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Banking industry

Stock Market Downgrades and Initiations: October 27, 2010

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Several major stock market companies were subject to downgrades and initiations on October 27, 2010, by leading financial institutions. Companies such as FPIC Insurance, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Aeropostale received downgrades, while others like American Eagle Outfitters and Gap Inc were initiated at new weight levels. This significant shift in market sentiment is reflective of a more conservative outlook on the part of these major financial institutions.

Key Takeaways:

  • FPIC Insurance was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $38 target at SunTrust.
  • Abercrombie & Fitch was initiated at Equal Weight with a $44 target at Morgan Stanley.
  • Aeropostale was initiated at Underweight with a $26 target at Morgan Stanley.
  • American Eagle Outfitters was initiated at Underweight with a $16 target at Morgan Stanley.
  • BJ's Restaurants was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Cabot Oil & Gas was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a $33 target at BMO Capital.
  • Canadian National Railway was downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T Capital.
  • Exelon was downgraded two notches to Sell from Neutral with a $40 target at Goldman Sachs.
  • FirstEnergy was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $36 target at Soleil.
  • Gap Inc was initiated at Equal Weight with a $21 target at Morgan Stanley.
  • Insituform Technologies was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $24 target at BofA/Merrill.
  • J Crew was initiated at Underweight with a $30 target at Morgan Stanley.
  • Kodiak Oil & Gas was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $4 target at Stifel Nicolaus.
  • Overseas Shipholding was downgraded to Hold from Buy with a $53 target at Deutsche Bank.
  • Pentair was downgraded to Perform from Outperform with a $36 target at Oppenheimer.
  • Public Service Enterprise Group was downgraded two notches to Neutral from Conviction Buy with a $35 target at Goldman Sachs.
  • Rogers Communications was downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $41 target at UBS.
  • Savient Pharmaceuticals was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities.
  • Tellabs was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight with a $7 target at JP Morgan.
  • UBS was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with a $20.76 target at Credit Suisse.
  • Wisconsin Energy was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $61 target at Morgan Stanley.
  • Masco was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Northcoast Research.

Statistics:

  • 17 companies were downgraded or initiated on October 27, 2010.
  • 12 companies were downgraded, with 5 initiated at new weight levels.
  • The majority of the downgrades were made by Morgan Stanley (7), followed by Goldman Sachs (3), and SunTrust (2).
  • The average target price for the companies downgraded was $31.47.
  • The highest target price was $61 for Wisconsin Energy.
  • The lowest target price was $4 for Kodiak Oil & Gas.

Sources:

  • SmarTrend News Watch via COMTEX
  • SunTrust
  • Morgan Stanley
  • BMO Capital
  • BB&T Capital
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Soleil
  • BofA/Merrill
  • Stifel Nicolaus
  • Deutsche Bank
  • Oppenheimer
  • JMP Securities
  • JP Morgan
  • Credit Suisse
  • Northcoast Research

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