Murphy Oil (MUR) (ONNN) (PRU) (FWLT) EPS Estimates Changed

Murphy Oil Corp (NYSE: MUR), ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN), Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) and Foster Wheeler Ltd. (NASDAQ: FWLT) had EPS estimates adjusted by analysts.

Murphy Oil Corp (MUR) had its EPS estimates raised by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $59.00 on the company.

ON Semiconductor (ONNN) had its EPS estimates cut by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $8.50 on the company.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU) had its EPS estimates cut by UBS AG. They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $77.00 on the company.

Foster Wheeler Ltd. (FWLT) had its EPS estimates cut by Credit Suisse. They have an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $26.00 on the company.

Tortoise (TYN) (RAH) (MXL) (CINF) (ONNN) (CLR) Upgraded

Tortoise North American Energy Corp (NYSE: TYN), Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RAH), MaxLinear Inc (NYSE: MXL), Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ: CINF), ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) and Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CLR) upgraded by analysts.

Tortoise North American Energy Corp. (TYN) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $26.00 on the company.

Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. (RAH) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $84.00 on the company.

MaxLinear Inc. (MXL) was upgraded by Needham & Company from a “Buy” rating to a “Strong Buy” rating. They have a price target of $11.00 on the company.

Cincinnati Financial (CINF) was upgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from a “Sell” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $23.00 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

ON Semiconductor (ONNN) was upgraded by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $9.50 on the company.

Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR) was upgraded by Morgan Keegan from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $73.00 on the company.

Bruker (BRKR) (ARCO) (SPW) (ATML) (ENTR) (ONNN) (G) (LINC) (OC) Price Targets Changed

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ: BRKR), Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCO), SPX Corp (NYSE: SPW), Atmel (NASDAQ: ATML), Entropic Communications (NASDAQ: ENTR), ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN), Genpact Limited (NYSE: G), Lincoln Educational Services Corp (NASDAQ: LINC) and Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (ARCO) had its price target raised by Citigroup (NYSE:C) to $32.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Atmel (NASDAQ: ATML) had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS AG to $18.00. The analysts now have a “buy” rating on the company.

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ: BRKR) had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS AG from $23.00 to $21.00. The analysts now have a “buy” rating on the company.

Entropic Communications (NASDAQ: ENTR) had its price target lowered by analysts at The Benchmark Company from $12.00 to $9.00. The analysts now have a “buy” rating on the company.

Genpact Limited (NYSE: G) had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup to $18.00. The analysts now have a “hold” rating on the company.

Lincoln Educational Services Corp (NASDAQ: LINC) had its price target lowered by analysts at Barrington Research from $23.00 to $19.00. The analysts now have an “outperform” rating on the company.

Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup to $47.00. The analysts now have a “buy” rating on the company.

ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS AG to $9.00. The analysts now have a “neutral” rating on the company.

SPX Corp (NYSE: SPW) had its price target lowered by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $100.00 to $90.00. The analysts now have a “buy” rating on the company.

Cott (COT) (ONNN) (TRW) (ICE) EPS Estimates Changed

ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN), TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (NYSE: TRW), IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) and Cott Co. (NYSE: COT) EPS estimates adjusted by analysts.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) lowered its EPS estimates on Cott Co. (COT). They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $10.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital cut its EPS estimates on IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). They have an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $148.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) lowered its EPS estimates on ON Semiconductor (ONNN). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $10.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse raised its EPS estimates on TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (TRW). They have an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $76.00 on the company.

Ratings on (MU) (MCD) (MXL) (OAS) (ONNN) Reiterated

Ratings on shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), MaxLinear Inc (NYSE: MXL), Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS) and ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) were reiterated by analysts.

Sterne Agee placed a price target of $17.00 on Micron Technology, Inc. (MU).

Sterne Agee reiterated a “buy” rating on McDonald’s (MCD).

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated a “buy” rating on MaxLinear Inc (MXL). They have a price target of $12.00 on the company.

Sterne Agee reiterated a “neutral” rating on NVIDIA (NVDA).

Wunderlich reiterated a “buy” rating on Oasis Petroleum Inc. (OAS).

Deutsche Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on ON Semiconductor (ONNN). They have a price target of $15.00 on the company.

Ratings on (FCS) (HWAY) (ONNN) (SCHW) (URS) Reiterated

Ratings on shares of Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE:FCS), Healthways Inc. (NASDAQ:HWAY), ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ONNN), Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) and URS Corp. (NYSE:URS) were reiterated by analysts.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated a “hold” rating on Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS). They have a price target of $18 on the company.

FBR Capital Markets reiterated an “Outperform” rating on Healthways Inc. (HWAY). They have a price target of $19 on the company. Up from $17.

Deutsche Bank reiterated a “Buy” rating on ON Semiconductor (ONNN). They now have a price target of $15 on the company.

FBR Capital Markets reiterated a “Market Perform” rating on Charles Schwab (SCHW). They have a price target of $20 on the company.

FBR Capital Markets reiterated an “Outperform” rating on URS Corp. (URS). They have a price target of $60 on the company.

Coverage on (ONNN) (OXM) (PEP) (PM) Initiated

Coverage on ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN), Oxford Industries (NYSE: OXM), PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) and Philip Morris (NYSE: PM) was initiated by analysts.

Susquehanna initiated coverage on ON Semiconductor (ONNN). They placed a “neutral” rating on the company.

Brean Murray initiated coverage on Oxford Industries (OXM). They placed a “buy” rating and a price target of $44.00 on the company.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) initiated coverage on PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP). They placed a “market perform” rating and a price target of $71.00 on the company.

Wells Fargo & Co. initiated coverage on Philip Morris (PM). They placed an “outperform” rating and a price target of $75.00 on the company.

EPS on (ONNN) (RIG) (SD) (TDC) (TLEO) (WEC) Updated

EPS estimates on ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN), Transocean (NYSE: RIG), SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD), Teradata Co. (NYSE: TDC), Taleo Corp (NASDAQ: TLEO) and Wisconsin Energy (NYSE: WEC) updated by analysts today.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised their EPS estimates on shares of ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN). They have a “buy” rating and a price target of $12.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) cut their EPS estimates on Transocean (RIG). They have an “overweight” rating and a price target of $120.00 on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) cut their EPS estimates on SandRidge Energy Inc. (SD). They now have a “neutral” rating and a price target o $11.50 on the company.

Oppenheimer raised their EPS estimates on Teradata Co. (TDC). They now have an “outperform” rating and a price target of $57.00 on the company.

Oppenheimer raised their EPS estimates on Taleo Corp (TLEO). They have an “outperform” rating and a price target of $41.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs raised their EPS estimates on Wisconsin Energy (WEC). They have a “neutral” rating and a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Deutsche (DB) Likes INTC, MRVL, ONNN, AVGO in Semi Sector

After Wells Fargo's (NYSE:WFC) recent downgrade of the semiconductor industry, which pushed the share price of a number of companies in the sector lower, Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) semiconductor analyst Ross Seymore said today he's reiterating an Equal Weight rating on the sector, and his favorite recommendations are Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ:MRVL), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Avago Technologies (NASDAQ:AVGO) and ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ONNN).

Seymore's reasoning was the companies “have already taken inventory adjustments and/or whose valuations do not reflect company-specific growth potential in revenue, margins and EPS.”

He also sees less upside in the sector after a couple of years of outperformance in his view, although he notes the sector has returned to “normal seasonality.”

"On the positive side, comparing the levels of semiconductor inventory in Q4 to the last peak in the semi cycle, Q3 of 2008, Seymore sees “absolute inventory remained unchanged” even though semiconductor sales rose 12% in that time. However, one concern is that Q4′s inventory did rise 7% from Q3 of last year, which suggests “increased vigilance” heading in Q2," said Barron's.

Semiconductor's Brocade (BRCD), ON Semi (ONNN) and National (NSM) Jumping Today

Semicondutors Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD), ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:ONNN) and National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:NSM) are all trading positive today, led by Brocade, which has enjoyed the largest gains in the semi sector today.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. made the biggest move in anticipation of its earnings report after the market closes. Brocade was trading at $6.03, gaining $0.31, or 5.42 percent, as of 2:26 PM EST.

ON Semiconductor Corp. was trading at $11.81, gaining $0.18, or 1.55 percent.

National Semiconductor Corporation was at $15.81, up $0.32, or 2.07 percent.

ON Semi's (NASDAQ:ONNN) Sales May Have Improved in Latter Part of Quarter

ON Semi's (NASDAQ:ONNN) quarterly earnings report shouldn't bring any surprises, as Brigantine say they should come in at expectations, although possibly on the lowered end of sales decline on stronger sales growth in the latter part of the quarter.

Brigantine says, "We expect a solid Q4 report from ON Semiconductor when the company reports results next week. Management had guided sales to decline 3% - 6% sequentially, and we believe the quarter progressed inline with expectations, and estimate sales will decline about 4% Q/Q. Based on our checks, orders may have improved through the course of the quarter as evidence of healthy consumer spending over the Christmas period percolated through the quarter...We remain very optimistic on the contribution from Sanyo, and remain comfortable with our BUY rating on the stock."

Brigantine Advisors maintains a "Buy" rating on ON Semi (ONNN), which was trading at $11.47, up $0.17, or 1.50 percent, as of 2:41 PM EST. Brigantine has a price target of $14 on On Semi.

On Semi (Nasdaq:ONNN) Preferred Over Fairchild Semi (NYSE:FCS) Says Canaccord

After Fairchild Semi (NYSE:FCS) faltered in their latest quarter, Canaccord says they prefer On Semi (Nasdaq:ONNN) over them at this time.

Canaccord said, "Fairchild Semiconductor International stumbled on mixed Q4/10 results. EPS came in at $0.45, ahead of expectations and Q4/09, while revenue of $397.7 fell short of the consensus. European sales led the way, increasing 15% from the prior quarter while sales in North America, Korea and the Asia Pacific declined. Fairchild saw growth in the automotive, industrial and appliance end markets (PICA Product Group), but this was offset by a decline in the MCCC Product Group due to weaker than expected demand in computing. Executive Vice President and CFO Mark Frey provided sales guidance for Q1/11 of $400.0-405.0 million, ahead of the consensus $388.6 million, and estimates gross margins to be flat or down 100 bps (midpoint 36.6%). Canaccord Genuity Technology Analyst Bobby Burleson believes higher R&D spending associated with new products is likely to hamper operating margin expansion in 2011 unless the company generates better than expected revenue growth. He is estimates that Q1/11 revenue will come in at $383.4 million and gross margins at 35.3%. Burleson remains neutral on Fairchild and continues to prefer On Semiconducter (Nasdaq: ONNN) saying it is the best way to play a shallower than expected inventory correction for analog semiconductors."

On Semiconductor closed Friday at $10.85, dropping $0.22, or 1.99 percent. Fairchild Semiconductor closed Friday at $16.24, losing $0.02, or 0.12 percent.

Maxim (Nasdaq:MXIM), ON Semi (Nasdaq:ONNN), Marvell (Nasdaq:MRVL), Broadcom (Nasdaq:BRCM), National (NYSE:NSM), Fairchild (NYSE:FCS), Intl Rectifier (NYSE:IRF), Microsemi (Nasdaq:MSCC) Have Best Potential Upside Says FBR

Commenting on the semiconductor sector, FBR said the companies with the most potential upside in their view are Maxim (Nasdaq:MXIM), ON Semi (Nasdaq:ONNN), Marvell (Nasdaq:MRVL), Broadcom (Nasdaq:BRCM), National (NYSE:NSM), Fairchild (NYSE:FCS), Intl Rectifier (NYSE:IRF) and Microsemi (Nasdaq:MSCC)

FBR said, "Here we discuss Maxim Integrated (Nasdaq: MXIM)(Outperform) and our latest 1Q11 production start checks. Regarding Maxim, the firm has seen meaningful success ramping analog baseband chips into CDMA phones from Samsung and LG, phones usually powered by Qualcomm baseband chips. With Apple's new CDMA-based iPhone about to launch, we cannot help but wonder if the innards of this device are similar to the innards of other CDMA-based handsets that often contain Maxim analog baseband chips. While we have not confirmed anything in this regard, it is possible Maxim's chips could be found inside the CDMA-based iPhone, instead of the power management unit currently designed in from Dialog. If 20M CDMA-based iPhones are built in 2011 with an analog baseband content of $2, then $40M of incremental revenues would be generated, contributing about $0.04 of annual EPS, a positive. Separately, we detail our updated production start checks, which were largely stable versus our prior month checks in aggregate, with production forecast improvements by Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA), Marvell (Nasdaq: MRVL), and Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) largely offsetting production forecast cuts from Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), Altera (Nasdaq: ALTR), and Atheros (Nasdaq: ATHR). Regarding chip stocks, while playing some defense may make sense following a big run higher since Labor Day, and given that CES has historically marked a peak in both chip stock prices and sentiment, we do think a "beat and raise" round of 4Q earnings results, improving economic (jobs and manufacturing) data, an inflow of cash from bonds to equities, and still-reasonable chip firm valuations (14x 2011 P/E for sector) may mean that any sell-off is short term in nature and a likely buying opportunity. Chip stocks remain cheap compared with software stocks, and compared with the overall market, especially in light of robust demand trends and structural growth opportunities. We think the SOX can grind higher toward 475–500 by year-end 2011. Stocks to focus on for potential upside include Maxim (Nasdaq: MXIM), ON Semi (Nasdaq: ONNN), MRVL, BRCM, National Semi (NYSE: NSM), Fairchild Semi (NYSE: FCS), Intl Rectifier (NYSE: IRF), and Microsemi (Nasdaq: MSCC)."

FBR added these points: 1) Maxim could win a power management socket in the new CDMA-based iPhone (though nothing is confirmed); possible $0.04 annual EPS impact; 2) 1Q production start checks largely stable and better than seasonal at flat QOQ; raises by NVDA, MRVL, and BRCM offset by cuts from QCOM, TXN, ALTR, and ATHR; 3) Commentary for firms that increased production forecasts; 4) Commentary for firms that decreased production forecasts; 5) Shares of Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) widely disliked—a potential opportunity, if Sandybridge ramp is robust.

ON Semi (NASDAQ:ONNN) Takes Over Sanyo Semiconductor, Little Dilution

The original terms of the deal to acquire Sanyo Semiconductor by ON Semiconductor, was to use cash and stock, but that changed to cash and the assumption of debt, resulting in virtually no dilution in relationship to the deal.

Brigantine said, "We are adjusting our estimates following the completion of ON’s acquisition of Sanyo Semiconductor. When the deal was announced the acquisition was to be financed by cash and stock, but was paid for by cash and the assumption of debt. As a result there will be no stock dilution related to the acquisition...Incorporating the contribution from Sanyo Semiconductor, our 2011 estimates go to $1.25/ $3.54B from $1.05/ $2.4B previously. We are also introducing our 2012 estimates of $1.60/ $3.87B."

Brigantine Advisors maintains a "Buy" rating on ON Semi, which closed Wednesday at $11.37, gaining $0.26, or 2.29 percent. Brigantine increased their price target for ONNN from $10 to $14.

ON Semiconductor's (Nasdaq:ONNN) Sanyo Semiconductor Acquisition Should Deliver $30 Million Quarterly

ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq:ONNN) acquisition should add about $30 million plus quarterly pre-tax revenue to ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq:ONNN), according to Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

The deal, which was completed on January 3, cost ON Semi $522 million total.

Gross margins for the first quarter of 2011 should come in at about 33 percent, and move up incrementally from there throughout 2012.

Goldman raised their full year 2011 and full year 2012 EPS estimates from $1.00 and $1.15 to $1.10 and $1.30.

Goldman maintains their "Buy" rating for ON Semiconductor, which closed Wednesday at $10.29, up $0.06, or 0.59 percent. Goldman raised their price target on them from $10 to $11.

ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ONNN) Revenue, EPS Tracking as High End of Guidance

Citing recent checks, FBR Capital said revenue and EPS for ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ:ONNN) is tracking on the high end of guidance, with EPS probably surpassing it.

FBR said, "Recent checks suggest 4Q revenues are tracking toward the upper end of guidance, with EPS likely one or two pennies better than consensus. For 1Q, we think ON's organic revenues can decline less than seasonally typical, likely by 2%–4% QOQ, but with EPS possibly better than the Street expects. While some investors have fretted about the Sanyo acquisition, we expect this deal to close in the next week or so, and think earnings can ramp faster than previously."

FBR Capital maintains an "Outperform" rating on ON Semiconductor, which closed Wednesday at $9.92, up $0.29, or 3.01 percent. FBR raised their price target on them from $12 to $13.