Tuesday, 20 July 2010 16:07
Linear Technology (LLTC): Gleacher & Company reiterated their "buy" rating on LLTC and set a $37 price target. Gleacher anayst Doug Freedman estimates that Linear has approximately $3 worth of chips in every iPad. Strong sales of the iPad should boost Linear's results.
Qualcomm (QCOM): Qualcomm was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs due to more rapid growth of the smart phone market than previously expected, largely due to new tiered data plans, greater penetration of Android phones and increased 3G adoption in emerging markets.
Wal-Mart (WMT): Wal-Mart was recently featured in Barron's magazine and it's stock was cited as selling at bargain prices. Citi analyst Debra Weinswig has a $65 price target.
L-3 Communications (LLL): L-3 announced a $1B stock buyback plan to be implemented over the next 30 months. Given it's $8B market cap, this repurchase announcement should be significant enough to establish a floor under the shares.
Novartis (NVS): Novartis surpassed analysts expectations with a 19% increase in earnings on an 11% increase in sales.
Pepsico (PEP): Pepsico announced a 7% increase to the quarterly dividend. Separately, the company's quarterly earnings and revenues topped analyst estimates and the company maintained its forecast for full-year earnings growth, despite mounting pressure from the stronger dollar.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): JNJ reported profit growth of 7.5%, slightly higher than expectations. The company lowered full-year guidance to a range of $4.65 to $4.75 from $4.80 to $4.90, based largely on repeated recalls of non-prescription pain relivers and allergy medications. Even at the lower end of the new guidance, JNJ shares now trade at the historically low multiple of 12.5X.