Franklin (BEN) (MGAM) (NWY) (PLCE) (BAX) (BCSI) Ratings Reiterated

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), Multimedia Games (NASDAQ: MGAM), New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE: NWY), Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCE), Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) and Blue Coat (NASDAQ: BCSI) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterated its "Underweight" rating on Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN). They have a price target of $111.00 on the company.

Brean Murray reiterated its "Outperform" rating on Multimedia Games (MGAM).

Oppenheimer reiterated its "Hold" rating on New York & Company, Inc. (NWY). They have a price target of $4.60 on the company.

Wedbush reiterated its "Outperform" rating on Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (PLCE).

Morgan Keegan reiterated its "Outperform" rating on Baxter International Inc. (BAX). They have a price target of $67.00 on the company.

Needham & Company reiterated its "Hold" rating on Blue Coat (BCSI).

Franklin (BEN) (OIS) (REXX) (SFSF) (RDC) (AMED) Price Targets Changed

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE: OIS), Rex Energy (NASDAQ: REXX), SuccessFactors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFSF), Rowan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: RDC) and Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital to $166.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Oil States International, Inc. (OIS) had its price target raised by Global Hunter Securities from $97.00 to $109.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Rex Energy (REXX) had its price target raised by Rodman & Renshaw from $16.00 to $20.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

SuccessFactors, Inc. (SFSF) had its price target slashed by BMO Capital Markets from $43.00 to $35.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Rowan Companies, Inc. (RDC) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital to $49.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Amedisys, Inc. (AMED) had its price target lowered by FBR Capital from $35.00 to $22.00. They have a “Market Perform” rating on the company.

Price Targets on (RIMM) (AET) (ARBA) (AVT) (BEN) Updated

Price targets on Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM), Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Ariba, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA), Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) and Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN) were updated today.

Wunderlich placed a price target of $76.00 on Research In Motion (RIMM).

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised their price target on Aetna Inc. (AET) from $38.00 to $43.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on Ariba, Inc. (ARBA) from $30.00 to $38.00. They have an “overweight” rating on the company.

Longbow Research raised their price target on Avnet, Inc. (AVT) from $43.00 to $47.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) raised their price target on Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) from $160.00 to $163.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Legg Mason (NYSE:LM), Artio (NYSE:ART), Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Get Look from Ticonderoga

Ticonderoga Securities has given their take on the outlook for Legg Mason (NYSE:LM), Artio Global Investors (NYSE:ART) and Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) today.

Ticonderoga says, "Lowering Legg Mason (LM) on Higher Transaction Charge, Raising Outlook Modestly; Reiterate Sell. We are lowering our FQ3'11 GAAP EPS estimate to $0.33 from $0.40. The revision is reflective of higher transition-related expenses than previously modeled. Note the driver of the increase stems from severance payments to David Odenath, former head of Americas, who has since left the company. Reflective of better equity markets, we are raising our EPS estimates adjusted for restructuring. FQ3'11 is now $0.43 without restructuring, while FQ4'11 is now $0.48. Our calendar 2011 EPS estimate is now $1.73 without restructuring compared with $1.69 previously. We are modeling long-term outflows of $10 billion compared with $12.4 billion last quarter. We are also raising our price target to $28, or 14x our annualized March 2012 estimate."

"Raising Artio Global Investors (ART) Estimates on Market, But Relative Performance Continues to Pose Biggest Risk; Reiterate Sell. We are raising our Q4’10 and 2011 EPS estimates slightly to $0.42 and $1.68, respectively, from $0.41 and $1.61 previously. We are initiating a 2012 EPS estimate of $1.73. The increase for Q4’10 is largely driven by a higher than expected average AUM for the period. For Q4’10, we expect net outflows of roughly $3bn; this will likely be the worst quarter for flow since ART has been public. We believe that real risks are emerging for institutional flows. Three-year metrics are usually the barometer for institutions. According to Morningstar, ART’s two key international AUM strategies are in the bottom 13% and 36%, respectively. Any near-term turn in the equity markets and this stock is very vulnerable, in our opinion"

Franklin Resources (BEN) Remains Top Long; Reiterate Buy. Following BEN’s AUM release on January 10, we raised our calendar 2011 EPS estimate to $8.30 from $8.19 reflective of the 2.4% AUM beat vs. our expectations. Our price target is $135, or 16.3x our calendar 2011 EPS estimate; we are looking for $1.92 in FQ1'11.

Legg Mason was trading at $35.57, down $0.53, or 1.47 percent, as of 12:45 PM EST. Artio Global Investors was trading at $15.16, down $0.18, or 1.17 percent. Franklin Resources was at $120.53, losing $0.68, or 0.56 percent.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Registers Top Company AUM Level for Quarter

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) reported their AUM for December, and the performance of the company came in at its highest quarterly level in its history.

Ticonderoga said, "BEN Reported December AUM. AUM of $671 billion was $16 billion better than our $655 billion estimate. This is the highest quarter-end AUM level in company history. Global bond flows were robust, while equity flows looked positive for the month. For the month, total fixed income AUM increased 1.3% despite a 4.5% decline in tax-free AUM driven by strength in global bond products. Total equity AUM was $296 billion, up 7.3% for the month, driven by a 7.5% increase in international equities...We are raising our calendar 2011 EPS estimates to $8.30 from $8.19 reflective of the 2.4% AUM beat versus our expectations."

Ticonderoga reiterates a "Buy" on Franklin Resources, which was trading at $115.61, $2.68, or 2.37 percent, as of 1:46 PM EST. Ticonderoga has a price target of $135 on them.

Lazard (NYSE:LAZ), Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Top Picks for Brokers & Asset Managers

In the Brokers & Asset Managers category, Ticonderoga Securities said their favorite picks are Lazard (NYSE:LAZ), Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).

Ticonderoga said, "LAZ Still Has Upside Potential; Raising Target to $45. LAZ continues to remain a top pick given the potential for earnings leverage stemming from balance sheet restructuring, more aggressive compensation management, and a generally favorable outlook for advisory businesses. We expect to hear more around these issues when the company reports in mid-January. We estimate that some element of balance sheet restructuring combined with improved compensation metrics could add anywhere from $0.20 to $0.40 to earnings, or the equivalent of $3.20 to $6.40 in share appreciation (based on the current multiple of 16x). Our revised price target is $45, or 18x our 2011 EPS estimate.

"BEN Remains Undervalued: Target $135. BEN remains our top AUM name. The decision not to pay a special dividend combined with industry bond outflows has created a “shoot first ask questions later” mentality in the stock. However, the sell-off in the stock affords an opportunity to repurchase shares at lower, more accretive levels. Second, the industry has experienced bond outflows, but global flows remain much more resilient. Global is where the bulk of BEN bond flows come from. In addition, we are confident BEN will participate meaningfully in an equity recovery, like it did in the last bull market. BEN’s average annual equity fund growth rate from 2005 through 2007 was 6.5%. With likely record market share today, we believe the potential exists for meaningful exchanges from bonds into equity products. Note that in the most recent quarter, the global bond category had a record $2.3 billion in exchanges.

"MS Slow and Steady Progress; Raising Target to $31. We believe MS has a chance to break out in 2011. While there is still plenty of work ahead, an improving economic landscape has positive implications for investment banking, particularly equity and M&A, where MS is historically stronger. In addition, rising rates generally translate well into greater commodity activity, most notably the energy complex, where MS maintains a leading position. Retail also benefits from rising rates. Any incremental news on capital also could serve shares well. Our revised price target is $31, or 1.1x estimated Q1 2011 tangible book value."

Lazard closed Monday at $39.67, up $0.18, or 0.46 percent. Franklin Resources closed at $113.17, up $1.96, or 1.76 percent. Morgan Stanley ended the session at $28.23, up $1.02, or 3.75 percent.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Need to Rotate to Equities

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) has scored big gains in market share, and if they want to retain the share they need to rotate their assets en masse to equities, says Ticonderoga.

Ticonderoga said, "Fixed Income AUM Likely Outperforming Eaton Vance (NYSE:EV) and Legg Mason (NYSE:LM) This Quarter. Through last night, we estimate that BEN's fixed income AUM is up 1.3% for the calendar quarter. We estimate that EV's fixed income AUM is down 4.5% from the beginning of November through yesterday and that LM's fixed income AUM is down 4.7% for the three-month period. Fixed income is a bigger piece of AUM for LM than any other manager (54%), while EV has roughly 30% of AUM in fixed income. BEN is in between at 40%.

"BEN Has Gained Tremendous Market Share, So It Has Better Chance of Retaining Assets If They Rotate en Masse to Equities. BEN's AUM market share among EV, LM, T.Rowe Price (Nasdaq:TROW), and Janus (NYSE:JNS) was 24.5% at 3/09 and 31% at the end of 9/10. Accordingly, BEN is likely in a better position than most to capture internal equity flows via exchanges because it already has the assets.

"BEN Did Quite Well the Last Time Equities “Flowed.” A big misconception, in our view, is that BEN is not levered to equities. At the end of November, 43% of BEN's AUM was in equities. More important, a look back at recent robust periods for equities supports the company's leverage. From 2005 through 2007, industry equity mutual funds totaled $389bn. BEN's equity mutual funds from 12/31/2004 through 12/30/2007 were $63 billion, or an organic growth rate of 31.7%. This compares to TROW's growth of 31.1% and JNS's at negative 24%. We use TROW and JNS because they are generally perceived as the best plays on equities. Note that for TROW, we exclude separate account flows, so it is likely that its total equity growth rate over the period was better than BEN's."

Ticonderoga maintains a "Buy" rating on Franklin Resources, which is trading at $110.92, down $0.98, or 0.88 percent, as of 12:26 PM EST.

Top Ten Calls Recommended by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) released a list of their top ten calls in the financial sector, targeting those lagging behind the market in the midst of what they perceive as improving fundamentals.

They see the overall sector rising.

The 10 companies the options strategists at Goldman recommend are these: IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL), Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV), Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN), The Chubb Corporation (NYSE:CB), Moody's Corp. (NYSE:MCO), Progressive Corp. (NYSE:PGR), State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT), NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) and T. Rowe Price (Nasdaq:TROW).

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. was trading at $117.87, up $1.49, or 1.28 percent, as of 12:14 PM EST. Allstate was at $30.98, up $ 0.03, or 0.10 percent. Travelers was at $55.42, up $0.08, or 0.14 percent. Franklin Resources was trading at $117.37, up $0.93, or 0.80 percent. Chubb was at $59.53, up $0.04, or 0.07 percent. Moody's was at $27.40, up $0.07, or 0.26 percent. Progressive was up to $20.62, gaining $0.18, or 0.88 percent. State Street moved up to $45.60, rising by $0.40, or 0.88 percent. NYSE Euronext was up to $29.62, gaining $0.27, or 0.92 percent. T.Rowe Price was trading at $63.31, up $0.53, or 0.84 percent.

All 10 companies were positive as of this writing.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Moving from Bonds to Equities

With a slowdown in the bond market, Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) has positioned themselves to begin a move into equities, according to Ticonderoga.

"BEN reported AUM of $642.3bn as of November 30, 2010, down 3.3% from October and in line with our estimate. We note that AUM includes a previously announced $12bn outflow from a low-fee hybrid product; adjusted for the outflow, AUM was down 1.5%...The slowdown in global bonds was a bit more than expected, but we have assumed an even larger slowdown in our model, leaving us comfortable with our estimate going forward. The improved global equity flow is a positive, and we are growing increasingly confident that BEN is well positioned for a rotation into equities," said Ticonderoga.

They maintain a "Buy" rating on Franklin Resources, which is trading at $116.43, down $2.49, or 2.09 percent, as of 11:44AM EST. Ticonderoga has a price target of $135 on Franklin.