Semtech (SMTC) (SIAL) (ELON) (GMCR) (GOL) (GPOR) Upgraded

Semtech (NASDAQ: SMTC), Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (NASDAQ: SIAL), Echelon Co. (NASDAQ: ELON), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (NYSE: GOL) and Gulfport Energy Co. (NASDAQ: GPOR) were upgraded by analysts.

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (SIAL) was upgraded by CLSA to a “Buy” rating.

Semtech (SMTC) was upgraded by Caris & Co. to an “Above Average” rating.

Echelon Co. (ELON) was upgraded by Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) to an “Outperform” rating.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) was upgraded by William Blair from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOL) was upgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Gulfport Energy Co. (GPOR) was upgraded by Global Hunter Securities from a “Neutral” rating to an “Accumulate” rating. They have a price target of $38.00 on the company.

EPS on (ATVI) (GMCR) (LPX) (MGA) (NVDA) Updated

EPS estimates on Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), Louisiana-Pacific Co. (NYSE: LPX), Magna International Inc. (NYSE: MGA) and NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) updated by analysts.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) raised their EPS estimate on Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI). They have a “buy” rating and a price target of $14.00 on the company.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) raised their EPS estimate on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR). They have a “buy” rating and a price target of $90.00 on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) cut their EPS estimate on Louisiana-Pacific Co. (LPX). They have a “sell” rating and a price target of $7.25 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised their EPS estimate on Magna International Inc. (MGA). They have a “neutral” rating and a price target of $58.00 on the company. That's up from $57.00.

UBS AG raised their EPS estimate on NVIDIA (NVDA). They have a “neutral” rating and a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Price Targets on (FOSL) (GMCR) (GPS) (HANS) (LEA) Updated

Analysts updated their price targets on Fossil (NASDAQ: FOSL), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR), The Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Hansen Natural Co. (NASDAQ: HANS) and Lear Co. (NYSE: LEA) today.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) raised their price target on Fossil (FOSL) from $100.00 to $115.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Canaccord Genuity raised their price target on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) to $97.00.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) cut their price target on The Gap Inc. (GPS) from $25.00 to $22.00. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

Citigroup raised their price target on Hansen Natural Co. (HANS) from $58.00 to $65.00.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised their price target on Lear Co. (LEA) to $50.00. They have an “underweight” rating on the company.

Big Movers (NVEC) (LCAPA) (CMG) (GMCR) (PRAA) on May 6

Among the big, positive movers on Friday, May 6, were NVE Corp. (NVEC), Liberty Media Corp. (LCAPA), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) and Portfolio Recovery (PRAA).

NVE Corp. (NVEC) jumped $2.42, to close at $58.08, a gain of 4.35 percent.

Liberty Media Corp. (LCAPA) was up $2.35 on the day to close at $86.96, a gain of 2.78 percent.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) climbed $2.33 to close at $268.10, a gain of 0.88 percent.

Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) rose $2.21 to close the session at $75.88, a gain of 3.00 percent.

Portfolio Recovery (PRAA) was up $2.17 to end the day at $85.51, a gain of 2.60.

New Highs for (VSEA) (ADGF) (GMCR) (VCLK)

New 52-week highs were recorded by Varian Semiconductor Equipment (NASDAQ:VSEA), Adams Golf, Inc.(NASDAQ:ADGF), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) and ValueClick, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCLK) on May 4.

Varian Semiconductor Equipment (NASDAQ:VSEA) traded in a range of $61.15 - $61.43 before closing at $61.36, $20.81, or 51.32 percent. Varian rose on the announcement they are going to be acquired by Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) for $4.9 billion.

Adams Golf, Inc. (ADGF) traded in a range of $6.50 - $8.04, closing at $7.41, climbing $2.41, or 48.20 percent. Record sales drove the company to its 52-week high.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) traded in a range of $75.00 - $78.45, $75.98, up $11.91, or 18.59 percent. Impressive guidance drove the share price up.

ValueClick, Inc. (VCLK) traded in a range of $18.00 - $19.73, ending the day at $18.05, climbing $1.58, or 9.59 percent. A solid quarter and better guidance for the second quarter drove the share price up.

6 Winners (VSEA) (ADGF) (SGI) (ZSTN) (GMCR) (WOLF) on May 4

The major winners on May 4 were led Varian Semiconductor Equipment (NASDAQ:VSEA), which closed the trading session at $61.36, soaring $20.81, or 51.32 percent. Varian jumped on the news they were going to be acquired by Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) for $4.9 billion.

Next was Adams Golf, Inc.(NASDAQ:ADGF), which ended the day at $7.41, climbing $2.41, or 48.20 percent. The market was responding to record sales in its latest quarter.

Third best performer on May 4 was Silicon Graphics International (NASDAQ:SGI), closing at $20.49, rising $4.01, or 24.33 percent. Beating revenue and earnings estimates for their latest quarter was the catalyst.

Following SGI was ZST Digital Networks, Inc.(NASDAQ:ZSTN), which jumped to $3.47, soaring $0.58, or 20.57 percent. Answering shareholder questions appears to be the catalyst.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) also skyrocketed, closing at $75.98, up $11.91, or 18.59 percent. The catalyst was strong guidance from the company.

Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOLF) was the sixth-best performer, ending the day at $2.71, gaining $0.41, or 17.83 percent. An improved bottom line was the impetus for Great Wolf.

Green Mountain (GMCR), Starbucks (SBUX) Shares Soar on K-Cup Deal

Shares of Green Mountain (NASDAQ:GMCR) and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) are surging today on news the two companies consummated their deal to offer Starbucks coffee and its Tazo tea in Keurig’s K-Cup portion packs.

Starbucks rival Peet’s Coffee & Tea (NASDAQ:PEET), on the other hand, was getting crushed, as realization there was very little likelihood the company will be able to make a K-Cup deal with Green Mountain.

The deal was partially pursued on the part of Starbucks in order to expand its reach in the fast-growing single-cup coffee market and increase distribution.

Peet's was trading at $42.67, down $5.38, or 11.20 percent, as of 12:41 PM EST. Starbucks was trading at $37.60, gaining $3.06, or 8.86 percent. Green Mountain was at $60.50, soaring $16.86, or 38.63 percent.

Morgan Stanley (MS) Boosts Starbucks (SBUX) on Sustainable Growth

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) got a boost in its ratings and share price, as Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) upgraded the company, citing sustainable growth and single-serve market.

Morgan Stanley gave three reasons for the upgrade, "1) Resurrection of unit growth domestically and validation of international operating margins greatly expands global growth opportunities; with a pick up in growth to 4-5%. 2) Likely entry into the single-serve market is a $300-500 million revenue opportunity over the next 2-3 years; our survey work suggests significant pent-up demand for SBUX single-serve coffee. 3) Underappreciated B/S story increases the likelihood of greater cash distribution to shareholders."

Saying 30 percent of current single serve coffee users may switch to Starbucks if offered, shares of single serve coffee retailer Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) dropped.

Starbucks was trading at $33.53, up $0.41, or 1.24 percent, as of 1:19 PM EST. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters dropped $40.93, down $0.82, or 1.96 percent.

Green Mountain Coffee (NASDAQ:GMCR) Growth Looks Good for Several Years

Carried by the broader single-cup coffee brewing market, Green Mountain Coffee (NASDAQ:GMCR) appears poised for several years of fast growth before the market matures.

Canaccord said, "We expect several years of rapid growth before household penetration rates of single-cup coffee brewing begin to mature and believe EPS can exceed $1 for each 5% market penetration...Raising F2011 revenue estimate to $2.4B from $1.9B, reflecting over $100M increase to core business forecast plus net contribution from Van Houtte...Reducing F2011 EPS estimate to $1.11 from $1.15 for deal dilution, but increasing estimate ex-amortization to $1.29 from $1.25 as amortization is driver of $0.04 EPS dilution."

Canaccord Genuity maintains a "Buy" on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which closed Monday at $33.05, up $1.21, or 3.80 percent. Canaccord raised their price target on them from $40 to $42.

Green Mountain Coffee (Nasdaq:GMCR) Riding the Trend

One gets a little concerned when you hear comments about a company like Canaccord Genuity on Green Mountain Coffee (Nasdaq:GMCR), when they said things EPS guidance mean little because of the trend Green Mountain is riding.

Canaccord said, "Green Mountain reported a significantly stronger fourth quarter with robust top-line trends and consumer demand. Revenue of $373 million beat Canaccord Genuity Consumer Products Analyst Scott Van Winkle’s $353-million estimate and consensus of $359 million. EPS was $0.22 vs. Van Winkle’s $0.19 estimate and consensus of $0.20, but essentially in line considering a lower-than-expected tax rate. Brewer shipments were up 67% to 1.2 million compared to Van Winkle’s estimate of 1.0 million and 719,000 a year ago. However, investors were disappointed by Green Mountain’s guidance as higher commodity costs trip up broad investor expectation of accretion from a price increase. Revenue guidance for F11 was increased and brewer sales trends are tracking ahead of expectations. As such, lowering the lower end of the EPS guidance range to $1.19- 1.29 (from $1.24-1.29) was an unexpected outcome. A lower-than-expected gross margin is the culprit, and there are really two explanations for this: 1) first, commodity costs are above expectations. While the rally in green coffee isn’t a surprise to anyone, Van Winkle suspects investors thought, as he did, that the price increase would fully offset the higher prices and that by Q2 or Q3, the company’s pricing would actually be margin accretive; 2) Additionally, warranty and sales return expense were higher in Q4, negatively impacting the gross margin 1-2 percentage points, and is assumed to remain this high in guidance. The warranty and return expense isn’t above industry averages, but is above Green Mountain’s historical trend and is undoubtedly a growing pain. Van Winkle notes that shares were very weak on Friday; this action provides an opportunity, in his opinion, as he believes there are numerous catalysts materializing over the coming year to drive the shares higher. In simplest terms, the business is on fire and no matter what the EPS guidance says at this juncture of the company’s growth rate, the key takeaways are that trends are hot and the company is preparing for them to get hotter as indicated by its enormous capital expenditure forecast of $215-260 million, or nearly double the 2010 level. Obviously, the expectations are that tons more K-cup packaging lines will be needed, which implies brewer shipment strength and a strong business outlook."

Green Mountain closed Monday at $31.96, down $1.85, or 5.47 percent. Obviously not everyone joined Canaccord's bandwagon.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR) Fundamentals As Good As They've Been

Janney Montgomery Scott said that after guidance in some areas of the company were lowered at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR) by management, it's sure to result in some pullback. But they assert investors should buy on the lows when they occur, as the underlying fundamentals are as good as they've ever been for the company.

"... management pulled back on some guidance metrics, undoubtedly driven by the current events, which will likely be interpreted negatively. We believe the weakness in the stock after hours provides an attractive entry point with a fundamental backdrop that has never been better...We are raising our FY11 EPS estimate to $1.24 (from $1.23); management lowered the bottom end of its FY11 EPS guidance by a nickel ($1.19 to $1.29). We are introducing our FY12 EPS estimate of $2.00," said Janney.

Janney Montgomery Scott reiterates a "Buy" rating on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which closed Friday at $33.81, down $3.61, or 9,65 percent. Janney has a price target of $50 on them.