Crimson (CXPO) (TWC) (CORT) (DDMG) (AZN) (CFN) Ratings, Price Targets

Crimson Exploration (NASDAQ: CXPO), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ: CORT), Digital Domain Media Group (NASDAQ: DDMG), AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and CareFusion Co. (NYSE: CFN) ratings and price targets.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) had its “buy” rating reiterated by Nomura (NYSE:NMR).

Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated (CORT) is now covered by BioLogic Equity Research. They have a “sell” rating on the firm.

Digital Domain Media Group (DDMG) is now covered by Maxim Group. They have a “buy” rating and a price target of $9.00 on the firm.

Crimson Exploration (CXPO) had its price target raised by Rodman & Renshaw to $3.75.

AstraZeneca (AZN) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating.

CareFusion Co. (CFN) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating.

Akorn (AKRX) (SNPS) (TSRX) (TWC) (UAL) (ALNY) Ratings Reiterated

Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX), Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS), Trius Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TSRX), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), United Continental (NYSE: UAL) and Alnylam Pharma (NASDAQ: ALNY) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) reiterated its "Overweight" rating on Akorn, Inc. (AKRX). They have a price target of $12.00 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterated its "Overweight" rating on Synopsys Inc. (SNPS). They have a price target of $33.00 on the company.

Canaccord Genuity reiterated its "Buy" rating on Trius Therapeutics Inc. (TSRX). They have a price target of $12.00 on the company.

Nomura reiterated its "Buy" rating on Time Warner Cable (TWC).

Sterne Agee reiterated its "Buy" rating on United Continental (UAL). They have a price target of $38.00 on the company.

Rodman & Renshaw reiterated its "Outperform" rating on Alnylam Pharma (ALNY).

Nestle (NSRGY) (DIS) (TWC) (ALB) (DTV) (MMI) Downgraded

Nestle (OTC: NSRGY), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Albemarle Co. (NYSE: ALB), DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) and Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) downgraded by analysts.

Walt Disney (DIS) was downgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $42.00 on the company.

Nestle (NSRGY) was downgraded by BNP Paribas from an “Outperform” rating to an “Underperform” rating.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) was downgraded by Macquarie from an “Outperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Albemarle Co. (ALB) was downgraded by Oppenheimer from a “Perform” rating to an “Underperform” rating.

DirecTV (DTV) was downgraded by Bank of America from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $53.00 on the company.

Motorola Mobility (MMI) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Lowe’s (LOW) (BBY) (CHS) (HD) (PSUN) (TSCO) (TWC) Price Targets Changed

Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW), Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY), Chico’s (NYSE: CHS), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN), Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Lowe’s (LOW) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $26.00 to $23.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $32.00 to $27.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Chico’s (CHS) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $16.00 to $13.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Home Depot (HD) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $41.00 to $34.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (PSUN) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $4.00 to $2.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $78.00 to $69.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) had its price target lowered by Wunderlich from $80.00 to $75.00. They have a “Hold” rating on the company.

Thoratec (THOR) (THQI) (TUP) (TWC) (UTX) Ratings Reiterated

Thoratec (NASDAQ:THOR), THQ Inc (NASDAQ: THQI), Tupperware Brands Co. (NYSE: TUP), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and United Technologies Co. (NYSE: UTX) reiterated by analysts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterated a "Neutral" rating on Thoratec (THOR).

BMC Equities Research reiterated a "Buy" rating on THQ Inc (THQI). They have a price target of $5.50 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "Overweight" rating on Tupperware Brands. They have a price target of $80.00 on the company.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated a "Buy" rating on Time Warner Cable (TWC).

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reiterated an "Equal Weight on United Technologies Co. (UTX).

US Bancorp (USB) (HBI) (NTRS) (ST) (TCBI) (TWC) Price Targets Changed

US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI), Northern Trust Co. (NASDAQ: NTRS), Sensata Tech (NYSE: ST), Texas Capital (NASDAQ: TCBI) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) had their price targets adjusted by analysts.

US Bancorp (USB) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $31.00 to $33.00. They have an “overweight” rating on the company.

Hanesbrands (HBI) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $30.00 to $35.00. They have an “equal weight” rating on the company.

Northern Trust Co. (NTRS) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $65.00 to $60.00. They have an “equal weight” rating on the company.

Sensata Tech (ST) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $40.00 to $42.00. They have an “overweight” rating on the company.

Texas Capital (TCBI) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $26.00 to $28.00. They have an “equal weight” rating on the company.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $75.00 to $80.00. They have an “equal weight” rating on the company.

Comcast (CMCSA) (DTV) (N) (TWC) (ARBA) Get New Coverage from Analysts

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), DirecTV (NYSE: DTV), NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Ariba, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARBA) had coverage initiated on them by analysts.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Ariba, Inc. (ARBA). They placed a “buy” rating and a price target of $44.00 on the company.

Brean Murray initiated coverage on Comcast Co. (CMCSA). They placed a “buy” rating on the company.

Brean Murray initiated coverage on DirecTV (DTV). They placed a “buy” rating and a price target of $62.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on NetSuite Inc. (N). They placed a “neutral” rating and a price target of $45.00 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

BMC Equities Research initiated coverage on Time Warner Cable (TWC). They placed a “hold” rating on the company.

Comcast closed Monday at $25.03, falling $0.48, or 1.88 percent. DirecTV closed at $52.81, down $0.27, or 0.51 percent. NetSuite ended the day at $41.47, losing $1.17, or 2.74 percent. Time Warner Cable closed at $77.78, declining $1.46, or 1.84 percent. Ariba closed at $35.57, falling $35.57, or 3.13 percent.

Great Panther (GPL) (TWC) (CNQR) (CVC) (DISH) Get New Coverage from Analysts

Great Panther Silver (AMEX: GPL), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), Concur Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNQR), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) and DISH (NASDAQ: DISH) had coverage initiated on them by analysts.

Global Hunter Securities initiated coverage on Great Panther Silver (GPL). They placed an “accumulate” rating and a price target of $4.25 on the company.

Brean Murray initiated coverage on Time Warner Cable (TWC). They placed a “hold” rating on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Concur Technologies, Inc. (CNQR). They placed an “equal weight” rating and a price target of $54.00 on the company.

Brean Murray initiated coverage on Cablevision (CVC). They placed a “hold” rating on the company.

Brean Murray initiated coverage on DISH (DISH). They placed a “buy” rating and a price target of $41.00 on the company.

Great Panther closed Monday at $3.60, falling $0.13, or 3.49 percent. Time Warner Cable closed at $77.78, dropping $1.46, or 1.84 percent. Concur Tech ended the day at $50.61, down $1.09, or 2.11 percent. Cablevision closed at $26.56, declining $0.66, or 2.42 percent. DISH Network closed at $31.23, losing $0.55, or 1.73 percent.

Dividends on (UVV) (TWC) (PAI) (HIG) (LO) Declared

Universal Corp. (NYSE:UVV), Time Warner Cable, Inc. (NYSE:TWC), Western Asset Income Fund (NYSE:PAI), Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:HIG) and Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE:LO) declare dividends.

The Board of Directors of Universal Corp. (UVV) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.48 per share payable 8/8/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 7/11/11.

The Board of Directors of Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.48 per share payable 6/15/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 5/31/11.

The Board of Directors of Western Asset Income Fund (PAI) declared a June 11 common stock dividend of $0.06 per share payable 6/24/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/17/11.

The Board of Directors of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) 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 6/1/11.

The Board of Directors of Lorillard, Inc. (LO) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $1.30 per share payable 6/10/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/1/11.

Price Targets on (SWN) (TWC) (VFC) (VRX) Raised by Analysts

Southwestern Energy (NYSE: SWN), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), V.F. Co. (NYSE: VFC) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) get price targets raised today by analysts.

Global Hunter Securities raised their price target on Southwestern Energy (SWN) from $33.00 to $37.00. They have a “reduce” rating on the company.

Wunderlich raised their price target on shares of Time Warner Cable (TWC) to $80.00.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised their price target on V.F. Co. (VFC) from $90.00 to $95.00. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJF) raised their price target on Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) from $46.00 to $62.00.

Dividend Yields for (CF) (TWX) (MHP) (TWC) (WPO)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF), Time Warner Inc (TWX), McGraw-Hill Cos Inc (MHP), Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC) and Washington Post Co (WPO).

These dividend data indicate dividend yields of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index as of Saturday, April 30. The yield is determined by taking the latest declared dividend, annualized and divided by the price of the stock. Payout ratios are calculated based on latest quarterly dividend paid divided by earnings.

CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF) has a dividend yield of 0.28 percent on a declared dividend of $0.10. The payout ratio is 3.6 percent.

Time Warner Inc (TWX) has a dividend yield of 2.49 percent on a declared dividend of $0.07. The payout ratio is 6.4 percent.

McGraw-Hill Cos Inc (MHP) has a dividend yield of 2.47 percent on a declared dividend of $0.25. The payout ratio is 63.6 percent.

Time Warner Cable Inc (BLL) has a dividend yield of 2.46 percent on a declared dividend of $0.48. The payout ratio is 51.4 percent.

Washington Post Co (WPO) has a dividend yield of 2.16 percent on a declared dividend of $2.35. The payout ratio is 24.5 percent.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) Sell Extra Ad Inventory on AT&T (T) U-verse

Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) says it has worked out a deal with AT&T (NYSE:T) to sell its excess ad inventory on AT&T U-verse.

Markets the company will sell ad inventory in with AT&T U-verse are Austin, Los Angeles, Dallas, Cleveland, San Antonio and Milwaukee.

“We look forward to working together to make AT&T U-verse inventory available to local market television advertisers through the TWC Media sales team,” says Greg McCastle, senior vice president of AT&T Advanced Ad Solutions. “This new agreement will add qualitative and quantitative value to the local advertising offerings put forth by the Time Warner Cable sales team and make life easier for media buyers in terms of seamless planning and buying.”

Time Warner Cable is working with AT&T Advanced Ad Solutions, the U.S. advertising sales division of AT&T, to sell local spots on AT&T U-verse channels.

Time Warner Cable was trading at $72.12, down $0.15, or 0.21 percent, as of 2:33 PM EDT. AT&T was trading at $30.86, up $0.09, or 0.31 percent.

Clearwire (CLWR) Accused of Inflating Subscriber Numbers

In an attempt to resurrect a case that had been dismissed against Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR) in 2009 (which is under appeal), a motion was filed by attorneys of the plaintiffs to have the case reinstated, which accused the company of inflating its subscriber figures in order to attract investors.

Also included with the motion was for the court to issue what is called an “indicative ruling.” That would allow an additional charge to be added to the original lawsuit; in this instance a charge of fraud.

Clearwire responded to the latest move saying, “Any allegation that Clearwire conspired to mislead its customers is baseless and absurd. We flatly deny any inference of fraud. We will vigorously defend ourselves against any such allegations.”

The filing asserts that in mid-2008, executives at the company altered the computer program in order to qualify those living outside the service areas. The purpose in doing that, according to attorneys, was to increase the company’s gross customer numbers while it was looking for investors to help expand its network.

In the end, Clearwire received investment of $3.2 billion from Sprint (NYSE:S), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA).

Sprint holds a 54 percent stake in Clearwire.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) Launches iPad (AAPL) App

Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) announced it has launched an app for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad called TWCable TV, which allows users to view live streaming television on their tablets.

Rob Marcus, president and chief operating officer for Time Warner Cable said, “We are tremendously excited about this app, which is the first of many that will allow our customers to harness the power of their tablet-type devices. No other cable company has done this, and we are thrilled to be the first.”

The TWCable TV app is offered for free at the iTunes app store. It can be used on a wireless home network to watch TV. Other features like DVR programming and video on demand will be offered in the future.

Time Warner Cable closed Thursday at $67.47, down $0.22, or 0.33 percent.

DISH (DISH), Time Warner Cable (TWC) Accused of ‘Spectrum Hoarding’ by NAB

Congress has been asked by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to investigate Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) and DISH Network (NASDAQ:DISH) to find out whether or not they're hoarding spectrum.

Spectral scarcity is what the FCC and the White House are using as justification for repurposing broadcast spectrum for advanced wireless services. But in a letter to key lawmakers on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee, NAB CEO Gordon Smith explained that the White House's characterization of wireless spectrum as being in "short supply" is in fact perhaps inaccurate. He noted that many communications carriers are simply sitting of vast unused swaths of the stuff, and alleged that they plan to continue to hoard in order to sell the channels at a handy profit later on, as demand continues to outstrip supply.

Smith has identifed DISH Network and Time Warner Cable as two of the worst offenders, and called for a GAO-led inventory of spectrum across the United States, used and unused.

"The pattern of spectrum speculation from Time Warner Cable and Dish Network is especially troubling given that the FCC's National Broadband Plan proclaimed a year ago that there is a 'looming spectrum crisis,'" wrote Smith. "If America is truly facing a spectrum shortage, then it is imperative that policymakers receive an unbiased and thorough report on how private companies like Dish, Time Warner Cable and government agencies are using or warehousing this precious resource."

Wireless industry association CTIA called NAB's allegations "baffling."

Time Warner Cable closed Friday at $72.01, down $0.47, or 0.65 percent. Dish Network closed at $23.50, down $0.27, or 1.14 percent.

Comcast (CMCSA) and Benefit of NBCU Deal

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has released their projections of how the deal with NBC-Universal will play out for them, and some analysts have chimed in with their own outlook.

Goldman Sachs analyst Jason Armstrong reinstated coverage of Comcast (CMCSA) shares with a Buy rating, offering estimates for how the combined business with NBC-Universal could lead to surge in free cash flow.

Armstrong writes the stock is worth $33 on a discounted cash flow basis, or $29 on a sum-of-the-parts basis, using a multiple of 6 times for the cable unit’s profit and 7 times for the NBCU joint venture.

While Comcast’s official projections of the economics of the new combined business are not expected until April, Armstrong today offers a preliminary calculation: revenue may grow 4% from this year through 2013, Ebitda may rise 6.5%, and free cash flow may rise 15% in that time, to $2.94 per share in 2013. Cash flow will be helped by a “significant increase in share repurchase activity over the next few years,” he writes.

In fact, Armstrong writes, following in the foot-steps of peers that have been doing a lot of buybacks, such as DirecTV (DTV), Time-Warner Cable (TWC), and Cablevision (CVC), Comcast, “has the potential to become the next big capital allocation story” in the industry.




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Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC), Sinclair (Nasdaq:SBGI) Reach Multyear Pact

After months of wrangling, Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) and Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq:SBGI) reached a multiyear agreement whereby TWC will continue to carry the 28 local Sinclair stations it had been carrying.

Last month the two companies extended the existing contract through February 21 while they hammered out the details of a new deal.

Time Warner Cable President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Marcus expressed his pleasure at being able to reach an agreement with Sinclair so its customers could enjoy uninterrupted service.

Details of the agreement weren't revealed by either company.

Separately, Time Warner Cable agreed to acquire NaviSite (Nasdaq:NAVI) for $274 million, including existing debt. This was a move toward cloud computing by TWC. NaviSite allows businesses to store their data online.

The deal valued NaviSite at $5.50 a share, a 33 percent premium over its close on Tuesday.

Time Warner Cable closed Wednesday at $69.33, gaining $0.60, or 0.87 percent.

Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) Rev, EPS Estimates Raised on Increased Share Repurchase

Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) had its revenue and EPS estimates raised by Needham, citing a larger share repurchase than expected, as well as lower expenses.

Needham says, "(For Q4) We are raising our revenue estimate for FY2011 by 0.1% to $19.502B and EPS by $0.18 to $4.45 to reflect a larger share repurchases than previously projected. We are also lowering our expense estimates to reflect trends in 3Q10 that we expect to continue in FY11E."

Needham & Company reiterates a "Buy" rating on Time Warner Cable (TWC), which closed Tuesday at $67.90, up $0.20, or 0.30 percent. Needham raised their price target on Time Warner Cable from $65 to $80.

2011 Previews of News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA), Cablevision (NYSE:CVC), Comcast (NYSE:CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Sirius (NASDAQ:SIRI), DreamWorks (NYSE:DWA), Viacom (NYSE:VIA.B)

News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA), Cablevision (NYSE:CVC), Comcast (NYSE:CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Sirius (NASDAQ:SIRI), DreamWorks (NYSE:DWA) and Viacom (NYSE:VIA.B) got previews from S&P Equity Research analyst Tuna Amobi, in an industry that appears to be finally working its way out of a long drought.

Here's what Amobi sees 2011 bringing:

News Corp. prevailing in its bid for majority ownership of BSkyB, and the company cutting its losses with MySpace.

Advancements will be made in terms of interactive advertising, as cable operators including Cablevision. Comcast and Time Warner Cable start to leverage a growing base of EBIF-enabled U.S. households.

Netflix Inc. will likely see one or more film studios to sign relatively long-term streaming rights deals for content, which may come from the independents.

Sirius XM will sees progress in the used car segment to finally start showing growth through its automotive subscriber base. Also the new year will bring about the advent of "Sirius 2.0."

Comcast's deal for General Electric's NBC Universal should pass regulatory obstacles with a few unusual conditions.

DreamWorks Animation and Viacom's Paramount Pictures will sign a new, multi-year distribution agreement, to extend beyond the 2012 end of their current pact.

Time Warner Cable's (NYSE:TWC) "TV Essentials" Doesn't Cut it Says Barclays (NYSE:BCS)

Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) developed their "TV Essentials" service to compete against DBS for those buying based on pricing, but Barclays (NYSE:BCS) doesn't see it being the game-changer TWC was hoping for.

Barclays said, "TV Essentials Is Unlikely to Appeal To Cord-Cutters; Target Is Low-Cost DBS Plans, Especially From DISH Network (Nasdaq:DISH). We don't believe that the TV Essentials package will appeal to cord-cutters, or those just looking to eliminate the cost of sports programming:

(a) it's still well above the cost of Netflix (Nasdaq:NFLX) or Hulu,
(b) a customer who takes it would lose any bundled discount for data service (necessary for over the top),

(c) TV Essentials doesn't allow for DVR or HD service, and

(d) the package doesn't include major non-sports channels like TNT."

Time Warner Cable closed Friday at $62.69, dropping $0.06, or 0.10 percent.