Freeport (FCX) (AGPPF) (IPI) (OIS) (SPN) (WLT) Ratings, Price Targets

Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold (NYSE: FCX), ANGLO PLATINUM LTD (OTC: AGPPF), Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI), Oil States International, Inc. (NYSE: OIS), Superior Energy Services (NYSE: SPN) and Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) ratings and price targets.

Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold (FCX) had its price target raised by Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) to $60.00.

ANGLO PLATINUM LTD (AGPPF) was downgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI) was upgraded by CLSA from an “Outperform” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Oil States International, Inc. (OIS) was upgraded by Howard Weil to an “Outperform” rating.

Superior Energy Services (SPN) was upgraded by Howard Weil from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $41.00 on the company.

Walter Energy (WLT) had its “Market Perform” rating reiterated by BMO Capital Markets. They have a price target of $80.00 on the company.

Noble (NBL) (CLR) (CRM) (CSTR) (EOG) (IPI) (NBL) Upgraded

Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL), Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CLR), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR), EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG), Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) and Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL) upgraded by analysts.

Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR) was upgraded by Global Hunter Securities from an “Accumulate” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $78.00 on the company.

Salesforce.com (CRM) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Coinstar (CSTR) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from an “Underweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

EOG Resources (EOG) was upgraded by Howard Weil from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $118.00 on the company, up from $114.00.

Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI) was upgraded by Scotia Capital to a “Sector Perform” rating.

Noble Energy (NBL) was upgraded by Macquarie from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Ratings on (STLD) (IPI) (MOS) (BTU) (SYK) Reiterated by Analysts

Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD), Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI), The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS), Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) and Stryker (NYSE: SYK) had ratings reiterated.

Dahlman Rose reiterated a "Buy" rating Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD). They have a price target of $26.00 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterated a "Neutral" rating on Stryker (SYK).

Bank of America (NYSE:JPM) reiterated a "Neutral" rating on Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI).

Citigroup (NYSE:C) reiterated a "Buy" rating on The Mosaic Company (MOS).

Dahlman Rose reiterated a "Buy" rating on Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU).

Fertilizers (DOW) (IPI) (TNH) (AGU) Pressured on Weak Crop Prices

Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW), Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI), Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. (NYSE:TNH) and Agrium (NYSE:AGU) traded down Friday, with the exception of Agrium, as a down week for major crops pressured the sector.

Corn and wheat finished down last week while soybeans were almost unchanged. A bearish USDA report weighed on the grains. Eventually the weather, flooding of the Mississippi and lack of activity in the fields will probably push up the prices of grains in the weeks ahead.

Corn futures for July-delivery climbed 6.5 cents, or 1 percent, to $6.87 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price was down a little last week after dropping by the limit of 30 cents on May 11 when a U.S. report saidinventories will be largger than analysts estimated.

Wheat for July delivery gained 8.5 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $7.44 a bushel in Chicago. The contract fell 2 percent last week, the third straight week of losses, after the government projected stockpiles in 2012 to be higher than expected.

Soybeans for July delivery rose 9 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $13.5175 a bushel in Chicago after gaining 0.8 percent Thursday. The oilseed was up slightly on the aguweek, gaining 1.9 percent.

Agrium (AGU) closed Friday at $80.43, gaining $1.31, or 1.53 percent.

Price Targets on (HK) (HMIN) (IDTI) (IPI) (KSU) Updated

Price targets on Petrohawk Energy (NYSE: HK), Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (NASDAQ: HMIN), Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI), Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE: IPI) and Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) updated by analysts.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) raised their price target on Petrohawk Energy (HK) from $33.00 to $35.00. They have an “outperform” rating on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) cut their price target on Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (HMIN) from $53.00 to $52.00.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) raised their price target on Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDTI) from $10.00 to $11.25. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) cut their price target on Intrepid Potash, Inc. (IPI) from $41.00 to $37.00.

Citigroup raised their price target on Kansas City Southern (KSU) from $56.00 to $60.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

CF Industries (CF) (IPI) (TNH) (AGU) Trade Down as Wheat, Soybeans Plunge

Fertilizer companies CF Industries (NYSE:CF), Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI), Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. (NYSE:TNH) and Agrium (NYSE:AGU) were under pressure Wednesday, closing down on the day as wheat and soybean prices plummeted. Corn prices were able to generate a gain on the day.

In July agriculture contracts, wheat was down 21.25 cents to settle at $7.72 a bushel. Soybeans dropped 11.75 cents to settle at $13.52 a bushel.

Corn climbed 5.75 cents to settle at $7.295 a bushel.

Wheat and corn are expected to jump by about 5 cents to 10 cents over the next couple of days.

Companies supplying fertilizer will usually move in unison with the direction crop prices are going, as it is an indicator of the level farmers will spend on inputs.

Agrium (AGU) closed Wednesday at $84.02, falling $3.75, or 4.27 percent.

Monsanto (MON) (CF) (DOW) (IPI) Driven up by Wheat, Corn Profits

Wheat and corn prices continue to drive the profits of farmers up, resulting in capex from them toward companies like Monsanto (NYSE:MON), CF Industries (NYSE:CF), Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) and Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) Driven up by wheat, Corn Profits.

How quickly the griping from farmers has subsided since the worst of the recession when they were complaining about high input costs.

The U.S. will control 28 percent of global wheat exports in 2011, an increase from 18 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With prices averaging about $8 a bushel this quarter and the next, the highest levels in three years, farms will earn approximately $94.7 billion, according to analysts’ forecasts compiled by Bloomberg and an estimate from the USDA.

Other considerations for investors to consider is how this will impact shipping. Expectations are shipping lines won't benefit much from the increase in production because the U.S. is replacing lost supply from Russia and Ukraine.

Domestically it could help those companies shipping within borders, as it could offer some major boosts in that regard.

Potash (POT) (SMG) (IPI) (TNH) (MON) Down on Wheat, Corn Oversupply Fears

Potash Corp (NYSE:POT), Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG), Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI), Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. (NYSE:TNH), Monsanto (NYSE:MON) close down Thursday on wheat, corn oversupply concerns.

A growing concern there could be a glut of wheat and corn on the market pushed down the shares of fertilizer and agriculture stocks Thursday.

"Although there have been muted concerns about the development of wheat crops in the Black Sea region, the trade is concerned that Russia and the Ukraine will be offering new crop wheat to the global market," said a Benson Quinn Commodities note.

The Ukraine also removes its corn export quota this week.

The weaker U.S. dollar wasn't enough to stem the losses Thursday. The U.S. dollar index fell 0.4% to $73.05.

Wheat for July delivery fell 2.6 percent to $7.90 3/4 a bushel. Wheat was one of the biggest commodity laggards Tuesday. Meanwhile, corn for July delivery was down 1.2 percent to $7.50¼ a bushel.

Intrepid Potash (IPI) Soars Past Estimates, Almost Triples Profits

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) surpassed the already high expectations of analysts in their latest quarter, as profits almost tripled on a 44 percent boost in potash sales.

Intrepid's Executive Chairman Bob Jornayvaz said, "Given the strong commodity-pricing environment and level of grain demand, we expect at least a normal spring season in terms of application rates as farmers look to maximize yield and margin."

Strong crop prices have given farmers more capital and motivation to increase inputs this year, and it appears that should continue during the spring season as well.

Profits for the quarter ending in December rose to $18.2 million, or 24 cents a share, up from $6.7 million, or 9 cents a share from the same quarter last year.

Revenue also surged, rising to $96.2 million, up 32 percent for the quarter.

Analysts had been looking for revenue of $87.2 million, and earnings of 20 cents a share.

Potash Corp (NYSE:POT), CF Industries (NYSE:CF), Mosaic (NYSE:MOS), Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI), Agrium (NYSE:AGU) in 2010

The fertilizer sector was among one of the hottest in 2010, largely on the increased price of corn, although other grains were helpful as well. Companies like Potash Corp (NYSE:POT), CF Industries (NYSE:CF), Mosaic (NYSE:MOS), Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) and Agrium (NYSE:AGU) pushed up on expectations the higher margins would give farmers extra capital to acquire more fertilizers.

Mosaic ended the year at $76.36, gaining $0.53 on December 31, up 0.70 percent. The company had a 52-week trading range of $37.68 to $76.80. They ended the year with a market cap of $34.03 billion.

Potash Corp closed the year out at $154.83, rising $2.31 on the last trading day, up 1.51 percent. The trading range for 2010 was from $83.85 to $155.04. They ended the year with a market cap of $46.09 billion.

CF Industries finished off the year at $135.15, dropping $1.52 on Friday, a loss of 1.11 percent. The 2010 trading range for them was $57.56 to $138.74. They closed off the year with a market cap of $9.61 billion.

Intrepid Potash ended 2010 at $37.29, up $0.44 on the final trading day of the year, increasing 1.19 percent. Their trading range for the year was $19.08 to $37.65. Their market cap heading into 2011 is $2.80 billion.

Agrium finished 2010 at $91.75, gaining $0.07, or 0.08 percent on the last day of the year. Their 52-week trading range was $47.96 to $92.56. Their market cap at the end of the year was $14.50 billion.

Sell Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) Says Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus recommends investors to sell Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI), saying the company is overvalued at this time.

Intrepid is trading at over 78x the EPS estimate of the company for 2010. That's about 105 percent above the PE of its peers in the agriculture sector.

They're also about 62 percent over the average EV/EBITDA multiple for the Ag sector.

Stifel maintains their "Sell" rating on Intrepid, which closed Tuesday at $35.03, down $1.24, or 3.42 percent.

Will Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Catch Up with Peers?

Comparing Mosaic's (NYSE:MOS) performance with their peers in a year where most of them took off because of fertilizer demand, prices and resultant margins, the question is why Mosaic only moved up 19 percent when the rest of them outperformed.

Gleacher says, "Amidst a year of fertilizer revival, MOS has significantly underperformed its peers, with the stock up 19% compared to 46% for CF Industries (NYSE:CF), 38% for Agrium (NYSE:AGU), 32% for Potash (NYSE:POT) 24% for Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) (The S&P is up 13%). We suspect the uncertainty regarding the South Fort Meade phosphate mine litigation in Florida played a big role in the underperformance. However, with strength in earnings momentum expected to resume in the quarters ahead as rising potash and phosphate prices flow through the financial results, we expect the relative underperformance to disappear.

"...MOS should benefit from the recent rise in potash and phosphate prices and we have increased our FY2011 EPS to $4.13 from $4.00 and FY2012 EPS to $5.15 from $5.00."

Gleacher & Co. reiterates a "Buy" rating on Mosaic, which was trading at $71.98, up $0.50, or 0.70 percent, as of 11:52 AM EST. Gleacher has a price target on them of $80.