Analyst Comments

BGB Securities maintains a 'Buy' on MFA Financial Corp. (NYSE: MFA). Price target increased from $6.90 to $7.50.

BGB analyst says, "MFA announced a 14% increase in its quarterly dividend, from $0.22 in 1Q09 to $0.25 in 2Q09. We had estimated that MFA would reach this run rate during 3Q09, but market trends were evidently more favorable during the quarter than we had conservatively estimated. We are increasing our earnings estimate for 2009 from $0.95 to $1.00 per share, based on the evidence from the dividend announcement for the second quarter which exceeded our expectations by $0.02 per share...We recommend the shares based on a strong cash yield and the potential for relatively modest price appreciation."

To see more analyst ratings on MFA Click Here.

MFA Financial, Inc., formerly MFA Mortgage Investments, Inc. is a real estate investment trust primarily engaged in the business of investing, on a leveraged basis, in mortgage-backed securities (MBS).

Brean Murray reiterates a 'Buy' on MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MXB). Price target increased to $29.

Brean analyst says, "The company reported a very strong quarter, exceeding our run-rate, revenue and margin forecasts. Equity index business drove the upside in the quarter, as the company saw 2.5% sequential growth in equity index subscriptions and 35.5% sequential growth in asset-based fees. We believe the momentum in ETFs will remain the primary driver of the near-term performance and should compensate for the continued softness in the equity portfolio analytics business. Further, the company continues to widely outperform its adjusted EBITDA margin targets, delivering a 48.8% margin in 2Q09, which was a 300 bp sequential improvement."

To see more analyst ratings on MXB Click Here.

MSCI Inc. (MSCI) is a provider of investment decision support tools, including indices and portfolio risk and performance analytics for use by institutions in managing equity, fixed income and multi-asset class portfolios.

Analysts a Pali Research just commented on Palm (Nasdaq: PALM), saying they believe that Palm Pre sales have slowed over the past week for Sprint to under 40,000 from 50,000 - 60,000 last week.

The firm said, "Based on our store checks today we donÆt believe that is a result of short supply in inventory. Products can ebb and flow from day to day based on weather and holidays and we caution investors to not be overly focused on our estimates of week to week changes in sales, particularly during a holiday week. We suspect that if sales continue to moderate, Sprint would increase its marketing budget for the product. The marketing budget behind the product has been somewhat limited..."

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Earlier, Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Baidu.com (Nasdaq: BIDU) to $374 from $241, maintaining their Buy rating. The new price target is based on 1.0 PEG, 38x 10E PE and 38% CAGR (09-12).

The firm said recent discussions with management leads them to believe that 2Q rev growth is above/in-line with 33-37% guidance, despite recent labor issues. The firm also commented, Baidu is well positioned to capture secular growth as its initiatives to improve service quality (Aladdin) and monetization (Phoenix Nest) receive positive initial feedback. We expect Baidu to capitalize on continuous improvement of China's Internet fundamentals given its mkt leadership, product quality and brand equity."

With share of BIDU trading at $289, this provides 29% upside to the firm's new price target.

DB's price target is the 2nd highest on the Street. Pacific Growth is the highest at $410 and the average price target on BIDU is $265.

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Fitch Ratings has withdrawn the Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) and outstanding debt ratings on General Motors Corporation (OTC: GMGMQ) and General Motors of Canada Ltd. as follows:

GM: Long-term IDR 'D'; Senior secured 'CCC/RR1'; and Senior unsecured 'C/RR6'.

General Motors of Canada Ltd.: Long-term IDR 'D'; and Senior unsecured 'C/RR6'.

Ratings may be withdrawn after 30 days have elapsed after a default. Fitch downgraded GM's IDR to 'D' on June 1, 2009 after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [SM]