PulteGroup (PHM) (MIPS) (BA) (BBT) (COCO) Upgraded

PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), MIPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIPS), The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), BB&T (NYSE: BBT) and Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO) upgraded by analysts.

PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM) was upgraded by Ticonderoga Securities from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $6.50 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

MIPS Technologies, Inc. (MIPS) was upgraded by Capstone from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

The Boeing Company (BA) was upgraded by Nomura from a “Reduce” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

BB&T (BBT) was upgraded by Macquarie from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (COCO) was upgraded by Gabelli to a “Buy” rating.

Linkedin (LNKD) (DHI) (RATE) (PHM) (RYL) (KBH) Get New Coverage

Linkedin Co. (NASDAQ: LNKD), D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI), Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE), PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), The Ryland Group, Inc. (NYSE: RYL) and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) receive new coverage.

Compass Point initiated coverage on D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI). They placed a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $12.00 on the company.

Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Bankrate (RATE). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $21.00 on the company.

Compass Point initiated coverage on PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM). They placed a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $8.00 on the company.

Compass Point initiated coverage on The Ryland Group, Inc. (RYL). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $18.00 on the company.

Compass Point initiated coverage on KB Home (NYSE: KBH). They placed a “Sell” rating and a price target of $8.00 on the company.

William Blair initiated coverage on Linkedin Co. (LNKD). They placed a “Market Perform” rating on the company.

Builders (PHM) (DHI) (TOL) (MDC) (RYL) Continue to Struggle

Pulte Group Inc (NYSE:PHM), D.R. Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI), Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL), M.D.C. Holdings Inc. (NYSE:MDC) and The Ryland Group Inc (NYSE:RYL) were under pressure Tuesday as new building permits in the U.S. missed estimates by about 40,000, coming in at $550,000.

Housing starts were also a disaster, reaching 520,000, 60,000 below the projected 580,000.

A healthy home construction market is considered to be about 1.2 million homes per year. So far the rate for 2011 is an anemic 523,000 homes per year pace.

In April, new home construction dropped 10.6 percent from March, down 10.6 percent.

PulteGroup closed at $7.61 Tuesday, level with Monday's close. D.R. Horton closed at $11.46, dropping $0.21, or 1.80 percent.

Pulte (PHM) (DHI) (TOL) (MDC) (RYL) Pessimistic on Housing Market

According to the National Association of Home Builders, U.S. home builders like D.R. Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI), Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL), M.D.C. Holdings Inc. (NYSE:MDC), The Ryland Group Inc (NYSE:RYL) and Pulte Group Inc (NYSE:PHM) continue to have a negative outlook on the sector, giving it a 16 grade, with anything below 50 being considered negative.

Added to the usual factors of foreclosed homes, tighter lending standards and higher unemployment, was the return of higher gas prices, which all are weighing on the housing market.

The biggest factor appears to be those who own being concerned over their inability to sell their them at a good price, pressuring them to keep their homes rather than have to possibly pay out to make up the difference in the selling price and what they own on their homes, which in many cases have fallen in price below what they can get for them.

Homes of a strong spring season are fading away, as it hasn't worked out as builders have hoped, and there's little to indicate this will change any time soon.

Builders were trading mixed early in the session, with most of those listed above trading slightly in positive territory.

Ratings on (NVDA) (PANL) (PHM) (RAX) (RST) Reiterated

Ratings on NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ: PANL), PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) and Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST) reiterated by analysts.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated a “neutral” rating on NVIDIA (NVDA).

Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on Universal Display Co. (PANL).

Goldman Sachs reiterated a “buy” rating on PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM). They have a price target of $10.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reiterated an “equal weight” rating on Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (RAX).

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated a “hold” rating on Rosetta Stone Inc. (RST).

Price Targets on (OMX) (OXY) (PCLN) (PHM) Updated by Analysts

Officemax Inc (NYSE: OMX), Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE: OXY), Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN) and PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) get price targets updated today by analysts.

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJF) cut their price target on Officemax Inc (OMX) from $14.00 to $13.00.

Oppenheimer raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum Co. (OXY) from $105.00 to $125.00. They have an “outperform” rating on the company.

The Benchmark Company raised their price target on Priceline (PCLN) from $570.00 to $660.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Benchmark Co. raised their price target on Priceline (PCLN) from $570.00 to $660.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised their price target on PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM) from $8.50 to $9.00.

Home Sales Push Pulte (PHM) (DHI) (TOL) (MDC) (RYL) Up

Shares of D.R. Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI), Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL), M.D.C. Holdings Inc. (NYSE:MDC), The Ryland Group Inc (NYSE:RYL) and Pulte Group Inc (NYSE:PHM) were all up today after reports new home sales rose 11.1 percent from February to March.

Investors shouldn't get too excited though, as sales are still far behind 2010's numbers, coming in at a seasonally adjusted 300,000. Year-over-year, sales are still down 21.9 percent.

Jon Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros of RDQ Economics said, “With the distortions of the homebuyers’ tax credit now well behind us, it appears (looking through the monthly volatility) that new home sales have settled in around 300,000 at an annual rate (the six-month average of sales has been between 291,000 and 313,000 since September 2010). The rebound in March to that 300,000 level suggests a weather-related bounce back from snowstorm-affected levels in February. For 2011 as a whole, we expect that sales (and housing starts) will continue to bounce around recent levels and, given the low share of housing construction in GDP, will have little impact on the overall growth story.”

PulteGroup was trading at $7.84, rising $0.06, or 0.84 percent, as of 1:20 PM EDT. Ryland Group was at $17.58, gaining $0.36, or 2.06 percent. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. was trading at $28.28, up $0.54, or 1.95 percent. Toll Brothers was at $20.30, up $0.02, or 0.10 percent. D.R. Horton was at $12.16, jumping $0.18, or 1.46 percent.

Home Builders Toll (TOL) (DHI) (MDC) (RYL) (PHM) Close Up Even with Dismal Outlook

Oddly, investors chose to ignore warnings of a dismal year from home builders and pushed up shares of D.R. Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI), Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL), M.D.C. Holdings Inc. (NYSE:MDC), The Ryland Group Inc (NYSE:RYL) and Pulte Group Inc (NYSE:PHM) on Monday.

According to The National Association of Home Builders, sentiment for April dropped back to 16 after going up to 17 in March. A reading below 50 indicates a negative sentiment, to show how weak the outlook for 2011 is. It has been five years since the index has been above the 50 mark.

Various negative catalysts including high unemployment, tighter lending standards and bigger requirements for down-payments are keeping many people from buying homes. Also a record number of foreclosures are pushing down home prices, leaving potential buyers concerned that the market has yet to reach bottom.


The index gauging existing conditions dropped one point, to 16, while the recorded foot traffic of prospective buyers increased by a point, to 13. The estimate of single-family home sales over the next six months fell three points, to 23, declining to its lowest level since October.

Some of this is affected by regions and extent of weakness, but overall there's little to be excited about with the home builders.

PulteGroup closed at $7.84 on Monday, gaining $0.02, or 0.26 percent. The Ryland Group ended the session at $16.91, up $0.39, or 2.36 percent. M.D.C. Holdings Inc. closed at $27.26, rising $0.38, or 1.41 percent. Toll Brothers climbed to $20.58, closing at $0.46, increasing 2.29 percent. D.R. Horton ended the day at $11.67, up $0.14, or 1.21 percent.

Toll Brothers (TOL) (DHI) (CVCO) (MHO) Struggle on New Home Sales

Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI), Cavco Industries (NASDAQ:CVCO) and M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO) Struggle were all under pressure today on news new home sales plunged again in February, dropping to its slowest pace on record.

The exception was Pulte Group, which went against the grain and are trading strongly in the positive.

According to the Commerce Department report Wednesday, sales declined 16.9 percent to a 250,000 annual pace in February, down from a revised rate of 301,000 in January. Analysts were looking for a narrower decline to 290,000 for the month.

"The median new home price plunged 8.9 percent from the same month in 2010, hitting the lowest level since 2003. Depreciating home values and a slower pace of home-buying is a worrying factor to many in the economic recovery. The Federal Reserve has highlighted the slow rebound that the housing market is experiencing in several of its recent statements, saying that the ailing market is a persistent overhang on unemployment and GDP growth. The data follows a separate government report released Monday showing that existing home sales fell 9.6% in February," said Forbes.

M/I Homes dropped on the news, but has rebounded slightly to trade at $13.99, gaining $0.02, or 0.14 percent, as of 2:16 PM EDT. Cavco was trading at $43.26, down $0.30, or 0.69 percent. D.R. Horton was at $11.78, falling $0.07, or 0.59 percent. Toll Brothers was trading at $20.21, declining $0.28, or 1.37 percent. Pulte was at $7.39, gaining $0.25, or 3.43 percent.




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PulteGroup (PHM), Lennar (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL) Drop on Disappointing Data

It was just a couple of days ago after the news of the earthquake in Japan that the home construction industry was one of the few sectors in the positive. That has changed quickly as shares of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM), Lennar (NYSE:LEN) and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) are all falling on data showing the industry continues to struggle.

The idea a couple of days ago was the hope that spring sales would boost the sector, but that's not going to be the case, as housing starts were at a 27-year low and new building permits dropped to a record low.

It appears the gains a couple of days ago were just investors trying to find anything that would move up at the time.

Toll Brothers was trading at $20.41, down $0.45, or 2.16 percent, as of 2:04 PM EDT. Lennar was at $19.20, falling $0.48, or 2.44 percent. PulteGroup was at $6.90, dropping $0.11, or 1.57 percent.

Homebuilders Up (PHM) (LEN) (TOL) (Hov) (DHI) Up on Dismal Trading Day

In what appears to be investors searching for anything positive to sink their teeth into, shares of homebuilders Pulte (NYSE:PHM), Lennar (NYSE:LEN), Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), Hovnanian (NYSE:Hov) and D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) are trading up.

The only other positive sector on the day is solar, which is trading up on the nuclear play.

Apparently investors are looking at the hope there will be a decent selling season this spring, the evident reason for pushing up the homebuilder sector. It's doubtful this will be sustainable, but interesting nonetheless.

D.R. Horton was trading at $11.80, gaining $0.15, or 1.29 percent, as of 1:06 PM EDT. Hovnanian was at $3.72, up $0.04, or 1.09 percent. PulteGroup was trading at $6.94, up $0.02, or 0.29 percent. Toll Brothers were at $20.71, gaining $0.07, or 0.34 percent. Lennar was at $19.47, up $0.14, or 0.72 percent.

D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI), Pultegroup (NYSE:PHM) Previewed by Susquehanna

D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) and Pultegroup (NYSE:PHM) were previewed by Susquehanna, as they approach their expected earnings report days.

Horton is scheduled to report on January 27, and Pultegroup on February 4.

Earnings for both companies are expected to beat analysts' estimates, with DHI projected to come in at $0.03 a share, and PHM at $0.08 a share.

Both companies will probably report minor inventory impairments, "given both the normal seasonality of these charges and due to geographic focus."

D.R. Horton (DHI) closed Tuesday at $13.01, up $0.07, or 0.54 percent. Pultegroup (PHM) closed at $8.33, down $0.10, or 1.19 percent.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) Low Margins, Land Positions Dragging on Them

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) says they see PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) doing some right things to eventually return to profitability, they see continuing pressure on gross margins and their land positions as factors which will continue to weigh them down.

"We recently had the opportunity to meet with members of Pulte management. Given the company's recent disappointing 3Q10 earnings, we believe that this was an opportune time to reconnect with management on the company's strategy...Although we believe PHM is on the right track to regaining profitability, we are concerned that its land position combined with lagging gross margins is riskier in a slower recovery," said Barclays.

Barclays maintains an "Equalweight" rating on PulteGroup, which closed at $6.68 on Monday, losing $0.03, or 0.45 percent. Barclays lowered their price target on them from $10 to $9.