Geokinetics (GOK) (IFNNY) (TPGI) (TRP) (ITYBY) (LEAP) Downgraded

Geokinetics Inc. (NYSE: GOK), Infineon Technologies AG (OTC: IFNNY), Thomas Properties Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TPGI), TransCanada Co. (NYSE: TRP), Imperial Tobacco Group (OTC: ITYBY) and Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) were downgraded by analysts.

Geokinetics Inc. (GOK) was downgraded by RBC Capital from an “Outperform” rating to a “Sector Perform” rating.

Infineon Technologies AG (IFNNY) was downgraded by Societe Generale from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Thomas Properties Group Inc. (TPGI) was downgraded by JMP Securities from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

TransCanada Co. (TRP) was downgraded by Canaccord Genuity from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Imperial Tobacco Group (ITYBY) was downgraded by Nomura from a “Buy” rating to a “Reduce” rating.

Leap Wireless (LEAP) was downgraded by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $10.00 on the company.

Hormel (HRL) (GGP) (HMA) (IFNNY) (IN) Downgraded

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE: HRL), General Growth Properties, Inc (NYSE: GGP), Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA), Infineon Technologies AG (NASDAQ: IFNNY) and Intermec Inc. (NYSE: IN) downgraded by analysts.

General Growth Properties, Inc. (GGP) was downgraded by RBC Capital from an “Outperform” rating to a “Sector Perform” rating.

Health Management Associates (HMA) was downgraded by CRT Capital to a “Buy” rating.

Hormel Foods Co. (HRL) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Sell” rating.

Infineon Technologies AG (IFNNY) was downgraded by WestLB from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Intermec Inc. (IN) was downgraded by Avian from a “Positive” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Cirrus Logic (CRUS) Too Reliant on Apple (AAPL)?

As Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) goes so goes Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ:CRUS), and that generates the question of the sustainability of the company if it doesn't expand its market.

The problem isn't so much whether or not Apple will continue to enjoy success in the smartphone market for some time, the question is whether or not Cirrus will continue to remain the primary vendor they work with there, as evidenced by Apple's recent decision to use Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) instead of Infineon for its baseboard chip.

Cirrus' design does help protect is some, as it comes with strong customization, but those specs could be imitated or adapted easy enough if Apple chose another company.

With about 54 percent of the revenue generated by Cirrus coming from Apple, they do need to do some work to lower its exposure and boost investor confidence.

That's not to say there aren't some other wins for Cirrus, as they have won business with Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Sirius (NASDAQ:SIRI) for unrelated products, but together with other offerings, is still less than half of the business they do with Apple alone.

Cirrus closed Wednesday at $21.11, falling $0.23, or 1.08 percent.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) May Benefit from Tablet Market

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) could benefit more than expected from the surge in tablet sales, based on the strength in data center products, says Auriga.

They noted, "For OEMs to generate meaningful tablet unit sales, the devices will have to be inexpensive, meaning the hardware will be underpowered. The actual computing power will therefore likely live in the cloud -- INTC should benefit by virtue of its strong data center products."

Intel has a conference on January 13, and questions about Intel's exposure to tablets is one of the major questions shareholders and investors are looking to have answered.

Other issues are more information needed on the Infineon (NYSE:IFX) wireless and McAfee (NYSE:MFE) acquisitions, and the cross-license deal with NVidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).

Auriga maintains a "Buy" rating on Intel, which was trading at $21.23, up $0.18, or 0.86 percent, as of 11:58 AM EST.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Top Semi Picks Include Intel (Nasdaq:INTC), ON Semi (Nasdaq:ONNN), Broadcom (Nasdaq:BRCM), Micron (NYSE:MU), Avago Tech (Nasdaq:AVGO), Microchip Technology (Nasdaq:MCHP)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)threw out a number of their favorite picks in the semiconductor sector, with their leaders being Broadcom (Nasdaq:BRCM), Micron (NYSE:MU), Intel (Nasdaq:INTC), Avago Tech (Nasdaq:AVGO), ON Semi (Nasdaq:ONNN) and Microchip Technology (Nasdaq:MCHP).

A second list of semiconductors based in Europe was also released, which included STMicro (NYSE:STM), ARM Holdings (Nasdaq:ARMH) and Infineon (OTC:IFNNY).

Trading Tips on Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), Broadcom (Nasdaq:BRCM), QUALCOMM (Nasdaq:QCOM), Linear (Nasdaq:LLTC)

Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) Broadcom (Nasdaq:BRCM) QUALCOMM (Nasdaq:QCOM) Linear Technology (Nasdaq:LLTC) were the recipients of a quick overview from FBR Capital.

Here's what FBR had to say about them all:

"We have updated checks into the Apple supply chain that we discuss below, as well as implications for covered stocks Broadcom, QUALCOMM, and Linear Technology. In short, 4Q supply and production constraints are limiting upside, pushing some of that production into calendar 1Q'11, thus dampening both 4Q'10 upside and 1Q'11 seasonal downside (actually, we expect this year 1Q'11 production will grow for both iPhones and iPads!).

"For Broadcom, the firm's revenues should benefit by roughly one point sequentially in both 4Q'10 and 1Q'11 due to increased iPhone and iPad builds. Despite this, we wonder if a lack of 4Q production upside will limit upside to Broadcom's stock near-term.

"For Qualcomm, our contacts continue to believe that Qualcomm will likely replace Intel (Nasdaq:INTC)/Infineon's (NYSE:IFX) baseband solution beginning in mid-2011 with an integrated CDMA/WCDMA baseband solution that will allow Apple to address more carriers without changing the phone's hardware specifications. Qualcomm's annual EPS could benefit by as much as $0.35 if it supplies into all iPhones and iPads.

"Finally, for Linear Technology, we are somewhat concerned that the firm could cease participating in the iPad beginning in early- to mid-2011, though we do not have any firm evidence of this in hand, nor have our contacts been able to confirm this. We simply note that given Linear's roughly 50% operating margins, Apple may not want to spend $100M on a DC/DC converter and another power management chip for the iPad in 2011 (40M units at $2-$3 of content each). Given that Linear should see roughly $20M of revenue contribution from the iPad in both calendar 4Q'10 and 1Q'11, or roughly 6% of revenues, and given that the automotive and industrial sectors are likely shipping chips at above end-consumption rates, we think some near-term risks exist for shares of LLTC."

Apple closed Wednesday at $314.80, gaining $6.07, or 1.96 percent. Broadcom closed at $45.25, increasing by $1.32, or 3.01 percent. Qualcomm ended the trading day on Wednesday at $48.07, rising by $0.97, or 2.06 percent. Linear Technology closed Wednesday at $33.71, gaining $0.76, or 2.34 percent.