Stock Downgrades: Sirona Dental Braces Itself For Bad News ...

The market?s Millennial madness returned as the?Nasdaq?(^IXIC) hit its highest level since the year 2000, thanks to an?Internet stock with a silly name. Befitting another bout of Tulip Mania, Bubble Wrap maker?Sealed Air?(SEE) surged 9.02% to a fresh 52-week peak. Just remember though, it?s merely money, not life and death. (Actually,?on second thought?)
?
Such was the ebullience in equities that investors were even prepared to?back up the truck?in?Brink?s?(BCO) ? though not quite as profitably as thieves backed up on its truck in Belgium at 8:05 p.m. on Monday in a?$50 million diamond heist. Its shares rose 0.87% during the day and added on another 1.31% after-hours.?
?
Tesco?(PINK:TSCDY), fresh from its horse meat scandal, gained 0.70% to defeat the neigh-sayers after?upbeat analyst comments?but there was no need to ask?why the long face?with?Humana (HUM), based in America?s equine epicenter of Kentucky. It slid 6.39% in posting the?S&P 500?s?(^GSPC) poorest performance.
?
Today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, the Federal Open Market Committee will release the minutes to its January 29-30 meeting. Corporate earnings activity sees announcements out of?Akzo Nobel?(PINK:AKZOY),?BHP Billiton (BHP),?Cheesecake Factory?(CAKE),?Cr?dit Agricole?(PINK:CRARY),?Devon Energy?(DVN),?Dish Network?(DISH),?Fluor?(FLR), Garmin?(GRMN),?KBR, Inc. (KBR),?MGM Resorts?(MGM), and Toll Brothers?(TOL).
?
AEGON N.V.?(AEG): ABN Amro slashes the stock to Sell from Hold, sending it sharply lower ahead of this morning?s opening bell.
?
Barclays?(BCS): A steep valuation sees the British bank downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
?
Baidu Inc.?(BIDU): Citing heightened competition from Alibaba?s new search engine, Cr?dit Agricole cuts the Chinese Internet outfit to Underperform from Outperform. Its price objective is $105.
?
Capital One?(COF): FBR Capital removes the company from its Top Picks list and reduces its price objective to $63 from $68 amid a $7 billion asset sale and increased investor confusion over its private-label plans.
?
Compass Group?(PINK:CMPGY): Shares are now Neutral from Buy at UBS.
?
Deckers Outdoor?(DECK): DECK gets downgraded to Neutral from Outperform with Wedbush.
?
Express Scripts?(ESRX): Macquarie moves the equity to Neutral from Outperform.
?
HollyFrontier?(HFC): The energy stock is taken to Market Perform from Outperform with Wells Fargo.
?
L-3 Communications?(LLL): Shares are lowered to Underperform from Perform at RBC Capital, whose concerns include a challenging Department of Defense budget.
?
Millennial Media?(MM): Morgan Stanley moves the shares to Equal-Weight from Overweight.
?
NetSpend Holdings?(NTSP): Shares, no longer trading on fundamentals after an acquisition offer, are now Market Perform from Outperform with Wells Fargo.
?
OfficeMax?(OMX): The stock, yesterday?s top NYSE percentage performer amid merger talk, is today downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T Capital.
?
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers?(RRGB): RRGB gets reduced to Neutral from Buy at Davenport due to valuation.
?
Sealed Air?(SEE): Wells slashes the Bubble Wrap maker, a stellar performer on Tuesday, to Underperform from Market Perform. It is exposed to inflation pressures, the broker believes.
?
Starwood Hotels?(HOT): Jefferies cuts the accommodation outfit to Hold from Buy.
?
SAIC, Inc.?(SAI): The technical services stock gets taken to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan.
?
Sirona Dental Systems?(NASDAQ:SIRO): Robert W. Baird reduces its recommendation to Neutral from Outperform, trimming its price target in the process by $3 to $76. The broker says its channel checks indicate that eagerly awaited new products due to be unveiled at next month?s 35th International Dental Show may be less accretive to top line earnings than previously projected.
?
Trinity Industries?(TRN): TRN is taken to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James.
?
Windstream?(WIN): Shares are slashed to Sell from Neutral at UBS.

(See also: New Stock Coverage: Adobe a Flash in the Pan? and Stock Upgrades: Staples Set for More Paper Profits.)

No positions in stocks mentioned.

The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.

Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source: http://www.minyanville.com/trading-and-investing/stocks/articles/Stock-Downgrades253A-Sirona-Dental-Braces-Itself/2/20/2013/id/48236

jionni lavalle earthquake san francisco donald payne elizabeth berkley lenny dykstra jenelle evans jenelle evans