Fossil (FOSL) (LIFE) (CELG) (FDO) (GM) (CSTR) Ratings, Price Targets

Fossil (NASDAQ: FOSL), Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE), Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG), Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR) ratings and price targets.

Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) is now covered by Cantor Fitzgerald. They have a “Hold” rating on the company.

Celgene (CELG) had its “Outperform” rating reiterated by Robert W. Baird.

Fossil (FOSL) is now covered by KeyBanc. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO) had its “Neutral” rating reiterated by analysts at Nomura.

General Motors (GM) had its “Overweight” rating reiterated by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).

Coinstar (CSTR) had its “Overweight” rating reiterated by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC).

Apollo (APOL) (FDO) (ALNY) (GM) (GPRO) (ISRG) Ratings, Price Targets

Apollo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO), Alnylam Pharma (NASDAQ: ALNY), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Gen-Probe Incorporated (NASDAQ: GPRO) and Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) ratings and price targets.

Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL) had its “Neutral” rating reiterated by Sterne Agee.

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO) had its “Neutral” rating reiterated by Nomura (NYSE:NMR).

Alnylam Pharma (ALNY) had its “Buy” rating reiterated by Needham & Company.

General Motors (GM) had its “Overweight” rating reiterated by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM).

Gen-Probe Incorporated (GPRO) is now covered by ThinkEquity. They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) is now covered by ThinkEquity. They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Limited (LTD) (URBN) (COH) (TIF) (DLTR) (FDO) Get New Coverage

Limited Brands (NYSE:LTD), Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN), Coach (NYSE:COH), Tiffany & Co (NYSE:TIF), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) and Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) getting new coverage from analysts.

Collins Stewart initiated coverage on Limited Brands (LTD). They placed a "Neutral" rating on the company.

Collins Stewart initiated coverage on Urban Outfitters (URBN). They placed a "Neutral" rating on the company.

Collins Stewart initiated coverage on Coach (COH). They placed a "Neutral" rating on the company

Collins Stewart initiated coverage on Tiffany & Co (TIF. They placed a "Neutral" rating on the company

Collins Stewart initiated coverage on Dollar Tree (DLTR). They placed a "Neutral" rating on the company

Collins Stewart initiated coverage on Family Dollar (FDO). They placed a "Neutral" rating on the company

Noble (NBL) (NDRO) (NSC) (EZPW) (FBHS) (FDO) Ratings, Price Targets

Noble Energy (NBL), Enduro Royalty Trust (NDRO), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), EZCORP, Inc. (EZPW), Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS) and Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO) ratings and price targets.

Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Noble Energy (NBL). They placed a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $103.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) initiated coverage on Enduro Royalty Trust (NDRO). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $24.00 on the company.

RBC Capital downgraded Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) from an “Outperform” rating to a “Sector Perform” rating.

Nomura initiated coverage on EZCORP, Inc. (EZPW). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS). They placed a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO) to $60.00.

Gildan (GIL) (FFIV) (UBSI) (EW) (EXAS) (FDO) Upgraded

Gildan Activewear (NYSE: GIL), F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV), United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBSI), Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW), EXACT Sciences Co. (NASDAQ: EXAS) and Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO) upgraded by analysts.

F5 Networks (FFIV) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Sell” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $94.00 on the company.

United Bankshares, Inc. (UBSI) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Edwards Lifesciences (EW) was upgraded by Rodman & Renshaw from an “Underperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $66.00 on the company.

Gildan Activewear (GIL) was upgraded by FBR Capital from an “Underperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $27.00 on the company.

EXACT Sciences Co. (EXAS) was upgraded by Rodman & Renshaw from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $12.00 on the company, up from $7.00.

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $60.00 on the company.

Dividends on (CMCSA) (COHU) (FDO) (GKSR) (NYSE:M) Declared

Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Cohu Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU), Family Dollar Stores (NYSE:FDO), G & K Services Cl'A' (NASDAQ:GKSR) and Macy's Inc. M (NYSE:M) declare dividends.

The Board of Directors of Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.1125 per share payable 7/27/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 7/6/11.

The Board of Directors of Cohu Inc. (COHU) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.06 per share payable 8/5/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/24/11.

The Board of Directors of Family Dollar Stores (FDO) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.18 per share payable 7/15/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/15/11.

The Board of Directors of G & K Services Cl'A' (GKSR) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.095 per share payable 6/20/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 5/20/11.

The Board of Directors of Macy's Inc. (M) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.10 per share payable 7/1/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/15/11.

Ratings on (HINKY) (DLB) (FDO) (FSC) (GPS) Downgraded

Ratings on Heineken (NASDAQ: HINKY), Dolby Labs (NYSE: DLB), Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FDO), Fifth Street Finance (NYSE: FSC) and The Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) downgraded by analysts today.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) downgraded Heineken (HINKY) from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating.

Brigantine downgraded Dolby Labs (DLB) to a “hold” rating.

Cowen downgraded Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO) to a “neutral” rating.

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Fifth Street Finance (FSC) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) downgraded The Gap Inc. (GPS) from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.

Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) EPS Lowered by UBS (NYSE:UBS) But Outlook the Same

Even though UBS (NYSE:UBS) sees higher expenses cutting into margins of Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO), they remain bullish on the company.

UBS said, "We have trimmed our FY2011E (Aug.) EPS to $3.20 from $3.26, reflecting a higher expense cadence for the balance of the year than we previously forecasted owing to sales driving initiatives. Our same-store sales growth of +6% and flattish gross margin expectation remain largely unchanged, as does our estimation that FDO will complete its $750M share buyback in this FY. Our F’12E EPS is trimmed to $3.83 from $3.87, tied to higher SG&A, but we do believe share repurchase will continue aggressively. We remain above-consensus in our EPS est."

UBS maintains a "Buy" rating on Family Dollar Stores Inc., which was trading at $44.65, down $0.34, or 0.76 percent, as of 12:41 PM EST. UBS lowered their price target on Family Dollar from $54 to $52.

Medifast (NYSE:MED), JAKKS Pacific (Nasdaq:JAKK), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR), Dollar Tree (Nasdaq:DLTR), Sotheby's (NYSE:BID) Among Top Picks of Wedbus

In the Consumer/Retail space, Wedbush released its top picks and those that may be a disaster in 2011. Among the top picks are Medifast (NYSE:MED), JAKKS Pacific (Nasdaq:JAKK), Pier 1 Imports (NYSE:PIR), Dollar Tree (Nasdaq:DLTR) and Sotheby's (NYSE:BID)

Particularly noted in the luxury space was Sotheby's, which, along with other luxury retailers, is being watched closely to see if the more affluent are starting to spend again.

Also listed among their favorites were Children's Place (Nasdaq:PLCE), Talbots (NYSE:TLB) and Foot Locker (NYSE:FL).

Those with a good chance of underperforming in 2011 include American Eagle (NYSE:AEO), Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) and Helen of Troy (Nasdaq:HELE).

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) Thinks Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) Will Struggle to Meet Comp Store Guidance

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) said they believe Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) will struggle to meet their comp store sales guidance in the second half of the year.

Jefferies said, "with aggressive share repurchases, we remain concerned about the company's ability to hit its 5%-7% comp store sales guidance in the back half of the year as comparisons get more challenging and as macro conditions continue to get less favorable."

While guidance is achievable for Family Dollar Stores, in the view of Jefferies, their modest growth per square foot within each store will make it difficult when including other factors.

Jefferies maintains their "Hold" rating on Family Dollar, which closed Monday at $50.28, up $0.57, or 1.15 percent. Jefferies increased their price target on them to $44.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), 5 Cents Only (NYSE:NDN), Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO), Big 5 Sporting Goods (Nasdaq:BGFV) Among Retail LBO Possibilities

With consolidation activity increasing in the retail sector, Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) updated their LBO screen, which included companies rated a "Buy" like Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), 5 Cents Only Stores (NYSE:NDN), Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) and Big 5 Sporting Goods (Nasdaq:BGFV).

Companies listed which included a "Hold" on them were RadioShack (NYSE:RSH), OfficeMax (NYSE:OMX) and Bed Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq:BBBY).

All of the stores listed above are in the top 7 from Deutsche LBO screen, and which also would expect to be acquired at a premium of 20 percent or more, other than Family Dollar.

RadioShack, the No. 1 company listed, closed Wednesday at $18.73, losing $0.29, or 1.52 percent. They could attract a bid as high as $30 a share.

Big Five Sporting Goods is No. 2 on the list, which closed Wednesday at $13.12, gaining $0.72, or 5.81 percent. They could received a bid as high as $17 a share.

OfficeMax is No. 3 on the list, and closed Wednesday at $17.91, rising by $0.94, or 5.54 percent. They could be acquired for as high as $22 a share.

Best Buy is No. 4 on Deutsche's list, and closed Wednesday at $44.81, increasing by $0.64, or 1.45 percent. Possible acquisition price for them could be $58 a share.

99 Cents Only Stores is in the No. 5 position, closing at $16.14 Wednesday, gaining $0.41, or 2.61 percent. An possible acquisition price of $20 was placed on them.

Bed Bath & Beyond is No. 6, and they closed at $44.32 Wednesday, rising by $1.59, or 3.72 percent. Possible acquisition price on them is $53.

Last among the top seven is Family Dollar, which closed Wednesday at $50.68, gaining $1.29, or 2.61 percent. Acquisition price for them was listed at $60 a share.