Delta (DAL) (MPA) (NLY) (NPY) (CADX) (CTXS) Get New Coverage

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Insured (NYSE: MPA), Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY), Nuveen Pennsylvania Premium Income Municicipal Bonds (NYSE: NPY), Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CADX) and Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) getting new coverage from analysts.

Maxim Group initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines (DAL). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $13.00 on the company.

Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Insured (MPA). They placed a “Hold” rating on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) initiated coverage on Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NLY). They placed an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $18.00 on the company.

Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Nuveen Pennsylvania Premium Income Municicipal Bonds (NPY). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Collins Stewart initiated coverage on Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CADX). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $7.00 on the company.

Susquehanna initiated coverage on Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS). They placed a “Positive” rating on the company.

Cameron (CAM) (CMS) (DAL) (EMC) (EXC) (HERO) Upgraded

Cameron (NYSE: CAM), CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Exelon Co. (NYSE: EXC) and Hercules Offshore, Inc. (NASDAQ: HERO) upgraded by analysts.

Cameron (CAM) was upgraded by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $73.00 on the company.

CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) was upgraded by SunTrust (NYSE:STI) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) was upgraded by Dahlman Rose from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $10.00 on the company.

EMC Corp. (EMC) was upgraded by Oppenheimer from a “Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Exelon Co. (EXC) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $50.00 on the company.

Hercules Offshore, Inc. (HERO) was upgraded by Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) from an “Underperform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Price Targets (A) (CXPO) (DAL) (DAR) (DRYS) Weekly Recap

Price targets on shares of Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), Crimson Exploration (NASDAQ: CXPO), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Darling International Inc. (NYSE: DAR) and DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) updated by analysts during the last week.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised their price target on Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) from $56.00 to $65.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Global Hunter Securities raised their price target on Crimson Exploration (CXPO) from $6.20 to $6.52.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on Delta Air Lines (DAL) from $18.50 to $20.00.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised their price target on Darling International Inc. (DAR) to $20.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Goldman Sachs cut their price target on DryShips Inc. (DRYS) to $5.50. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Price Targets on (A) (CXPO) (DAL) (DAR) (DRYS) Updated

Price targets on Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), Crimson Exploration (NASDAQ: CXPO), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Darling International Inc. (NYSE: DAR) and DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) were updated by analysts.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised their price target on Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) from $56.00 to $65.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Global Hunter Securities analysts raised their price target on of Crimson Exploration (CXPO) from $6.20 to $6.52.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on Delta Air Lines (DAL) from $18.50 to $20.00.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised their price target on Darling International Inc. (DAR) to $20.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Goldman Sachs cut their price target on DryShips Inc. (DRYS) to $5.50. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Price Targets on (A) (CXPO) (DAL) (DAR) (DRYS) Updated

Price targets on Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), Crimson Exploration (NASDAQ: CXPO), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Darling International Inc. (NYSE: DAR) and DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) were updated by analysts.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised their price target on Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) from $56.00 to $65.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Global Hunter Securities analysts raised their price target on of Crimson Exploration (CXPO) from $6.20 to $6.52.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on Delta Air Lines (DAL) from $18.50 to $20.00.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised their price target on Darling International Inc. (DAR) to $20.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Goldman Sachs cut their price target on DryShips Inc. (DRYS) to $5.50. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Ratings of (DAL) (ENDP) (FLEX) (GPRO) (HP) Downgraded

Analysts downgraded ratings of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENDP), Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX), Gen-Probe Incorporated (NASDAQ: GPRO) and Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP) today.

Capstone downgraded Delta Air Lines (DAL) from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.

Duncan Williams downgraded Endo Pharmaceuticals (ENDP) to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $51.00 on the company.

Argus analysts downgraded Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Gleacher & Co. downgraded Gen-Probe Incorporated (GPRO) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating.

Canaccord Genuity downgraded Helmerich & Payne (HP) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Delta (DEL) (LCC) (UAL) (AMR) Lose Over $1 Billion in First Quarter

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DEL), US Airways (NYSE:LCC), United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL) and AMR Corp. (NYSE:AMR) lose over $1 billion combined in first quarter. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was able to generate a small $5 million profit.

Oddly enough, shares of the companies jumped after earnings reports Tuesday, as results were expected to be even worse than that. Delta ended up losing $318 million, according to its Tuesday report. US Airways Group lost $114 in the quarter.

The vast majority of the blame for the dismal performance of the industry is the surge in the costs of jet fuel in the quarter. Even after numerous fare increases, Delta said it only covered about 70 percent increase in fuel prices.

Overall, losses in the quarter for the four companies came in a $100 million more than last year. Fuel spending soared to almost $1.9 billion, an increase of 28 percent.

The major way to deal with the challenges by the airlines is to cut back on flights and park some planes, which they are all doing.

AMR closed Tuesday at $5.74, gaining $0.17, or 3.05 percent. United Continental ended the day at $22.58, up $0.55, or 2.50 percent. US Airways closed the session at $8.80, rising $0.52, or 6.28 percent. Delta closed at $9.99, soaring $0.99, or 11 percent.

No Earnings Love for Southwest (LUV)

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) got no love today from its earnings report, as the company reported net income in the first quarter below analysts’ estimates.

Net income for Southwest Airlines dropped to $5 million, or 1 cent a share, against $11 million or 1 cent a share last year in the same quarter, a drop of 54.5 percent.

Revenue for the quarter jumpted to $3.1 billion, an 18 percent boost.

Analysts on average had been looking for a gain of 3 cents a share.

Chairman, CEO and President Gary C. Kelly, said, “While escalating jet fuel prices and inclement weather challenged our first quarter profitability, our people prevailed.”

The airline's major competitors include Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK), AMR Corporation (NYSE:AMR), Delta Air Lines(NYSE:DAL), United Continental (NYSE:UAL), US Airways (NYSE:LCC), AirTran Holdings (NYSE:AAI) and JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU).

Southwest Airlines was trading at $11.44, down $0.19, or 1.63 percent, as of 11:55 AM EDT

Airlines (DAL) (UAL) (AMR) Jump on Lower Oil

The drop in crude oil prices today gave the airline sector a needed breather, as shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL) and AMR Corp. (NYSE:AMR) were all making big upward moves in response to the positive move.

Crude prices were trading a little over $106 a barrel after closing on Friday over $112 a barrel.

The NYSE Arca Airline Index was also up today by 1.7 percent

AMR Corporation was trading at $5.895, up $0.1150, or 1.99 percent, as of 2:48 PM EDT. United Continental Holdings Inc. was at $21.81, gaining $1.28, or 6.26 percent. Delta Air Lines was trading at $9.94, rising 0.51, or 5.46 percent.

United (UAL) (DAL) (AMR) (JBLU) (LCC) Plunge on Slow Demand, High Fuel Costs

The high cost of fuel for aircraft and rising gasoline costs for vehicles has the airline industry once again in turmoil and searching for answers, as shares of airlines like United Continental (UAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL), AMR (AMR), JetBlue Airways (JBLU) and US Airways Group (LCC) are plunging.

Other factors for airlines with strong exposure to the Japanese market are also part of the problem, although there was a slowdown before that, although the earthquake has exasperated it.

Consumers and businesses start to take notice when gasoline prices begin to approach $4 a gallon, as they are now, and there is a tightening of spending in response.

Add to that an endless stream of price hikes by the airlines in response to higher costs and you have a situation which is and will continue to devastate the industry.

In March, the International Air Transport Association slashed its full-year profit outlook for the industry to $8.6 billion from $9.1 billion, and boosted its assumption that oil prices for the year will average $96 a barrel.

The lobbying group also said that for every dollar increase in the average price of a barrel of oil annually, airlines face an additional $1.6 billion in fuel costs.

It appears airlines have hit a top in successfully being able to raise prices, an ominous sign for them going forward.

US Airways was trading at $7.86, falling $0.38, or 4.61 percent, as of 2:29 PM EDT. JetBlue Airways was trading at $5.83, dropping $0.29, or 4.74 percent. AMR was at $5.7450, down $0.295, or 4.88 percent. Delta Air Lines was trading at $8.95, declining $0.45, or 4.84 percent. United Continental Holdings was at $19.51, down $1.49, or 7.10 percent.

JPMorgan (JPM) Down on (NAV) (PFG) (VLY)

Even though JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) downgraded the consumer discretionary sector from "Overweight" to "Neutral," that didn't stop stocks like Ford (NYSE:F) from jumping, as they surpassed General Motors (NYSE:GM) in sales for the month of March. Gambling businesses like Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) also went against the grain, as they have been rising on news gambling revenue in Macau soared.

The reasoning JPMorgan had behind the downgrading of the consumer discretionary sector, which they view as a short-term event, was that it has been overall "structurally weaker" for some time. They also see economic momentum starting to slow down while the sector continues to have high valuations.

As for other sectors, they pointed out some of their favorites and least favorite stocks, with their worst ones including Valley National (NYSE:VLY), Navistar (NYSE:NAV) and Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG).

Stocks that found favor with JPMorgan, among a number of them, include Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD), Aetna (NYSE:AET), Cigna (NYSE:CI), Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL), UAL (NYSE:UAL), Medco Health Solutions (NYSE:MHS) and Life Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:LIFE).

Airlines Jump (DAL) (LCC) (AMR) (UAL) as Crude Drops

Shares of airlines United Continental (NYSE:UAL), US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE:LCC), AMR Corp. (NYSE:AMR) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) are all moving up big today as crude oil drops on easing tensions in the Middle East.

WTI April 11 contracts fell $0.51 to $100.91 a barrel in morning trading on the Comex.

This comes on the heels of news the Libyan Prime Minister has called for a cease fire after the announcement from the UN Security Council that it has approved a no-fly zone over Libya.

Fears have temporarily been allayed on concerns oil exports would decline as events escalated.

United Continental was trading at $22.96, gaining $0.79, or 3.56 percent, as of 11:34 AM EDT. AMR Corporation was up to $6.62, up $0.27, or 4.25 percent. US Airways Group was at $9.00, rising $0.51, or 6.01 percent. Delta Air Lines Inc. was at $10.27, gaining $0.41, or 4.16 percent.

Morgan Stanley (MS) Likes (MSFT)(BAC)(AKS)(PEP), Among Laggards

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) released a list of stock laggards today in a report, with parameters of trailing their respective sectors by at least 10 percent over the last six months.

Among the shares they recommend buying in the group are Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), down 15.1%; Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), down 7.6%; AK Steel Holdings (NYSE:AKS), down 15%; PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), down 10.9%; Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR), down 15.7%; Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), down 14.2%; and Talbots (NYSE:TLB), down 67.1%.

All of the stocks listed above have ratings of "Equal Weight" or "Overweight."

Morgan Stanley said a strategy of acquiring only laggards — rebalancing every month to buy the worst-performing quintile in the S&P 1500 on a trailing six-month basis — would have resulted in a 60% gain since January 2007, better than the S&P 500.




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US Airways (LCC) Worst Airline for Delays

Among the long airline carriers, US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE:LCC) is ranked the worst as far as delays go, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Next in line for the dubious honor are Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) and AirTran Airways (NYSE:AAI), which were tied for second-worst in the unwanted category.

Ranking decisions were based on how long a flight on the tarmac was delayed as measured by percentages. Parameters were for percentage of flights delayed for two hours or more.

As for on-time arrivals, US Airways came in at sixth place, with a percentage rate of 78.4 percent.

US Airways Group was trading at $9.04, gaining $0.74, or 8.92 percent, as of 12:11 PM EST.

Southwest (LUV) Joins (DAL), (JBLU), (AAI), in Boosting Fares

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) is the latest of the numerous airlines to boost fares in response to rising fuel costs, joining JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU), AirTran (NYSE:AAI), Delta (NYSE:DAL) and Virgin America.

Domestic round-trip airfares were increased by Southwest by $10.

Jet fuel prices have jumped over than 50 percent in the last year to more than $3 a gallon, although the majority of airlines have offset some of the boost in prices via hedging - where they're basically paying extra to lock in the top price they'll pay for some of their fuel.

After Southwest announced its rate hike, competitors in the same markets raised their prices as well.

Southwest was trading at $11.75, down $0.05, or 0.42 percent, as of 2:44 PM EST.

US Airways (LCC), AMR (AMR), Delta (DAL), United Continental (UAL), JetBlue (JBLU) Remain Under Pressure on Rising Crude Prices

Shares of airlines like US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE:LCC), AMR Corp. (NYSE:AMR), Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL), United Continental Holdings (NYSE:UAL) and JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ:JBLU) continue to be under pressure as crude prices are at their highest levels in over two years.

Unrest and the resultant uncertainty in the Middle East is driving oil prices up.

The AMEX AIRLINE INDEX (AMEX:XAL) closed the week down as well, finishing at $42.29, down $0.57, or 1.33 percent.

A boost in fuel prices will pressure margins and earnings for airlines, as they still struggle for consolidation and balance after the U.S. recession through 2009 - 10, and following the previous surge in oil prices above $100 a barrel in mid-2008.

US Airways closed Friday at $8.28, down $0.08, or 0.96 percent. AMR closed at $6.14, falling 0.25, or 3.91 percent. JetBlue ended the session at $5.545, dropping $0.08, or 1.42 percent. Delta closed the day at $9.91, down $0.35, or 3.41 percent. United Continental closed at $22.26, falling $0.77, or 3.34 percent.

Delta Air Lines' (DAL) Traffic Nudges Up

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) announced traffic for February increased slightly by 1.4 percent, but fast expansion at the company still increased the number of empty seats.

That could be the reason Delta downwardly revised it capacity for 2011 recently, although they still see growth for the year, but not at the levels they originally thought.

Domestic traffic dropped 0.2 percent in February, while international traffic jumped 4 percent. The main Delta brand saw traffic increase 1.5 percent, but miles flown on regional affiliates such as Delta Express, which don't fly internationally, fell 6.4 percent.

The number of miles flown by paying customes was up from February 2010, reaching 12.66 billion miles; an increase from 12.49 billion.

The increase in Delta's traffic was offset by too many additional seats for sale. Capacity jumped 6.1 percent, to 17.19 billion available seat miles. A seat mile is one seat flown one mile. Airlines can add capacity by increaing the number of flights, using larger aircraft or flying longer distances.

Capacity on international flights grew by 12.5 percent, as that is where the higher demand is for Delta at this time.

Delta closed Thursday at $10.26, up $0.11, or 1.08 percent.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) Acquiring MD-90 Jets From Japan Airlines

In a deal with Japan Airlines Corp., Delta Air Lines (DAL) announced it will be purchasing nine used MD-90 jets from the company in order to replace aging DC-9s.

Douglas Runte, a managing director at Piper Jaffray & Co., noted, “MD-90s have appraised values of $5 million to $9 million, depending on vintage, and it is highly unlikely that Delta would be paying more than that range for the Japan Airlines aircraft.”

Saying the MD-90 jets are a “very capital-efficient aircraft,” President Ed Bastian said in the latter part of 2010 that the company has plans to buy close to 50 of the used jets over the next couple of years.

Once the planes have been refurbished, deliveries to Delta should start in January 2012.

Delta was trading at $10.16, up $0.01, or 0.10 percent, as of 12:18 PM EST.

US Airways (LCC), Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Continental (UAL) Plummet on Rising Fuel Cost Concerns

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), United Continental (NYSE:UAL) and US Airways Group (NYSE:LCC) all plunged Tuesday as the airlines aren't able to pass on rising costs to consumers, with fuel costs continuing to rise.

With Middle East tensions escalating, it's unknown how deeply the events could ultimately impact the price of fuel and the airlines, who will be stuck trying to figure out how high they can raise price in an atmosphere of austerity.

WTI crude futures closed in on $100 a barrel level for April 11 contracts, reaching as high as $99.77 on the Comex. The news is devastating for airlines, who are still haven't recovered from the impact of the recession.

Already in 2011 jet fuel prices have climbed 20 percent, and five rate increases have already been implemented by the airlines, creating uncertainty as to how much further they can go.

That will ultimately reflect in margins and earnings, as they'll have to slowly feel their way through the process in order not to alienate customers.

Delta closed Tuesday at $10.61, falling $0.63, or 5.60 percent. United Continental closed at $23.02, dropping $1.02, or 4.24 percent. US Airways plunged to $7.95, losing $0.66, or 7.67 percent.

Citigroup (C) Helping Delta Air Lines (DAL) Land $250 Million Loan

Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL), the world’s second-largest carrier, is seeking a $250 million five-year term loan to replace existing debt, according to a person familiar with the deal.

Price guidance on the loan is 3.25 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate, with a 1.25 percent minimum on the lending benchmark, said the person, who declined to be identified because the terms are private. The loan is expected to price at 99.5 cents on the dollar.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is the lead arranger on the loan, according to the person. Commitments from investors are due March 2.

United Airlines and Continental Airlines merged in October to create United Continental Holdings Inc., surpassing Delta as the world’s biggest carrier.



Source: BusinessWeek