DuPont (DD) (IHG) (ALTR) (LSCC) (XLNX) (ONXX) (COLM) (FRAN) (AMTG) Get New Coverage

DuPont (NYSE:DD), Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG), Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR), Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC), Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX), Onyx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ONXX), Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM), Francesca’s (NASDAQ:FRAN) and Apollo Residential Mortgage (NYSE:AMTG) getting new coverage from analysts.

Barclays initiated coverage on DuPont (DD). They have an "Equal Weight" rating on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) initiated coverage on Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG). They have a "Buy" rating on the company

Pacific Crest initiated coverage on Altera (ALTR). They have an "Outperform" rating on the company and a price target of $50.

Pacific Crest initiated coverage on Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC). They have an "Outperform" rating on the company and a price target of $9.

Pacific Crest initiated coverage on Xilinx (XLNX). They have a "Market Perform" rating on the company.

Brean Murray initiated coverage on Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX). They have a "Hold" rating on the company.

FBR Capital initiated coverage on Columbia Sportswear (COLM). They have a "Market Perform" rating and price target of $61 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) initiated coverage on Francesca’s (FRAN). They have a "Neutral" rating and price target of $32 on the company.

JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) initiated coverage on Apollo Residential Mortgage (AMTG). They have a "Neutral" rating on the company.

TriQuint (TQNT) (CGNX) (COLM) (STLD) (WOR) Downgraded

TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TQNT), Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX), Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM), Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) and Worthington Industries (NYSE:WOR) downgraded by analysts.

TriQuint Semiconductor was downgraded by Barclays from an "Overweight" rating to an "Equal Weight" rating. They slashed their price target on the company from $12 to $6.

Cognex was downgraded by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) from an "Overweight" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Columbia Sportswear was downgraded by FBR Capital Markets to a "Market Perform" rating and a price target of $61. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

Steel Dynamics was downgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a "Buy" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Worthington Industries was downgraded by Goldman Sachs from a "Neutral" rating to a "Sell" rating.

Embraer (ERJ) (EWBC) (JAZZ) (ALK) (AMRS) (COLM) (ERJ) Upgraded

Embraer (NYSE: ERJ), East West Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: EWBC), Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAZZ), Alaska Air (NYSE: ALK), Amyris Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRS), Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ: COLM) and Embraer (NYSE: ERJ) were upgraded by analysts.

East West Bancorp Inc. (EWBC) was upgraded by FBR Capital from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $23.00 on the company.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (JAZZ) was upgraded by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $52.00 on the company, up from $29.00.

Alaska Air (ALK) was upgraded by Dahlman Rose from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $75.00 on the company.

Amyris Inc. (AMRS) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from an “Equal Weight” rating to an “Overweight” rating. They have a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Columbia Sportswear (COLM) was upgraded by McAdams Wright Ragen from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $69.00 on the company.

Embraer (ERJ) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from a “Neutral” rating to an “Overweight” rating.

Ex-Dividend for (COLM) (CVX) (HR) (MSFT) (PCAR) on May 17

The ex-dividend date for Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:HR), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and PACCAR Inc. (NASDAQ:PCAR) is May 17.

Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM) pays a dividend of $0.22 with a yield of 1.29 percent.

Chevron Corporation (CVX) pays a dividend of $0.78 with a yield of 3.04 percent.

Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. (HR) pays a dividend of $0.30 with a yield of 5.30 percent.

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) pays a dividend of $0.16 with a yield of 2.48 percent.

PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) pays a dividend of $0.12 with a yield of 0.91 percent.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) Revenue to Increase Over 20% in Q4

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) should report a good quarter coming up, where revenues could grow by 23 percent, according to Barclays, who also notes their margins will be under some pressure in the quarter.

Barclays says, "Columbia Sportswear reports fourth quarter earnings on Thursday, January 27, after the market close. We remain comfortable with our 4Q10 EPS estimate of $0.65, which is $0.01 above consensus.

"We are expecting revenues to increase 23% in the quarter to $441 million as we believe that the outerwear businesses in the U.S. and Europe performed well due to favorable weather conditions and solid results from the company's new Omni-Heat line...Columbia's footwear lines were likely a significant driver of top-line growth in the fourth quarter"

"In the fourth quarter, we believe gross margin will contract 65 basis points to 41.4% due to pressures from incremental costs to expedite delivery of Fall 2010 orders. In addition, we expect the SG&A rate will increase due to retail expansion, increased marketing investments, and other factors, putting pressure on operating margin in the near term. However, we believe that lean inventories with clean channels position the company well heading in 2011."

Barclays maintains an "Overweight" rating on Columbia Sportswear (COLM), Which closed Monday at $60.79, gaining $1.24, or 2.08 percent. Barclays has a price target of $71 on Columbia.