Norfolk (NSC) (NVTL) (RHT) (FSC) (SWN) (MCRS) Ratings, Price Targets

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), Novatel Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: NVTL), Red Hat (NYSE: RHT), Fifth Street Finance (NYSE: FSC), Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN) and Micros Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MCRS) ratings and price targets.

Zacks Investment Research reiterated its “Outperform” rating on Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC). They have a price target of $83.00 on the company.

Zacks Investment Research reiterated its “Neutral” rating on Novatel Wireless Inc. (NVTL). They have a price target of $3.00 on the firm.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated its “Hold” rating on Red Hat (RHT). They have a price target of $48.00 on the firm.

Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on Fifth Street Finance (FSC). They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $11.00 on the firm.

Southwestern Energy (SWN) had its price target lowered by Stifel Nicolaus from $45.00 to $40.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the firm.

Micros Systems Inc. (MCRS) was upgraded by RBC Capital to an “Outperform” rating.

Altria (MO) (NVTL) (PCAR) (RTIX) (AIZ) (TAC) Upgraded

Altria Group (NYSE: MO), Novatel Wireless Inc (NASDAQ: NVTL), PACCAR (NASDAQ: PCAR), RTI Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ: RTIX), Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ) and TransAlta Co. (NYSE: TAC) upgraded by analysts.

Altria Group (MO) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $29.00 on the company.

Novatel Wireless Inc. (NVTL) was upgraded by Brigantine from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target $6.00 on the company.

PACCAR (PCAR) was upgraded by McAdams Wright Ragen from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $60.00 on the company.

RTI Biologics Inc. (RTIX) was upgraded by The Benchmark Company from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $4.00 on the company.

Assurant, Inc. (AIZ) was upgraded by Sterne Agee from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $46.00 on the company, up from $43.00.

TransAlta Co. (TAC) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

NutriSystem (NTRI), Novatel Wireless, (NVTL) MedAssets, (MDAS) Crushed on Weak Guidance, Performance

NutriSystem (NASDAQ:NTRI), Novatel Wireless, (NASDAQ:NVTL) MedAssets and (NASDAQ:MDAS) were all getting hammered on weak guidance and/or performance.

Guidance continues to be the story this earnings season, as companies with great last quarters are punished if they hint that's not going to be the case going forward.

Novatel Wireless (NVTL) was 16.8% lower after hours; reporting a fourth quarter adj-EPS of breakeven, $0.01 lower than the analyst estimate of $0.01. Revenue for the quarter was at $119.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $114.68 million. Guidance was for first quarter adj-loss of 36-48 cents, vs. the consensus of a 4 cents gain. Sales are expected to reach $60-$80 million, vs. the Street estimate of $103.8 million.

NutriSystem (NTRI) dropped by 28.3% after hours, reporting fourth quarter EPS of $0.25, level with the analyst estimate of $0.25. Revenue for the quarter came in at $87.9 million versus the consensus estimate of $100.64 million. Guidance if for a first quarter loss of $0.30-$0.35, versus the consensus of $0.30 profit. The company sees a full year 2011 profit of $0.40-$0.50, versus the consensus of $1.14.

MedAssets (MDAS) fell 16% after reporting fourth quarter EPS of $0.18, $0.04 lower than the analyst estimate of $0.22. Revenue for the quarter came in at $106.9 million versus the consensus estimate of $122.17 million.

Novatel (NASDAQ:NVTL) Lands Verizon (NYSE:VZ), Sprint (NYSE:S)

According to Jefferies (NYSE:JEF), Novatel (NASDAQ:NVTL) has landed a deal with Verizon (NYSE:VZ), has one about to go into effect with Sprint, and expects them to announce a deal with an unnamed European carrier sometime soon.

The deal with Sprint, which provides them with their mobile WiFi hotspot products, should replace the existing Overdrive from Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ:SWIR) they now use. That will launch on February 27.

For Verizon, they're expected to provide them with a LTE USB dongle modem that will be smaller and quicker than the one they're now using from LG. It's also expected to be less expensive as well. A MiFi LTE modem is also in the works for Verizon from Novatel in the early part of 2011 too.

Jefferies also noted, "Our checks indicate a European carrier could potentially announce a deal with NVTL in the next couple months for bundling MiFi with tablets."

Novatel was trading at $9.89, gaining $0.15, or 1.54 percent, as of 12:34 PM EST.