Cree (CREE) (AGP) (BKI) (SLF) (MHK) (MHR) Ratings, Price Targets

Cree (NASDAQ: CREE), AMERIGROUP (NYSE: AGP), Buckeye Technologies (NYSE: BKI), Sun Life Financial (NYSE: SLF), Mohawk Industries (NYSE: MHK) and Magnum Hunter (NYSE: MHR) ratings and price targets.

AMERIGROUP (AGP) had its “buy” rating reiterated by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

Cree (CREE) had its “neutral” rating reiterated by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS).

Buckeye Technologies (BKI) had its price target raised by RBC Capital from $37.00 to $44.00. They have an “outperform” rating on the company.

Sun Life Financial (SLF) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating.

Mohawk Industries (MHK) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating.

Magnum Hunter (MHR) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating.

Cree (CREE) (SMBL) (TRW) (VNR) (CHKR) (CPST) Get New Coverage

Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), Smart Balance Inc. (NASDAQ: SMBL), TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (NYSE: TRW), Vanguard Natural Resources (NYSE: VNR), Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust Common Units (NASDAQ: CHKR) and Capstone Turbine Co. (NASDAQ: CPST) getting new coverage from analysts.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Smart Balance Inc. (SMBL). They placed a “Market Perform” rating on the company.

Sterne Agee initiated coverage on TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (TRW). The analysts placed a “buy” rating on the company.

Wunderlich initiated coverage on Vanguard Natural Resources (VNR). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $33.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) initiated coverage on Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust Common Units (CHKR). They placed a “Neutral” rating on the company.

JMP Securities initiated coverage on Capstone Turbine Co. (CPST). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $2.00 on the company.

Needham & Company initiated coverage on Cree, Inc. (CREE). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Cree (CREE) (AHONY) (GET) (HOT) (HPQ) Downgraded

Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), Koninklijke Ahold (OTC: AHONY), Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) downgraded by analysts.

Koninklijke Ahold (AHONY) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Neutral” Rating to a “Hold” rating.

Cree, Inc. (CREE) was downgraded by JMP Securities from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

Gaylord Entertainment (GET) was downgraded by FBR Capital from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $31.00 on the company, down from $42.00.

Starwood Hotels (HOT) was downgraded by FBR Capital to a “Market Perform” rating.

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) was downgraded by Robert W. Baird from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $30.00 on the company, down from $51.00.

JA Solar (JASO) (OPLK) (CNX) (CREE) Price Targets Changed

JA Solar (NASDAQ: JASO), Oplink Communications (NASDAQ: OPLK), CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX) and Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) price targets adjusted by analysts.

JA Solar (JASO) had its price target lowered by RBC Capital from $7.00 to $5.00. They have a “Sector Perform” rating on the company.

Oplink Communications (OPLK) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $27.00 to $23.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) had its price target raised by Brean Murray from $65.00 to $73.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Cree, Inc. (CREE) had its price target raised by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $32.00 to $34.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Rubicon (RBCN) (CREE) (PDS) (EDMC) (OTIV) (HLS) (NKTR) Get New Coverage

Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN), Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS), Education Management Corp (NASDAQ: EDMC), On Track Innovations Ltd (NASDAQ: OTIV), HealthSouth (NYSE: HLS) and Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR) getting new analyst coverage.

Ticonderoga initiated coverage on Rubicon Technology, Inc. (RBCN). They placed a “Sell” rating and a price target of $9.00 on the company.

Ticonderoga initiated coverage on Cree, Inc. (CREE). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $39.00 on the company.

Howard Weil initiated coverage on Precision Drilling (PDS). They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $17.00 on the company.

Wunderlich initiated coverage on Education Management Corp. (EDMC). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Merriman Curhan Ford initiated coverage on On Track Innovations Ltd (OTIV). They placed a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Mizuho initiated coverage on HealthSouth (HLS). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

MKM Partners initiated coverage on Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $12.00 on the company.

Cree (CREE) (FWRD) (EPOC) (COF) (DNSKY) Upgraded

Cree (NASDAQ: CREE), Forward Air (NASDAQ: FWRD), Epocrates, Inc. (NASDAQ: EPOC), Capital One (NYSE: COF) and Danske Bank A/S (NASDAQ: DNSKY) upgraded by analysts.

Forward Air (FWRD) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $35.00 on the company.

Danske Bank A/S (DNSKY) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Epocrates, Inc. (EPOC) was upgraded by Morgan Keegan from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $18.00 on the company.

Capital One (COF) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Cree, Inc. (CREE) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from an “Equal Weight” rating to an “Overweight” rating. They have a price target of $40.00 on the company.

TriQuint (TQNT) (CMA) (REG) (CREE) (LH) (OPEN) Upgraded

TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT), Comerica (NYSE: CMA), Regency Centers (NYSE: REG), Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), Laboratory Corp. of America (NYSE: LH) and OpenTable Inc (NASDAQ: OPEN) upgraded by analysts.

TriQuint Semiconductor (TQNT) was upgraded by Needham & Company from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $10.00 on the company.

Comerica (CMA) was upgraded by Compass Point from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $37.00 on the company.

Regency Centers (REG) was upgraded by FBR Capital from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Cree, Inc. (CREE) was upgraded by Canaccord Genuity from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $39.00 on the company.

Laboratory Corp. of America (LH) was upgraded by Maxim Group from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $106.00 on the company.

OpenTable Inc. (OPEN) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $82.00 on the company.

Apollo (AINV) (CREE) (FSC) (MCGC) (PNNT) Price Targets Changed

Apollo Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AINV), Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), Fifth Street Finance (NYSE: FSC), MCG Capital Co. (NASDAQ: MCGC) and PennantPark Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: PNNT) had their price targets changed by analysts.

Apollo Investment Corp. (AINV) had its price target raised by FBR Capital from $8.50 to $12.00. They have a “Market Perform” rating on the company.

Cree, Inc. (CREE) had its price target lowered by Kaufman Brothers from $29.00 to $24.00. They have a “Sell” rating on the company.

Fifth Street Finance (FSC) had its price target raised by FBR Capital from $10.50 to $14.50. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

MCG Capital Co. (MCGC) had its price target raised by FBR Capital from $5.00 to $7.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

PennantPark Investment Corp. (NNT) had its price target raised by FBR Capital from $11.50 to $14.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Tyson (TSN) (MGM) (JNJ) (CFN) (CREE) (MRX) EPS Estimates Changed

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), CareFusion Co. (NYSE: CFN), Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) and Medicis Pharmaceutic (NYSE: MRX) EPS estimates adjusted by analysts.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised its EPS estimates on Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN). They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Morgan Stanley raised its EPS estimates on MGM Resorts (MGM). They have an “Equal Weight” rating and a price target of $17.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) slashed its EPS estimates on Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $74.00 on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) lowered its EPS estimates on CareFusion Co. (CFN). They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $31.00 on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) cuts its EPS estimates on Cree, Inc. (CREE). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $30.00 on the company. They had a price target of $41.00 on the company before. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

UBS AG cut its EPS estimates on Medicis Pharmaceutic (MRX). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $39.00 on the company.

Diamond (DO) (DISH) (CREE) (GNW) (MHS) (SNDK) Price Targets Changed

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE: DO), DISH (NASDAQ: DISH), Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW), Medco Health Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) and SanDisk Co. (NASDAQ: SNDK) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (DO) had its price target lowered by Global Hunter Securities from $71.00 to $68.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

DISH (DISH) had its price target raised by Collins Stewart from $30.00 to $37.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Cree, Inc. (CREE) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) to $48.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Genworth Financial, Inc. (GNW) had its price target lowered by Citigroup (NYSE: C) to $8.00. They have a “Sell” rating on the company.

Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) had its price target raised by UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) to $73.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

SanDisk Co. (SNDK) had its price target lowered by Wedbush from $52.00 to $45.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Cree (CREE) (LNT) (NR) (BAS) (IRDM) Get New Coverage

Cree (NASDAQ: CREE), Alliant Energy (NYSE: LNT), Newpark Resources (NYSE: NR), Basic Energy Services (NYSE: BAS) and Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM) are getting new coverage.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) initiated coverage on Alliant Energy (LNT). They placed a “market perform” rating on the company.

BB&T initiated coverage on Newpark Resources (NR). They placed a “buy” rating and a price target of $12.50 on the company.

Dahlman Rose initiated coverage on Basic Energy Services (BAS). They placed a “hold” rating on the company.

Morgan Keegan initiated coverage on Iridium Communications (IRDM). The placed an “outperform” rating and a price target of $12.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) initiated coverage on Cree (CREE). They placed a “neutral” rating on the company.

Ratings on (CREE) (CRM) (CSX) (DKS)(DLTR) Reiterated

Ratings on shares of Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) and Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ: DLTR) were reiterated by analysts.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reiterated an “underweight” rating on Cree, Inc. (CREE). They have a price target of $35.00 on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) reiterated a “hold” rating on Salesforce.com (CRM). They have a price target of $145.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated a “buy” rating on CSX Corp. (CSX).

Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on Discover Financial Services (DFS).

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) reiterated an “overweight” rating on Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS).

Morgan Stanley reiterated a “neutral” rating on Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR).

Cree (CREE) Pulls Down (LEDS) (VECO) (AIXG) on Warning

The LED sector is getting crushed today on the warning from Cree Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE) that demand was weak and it's taking longer than expected to work through its inventory.

Plunging along with Cree today are Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq:VECO), SemiLEDs Corporation (Nasdaq:LEDS) and Aixtron AG (Nasdaq:AIXG).

Cree lowered its guidance for the third quarter, citing lower sales of LED chips and LED components.

The company now sees revenue for the quarter in a range of $215 million to $220 million, down from the $245 million to $265 million previously projected and below the Wall Street consensus of $254.8 million.

Chuck Swoboda, Cree’s CEO and chairman said, "The LED components business appears to be turning the corner. Despite the challenges we faced in Q3, distributor sell-through has improved and we target solid growth next quarter. Based on our preliminary outlook for Q4, we are currently targeting revenue to increase 10 to 12% in fiscal Q4 led by growth in LED components."

Cree was trading at $43.16, plunging $5.84, or 11.92 percent, as of 11:49 AM EDT. Veeco was at $47.57, down $1.76, or 3.57 percent. SemiLEDs Corporation was trading at $15.70, falling $0.79, or 4.79 percent. Aixtron AG was at $40.44, declining $1.25, or 3.00 percent.

CREE's (Nasdaq:CREE) Results Soft on Inventory Correction

After reporting a disappointing quarter, CREE (Nasdaq:CREE) said the results were largely because of inventory corrections from distributors.

Canaccord noted, "The maker of LEDs tumbled after reporting a second-quarter profit that rose but was still short of both the company’s and analysts’ expectations. Revenues in the quarter were $257.0 million with pro-forma EPS of $0.53. Canaccord Genuity Sustainability Analyst Jonathan Dorsheimer was expecting $276.2 million and $0.55, respectively, and the Street was expecting $276.6 million and $0.58. Guidance of $245-265 million revenue and $0.38-0.45 EPS was also below Street expectations of $288 million and $0.58. The company attributes the softness to an inventory correction among distributors in Asia. Cree’s expectations of an increase in OPEX with flattish sales for next quarter is disappointing, Dorsheimer thinks, but then this quarter’s balance sheet had some potential cracks. Accounts receivable was up, and inventory rose as well. Dorsheimer will monitor inventory specifically, as obsolescence, given the pace of the technological developments in this industry, could result in a deleveraging and another leg down. Dorsheimer remains long-term positive on the SSL trend and CREE’s strong position in the industry; however, heightened expectations bid up CREE’s valuation in 2010 and did not leave any margin of error for natural lumpiness in the trend, which we are currently seeing. Dorsheimer continues to recommend exposure to CREE heading into the upcoming outline of China’s twelfth five-year plan and subsequent rebound of the Chinese SSL market, but would want to see a valuation reset before becoming more constructive on the name."

Cree closed Thursday at $52.36, losing $1.27, or 2.37 percent.

Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) Fairly Valued Says Canaccord

After a strong 2010, Cree's (NASDAQ:CREE) valuation leaves little room for error at this time.

Canaccord says, "Revenues in the quarter were $257.0M with pro forma EPS of $0.53. We were expecting $276.2M/$0.55, and the Street was expecting $276.6M/$0.58. Guidance of $245M-$265M and $0.38-$0.45 is also below Street expectations of -$288M and $0.58. The company attributes the softness to an inventory correction among distributors in Asia.

"Expectations of an increase in OPEX with flattish sales for next quarter is disappointing, but this quarter’s balance sheet had some potential cracks...We are long-term positive on the SSL trend and Cree’s strong position in the industry; however, heightened expectations bid up CREE’s valuation in 2010 and did not leave any margin of error for natural lumpiness in the trend, which we are currently seeing."

Canaccord Genuity reiterates a "Hold" rating on Cree (CREE), which was trading at $53.89, down $8.82, or 14.06 percent, as of 1:18 PM EST. Canaccord has a price target of $54 on Cree.

Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) Earnings Should Come in With Consensus

Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) will report earnings after close today, and Brigantine believes they'll come very close to consensus, as they're "priced to perfection" they said.

Brigantine noted, "Cree will report fQ2’11 (Dec) results on Tuesday, January 18th after the markets close. Our estimates are $0.58/ $271M, generally inline with the Street’s $0.58/ $276.6M, vs. management’s guidance of $0.56 - $0.60 on sales of $270M - $280M. Our fQ3’11 estimates are $0.53/ $276M, while Street consensus is $0.58/ $288M.

"CREE trades at 30x our CY11 EPS estimate and at 6.5x our FY11 sales estimate; most semi stocks trade at 10x – 25x their 2011 EPS estimates. Thus it appears CREE is priced to perfection, while the long-term trends for LED pricing appear unfavorable."

Brigantine Advisors maintains a "Sell" rating on Cree, which closed Friday at $63.77, losing $1.69, or 2.58 percent.

Cree's (NASDAQ:CREE) Downside Risk Predominant in Short Term

Even though macro trends are moving in the right direction for Cree (NASDAQ:CREE), in the short term Deutsche sees downside risk stronger than upside risk.

Deutsche says, "We are raising our PT to discount improving macro trends (NASDAQ +12% since Cree reported), increased confidence in Cree’s competitive position (following checks) and a rebound in street lighting demand. While we see more downside vs upside risk for shorter-term investors (given the excitement around the Mar Q guide), we believe Cree’s competitive position will insulate its margins more than most bears fear over the next 12-24 mos. We would become more constructive on Cree at a lower valuation or following reduced near-term expectations."

Deutsche Bank reiterates a "Hold" on Cree, which closed Thursday at $65.46, losing $3.74, or 5.40 percent.Deutsche raised their price target on Cree from $50 to $65.

Cree (NASDAQ:CREE), Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ:RBCN), AIXTRON (NASDAQ:AIXG), Veeco (NASDAQ:VECO) And Chinese Policy

It appears the Chinese may be changing their policy strategy for energy and power, and may push subsidies from upstream manufacturing toward downstream segments, which would have an impact on Cree (NASDAQ:CREE), Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ:RBCN), AIXTRON (NASDAQ:AIXG) and Veeco (NASDAQ:VECO), among others.

Canaccord said, "We are providing an update on the LED space following some recent noise, rumors and what we perceive as overall confusion in the space regarding the subsidy situation in China. For months now, our view is and has been that the Chinese Central Government is not pulling its subsidies but instead on the verge of a policy change, as part of the 12th 5-year plan to move government funds from upstream manufacturing subsidies toward downstream demand-based subsidies. We view this change as a long-term positive for the LED ecosystem as a whole, including volume LED component pure plays such as Cree (HOLD), Epistar, Formosa Epitaxy and material volume plays such as Rubicon Technology (BUY). In the near term, we also acknowledge the volatility this may cause for the incumbent tool suppliers AIXTRON (HOLD) and Veeco (HOLD) given the current Street expectations and general view that these companies are secular and not cyclical – which is not our view."

"We believe that there still remains a fundamental disconnect between Street expectations of equipment and likely shipments. As such, we feel stock valuations have run up beyond the supporting fundamentals. Given the increase in expectations over past year and the dependence on China to meet these expectations, the subsidy change could serve as a negative catalyst for the upstream tool suppliers. To be clear: we believe 2010 will represent a historical peak for MOCVD orders. Given the share appreciation on misinformation regarding the scale and scope of the Second Cycle and timing of the Third Cycle, we would not be averse to investors using both incumbent MOCVD suppliers as a short-term source of funds – even after recent pullbacks."

Cree, Inc. was trading at $66.48, down $0.78, or 1.16 percent, as of 12:05 PM EST. Rubicon Technology was at $20.01, down $0.33, or 1.62 percent. Aixtron was trading at $33.13, losing $0.82, or 2.42 percent. Veeco was at $40.53, dropping $1.23, or 2.95 percent.