Analyst Comments

Ticonderoga Securities Afternoon Note from John Stoltzfus

Living from economic data point to data point for now --- in a holding pattern for the next catalyst.

As we said a few weeks ago as Q2 earnings season was winding down we expect the denizens of the market to be forced to live from data point to data point until some yet undefined catalyst of substance appears on the landscape to inspire the market to commit for more than a day or two to move in any particular direction---up, down or sideways. For now, looks to us like any upside or downside movement should remain in a fairly tight range ---- in a range of 3-4% ----in either direction until the aforementioned catalyst arrives on the scene.

If nothing else, investors can expect the rhetoric ahead of the mid-term elections to provide some heat in the next month or two and re-generate market passions on the likelihood that some proposal (s) on jobs --- the four letter word not yet mentioned nearly enough in stimulus efforts to date---could be forthcoming. Stay tuned.

Afternoon Markets

Markets stateside today moved higher extending gains from Asia and Europe earlier in the day as the risk/recovery trade garnered further near term support from investors. As the next to last trading session of the week neared the close the Dow ones Industrials, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were all higher and up in a range from 0.45% to just over 1%.

Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 GICs or economic sectors traded higher with cyclicals clearly outperforming defensive issues. Consumer discretionary performed best up over 1.8% as utilities a defensive and the worst performer slipped 0.22%. Small and mid cap stocks as tracked by the Russell 2000 and the S&P 400 performed in-line as they outperformed large caps.

Ticonderoga Securities maintains a 'Buy' on Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), price target $30.

Ticonderoga analyst says, "As an encore to yesterday's smart grid partnership agreement with advanced metering infrastructure leader Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI), Cisco announced its intent this morning to acquire Arch Rock. We believe the technology acquired from Arch Rock will be used in the smart meter platform development with Itron. With two smart grid-related announcements this week, Cisco appears to be accelerating its push into the smart grid market with an agenda of offering the necessary leadership that allows for greater standardization and increased security required for this market to really begin to take off."

"CSCO's smart grid push provides yet another example of the company's transformation from a leading networking company to a broad-based IT company with a ever expanding addressable market that we believe can ultimately lead Cisco to generate over $100 billion in sales over the next decade. Trading at 9x (ex-cash) our CY11 pro forma EPS estimate, Cisco's valuation remains attractive."
To see all the upgrades/downgrades on shares of CSCO, visit our Analyst Ratings page.

Shares of CSCO finished the day up $0.26 (+1.28%) at $20.52. The 52-wk trading range is $19.82 - 27.74.

FBR Capital maintains a 'Market Perform rating on Taleo Corporation (Nasdaq: TLEO), price target $24.

FBR analyst says, "Last night, Taleo announced it will acquire privately held Learn.com for $125 million in cash. We think the acquisition makes strategic sense, as it extends Taleo’s HCM suite by adding learning management to existing capabilities (recruiting management, performance management, compensation management). We think the acquisition was a bit pricey...However, management believes there are fertile cross-sell opportunities, and that Learn.com’s growth profile can be improved when folded into Taleo’s sales infrastructure."

FBR analyst doesn't see much in work involved in the integration process and feels the acquisition can be accretive by $0.03 to $0.04 in 2011.

Shares of TLEO are down $0.16 (-0.59%) today, but the stock is up over 50% in the past 12 months.

To see all the upgrades/downgrades on shares of TLEO, visit our Analyst Ratings page.

FBR Capital reiterates a 'Market Perform' rating on TradeStation Group (Nasdaq: TRAD), price target lowered from $7.50 to $7.00.

FBR analyst says, "We are reiterating our rating but lowers PT to reflect declining trading activity, lower margin balances, and persistent short-term interest rate pressure. Although we believe there is significant earnings upside to the model if/when short-term rates rise, we remain neutral on the name as macro pressure persists, keeping rates muted."

To see all the upgrades/downgrades on shares of TRAD, visit our Analyst Ratings page.

Shares are trading at $6.34, up $0.19 (+3.09%) today. The stock has been in a relatively tight trading range over the past year (52-wk range $5.40-8.67)

Canaccord Genuity reiterates a 'Buy' on Martek Biosciences (Nasdaq: MATK), price target increased by $1 to $26.

Canaccord analyst says, "We reiterate our rating and continue to believe that increased visibility driven by long-term extensions with major infant formula customers will illustrate the consistent generation of cash flow beyond IP expiration and that future growth will materialize away from formula."

"Raising F2010 EPS estimate by a penny to $1.38, while increasing our F2011-2013 EPS forecasts by about 10%."

Shares gained over 8% in the past eight trading sessions (Aug. 23 thru Sept. 1), but have given some back today...last trade $21.58, down $0.83 (-3.70%).

To see all the upgrades/downgrades on shares of MATK, visit our Analyst Ratings page.