Diamond Foods (DMND) (ROSE) (DFR) (CEDC) (PCBK) (PZZI) Biggest NASDAQ Losers

Diamond Foods (NASDAQ:DMND), Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSE), Deerfield Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:DFR), Central European Distribution Corp. (NASDAQ:CEDC), Pacific Continental Co. (NASDAQ:PCBK) and Pizza Inn (NASDAQ:PZZI) were the biggest losers on the NASDAQ, Monday, December 12.

Diamond Foods (DMND) ended the session down 22.66 percent, closing at $31.37. They traded as high in a range of $30.40 to $34.91. A total of 12,852,677 shares changed hands.

Rosetta Resources Inc. (ROSE) ended the session down 12.17 percent, closing at $44.40. They traded as high in a range of $43.31 to $48.01. A total of 2,852,170 shares changed hands.

Deerfield Capital Corp. (DFR) ended the session down 11.97 percent, closing at $4.34. They traded as high in a range of $4.33 to $4.82. A total of 11,403 shares changed hands.

Central European Distribution Corp. (CEDC) ended the session down 11.80 percent, closing at $5.01. They traded as high in a range of $4.85 to $5.60. A total of 2,351,988 shares changed hands.

Pacific Continental Co. (PCBK) ended the session down 11.41 percent, closing at $8.62. They traded as high in a range of $8.54 to $9.10. A total of 25,177 shares changed hands.

Pizza Inn (PZZI) ended the session down 10.99 percent, closing at $5.67. They traded as high in a range of $5.12 to $6.21. A total of 745,267 shares changed hands.

Conoco (COP) (CY) (DMND) (ENSG) (FLIR) Downgraded

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Cypress Semi (NYSE: CY), Diamond Foods (NASDAQ: DMND), Ensign Group Inc (NASDAQ: ENSG) and FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) were downgraded by analysts.

ConocoPhillips (COP) was downgraded by Howard Weil from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.

Cypress Semi (CY) was downgraded by Capstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Diamond Foods (DMND) was downgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Ensign Group Inc (ENSG) was downgraded by JMP Securities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.

FLIR Systems, Inc. (FLIR) was downgraded by Morgan Keegan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating. They have a price target of $29.00 on the company, down from $38.00.

Coverage on (BLL) (CCK) (DELL) (DMND) (EMC) Initiated

Coverage on shares of Ball Co. (NYSE: BLL), Crown Cork & Seal (NYSE: CCK), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Diamond Foods (NASDAQ: DMND) and EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) was initiated by analysts.

Williams Capital initiated coverage on Ball Co. (BLL). They placed an “outperform” rating and a price target of $45.00 on the company.

Williams Capital initiated coverage on Crown Cork & Seal (CCK). They placed an “outperform” rating and a price target of $46.00 on the company.

Auriga initiated coverage on Dell Inc. (DELL). They placed a “buy” rating and a price target of $25.00 on the company.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) initiated coverage on Diamond Foods (DMND). They placed a “buy” rating and a price target of $75.00 on the company.

Auriga initiated coverage on EMC Corp. (EMC). They placed a “hold” rating and a price target of $27.00 on the company.

Ratings on (C) (DMND) (HES) (LEAP) (SRE) Ugraded

Ratings on shares of Citigroup (NYSE: C), Diamond Foods (NASDAQ: DMND), Hess Corp (NYSE: HES), Leap Wireless (NASDAQ: LEAP) and Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) were upgraded by analysts.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) upgraded Citigroup (C) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating. They have a price target of $6.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) upgraded Diamond Foods (DMND) to a “buy” rating.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) upgraded Diamond Foods (DMND) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $22.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hess Corp (HES) to an “overweight” rating. They have a price target $105.00 on the company.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) upgraded Leap Wireless (LEAP) to a “hold” rating. They have a price target $18.00 on the company, up from $14.00.

Jefferies upgraded Sempra Energy (SRE). They have a price target of $60.50 on the company, up from $59.60.

P&G (PG) Merging Pringles Into Diamond Foods (DMND)

In a deal valued at $2.35 billion, The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) and Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) announced they've signed an agreement to merge the Pringles unit into Diamond Foods.

Terms of the deal include $1.5 billion in Diamond common stock, which includes 29.1 million shares for approximately 57 percent of the outstanding shares of the combined company, and the assumption of $850 million of debt held by Pringles. Diamond's current shareholders would continue to own approximately 43 percent of the combined company.

Michael Mendes, Chairman, President and CEO of Diamond Foods, said, "Pringles is an iconic, billion dollar snack brand with significant global manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure. Our plan is to build upon the brand equity Pringles has established in over 140 countries. This strategic combination will create an independent, global leader in the snack industry with a focus on quality and innovative products. Not only is this combination immediately accretive, it also creates a platform that we believe will allow us to build shareholder value for years to come."

Estimated earnings before EBITDA, including $25 million in synergies, will come in at about $398 million to $410 million.

T.I. (TXN), Boston Beer (SAM) Diamond Foods (DMND) Drop on Earnings Misses

Shares of Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), Boston Beer Co. (NYSE:SAM) Diamond Foods (NASDAQ:DMND) all dropped in after hours trading on earnings misses.

Texas Instruments was the least drop in share price, as they missed their numbers, but only narrowly.

Texas Instruments said it now estimates revenue be in the range of $3.34 billion to $3.48 billion for the first quarter, compared with a previous estimated range of $3.27 billion to $3.55 billion. It also now expects to earn 56 cents to 60 cents a share, compared with a previous projection of 54 cents to 62 cents a share. Guidance was also lowered by T.I.

Diamond Foods plummeted over 6 percent as the company said fiscal second-quarter revenue increased from $184.2 million to $257.6 million. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking revenue of $265.1 million.

Diamond also raised its guidance for estimated adjusted full-year earnings by 2 cents to a range of $2.45 to $2.51 a share, falling to the low end of expectations.

Shares of Boston Beer Co. posted fourth-quarter net income of $12.2 million, or 87 cents a share, on revenue of $126.3 million. Analysts had been looking for 90 cents a share on revenue of $118.5 million.

Boston Beer 2011 adjusted earnings guidance was $3.45 to $3.95 a share, compared with consensus of $3.95 a share.

Diamond Foods was trading after hours at $47.80, losing $3.21, or 6.29 percent. Texas Instruments was trading after hours $35.64, down $0.22, or 0.61 percent. Boston Beer was at $85.50, down $8.51, or 9.05 percent.

Diamond Foods (NASDAQ:DMND) Emerald and Kettle Long-term Growth Prospects Look Good

Prospects for Diamond Foods (NASDAQ:DMND) Emerald and Kettle's long-term growth look good, says KeyBanc, and they believe Diamond will have another good year.

KeyBanc said, "We are raising our price target on BUY-rated Diamond Foods to $60 to reflect our continued optimism regarding Emerald and Kettle's long-term growth prospects and our belief that the Company will have another good year in FY11. We believe that DMND has the potential to earn $4.50 in EPS by FY14 (implying a four-year CAGR of 24%) owing to the continued growth of its Emerald brand and the addition of Kettle. The focus of this note is on the drivers of our long-term sales and EPS targets and on our updated valuation framework."

KeyBanc maintains a "Buy" rating on Diamond Foods, which closed Wednesday at $52.01, down $0.19, or 0.36 percent. KeyBanc raised their price target on Diamond from $52 to $60.