Stocks Set To Open Higher
Stocks appear set to open higher
Monday.
This weeks Barron’s cover story is “It’s Time To Buy
Stocks.” Barron’s, known for its
bearish market view, makes the point that the markets are undervalued, based on
the “Fed Model.”
Verisign
(
VRSN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) has agreed to
acquire Iluminet Holdings
(
ILUM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) in a $1.2 billion deal.
Marsh & McLennan
(
MMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was
upgraded from Buy to Strong Buy by UBS Warburg. However, UBS cut the company’s
price target from $120 to $105.
Goldman Sachs upgraded the Package
Foods sector from Market Weight to Overweight. Individual stocks upgraded
included Kraft
(
KFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) from Market Outperform to Recommend List, Heinz from Market Perform to
Market Outperform. Proctor & Gamble
(
PG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was also upgraded to Recommend
List from Market Outperform and Clorox
(
CLX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was upgraded from Market
Perform to Market Outperform.
Merrill Lynch upgraded Bed Bath and
Beyond
(
BBBY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) from Accumulate to Buy, but reduced ratings on the Retailers
it follows. The following individual stocks were downgraded from Accumulate to
Neutral: Gymboree
(
GYMB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Linens’nThings
(
LIN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Footstar
(
FTS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
Tiffany & Company
(
TIF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Williams-Sonoma
(
WSM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Pacific Sunwear of
California
(
PSUN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
Goldman Sachs also downgraded the
retailers. Gap Inc
(
GPS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Tiffany & Company
(
TIF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) were lowered to
Market Perform from Recommended List, Toys R Us
(
TOY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Liz Claiborne
(
LIZ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
were downgraded to Market Outperform from Recommended List and Tommy Hilfiger
(
TOM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
Polo Ralph Lauren
(
RL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Oakley
(
OO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Nautica Enterprises
(
NAUT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
Jones Apparel
(
JNY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Phillips-Van Heusen
(
PVH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) to Market Perform from
Market Outperform.
Merrill Lynch upgraded Chubb Insurance
(
CB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) from Accumulate to Near Term Buy.
UBS Warburg reduced its calendar year
2001 revenues outlook on the Semiconductor Equipment sector.
Salomon Smith Barney upgraded Compaq
Computers
(
CPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) from Neutral to Buy.
VeriSign
(
VRSN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was upgraded by
Lehman Brothers from Buy to Strong Buy.
Robertson Stephens upgraded Stryker
Corp
(
SY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) to Buy from Market Perform, with a price target of $56 a share.