Varian (VAR) (WIT) (WPI) (TUP) (WYN) (XLNX) Price Targets Raised

Price targets on Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT), Watson Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NYSE: WPI), Tupperware Brands Co. (NYSE: TUP), Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) and Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) raised by analysts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on Varian Medical Systems (VAR) from $65.00 to $68.00. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Piper Jaffray raised their price target on Wipro Limited (WIT) to $14.00. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Piper Jaffray raised their price target on Watson Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (WPI) from $62.00 to $72.00. They have an “overweight” rating on the company.

RBC Capital raised their price target on Tupperware Brands Co. (TUP) from $64.00 to $72.00. They have an “outperform” rating on the company.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) raised their price target on Wyndham Worldwide (WYN) from $38.00 to $41.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Auriga raised their price target on Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX) from $36.00 to $39.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the company.

ASML (Nasdaq:ASML), Varian (Nasdaq:VSEA), Teradyne (NYSE:TER) Have More Upside than KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC) Says Barclays

KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC) had a decent quarter, according to Barclays, and should do fairly well in 2011, although GMs could remain under pressure. They like ASML (Nasdaq:ASML), Varian (Nasdaq:VSEA) and Teradyne (NYSE:TER) better in the sector.

Barclays says, "Overall, this was a good quarter for KLAC, notwithstanding a less favorable mix, which weighed on GMs. Looking ahead, we think that the favorable foundry and logic capex mix should help KLAC achieve a $3B+ run rate quite easily, though the metrology and reticle inspection intensive nature of foundry spend might keep a lid on GMs. To this end, we raise our CY11 revenue/EPS to $3.24B/$4.80 (cons $2.8B/$3.93) and introduce CY12 at $3.25B/$4.90 (cons $2.8B/$3.91)...Given our positive view on the cycle, the shares should work - however, at this point, we see greater upside for our favorites, in particular, ASML Inc (ASML), Varian Semi (VSEA) and Teradyne (TER)."

Barclays maintains an 'Equalweight' on KLA-Tencor (KLAC), which closed Friday at $43.69, down $0.99, or 2.22 percent. Barclays raised their price target on KLA from $50 to $53.

Varian Semiconductor (NASDAQ:VSEA) Core Business, Outlook is Strong

With two more solar engagements, it appears Varian Semiconductor (NASDAQ:VSEA) is making significant headway in the sector, growing out its core business faster than expected.

Needham says, "We came away more positive on VSEA following the company’s presentation at the Needham Growth Conference. The additional two solar engagements show VSEA is making progress in a fast growing market, and we believe several solar customers will qualify its Solion process this year. VSEA’s core business appears to be doing better than expected and new orders from several leading foundries support the company’s stronger outlook. Furthermore, VSEA should benefit from GlobalFoundries’ (N/R) and Intel’s substantial 2011 capex increases."

Needham & Company reiterates a "Buy" rating on Varian Semiconductor, which closed Friday at $43.80, gaining $2.21, or 5.31 percent. Needham raised their price target on them from $42 to $48.

Varian Semiconductor's (NASDAQ:VSEA) Market Position Unmatched Says Needham

Varian Semiconductor (NASDAQ:VSEA) deserves a premium over its competitors because of its unmatched market position says Needham & Company.

Needham said, "We continue to like VSEA due to its unmatched market position, increased market adoption of new implant applications, and the growth potential of its emerging solar business. We believe VSEA's new solar equipment venture utilizes its existing infrastructure to target a fast growing market, translating to higher operating leverage in the model. We believe the stock warrants a premium over peers as VSEA's solar product is adopted in the market, enabling the company to outgrow the slowing semi equipment industry in C2011."

Needham & Company maintains a "Buy" rating on Varian Semiconductor, which closed Friday at $37.42, gaining $0.78, or 2.13 percent.

ASML (Nasdaq:ASML), Lam Research (Nasdaq:LRCX), Varian (Nasdaq:VSEA), Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT), MKS Instruments (Nasdaq:MKSI), Advanced Energy

Barclays released its favorites in the U.S. Semiconductor Capital Equipment sector, and they include ASML (Nasdaq:ASML), Lam Research (Nasdaq:LRCX), Varian (Nasdaq:VSEA), Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT), MKS Instruments (Nasdaq:MKSI), Advanced Energy (Nasdaq:AEIS) and Teradyne (NYSE:TER).

Barclays said, "Not A Read-Through for Other Equipment Vendors: We would caution any investors to read this pre-announcement as suggestive of weakening trends at leading front-end equipment vendors. Apparently, Mattson (Nasdaq: MTSN) is seeing pushes of expedited tools to Samsung from 4Q into 1Q along with selected other pushes from tier 2 DRAM vendors. Our take here is that this is company specific and relates to MTSN's more limited customer base. Beyond MTSN, our checks throughout the supply chain in the last few days suggests there have been no change to business fundamentals over the last 4 weeks --- meaning 1HCY11 wafer fab equipment trends are tracking similarly to 2HCY10. So we view this announcement as not indicative of weakness at others and expect SPE companies to reiterate this view at a competitor's conference in NY next week.

"Our top picks in the front-end remain ASML, Lam Research, Varian, and Applied Materials. In sub-system, MKS Instruments and Advanced Energy remain favorites (recently upgraded in December). And finally, in the back-end, we continue to like Teradyne. If there is broad-based weakness for SPE shares post MTSN's print, we would be adding to positions."

ASML (Nasdaq:ASML), Lam (Nasdaq:LRCX), Varian (Nasdaq:VSEA), Teradyne (NYSE:TER), Corning (NYSE:GLW), Veco (Nasdaq: VECO), IPG Photonics (Nasdaq:IPGP)

Talking technology stocks, Barclays (NYSE:BCS) identified their top picks across several segments, including ASML (Nasdaq:ASML), Lam (Nasdaq:LRCX), Varian (Nasdaq:VSEA), Teradyne (NYSE:TER), Corning (NYSE:GLW), Veco (Nasdaq: VECO) and IPG Photonics (Nasdaq:IPGP).

Barclays reasoning was, "While a mid-cycle order correction has begun, we believe end market data points continue to signal that it will only be mild. Considering relatively cheap valuation and view that this correction is indeed modest, we continue to favor ASML, Lam Research, Teradyne, and Varian. In LCD, we like Corning and recommend owning shares into seasonal 1H11. In LED, we prefer Veco to Aixtron (Nasdaq:AIXG) and continue to see near-term downside risk for Cree (Nasdaq:CREE). Finally, fiber laser supplier IPG Photonics remains a favored growth story.

"Stock Ideas: Our top picks remain ASML (Immersion/EUV), LRCX (share gains/valuation), VSEA (adjacent solar), and TER (FCF/still underappreciated biz model). In LCD, our top pick remains GLW (Gorilla/LCD TV product cycles and valuation). In LED, we prefer VECO to AIXG and still see near-term downside risk to CREE. Finally, we continue to like disruptive tech leader IPGP (growth story)."

ASML closed Monday at $35.18, down $0.40, or 1.12 percent. Lam was at $49.49, gaining $0.27, or 0.55 percent. Varian finished at $35.21, up by $0.21, or 0.60 percent. Teradyne closed up at $13.48, increasing $0.75, or 5.89 percent. Corning was down to $18.69, losing $0.05, or 0.27 percent. Veco ended the session at $47.14, gaining $0.49, or 1.05 percent. IPG Photonics closed at $31.65, down by $0.13, or 0.41 percent.