Top Stocks Upgrades-Downgrades June 17, 2013

UPGRADES

• Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna
• CIT Group (NYSE:CIT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Drexel Hamilton

DOWNGRADES

• Red Hat (NYSE:RHT) downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna – Target $50
• Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
• Health Management (NYSE:HMA) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho

NEW COVERAGE

• T-Mobile (NYSE:TMUS) initiated with a Neutral at RW Baird – Target $22.
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) initiated with an Overweight at Global Equities – Target $150

HEADLINES

Elan (NYSE:ELN) is up 8.3% in premarket after on news that investors approved a new $200M share repurchase plan. This suggests that Royalty Pharma’s bid for the drug maker has now lapsed, which will free Elan to pursue new opportunities. Investors rejected three of the company’s four other proposals, including a $1 billion deal with bio tech company Theravance and the proposed acquisition of AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals.

Activist investor Starboard Value has reportedly taken a 5.7% stake in Smithfield (NYSE:SFD) and is urging the company to split up into three rather than complete its $4.7B acquisition by China’s Shuanghui. Starboard reckons Smithfield could be worth $44-55 if it were to break up into separate U.S. pork production, hog farming and international-sales companies, well above Shuanghui’s offer of $34 a share. Smithfield’s shares were +2.1% at $32.80 premarket.

Time Warner’s (NYSE:TWX) box office hit “Man of Steel has nearly covered all of it’s $375M production and marketing costs. The summer blockbuster has generated nearly $200M in worldwide ticket sales on it’s opening weekend, including a $125M in North America. The movie has also brought in $170M from promotional partners.

It was a busy Sunday of announcements for Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY), which appointed Doyle Simons, the former head of Temple-Inland, to replace retiring CEO Dan Fulton. Weyerhaeuser is also acquiring 645,000 acres of high-quality timberlands in Washington and Oregon from Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) for $2.65B. In addition, Weyerhaeuser will explore “strategic alternatives” for WRECO, its homebuilding and real-estate development business, including a merger, sale, or spin-off.

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