock is trading above its 20 days moving average price of $16.70 and 50 days moving average price of $16.69. The company reported 2 percent increase in revenue to $1.09 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. It also beat consensus estimate of 26 cents per share in earnings by reporting its EPS at 35 cents.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN): Amgen is currently trading at $88.47, up 1.33 percent from its previous close of $87.32. The stock is trading at the Price Earnings ratio of 19.40. It has traded in the range of $54.59 and $89.95 in the past 52 weeks. However, the stock is trading below its 20 days moving average price of $88.57 and 50 days moving average price of $88.48. The stock has been upgraded from Hold to Buy rating by Deutsche Bank. Its price target stood at $108. The company reported its net income for the third quarter of the year at $1.11 billion, up from $454 million it had reported for the corresponding quarter of the last year. On per share basis, its income stood at $1.41 per share. Amgen also reported its third quarter revenue at $4.32 billion, beating consensus estimates of $4.24 billion in revenue. The company had reported $3.94 billion in revenue for the corresponding quarter of the last year.

Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC): The company recently entered into a settlement with Dish. Under this deal, Dish will pay $700 million to AMC Networks and Cablevision Systems. The stock has been upgraded from Hold to Buy by Bank of America. The stock’s price target is set at $23. Cablevision Systems is currently trading at $17.95, down 0.77 percent from its previous close. The stock is trading at the Price Earnings ratio of 22.36. It has traded in the range of $10.76 and $18.85 in the past 52 weeks. However, the stock is trading above its 20 days moving average price of $17.92 and in line with its 50 days moving average price of $17.95. Wunderlich has also reiterated its Buy rating for the company and has increased its target from $20 to $25. Under the new agreement, Dish will carry Voom, but Cablevision, along with AMC, will be required to invest $100 million per year in it. Cablevision is involved in the business of operating telecommunications and media set. The company is based out of Bethpage in New York and it was formed in 1973.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF): The stock has been rated Buy by Guggenheim. The stock’s price target has been raised to $72. Capital One Financial is currently trading at $60.19, up 0.28 percent from its previous close. The stock is trading at the Price Earnings ratio of 9.85. It has traded in the range of $39.30 and $61.33 in the past 52 weeks. However, the stock is trading below its 20 days moving average price of $60.20 and above its 50 days moving average price of $60.13. The stock has also received rating upgrade from Rochdale Securities. Capital One was earlier rated at Hold and now has been upgraded to Buy rating. RBC Capital also has ranked the stock as Outperformer with $76 price target. The company operated as a bank Holding company and it is based out of McLean in Virginia. Capital One was formed in 1993.

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