Diamond Foods (DMND) (FLOW) (BCSI) (SIGA) (FES) (PATK) (SWHC) Biggest NASDAQ Gainers

Diamond Foods (NASDAQ:DMND), Flow (NASDAQ:FLOW), Blue Coat (NASDAQ:BCSI), SIGA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA), Forbes Energy Services Ltd (NASDAQ:FES), Patrick Industries (NASDAQ:PATK) and Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWHC) were the biggest NASDAQ gainers Friday, December 9.

Diamond Foods (DMND) ended the day up 47.38 percent, closing at $39.13. They traded in a range of $39.60 and as low as $26.94. A total of 13,925,673 shares changed hands.

Flow (FLOW) ended the day up 44.63 percent, closing at $3.50. They traded in a range of $3.58 and as low as $3.05. A total of 3,022,403 shares changed hands.

Blue Coat (BCSI) ended the day up 44.05 percent, closing at $25.18. They traded in a range of $25.27 and as low as $25.14. A total of 47,820,037 shares changed hands.

SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA) ended the day up 30.43 percent, closing at $2.40. They traded in a range of $2.54 and as low as $1.78. A total of 2,329,479 shares changed hands.

Forbes Energy Services Ltd (FES) ended the day up 20.75 percent, closing at $6.40. They traded in a range of $6.70 and as low as $5.23. A total of 36,875 shares changed hands.

Patrick Industries (PATK) ended the day up 18.51 percent, closing at $3.97. They traded in a range of $3.97 and as low as $3.47. A total of 12,325 shares changed hands.

Smith & Wesson (SWHC) ended the day up 16.52 percent, closing at $3.88. They traded in a range of $3.91 and as low as $3.34. A total of 2,412,541 shares changed hands.

Blue Coat (BCSI) Ratings, Price Targets

Blue Coat (BCSI) ratings and price targets were raised and boosted by analysts.

Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on Blue Coat (BCSI) from $25.00 to $28.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Sterne Agee upgraded Blue Coat (BCSI) to a “Neutral” rating.

Wedbush raised its price target on Blue Coat (BCSI) to $19.00.

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) raised its price target on Blue Coat (BCSI) to $19.00.

Miller Tabak upgraded Blue Coat (BCSI) from a “Sell” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Target (TGT) (BCSI) (FLO) (BWA) (NTAP) (DAN) Price Targets Changed

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Blue Coat (NASDAQ: BCSI), Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO), BorgWarner Inc (NYSE: BWA), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) and Dana Holding Co. (NYSE: DAN) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Target Corp. (TGT) had its price target raised by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) to $60.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Blue Coat (BCSI) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $23.00 to $14.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO) had its price target lowered by Longbow Research from $26.00 to $24.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

BorgWarner Inc. (BWA) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $92.00 to $89.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $68.00 to $52.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Dana Holding Co. (DAN) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $25.00 to $23.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Agrium (AGU) (MSG) (VVTV) (BCSI) (AIXG) (TXN) Downgraded

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU), Madison Square Garden, Inc. (NYSE: MSG), ValueVision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVTV), Blue Coat (NASDAQ: BCSI), Aixtron AG (NASDAQ: AIXG) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) downgraded by analysts.

Madison Square Garden, Inc. (MSG) was downgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $28.00 on the company.

ValueVision Media, Inc. (VVTV) was downgraded by Feltl & Co. from a “Strong Buy” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $5.75 on the company, down from $8.00.

Agrium Inc. (AGU) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from an “Overweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $89.00 on the company.

Blue Coat (BCSI) was downgraded by Sterne Agee from a “Neutral” rating to an “Underperform” rating.

Aixtron AG (AIXG) was downgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) to a “Hold” rating.

Texas Instruments (TXN) was downgraded by ThinkEquity from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $30.00 on the company.

Wal-Mart (WMT) (INTU) (ADI) (BCSI) (BPO) (NGL) Price Targets Changed

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), Blue Coat (NASDAQ: BCSI), Brookfield Properties Co. (NYSE: BPO) and NGL Energy Partners (NYSE: NGL) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) had its price target raised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $58.00.

Intuit Inc. (INTU) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $56.00 to $54.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) had its price target lowered by Argus from $51.00 to $43.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Blue Coat (BCSI) had its price target lowered by FBR Capital from $19.00 to $15.00. They have a “Market Perform” rating on the company.

Brookfield Properties Co. (BPO) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $22.00 to $20.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

NGL Energy Partners (NGL) had its price target raised by RBC Capital from $22.00 to $25.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Veolia (VE) (SUNH) (NHC) (BCSI) (FIG) (IRF) Downgraded

Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE), Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNH), National HealthCare Co. (NYSE: NHC), Blue Coat (NASDAQ: BCSI), Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) and International Rectifier (NYSE: IRF) were downgraded by analysts.

Veolia Environnement (VE) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. (SUNH) was downgraded by Oppenheimer from an “Outperform” rating to an “Underperform” rating.

National HealthCare Co. (NHC) was downgraded by Morgan Keegan from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $41.00 on the company, down from $55.00.

Blue Coat (BCSI) was downgraded by Lazard Capital from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG) was downgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

International Rectifier (IRF) was downgraded by JMP Securities from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

Ratings on (ADS) (BCSI) (BPO) (CIB) (CIM) Downgraded

Ratings on Alliance Data Systems Co. (NYSE: ADS), Blue Coat (NASDAQ: BCSI), Brookfield Properties Co. (NYSE: BPO), Bancolombia S.A. (NYSE: CIB) and Chimera Investment Co. (NYSE: CIM) downgraded by analysts today.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) downgraded Alliance Data Systems Co. (ADS) from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating. They have a price target of $77.00 on the company.

Signal Hill downgraded Blue Coat (BCSI) to a “hold” rating.

RBC Capital downgraded Brookfield Properties Co. (BPO) from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating. They have a price target of $21.00 on the company, up from $18.75.

HSBC (NYSE:HBC) downgraded Bancolombia S.A. (CIB) from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating.

Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Chimera Investment Co. (CIM) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq:RVBD) Looks Good Going Forward

Riverbed Technology (RVBD) reported large fourth quarter sales and profit growth that beat analyst estimates and appeared to calm nervous investors.

The developer of products to safely speed, or "optimize," data and apps over wide-area networks said per-share profit minus items soared 73% to 19 cents from 11 cents in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased 47% to $165.4 million.

For the exiting quarter, Riverbed expects sales in a range of $159 million to $161 million, which would jump 41% to 43% and above the $154.6 million analysts are looking for. Riverbed says it expects gross margin to be level at 78%.

F5 Networks (FFIV), earlier this week, dragged down fellow cloud computing stocks January 19 when it reported sales, and a sales outlook, which missed outlooks. Besides Riverbed, other notable cloud stocks that plummeted included Juniper Networks (JNPR), Aruba Networks (ARUN) and Blue Coat Systems (BCSI).

For full year 2010, Riverbed's per-share profit surged 74% to 59 cents. Full-year 2010 revenue increased 40% to $551.9 million.

Riverbe CEO and co-founder Jerry Kennelly, said, "Riverbed's financial performance is almost unmatched by our technology peers over the past 12 months. Our addressable market is expanding, and our core business drivers are strong."

Wedbush noted, "We think Riverbed represents an attractive way for investors to capitalize on powerful secular trends in technology including datacenter consolidation, datacenter virtualization, and public cloud migrations all of which we expect to continue to gain momentum in 2011. We think the company is entering 2011 with significant momentum and visibility and has potential to continue to exceed estimates over the next several quarters. Our preliminary checks with channel suggest that core WAN optimization market still poised for significant growth as contacts report strong budget flush dynamics in Q4."

Riverbed Technology closed Thursday at $34.91, up $0.62, or 1.80 percent.

Riverbed (Nasdaq:RVBD), Blue Coat (Nasdaq:BCSI), Rackspace (NYSE:RAX) Plunge on F5 Miss

The "miss" by F5 Networks (Nasdaq:FFIV) has caused reverberations across the sector, as Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq:RVBD), Blue Coat Systems(Nasdaq:BCSI) and Rackspace (NYSE:RAX) all had their share prices plunge on concerns the sector may be slowing down.

It's all about momentum with the F5 story, and if it appears that's what's happening (yet to be determined), the companies would take another big hit before the smoke cleared.

Interestingly, it's not that the quarter for F5 was bad, but they and the other companies in the sector are simply victims of the sectors' recent success, which had generated high expectations that would eventually have to be disappointed.

More than anything, it appears it was the lower guidance by F5 for 2011 that made the most impact.

Rackspace was trading at $29.92, dropping $3.51, or 10.50 percent, as of 11:25 AM EST. Blue Coat was trading at $27.53, down $2.67, or 8.84 percent. Riverbed was at $34.08, losing $2.89, or 7.82 percent.

Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ:BCSI) Ready to Move Forward?

After a series of blunders, it looks like Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ:BCSI) has worked out the kinks and is poised for a solid 2011.

FBR said, "Our F3Q11 (January) mid-quarter checks on Blue Coat continue to support our recovery story thesis on the name, as we believe the combination of the company’s revamped go-to-market strategy and selling into healthy end markets (security/WAN optimization) should pay dividends for investors in 2011. While we recognize the risk of continued execution headwinds (particularly in EMEA), we believe the company has learned from its recent missteps from over the past few quarters and is now attacking both the security and WAN optimization opportunities with a clearly improved channel presence across geographies.

"While our FY11 estimates of $500.4 million and $1.55 remain unchanged, we are increasing our FY12 estimates to $547.2 million and $1.70 from $542.4 million and $1.67."

FBR Capital reiterates an "Outperform" rating on Blue Coat Systems, which closed Thursday at $29.91, up $2.20, or 7.94 percent. They have a price target of $32 on them.

aBlue Coat Systems (NASDAQ:BCSI) Attractive M&A Candidate Says Needham

Citing their position at the "intersection of networking and security software," Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ:BCSI) is considered an attracted candidate for M&A by Needham & Company.

Needham said, "We attended the BCSI analyst day and came away comfortable with our thesis, which is that the company is a work-in-progress with a new CEO, and is an attractive M&A candidate because of its position at the intersection of networking and security software. While there were no dramatic new announcements, we want to focus investor attention on the 'small steps' which are happening since CEO Borman’s arrival in August. Among the 'small steps' are: solid OctQ results with “trimmed” (yet acceptable) guidance; rolling out incentives to the channel to build BCSI’s WAN business presence; enacting changes in the field organization (leadership, and lead generation). Specifically from analyst day, we heard about new product initiatives which are logical, yet may not impact revenue materially in the near term – including SMB product, cloud offering, and Cache for Carrier."

Needham & Company maintains a "Buy" rating on Blue Coat Systems, which was trading at $28.40, down $0.10, or 0.33 percent, as of 2:55 PM EST. They have a price target of $33 on them.

Blue Coat (NASDAQ:BCSI) Seems to be Settling Down Finally

Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ:BCSI), after a series of blunders, seems to finally be settling down under the hand of new President and CEO Michael Borman.

FBR Capital said they see improvement for the company in 2011, and maintain an "Outperform" rating on them.

FBR said, "In light of Blue Coat's recent missteps over the past few quarters, we would characterize the performance in the quarter/guidance as respectable and is a step in the right direction. Importantly, it seems the recently minted CEO Mr. Borman has helped calm the troops in the field, as execution issues in the much maligned EMEA region appear to have been identified/resolved and should improve during the course of FY11. With Blue Coat taking its medicine and smoothing out its channel presence across geographies, we strongly believe this company is back on the road to recovery based on what we hear from the field."

Blue Coat was trading at $26.66, falling by $0.44, or 1.62 percent at 3:59 PM EST Friday. FBR raised their price target on them from $24 to $29.